by Ted Tayler
“Do you have any names for us?” asked Gus.
“From our two authorised sites? There are several family names to watch for, Chapman, Cooper, Scott, Ayres, Brazil, Corbett, and Kelly. I need not remind you that the vast majority of members from those families are hard-working and law-abiding. With every flock, there’s a rare black sheep.”
“When your detectives finally investigated Ivan Kendall’s disappearance, did they remove any family photographs from the house?”
“It’ll be on file, Mr Freeman,” said Dai Williams. He searched his computer for several seconds.
“The only photos we removed were of Ivan Kendall. We weren’t interested in the wife and daughter. They weren’t missing.”
“That’s what we thought you would say,” said Gus. “We’ll gain nothing by staying here, Luke. Let’s drive to Pontyclun.”
“Safe journey,” said DI Williams.
“A fat lot of use he was,” said Gus as they reached the visitor’s car park.
“Never mind, guv,” said Luke, “I always thought our real chance of progress lay in the village. The locals might have more of an idea of what our suspects got up to in the weeks before Ivan’s death.”
Luke drove them away from Cardiff Central and out of the city. Gus sat quietly beside him as they headed for the village.
“Where to first, guv?” asked Luke.
“As close to the centre as possible, Luke,” said Gus. “Sally worked in a series of local shops after leaving school. We’ll start at the supermarket, if they have one, and work our way down to the corner shops. With luck, someone will have a decent photo we can use.”
Luke spotted a sign for a free car park and found a place to park.
“You don’t see many of those these days,” said Gus. “It’s as if they want people to visit their shops.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you ramp up parking charges in the town centre, you drive the trade to the out-of-town retail parks,” said Luke.
“That Tesco outfit looks our best bet,” said Gus.
Once inside the busy little store, Gus searched for someone in authority. How did one distinguish between people clad in the same uniform? He noticed an older lady at the end of an aisle doing nothing.
“Are you the manager here?” he asked.
“I’m in charge on the shop floor today,” she replied. “How can I help you?”
“Did Sally Kendall ever work here?”
“Oh, yes, Sally worked here for several years on the checkouts. Why do you ask?”
“We’re from Wiltshire Police,” said Gus, producing his identification. “We know Sally left the village not long after her husband’s death, but we’re eager to find her.”
“I’ve no idea where she might be, I’m afraid,”
“Could I have your name?” asked Gus.
“Dilys Morgan, Mr Freeman,” she replied.
“Well, Dilys, we have the technical ability to locate her provided we get an accurate description. What we need is a photo of Sally that’s more recent than anything we can find through the usual avenues.”
“Sally Prosser was a local girl, Mr Freeman. I can remember when she and Ivan Kendall got married at St Paul’s.”
“Their wedding photograph from the local newspaper is what we have so far,” said Luke. “Because Sally and Alexa left without leaving a forwarding address, there’s nothing of the Kendall family’s belongings to offer something more relevant. Would you have a staff photo of her?”
“It’s possible,” said Dilys. “I could ask the manager later. She’s not here this morning. You should visit the other shops where Sally worked to ask them. I can give you a list if you like?”
“That would be a great help, Dilys,” said Gus.
“I know it’s four years since she left the village,” said Luke, “but what about social occasions? Would anyone who worked with Sally carry photos of her on their phones or their computer at home?”
“We girls get together often,” said Dilys, “birthdays, hen nights, baby showers. Any excuse, not just Christmas. So, it’s a distinct possibility that one of us has a photo of Sally somewhere. I’ll put a notice on the board in the staff room. If you give me your contact details, I’ll send anything through I can find.”
“Many thanks,” said Gus. Luke handed over a card, and Dilys Morgan slipped it into the breast pocket of her uniform.
“I miss Sally,” said Dilys. “She was a good worker. Some people thought her quiet and withdrawn, but she was just a typical shy, country girl. It took a while for Sally to come out of her shell. There might be the odd photo on those social occasions where she’s let her hair down and got as squiffy as the rest of us. It was nights like that where she seemed more like their daughter, you know?”
“Alexa was a wild child, according to the stories we’ve heard in the village,” said Gus.
“Lexie was wild from the day she was born, Mr Freeman. Yet, Sally was always so level-headed. I could never understand what frightened them away. Have you learned why that was?”
“We haven’t,” said Gus. “No matter which line of enquiry we follow, there’s nothing to suggest Sally had anything to fear. Ivan died eighty miles away. His killers don’t appear to have any connection to Sally and Alexa. We’re still trying to confirm what connected them to Ivan. Another level-headed man who kept to himself. Not a man to attract trouble.”
“Did Ivan Kendall clean your windows?” asked Luke.
“No,” said Dilys. “He called at houses on my street. My husband had found someone well before Ivan started his round. Who did you speak to in the village?”
“The police gave us a good deal of background,” said Luke, “and we visited Ieuan Arlett up at the rugby club.”
“After Ivan got made redundant, he showed a darker side of his nature,” said Dilys Morgan. “Not like we’d seen in the past. You asked about the window-cleaning. Ivan knocked on our door and spoke to my husband. They had often stood together, watching a match at the rugby club. Ivan wasn’t best pleased when my husband said no. He worked cheaper than the competition, but Noah told him we would stay loyal to the firm we’d used for years.”
“How did Ivan react?” asked Gus.
“Ivan didn’t speak to Noah after that,” said Dilys. “You’ll find others in the village who will tell you the same. Ivan passed snide remarks in the club about knowing who your friends were, things like that. Ivan was struggling, everyone knew that, but it wasn’t as if we lived in the lap of luxury. Everyone’s had it hard in the valleys.”
“Did you hear of anything Ivan might do to get himself out of his financial hole?” asked Gus.
“Ivan had an allotment,” said Dilys, “but what he grew there, I don’t know. My Noah said Ivan spent a fair bit of time there instead of coming over to the club to watch the games.”
“Mr Arlett told us that Ivan did something different during the summer months,” said Luke. “Did your husband ever learn what?”
“If I’m not working at the weekend, we get away. We own a motorhome we take to Porthcawl, or as far as Tenby sometimes. So, Noah doesn’t spend much time at the club in the summers. He wasn’t that interested in what Ivan got up to as they weren’t on speaking terms.”
“We’ll let you get back to your customers, Dilys,” said Gus. “You’ve helped us a great deal already. If you uncover photos of Sally, that will be even better. We look forward to hearing from you.”
“You’re welcome, Mr Freeman, I’m sure. Here are the names of the four shops that are still open where Sally used to work.”
Gus and Luke left Dilys Morgan to oversee what passed for the lunchtime rush in the village store.
“Small steps, Luke,” said Gus. “The local police should have known about Ivan’s allotment, and his falling out with old friends who decided against becoming customers. Dilys Morgan painted a different picture of the man, didn’t she?”
“We heard a slightly different description of Sally
Kendall too, guv,” said Luke. “When she was out with the girls, Sally was more carefree than at home. We’ve gained more positives since we arrived here than we collected from DI Williams.”
“Fingers crossed, Dilys was right, and her friends can retrieve those photos we need,” said Gus. “We’ll split up, Luke. You visit the other smaller shops. I’ll walk out to the rugby club. It can’t be over four hundred yards from here. Ieuan Arlett was there around this time the other day. I’ll get him to explain the allotment business. I wonder why he didn’t realise that was where Ivan was spending his summers? Those allotments skirt the field that contains the clubhouse.”
“We couldn’t see much of those allotments when we sat in his office, guv,” said Luke. “And Ieuan would be busy behind the bar on Saturday afternoons.”
“Maybe, Luke, but it’s a village. Look at Urchfont. Everyone knew my business within hours. Whether it was the first time that Vera Butler stayed the night, or the day Suzie moved in. Unless every single allotment holder is a rugby hater, someone will have mentioned seeing Ivan there.”
Luke watched as Gus strode into the distance and then studied Dilys Morgan’s list. His first port of call was a family-owned newsagent and general store. When he reached the counter at the far end of the tiny shop, there was only a young girl on duty.
“Are you working alone today?” he asked, showing the girl his warrant card.
“My father’s out the back,” she replied. “I can get him.”
“Please do,” said Luke with a grin, “I don’t think you worked here four years ago.”
“No, I was still at Y Pant,”
“Do you remember Lexie Kendall?”
“Everyone remembers, Lexie,” said the girl. “Once seen, never forgotten.”
The girl disappeared through a beaded curtain and returned a minute later with her father. Luke could tell from the smell he brought with him he’d stepped outside for a cigarette.
“Mr Jones?” asked Luke.
“Martin Jones, that’s right. Carys thought it was about the Kendall girl.”
“Her mother, Sally, worked here, didn’t she?” asked Luke.
“For a while. A few years back now,” said Martin Jones.
“A good worker?”
“I had no trouble with her. She was popular with the customers. I was sad to see her leave. Honest as the day is long was Sally. Not like some I’ve employed since.”
“Was there any reason for Sally leaving?” asked Luke.
“They paid more up the road in the big store. Money was tight. Sally was with us when the firm Ivan worked for sacked two dozen of its employees. Several local families had a hard time of it after that.”
“In a smaller shop such as this, do you have photos of your staff, or occasions when you socialised where someone might have taken photos? We have nothing more recent than a wedding photo of Sally to help us trace where she went after leaving Pontyclun.”
“Nothing like that, I’m afraid. I remember Sally telling me neither she nor Ivan had a passport. They’d never travelled outside of Wales, let alone abroad. That might have changed over the years. I wouldn’t know.”
“Why do you think she left the village so suddenly?” asked Luke.
“I thought she went to her mother’s old house in Llanharry,” said Martin Jones. “Sally was a home bird; there was no way she’d live in a big town or city.”
“We heard that Sally was afraid of something, or someone, Mr Jones,” said Luke. “She took Alexa away because she thought their lives were in danger. Sally believed the men who killed Ivan wanted her dead too.”
“That makes no sense to me,” said Martin Jones.
Luke noticed a reaction from Carys.
“What do you think, Carys?” he asked. “Lexie doesn’t sound as if she’d be afraid of anything from what we’ve heard.”
“Lexie had friends in the village,” said Carys, “but she made enemies too.”
“Some of these older boyfriends we’ve heard about were married, is that what you mean?”
Carys nodded.
“They weren’t all local guys she mixed with, either. We’ve got the odd tearaway in the village, but two men I saw hanging around Lexie looked proper nasty. They never came right into the village. I saw them up at the park a few times, though.”
“Not at the rugby club then, Carys? You mean the large playing field where the football teams have a clubhouse?”
“That’s right. In the summer, Lexie exercised the dogs at Ivor Park. Me and my mates kept out of her way. I saw that pair of rough-looking blokes watching Lexie from a distance a few times. Did you hear about her reputation?”
Luke nodded. Martin Jones waved a hand to show he was going for another smoke.
“We heard,” said Luke. “Did she ever visit the shop when her mother worked here?”
“Once or twice,” said Carys. “Lexie was only ten. She wasn’t into boys then. Lexie used to badger her Mum for sweets and a comic.”
“Why do you think this pair of older men were watching Lexie?” asked Luke.
“Well, I thought they were interested, you know,” said Carys. “Me and my mates gave them a wide berth and came back into the village if we ever saw them. They creeped us out.”
“Have you seen them since Lexie and her mother left the village?”
“No, I haven’t. Anyway, I don’t go to the park now,” said Carys, looking to see whether her father was on his way back. “I’ve got a boyfriend with a car.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” said Luke. “One last thing before I leave. Was there a particular reason for staying out of Lexie’s way when you were at the park? Did you two not get on?”
“We knew one another, but we weren’t that friendly. My Dad would have had kittens if I’d got up to the things she did. I didn’t want to get tarred with the same brush. No, the dogs had to wear muzzles whenever Lexie brought them out. But they still frightened the living daylights out of me. That’s why I kept my distance.”
“Thanks, Carys,” said Luke. “Thank your Dad for me too. If either of you remembers someone who might have a recent photo of Sally Kendall, then call us on this number. Luke handed Carys a card and left the shop.
Luke walked out of the village towards the rugby club. As he approached the entrance that he’d driven through the other afternoon, he saw Gus Freeman in the distance and smiled. Gus was on the other side of the hedge, talking to an older lady.
Gus would be in his element, discussing the merits of an allotment for people of a certain age. As he drew nearer, Gus saw him and pointed towards the bottom corner of the field. Luke turned left and made for the corner. A stile let him get into the allotments. Luke realised that the main entrance was from the housing estate at the opposite end.
“Luke,” said Gus, “Meet Bethan Lewis, an avid gardener. Bethan’s been able to tell me something about Ivan Kendall and why he rented the plot over there.”
“Good afternoon, Mrs Lewis,” said Luke. “Someone has worked hard on that plot in the past four years. Is that you?”
“It is, detective,” replied Bethan. “I’m a cleaner over at the rugby club, and after Ivan Kendall died, I applied to the council to take over the mess he’d left behind. When I came to do my cleaning job every day, I could soon tell that his heart wasn’t in it. He wasn’t a gardener.”
Mrs Lewis moved away to carry on working on her compost heap. Gus and Luke walked along the path towards the stile.
“I think we know now why Ivan rented it,” said Luke. “Carys told me Lexie ‘fetched them’ rather than ‘collected them’ from someone.”
“Bethan tells me that shed is very sturdy. Check the others on this patch of land. Most are in poor repair, or the owner substituted it for a robust plastic storage cabinet.”
“Kendall needed a place to keep something other than gardening tools,” said Luke.
“Something Lexie and Ivan wanted to keep from Sally,” said Gus.
“Carys J
ones from the newsagents told me the dogs Lexie exercised in the park had to wear a muzzle. She also told me two rough-looking men watched while she exercised the dogs on more than one occasion.”
“Travellers?” said Gus.
“Maybe,” said Luke. “Carys said they never came into the village itself. She only saw them on the outskirts, in wide-open places like the park and its football pitches.”
“That’s where we need to go next then, Luke,” said Gus. “Let’s get back to the car.”
Luke drove them out to Ivor Park. Gus imagined that as it was a Friday afternoon in mid-summer, the only thing they’d find on the football pitches were daisies. Luke parked alongside three other cars, and Gus could see several grown-ups coaching junior boys and girls in different parts of the park.
“Another example of what a thriving community they have here, Luke,” said Gus.
“You haven’t mentioned Ieuan Arlett, guv,” said Luke. “How did he respond to your question about Ivan’s allotment?”
“Arlett swore blind he’d never known that Kendall was over the other side of the hedge. I don’t say I believe him, mind, but what can we do now?”
“Mrs Lewis gave you something more useful, guv,” said Luke.
“That shed do you mean?” said Gus. “Yes, that ties in with what you learned from the corner shop you visited. Bethan gave me tips on how to improve my rhubarb crop too. So, it’s been a good day so far.”
“I gave the other shops on the list a miss, guv,” said Luke. “I thought you’d want to visit this park sooner rather than later after what Carys told me. I can call in on them later this afternoon if you think it’s necessary.”
“Let’s have a word with the adults standing on the side of the pitches first,” said Gus. “I wonder whether anything went missing from here while that rough-looking pair your shop girl mentioned were in the vicinity.”
“Four years ago, guv?” said Luke. “These two might have been playing then, not coaching.”
“Harsh,” said Gus. “What are they, in their late thirties, early forties?”
They could hear a tall, dark-haired man shouting as they got closer to the pitch. Gus wondered why the young girls, who looked nine or ten years old, gave up an afternoon playing computer games to have someone yell at them.
