An Urgent Murder

by Alex Winchester

  Rising from the cane chair, he walked over to George’s chair, stood by it, and pressing a button sat in it as it descended. He found the trailing lead with the panic alarm button by the telephone where someone had moved it to: and tried to push it. Nothing happened, so he tried to push it again but the button was already pushed inside its plastic housing. Somebody had already pushed the button in and it could only be released with the correct small plastic key.

  John had already seen the key in the same saucer as the key to the box from the hole. He went straight to it, picked it up and then back to the panic alarm. It slotted home, and the button was released and returned to its armed position. John pushed it again, and felt it slide into its protective plastic sleeve. The alarm should have activated, but there was silence. Turning the plastic key again, the panic button released and resumed the armed position, and John removed the key and put it into his shirt pocket. Sitting back by the chess board, he felt happier about the enquiry now than he did when he first visited the bungalow.

  40

  Thursday 9th June 2011

  It couldn’t have been much after 2pm when Alison drove into the empty car park of the Murrell pub towards the end of the road just before the bridge at Barnham. When she followed him into the lounge bar, she was not in the least fazed by the land lady welcoming John like a long lost brother and pouring a pint without asking what he wanted. John introduced Alison to Merle who pulled a large wine glass out and filled it with white wine from a barrel and passed it to Alison. She didn’t normally drink at lunch time but thought it would be ungrateful to refuse. For about ten minutes, John and Merle discussed how to put the world to rights before John told her he needed a quiet place to chat to Alison about George’s murder. It had the desired effect of him asking her without her realising, what she knew and had heard about it. Merle knew very little, and it was obvious that she had heard nothing from her regular clientele. So John and Alison went out into the pub’s small beer garden for a chat.

  They sat either side of a rickety wooden table on benches that were fixed to it, and John told Alison of the alarm. She considered it for a few seconds and came to the same wrong conclusion as John; that George probably pushed it and it didn’t work. John looked hard at Alison and asked her what else she considered. Alison racked her brains, but could think of nothing else. He reminded her of the fact that he thought they were being watched, and asked her for her views, but she couldn’t come to any conclusion. Even when he reminded her that she had involuntarily shivered several times, she said she’d been doing it a lot lately and it was nothing of note. They discussed Dan and Chaplin at length, and decided that they were not involved in any way, but neither understood why there was a jar of poison but none of Dan’s packets of it in the shed. Neither could come to any conclusion about the gun.

  After leaving the pub, they made their way back to the Police Station and to the office. Paul and Doreen were engrossed with a standalone computer that had been linked to the internet at Paul’s insistence. Prodow was agreeing to every request presently and now Doreen was manipulating the internet with speed. They had found the web sites of the charities and the sort of work they did, and both had decided, although they mainly related to respiratory problems, smoking was not a major factor. Doreen was getting so interested in what was happening, that she had still got a few odd bits of typing to do, and hadn’t even considered getting her book out. Jimmy was only thirty minutes behind John and Alison, and all of them sat around Paul’s desk.

  Paul divulged that in the post that morning had been an envelope from the Cambridge Registry Office which contained two birth certificates, two death certificates and a marriage certificate. They all related to Molly and Edward Anderson, Jeffery Anderson’s parents. The accompanying letter explained that there was nothing really that could be established from the two witness’s names shown on the marriage certificate. A full search had been made by the Cambridge archivist to trace any record of Jeffery Archibald Anderson having been born, married or died without success. The letter went on to explain quite candidly that during the war years numerous offices housing relevant details were destroyed and the birth certificate in the hands of the Police was now a lone original. After due consideration and a confirmation phone call to Prodow, it appeared pointless to pursue their family lineage further.

  Jimmy confirmed that he had got ‘absolutely zip’ relating to the Newspaper and £1000. He really had no idea where to start. With Doreen, he had researched the rugby game and found nothing of note. They could only assume that the paper was available at the time when George needed it to prevent his chess board slipping. If it had any evidential value they were unable to establish it. Having checked back through some old bank statements of Armstrong, they could see that over a year he had withdrawn sufficient funds to live on and stash at least a grand away if he wanted. As to its purpose, they were at a loss and welcomed any suggestions. No one had any.

  Alison apologised profusely that she hadn’t followed up her phone contacts with the DWP and MOD as to the ID cards, and swore it would be the first thing on her agenda in the morning. Claiming she and John had been so busy during the day, it had completely slipped her mind.

  Feigning serious hurt, John begged her not to attempt to blame him for her complete and utter incompetence.

  Doreen and Paul took up the offensive by tutting as Jimmy sucked his teeth.

  John compounded the matter further by shaking his head and saying, “Dear oh dear” several times.

  She was annoyed and told them so which just made it worse.

  Eventually, Paul got the kettle out and started to make everyone tea and coffee, Alison taking coffee which she wanted black. Lunch time drinking was something she abhorred. It made one neglectful. Working with John seemed to make it obligatory. They discussed what they had learnt amongst themselves, each putting any ideas that came to mind before the others so it could be fully explored. Some were easily discounted, but other ideas were noted by Paul for further enquiries. Doreen was no longer backward in putting her ideas forward, and some were noted, and the others spotted that she was also very good at playing devil’s advocate. At about five, instead of making her normal swift get away, Doreen was still there arguing points, and Jimmy chided her that she would be late for her bus and her Mother’s set tea time.

  Paul apprised John and Alison that an alarm company was going to be at the bungalow the following day in the afternoon with Jimmy and if they wanted, they could pop along as well. He told them that he was also expecting some documents from Peckham library which may probably help them. He didn’t hold out much hope though. John suddenly got up and made his departure bounding down the stairs calling back to Alison that he would phone her in the morning, but didn’t say when. Alison watched him to his car and wondered what he was up to as it left the yard at speed. They all drifted away from the station going their separate ways.

  41

  Thursday 9th June 2011

  John’s old Vauxhall slid swiftly out of the yard and into the Chichester traffic and round into Avenue de Chartres. No hold up for the railway crossing which was a blessing as he wanted to get to Barnham well before dusk but was taking a longer different route to normal as a matter of precaution. He hadn’t seen the newish bronze coloured BMW join the traffic from the parking area by Chichester Basin just down from the Police Station entrance, but he soon noticed it holding station about a hundred yards behind him as he approached the roundabout at the top of West Street. John considered his options quite quickly and decided to keep going as planned and lose the BMW as soon as he could have a good look at the driver. He continued in the traffic round Chichester past the Fire Station and then past the entrances to St Richard’s Hospital. Traffic seemed to be getting heavy and the BMW made a bit of ground to close up on him. The driver of the BMW appeared to be lying back from the steering wheel giving very little away as John tried to see any features of him in his rear view mirrors.

  At the West
hampnett roundabout, John drove into the entrance to Sainsbury’s and then into the garage. Making for the middle petrol pump he watched as the BMW also pulled into the garage and went to a pump at the edge of the forecourt. The BMW could not get any further away if it tried as John had got the middle of the garage covered. Stepping out of his car, John slowly walked to the garage shop and watched the driver of the BMW alight and pick up a pump.

  It didn’t take John more than a second or two to commit the vehicle and then the driver’s foreign swarthy appearance to memory. His small frame and oval head with shaved hair and gratuitously black sunglasses presented the appearance of a thug which was probably what he wanted. After collecting some sandwiches and chocolate from the shop, John ambled back to his car, slid into the seat and without fixing his belt, drove rapidly out of the garage. The BMW did not follow as John accelerated quickly away and along the A27.

  It was still clear daylight when John parked amongst the other cars in the Murrell car park. Moving to the boot which was against the wall away from prying eyes, he opened it and foraged in a small bag taking a monocular and torch out. Shutting the boot gently, he took his old wax coat out of the back of his car, put it on and then slipped the two items into the pockets. Locking the car with the key in the driver’s door, he walked away briskly towards the bungalow of the person known to Police as George Armstrong.

  42

  Thursday 9th June 2011

  “Everything is ready as soon as you say the word. You were right: that oaf was a crap bouncer but a good builder. Your new man has given us ears, and he has eyes.”

  “Good. Hold off a little longer.”

  “We have set the room up. It’s comfy enough, but I wouldn’t want to stay there!”

  “Should hope not. Any other problems?”

  “The guy she works with is all over the place. I had a look at him.”

  “Did he see you?”

  “Not a chance. He’s an old, out of condition drunken copper. He can hardly walk.”

  “Can you get him out of the equation without upsetting anyone?”

  “Yeah. Couple of smacks should do it.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Always.”

  43

  Thursday 9th June 2011

  The footpath soon stopped on his side and he had to cross the road to follow his course. He didn’t like walking with his back to the traffic because anyone wanting to do him harm would not be seen coming. John had learnt this in his first year as a Policeman and hadn’t forgotten his tutor having to jump for cover as a car had tried to run him down. Every time he heard a vehicle approaching from behind, he made a swift backward glance checking for a BMW. In his right hand, he held a small pen like object which was a powerful red laser. Something he had learnt a lot later in his life was that if a sudden very thin bright red light was aimed at a person in a car, it had the effect of making them take immediate evasive action. Not that he had ever used the technique, but he had witnessed it work.

  He arrived at the drive entrance to the bungalow and stopped on the pavement. From his pocket, he retrieved the monocular, and placing it to his eye, scanned the higher branches of the visible trees in the garden. After four to five minutes he was happy to move a few yards into the drive. Looking carefully at every bush and piece of hedging before passing it or drawing level with it, and scanning with the monocular the trees as they became visible, he made very slow progress along the drive. Eventually, after what was close to three quarters of an hour, he was still only level with the mahonia and in clear sight of the actual bungalow. Again he scanned the trees, and checked the bushes and then stopped. Something wasn’t right. He knew he had seen something, and the hairs on the back of his neck were confirming it. His whole body seemed to be tingling.

  Practically jamming the monocular into his still slightly bloodshot eye, he searched the trees, then lowering the monocular, checked the bushes, and then it came to him. The monocular was lifted slowly back to his eye, and he looked up and across into a tall spruce which was practically in the centre of the garden. There was a bird box about fifteen feet up that faced the bungalow and was fixed onto the tree with cable ties. At the back of the tree was a very thin wire hanging down. He’d nearly missed it. An aerial. All the other bird boxes in the garden were at the most six feet off the ground. Whoever had put the one up in the spruce had needed a ladder and that meant it was out of normal reach of anyone, especially a disabled person.

  John knew he had found what he was looking for. Without passing the spruce, he went to the back of the tree and looked up. With the naked eye, the wire was hardly visible and just looked part of the fixing of the bird box itself. He knew then that the bird box probably housed a camera in it that would clearly see the drive by the left of the bungalow, the bungalow itself, and the approach to both the front and back doors. On the ground were two small indentations where the ladder had probably sunk slightly when the weight of a person had been on it. Returning to the pavement without having passed the spruce, John looked at the occasional drive entrances on the opposite side of the road as he walked, facing the oncoming traffic, back to the pub and then inside for a ‘livener’.

  By nine o’clock, John had imbibed more than a ‘livener’ and returned to his car. Even with a few drinks inside him, he was cautious and checked around for any signs of the BMW, or anything else suspicious for that matter. He was happy and got in and drove slowly in the fading light to an entrance he had seen about 200 yards before that of the bungalow on the opposite side of the road. The road was empty of traffic as John reversed into the drive and into a small open barn where he killed the engine and pushed a couple of rocker switches on the dashboard.

  Getting out he went to the boot, and from his bag, took out a six inch long spike with a small round top which resembled a big nail, and after securing the car, went back to the spruce without passing it. Moving to the side furthest from the drive, and about a yard from the base of the tree, he drove the spike into the ground. It stuck up out of the ground three inches. Standing over the spike he put the heel of one hand flat on the head, and his other hand linked on top of it. Then like a polar bear trying to break through ice, he slightly lifted his body and then driving all his weight through his joined hands, forced the spike right into the ground. The circular head was practically concealed by the grass and John moved and coaxed the grass around it until it was completely hidden. Satisfied, he returned to his car.

  44

  Thursday 9th June 2011

  to

  Friday 10th June 2011

  John got into the front passenger side by opening the door with his key. No internal lights came on because he had disabled them earlier. Opening the glove box by using the radio button, he turned the Sat Nav screen to a very low light resolution, and manipulated a side control. The map showed the area that he was in with a gently pulsating green dot in the middle and a pulsating red dot appeared in the position of the spike. Turning another dial made the map a lot smaller covering a large area of southern England and John saw another green dot in the middle of Kent. There were some black dots also appearing which he ignored. He tapped his finger on the green dot in Kent, and the map switched to the local area just to the south of the village of Meopham with a green dot slowly pulsating in the middle of the screen with a small black number five in the middle of the dot.

  His index finger again touched the green dot and this time he held it there for a couple of seconds. A voice that appeared to be coming from somewhere below the dashboard said, “Hello Oscar. You’re showing green with a red overtone.”

  “Hello Ian. I’ve just laid a ‘trembler’ and am waiting for a visitor. You’re out late.”

  “Yeah, I’m checking some new kit to put into Alison’s car. Trouble with new cars like hers is they have computers in them which can bugger up our old stuff. Soon as it’s ready and tested, I’ll let you know so you can make arrangements with her.”

  John knew he would have to br
oach this with her quite soon but for the time being believed there was no immediate urgency. He didn’t know how wrong he was. Even as he was talking to Ian, there were eyes watching the front door of Alison’s flat.

  After a little further chit chat, John pulled his wax coat with its woollen fleece lining tightly around him as he snuggled down for the night. He could see the lights of passing traffic on the road, but could not make out the vehicles because he was too far away. The glove box had been pushed shut, but not closed, after the Sat Nav had been reset. There was a practically inaudible blip every minute which indicated that the ‘trembler’ was active but in sleep mode. If anyone walked within ten yards of it, they would wake it from resting and the blip would sound every five seconds. John had a couple of options if that happened. He could try to detain the person there and then, or follow them to an address. The latter was always his preferred method as normally more evidence could be obtained. John considered that as whoever had put the bird box up was obviously technically savvy, there was a lot more to this case than was previously believed.

  As the night wore on, John started to get tired as he watched the head lights of fewer and fewer vehicles travelling back and forth along the road. He slipped out of the passenger seat and away from his car to relieve himself of the previously consumed alcohol, and then regained his position in the passenger seat. A single set of headlights was approaching from Yapton, but very slowly. They slowed even more as they passed what John knew was about the front hedge of the bungalow. ‘Someone just being nosey’ thought John as the vehicle built up speed as it headed out of sight towards Barnham. Twelve minutes later, another set of headlights coming slowly along the road from Yapton again. John was starting to wake up a little and pay more attention as the vehicle practically stopped at the entrance to where the drive of the bungalow was and then accelerated off.