Patrick asked, “did he give you any clue as to what he saw?”
“No, nothing at all. We didn’t discuss it any further.”
3
Geoffrey and Patrick took leave and then headed for the Santiago department store. Mr. Patterson greeted him. Patrick told him about Bruce’s brutal murder, and then asked, “when did Bruce leave the store?”
Mr. Patterson stared at him in horror and then said, “this store is jinxed. First Alice and now Bruce. Bruce left this afternoon, at around 2 p.m. He said he wasn’t feeling well, that he was a bit dizzy and he wanted to leave. I said OK, no problem. The store has been badly hit by Alice’s murder. Business was lax and there were few customers. Since he complained of dizziness, I couldn’t stop him, but I wish he hadn’t gone home. Had he continued working he would be alive now, wouldn’t he?”
Patrick said thoughtfully, “maybe, but the murderer may have caught up with him some other time. It seems that Bruce thought of something that disturbed him – he told me so on the phone. Is there anyone here who might know something about it?”
Patterson looked at him thoughtfully and then said, “Dan might. Bruce often talked with him, as they shared adjoining counters.”
“We’ll have a talk with him. It may be very important.”
“I’ll call him now.”
Dan came at once. He learned with shock about Bruce’s fate and then closed his eyes for a few minutes. “So, he was killed. I was scared of it all along, after he spoke to me. But how the murderer got wind of it is a mystery. Poor guy. He was a good colleague, as well as a friend. I’ll miss him.”
Patrick said, “you told me that Bruce talked to you in the morning and confided in you. Can you tell me what it was you talked about? It may be very important.”
Dan nodded. “Bruce was very disturbed; I could see that something had upset him. I went over to his counter for a chat and he told me that he’d just remembered something about Alice’s murder. It came to his mind suddenly. When the police had questioned him, he didn’t recall it – at the time, it wasn’t on his mind.
“He said he was just standing looking up at the stairs, when it suddenly struck him. He felt very uneasy and didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to go to the police – he felt that it would cause more trouble and that he would have to face interrogation. I told him that if what he thought he saw was important, then he couldn’t possibly keep it under his hat. I told him to speak to you anonymously, from a public phone booth, or discuss the matter with someone who he could trust. In fact, I advised him to feign sickness and leave. I wish I hadn’t, though. He may be alive now, but for my advice.”
“Did he tell you what he saw?”
“Unfortunately, he didn’t. But just before he left, he muttered under his breath that he would never forget the twisted expression on that person’s face ever in his life.”
“Do you have any idea about what sort of person he was referring to?”
Dan shook his head, “no.”
Patrick asked quietly, “you were also on duty when Alice died. Can you recall what happened?”
“Yes, but I don’t know how she got killed. I remember noticing Alice when she came in, looking around. I remember giving her a second glance; she looked fairly attractive, with her hair hanging loose. I caught only a fleeting glimpse of her, but at the time the impression that I carried in my mind was of a girl who had a lost look about her. Anyway, I became very busy after that and hardly had time to look at her, or anyone else. I remember hearing a woman scream and some gasps of horror, and then I saw Alice lying on the floor, very still. There was panic all around. A tall man was calling for a doctor and a middle aged woman was saying, ‘someone do something’, looking totally confused, another woman was trying to quieten her child – who was crying out his lungs – and another man was crying for a doctor. There was another man, too, who walked away coolly without a backward glance.”
Geoffrey asked, “so you observed that too? Can you describe the man?”
Dan said, “I had a glimpse of him only once but I remember thinking that it was strange that he walked away. He was a tall, shifty-eyed man, with rather broad shoulders. He had a mop of blonde hair.”
Geoffrey whispered to Patrick, “this fits the description of our friend, Tony.”
Patrick turned to Dan, “do you remember anything else about the man you saw?”
”I think he was wearing a green tee shirt and denim pants, but I can’t be sure.”
“OK, we’ll be going now. You’ve been a great help.”
Patrick and Geoffrey sat in the police car. Once inside, Geoffrey turned to his colleague. “This description fits Tony to a t.” Patrick’s phone rang, and when he answered it, Tim was at the other end.
Patrick could hear Tim’s excited voice at the other end. “I’ve some interesting news about Tony.”
Patrick, his voice suppressed with excitement, said, “ring up Tony and fix an appointment with him. It’s time we had a little chat.”
Geoffrey looked at his chief, amazed. “We must be getting somewhere.”
4
They met Tony at a bar and ordered beer. Tony looked considerably flustered. He seemed to have lost all his charm. “What do you want from me? I’ve told you all I know and that I wasn’t responsible for Sarah’s murder.”
Patrick looked him straight in the eye. “We want the truth.”
“I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“No, you haven’t. What were you doing at the Santiago department store when Alice was murdered?”
“Someone has been telling tales; I was nowhere near the store.”
“Your photograph has been recognised. I have witnesses to prove that you were very much in Santiago when the murder took place.”
Tony was shaking. He had gone extremely pale. “What if I was? There’s no law preventing me from visiting a department store. Just because I was in that store, it doesn’t make me a murderer.”
Patrick said, “now, tell us exactly what happened.”
Tony held his glass of beer tightly and then took a long sip. He was starting to look defeated, and he said slowly, “I went to the store to pick up a few things I needed. I got a few things on the first floor and then headed for the second floor. The store was unusually crowded. When I went up the stairs and headed for the second floor, I heard a commotion. Someone shouted that there had been an accident and that a girl had fallen from the stairs and seemed to be dead. I panicked. I thought the police had already questioned me and I didn’t want to be caught in a messy situation. I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, while there was still time, so I dropped my basket and began to climb down the stairs. I heard a comment that the dart murderer had struck again. I panicked and tried to keep a composed manner; I knew I had to get out. I thought that if I kept my head, I could get away before the police sealed the place. I was extremely agitated but I kept what I hoped was a straight face and marched out as soon as I could. Although I was in that store, I swear I didn’t kill Alice and I know nothing about darts.”
He kept quiet. Patrick now began, “I realise your face is tanned. It is a shade darker than your normal complexion. You seem to be a well-travelled man.”
Tony looked relieved. The muscles of his body relaxed. He answered in a casual voice, “yes, I do get around.”
“Which countries have you travelled to?”
“My work takes me to a lot of countries… various places in Europe… I’ve also visited some eastern countries.”
Patrick now pounced upon him. “What exactly is your profession?”
“I told you before that I’m a businessman. I deal with import – export.”
Patrick said, “we made a few investigations into your business, and while it’s true that you deal with import – export, it seems to be on the wrong side of the law.”
Tony started turning red. “What do you mean by that statement? Just
because you haven’t been able to catch the murderer, you want to pin it on me. I’m just a businessman.”
Patrick said smoothly, “yes, you are a businessman, but your business is smuggling. My sources have found you out. You have a network at many places. You specialise in smuggling tobacco but sometimes pass on stolen goods, too. The men who have dug into your background have found out adequate evidence about you. I can put you behind bars right this minute, but I’m giving you a chance to come clean. What we have to find out is whether you are a murderer as well as a smuggler.”
Tony was now shaking like a leaf. He gulped down some more beer and then said, “alright, guys. I admit that I’ve been operating on the wrong side of the law, but I am no murderer. I didn’t kill anyone. I realise that things look black against me at present, but I swear I was telling you the truth about those murders. I didn’t kill Sarah and I didn’t kill Alice, though I was present at the scene. I may do something illegal to earn a bit of money, but I wouldn’t harm anyone consciously, let alone killing young girls. I know nothing about darts; I’ve never even played around with them.”
Patrick pounced on him again. “You say you know nothing about darts but we’ve found out that you do have knowledge about poisons. You are a well-travelled man, Tony Hill and you’ve spent many years in the east. Some of those were spent in India, where you mixed with tribes and learned their ways. Some of the tribes in India are well versed in their knowledge of poison. This is very significant.”
Tony almost screamed, “I tell you I’m innocent! Don’t put me behind bars. I wish to God that I had never met Sarah. I wouldn’t be in this soup now if I had. True, I did go to India and spend a few days among tribes, but I didn’t learn about poisons. I swear I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t.” Tony broke down completely. He was now sobbing like a child, “Please don’t arrest me for murder. I swear, in the name of God, that I didn’t kill anyone.”
A grim-faced Patrick got up and said, “we’ll see. If you are truly innocent, then you only have to serve your sentence for smuggling. Don’t try to run. We will catch you anyway. Besides, running is taken as evidence of guilt. You would do well to accompany us to the police station and turn yourself in.”
A dazed Tony got up and accompanied Patrick and Geoffrey to the police station.
Later, Patrick – along with Geoffrey and Tim – met at the police station and discussed the case.
Patrick opened the conversation. “The case is progressing. There have been six deaths in all and even now, we have yet to catch the murderer. The first four murders followed a pattern: all four victims were killed by poisoned darts. The tip of the dart was coated with a deadly poison, made from ancient herbs. The chemical analysis of the poison shows that it’s similar to the type of poison used for arrowheads in the primitive tribes of Southeast Asia. Such poisons are deadly and kill almost instantly. All the murderer had to do was to carry the dart in their pocket – perhaps in a small container – and later strike at the most opportune moment.
“The murderer is someone who chose his victims carefully and had certain knowledge about their lives and what they were doing. He may have studied his victims for days. All of his first victims were blonde-haired, green-eyed young women, all in their twenties. All of them were single and had troubled lives. None of them could be termed happy. The next two murders, of Gladys and Bruce, were murders of expediency; both of them knew something that the murderer got wind of, making the killer feel threatened, who therefore finished them off – this time with a knife. Both of these victims were caught unaware.
“Since most of the victims were young women, there may be a sex angle. The murderer seems to be a psycho case. If male, he may have been hurt by a young woman in the past and hence is out to seek revenge. There is another interesting possibility, though a bit far-fetched. The motive of the murderer may have been to eliminate one of the victims and the other murders were a smoke screen, to make it look like a case of serial murder. However, as things stand, we still haven’t come close to unravelling the murderer. Who are they? If only we knew for certain.”
Geoffrey chipped in, “he may be one of the suspects – I mean, one of the men we interviewed. Everything points to someone the victims knew well.”
Tim said, “oh yes. Let’s build up the case against the suspects one by one. The first is Eric Forester.”
Patrick agreed. “Yes, let’s summarise what we already know. Eric was Jane’s boyfriend. Things were far from happy when Jane was killed, as she felt that he was getting tired of her. He called off a weekend date, as he was out with another woman. He lied to us. He hid the fact that he and Jane had met again, albeit for a short time. He has a family history of mental problems and may be suffering from one himself, although the doctor didn’t brand him as a psychopathic case. He may or may not be the killer we are looking for.”
Geoffrey carried on. “It could also be Jeremy. He appeared to be clearly rattled when we met him. He and Sarah had met only recently. She didn’t know him that well and the case of the photograph seems to suggest that she may still have been in love with Tony at the time of her death. He, too, lied to us about his alibi. He could have easily climbed through the window, murdered her, and then climbed back and walked through the door. He also hid from us the fact that he was a good player of darts and had often won in games at the club.”
Patrick continued. “We next come to Tony, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend before Jeremy. Sarah seems to have fallen for him badly; he certainly had charm, the kind girls fall for. He was a smuggler, but whether he is a murderer as well, we don’t know for sure, though the case looks black against him. He may have had a certain amount of knowledge of poisons, as he had spent some time among tribes in India.
“We next come to suspect number four: Michelle’s boyfriend, Neil. We know that he was possessive and jealous. Michelle and he were carrying on, but their relationship was almost at the breaking point. We know that Neil owns a toyshop at West End, which specialises in darts. He could have easily got a dart modified, coating it with poison, and then gone on his killing spree. His alibi was very vague. We’ve also found out another thing about him: his last meeting with Michelle – at the Cosy Café – was stormy, to say the least. We’ve learned from witnesses who identified them that hot words were exchanged.”
Tim said, “the case against Wilbur is also strong. He had a strong motive for killing Michelle. He might have felt that she was behind the embezzlement case against him, leading to losing his job. Then he was heard uttering threats to her. He may have been the guy who rang up Neil, though he denied it. At one point in time, he seems to have been in love with Michelle and felt that she left him in the lurch. What is more to our interest is that he worked at a chemist and may have a thorough knowledge of poison.”
Patrick continued. “We now come to the next two men, namely Victor and Philip. Victor and Alice were very close. At one point, they lived together, but things went wrong. Despite knowing each other for years, they ended up fighting bitterly and ultimately parted. Relationships between them had turned sour and both started looking for greener pastures. Victor may have nursed bitter feelings against Alice – people who were once in love often hurt each other the most. Victor didn’t come from a stable background, either; he, too, had gone through hell. He loved to drink and maybe he was seeing other women on the sly. Maybe he got tired of Alice’s nagging. We know only his side of the story. Then he tried to hide the fact that he had seen Alice a week before the murder. That looks suspicious. It’s too much of a coincidence to think that they met by accident. One of my men has talked to his friend Clara. She said it was Victor who suggested a visit to the café for coffee. Clara doesn’t know what transpired between Alice and Victor, but she said that when he came back to the table, he seemed disturbed – not quite his usual self. Clara didn’t say anything. Clara also couldn’t say whether Alice and Victor had exchanged heated words, but she didn’t think so.
“We now
come to Philip. He gave the impression of liking a quiet life but you never know. However, we know that it was he who left Alice, and not vice-versa. On the surface, he doesn’t have a motive for killing her. He was seeing another girl. However, there is another significant fact that we discovered which Philip hasn’t told us: he does know how to play darts and is pretty good at it. He frequented a local pub, where he won a few dart matches. “
Geoffrey said, “the murderer could be any of them or it could also be someone else – someone we don’t know – a rank outsider.”
Patrick agreed. “What you said could be true, but I have a gut feeling that the murderer is someone we know very well, only I can’t place him immediately. We do, however, know certain things: he knew the lives of his victims. He may have studied them for some time. He knew the route Jane took while returning home, which motel Sarah and Jeremy were going to, Michelle’s habit of going to the park, and he knew that Alice visited the department store every Sunday morning. He is adept at hitting with a dart, knows about ancient poisons, and can act quickly. He’s also pretty resourceful. He knew that Gladys was suspicious and he acted quickly. If only we can trace that fatal telephone call of Gladys’s, we may be able to get our hooks in him. He also knew that Bruce had seen something, acting quickly and with alacrity. He seems equally adept with a knife, as well as poisoned darts. He...”
Tim interrupted him excitedly. “Chief, I’ve just thought of something. All through the case, a tall man figured prominently. There was a tall man nearby when Jane was murdered, a tall man jogging with his hands in his pocket in the park, another tall man in a green tee shirt was seen by Carla Carlson coming towards Michelle’s bench, a tall man walked away from the scene in Alice’s murder, while another tall man hovered nearby…”
The Untimely Death Box Set Page 80
