see anything. Which was unusual, I thought, because generally speaking she is pretty observant. I hadn’t spotted it either; neither had Graham. And even though Sylvia had told us the grounds were full of them, we’d only seen one last night when Sylvia had been killed.
Last night… In the dark… The bandit-masked creature blinking as if it didn’t like the bright lights…
It hit me with the force of a bomb blast. “They’re nocturnal!” I exclaimed.
“What are?” asked Graham.
“Raccoons!”
He shrugged. “I know.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” I demanded.
“You never asked,” he replied.
I was up on my feet, pacing. “Mum didn’t see that raccoon when Sylvia braked because
there wasn’t one to see
! There couldn’t have been, not in broad daylight, because they only come out at night. Sylvia lied. Why did she do that? Why did she brake so hard? There must have been some reason.”
“I suppose what we have to consider is what it achieved,” said Graham. “What was the end result of her actions?”
“OK. What happened? I woke up. Was that what Sylvia wanted? She was watching me really closely afterwards when we’d driven through the gates. Why?” The answer plopped into my head, clear and cool as a drop of iced water. “
So I’d get a good look at Len Radstock
. Which meant she already knew he was there!”
I thought back carefully over everything Sylvia had said and done since we’d arrived in America. “I was suspicious of her right from the start, but then she was killed. That was what confused me. Let’s pretend for a minute that she didn’t die.”
“You don’t think Sylvia might have been behind everything?”
“It’s just a theory,” I said. “Come on Graham, let’s give it a go. Suppose Sylvia was the one who let Len Radstock in?”
“Why would she have done that?”
“Maybe it was so that he’d get the blame for everything. He looked really scared when I saw him. And upset too – not like he’d just deliberately killed his ex-wife in cold blood. Suppose Baby Sugarcandy was already dead by the time he showed up?”
“It’s theoretically possible,” agreed Graham.
I remembered something else. “There was that address, wasn’t there – the one the Sat Nav kept blurting out? She didn’t want us to hear that – she got really stressed over it. It was the only time I saw her flustered. I wish I could remember what it said.”
“1171 Orangeblossom Boulevard,” Graham answered promptly. “I made sure I remembered it. It’s about a mile from here.”
I was impressed. “How do you know that?”
“I paid close attention to the street names when Lieutenant Weinburger drove us back yesterday,” Graham replied. “It’s a habit, I suppose. But what does that address have to do with anything?”
“Well Sylvia organized our flights and everything, didn’t she? If she was planning on framing Len for the murder maybe she was the one who invited him over here. Suppose she organized his flights too? She could have collected him from the airport and taken him to Orangeblossom Boulevard – that would be why the address was on the Sat Nav and why she was so bothered when it went bonkers like that. Then maybe she gave him a key to get in to the estate? It could have all been a set-up!”
Graham shook his head. “I agree that Sylvia could have killed Baby Sugarcandy and then gone off to collect us from the airport. But then when Judy died Sylvia saw Len. He must have killed Judy.”
“Not necessarily. No one else saw him, did they? We were right near there and we didn’t. Not even my Mum saw him, and she was walking around on the terraces all morning. Suppose it was like the raccoon? Suppose none of us saw Len
because he wasn’t there to see
? Sylvia could have taken the drink to Judy, lured her to the side of the pool and then strangled her. She’d said she was on her way
to
the pool, but she could just as easily have been coming
back
.”
“I can
Last night… In the dark… The bandit-masked creature blinking as if it didn’t like the bright lights…
It hit me with the force of a bomb blast. “They’re nocturnal!” I exclaimed.
“What are?” asked Graham.
“Raccoons!”
He shrugged. “I know.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” I demanded.
“You never asked,” he replied.
I was up on my feet, pacing. “Mum didn’t see that raccoon when Sylvia braked because
there wasn’t one to see
! There couldn’t have been, not in broad daylight, because they only come out at night. Sylvia lied. Why did she do that? Why did she brake so hard? There must have been some reason.”
“I suppose what we have to consider is what it achieved,” said Graham. “What was the end result of her actions?”
“OK. What happened? I woke up. Was that what Sylvia wanted? She was watching me really closely afterwards when we’d driven through the gates. Why?” The answer plopped into my head, clear and cool as a drop of iced water. “
So I’d get a good look at Len Radstock
. Which meant she already knew he was there!”
I thought back carefully over everything Sylvia had said and done since we’d arrived in America. “I was suspicious of her right from the start, but then she was killed. That was what confused me. Let’s pretend for a minute that she didn’t die.”
“You don’t think Sylvia might have been behind everything?”
“It’s just a theory,” I said. “Come on Graham, let’s give it a go. Suppose Sylvia was the one who let Len Radstock in?”
“Why would she have done that?”
“Maybe it was so that he’d get the blame for everything. He looked really scared when I saw him. And upset too – not like he’d just deliberately killed his ex-wife in cold blood. Suppose Baby Sugarcandy was already dead by the time he showed up?”
“It’s theoretically possible,” agreed Graham.
I remembered something else. “There was that address, wasn’t there – the one the Sat Nav kept blurting out? She didn’t want us to hear that – she got really stressed over it. It was the only time I saw her flustered. I wish I could remember what it said.”
“1171 Orangeblossom Boulevard,” Graham answered promptly. “I made sure I remembered it. It’s about a mile from here.”
I was impressed. “How do you know that?”
“I paid close attention to the street names when Lieutenant Weinburger drove us back yesterday,” Graham replied. “It’s a habit, I suppose. But what does that address have to do with anything?”
“Well Sylvia organized our flights and everything, didn’t she? If she was planning on framing Len for the murder maybe she was the one who invited him over here. Suppose she organized his flights too? She could have collected him from the airport and taken him to Orangeblossom Boulevard – that would be why the address was on the Sat Nav and why she was so bothered when it went bonkers like that. Then maybe she gave him a key to get in to the estate? It could have all been a set-up!”
Graham shook his head. “I agree that Sylvia could have killed Baby Sugarcandy and then gone off to collect us from the airport. But then when Judy died Sylvia saw Len. He must have killed Judy.”
“Not necessarily. No one else saw him, did they? We were right near there and we didn’t. Not even my Mum saw him, and she was walking around on the terraces all morning. Suppose it was like the raccoon? Suppose none of us saw Len
because he wasn’t there to see
? Sylvia could have taken the drink to Judy, lured her to the side of the pool and then strangled her. She’d said she was on her way
to
the pool, but she could just as easily have been coming
back
.”
“I can
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