The Untimely Death Box Set

by James Kipling

  “He seems to have gotten away rather smartly after each murder.”

  “Yes. He strikes, and then, when there is a commotion as the victim falls down, he gets away. Getting away is no problem as all eyes are, for the moment, fixed on the victim.”

  “Frederick noticed a tall man leaving the scene without glancing at the victim. It seems odd.”

  Patrick nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, that is odd, but we shouldn’t read too much into it. Just because he went away without looking at the victim doesn’t mean that he is the person we want. There could be thousands of reasons: he may have been in a hurry and didn’t want to waste time, or he may have thought that he should get out of an ugly situation, or something of that sort. Whoever the murderer is, we know a few things about him. He is thorough. He doesn’t strike impulsively. He does his homework well. He takes care to gather information about his victims and selects them with caution. He knew that Alice went to this department store every Sunday morning and that the store was likely to be crowded with a big sale going on. He strikes at the fifteenth of every month. So far, he has beaten us.”

  Geoffrey sighed. “I can’t help feeling bad, Sir, but we aren’t licked yet.”

  Patrick said with determination, “this is the last murder of a green-eyed, blonde-haired young girl. We will catch him before he takes another step. This time we have to act quickly; we can’t allow him to beat us. I already feel I have failed. I should have prevented this murder.”

  Geoffrey answered, “I agree with you. These repeated murders are giving the police a bad name. People are beginning to panic.”

  “So we need to act quickly. Someone cleverly used arrow poison extracted from several deadly plants which have been used for centuries. Obviously, the murderer is a man familiar with poison. The victims are all young girls. The sex factor cannot be ruled out completely. Someone may have seen or heard something. But the trouble with most people is that they hesitate to speak to the police until it’s too late. I have a gut feeling that the murderer is someone we know. Dig out as much information as you can about Alice.”

  “I’ll get to work at once. Sir, do you have anyone in mind?”

  Patrick sighed. “No, not yet. Sometimes I feel there is something I’m overlooking – some factor which I haven’t taken into consideration, something which is escaping my mind…”

  “Sir, I’m sure it will come to you. Such things always do.”

  Chapter 15

  1

  Geoffrey sat in front of Victor (Alice’s first boyfriend) at a café, trying to appraise him. He looked to be a sturdy sort of man, wearing a clean checked shirt and denim jeans. His face looked young and rather innocent.

  Victor said clearly, “look here, I don’t want any trouble with the police. I’m shocked by Alice’s death, but she was a part of my past. Since then, I’ve formed new relationships. I’m a married man today and I don’t want anything to affect my happiness.”

  Geoffrey approached the subject. “You know that Alice was murdered in a department store?”

  “Yes, I read all about it. She was a victim of the dart murderer, wasn’t she?”

  Geoffrey nodded. “So, you knew Alice very well? I understand you two had been sweethearts from your schooldays. What was she like?”

  “She was a decent girl, rather quiet but she could be chirpy enough, when she chose. I guess we were attracted to each other. I took care of her since her schooldays. She had a rather tough life; her father was a drunk and her mother suffered because of it. She often came to me in tears and I gave her a shoulder to lean on. Money was often in short supply at home, and whatever money her father earned, he would blow on drinking. I guess her childhood left its mark on her throughout her life.

  “I could understand her because I came from a broken home myself. I saw my father hitting my mother and my mother would give it back – she was a spirited woman. Anyway, they went their separate ways. My two sisters and I stayed on with our mother. I started working while I was in school, taking up odd jobs in my spare time to bring home some money. Today, I have a candy store. I’m a self-made man. Whatever I’ve acquired, I’ve done so through sheer hard work and by putting a little money by here and there. In the beginning, Alice and I were just good friends. Later it blossomed into love. At that stage of my life, Alice meant the world to me. Later, we started living together.”

  “You both seemed to love and care for each other, so why did you break up?”

  Victor shrugged. “It’s difficult to explain, and it shows that you can never know a person. I thought I knew Alice inside out, after all, I’d known her since my schooldays. We shared each other’s problems and we more or less knew about each other’s family troubles. We were very much in love and cared about each other deeply. She was tired and sick of her family... there was always some problem or other cropping up. So when I had the bright idea of us moving in together, she readily agreed.

  “We were both young and we rented a one-room apartment. At first, everything was hunky dory. We enjoyed each other’s company and had great fun doing up our love nest. We hadn’t gotten married, but we were committed to each other. Then, Alice slowly started assuming wifely airs and I simply couldn’t stand it; she acted as if we were married and that she owned me.

  “I later discovered that she had a phobia about drink. Now, I’m no teetotaller, and she knew it very well when she got into the relationship. She knew me very well. Tell me, what guy doesn’t like his drink? It’s normal for a man to have a glass too many and come home a bit unsteady, but, whenever it happened, she gave me hell and became hysterical. She would claim that I was becoming like her father and that soon I would lose my job and she would have to support me throughout her life. Such scenes became a frequent occurrence.

  “Then she began to become suspicious as hell. I don’t quite know when, but she began suspecting me of infidelity. If I came home late, she would think I was being unfaithful. She began to give it to me right and left and then I, too, lost my cool and gave it right back. We fought bitterly, and once she told me that the way things were going on, she would be capable of killing me. I valued my freedom more than anything else – I’m the sort of guy who just can’t stand a female breathing down his neck and monitoring his every move. So that’s what had come to pass. I lost my temper and began yelling at her.”

  “Now answer me truthfully. Did you make threats in return?”

  Victor mumbled, looking down at the table. “I may have. A guy says many things in anger that he doesn’t mean. I tell you that I didn’t kill her. I’m the type of guy who wouldn’t harm a fly. I tell you I was nowhere near that department store when she was killed.”

  Geoffrey asked softly, “then where were you at that time?”

  “I’d gone out to the local market near our home, to pick up a few grocery items.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Kingston Avenue.”

  “OK. We were talking about your split with Alice.”

  “We finally realised that we’d had enough, and she was the one who called it quits first. I didn’t dump her, and I can swear that as long as I was with her I remained faithful, though she kept accusing me of straying. One day she told me that she’d had enough and that she wouldn’t stay with me for a moment longer. After that, she simply packed her things and moved out, crying all the time, as if I was the one who had thrown her out. She made me feel guilty as hell – that was one of the qualities she had: she always made you feel very low. I didn’t know what she expected me to do, but I didn’t try to stop her, although I still cared about her. I’d had enough and I thought it better to split than end up slitting each other’s throats. She walked out of my life and since then I haven’t seen her face.”

  Geoffrey leaned forward. “Are you sure you’re speaking the truth? I have reason to believe that you met her as recently as last week.”

  Victor flushed. “You police seem to know everything. You snoop aro
und a lot, don’t you?”

  Geoffrey gritted his teeth. “I’m afraid that’s our job. Don’t forget that we’re investigating a murder case here. The murderer has struck four times, meaning four innocent young girls have lost their lives. We want the murderer caught and the police will do everything in our power to do so, including digging out information about those concerned with the case. I thought you cared for Alice once. I thought you, of all people, would want her to get justice.”

  Once again, Victor mumbled, “of course I want the murderer caught; Alice’s death shocked and pained me. I only learned about it on Sunday night when my wife switched on the news and I saw Alice’s body and photographs. I’m still reeling after the blow and perhaps that’s why I spoke so rudely. I’m sorry, but I do value my privacy.”

  Geoffrey pushed his point. “Could you tell me about your meeting last week?”

  Victor ran his tongue over his lips. He was obviously nervous. “We met by accident. There was nothing planned, we literally just bumped into each other at a café.”

  “You had gone into the café alone?”

  “No, with a friend. If you want to be precise, a female friend. But she was just what I said – a friend and nothing more. I love my wife and I would never harm her in any way.”

  “Well, how did you meet?”

  “My friend and I were actually going to the market to pick up a few things that Clara needed. She asked me to accompany her, and as I was free, I did. My friend is interested in decoration pieces to do up her house, and there’s a shop in Elm Market which specialises in this sort of stuff at bargain prices. You can sometimes get amazing bargains there. Well, we went into the shop and picked up an old wall hanging, which looked quite good. By this time, we felt tired and so decided to gulp down something hot at a nearby café.

  “I was casually glancing around when I saw Alice, sitting alone in a corner, toying with a cup of coffee. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks, but then I glanced up again and there could be no mistaking her. It was Alice, though she had put on a little weight since I last saw her. At first, I thought of pretending not to see her, but then I changed my mind; you can’t just ignore someone you’ve been that close to. Although we’d parted bitterly, I wanted to go over and say hello, so I excused myself from Clara saying I’d spotted an old friend. I think Alice spotted me too, though she didn’t show it.

  “I walked over to her table and said hello. She was sitting with downcast eyes and looked startled to see me, but her eyes didn’t register surprise or shock, so I guess she had seen me. Anyway, she didn’t turn her face away, but invited me to sit, so I did. She asked about me and I told her about my marriage and how I was faring. Though she put up a brave face and said she was happy, I could make out that she wasn’t exactly speaking the truth. She seemed rather low, but tried to appear cheerful. We spoke about this and that and then I went back to my table. I don’t think we spent more than ten minutes together.”

  “You’re sure there were no hot words exchanged?”

  “Oh, no. The atmosphere was quite cordial. In fact, she politely asked after my wife. There was a hint of envy, but she wished me well. There were no arguments. Both of us had moved on in life and we let bygones be bygones. We certainly didn’t dig up the past. I didn’t ask much about her life, as I didn’t think she would like it. Alice told me she would be going home as it was getting late, and she even cracked a weak joke about not wanting to become a victim of the dart murderer, as she had green eyes and blonde hair. I remember looking shocked. It was the first time that I had connected the fact that she had green eyes and blonde hair with the dart murderer. I told her to be careful and then she said she would get going. That was the last time I saw her. Little did I know that she would become the fourth victim. I went back to my seat and that was that. I never heard from Alice again, nor did I ring her up. Though we met, we didn’t exchange our latest mobile numbers.”

  2

  Tim was talking to Phillip. They met in Phillip’s home, which was a cute but rather old-fashioned cottage on Pinewood Street. At first sight, he appeared to be an ordinary-looking man with a freckled face and a simple hairdo. His glasses were a bit too large for his eyes.

  They sat in the living room near the fireplace. There were couches and sofas spread across the room, designed for comfort rather than style.

  Phillip glanced around and said, “you must be thinking that I’m an old-fashioned young man, and in a way, I am. I’m fond of old things. This home belonged to my mother, and after she passed away, it came to me. I enjoy living here. I’m a quiet fellow.”

  Tim smiled. “I’ve come to talk to you about Alice.”

  “I’d guessed as much when you called. I knew Alice, and I was surprised to learn about her murder. Though we were out of touch for the last few months, I was shocked when I heard about her death. It was all very tragic.”

  “I understand there was a time, not quite in the distant past, that you were very friendly with Alice?”

  Phillip hesitated and then said, “yes, we were very close. I liked Alice and she seemed very much in love with me. I brought her here and she really liked the place; she said she always dreamed about a quiet life, free of hassles. Alice was a nice girl and we seemed to have the same preferences in everything. She was hard working, too – she slaved for long hours at the beauty parlour, even though the woman who owned it was a dragon. She could be extremely dominating. Alice was frank. She told me about her past life with Victor and how he had changed before her eyes by drinking and behaving like a lout. I assured her that I was a decent guy and a teetotaller; that she need not fear that sort of life with me. She seemed reassured. I guess there was a certain amount of vulnerability and a feeling of insecurity about her, because of her past. We met each other often and soon took our relationship to the next level.”

  “So what went wrong?”

  Phillip turned red. “I’m to blame for ending the relationship: I ditched her. The more we saw of each other, the more I realised that Alice was not the girl for me. She was clingy and sometimes I felt that she wouldn’t leave me alone. She rang me up endless times in a day and would get wild if I didn’t see her for more than three or four days. I’m an accountant by profession and I often have to work late into the evening, and if I forgot to ring her up just because I was dead tired, she blew a fuse and accused me of losing interest in her.

  “I hated her at those times, though usually she was sweet enough. I’m a guy who likes his space and I hate to be bothered all the time. I like to putter about the cottage alone and do whatever I have to do. Anyway, things changed after I met June. She was the new girl in the office and I don’t know what hit me, I just fell headlong in love with her. Soon we became friendly and I learned that our feelings for each other were mutual. It was only then that I decided to break up with Alice. I admit I took the coward’s way out – I rang her up and told her that I was calling it off. She cried and screamed but I thought it was for the best. So, that’s how our affair came to an end. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since.”

  Tim put the question suddenly. “I see that there is a carom board in the corner. You seem to like indoor games. Do you play darts, Phillip?”

  Phillip tightened his fists, his knuckles turning white. “What do you mean by asking me such a question? I don’t have any knowledge about darts. Why should I harm Alice? I had no reason to harm her! I’m not a killer, you have to believe me.”

  Tim said softly, “I never said you were. By the way, how is your relationship with June? I‘m asking this question out of curiosity.”

  Phillip smiled for the first time. It immediately brightened his face and gave it a boyish charm. “We’re very much in love. June and I plan to get hitched early next year. I’m very happy with my personal life.”

  Tim got up. “Thank you for your time. I’ll be leaving now.”

  3

  Tim met Mrs Norris Johnson next at the Heavenly Beauty
parlour. It was a rather decent place, which screamed elegance and boasted quite a few workers. Mrs. Johnson was a matronly woman, her main distinguishing feature a rather broad forehead. She sat on a svelte leather chair at the reception, and when Tim showed her his card, she looked flustered.

  “Having the police ask questions is bad for business; my clients will all run away if they hear about it. It’s a pity Alice was murdered, but she wasn’t working here at the time. I had struck her name from my employee list.” She glanced around the parlour. “Look, there are too many people about. Can’t we talk outside?”

  Tim nodded. “Certainly, I just wanted to have a look at the place where Alice worked.”

  Mrs. Johnson gave instructions to her workers and then walked outside. They went to a quiet restaurant and sat at the corner table.

  Mrs. Johnson still looked upset. Controlling herself with difficulty, she said, “what do you want to know? I’m a businesswoman and my time is very valuable. I have built up this business by sheer hard work, literally from scratch. I can’t have police officers prowling about. My clients will run away; N=no one likes to be associated with the police. You should have given me a warning.”

  “We’re investigating a murder case, madam, and we’re in a hurry. I won’t take up much of your time but I would like to get some answers to a few questions.”

  Mrs. Johnson said reluctantly, “I will be glad to help the police.”

  “What kind of clients do you get?

  “All sorts from all age groups. They range from teenagers to women getting on in years – I never call anyone old. My clients usually belong to the middle-income group, though I do have clients from the higher strata, too. Most rich women of the town go to Rose’s or Theresa’s – those two beauty parlours simply splash money and put on a show. Those who like quiet and good service with personal attention come to me. I’m not showy, but my place is neat and my charges reasonable. It suits most women. I don’t charge extra. Why, there was this middle-aged schoolteacher, a client of Alice’s, who praised me to the skies. She said, ‘I’ve been to several parlours, but I have never felt as satisfied as with yours. The service is very good.’ I take good care of my clients. To me, my clients are like Gods.”