‘It went.’
‘I expect some of those old duffers are the same as the ones that taught beloved. Anyway, this is all I could find of the set.’
Aleksey glanced at Ben who was frowning at the china. ‘We’ve got mugs. This is what we’ve come for?’
Aleksey picked up one of the sharply styled tea cups which had geometric designs in gold and turquoise and amber. ‘Thisis art deco.’
‘Oh, God.’ Ben blew out his cheeks.
Phillipa snorted. ‘Well, I’m going to take the dogs up to the folly for a romp before it gets too dark. Any takers?’ She gave him a meaningful look.
Ben was obviously far more interested in doing this than packing up delicate china, so they both agreed to accompany her.
She let half a dozen of her pack out of the back of her Range Rover and Ben soon became engrossed in throwing sticks for them, jogging ahead at a much faster pace, and then disappeared into the gloom under the trees.
‘What?’
‘Have you heard from your caretaker chappie on the island today?’
‘No, he only contacts me once a week. What’s wrong?’
‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s not directly to do with you, but for some reason as soon as I heard, I thought about you.’
‘I’m flattered.’
‘I don’t think you will be.’ She checked to make sure Ben was still some way off. ‘Do you remember before I popped in to see you and Ben I’d been to visit an old family servant?’
‘On Benhar, yes.’
‘Nanny One. I heard this morning that she’d been found dead—she was murdered.’
‘I find that a bit unlikely. Are you sure it wasn’t just a fall or something? You said she was in her nineties.’
‘Well, it’s possible she tied herself to a chair and tortured herself. You probably know more about these things than I do.’
Aleksey stopped walking and took hold of her arm. ‘She was…?’ He calculated rapidly. ‘Then someone was seeking information from her.’
‘Exactly my thoughts. As I said, she was ninety, totally bonkers and kept herself to herself. I can’t see anyone doing that to her out of spite or revenge.’
They walked on together in silence until Phillipa broke it with, ‘Don’t you find it terribly coincidental? I can’t help thinking it’s something to do with me.’
‘With you? Why?’
‘Well I know I’m not the only one from the family who popped in from time to time to see her. Beloved never liked her much, but The Spare was terribly fond of her. He visited Benhar every time he went to La Luz. But even so, I think it’s something to do with me—every time she sees me something bad happens to her!’
‘Someone told me recently that correlation is not the same as causation.’
While she was mulling this over, it occurred to him that he could equally apply that rule to his own situation. After all, Phillipa had visited Benhar and then come to him, then he had gone to Benhar. It was possible he was the connection and not her.
‘Why did you have me sign a non-disclosure agreement when I bought the island? I have been meaning to ask you.’
Phillipa was silent for a moment then replied cautiously, ‘I didn’t. I—we—had nothing to do with the sale. I told you—we needed to distance ourselves from anything to do with the payoff.’
He glanced across at her, trying to gauge whether this was the truth. He knew her pretty well and concluded it was. ‘Those were not your lawyers?’
‘No, they all work for The Spare. Non-disclosure agreement? About what?’
Aleksey shrugged. He had come to believe it had been the photographs, but now doubted this could be so. Then he’d thought it was Billy, but the little man was gone. Other than vaguely wanting to find him and thank him, Aleksey did not think they’d see him again. They’d found one other thing on the island, but he had dismissed that as no more interesting than a dust-bunny and purely for the reason that the moron had used it against him in two bets, and he had assumed it was going to be Spanish gold at the very least.
