Playing At Murder (A Butterworth Mystery Book 1)

by Gillian Larkin

  Graham said, “I know where it is. What’s she doing up there?”

  “We’re going to tell you in a minute when Tina comes back.”

  Connie saw Tina coming in with a tray of tea things and moved forward to help her. The hot drinks were placed on a low table at the side of the room.

  Tina said, “I’ll let them cool down a bit. We don’t normally have hot drinks in here, not with the children running around.”

  Graham stuck his hand out. “I’ll have mine now.”

  Sable jiggled Tom on her lap. “No, you won’t. Not with Tom so near. You don’t want to scald him.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do in my own house! Who do you think you are? Coming in here and talking to me like I’m a piece of dirt! Tina, give me my cup.” He waved his hand at Tina.

  Tina gave him a stern look. “No, Graham. You know the rules when the children are around.”

  Graham sank back into the cushions and glowered at Tina.

  Tina snapped, “Don’t give me that look, Graham Dawson. And don’t talk to our visitors like that either.”

  Connie looked closer at Tina. This was a new side of her they were seeing.

  Tina gave her attention to Connie. “Can you tell me about Rachel, please?”

  “I can.” Connie told her about Rachel’s win, and the texts she’d sent Tina. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sable watching Graham’s face intently.

  When she’d finished talking, Tina said, “I never got those texts. And I certainly didn’t reply. I’d let you check my phone, but I can’t find it. It went missing a few days ago. I hope you haven’t been trying to contact me.”

  “We have,” Connie said. An idea came to her. She took out her phone and rang Tina’s mobile number.

  There was a faint musical sound. The three women and Tom turned in the direction the music was coming from.

  Graham Dawson let out a nervous laugh and reached into his pocket. “What’s your phone doing in my pocket? Tina, did you put it there? Was it one of the kids who put it there?”

  Tina’s fists clenched at her side. In a controlled voice, she said, “Graham, you know full well it was you who took my phone. I’ve been asking you about it for days. What are you playing at? How dare you take it? We’ve talked about your control issues before. Do we need to go back to marriage counselling? I’m fast losing my patience with you.”

  Graham’s face was a picture of misery as he held the phone out. He mumbled, “I’m sorry. I feel so left out of things round here. You never let me help. I thought if I took your phone away, you’d have more time for me.”

  Connie shifted in her seat. She didn’t want to get herself embroiled in marital issues.

  Sable had no such qualms. She said to Graham, “What a stupid thing to do! And you’ve caused everyone an incredible amount of trouble by keeping Rachel’s texts to yourself. Your wife has been worried sick about her. Well? What have you got to say for yourself?”

  Graham’s head lowered. “I’m sorry. Tina, you know I’m an idiot.”

  “We all know that,” Sable said.

  Graham added, “I’ve only had your phone these last two days. Rachel hasn’t sent you any texts. And if she had, I would have shown them to you. Honestly.” He gave the phone to Sable. “Check for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

  Sable said to Tina, “May I?”

  “Go ahead.” Tina folded her arms. “Graham, we will be having a serious conversation as soon as we’re alone.”

  Sable quickly checked Tina’s phone. Tom peered at it too. Sable said, “The last text from Rachel is from two weeks ago to remind you about Katie’s school play in case you don’t see the letter in Katie’s bag.”

  Tina smiled. “Rachel’s good at things like that. She always does more than is expected of her.” Her smile died as she glanced at her husband. “Which is more than I can say for some people. I’d better phone Rachel and explain everything.”

  Connie said, “I wouldn’t use your mobile phone.”

  “Why not?” Tina asked.

  “It seems that someone has been sending messages without your knowledge,” Connie said.

  “How can they do that?”

  Connie explained, “I saw this programme a few months back where a surveillance company hacked into someone’s phone. They were able to send messages remotely from that person’s phone without them ever knowing. It’s amazing what these people can hack into with only the smallest amount of personal information. They can get anywhere online.” She looked at Sable. “Including getting into someone’s Facebook account.”

  Graham tutted. “It’s despicable what some people do.”

  “Indeed,” Sable said. She put Tom on Graham’s lap and ran her hand down the toddler’s cheeks. “We have to go, little man. We’ll see you later.” She looked at Graham. “Perhaps you’d like to tell Tina about that email you sent to Connie the other day?”

  Sable stood up, walked over to Tina and gave her the phone. “You should change your number or SIM card. Or both. We’ve got some more investigating to do. We’re going to find out who’s been hacking your phone. If we can. We’ll see ourselves out.”

  Connie got to her feet. “Thank you for the tea. Sorry we didn’t get to drink it. We’ll speak again soon.”

  Tina said, “Thank you so much for all you’ve done. I’ll give Rachel a ring on the landline. What’s the name of her hotel?”

  Connie gave her the information she needed before following Sable to the car.

  When they were in the car, Sable rubbed her hands together and said, “This case just got more interesting. I’ve no idea how we’re going to find whoever’s hacked Tina’s phone, but I’m sure we can work it out. Your place or mine?”

  “Mine.” Connie frowned. “I know exactly where we should look for the hacker.”

  Chapter 12

  They went back to Connie’s house, and Sable made herself busy in the kitchen while Connie made some phone calls.

  Sable made them a tuna salad sandwich and a cup of tea each. When she entered the conservatory, she found Connie pacing up and down with her phone clamped to her ear. Sable put the food and drinks on the table, sat down and waited for Connie to finish her conversation.

  “Okay, thank you. Goodbye.” Connie put the phone on the table and sat opposite Sable. “I’ve got a lot to tell you. I’m not sure where to start.”

  “At the beginning.” Sable pushed the tuna sandwich towards her. “Have something to eat before you tell me.”

  Connie shook her head. “I don’t think I can. Not yet. My stomach feels queasy with what I’ve found out.”

  “Sounds ominous. I’ll eat while you talk.” Sable picked up her sandwich.

  Connie took a sip of tea before beginning. “I was on the phone to that soft play company. No, hang on a minute. Let me tell you who I phoned first. I spoke to Rachel Woods at the hotel. It took a while to get past that young man on reception, but when I told him I was working with you, he soon put me through.”

  Sable lowered her sandwich, tutted and then resumed eating.

  Connie said, “Rachel had just finished talking to Tina, and you’ll be glad to know Tina’s been in contact with one of Rachel’s childminder friends who’s able to take the children in.”

  “That is good news.”

  “I asked Rachel to forward that email to me; the one telling her she’d won the stay at the hotel. And I asked her about her back garden, and the work she was having done.” Connie paused. “She didn’t know anything about it. She’d never placed that order. She was upset and said she’d phone the company to find out what was going on. I said I’d do it for her as I wanted to speak to them anyway.”

  “This is getting stranger by the minute. What did the company have to say?”

  “Rachel’s order had been organised through email by someone called John Smith. I know; not an imaginative name. This John Smith said it was going to be a surprise for Rachel, and that the work had to be completed this week w
hile Rachel was away.”

  Sable frowned. “Didn’t the company tell you previously the work had been ordered months ago?”

  “They did. And they confirmed it again today. This John Smith person knew Rachel was going to be away this week and the next. It’s not a coincidence that she won that hotel stay. Somebody organised it for her. At great expense too.”

  “It sounds to me like someone wanted Rachel out of the way for a while. But why?”

  Connie sighed. “I think I know why. But I’ll need to check things online first.” She pulled her laptop towards her and opened it up.

  Sable stood up, moved around the table and sat next to Connie.

  Connie went to her emails and found the one Rachel had forwarded to her. She opened it.

  Sable read the contents and said, “It looks genuine enough. There’s even a website address at the bottom. Click on that.”

  Connie did so. A professional website appeared.

  “This looks vaguely familiar,” Connie said. She scrolled to the bottom and pointed at something. “Look, this tells you who designed this site.”

  Sable peered at the name. She frowned and looked at Connie. “Am I reading that right? Does it say ‘Swift-Higgins Solutions’?”

  “It does. As in Rachel’s neighbour, Adrian Higgins, and his missing partner, Joe Swift. Sable, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this company name.”

  Connie opened a new tab and opened another website.

  Sable’s mouth dropped open.

  Connie said, “It’s Rachel’s website. I had another look at it while you were in the kitchen, and before I spoke to Rachel. It was designed by Swift-Higgins Solutions. According to Rachel, they do the maintenance on it too. Which means they have access to Rachel’s details. Do you remember what I said earlier about that surveillance team? That they only needed a small amount of information to hack into a person’s life?”

  Sable slowly nodded. “I do. Do you think Adrian Higgins and Joe Swift have been hacking into Rachel’s phone?”

  “Yes. And from Rachel’s phone, they took control of Tina’s and sent messages to Rachel. I presume they immediately deleted them. Or whatever it is these people do.”

  Sable leant back in her chair. “This is a scary thought. How can this happen? How can people invade your privacy so easily?”

  Connie gave her a wry smile. “That’s the magic of the Internet for you.”

  “But why would Adrian and Joe go to all this trouble?”

  “Here comes the queasy part. They wanted Rachel away from her house this particular week. So they set up this hotel prize scam. Only it’s not a scam because the hotel has been paid for. Someone thought it was worth spending money to get Rachel out of the picture for a while. And they organised for that soft play company to come this week. Again, that must have cost quite a bit.”

  Sable said, “Joe and Adrian must make a lot of money from their businesses to afford all this. Mind you, we saw how much they were charging for their services.”

  “And don’t forget one of Joe’s services was cyber security which explains how Rachel’s phone was hacked so easily. And her Facebook page. I suspect Adrian knows all about cyber security too. There’s a reason why someone wanted Rachel out of the way. And it’s nothing to do with her as a person. It’s her garden. In particular, her back garden.”

  “Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

  Connie put her folded hands on the table. “From my years of watching mystery shows, one problem stands out for a murderer. Where do they put a murdered body so it won’t be found?”

  Sable gasped. “No! You can’t possibly be serious! No!”

  “I can’t think of any other explanation. When I spoke to the soft play company, they told me John Smith had been in touch a few days ago and asked if the work could be delayed for a short time. You saw the state of Rachel’s garden. It’s like a muddy field. It would be easy to dig down a bit, pop a body in, and then cover it up. In a day or two, a new surface would be laid. And, hey presto, the murdered body would never be found. Unless someone removed the surface some years down the line. By which time, Adrian Higgins would likely be living in another country.”

  “Adrian Higgins?”

  “Joe Swift has been reported as missing. He’ll never be heard of again, and people will assume he absconded successfully with Adrian’s money. Which is a lie because the money was never stolen. Adrian’s savvy enough to put the money somewhere it can’t be found. He’ll probably claim on his insurance too. Adrian’s been planning this for months. He’ll have every detail worked out. He ordered the work on Rachel’s garden months ago. He most likely sent nasty messages to her on Facebook causing her to close her account. Which he then got into. He arranged for her to go to Edinburgh. He killed Joe and reported him as missing. All he had to do then was get rid of his body. It’s perfect.”

  Sable said, “But why would he want to kill Joe Swift?”

  “Who knows? Professional differences? Or just plain greed.” Connie took a sip of her tea. “You’re not going to like this next bit. This is all theory on my part. We can’t go to the police with this. I could be entirely wrong. And it wouldn’t be a good way to start my investigating business if I dragged the police to Rachel’s garden and found nothing.”

  Sable stared at Connie. “You can’t be serious. Connie, think about this carefully.”

  Connie held her hands out. “What else can I do? I might need that sandwich after all. I’ll need to keep my strength up. You don’t have to come with me. I can do it on my own.”

  “No way. I don’t agree with what you’re going to do, but I understand the reasoning behind it.” Sable gave her a small smile. “We’re going to need some shovels.”

  Chapter 13

  “This is ridiculous!” Sable hissed a few hours later. “Why do we have to come out at this time of the night?”

  Connie whispered, “So no one can see us creeping along the street with shovels in our hands.”

  Sable pointed to the street lamps. “Anyone and his dog will be able to clearly see us tonight. And I’m not sure about these black clothes. We look suspicious. And we’re behaving in a suspicious manner. Connie, stop creeping along like that. Walk normally.”

  Connie straightened up. “You’re taking the fun out of this.”

  “Fun!” Sable shrieked. “What’s fun about sneaking into someone’s garden and looking for a dead body?”

  “That part won’t be fun. Bringing our first case to a conclusion will be fun.” Connie glanced at the house on their left. “There are no lights on in Adrian’s house. Perhaps he’s fled the country already. I wonder how he killed Joe?”

  “We’ll find out when we dig him up.” Sable stopped and put a hand on her stomach. “I hope he hasn’t been mutilated. Or decapitated.”

  Connie said, “We’re not going to dig him up fully. As soon as we spot a limb or any body part, I’ll phone Saffy. I could be wrong about all of this.”

  “I hope you are.”

  They headed into Rachel’s garden and walked down the side path. Connie opened the child-friendly gate, and they walked through.

  They both shivered as they surveyed the muddy area in front of them.

  Sable reached into her bag and took out a small torch. She aimed it around the garden and said, “Where do we start?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never gone looking for a buried body before. If you wanted to bury a body, where would be the best area?”

  “I suppose the middle makes sense. But that could be too obvious.” Sable switched the torch off. “We don’t need this. There’s a bit of light coming from other houses, and the moon is bright tonight. We’ll soon get accustomed to the darkness. I suppose we’d better make a start.”

  “Right. Yes.” Connie didn’t move.

  Sable didn’t either.

  They stared at the mud for a full minute.

  Connie said, “Why don’t we start in the middle and work together? There’s no point
you being at one end and me being at the other. Come on.”

  They walked into the centre of the garden.

  “I’m glad I found my old gardening boots,” Sable said.

  “I’m glad I found these old shovels,” Connie added.

  Sable swallowed. “I’ll be glad when this is over.”

  They stopped in the middle of the garden, gave each other a grim look, and then raised their shovels.

  They had been digging for thirty minutes when a red-faced Connie said to Sable, “Are we digging down far enough?”

  “I should think so. This would be deep enough to bury someone. Let’s move to the side a bit. There’s no sign of anyone in this area.”

  “Sable, this could be a complete waste of time. I’m so sorry. I don’t think Joe Swift has been buried in Rachel’s garden after all.”

  A light shone in their faces, blinding them.

  Adrian Higgins said coolly, “I buried him a bit further to the left. Good evening, ladies. What an unpleasant surprise.”

  Connie dropped her shovel and put her hand over her eyes. “Move that light! We can’t see.”

  The light moved to the left. Adrian said, “That’s where I buried him. You’re very near to where his head is.” He let out a soft sigh. “I knew you two were up to something when you came calling on me the other day. I knew straight away you were the interfering kind. I knew you’d come back. I’ve been watching you from my window and waiting for you to tire yourselves out.”

  Sable waved her shovel at him. “You won’t get away with this. We’re going to tell the police everything. We know exactly what you’ve done.”

  In a cold voice, Adrian said, “Don’t talk nonsense. You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Don’t you tell me what to do!” Sable made a move forward.

  Connie grabbed her arm and said in a low voice, “He’s got a gun. He’s pointing it at us.”

  Sable squinted in Adrian’s direction. She took a step back.

  Adrian waggled his gun in the air. “Well spotted. I haven’t got time for a long explanation. I’ve got a plane to catch. I’m not going to let two old cronies ruin my plans. Thanks for digging those holes. You’ve created the perfect burial spaces for yourselves. Lie down. I’ll shoot you in the head. It’ll be quicker than you suffocating to death.”