Adele wrung her hands and threw her eyes to the ceiling in despair. How could he have done it to her? She'd loved him, looked after him, decorated his house and tried to have his children. Tried so hard. ''What does it all mean, I still don't fully understand.''
Giles Kellet's hands were large, and Adele jumped when he clapped them together in frustration. He knew that the lady was innocent, a gentle creature, but he was beginning to find her ignore of her late husband’s affairs, frustrating. ''I will explain it one more time.'' He leaned forward and lowered his voice, hoping she would understand this time. ''Your husband paid me to murder someone of his acquaintance. I'm not a murderer,'' he said almost proudly as if it was a lifetime achievement. ''I passed the order on to someone I know, who is very much a murderer.'' Adele nodded, her brain full of horrible images. ''The problem is, your husband died without paying us. As his widow, we are appealing to your kindness to see that your husband's debt is honored.''
''But........'' Adele held her breath and tried to express herself clearly. ''Did the murder take place?'' She winced. She sounded as if she was involved, a party to the deadly deed.
''Not yet, but it will. After you've paid us.''
''Mr. Kellet,'' she doubted that was his real name. ''if you haven't carried out my husband's wishes, then how can you justify your fee?''
''The deal was, he would pay us upfront, and he didn't.''
Adele had a sudden rush of bravery. ''Quite preposterous, coming in here, asking me to pay for something my husband allegedly asked you to do. I will not pay. The police would be very interested in your story.''
Kellet's eyes narrowed and his expression sinister. He leaned even further forward on his chair and grasped Adele's knee. When he looked at her, he saw fear, genuine fear and he loved it. ''You will pay, and the person will be killed. If you do not, I will let it be known in society that your husband was a murderer. What will that do to your reputation?'' He let go of her, and she instantly began to rub the place where his hands had gripped her.
''But I don't want to be responsible for.....''
''Shut up you stupid woman,'' he lost his temper. ''You have two weeks to pay or face the consequences.''
Adele began to weep. ''How much is it?'' She just wanted him to go.
''Thirty thousand pounds.''
''But I don't have that much. I could never pay you.....''
She saw his eyes shift around the room, looking at all the valuable porcelain. ''Ah, but you're wrong aren't you? You can pay, you just need to....'' he searched for the words. ''Liquidize your assets. This house, your land, your possessions, I'm sure they are worth enough to cover it.''
Adele didn't know how much everything was worth, but she did know she didn't have that kind of money in cash, not even a third of it. Kellet stood up and looked at her. She seemed to have shrunk since his arrival in her house. She'd sat upright and attentively, now she was hunched in the chair, her head hanging, and her hands white as they clasped each other.
******
Bartholomew Pimms looked like his name, brash. Tall, well over six feet, he was twenty-nine and already at the top of his profession. Dressed in a bright red coat with a yellow waistcoat, he was barrel-chested, much like many of the criminals he defended. Adele imagined him in his wig, playing to the jury in a courtroom. Making events sound more dramatic than they actually were.
''Elanor told me you wanted to talk to me,'' he said, as he sat in the same seat Kellet had, just a few hours earlier.
Adele didn't like him, but she knew of nobody else better placed to advise her. She hated having to reveal this to him. She knew how he would react when she told him. He would gloat, he'd always told her, her husband was a good for nothing. You should have married me, was another statement she expected him to use. ''I have a problem of the gravest nature.''
Bartholomew leaned back. Very little appeared grave to him anymore. He knew all the country's worst criminals, and he'd seen most of life's gruesome twists. ''Tell me.''
''There was a man here, this afternoon. A terrifying man.'' She fought more tears. The ringlets in her hair bobbing up and down as she shook her head in disbelief. ''He asked me to pay him thirty thousand pounds.''
''For what,'' he said in his courtroom voice, his hand flicking across his large hooked nose. Something he did when he didn't believe what he was being told.
''Listen, Bartholomew, please don't let this get out.'' He nodded. ''The man said that Peter had asked him to kill someone and that he hadn't paid him for doing so.''
Bartholomew raised his eyebrows. This was graver than he had expected. ''For murdering who, exactly?''
''He didn't tell me.''
''Did he carry out Peter's request?''
''I asked him that too. He said no. He told me Peter had promised to pay him in advance.''
''Why didn't you tell him to call off the deed and go away.''
''I did, sort of. But he threatened me. He's going to reveal the details to society if I don't pay.''