Dead Reckoning: The Freeman Files Series: Book 14

by Ted Tayler

  “We know how wealthy Guthrie was, but where did he keep his savings? Would it have a detrimental effect on Vickers if Guthrie moved his account elsewhere?”

  “A rural branch might close if it lost a major account, I suppose,” said Neil. “Banks, post offices and building societies close branches every week. The aim is to force everyone online. So, Dave Vickers, in his early fifties and single, had a motive. Guthrie could cost him his job.”

  “Set aside the fact he couldn’t have reached the farm before midnight,” said Lydia. “What did the other comment mean? Who did Vickers loan money to that caused a problem for Guthrie?”

  “Gus can ask Vickers that question when he sees him,” said Luke. “I’ve done the maths, Neil. At ten miles an hour, a vehicle would cover sixty yards in fifteen seconds. So it was one minute from the junction to the garage in those conditions. As Lydia said, we need to find someone who could have been close to the mudroom door at ten thirty-five.”

  “That rules out everyone Porter and Coleman interviewed,” said Alex, “unless Guthrie arrived later.”

  “The autopsy confirmed the provisional time of death given by the paramedic. Kendal Guthrie died no later than eleven o’clock,” said Luke. “The window of opportunity was twenty-five minutes, and no more.”

  In Winterslow, Blessing and Gus prepared to leave Maxine and little Olly. The snuffles had become more frequent and turned to plaintive cries. Olly was hungry.

  “Do you want to meet him?” asked Maxine.

  “Yes, please,” said Blessing.

  Gus studied the scene as Blessing oohed and aahed at the infant when Maxine carried him through to the kitchen from the conservatory. One minute, Olly was desperate for his mother’s breast; now, he was content to allow a stranger to fuss over him. It felt strange to Gus. If Tess had ever been like Blessing, it must have happened when he wasn’t around. Still, it was something to look forward to, and no doubt it would be different when it was his child.

  “Where are you off to next, Gus?” asked Maxine.

  “We hoped to speak to Keith Porter, but he’s giving evidence in court.”

  “He’ll be at the Law Courts on Wilton Road,” said Maxine. “If you drive there now, there’s a good chance you’ll catch him in the lunchtime recess. Even if he’s given his evidence this morning, the Keith I worked with will stay until he’s filled his face. He likes to make a day of things, to reduce the time he has to work.”

  Blessing dragged herself away from Olly and tried Keith Porter’s mobile. Gus made his way to the front door as Maxine prepared to feed her son.

  “Just close the door behind you on the way out,” she called. “Good luck.”

  “Good to see you again, Maxine,” said Gus. “Many thanks for your help.”

  Gus stepped outside the house and closed the front door.

  “DI Porter will wait for us at the Law Courts, guv,” said Blessing.

  “I was more familiar with the old courts,” said Gus. “This combined building opened ten years ago and saw the closure of smaller buildings in the county. Such as the one in Devizes, around the corner from the brewery. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  They found Keith Porter lounging in the sunshine outside the modern building.

  “How’s the case going, Keith?” asked Gus.

  “Oh, it is you, Gus,” said Keith. “I wasn’t sure when your sergeant called. I can’t think what possessed you to come out of retirement. The sooner I can hand in my warrant card, the better. The evidence we put together for the CPS should have guaranteed a positive result, but you know how these things go. That judge hasn’t given anyone a custodial sentence in three years. We’re pushing the proverbial uphill. What did you need me for?”

  “Kendal Guthrie?” said Gus. “We’ve spoken to Wade Pinnock, and he made two observations we can’t see in the murder file. Maybe he forgot to mention it at the time, or he could have polished the story to make it appear more exciting than it was.”

  “I wasn’t happy making a public appeal in the first place,” moaned Keith. “Wade was the only sensible reply we got. What did he say that was different to the tale he told Maxine and me?”

  Gus took Keith Porter through the same process as he’d done with Maxine Devereux.

  Keith made the same comments as his former colleague. When they spoke, Wade had made it sound as if Alf Collett had just realised he was waiting for a drink and stopped chatting to serve him. As for Rosie Ritchens, Keith was unaware why Collett, Thornton, and Wallington should have had an issue with the young barmaid and vice versa.

  “Do you ever see Maxine these days, Keith?” asked Gus.

  “I’ve not seen Max for a couple of years. Why?” replied Keith.

  “We just came from her house. You both remember Wade’s story the same way.”

  “We were an excellent team,” said Keith.

  “Have you had any thoughts in the past three years on the Guthrie case?” asked Gus.

  “Despite the rumours, I care about the ones that get away,” said Keith. “I put those cases in a box and close the lid to clear my mind for the next case that drops in my lap. What people at work don’t realise is that lid doesn’t prevent the victims coming back to haunt me.”

  “What made you call Traffic that afternoon to get Wes Guthrie stopped on his way home?”

  “The family name, his attitude when we arrived, I was hoping for a quiet afternoon; take your pick. If I’m honest, the main reason was I wanted it to be him, but the longer we were there, the less likely it became.”

  “Did you ever have a gut feeling for who it was, later, sir?” asked Blessing.

  “We couldn’t see the wood for the trees,” said Keith. “There was a queue a mile long of people glad to see Kendal Guthrie dead. Could we put any of them at the murder scene? Could we heck. It would be great to put possible names in a hat and draw out the unlucky winner. Knowing my luck, we would have had this judge on the bench when it got to court, and the killer would have got community service.”

  Gus decided he shouldn’t expose Blessing to any more of Keith Porter’s cynical view of life as a modern detective. It was bad, but it wasn’t all bad.

  “Do you think something we learned this morning will prove vital in solving the case, guv,” said Blessing, as they drove away from the Law Courts.

  “The case pulls you one way, then another piece of the jigsaw pulls you in the opposite direction,” said Gus. “Let’s see what the rest of the team achieved in our absence.”

  An hour later, they were in the lift heading for the first floor of the Old Police Station office.

  “Welcome back, guv,” said Neil. “Get a load of our wall art. We have several questions for you.”

  “Or did you solve the case already?” asked Lydia.

  “Coffee, black without,” said Gus, “and whatever Blessing’s having.”

  “Leave it to me, guv,” said Neil.

  “A tough morning, guv?” asked Alex.

  “A frustrating one, Alex. I thought I had something yesterday, but it’s gone again today.”

  Gus walked to the back of the room, studied the first map, and then switched to the second map with the highlighted farms.

  “Good work,” he said. “Now, I need to find out how to use these maps to solve this case. What else did you do?”

  “We phoned Millie Guthrie,” said Luke. “Millie reverted to her maiden name of Newsom after the divorce. She confirmed Wes left home between twelve-thirty and twelve forty-five on Saturday afternoon. Wes would have reached Glenhead Farm fifteen minutes later. We know he tried the front door, called his father’s mobile, and then searched the house. Wes found his father in the last room he looked in, namely the mudroom. A 999 emergency operator logged his call at one fourteen. The same operator received a message informing them the paramedics arrived at Glenhead Farm at one twenty-eight. The uniformed officers had come up the lane one minute earlier. DI Porter and DS Coleman arrived at five minutes to two.”
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  “We discussed various scenarios,” said Neil. “Such as whether Wes had time to tidy the scene, removing any evidence of a contract killing. Although the timings aren’t a perfect fit, they don’t give enough scope for Wes to have been involved.”

  “Millie Newsom confirmed the lane from the road to the farm was full of potholes and ruts,” said Luke. “Kendal stopped maintaining it after his wife died.”

  “The chances of someone driving up the lane unnoticed behind Kendal Guthrie get slimmer by the minute,” said Gus.

  “Yes, guv,” said Neil.

  “Millie spoke to the landlord of the pub in Winterbourne Stoke village, guv,” said Luke. “He remembered Wes leaving at one minute before eleven on Friday night. Wes and his mates were noisy and well on the way to getting drunk. He was on the verge of chucking them out.”

  “When did this conversation take place?” asked Gus.

  “Millie had a party to celebrate the divorce, guv. So, after the time Porter and Coleman spoke to her.”

  “I found a note in the murder file saying they couldn’t interview the landlord in February, guv,” said Lydia. “He was on holiday in Tenerife, and they’d spoken with John Goodwin and Chris Barton to check Wes’s alibi already.”

  “The most interesting comment came from Millie when we asked who she thought killed her father-in-law and why, guv,” said Alex. “Millie said it had to be money. Everything was about money in Kendal’s life, but there were too many to choose from.”

  “What did Sarah Saunders and Zak Drake say?” asked Gus.

  “I haven’t got hold of them yet, guv,” said Luke. “We know the time each of the emergency services arrived on Saturday afternoon from the 999 emergency logs. Did you have other questions for them?”

  “Nothing that comes to mind at present, Luke,” said Gus. “How’s my schedule looking for tomorrow?”

  “Helen Guthrie, first thing, guv, at half-past nine, followed by Dave Vickers at eleven. After lunch, Oscar Wallington’s free to speak to you. I haven’t heard from London Road yet regarding the Algarve trip.”

  “Thanks, Luke. I suggest we spend what’s left of the afternoon updating our digital files and come back in the morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

  “Highlights, guv?” asked Neil.

  “Ah, Wade Pinnock, and the detective team. Blessing can run through the highlights with you while I chase Geoff Mercer at London Road. The same as you, we uncovered the odd fresh fact, but heaven knows what they mean.”

  Blessing did the honours, and everyone kept their heads down for the next two hours. Gus left the office at five o’clock and made his way home. Suzie was standing by her Golf when Gus swung the Focus through the gateway.

  “Why so glum, chum?” she asked. “Tough day?”

  “It had its moments,” he said. “What are your thoughts on breastfeeding?”

  “I’m all for it,” said Suzie. “Although, of the things I thought you were going to say, that was way down the list.”

  “We interviewed Maxine Devereux this morning,” said Gus, “and met Oliver, who’s four and a half months old. Blessing fell in love with him, and I have my doubts whether Maxine will return to work after her maternity leave. She would make an excellent DI.”

  “Did you get to hold the baby?” asked Suzie as they walked into the bungalow together.

  “Heavens, no,” said Gus. “I want our child to be the first.”

  Suzie stopped in the hallway and kissed him.

  “We’ll make an old romantic out of you yet, Gus Freeman.”

  “Not so much of the old, young lady,” he replied.

  “We can’t stand here all evening. Shower and change, then we’ll visit the allotment for an hour. I called the Lamb before I left work, and we’ve got a table in the beer garden with our name on it for half-past seven.”

  Suzie sat and watched Gus potter on his vegetable patch for an hour. She could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

  “Come on, spill the beans,” she said. “What is it about this case that’s bothering you?”

  “My gut instinct told me from the outset times, distances, and locations were vital elements in finding Guthrie’s killer,” said Gus. “The team completed the maps we discussed last night while Blessing and I were in Salisbury this morning. When I looked at them this afternoon, I couldn’t fathom how they helped. Based on the reports in the murder file, everyone tagged Kendal Guthrie as a man obsessed with money. Someone who flaunted his wealth antagonised everyone he met and used the money he’d earned to the detriment of many. The word charitable wasn’t in his vocabulary. Even Millie Newsom, that’s Wes Guthrie’s ex-wife, by the way, was adamant the motive had to be money. Millie believed we should search for someone Guthrie did business with that cost them a fortune, their livelihood, even their home. Porter and Coleman interviewed every farmer my team included on their map. Some suffered financial hardship because of Guthrie, but there wasn’t one person who could have been at Glenhead Farm on the night of the murder. We seem to be hunting a ghost.”

  “Who else did you see today?” asked Suzie.

  “Keith Porter, who was negative and cynical, as always. He can’t wait to retire. He’s got a decade to go before he qualifies. Do we want him moping around at Bourne Hill for that length of time? Wade Pinnock, the public-spirited young man who responded to the public appeal, gave us the few scraps of information that might point us in the right direction.”

  “Did he offer something new?”

  “Hard to tell after three years,” said Gus. “He was nineteen when he called in with his evidence. He’s still wet behind the ears, but this morning he added two insights that could blow the case wide open. Can we believe him without hearing the same thing from someone else who was there on Saturday night?”

  “What did he say?” asked Suzie.

  “He hinted Alf Collett, and maybe others had something to hide. Did Alf genuinely miss the fact a customer was waiting to get served? Or did he want to be rid of Wade in case he heard too much of the previous night’s events?”

  “What could that mean?” asked Suzie.

  “Who knows?” said Gus. “You’ll understand the difficulty when you hear the second thing. Wade reckoned Rosie, the barmaid, looked distracted when she was clearing tables later in the evening. Wade said she appeared troubled, and three men at the bar were staring in her direction. They were the landlord, Jim Thornton, and probably Oscar Wallington. That same group had stared at Wade and his girlfriend earlier and made them feel uncomfortable. The couple never returned to the Traveller’s Rest.”

  “The difficulty is that Rosie and Jim are dead,” said Suzie. “The landlord is in Portugal, and if those three men had a secret, they’re unlikely to corroborate anything Wade said.”

  “Exactly,” said Gus. “Plus, if money was the motivator, how could either of those men have had dealings with Guthrie that didn’t come to light in the first investigation?”

  “Who’s next on your list?” asked Suzie.

  “Helen Guthrie, Dave Vickers, and Oscar Wallington,” said Gus.

  “If Vickers wasn’t in the pub on Saturday night, he’s the one I would target for details of the conversations between the others and Kendal Guthrie. How did Keith and Maxine tackle this issue on the first occasion?”

  “You might be onto something there, Suzie,” said Gus. “Vickers said Kendal had a dig at each of them. He made sexist remarks to Rosie, and he accused Alf of having an affair with his last barmaid. Kendal suggested Oscar Wallington should steal from his employer as if Kendal knew Oscar was capable. He told Jim Thornton he could be out of house and home in months. Kendal blamed Vickers for low savings rates on his money. It was superficial, but Porter and Coleman didn’t delve deeper.”

  “Vickers cycled to and from the pub,” said Suzie. “He wasn’t the killer. The other three could have had something to hide. Perhaps the only person still around who can unlock that secret is Dave Vickers.”

  “You realise
what you’re saying?” said Gus.

  “One of those three men killed Guthrie,” said Suzie.

  “If Wade Pinnock’s insight concerning Rosie was right, she could have suspected that was the case as early as Saturday evening.”

  “Wade said all three were staring at her, Gus,” said Suzie. “Does that mean they were in it together?”

  “Let’s not jump to that conclusion until I’ve spoken to Dave Vickers. Neither man had enough motive to kill Kendal Guthrie, based on the evidence uncovered. Porter and Coleman didn’t get the opportunity to check what time Jim Thornton arrived home. The Traveller’s Rest wasn’t on their radar until Wade Pinnock called in three weeks after the murder. Jim’s wife had been buried before they got to speak to him. Wallington’s interview was also delayed, and his wife and children were on a half-term holiday from the thirteenth of February. Nobody could check what time he got home. With Alf Collett’s wife confined to her bed, he simply maintained she would have known if he’d gone out that night. His garage was right below the bedroom window. Even if all three men had a reason to lie to the police, we’ve got a map on the wall in the office that shows none of them could get to Glenhead Farm and kill Guthrie. Millie Newsom told Luke this afternoon that the lane was passable with care, especially on a night such as that. No way could anyone have reached the farmhouse without alerting the victim.”

  “The killer got there earlier and lay in wait,” said Suzie. “A killer with a solid motive for wanting Guthrie dead. Unless Dave Vickers blows that theory out of the water, it means you’ve not got a single name in the frame.”

  “It’s not very often you’re wrong, but you’re right again,” said Gus. “Let’s wrap this up and get into the Lamb for a bite to eat.”

  Wednesday, 29th August 2018

  Gus and Suzie left the bungalow at eight-thirty. Gus had kept tossing and turning last night, trying to think what they were missing. Suzie’s sleep suffered as a result, but she knew Gus would get there in the end.

  “Are you driving direct to Durrington?”

  “Yes, Helen’s ‘first thing’ was half-past nine. If she were a true farmer’s daughter, I would have had to catch her at six, no doubt.”