LOOKING FOR LANDERS

 

Chapter 9

LOOKING FOR LANDERS

 

Nora opened her front door saying, “To what do I have the honour?”

Alden and Briony were back up North. Grandfather had not improved the weather, thinking a hard winter didn’t hurt anyone. The water in the lake was black and impenetrable. It was a world where the predominant colours were black, grey, and white. A stranger’s eyes would find it hard to imagine it in spring or in summer.

The couple had returned to Nora, because they only had her word that Jasper had left the hospital on his own two feet, and that a maroon coloured car had picked him up. Now they knew the late Doctor Star drove that car, they needed to know the identity of the man who had got into the car.

Nora was of no help, she just reiterated what she had already said on their previous visits. She never went into any of the patients’ rooms, as Doctor Quinn had ordered her not to. Briony told her to be careful. An accident in the lake wouldn’t be difficult to arrange, and any bodies would not be discovered till the spring.

Nora told them that Jasper was the only person to have been admitted that night. She said that if anyone else had been admitted at the same time, the lift in the kitchen could have been used to transport the patient. There was another lift that was used for dirty bed linen and the medical faculty’s uniforms. Three times a week a laundry van left clean linen and picked up the dirty linen. The laundry was in the ski resort - there was no other.

Nora explained how Sandra rented the premises of the boutique, and she had worked as shop assistant and buyer. On the day of the accident, Nora had been shopping for the boutique in town. When she got back to the village, Doctor Quinn told her about the accident, and that it had been Sandra’s wish to be cremated. Nora knew very little about the accident, and Doctor Quinn was not a man to be asked questions. He told her that he was leaving the area, to remake his life in another place. Quinn told Nora he would help her find another job.

 

Alden’s other aunt went to stay with Briony’s boys, while their mother was up North. The aunt enjoyed being a detective, and went to the local pubs to see if there was anyone who knew of a man with a badly scarred face. She struck lucky when a barman pointed out a man answering the description sitting at a table. The barman told the aunt to be careful, as the man was known to be dangerous. He told her the man was called Lou.

 

A day or so later, Alden’s aunt sent Briony’s mail to her. Briony opened the letter wondering who knew where she was.

 

‘Dear Madam,

I am writing this letter in case I die suddenly. I have to confess I killed your husband Jasper Tello, following Quinn’s orders. Years ago we were all friends, Quinn, Landers, and me. Quinn went crazy when Sandra died. He thinks he’s a god in the medical world, when the opposite is true. Ask Nora to get you Zoë’s file. By the way, I killed Donald too. Now I know what Quinn’s motives are. I’m blackmailing him. I have no doubts what my end will be. I wanted you and your sons to know that Jasper Tello never killed anyone in his life. I used his identity to do what I did. I was once considered a promising doctor - but there’s nothing left of that man now.

Erwin Star.’

 

Alden and Briony realized that Star had worked at the Copse Hospital and Rivermount. They had to remind themselves an accident had taken them to the North, and that Jasper had been killed by Star after the accident. They had to make an effort to find out who had removed the warning notice on the road.

 

Grandfather had been working on the computer, and said they had to look for someone with a twisted mentality. They had to meet the person who was behind it all. Briony and Grandfather boarded an antique car which she drove. When they were out of sight of Magician’s Leap, Grandfather took over the wheel. Briony enjoyed travelling in the ancient vehicle that glided slowly over the smooth surface of the main road. When Briony pointed out the hospital, Grandfather showed no interest whatsoever. They changed over driving again, and Briony showed Grandfather Donald’s house, and the accident spot with the sign back in place. They stopped, and stayed in the car with the danger spot in sight. Grandfather thought there might well be another accident. He was sure it would be that day. He told Briony to look through the windscreen, which had changed and now magnified everything outside - including noise. After waiting some time, Grandfather indicated to Briony to listen carefully.

They saw and heard a very noisy lorry with a trailer behind, pass the curve very slowly, and for a moment it almost stopped. Then it continued along the main road and was lost to sight. They then saw the sign indicating the dangerous curve was missing. Grandfather got out of the car with Briony, and took out a replacement he had prepared before leaving home. His suspicion had been fulfilled, so Grandfather wet the support of the sign with a long-lasting hard and fast glue. Briony tried to shift it, but couldn’t. It was impossible. Even so, they still didn’t know who was stealing the road sign.

 

Alden was dressed as a window cleaner at the hospital. He had a camera in his bucket and managed to get some photos of those sitting in the waiting room. He knocked on Nora’s office window when he’d finished, and asked her to secretly make a photocopy of  Zoë’s file. They agreed to meet later at her house.

 

That evening Grandfather put the photos into his computer to identify the people in the waiting room. Briony said she would love to have seen the face of the person who had removed the sign to see it had been replaced. As far as Briony was concerned at that moment, she knew Star had killed Jasper, and didn’t have any desire to return to the North. They didn’t know why Star had killed Jasper, only that he represented a danger to Quinn.

 

Grandfather called them to his room to find the printer was working at its maximum. When it stopped, Grandfather pulled out a sheet of paper. The names on the paper were of elderly and wealthy men, but with no other details of interest. Jasper wasn’t elderly, and neither were the victims of accidents taken to the hospital, thanks to the dangerous curve.

In the dining-room, Auntie Mati was still watching television. The foreign minister was greeting a foreign dignitary at the airport. Auntie Mati thought the foreign minister looked a lot younger. She said that two months before, the minister could barely walk and was obviously in pain. She added that he had been on a journey to a remote place.

 

Briony went to bed full of fear. She had tears in her eyes, and wished she could go back to the time before the visit of the two policemen. She asked herself how Jasper had met Zoë, and why Sandra was cremated before Nora’s return from town. A strong wave of depression overwhelmed her.

 

Alden and Briony paid a visit to the crematorium to find out whether Jasper’s remains had been incinerated there. The man in charge told them the majority were the victims of accidents which were quite frequent in that area. He told them how Sandra’s car had been hit by a cistern that was out of control. She had been cremated straight away. Jasper had been murdered a month before. He gave them a list of those recently cremated, and number four on the list was - Erwin Star.

 

Nora had to use her brains to get hold of Zoë’s file. She had to avoid getting caught by Doctor Quinn at all costs. She had noticed how he had been looking very drawn, and one day, after Star’s death, he had said, “He was a good doctor. I’m going to miss him.” Nora had said nothing, thinking he might have been talking to himself.

 

Nora had never suspected Landers could be so annoying. He was such an insignificant man, yet was very presumptuous. She didn’t feel well with him around. He surprised her by trying to flirt with her! Landers was offended when Nora hadn’t responded, she just kept her eyes on a letter she was writing. Landers persisted, and having received no reaction from Nora, he left her office, angrily banging the door. Nora trembled from fear and repulsion. She went to the files and searched for Zoë’s file, but the information was just as bare as Jasper’s. She managed to make a photocopy of the bare information, and put it into her bag. She went to the café, where she rang Alden and Briony, inviting them to her house for dinner that evening.

 

 Alden and Briony went round to see Nora, and suggested that she should leave her house and stay with Alden’s family for safety. When asked, Nora couldn’t say whether Quinn knew about Sandra and Ralph or not.

She packed a case, put on her coat, and switched off the central heating and the gas. The three set out for Magician’s Leap. Nora was blindfolded so that she couldn’t see exactly where she was being taken. She wasn’t worried about their destination, she was quite willing to start life in a new place. Sandra’s death had brought a part of her life to an end.

Grandfather was very pleased on seeing Nora. He liked the idea of having another woman in the house. Nora gave him Zoë’s file.

 

The three women went to sleep in the same room.

 

Alden and Grandfather were looking at the computer together.