Part 21 (1/2)

”Will that be all, Mrs Bloomfield?”

”Yes, thank you Nellie. We'll serve ourselves.”

The woman departed as silently as she'd come and Daisy leaned forward and picked up the silver pot.

”Coffee, anyone?”

”Yes, thanks,” Riley replied and Kate murmured her a.s.sent. They'd been on the road most of the morning and it had been hours since he'd quaffed a short black at the station.

As soon as Daisy had dispensed cups of steaming black coffee and offered slices of tea cake, Riley got to the point.

”It's clear from your emails Rosemary confided in you about her desire to leave Darryl. Do you know why she wanted to leave?” He heard Kate's indrawn breath and knew she was as anxious for the answer as he was.

The older woman set her cup down on the coffee table with meticulous care and drew in a deep breath.

”It's a long story, Detective.”

Riley's gaze didn't waver. ”We have all day.”

Daisy shot a hesitant glance in Kate's direction and then gave a brief nod. ”Okay, but the longer I don't hear from her, the more worried I become. Once you listen to what I have to say, you'll understand what I mean.”

Riley flipped over to a fresh page, his pen poised in antic.i.p.ation. ”Let's hear it.”

Daisy straightened her spine and eyed both of them. ”Rosie hated her wheelchair. Her multiple sclerosis had turned her limbs useless, but it had left her brain fully aware of her predicament.” She turned to Riley. ”Do you know she was already in the wheelchair when she met Darryl?”

Riley nodded and waited for her to continue.

”She's been a burden to Darryl their entire married life. At least, that's how she sees it. And from what she's told me, Darryl's made sure she knew that...with everything from what he termed the exorbitant cost of her many prescription medications to the physical burden of taking her anywhere. Though he appears to be the doting husband prepared to shoulder the burden with humility and grace, let me tell you, he's far from that when he's away from public scrutiny.”

”When did Rosemary tell you this?” Riley asked.

”About six months ago.” She grimaced and ran a hand through her perfectly coiffed hair. ”I'd already begun to suspect all was not quite as rosy as it seemed.”

”How do you mean?”

”Well, Detective, let's just say there were times Barry and I would have them over for dinner and during those occasions, cracks in Darryl's polished veneer would show through.” She shrugged. ”I don't know if he felt comfortable enough around us to drop the pretense or if he'd imbibed just enough alcohol not to care, but on more than one occasion I saw him treat Rosie abominably.”

”Like how?” Riley s.h.i.+fted forward on the sofa, his eyes intent on Daisy's face. Kate sat motionless a short distance away.

”It's not what you're thinking. I never saw him hit her or anything like that. It was more verbal and psychological abuse. Making fun of her disability or refusing to help her when it was obvious she needed it. Nothing so bad that we thought we should intervene, but it was definitely a different side of Darryl than the one he shows the world.”

”How did my mother react?”

Riley swung around. Kate's voice was scratchy with emotion and her eyes glittered with unshed tears.

Daisy's attention also s.h.i.+fted to Kate. ”Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you she stood up to him, but she didn't-none of us did. When I expressed my concern to Barry later, he told me to stay out of it, that it wasn't any of our business.”

Kate's jaw tensed. Riley's gut clenched when a single tear traced a slow and silent path down her cheek.

He reached out to her. ”Kate-”

”No, I'm all right,” she muttered, swiping at her face. She lifted her coffee to her mouth with a shaky hand and took a sip. Her eyes implored Daisy. ”Please, go on. I want to hear the rest of it.”

”It was after one such evening when I found the courage to ask her about it. We'd become really good friends by then and I hated to see her treated that way. A couple of months ago, she told me about their life and how far removed it was from the image of the loving couple they showed to the world. She told me even her housekeeper didn't know the full truth.”

”Who raised the question of leaving?” Riley asked.

”I did. I couldn't bear to hear any more stories about how she was treated-or mistreated. I couldn't bear to see her so unhappy.” Daisy drew in a deep breath. ”So, I told her to leave him.”

”What was Rosemary's reaction?”

”Well, Detective, the truth is, she wasn't at all keen. I guess I can understand it. She's in a wheelchair, barely able to do anything without help and then there was the cost of her medications. She didn't have much money of her own. She couldn't see how she'd survive without him.”

Kate inched forward on the sofa, her gaze fixed on Daisy. ”What changed her mind?”

Daisy clenched her hands together, mirroring the distress in her eyes. ”The thing is, I don't know. She never told me. We went from having conversations about all the reasons why it was impossible for her to leave him, to all of a sudden, her quizzing me about how soon we could organize it.”

Kate stiffened. ”Did you ever ask her why? I mean, you must have found it a little odd, her sudden change of heart?”

Daisy nodded. ”Yes, honey. I did find it odd and I asked her about it. All she'd tell me was that something had happened and it was imperative that she leave.”

Riley's eyes narrowed. ”Did you take it to mean she was leaving permanently, or was it more like-I can't take it anymore, I need to get away for a while?”

Kate stilled. Riley's hands tightened into fists.

”You know,” Daisy responded slowly, ”I think whatever it was that happened, it finally triggered the courage and motivation she needed to leave forever. I don't think she had any intention of coming back.”

”When did this conversation take place?” he asked.

”July second.”

”You sound very sure of that,” Riley said.

Daisy smiled sadly. ”I ought to be. It's my birthday. Rosie had invited me to her place for lunch. When I got there, she surprised me with a bouquet of my favorite flowers and a huge chocolate cake. She's always been thoughtful like that.”

Riley flipped back through the pages of his notebook until he found the notes he'd made when he'd spoken to Darryl. Darryl had said he'd driven Rosemary down to Sydney on July tenth, a week after Daisy's visit with her.

He eyed Daisy again. ”It appears from your emails, you and Rosemary had agreed on a leaving date. Is that correct?”

”Yes, although I said we needed more time to put everything in place, Rosie was insistent she had to go as soon as possible. She didn't even want to wait for an upcoming doctor's appointment, despite the fact she needed to have some of her prescriptions renewed.”

”Do you remember what date you decided upon?”

”Of course, Detective. It was July tenth. Rosemary was anxious to be gone by then.”

The date hit him like a physical blow. The coincidence was too obvious to ignore. He glanced over at Kate. Her gaze remained fixed on Daisy. He kept his thoughts to himself and asked another question.