All Shall Be Well Read Online Free PDF Page B

Jasmine, I mean? There will have to be arrangements made … I’m afraid I don’t know where to start. Do you know what she wanted?” Theo’s brow creased and he continued before Kincaid could speak. “Were you a close friend of my sister? I’m sorry—I’ve been so caught up in myself—I ought to have realized. It must have been very difficult for you.”
    Kincaid hadn’t been prepared for sympathy. “Yes,” he said, answering both question and statement, then took a breath and straightened up. It couldn’t be put off indefinitely. “I was a friend of Jasmine’s, but I’m also a policeman. When Jasmine’s nurse and I found her this morning we assumed she had died of natural causes. Then Jasmine’s friend Margaret arrived and told us that she had agreed to help Jasmine commit suicide.”
    Theo’s pacing had taken him back to the dining chair. He collapsed in it as suddenly as if his legs had been cut from under him. “Suicide?”
    “Margaret said that yesterday Jasmine told her she’d changed her mind, but now she thinks Jasmine just intended releasing her from her obligation.”
    “But why? Why would she kill herself?”
    “Perhaps she didn’t want to become too dependent on anyone, or suffer any more than necessary.”
    “Of course. Stupid of me.” Theo’s eyes had lost their focus, and he absently stroked the porcelain elephant he still held. “That would be like her.”
    “Theo, I had the coroner’s office request a post mortem.”Seeing Theo’s look of incomprehension, Kincaid continued. “In a situation like this it’s necessary to find out exactly what did happen.”
    “Is it?” Theo asked, still sounding puzzled.
    “Well, it’s the usual procedure if there’s any uncertainty as to cause of death.” It seemed to Kincaid that the second shock had rendered Theo unable to cope, and the whiskey probably hadn’t improved matters. “I’m afraid the funeral arrangements will have to wait until afterwards. Perhaps you could get in touch with her solicitor?” Theo looked at him blankly. “Do you know her solicitor’s name?” Kincaid asked.
    Theo made an effort to collect himself. “Thomas … Thompson … I’m not sure.” He stood up, still clutching the elephant. “Look. You’ve been very kind. Would you mind looking after things here a bit longer? I think I’d like to go home.”
    Kincaid wondered if he would make it. “Shall I walk with you to the tube station?”
    Theo shook his head. “No. I’m fine, really.” He stood up, and only as he held out his hand to Kincaid did he seem to realize he still held the small elephant. “It was mine as a child,” he said in answer to Kincaid’s questioning look. “I gave it to Jasmine when I moved into my first digs. Didn’t think it fashionable, or grown-up, I suppose.” He gave a self-deprecating snort and placed the elephant very carefully back in its position on Jasmine’s desk. “You’ll let me know?” he asked, turning to Kincaid and shaking his hand.
    “Yes. As soon as I hear.”
    Theo turned and let himself out, leaving Kincaid in doubtful possession of Jasmine’s flat.
    Kincaid stood for a moment organizing his thoughts, determined to ignore the rumblings of his stomach a bit longer. Theo Dent’s revelation that Jasmine had arranged to see himthis weekend, after a six month hiatus, made Kincaid feel even more uneasy about the whole business. Had Jasmine lied to both Margaret and Theo? In Margaret’s case it might have been motivated by kindness, but surely not in Theo’s.
    Kincaid stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed as he looked around the familiar room. It seemed to him that Jasmine’s quiet presence had provided an anchor in more than one life—both Margaret and Theo had wailed “What shall I do now?”, as bereft as abandoned children, yet he had no idea what Jasmine had felt for them, or anyone else, for that matter. Her presence was already as elusive as smoke, and he thought he had known her