Death of a Gentle Lady

slept. He went out and down the stone steps to the floor below and began to push open doors. What had obviously been the servants’ rooms and a nursery were now filled with furniture which had probably been in the castle when Mrs Gentle had bought it; she must have put it in these rooms for storage. In the old nursery, he saw a dusty bottle of beer and a glass sitting on a table by the window. The room had a fireplace which had not been blocked off. Beside the fireplace was a scuttle full of peat. He bent down and studied the grate. He was sure it had been used, and possibly recently. Perhaps Irena had come here to keep warm.
    He began to search in the cupboards, taking out old toys and children’s books and setting them aside. If Irena had found anything incriminating, it might have been in the form of a letter. He sat down on the floor and began to shake out all the books. Nothing.
    He turned his attention to the toys: jigsaw puzzles, Monopoly, stuffed toys, and a complete Hornby train set in its original boxes. He opened up the boxes and began to lift out the engine and carriages bit by bit. He wondered as he searched if Mrs Gentle had known just how valuable a set like this was. He opened the door of the guard’s van. Something gleamed black. He inserted his fingers and pulled it out. It was a miniature tape recorder.
    He sat cross-legged on the floor and switched it on. Irena’s voice: ‘But it is dreadful that she should cut you out of her will.’ And then Mark’s voice, loud and clear: ‘I’ll kill that old bitch. She’s doing it out of sheer spite. Well, I’ll spite her. She’ll be dead as a doornail before she changes that will.’
    Irena again: ‘But you would not do anything silly, my darling?’
    Mark: ‘Just you wait and see! Shut up. Someone’s coming.’
    Then there was nothing but a long hiss. Hamish switched it off, pulled out his phone, and called Jimmy. ‘You’d better get up to the castle right away,’ he said, then described what he had found. He finished by saying, ‘Ask to be shown up to the old nursery.’

    Not only Jimmy arrived but also his sidekick, Andy MacNab, Superintendent Daviot, and Anna.
    ‘You’d better stay in the doorway in case you want this room searched further,’ said Hamish. ‘Listen to this. I found it in the guard’s van of the toy train.’ He switched it on.
    ‘Got him!’ cried Jimmy. ‘Those mechanics of his are from Eastern Europe. He probably told them they would lose their jobs if they didn’t back him up. Let’s go pick him up. Come along, Hamish. We’ll seal off this room for now.’
    Hamish stood for a long moment. He looked lost in a daze. Then he shook himself like a dog and followed them downstairs while policemen sealed the door of the nursery.
    Outside the castle, he paused again as Mark was being dragged to a police car, protesting his innocence.
    ‘That was good work,’ said Daviot. ‘Would you like to come with us to Strathbane?’
    Hamish saw Anna sitting in the leading car.
    ‘I’ll just be off to my station,’ he said mildly. ‘I’ve been neglecting my other chores.’

    A mist was descending as he drove to Lochdubh, and when he arrived at the police station Elspeth emerged from the swirling fog. ‘Get ower to Strathbane,’ said Hamish. ‘They’ve arrested someone. I’m not authorized to tell you anything more.’
    Elspeth fled into the mist. Hamish went inside to a welcome from his pets. He lit the stove and made himself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table and began to worry. Mark’s voice on the tape had not actually confessed to the murder. Certainly it sounded like intention to murder. But then Mark must have been in a foul temper at the news he was to be cut out of the will. People threatened to kill in the heat of the moment. Still, if he had been lying about his alibi and that was proved, then it would seem to clinch the matter.
    What about that female in the phone box? Did Mark have an accomplice? Kylie Gentle was tall and thin.
    He decided to go to the Tommel Castle Hotel and talk it over with Priscilla. Her cool common sense usually put things in proportion.
    He took his cat and dog and left them in the hotel kitchen, where he knew they would be pampered and fed.
    Mr Johnson told him that Priscilla was in the lounge with Harold Jury. Hamish strode in and without preamble said, ‘I would like a word with you, Priscilla.’
    ‘Do you mind?’ demanded Harold. ‘We were just going through her