by John Holt
Kendall nodded. “I’m very pleased to hear that officer,” he said. “Incidentally, it’s Chief Inspector now. He was promoted a few months ago. He is now Chief Inspector.”
Donovan nodded. “He never said anything to me,” he replied. “I must send him an email, offering my congratulations.” He paused for a few moments, and ushered Kendall into the office. “Do sit down.” He pointed to a chair.
Kendall nodded and sat down.
“Can I get you anything?” Donovan asked. “Tea, or I guess you’d prefer coffee? I know what you Americans are like,” he stood up and walked over to the corner. “I could certainly use one.”
“A coffee sounds good,” Kendall replied. “No milk, and two sugars.” He idly wondered if there would be any chocolate cookies to go with it.
A few minutes later Donovan returned holding two mugs of steaming coffee. He handed one to Kendall. Sadly there were no signs of any cookies, chocolate or otherwise.
“So what can I do for you, sir?” Donovan asked.
“It’s about Brian Charters,” Kendall explained. “He is the Chief Inspector’s cousin, did you know that?”
Donovan nodded. “Oh yes, sir, he did mention that. His mother’s sister’s boy I understand.”
Kendall couldn’t remember the actual family detail. He wasn’t good at that sort of thing anyway, but it hardly mattered anyway. “Did he also mention that he didn’t actually believe that Mr. Charters had committed that murder?”
Once again Donovan nodded. “He did indeed, sir. In fact, he was quite strong in expressing his opinion,” he replied. “But the evidence says something quite different I’m afraid.”
“Perhaps we can take a look at that evidence, Constable,” Kendall replied. He took a drink. Pity there are no cookies, he thought. “So let’s see shall we,” he continued. “Getting back to the day of the murder, I understand that you were first on the scene. Is that correct?”
“That’s right, sir,” the Officer replied. “The ambulance was just a few minutes behind me.”
“Ambulance?” repeated Kendall. “Had you called for one?”
The Constable shook his head. “No, I hadn’t made the call, but clearly someone had, because there it was.”
“And you don’t know who,” Kendall said. “You’ve no idea.”
The Constable nodded in agreement.
It didn’t make sense. Something was clearly not right, but Kendall couldn’t put his finger on it. Someone calls for an ambulance, but obviously not the same person who called the police. Someone who must have seen the man struck down at the very least, but never came forward as a witness. Why not? Kendall decided to leave it for the time being.
“What made you go to the beach that evening anyway?” Kendall asked. “Was that part of your normal patrol?”
The police Constable shook his head. “Well I do check on the cove as part of my patrol, but not usually at that time of day,” he replied. “No, I went there because we had a call just a few minutes before seven.”
“Who from?” asked Kendall.
The Constable heaved a sigh. “Megan Duffy.” He paused for a moment and shook his head. “Strangely enough though, we had another call a few minutes after, but they never gave a name.”
“Man or woman?” asked Kendall.
“A man,” replied the Constable.
“Any accent?” Kendall asked. “Young or old? Deep voice? Can you remember anything? Anything at all.”
Donovan thought for a few moments. “Irish certainly, and I’d say middle aged. Maybe early forties. But I don’t know for sure.”
“You didn’t recognise the voice?” Kendall asked. “I mean he was probably someone local.”
Donovan shook his head. “No I never recognised the voice,” he replied. “But why do you think it was someone local?”
Kendall smiled. “Firstly, whoever it was, was down near the Cove, in the early evening. It’s not likely to have been a tourist that time of night I don’t think. More than likely they would be thinking about getting dinner somewhere.”
The Constable nodded. “And secondly?”
“Secondly, he knew your telephone number,” Kendall continued. “A stranger wouldn’t know that.”
Once again the Constable nodded. It made sense. “Well I certainly didn’t recognise the voice,” he said. “And I know everyone around here. He must have disguised his voice.”
“Perhaps he did,” Kendall agreed. “The question then, is why? Did he have something to hide? Why not just say this is so-and-so.”
The Constable simply shrugged and shook his head.
“Did he ask for you by name?” Kendall asked.
Donovan thought for a few moments, and then shook his head. “No, I don’t think he did,” he replied. “Why, is that important?”
Kendall sighed. “Maybe not, but it just would have been further proof that he was a local, that’s all,” he explained. “I wonder why he was being so secretive. Why didn’t he just say who he was?”
Donovan shook his head. “I never gave it any thought at the time,” he replied. “I should have.”
Something about spilled milk, and water under bridges, came into Kendall’s mind. “Not to worry, it’s too late now anyway.” He paused for a moment. Too late or not, it was still a question that needed an answer. “It’s just a bit odd that’s all.” He paused once again, wondering how on earth he would go about discovering the identity of the person who made that call three months previously. It wouldn’t be easy, although there were a few who could be eliminated straight away. Mulligan was way too old, so he could be crossed off. And so could the English guy, Mallory. Two down, he murmured. How many more to go?
“So what did he actually say?”
“Not much,” replied Donovan. “Just get to the cove quick, there was trouble, and then he hung up.” He paused for a moment and took a drink of coffee.
“He just said trouble, nothing more,” said Kendall. Not exactly earth shattering, he thought. “So what about Megan Duffy?”
“Oh, she’s a lovely lady. She lives in a small cottage down on the coast road. It’s not too far from the cove,” Donovan replied. “She was on her way home when she heard a noise. She looked down at the beach, and said that there was a struggle going on, and that we should get there fast.”
“She said a struggle?” repeated Kendall. “Her exact words?”
“That’s right,” the Constable agreed. “She said that there were two men arguing, and she was afraid someone would get hurt.”
“Did she describe them?” asked Kendall.
The officer shook his head. “No she didn’t, she couldn’t see them that clearly, but of course we know who the two men were.”
Kendall was far from convinced. “Did she actually say that she saw Brian Charters?”
The Constable shook his head. “Well, no she didn’t, but it was him alright. I saw him when I arrived at the beach.”
Kendall shook his head. Maybe, but was he there earlier, he wondered. When Mrs. Duffy was there. “Do you think she had called the ambulance?” he asked.
Donovan shook his head once again. “I don’t actually know, but I don’t think so.” he replied. “Is it important?”
Kendall smiled. Was it important? Of course it was important. “Maybe not,” he replied. “But it just seems strange that the ambulance arrived so quickly. A few minutes after you arrived you said.”
The officer nodded in agreement. “That’s right, but I doubt that it would have been Mrs. Duffy. I mean she just thought there was a struggle going on, a bit of an argument. Would she have thought an ambulance would be needed?”
Kendall shook his head. “No, I have to admit that I very much doubt that.” He paused for a moment. “And yet someone positively knew that an ambulance would be necessary, and made the call.”
“I’m afraid I’ve no idea about that Mr. Kendall,” the officer said. “I never gave it any thought. The ambulance just arrived, and that’s all I know.
It didn’t think it was that important.”
Kendall nodded. “Maybe, maybe not,” he replied. “But it seems to me that it means that there was at least one other witness that we know nothing about.”
“Maybe it was the same person who made that second phone call,” the Constable suggested.
“Maybe it was, maybe not,” said Kendall. “But the most important point is whoever it was must have seen the whole thing.”
The police officer nodded. “Yes, you’re right, I never thought of that.”
Kendall remained silent for a moment. “There was certainly another witness, but who?”
The Constable said nothing.
“Now what about this ambulance anyway,” Kendall continued.
“What do you mean?” asked the officer.
“Where did it actually come from?”
“There’s an ambulance station in the next village,” Donovan explained. “It’s about five miles away.”
“Five miles!” repeated Kendall. “That would take five minutes at least, probably nearer ten, and it arrived just after you.” He picked up his cup and drank the rest of his coffee. It was cold. “I’m guessing that the ambulance was called a long time before you were, at least five minutes before, or even ten.”
Donovan looked puzzled for a moment. “But that would mean ….”
“Precisely,” Kendall interrupted. “If I’m correct it would mean that the ambulance was called before Charters was actually around.” He paused for a moment. “And that would mean that Charters wasn’t involved in any fighting that went on.”
The officer nodded. It certainly made sense. “So if he wasn’t involved, are you saying that he didn’t commit the murder?”
Kendall shook his head. “It’s too early to say,” he replied. “But let’s just say I having some doubts.”
The Constable was clearly unsure what to say or do. “Shouldn’t I tell someone and have him released?”
Kendall shook his head once again. “As I said it’s too early. Besides they won’t let him go just on my say so, will they? I need to bring in the real murderer.”
Donovan nodded. “Guess you’re right,” he said.
“I am,” said Kendall. “If he is innocent then the guilty person is out there somewhere feeling quite safe. Let him continue to think so.”
Clearly the officer wasn’t convinced, but agreed. “Okay we’ll leave it,” he replied. “For now.”
“Good enough,” replied Kendall. “Let’s get on with what happened shall we. So you had a call, from Megan Duffy, and you made your way down to the cove, right.”
The Constable nodded his agreement.
“When you got there what did you find?”
“Mr. Charters,” the Constable replied. “He was just bending down close to the man’s body. There was blood everywhere, and he had a knife in his hand.”
Kendall nodded. “Right, and what about the other man, the victim?”
“Oh, he was quite dead, sir,” said Donovan.
“You checked the body,” Kendall asked.
The officer nodded. “He was quite dead,” he repeated.
“Okay, so what happened next?” asked Kendall.
“As I approached Mr. Charters, he stood up,” the Constable started to explain. “He turned to face me, and dropped the knife. I asked him his name. He just looked blank and shook his head. I said that I was arresting him on suspicion of murder. I warned him that he wasn’t obliged to say anything, but anything that he did say would ….”
“Did he say anything?” Kendall interrupted.
“He just shook his head once again, and said that he hadn’t done it,” replied the officer.
“What time was this?” asked Kendall.
The officer took out his notepad, and flipped the pages. “It was six minutes after seven, sir,” he replied and closed the pad. “I brought him back here, and put a call through to Cork, and they sent the forensic team. It was probably forty minutes before they arrived.”
“Were there any other witnesses?” Kendall asked. “Apart from our mystery one.”
The Constable shook his head. “Not to the actual murder I’m afraid,” he replied. “But Mrs. Mulvy said that she saw Charters a few minutes to seven. She was just coming out of Quinn’s store, and she saw Charters just crossing the road heading for the cove.”
“So clearly it wasn’t Charters who rang for the ambulance,” said Kendall.
“Right,” was the simple reply from Donovan.
Kendall was puzzled. “How does she know where he was going?” he asked.
The Constable smiled. “That’s easy. Charters took that same route every night, walking his dog, and always at about that time.”
“I see,” said Kendall. “How about a motive? I mean do you have any idea why he might have done it.”
“Oh yes sir, there was a motive alright,” replied the officer. “It were drugs.”
“Drugs?” repeated Kendall. “I don’t follow you.”
“Yes sir, we found some heroin at Mr. Charters’ house,” the officer explained.
“You found heroin at Charters home?” said Kendall in disbelief.
“That’s right, heroin,” replied the officer. “Two bags, of the finest quality.” He opened the folder on his desk, and took out a photograph. He slid it across the desk towards Kendall. “There you are.”
“You were expecting me weren’t you,” said Kendall.
The police officer nodded. “I told you I had a call from Inspector Whittaker.”
Kendall nodded. “No, I mean you were expecting me today, right now,” he said. He looked down at the folder. “File all ready, like that.”
“Oh, I see what you mean,” said the officer. “Oh yes, Mr. O’Rourke telephoned this morning. He said that you were on your way over. So I just got a few things ready.”
Kendall smiled. “That was very good of him wasn’t it?” he replied. “Incidentally, I don’t suppose it was him who made that second call to you, the night of the murder.”
Donovan started to laugh. “Oh no, it weren’t him, I’d recognise his accent anywhere. It’s very strong you see.”
“Right,” said Kendall, as he eliminated another possible from his list. He heaved a sigh, and turned to look at the photograph. “Interesting, very interesting, but they could have been planted couldn’t they?”
Officer Donovan said nothing.
“And only two packets, doesn’t seem right somehow,” Kendall continued. “I would have expected to see a lot more than that.”
“Perhaps they had been hidden somewhere,” Donovan suggested. “Or already out on the market.”
That was certainly possible, Kendall had to admit, but why still have two packages remaining. “Did you ask Charters about them?”
The Constable nodded. “Yes, we did,” he replied. “He just said that he knew nothing about them.”
“So what happened to him?” asked Kendall.
“I brought him back here as I said, and telephoned Cork,” Donovan replied. “A short time later Detectives Jameson and Murray arrived and took him into custody.”
Kendall nodded once again. “And do we know the time of death?
“The doctor said between five and seven, sir.”
“And the cause of death was?” asked Kendall.
“He was struck on the back of the head, and then stabbed several times,” said Donovan. “The stab wounds are clearly seen in the photographs.”
“Could I see them?” asked Kendall.
“Certainly,” replied Donovan. “Just a moment, I’ll get them for you.” He went over to the corner of the room to a filing cabinet. He opened the drawer and took out an envelope. He then returned to where Kendall was waiting.
“Here we are,” he said. “These first ones were taken at the scene.” He handed the first photograph to Kendall. It showed a man’s body lying on the beach, a few feet from the shore line. “That’s how we found him,” explained the officer. Donovan then pass
ed Kendall another half a dozen photographs, all showing the body from different angles. “Now, you see that one,” the Constable continued. “It clearly shows the stab wound, and the bruising at the back of the head.”
“Were there any other wounds?” Kendall asked.
“Nothing much,” said the officer. “A few bruises to his right leg, and his hand that’s about it.”
“Consistent with being involved in a fight,” suggested Kendall.
Donovan nodded his agreement. “I would say so.”
“Can you tell me anything else about the man?” Kendall asked, as he handed the photographs back to the officer.
“Not a lot I’m afraid,” replied Donovan. “His name was Abel Nadir, and we believe that he came from Turkey. At least that was the name on his papers. Aged thirty-four, again according to his papers, but as far as we can tell he was in the country illegally.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Kendall.
The officer opened a drawer to his desk, and took out a buff coloured folder. He opened it. “We have all of his papers here. There’s his passport, his birth certificate, his Employment Permit.” As he mentioned each item he withdrew it from the file and placed it onto the desk. “We even have a driver’s license, and a Bank of Ireland Credit card.”
The police officer smiled and shook his head. “All forgeries I’m afraid,” he continued. “Oh, they were certain good ones, and no mistake. Done by a real professional I’d say, but forgeries nonetheless.” He tapped the documents, he then collected them together and replaced them into the folder. “Oh no, there’s no doubt, our man was here illegally. Smuggled in without a doubt. And probably at great cost. Documents like those don’t come cheap.”
Kendall heaved a sigh. Things were beginning to get complex. On top of murder, there was now drugs, and illegal immigrants. “Anything else?” he asked.
The police officer shook his head. “Well, he had nothing on him except this envelope.” The police officer handed Kendall an envelope. “You can see on the top left hand corner there is a name, Anglo-Irish Commodities, and an address.”
