The Scent of Death--A Sukey Reyholds British police procedural

by Betty Rowlands

‘Did you happen to notice what time Mr Freeman and Mr Bowen returned to have their coffee?’

  Charlotte shook her head; Sukey thought she appeared slightly embarrassed, as if she had been guilty of a lapse. ‘I’m afraid not. Various people came to have a chat with me and …’

  ‘We don’t expect you to have eyes everywhere,’ said Sukey with a smile. ‘As it is, you’ve really been very helpful.’

  ‘I do hope so. It’s a dreadful thing to have happened and whatever Mr Rainbird has done it’s hard to think anyone would want to kill him.’

  ‘You believe he was murdered, then?’

  ‘Of course I do. It’s obvious he was going to meet someone and was worried about it, possibly even afraid of that person. Find out what was troubling him and you’ll find your murderer.’

  ‘Well, thank you very much, Miss Lang,’ said Vicky. ‘Now we’ll have a word with Millie.’

  They found Millie sitting a few feet away. She was chatting to Hugh Pearson and appeared more relaxed than they had seen her previously. When they approached, Pearson stood up and said, ‘I think the sleuths want to talk to you, Millie, so I’ll leave you. I’ve so enjoyed our chat.’

  ‘So have I,’ said Millie. ‘I do hope your sister in law soon recovers.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said with a smile. Her manner became more tense as she turned to Vicky and Sukey and said, ‘I don’t think I can help you; I didn’t do anything.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we aren’t suggesting you or anyone else did anything wrong,’ said Sukey. ‘We’d just like to know if you noticed anything unusual from Friday evening, before Mr Rainbird’s body was found, until now.’

  ‘Well, of course, everyone was very shocked when we were told what happened to him, and we were all very surprised when the police were called. Do you think he fell in by accident?’

  ‘We don’t yet know how he came to be in the water,’ said Vicky. ‘Had you spoken to him at all from the time he arrived until he went outside after dinner?’

  ‘No, but he never talks to me anyway – not that I particularly want him to. I didn’t see him talking to anyone else, but I wasn’t paying attention. I heard people say he went outside but I didn’t see him go and I don’t know why he went.’

  ‘Well, thank you, Millie,’ said Sukey. ‘We apologize for interrupting your chat with Mr Pearson.’

  ‘Oh yes, I always enjoy talking to him!’ Millie suddenly became animated and her colour rose slightly. ‘He’s a really nice gentleman – he misses having his wife with him. I miss her too – we have quite a lot in common – although I don’t usually have much time for chatting.’ She cast a meaningful glance across the room to where Charlotte, showing signs of impatience, was waiting for her. ‘Miss Lang wants me; will that be all?’ She scuttled across the room without waiting for a reply.

  ‘From what we’ve learned so far, which doesn’t add up to much,’ said Sukey, ‘it seems pretty certain that if Rainbird fell into the water as the result of an attack, it wasn’t a premeditated killing.’

  ‘So as we figured out earlier,’ Vicky replied, ‘he said something to the person he met which must have been a serious enough threat to make it essential to put him out of the way.’

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ said Sukey, ‘I’ve just remembered what it was that I noticed about Romeo. I think he was lying when he told the rat pack that he only arrived a short time ago – couple of hours or so I thought he said – before they started asking him questions and that was why he couldn’t tell them anything. Let’s get back to his van and see what he’s got to say about that.’

  Through the gathering darkness they hurried along to the lay-by where Romeo’s van had been parked, but it was empty.

  SIX

  ‘He must have driven off as soon as he left the hotel,’ said Vicky. ‘Anyway, what did you want to question him about?’

  ‘Remember he said that when the paparazzi started questioning him about the goner who’d been fished out of the water he’d only been here a couple of hours, so he couldn’t tell them anything.’

  ‘That’s right. What about it?’

  ‘I’ve been thinking. We arrived here last night some time after nine o’clock. Rainbird’s body was still lying on the grass; the paramedics were standing around and the doctor was examining him. We walked towards them for a short distance and waited; we were careful because we’d been warned the grass was wet and slippery, but by then it had stopped raining. Presumably it had stopped by eight o’clock or Rainbird wouldn’t have gone out just for a breath of air.’

  ‘But we’re pretty sure now that he’d arranged to meet someone,’ Vicky pointed out, ‘so he’d probably have gone anyway – but I don’t see what difference it makes.’

  ‘We know it had been raining most of the day, but it had stopped by the time we got there and it hasn’t rained since. We saw Romeo before lunch today and if he was telling the truth about his time of arrival the ground under his van should have been dry – but I suddenly remembered that it was wet. I must have noticed while we were chatting, but didn’t think anything of it at the time.’

  ‘I see what you’re driving at,’ said Vicky. ‘That means he was here some time before it stopped raining, or at least while the ground was still wet. So, is it possible that it was Romeo that Rainbird had arranged to meet? Or did he happen to see Rainbird in the water with the attacker standing there with some sort of weapon in his hand, let him know he’d been spotted and decided to try a little blackmail?’

  ‘It’s a thought, isn’t it?’ said Sukey. ‘Perhaps the attacker wasn’t willing to play ball and reacted aggressively, so Romeo decided to leave here as soon as he’d given his performance and collected his money from Freeman. I noticed Freeman handing him something that looked like an envelope when he joined the others for tea after they came back from their afternoon excursion. They shook hands and exchanged a few words and then he left.’

  ‘You reckon he felt threatened but didn’t want to let Freeman down?’

  ‘He struck me as being a decent type and he might have felt under an obligation. Besides, he probably needed the money anyway.’ They thought for a moment. Then Sukey said, ‘So what should we do now?’

  ‘I suppose we could ask Freeman if he knows where he’s heading for next,’ said Vicky. They went back to the hotel. Most of the group had dispersed, presumably to have a rest and then prepare for dinner, but Freeman was in reception talking to Chapman. He merely shrugged when Vicky enquired about Romeo’s probable destination. ‘He’s not due to sing for me until my next meeting, which isn’t until the beginning of May,’ he said. ‘As far as I know he picks up other engagements on an ad hoc basis, but I don’t normally hear from him in the meantime.’

  ‘Do you have his mobile number?’

  ‘Yes, sure – would you like me to call him?’

  ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’

  ‘No problem.’ Freeman took out his phone, called a number, waited a few moments and shook his head. ‘His phone’s switched off,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, I really can’t help.’

  ‘Well, thank you anyway.’ Vicky moved a short distance away and took out her own phone. ‘I’m giving the DI a call to put him in the picture,’ she told Sukey. ‘Stand by – he may want to talk to you as well.’ After a few moments she switched off and said, ‘He wants us both back at his office right away.’

  ‘What about Mike and Tim?’

  ‘He said we should update them and leave them to catch up with as many on their list as they can,’ said Sukey. ‘It will be after eight by the time we’ve seen the DI and I doubt if he’ll expect any of us to work overtime, so with luck we’ll all be able to go home at a reasonable hour.’

  They found Rathbone sitting in front of his computer. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of some info about this Romeo chap, but Google isn’t much help. Did you happen to get the number of his van?’

  ‘Of course; it’s in our reports, Guv,’ said Vicky.

  ‘Which you haven’t sub
mitted yet,’ he snapped.

  ‘Give us a chance,’ Vicky pleaded. ‘We’ve been working our socks off and so have Tim and Mike. There are a lot of names to check off, DNA samples to deal with and notes to polish up.’

  ‘All right – so give me the number now.’ Vicky wrote it down and he entered it in the computer. ‘All it says here is that it’s a Dormobile camper van on a VW chassis, manufactured in 1979. Last registered owner was a Frederick Jones of Clapham who took it off the road eight years ago.’

  ‘Romeo seems to live from hand to mouth, so maybe he picked it up in a scrapyard and got a mate to fix it up for him,’ Sukey suggested.

  ‘It’s obvious he didn’t bother to register it,’ Rathbone pointed out. ‘He probably couldn’t afford to pay tax and insurance anyway. Maybe he moves around for short distances, parks off the road and takes a chance at being picked up by the traffic department.’

  ‘He’s obviously got away with it so far,’ said Vicky. ‘So where do we go from here, Guv?’

  ‘We don’t know in which direction he was heading, but if my surmise is correct he should be within a fairly short radius of the hotel. I’ll get him located and stopped until we can question him.’ He picked up his phone, punched in a number and gave the necessary instructions. ‘And now,’ he said after a protracted yawn, ‘there doesn’t seem much more we can do from here and it’s nearly eight o’clock so we might as well go home. I’ll let you know as soon as we’ve located him. Tell DCs Pringle and Haskins and say I’ll be in touch.’ He shut down the computer, stood up and put on his jacket. ‘Till tomorrow then. Good night. Turn off the light before you leave.’ He marched out, slamming the door behind him.

  ‘Charming,’ muttered Vicky. ‘At least, the boys will be happy to see us home at a reasonable time. I’ll check the car in and then call Chris to tell him to rustle up something extra tasty.’

  ‘I’ll call Harry and tell him the same,’ said Sukey. ‘With luck, Romeo will have gone somewhere too obscure for traffic to locate him, which would mean we’ll get tomorrow off.’

  ‘In your dreams!’ said Vicky. ‘We’ll still be on duty and something else might turn up to keep us amused. So long for now.’

  When Sukey reached home she found Harry in the kitchen and the table laid for supper. ‘Something smells good.’

  ‘Chicken chasseur,’ he announced, giving a stir to the steaming contents of a pan. ‘I made it for Dad and me during the week; we ate half and I froze the rest.’

  ‘You’re a star,’ she said.

  ‘You’re only saying that because it’s true.’ He took her in his arms and she clung to him with her face buried in his shoulder. It suddenly dawned on her how desperately tired she was.

  After a few moments he released her and said, ‘Sit down and relax. We’ll have some wine while the rice is cooking. I’ve brought this bottle of Pinot Grigio – it goes down a treat with chicken.’ He filled two glasses, handed one to her and sat down beside her. ‘How has your day been?’

  ‘Tiring, interesting and frustrating,’ she said. ‘We began to think we were getting somewhere and then realized that someone who we think could be an important witness had left. He’s not going to be easy to trace by the looks of things.’

  ‘That wouldn’t by any chance be the chap who calls himself Romeo and lives in an old Dormobile?’

  ‘You know about him?’

  ‘When I heard about the incident at Dallington Manor I went there early this morning to find out what was going on. A woman from the West Country Express mentioned she’d seen an old van parked in a lay-by and was going to have a word with the driver so I and several others went along with her. Romeo seemed perfectly willing to chat but couldn’t help because he’d only just got there. Is he your missing witness?’

  ‘We think so. DI Rathbone has put a search call out so it will be on the news in the morning – possibly tonight. He couldn’t find anything on the computer about either Romeo or the van, so …’ She broke off and put her glass down. ‘I really shouldn’t be telling you this, Harry. I mean, there’s no reason to suppose he’s done anything wrong; we just want to know if he happened to see anything.’

  ‘But if the chap fell into the water on Friday night he couldn’t have seen anything, unless …’ He thought for a moment and then said slowly, ‘Unless he was lying. Is that why your lot are so anxious to talk to him?’

  ‘Look Harry, if he was lying he may have a perfectly innocent reason,’ said Sukey. ‘Don’t think Vicky and I haven’t been over all this till we’re blue in the face, so please let’s forget about it for now. I’m starving – the bar lunch was light years ago.’

  They ate their meal and then relaxed in the sitting room with the rest of the wine and watched the news. The programme was almost over when a newsflash announced that there had been an accident on a country road, when a motor caravan had left the road on a sharp bend, overturned, rolled over and landed on its roof in a ditch. Emergency services were at the scene but no further details were given. The police were appealing for witnesses.

  ‘I have a nasty feeling that it’s Romeo’s van,’ said Sukey. ‘I wonder—’

  ‘Whether it was a genuine accident or the van had been sabotaged,’ said Harry.

  ‘I don’t want to think that,’ said Sukey. ‘It’s a very old van and I don’t suppose it gets proper maintenance. Or he could have had too many beers and lost control, but that seems unlikely; all he had after giving his performance was two cups of tea and some cakes. Just the same, we were surprised that he left in such a hurry.’

  Harry took her empty glass and pulled her to her feet. ‘You’re not to think about it any more tonight,’ he said firmly. ‘What you need now is sleep.’ He held her close, gently stroking her hair. ‘Do you want me to stay?’

  ‘Please.’

  At seven o’clock next morning Sukey’s mobile phone rang. DI Rathbone was on the line. ‘Romeo’s pranged his van. He’s dead; they haven’t been able to get him out yet because the driver’s door is jammed and in any case we have to get the underside of the vehicle checked to see if there’s any mechanical reason why he lost control. DS Armstrong will pick you up in half an hour and I’ll see the two of you at the scene in an hour.’ He gave directions and ended the call.

  ‘It is Romeo and he’s dead,’ said Sukey. ‘I have to go. Vicky is picking me up. No time for a shower; I’ll have a quick wash and get dressed.’

  ‘I’ll fix some coffee and toast for you,’ said Harry, who was already wide awake and reaching for his shirt.

  ‘Thanks love.’

  Half an hour later she and Vicky were on their way to the scene of the accident. It was difficult to find, being on an unmarked country lane less than two miles from the hotel, and by the time they arrived Rathbone and DCI Leach were already there. Sukey’s gorge rose at the sight of Romeo’s crushed head jammed against the driver’s door, the surrounding area covered in blood. She turned away, swallowing hard.

  ‘How awful,’ she said. ‘What a dreadful thing to happen to the poor man.’

  ‘Forget the sentiment,’ said Rathbone brusquely.

  ‘You are sure this is the man you wanted to interview?’ said Leach.

  ‘Quite sure, sir,’ said Vicky.

  ‘I understand from DI Rathbone that the reason you were anxious to see him is that you suspected him of lying about his time of arrival.’

  ‘That’s right, sir,’ said Vicky. ‘It was Sukey who spotted the fact that the ground under his van was wet, indicating that he had arrived some time during Friday night while it was still raining instead of yesterday morning as he told the paparazzi. We’ve been wondering why he lied about it and that’s why we wanted to talk to him.’

  ‘Do you think, sir,’ Sukey said, ‘that if we could contact the last known owner of the van, Frederick Jones of Clapham, he could remember what he did with it after he took it off the road? If he sold it to a scrap dealer we might be able to trace it and maybe find out who did any repairs and
what he did with it after that.’

  ‘It was a long time ago so it’s a long shot, but worth a try,’ said Leach. ‘See to that, will you Greg? Have you spotted something?’ he added, seeing that Rathbone was staring at the underside of the van.

  ‘Look there, sir. It doesn’t take an expert to see that the pipe carrying the brake fluid has come away. The question is, has it just worked loose of its own accord or has it been tampered with?’

  Leach studied the pipe for a moment. ‘You’re right. I’ll get our experts to carry out a special check. Meanwhile, this road must be kept closed. I take it diversion signs have been set up?’ he said to a uniformed officer who was standing a short distance away.

  The man saluted. ‘Yes, sir.’

  SEVEN

  DCI Leach returned to his car and drove away. Before going to his own car, Rathbone said, ‘Vicky, you and Sukey might as well go to the hotel and break the news to the people there. Keep a particular eye open for reactions – most of them will probably be genuine shock-horror, but if you suspect that it’s a bit of play-acting on someone’s part make sure you question them very closely about their movements. Then carry on working through the remaining names on your list; I’ve already instructed Mike and Tim to do the same. And don’t forget the DNA samples,’ he added with one hand on the driver’s door.

  ‘Of course we won’t, Guv,’ said Vicky. ‘As if we would,’ she added scornfully as he drove away. ‘Why does he have to keep treating us like a pair of rookies?’

  ‘He’s enjoying his taste of power,’ said Sukey. ‘If he hadn’t been a policeman he’d have made a good schoolteacher. Right, let’s go back to the manor and tell everyone what’s happened to Romeo. They’ll obviously be full of questions, but we can shelter behind our usual excuse for not giving details.’

  ‘It’s going to be a while before we get any DNA results,’ said Vicky as she clipped on her seat belt. ‘So we still have no idea who smoked that cigarette. Right, you’ve got the directions – can you get us back to civilization?’