Murder Most Frequent: three more Inspector Constable mysteries (The Inspector Constable Murder Mysteries Book 5)

by Roger Keevil

  *

  Sunday was a perfect late spring morning. The sun shone, the air felt crisp and clear, and the foliage on the trees was at its freshest and greenest, with only the oaks dotted along the hedgerows displaying their usual tendency to lag behind their fellows. Rex Hope closed the door of Lombard Cottage behind him and started across the green towards the Three Blind Mice, arriving just as Mark Lowe jogged into sight around the corner of School Lane.

  “Morning, Mark. You made it, then?”

  “Course I did,” replied the younger man. “Can't really say 'no' when Penny issues her orders, can we? It's jump to it, or take the consequences.”

  “You'd better not say that too loudly,” cautioned Rex. “You never know, Bob might be listening, and I don't think he'd take it too kindly if he thought you were taking the mickey. You might get a smack.”

  “Yeah,” grinned Mark, “but he'd have to catch me first, and that's not likely, is it? Anyway, where is the lovely team captain? She said half past ten, and ...” Distant chimes wafted on the air. “... there goes the church clock.”

  As if on cue, the front door of the inn opened, and Penny Farmer emerged, with Sam Booker in tow. In complete contrast to the nondescript T-shirts, loose jogging bottoms, and admittedly grimy trainers of the three men, Penny was decked out in the pristine kit of a participant in an exercise video. Pink stretch fabric accented the generous curves and trim waistline of her figure, purple leg-warmers drew the eye down towards shiny silver shoes bearing an extremely prestigious sporting logo, and her long blonde hair was tamed by a neat matching headband. “Hello, boys,” she cried gaily. “Still up for it, are we all?”

  “Of course,” replied Rex a little stiffly. “In fact, we were just about to start wondering where you were.”

  “Oh, I was just sorting one or two things out with the kitchen staff for lunchtime,” explained Penny airily. “But I'm sure Margaret and Sue will have everything under control. It's only the usual carvery. And then, look, Sam came over a bit early so he could help me finish getting the bar ready so I wouldn't be late. Wasn't that sweet?” She bestowed a beaming smile on the barman, who blushed faintly.

  “And speaking of being late, shouldn't we get on?” suggested Mark. “Otherwise it'll be teatime, never mind lunchtime. Now, the thing is, Rex,” he continued, with a sideways glance at the other man and a consciously straight face, “do you want the rest of us to give you a bit of a head start? Being the much older guy, and all that.”

  “Bloody cheek,” retorted Rex. “I'd back my 40-odd against your 30-odd any day. All you do is sit around all the time teaching boring subjects to a load of truculent school-kids. At least I go down to the gym after work every day.”

  “Yes, well, you'd need to,” smiled Mark. “I can imagine the tremendous strain it must be on your muscles, lifting millions of pounds from one account to another, or whatever it is you do in that City tower of yours. I bet the shareholders of your bank think it's money well spent.”

  “Come on, boys, enough of that,” chided Penny. “We're all meant to be on the same team – well, three of us will be, anyway. Let's see what happens. Now, what I suggest is, we do a couple of gentle circuits to warm up, then we'll take a little break to see how we feel, and then we'll go really seriously at the last three. How does that sound?”

  “Fine by me,” said Mark.

  “Sam?”

  “Yes, that sounds okay to me.” Sam shrugged his way into his small backpack. “Oh … hang on. I forgot to top up my water bottle. Shan't be a sec.” He darted back into the building.

  “Well, whatever we do, I reckon we ought to get on with it,” proposed Rex. “Because don't look now, but Bob is starting to glare at us out of the window.” Surreptitious glances proved the truth of his words. “So if you're all ready – catch me if you can!” As Sam re-emerged from the inn, Rex started off at a vigorous pace, leaving the other three scampering to catch up.

  On the picnic benches on the flower-tub-decked forecourt of the Sword and Dagger, the four sat gently allowing their breathing to return to normal, Rex making strenuous efforts to disguise the fact that for him the process was taking markedly longer than for his companions.

  “Half-way, boys,” said Penny. “How are we feeling?” She was greeted with a chorus of 'fine' and 'couldn't be better'. “Good. Then let's make it a real race for the second half. Otherwise I just don't know how I'm supposed to choose between you. So, let's say that the first two back to the Mice are in the team, and the last one can be the reserve. Is that fair?” She smiled winningly at the three men.

  “Brilliant idea,” said Rex, just as a young woman appeared at the door of the Sword and Dagger. “Ah … Anna! Perfect timing. You're just the girl I need. Who says there's never a gorgeous barmaid about when you want one?”

  “Good morning, everyone,” said the new arrival. She looked to be around twenty, with elfin features and long dark hair. “Did you want something?”

  “That's the sort of question can get a girl into trouble,” smiled Rex. “Now, as you can see from this extremely flattering rig I'm wearing, Penny has got us all in training for this run next week. And I don't know about the others, but I for one could do with a shot of caffeine to fortify me for the rigours to come. How about the rest of you? My treat.” He reached into his bum-bag for his wallet.

  Anna looked at her watch. “I shouldn't really,” she said. “We don't actually open until eleven.”

  “Oh, come on,” coaxed Rex. “It's almost that now. I'm sure Addy would stretch a point. Where is she, anyway?”

  “Out the back checking on the latest batch of Old Foozler.”

  “Well then … what the eye doesn't see, and all that. We'll be gone before she knows it. So, double espresso for me – what about you, Penny?”

  “I don't know … we really ought to get on. And I do have to get back to Bob, because … you know ...”

  “We do,” chuckled Rex. “Mark?”

  “Thanks, but I'm with Penny. And I'm not really an elevenses person.”

  “I expect you'll have one though, won't you, Sam?” asked Anna, smiling shyly at the young barman.

  “Er … thanks, Anna, but not for me. I'll just stick to my water.” Colouring slightly, he fumbled with the fastenings on his backpack and busied himself extracting a water bottle from it.

  “Just me, then,” shrugged Rex. “Look, don't worry if the three of you want to get on. I'll just have my coffee, and then I bet I'll catch the rest of you up easily. You know, hare and tortoise stuff. Anyway,” he lowered his voice conspiratorially, “I want to pick Anna's brains on the sly about team tactics.” He winked. “I dare say you're on the Dagger's team for the run, aren't you, Anna?”

  “That's right. Addy, me, and Barbara.”

  “Bloody hell! You've got the real professionals, haven't you?” groaned Rex. “I can see I'm going to have to worm my way into your confidence in the hope of nobbling your whole enterprise.” He turned to Penny. “I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I'm prepared to make on your behalf, captain. I shall expect my reward, you know.”

  Mark, impatient, got to his feet. “Look, you can muck about all you want. I'm more interested in winning this thing. So shall we make a move, before we all seize up completely?”

  Rex waved a hand. “Go. You never know, I may still be here next time you come past. And I bet I'll still beat you to the prize.” There seemed to be an underlying challenge in his words. “Oh, don't worry – I'm kidding. I'll be along like a rocket as soon as I've gulped down my coffee.”

  “All right then.” Penny stood briskly. “We'll see you in a minute.” She set off up the lane alongside the pub towards the church tower, the other two men in her wake, as Anna made her way into the bar, leaving Rex lounging on his bench. After a moment, he rose to follow Anna.

  *

  The body lay sprawled on its face in the undergrowth just at the side of the path, some hundred yards into the wood. Vividly-striped plastic tape ran from tree
to tree, cordoning off the area where the police doctor crouched, watched by his two detective colleagues.

  “No mystery here, gentlemen,” said the doctor. “Neatly stabbed in the back. One blow. Largeish blade with a single edge, as far as I can judge – I'll let you have best estimate of dimensions once I've had a chance to rootle about inside him back at the lab, just in case you find it's relevant. Not much blood, and from the position of the wound, the knife looks as if it went straight to the heart of the matter, so to speak. Probably dead before he hit the ground.”

  “And left to lie where he fell, by the look of it,” commented Detective Inspector Andy Constable.

  “No drag marks, guv,” confirmed Detective Sergeant Dave Copper. “I noticed that when I got here. And that's exactly how he was found, according to Mrs. Farmer – that's the woman who found him.” He nodded in the direction of a tree some twenty yards away, where Penny Farmer stood wrapped in a blanket, a tearful expression on her face, with Mark Lowe and Sam Booker in uneasy attendance. “Tripped over him, by all accounts.”

  “And do we know who he is?”

  “We do, sir. Gentleman named Rex Hope, resident of Blaston Dammett, according to the driving licence in his wallet. But those three knew him anyway. Apparently they were all out on some sort of training run together. Something to do with the village pub – she's the landlord's wife.”

  “Right.” Constable rubbed his hands together, thought for a moment, and then began to issue brisk orders. “Doc, feel free to take the late Mr. Hope away and do your necessary. SOCO, by the look of it, have their search of the area well in hand.” He glanced towards the several overalled individuals who were carefully picking their way through the undergrowth within and beyond the cordoned area, some on their hands and knees as they examined the contents of the leaf litter. “And I'll have a word with Mrs. Farmer and the others – although on reflection, perhaps here is not the best place to do it.”

  “Her pub, sir?” suggested Copper hopefully. “It's just at the top end of the village.”

  “Know it, do you?”

  “I've been there once or twice. Not for ages, though.”

  “Good plan. Okay, so if you can pour those three into your car and take them up there, I'll follow behind you.”

  “Righty-ho, guv.” Copper headed towards the disconsolate group of runners as Constable stood for a few moments gazing at Rex Hope's body reflectively, before turning and following in his junior's footsteps.

  The car park of the Three Blind Mice was already fairly busy as the detectives parked their cars alongside one another. Bob Farmer appeared almost immediately in the doorway and hurried down the steps to take his wife into an enveloping embrace.

  “Penny, are you all right? I've been worried to death. You were gone forever, and then when I heard the sirens go past I thought something terrible had happened.”

  His wife looked up at him, a tremulous attempt at a smile on her face as she blinked away returning tears. “I'm fine, Bob. It's not me – it's Rex. He's dead.”

  “What! Why, what happened?”

  Andy Constable intervened. “That is what we're here to find out, sir. Do I take it that you're Mrs. Farmer's husband?”

  “That's right. Bob Farmer.”

  The inspector delved into a pocket for his warrant card. “I'm Detective Inspector Constable, sir – this is my colleague Detective Sergeant Copper. And yes, I'm afraid that what your wife says is true – Mr. Rex Hope is dead.”

  “You mean … some sort of an accident?”

  “I'm afraid not, sir. He was killed.”

  “Oh my god. And … what … Penny, you were there?”

  “No, Bob. But I was the one who found him. It was awful ...” Penny seemed disposed to dissolve into tears once more.

  Constable took control. “Mr. Farmer, this is probably not the best place for this discussion. If I might suggest, is there somewhere more suitable indoors where we might continue …?”

  “Of course.” His arm still around his wife's shoulder, Bob climbed the steps and pushed open the door. A hum of conversation and the clink of cutlery could be heard from the bars on either side. “We'd better go upstairs. Our flat's up there – it'll be quieter.” He led the way up and into a spacious sitting room overlooking the car park and the fields at the rear of the property, followed by the two detectives who ushered Mark and Sam ahead of them. As the party seated themselves, Bob remained standing, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. “Inspector, I know it may sound bad, but do you need me for the moment? Only I've got nobody looking after the bar downstairs. What with my barman being involved, by the look of things.” The glance he gave to Sam Booker was not altogether friendly. “That's if you're all right, darling?” He bent down to Penny with a concerned look on his face.

  “I'll be fine, Bob,” she reassured him. “It was just … just the shock. But you go. I'm okay … honestly.”

  “Well … if you're sure.” With some reluctance, Bob left the room.

  As Dave Copper produced his notebook in response to a signal from his colleague, Andy Constable took a second to focus his thoughts. “Right, Mrs. Farmer. If you can tell me exactly what happened.”

  “All four of us were out for a run,” began Penny.

  “The four of you being …?” intervened Copper.

  “Myself, Rex, Mark, and Sam.”

  Copper looked interrogatively at the two men seated alongside one another on a sofa.

  “I'm Mark Lowe. I teach in the local school.”

  “I'm Sam Booker. Like Bob said, I work here as a barman.”

  “Full time?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you, gentlemen. Sorry to interrupt, sir. Do carry on.”

  “Thank you, sergeant. Most kind,” replied Constable, one eyebrow raised in gentle reproof. “Mrs. Farmer, you said you were out for a run …?”

  “Yes. We're training for the village fun run next week – and there's always a sort of competition between the two pubs.”

  “So you aren't the only pub in the village?”

  “Oh no. There's Addy's place, the Sword and Dagger, down at the other end.”

  “I'm sorry, I butted in. Please go on.”

  “The four of us started out, but there can only be three per team, so I decided that we would make today a sort of trials to see who else would be on the team with me.”

  “So you are part of the team?”

  “Yes. It's supposed to be the landlord, but Bob can't run since his accident, so I take his place. Anyway, we started out, and everything was fine, and we stopped for a little break outside the Dagger, halfway round, and then we carried on, but … but Rex said he wanted a quick coffee, and we decided not to wait and … he said he'd catch us up but …” Penny's hand went to her mouth, and her voice shook. “But he didn't. And then the three of us carried on together, and when we came past the Dagger again there was no sign of him, and then I put a bit of a spurt on just as I was coming into the woods so that the boys were a few yards behind me, and then ...” She burst into a flood of tears. “I just tripped over him. His foot was sticking out, and I tripped over him. I thought it must be a root or something. And I fell down, and when I looked … it was Rex!”

  Mark Lowe rose from his place, perched on the arm of Penny's armchair, and put a comforting arm around her. “I can tell you what happened next, inspector. Not that there's much to tell. It was just like Penny said. We weren't far behind her, and we saw her fall, so we sprinted to catch her up, and then saw Rex. I picked her up, and Sam had his phone with him, so he called the police.”

  “And did you see anyone else during all this?”

  “Not really, did we, Sam?”

  “No,” agreed Sam Booker. “Well, there were people going into church for the morning service, but apart from that, nobody.”

  “And the three of you were together all the time?”

  “Yes.”

  “Except for when you stopped to have a pee behind a tree,” put i
n Mark.

  “Well, yes,” said Sam, reddening slightly. “But that was way further on from the place we found Rex. And anyway, I caught you up before you got to the stile at the end of the woods. I could see you ahead of me all the way round.”

  Constable considered. “Right. I think that'll do for the moment. We'll take statements from you all later.” He addressed his junior. “Two things, Copper. First, we need to notify next of kin.” He turned back to the other three. “Do any of you know who that might be? Is there a Mrs. Hope?”

  “No,” answered Mark. “Rex wasn't married.”

  “Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Anyone special?”

  Mark smiled faintly. “No, I don't think so, inspector. Rex liked to spread himself around, as it were. As for family, I've no idea. Penny?”

  “No. He never said anything to me, apart from … well, you know what Rex was like.”

  “Maybe there'll be something at his house, sir,” said Copper. “We've got the address. And he had some keys in his bum-bag, so there's probably a house-key amongst them. I could take a look there if you like. What was the other thing?”

  “I want to set up an incident room in the village. It'll make it easier for interviewing people, rather than have them traipsing in to the station in town. Mrs. Farmer, I wouldn't want to impose, but is there by any chance a room here we might use – a function room, or something like that?”

  Penny shook her head. “Not really, inspector. There's only the skittle alley, and we had a leak last month and all the electrics are still out.”

  “How about the Old School?” suggested Mark.

  “Is that where you teach, sir? Not really suitable to have it in a school, I'm afraid.”

  Mark hastened to clarify. “No, it's the old village school, inspector. They don't use it as that any more. All the classes got transferred over to County High, which is where I teach. So then they put the village library into one of the old classrooms, and the other one is used for meetings and community stuff. How would that be?”