Murder on the Short List by Peter Lovesey

rights director to call him back. She has the Roedean accent and very sexy it sounds. I told her to play the caution card. Said she needed to be certain Lionel isn’t married. He jumped right in and said he’s a widower and would welcome the opportunity to prove it. They’re meeting for a walk on the Downs at Beachy Head followed by a meal at the pub.”
    â€œYour rights director?”
    â€œNo, silly. She was just the voice on the phone. He’ll meet Georgie and get the shock of his life. All you and I have to do is be there to take care of the remains.”
    Donna caught her breath. “I can’t be a party to murder.”
    â€œMy sense of humour, darling. Georgie won’t do anything permanent. He’ll rough him up a bit and put the fear of God in him. Then we step up and get our money back.”
    M aggie drove them to Eastbourne on the day of the rendezvous. She took the zigzag from Holywell and parked in a lay-by with a good view of the grass rise. From here you wouldn’t know there was a sheer drop. But if you ventured up the slope you’d see the Seven Sisters, the chalk cliffs reaching right away to Cuckmere Haven. It was late on a fine, gusty afternoon. George and the hapless Lionel were expected to reach here about five-thirty.
    â€œCoffee or champagne?”
    â€œYou
are
well provided,” Donna said. “Coffee, I think. I want a clear head when we meet up with him.”
    Maggie poured some from a flask. “We’ll save the champers for later.”
    Donna smiled. “I just hope it stops him in his tracks. I don’t want other women getting caught like we did. I felt so angry with myself for being taken in. I got very depressed. When I came up here I was on the point of suicide.”
    â€œThat’s no attitude. Don’t ever let them grind you down.”
    â€œI’m not very experienced with men.”
    â€œWell, at least you persuaded the bastard to marry you, darling. You can’t be a total amateur. Me, I was conned every which way. Slept with him, handed him my money, accepted his proposal.”
    â€œProposal? He proposed to you? Actually promised to marry you?”
    â€œThe whole shebang. Down on one knee. We were engaged. He bought the ring, I’ll say that for him. A large diamond and two sapphires. He knew he had to chip in something to get what he wanted. What did it cost him? – a couple of grand at most, compared to the sixty he got off me.”
    â€œI had no idea it got that far.”
    â€œHe’d have married me if I hadn’t caught him out. Bigamy wouldn’t have troubled our Lionel.”
    Donna was increasingly concerned about what she was hearing. “But you
didn’t
catch him out. When I first phoned, you called him your boyfriend. I had to persuade you that he was a conman.”
    â€œDon’t kid yourself, ducky,” Maggie said with a harder edge to her voice. “I knew all about Lionel before you showed up. I had him checked out. It’s easy enough to get hold of a marriage certificate, and when he gave me the guff about the flying accident I checked for a death certificate as well, and there wasn’t one, so I knew he was lying. He was stupid enough to tell me about the memorial bench before I even saw it. I went to the council and made sure it was bloody Lionel who paid to have it put there. He handed them the plaque and a wad of cash. What a con. He could go on using that seat as his calling card every time he started up with a new woman.”
    â€œIf you knew all that, why didn’t you act before? Why are you doing this with me?” Donna said.
    â€œâ€˜Do you really want to know?” Maggie said. She reached for the champagne bottle and turned it in her hands as if to demonstrate good faith. “It’s because you would have found out. Some day his body is going to be washed up. The sea always gives up its dead. Then the police are going to