The Untimely Death Box Set

by James Kipling

  Geoffrey asked, “which coffee shop?”

  Again, Neil hesitated and then shrugged his shoulders. “It hardly matters. Well, if you want to know it’s the Cosy Café on Sixth Street. We had coffee and sandwiches. We went there sometimes; I like the ambience. Michelle was absolutely fine –her normal self. I still can’t believe that she fell victim to a serial killer. I’m still trying to get over it.”

  Tim nodded. “We’ll leave you alone, but we may question you later as the case proceeds.”

  Chapter 7

  Chief Inspector Campbell looked at Geoffrey and Tim while he was idly spinning a paperweight on his desk. His laptop was open and he was going through the reports. He frowned. “I have a feeling that all of them are holding something back. Though we’re up against a serial murderer, he may be close to one of the victims. None of the victims seemed very happy with their love life. Jane had problems with Eric, and while Sarah and Jeremy’s relationship was new and she seemed happy, Sarah hardly knew Jeremy; she was simply glad for a temporary escape. And although Neil claims otherwise, reading between the lines there seems to be problems in his relationship with Michelle.”

  “True, sir.” Tim put in, “the whole time we were talking, I felt that they were withholding some information, too. It could just be something they didn’t want to discuss. Our murderer may be one among them or maybe someone unknown to them, but whoever the murderer is, he’s done his homework well.”

  Patrick carried on. “Another thing that’s common in all three girls is their age. They were all in their twenties. Jane was 25, Sarah was 24, and Michelle was 28. All three girls were fairly attractive and dressed well, and they all had blonde hair and green eyes. Another thing they had in common – which may or may not have anything to do with their murder – is the fact that all three girls had a certain amount of trouble in their lives. None of them enjoyed a stable family life. We don’t know all the details, but we have to find out. You’ll have to talk to family members and office colleagues for further information.” Patrick turned to Geoffrey. “Tell me, what's your personal opinion about the three men?”

  “Eric appears to be suave, coming from a good background, but you could see that he was jittery about something and on the defensive. One of the first things he said was that he was at a meeting when Jane was murdered. Frankly, I didn’t like him much, though I admit he has charm. Jeremy was nervous and highly strung. He seemed to be frightened of being arrested and he clearly considered himself as suspect number one. He was at pains to explain the details of his action after he checked into the Rose Motel. By the way, the choice of the motel was his. It was he who suggested the idea of a weekend getaway, and Sarah was thrilled. He was seen leaving the motel and then returned after an hour. He said he walked to the marketplace, which took more than ten minutes.”

  Patrick mumbled, “he may have simply walked in through the front door with his packages, rang the doorbell, killed Sarah, and then dragged her body through the doorway, screaming for help. What about Neil? What was your impression about him?”

  “Neil is strikingly handsome. The guy has money. I thought that he was holding something back. It could be a piece of vital information or something of no consequence, but he was definitely lying. I also felt that his relationship with Michelle was rather rocky, though he claimed he loved her and everything was hunky dory. He has no alibi. Another interesting fact is that he owns a toyshop that has dart games. It could be perfectly innocent, though – almost every toy shop has dart games.”

  Patrick asked, “have you managed to trace the dart yet?”

  Tim replied, “no, but we’re trying. So far, nothing. There are only thin leads.”

  Patrick had a worried look on his face. “We have to make quick progress and try to apprehend the murderer before the 15th of next month or he will more than likely strike again. He’s following a pattern – the murderer strikes on the 15th of each month. He must have gotten those darts made somewhere. They weren’t thrown but they appeared to have been used at close quarters. Try to question eyewitnesses who were present at the scenes; someone may have seen something. So far, we have only Carla and her story doesn’t give us concrete evidence. All she saw was a tall man with a stoop, walking towards the bench Michelle was sitting on. Anyone can walk with a stoop. We have to get more details. Michelle was killed in a crowded park; perhaps she was waiting for someone when she was murdered. There may have been other witnesses except Carla, but I have very little hope; what usually happens in a crowded park is that no one notices what anyone else is up to.”

  Patrick continued. “In the case of Jane, we’ve calculated that the distance between her home and her office is a fifteen minute walk at an average pace and around ten minutes if a person is walking at a brisk pace. Jane was walking on Charmwood Street when she was struck down, and that street is usually bustling at that hour with people. Her body was discovered almost immediately; a man named Harold – who lives in an apartment nearby – was one of the first to spot her and talk to the police. He said that he was going home when he and others spotted her and called the ambulance. Have another talk with Harold; you could learn something more. I must say, the murderer showed remarkable audacity in striking twice in public places.

  “Sarah was the only victim who was killed with no one around. Once Jeremy yelled, people gathered around the room. One of the first people to reach the room was a couple, Mr and Mrs Norton. They had apparently checked in a couple of nights before in the room next to Sarah’s and may have seen or heard something. Sarah was in Room 109 while they were in Room 110. The motel staff arrived within seconds. I want you to question them all in detail and I want quick results. Someone may have seen something unusual.”

  Geoffrey frowned. “The trouble with most people is that they don’t want to get involved in a police case. They don’t want to go through the needless harassment and trouble or having to testify in court. They’re also scared that if they open their mouth and give what they feel is valuable evidence, they may become the next victim.”

  Patrick nodded. “That’s very true, but we have to get to the bottom of this business, fast. The people of the town are already panicking, especially green-eyed, blonde-haired young girls who think there is a serial killer on the loose and that they might be next. Talk to as many people as possible and try to trace that dart and poison. This special dart must have been made somewhere.”

  Chapter 8

  1

  Harold Mason didn’t seem reluctant to talk to the police. He said he was working in a shoe store and was on his way home. Geoffrey and Tim met him over a cup of tea at a restaurant. “This is much better,” he said. “When I heard that you wanted to talk to me about the murder of the poor girl, I didn’t want to meet you at the police station or in my apartment. Neighbours can be nosy and news travel fast. People come to know that you are involved with the police and they make all sorts of conjectures. Anyway, I’ve already given my statement to the police, so what do you want from me?”

  Tim took a sip of his tea. “They brew good tea here. Although you’ve given a statement to the police, I want you to describe what happened in detail. You may remember something which you overlooked before and it may help us in unravelling the case.”

  “Ok, I’ll try, but I’m afraid you’ll learn nothing new; I’ve already said what I know. Of course, being a conscientious citizen, I’m eager to help. As it happened, I was walking along Charmwood Street after work and I’d caught a bus home. I got to Kingston Street and was walking to my apartment. There were quite a few people on the pavement beside me. I was lost in my thoughts and wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings when suddenly, I heard a woman scream. I, and the other passers-by, quickly looked in her direction and saw a girl lying on the pavement, quite still. We rushed towards her. At first, we thought she’d suffered from a cardiac arrest, a stroke, or something of that kind. By now a crowd had gathered and someone rang the hospital.”

 
; Geoffrey said, “can you describe the scene in more detail?”

  “Well, a small crowd of seven to eight people had gathered around the girl who was lying all crumpled up. Her shoulder-length blonde hair – which she had left loose – was over her face. You see, at that time we didn’t pay attention to the body. All we saw was a young woman in need of help. I stood there for some time... there are vague images in my memory, nothing concrete. A middle-aged woman was walking away – she may have raised the alarm, but complained of feeling sick. The windows of a black sedan that had stopped were rolled down and a man asked ‘what’s wrong?’ A tall man, wearing spectacles, was ranting about health issues and how young girls didn’t take care of themselves. Someone, a pink-faced man, said, ‘it’s a crying shame the way some young people exhaust themselves and work long hours.’ A boy behind me was crying, saying to his father, ‘I want to go home.’

  “When the ambulance arrived and the doctor said there was no pulse, I remember being shocked. It seemed like a sudden death. They rushed her to the hospital. We were relieved that she was being taken care of. The tall man with the spectacles said to me in an offhand manner, ‘God only knows what happened to the poor girl. I guess they’ll do their best at the hospital but I doubt that she’ll live.’ I doubted that very much as well.”

  “At that time, didn’t you think that it could be a murder?” Tim asked, leaning forward.

  Harold seemed taken aback. “Nothing could be further from my mind. When we saw her, we felt that she had simply fallen down due to health problems. No one suspected anything.”

  Geoffrey said sympathetically, “naturally, but I want you to think back carefully. Did you notice Jane before she was killed?”

  Harold stared into the distance, clearly thinking back. “Honestly, I didn’t. As I told you, I was hardly observing anyone; I was too immersed in my own thoughts. I’m a guy who likes to keep to myself. Anyway, I may not have noticed her even if I tried. She was walking at a distance away from me and there were quite a few people walking on that pavement at the time.”

  Geoffrey pestered, “think carefully. While you were all crowding around Jane, did you hear any comment from someone stating he or she saw her when she was alive or how she collapsed in front of them?”

  Harold frowned and said after a while, “now that you mention it, I did hear a comment about how she looked fit as a fiddle one moment and still and lifeless the next, but I didn’t know who said it.”

  “Think carefully... was it a man’s voice or a woman’s?”

  “I think it was a man’s voice but I can’t be sure. Everyone was talking at once. “

  “Can you recall the tone of the voice? Could the person who said it have seen something?”

  Again, Harold paused and then said, “no, I didn’t think so, it seemed a general comment. Certainly nothing even remotely about the possibility of murder. I can say with conviction that none of the onlookers who gathered there thought about foul play. They thought it was a natural death due to health problems. So I doubt if anyone saw anything suspicious or they would have mentioned it.”

  Geoffrey said, “thank you for your cooperation. We always appreciate it when people help us to get to the truth. You must know now that Jane was killed by a poisoned dart to her back. Do you have any thoughts about that?”

  “Oh, no. I came to know about it much later when I read about it in the newspapers. Till then I had no idea that a murder had perhaps been committed.”

  Geoffrey tried again. “You were one of the first people to see Jane’s body. What was your first thought?”

  “I remember feeling shocked that a young girl had collapsed. At that time, I simply gazed at her and was a bit stunned and thought of getting a doctor.”

  Geoffrey and Tim shook hands with Harold. “That's all for now. We’ll contact you later if we need any more information. I want you to go home and go over the events one more time in your mind. Maybe you’ll remember something important.”

  Harold rose to his feet. “I will. I’m always glad to help. I too want the murderer caught. Life is not safe in the town with a serial killer prowling about.”

  2

  Geoffrey and Tim drove to Mr Norton’s flat in London and rang the bell of a small apartment in a middle class locality. The door was opened by a buxom middle-aged woman wearing a simple tweed skirt and top. She asked them to come in and immediately called for her husband. “John, the police are here.”

  Mr Norton emerged from the bedroom. He was a man about 40, a little younger than his wife, with streaks of grey hair at the temple which he hadn’t bothered to colour. He had sunken cheeks and a bushy moustache. He greeted them while his wife said politely, “please make yourselves comfortable. We’ll do whatever you want but we don’t want to get into trouble. We’re decent folks and we have a reputation to maintain.”

  The room was sparsely furnished with a simple sofa set and a couple of chairs. The walls were bare. The beige-coloured curtains, however, went well with the room’s furniture. The Nortons were working class people; he worked in a factory while she worked in a bakery.

  Geoffrey beamed. “Don’t worry; we aren’t here to cause trouble. In fact, we want your cooperation in a murder investigation. You were one of the first people to see the body of Sarah at the Rose Motel.”

  Mrs Norton reflected, “a shocking incident. I want to forget it. The poor, poor girl. When I first saw her body with the young man screaming beside her, I was simply too stunned to think and act. I’m a sensitive woman and can’t stand such incidents. They make my heart sink, I tell you. Mr Norton will confirm it.”

  Mr Norton put in, “no one is blaming you. Anyone would be upset over such an incident, especially women.”

  Geoffrey said, “please start at the beginning. It will be easier to follow. Why did you go to Amersham?”

  John Norton said slowly, “we had gone there actually to meet a friend of mine who was ill. He’d been admitted to the government hospital and was recovering from cardiac arrest. His wife had rung us up and seemed in bad shape. We were neighbours once and I thought of paying him a courtesy call.”

  “How close were you?” Tim asked.

  “Oh, close enough.”

  “What's his name?”

  “Is it important? After all, it doesn’t have any bearing on this case.”

  Geoffrey said, “everything has a bearing on this case. This is a case of murder and the police are looking into each and every aspect. Every piece of information may be important and could warrant further investigation.”

  “Ok, I’ll come clean. There was a spot of trouble in our factory with workers and I happen to be one of them. I thought of lying low for a few days and going to Amersham to visit a friend of mine at the same time. I had heard that Rose Motel was a quiet place and it seemed ideal for me. At that time, I hardly thought that I’d be in the thick of things. If I knew it beforehand, I would never have gone to that damn spot.”

  Tim said, “I’m glad you’ve spoken the truth. All we want is some information from you, which may help us to catch the murderer.”

  Mr Norton relaxed. “I will be glad to help you. Tell me what you want to know.”

  “Tell us when you checked into the motel.”

  “On the thirteenth, two days before the murder. The motel was quiet and comfortable and neither my wife nor I noticed anything unusual. We spent some time in our room and then went out to explore the surroundings. The next day I went to meet my friend but we didn’t find him. He later rang me up and apologised that he couldn’t keep our appointment because he had an important meeting. Of course, I was disappointed. Anyway, my wife and I went out and explored the market. She bought a few knick-knacks – nothing expensive. My wife is rather wise that way –she never wastes money on pretty dresses or frills and frumps like other women. Then we returned home.”

  “When did you notice that another couple had occupied the next room?”

  M
rs Norton butted in. “It’s no use asking my husband; he generally doesn’t notice a thing. He could be blind as a bat for all you care. But I do. Mind you, I’m not the snooping kind and I keep very much to myself but one has eyes and I can’t help noticing things. I saw a young couple enter the room next to ours. The girl was wearing shorts, which showed her long legs. She seemed to be happy and was humming a tune. However, I can tell you one thing straight away: the girl came from a lower middle class background and was not used to seeing life in a big way. I could tell from her expression that she wasn’t exactly in love with the guy but that she felt happy to be with him.

  “You see, I’m fairly perceptive and a pretty good judge of people. The guy seemed to be better, though. He was nothing much to look at. His pockets, however, seemed to be bulging. He flashed a twenty pound bill at the room service boy, who was only too glad to take it. I think they stayed in their room for some time. I didn’t mean to snoop but I heard them talking in low voices and I also heard the sound of laughter. They seemed fine. I mean, there was no sign of what happened later. We don’t know what happened later because we went out for lunch. When we came back all was quiet. We rested for a while and I’m afraid I dozed off. It’s a pity or I could have told you the exact time the murder took place. The girl must have opened the door to someone. It could be a person she knew because if she had screamed we would have heard her. I woke to the sound of screams, but it was the young man next door. John and I immediately ran to help. It took me two seconds to find my slippers and run outside. We were almost the first to reach the scene.”

  “What did you see?”

  “I was totally shocked and my legs turned to jelly. I leaned against John. My nerves are in a bad shape and I was too stunned to speak…” Mrs Norton’s voice trailed off, as she was obviously still bothered by the incident.