was a long time since she’d policed the hunt. These days the hunt was a drag hunt and she couldn’t recall if they had ever caught anything in their whole history. Hazel didn’t know much about fox hunting. Probably all the local foxes had moved into the city where they could happily rifle through the bins. Their numbers were kept in check by cars.
She made a note about that.
The curtains were the next thing to interest her. They were expensive looking purple velvet with gold trim. She felt them. Very thick.
The television set was in a stone alcove and connected to the usual boxes to record and play various media. The television was large and looked expensive.
Next to it was a media player. It was a modern retro style. A lot of wood and ornamentation wrapped around twenty first century electronics. Hazel opened a wooden cabinet and studied the dvds inside. Gloria, it seemed, liked rom coms and musical comedies. A lot of the movies were very well known.
Hazel looked back at the fireplace. Traditional stone look aside the fireplace was very modern and electronic. A white sheepskin rug was in front of it. Actually there were several rugs. Three more. All sheepskin. Two brown and one black. The sofa was leather, brown and looked well worn. It was also very large. There was a recliner near the television. Beyond that There was no other furniture.
Hazel left the room and tried another door. The kitchen.
This was more like it. This was in keeping with the overall style of the house. Very modern.
As she looked around, a door opened and closed.
It was a very audible sound, and not one that was concealed. Hazel pushed her jacket back slightly and rested her hand on the mark one Sestra Taser on her belt. She stepped into the hallway.
“Hello, Sergeant Vernon. I’ve not seen you for at least a month. I hope you have all the right warrants to be here.”
Hazel looked at the short, slightly built woman. She wore a dark blue suit with a very short skirt and a long jacket. Her boots were shiny, black, and leather. She was a red head though Hazel doubted if the hair colour was natural. The breasts had never quite looked natural either.
“Hello, Camilla.” She said slowly. “What brings you here?”
“Have a guess.” Said Camilla Ruthven. She was a junior partner with the solicitor’s Ruthven Varney. They were the premiere legal firm in the city. “No…deduce it, Sergeant Vernon. Why would I be here wanting to see the warrants I have no doubt you possess.”
“You’re Gloria Kelsey’s solicitor?” Hazel said. “Photography pays more than I thought it did.”
Camilla smiled briefly. “You always were very amusing.” She held a hand out. She wore an expensive looking watch and even more expensive rings. “Warrants, please.”
“Strictly speaking this is a crime scene. I don’t need any warrant to be here.”
“If you don’t mind, Sergeant Vernon.” Camilla said.
Hazel gave a slight shrug and removed several papers from her inner pocket. “You’ll find they are all in order.”
Camilla nodded, not really taking any notice. She read through the warrants carefully. “Of course they are in order, Sergeant Vernon. I wouldn’t expect anything else of you. Still making the local papers?” She passed the warrants back. “You’ve started your search of the house of course.”
“Yes. Mrs Kelsey had some odd taste in décor.” A question in Hazel’s mind resolved itself. She’d been wondering who was looking into her activities. Who was behind the Range Rover. Well this explained things. Ruthven Varney in general and Camilla Ruthven in particular, represented Victor Monk, the local underworld figure. Hazel would put a lot of money on Monk lending his people and vehicles to find information for Camilla Ruthven.
“Well it’s good that my client’s taste isn’t under investigation.” Camilla said.
“Is she your client?” Hazel said. “Didn’t that end with her being killed?” Certainly any bills she paid would have ended.
“I represent the family.” Camilla said. “You are standing in my client’s home. My client being Karen Kelsey. Gloria Kelsey’s daughter.”
“She inherits?” Who inherited was always of interest to the police when a person died in violent circumstances.
“The house. The photographic studio, though technically that is rented. So it will close down. Karen Kelsey isn’t a photographer. She gets her mother’s car and photographic equipment. Plus the bulk of the estate, less any tax and duties associated with it.”
“Is it a lot of money?” Hazel said. She turned back to the kitchen. “You can tell me while I ransack the place.”
“Very amusing, Sergeant Vernon. As it turns out Gloria was a successful businesswoman. The estate, all told, was worth a little over two million euros.”
Hazel said, “You’re kidding”
“Of course I am. I always make fatuous jokes about murdered clients. It amuses me no end.”
“Two million? From taking pictures?” Hazel looked over the kitchen. Gloria had gone in for modern, easy cooking systems. Halogen oven. Induction hob. Airfryer.
“We’re not talking about holiday snaps, Sergeant Vernon. Nor cheap paparazzi images I might add.”
“Two million though.” Hazel opened a cupboard. A small but nice selection of cups and plates. Quite a bit of silicon bake ware.
“Mrs Kelsey had several high value advertising contracts.” Camilla said.
“She didn’t have the Ruthven Varney contract did she?”
“We don’t really advertise, sergeant. We have plenty of clients as it is. No, Mrs Kelsey produced advertising for the Federal Party.”
“The government?”
“The local party, Sergeant Vernon. Though I believe some of her work was used on a national level.”
The refrigerator was well stocked. Though Hazel doubted if the fruit and veg would be good for a lot longer. “She was politically minded then?”
“I think she had some sympathy for the government.” Camilla said.
“That’s more than some of us have.” Hazel said. “Is Karen her only family?”
“She’s Mrs Kelsey’s only closest family. She did have an older brother, but he died some years ago. She has the usual nephews and nieces and cousins and so on, but I don’t believe she had much to do with them.”
The kitchen hadn’t much else to give up. Hazel walked through an alcove to the adjoining dining area.
“How about Mr Kelsey?” Hazel said.
“Last seen heading south with his secretary…..or receptionist…or someone. He hasn’t been involved in Mrs Kelsey’s life for…oh…many years.”
“He
