Another Man's Poison by J F Straker

Author:J F Straker [Straker, J F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Published: 2015-06-07T23:00:00+00:00

Twelve

For Polly, bed that night was not synonymous with sleep. For hours she lay awake, twisting and turning, everlastingly revolving in her mind the things that Simon had said, looking for flaws and finding none. The coincidence of the dates of birth, the unlikely sudden death of a healthy baby, the absence of any announcements in the Press, the fact that Felton’s had not handled the funeral, the strange choice of cemetery, added up to an impressive total — one that, despite the depth of her pity for those involved, herself and Simon included, it was impossible to ignore. A brief investigation at the clinic could, of course, resolve the matter beyond doubt, but that was a step she had no authority to take. Nor would she if she could, it would be a betrayal of the Grangers’ trust in her. Would misrepresentation of the child’s condition be a crime? she wondered. If it were, then presumably the police would be entitled to investigate. Martin could, if his detective’s mind should run on similar lines to Simon’s. Or was Martin a party to the deception?

The possibility infuriated her. She had never felt entirely at ease with Martin, they were friends only inasmuch as both were friends of the Grangers. Their incompatibility was perhaps as much her fault as his for, however unreasonably, she was jealous of the bond that existed between Martin and Robin and, to a lesser extent, between Martin and Karen. How could the few months she had known Robin hope to equate with thirty years? The kidnapping should have provided a step towards it; it had seemed to demonstrate that his trust in her was equal to his trust in Martin. Or so she had thought. But where was his trust now? Assuming Simon’s theory to be correct — and by the morning she had convinced herself that it was — why had Robin deceived her about the child? To Polly the answer was uncomfortably obvious. In the first instance he had had little choice, she had become involved from the start. This time the choice was there and he had chosen to reject her. But almost certainly he would have taken his precious Martin into his confidence.

She arrived at the Hall in a bitter and angry mood, and the fact that Robin’s mail that morning contained letters of condolence on the baby’s death did nothing to abate it. Neither did Robin’s manner. He was clearly under strain, and she suspected this was not because of any sadness but because he hated the deception into which circumstances had forced him. Presently she could bear it no longer. She dropped pad and pencil on the floor, folded her arms and looked at him with a challenging expression on her pretty face.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked. ‘Not going too fast, am I?’

‘Oh, no, it’s not that.’ She sounded breathless. ‘It’s just that I don’t like being deceived.’

‘Deceived?’ His tone suggested bewilderment rather than annoyance. ‘How do you mean, Polly?’

She swallowed.

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