by Robert Innes
Micky smirked again. “Yeah. You lot probably can.” He pulled up the leg on his tracksuits to reveal an electronic tag strapped around his ankle.
“When did you get that?” Sally asked, looking at him surprised.
“After the last time you lot unfairly arrested me,” Micky replied, sitting up again and spinning around slowly in the chair. “Or don’t the other pigs talk to you?”
“They do,” Sally said sweetly. “But I tend to only find out about people actually worth my time keeping an eye on. Not little kids trying to act the big man.”
Micky looked sullenly back at her, clearly insulted, but said nothing more. Again, Blake had to stop himself from laughing.
“What about your wife, Lionel?” Sally asked. “Where is she?”
“Visiting her mother,” Lionel replied. “I have train ticket receipts inside if you don’t believe me. She took the 16:12 service to Lowestoft last night. I dropped her at the station myself.”
“You’re quite keen on trains, I understand, Mr Lomax?” Blake asked, indicating the impressive model railway in the centre of the workshop.
“Is that a crime now, as well?” Lionel snapped.
“Not at all. But from what I’ve gathered, your family used to own a steam railway where the Urquhart manor now is?”
“You’re looking at it,” Lionel replied.
“Is this a representation of the railway?” Blake asked, raising his eyebrows. “Wow. I have to say, I’m very impressed. This is really detailed.”
“Right down to the trees on the side of the line,” Lionel said, his defence dropping slightly from Blake’s compliments. “All the different points and sidings, tunnels. It wasn’t the main line, but my grandparents were very proud of it.”
“I bet,” Blake said. “It must have been horrible for your family to lose it all, just like that.”
“Well, it was over time, but yes,” Lionel replied, watching the model trains go around the tracks wistfully. “I would have loved to have the opportunity to be able to run my own railway, but I was only young when that manor was built.”
He pointed towards a station with only the one track leading towards it. “That’s where the manor is now. You can see the two lakes just a bit further on from the station. End of the line. The engines would turn round and then take any visitors back up the track again.”
“But this huge rivalry between the families still remains?” Blake asked him, studying the area of the line where the Manor of the Lakes now stood.
“Detective, the Urquharts destroyed my family’s heritage,” Lionel replied, looking angry again. “These sort of things, they’re never forgotten. There’s resentment and bad blood that’ll last longer than this railway managed.”
“Your own daughter has married an Urquhart,” Blake told him. “From what I’ve seen Polly and Rupert are very happy together. Is that not enough?”
Micky laughed and spun round on the chair again. “Don’t talk to him about Polly.”
“She left this family when she walked down that aisle,” Lionel said firmly. “Nothing more to say.”
There was a few moments silence, then Sally began telling the Lomaxes that they would need to be spoken to again. While she was doing this, Blake watched one of the trains going around the model track and then glanced around the workshop again. He wandered over towards the large steel plates leaning against one of the far walls and toyed with it to gauge its weight, thinking intently. Sally tapped him on the shoulder and they began walking back towards the car.
“Is that bloody steam whistle going to go off aga-“ Blake began, before giving another startled jump as the high pitched whistle rang out across the yard again.
Once they were back inside the car, Sally turned to him. “What do you think?”
Blake shook his head, trying to piece together what he knew so far. “I feel like there’s answers staring me in the face and I’m not seeing them.”
“Those sheets of steel he’s got in that workshop,” Sally began. “They looked like-“
“Like they could hold the weight of somebody standing on top of them?” Blake sighed. “I know, that’s exactly what I thought. It’d be easy enough to set up, maybe with a bit of inside help. I dunno, on top of some poles or something and then he just walks across. Except there weren’t any supports for that hooded man to walk across when I looked in that lake a few minutes after the murder. And even if there were, why? That’s what I don’t get about any of this. Why would you go to the trouble of setting up some massive illusion like that, where you know you’ve got people watching you? Wouldn’t it be far easier to just stab in the back in his room or something?”
Sally started the car and they began to drive out of the yard. “It could have been Lionel underneath that hood. If Micky was tagged and their mother, who’s a piece of work as well to be honest, was out of town, if it was any of them, it would have to be Lionel?”
Blake leant back in his seat and shook his head. “He’s not tall enough, Sal. I was staring at whoever it was, they towered over Duncan, even when he was stood up. Lionel’s only about five foot eight, if that.”
“So, say we discount the Lomaxes for a minute,” Sally said as they pulled out onto the main road. “Who else is there that would want to cause harm to Duncan?”
“Well, his mother reckons just about anyone he came into contact with,” Blake answered, pulling his ecig out of his pocket. “But the people who were in that hut with us-“
Blake stopped, his eyes wide.
“What?” Sally asked, frowning at him.
“Oh my God,” Blake murmured. “The one person I completely forgot about. She wasn’t even in the hut with us when it happened.”
“Who?”
“Davina,” Blake replied. “Nathan’s wife.”
Harrison wandered around the grounds of the manor, feeling bored and miserable. His suggestion to Blake that they investigate what had happened to Duncan had not been one he had intended for Blake to take entirely seriously, but all the same it had annoyed him when Blake had dismissed the idea so quickly.
As he reached the hut, the lake where Duncan had been murdered shimmered as a strong gust of wind blew over the surface of the water, creating a series of small waves that lapped over the water’s edge. Harrison sighed and turned his back to face the other lake behind the hut. If he was going to sit and stare wistfully over a body of water, he decided he would rather it was one that had not been the scene of a murder.
He sat down and pulled his legs up to his chin. A swan flew down to the lake and glided across the surface before coming to a stop somewhere in the middle.
Was he kidding himself? Was it realistic that he and Blake could actually ever make it work? Before he had met Nathan, Harrison might have thought so, but Nathan, cocky and irritating as he might be, was also confident, good looking, and witty. Although Harrison had never thought of himself as an unattractive person, his self-confidence always seemed to hold him back. There was surely only so long Blake would be able to handle Harrison’s deep rooted feelings that he wasn’t good enough, before it started to cause problems in their relationship.
There was no telling how long Blake would be, and Harrison still needed to find Polly and ask whether she wanted them to stay or not. He decided to get that particular line of questioning over and done with. At least if Polly said that it would be best if they left, he and Blake might be able to salvage some more time together somewhere else before they both had to return to Harmschapel.
He stood up and was just about to start walking back towards the mansion when he heard two angry voices coming towards him.
“...don’t see anything wrong in me asking what the hell is up with you?”
“I’ve told you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong. Seriously, can you just get off my case?”
It was Nathan and Davina. They were walking straight towards him and Nathan was the last person Harrison wanted to see at that moment. He ducked out of sight behind a hedge, hoping they w
ould keep on walking, but to his dismay, they were heading straight towards the hut.
“I’m your husband, for God’s sake! Will you stop being so defensive? I’m actually worried about you!”
“So concerned that you’ve been talking non-stop about that bloody policeman since he arrived here?”
“No I haven’t.”
They were now so close that Harrison had to lie down on the floor behind the hedge to avoid being seen. Through the hedge, he could see Davina trying to get into the hut.
“Oh, bloody thing’s locked!”
“Good!” Nathan said, crossing his arms and standing in her way. “So, tell me what’s wrong. You’ve been acting like a bear with a sore head since yesterday.”
“Is it any wonder?”
“And don’t try and tell me that it’s just to do with Blake,” Nathan replied sharply. “Not that you’ve got anything to worry about.”
“No,” Davina said sarcastically. “Course I haven’t.”
Nathan rolled his eyes and then raised his eyebrows expectantly for her to continue.
“In case you’ve forgotten, there was a murder here yesterday.”
“Yeah, I know that. I saw it happen, remember? You didn’t. And the victim was somebody who’s treated you like dirt since you started working here.”
“I know,” Davina said, sighing.
“Then, what’s your problem?”
Davina glanced around them. Harrison had to flatten his whole body against the floor to avoid direct eye contact with her, but it was too late now for him to try and get away.
“You do love me, don’t you?” Davina asked quietly.
“You don’t even need to ask that question,” Nathan replied, frowning.
“Don’t I?”
“Oh for the love of -” Nathan began to walk off, but Davina grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“No, wait,” she pleaded. “Listen to me.”
Harrison’s legs were starting to hurt from the position he had landed in but he daren’t move in case he attracted attention to himself. Davina took a deep breath. It seemed there was something she wanted to say, but she did not know how to word it.
“I’ve done something,” she murmured. “But I only did it because I want me and you to work. I did it for us.”
Nathan stared at her confused. “What are you talking about?”
Davina looked down at the ground, shuffling uncomfortably. “I didn’t feel like I had a lot of choice, and I’m not blaming you for that, I promise. You know the money problems we’ve been having? I got offered a solution, and I took it. But-“
She stopped and stared behind Nathan, frowning.
“What?” Nathan pressed, trying to catch her eye again. “What have you done?”
“Something’s wrong,” Davina said, ignoring him. “Look, an ambulance has just turned up!”
Harrison craned his neck as discreetly as he could, but before he could take a proper look, Davina had already begun running back towards the mansion, with Nathan in hot pursuit. Standing up, Harrison could see that Davina was right – there was an ambulance roaring its way through the empty car park, towards the mansion, its blue lights flashing and siren screaming.
Holding back just far enough so Nathan and Davina would not suspect him being so nearby, Harrison jogged back to the mansion in time to see the doors flying open and Patricia Urquhart being wheeled out on a stretcher, convulsing wildly.
“What’s happened to her?” Nathan asked Polly as she ran out of the doors to the reception area and towards the ambulance.
Before Polly could answer, Inspector Gresham stepped outside, watching the paramedics putting Patricia into the ambulance with an expression of annoyance on his face. “She started having a fit just as I was interviewing her.”
“It’s a seizure, you stupid man!” Polly snapped at him. “She was having a seizure. It’s a symptom of her illness and it can happen at any time.”
“Is she going to be alright?” Harrison asked.
Nathan and Davina turned round, surprised to see Harrison standing right behind them. Davina maintained her stare, which Harrison tried his hardest to avoid.
“I don’t know,” Polly said. “It’s happened before, but not to this level, it was a very intense one and as you can see, she’s still shaking.”
“Mother!” cried another voice from inside the mansion, before Rupert came running out. “Is she alright? Is it another fit? I have to go with her!”
Polly gripped his wrists and talked calmly to him. “She is going to be fine, Rupert. I’m going with her, there’s nothing you’ll be able to do. There’s things to sort out here. The Inspector will want to speak to you. I will call you from the hospital.”
“I can’t lose her too,” Rupert whimpered, looking on the verge of tears. “I just can’t!”
“She’ll be absolutely fine, fella,” Nathan said, clapping Rupert on the shoulder. “She’s in the best hands.” Even with the severity of the situation, Harrison could not help but think how exceptionally irritating he found Nathan. He was struggling to see what could ever have attracted Blake to him in the first place.
“Yes, I’d rather like to speak to you, Mr Urquhart. There’s a few things I’d like to clarify about your relationship with your brother, if you don’t mind?”
“I’ve told you everything I know, please!” Rupert cried, as Polly kissed him briefly and ran towards the ambulance. “My mother is being taken away in the back of an ambulance. She’s extremely unwell! Can we not do this later?”
“I’m inclined to agree with the gentleman here,” Gresham replied carelessly, nodding his head at Nathan. “She’s in the best possible hands. But if you don’t mind, I’ve got a murder to investigate. Your wife will call you from the hospital, so if you would?”
He pointed towards the entrance to the manor and raised his eyebrows pompously. Harrison could quite easily see why Blake had hated working under him so much. He seemed to have very little compassion for anybody, especially when compared to Blake.
Rupert sighed, running his hands through his hair before turning round and striding through the main doors, pursued by Gresham, leaving Davina, Nathan, and Harrison standing in silence as the sound of the ambulance sirens faded away in the distance.
“What were you going to tell me?” Nathan asked Davina at last, before turning to Harrison. “Would you mind pushing off, fella? We’re trying to have a private discussion here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Davina murmured, shaking her head, and running towards the door of the mansion.
“Davina, we were talking,” Nathan said hotly.
“I said it doesn’t matter, Nathan!” she exclaimed. She swung the door open and disappeared inside, slamming the door behind her.
Nathan let out a moan and turned to Harrison angrily. “What are you lurking about here for? Blake got bored of you already, has he?”
Harrison wished he could argue the opposite, but he was not entirely sure he truthfully could. “He’s gone off with one of the police officers, actually. He’ll be back soon.”
Nathan smirked knowingly. “What did I tell you? He won’t be able to rest now until he works out who did it. A word of advice now it’s just you and me, fella. Don’t ever think you’ll take priority in Blake’s life. The only way you’ll ever hold his full attention is if you go out and murder somebody. Take it from me, relationships are not Blake’s strong point.”
Harrison felt a surge of anger go through him, fully aware that Nathan was getting to him as much as he clearly meant to. “It doesn’t look like yours is going all that well. I overheard what you two were talking about back there. She’s got secrets. What’s happened? Is it something to do with Duncan’s murder?”
Nathan stared at him for a moment, then rolled his eyes dismissively. “Got quite the imagination there, haven’t you fella? I think I’d know if my own wife was involved in a murder, don’t you?”
“She was the only one who wasn’t in tha
t hut when we saw the murder happen,” Harrison continued, attempting to convey an air of superiority, but not entirely convinced it was working.
“I didn’t see Mariah Carey in there either, have you accounted for her movements the other night?” He took a step towards Harrison and leant forwards. “Stop trying to impress Blake. It’ll never happen. Just move on with your life. You’re wasting your time. I hate to break it to you, fella, but since he saw me again, haven’t you noticed that Blake has barely paid you any attention? There’s a reason for that. Try working that out before you start trying to-“
“Is there a problem here?”
Both Harrison and Nathan’s heads quickly turned to where the voice had come from. Blake and Sally were striding towards them.
“No problems at all, Blakey. Me and Harrison here were just having a nice little chat, isn’t that right, fella?”
Harrison didn’t answer. He just looked down at the ground, embarrassed that, once again, Blake had to jump to his defence.
“Well, you folks be having yourselves a good evening.” Nathan threw one last smirk at Harrison then disappeared into the mansion.
“What was that about?” Blake asked, his eyes on the door that Nathan had just slammed behind him.
“Oh, nothing much,” Harrison said, shrugging. “How did it go with the Lomaxes?”
Blake glanced at Sally. “Good question. We’re not sure.”
“It’s been pretty eventful here, since you’ve been gone,” Harrison told him, glad that the subject of Nathan seemed to be behind them. “Patricia Urquhart got taken away in an ambulance.”
Sally raised her eyebrows. “Is that the mother? She’s got cancer, right? What happened?”
Before Harrison could reply, the door to the manor burst open again and Inspector Gresham strode out, glaring at Blake and Sally.
“And where the hell have you been?” he snapped.
“I’ve been speaking to the Lomaxes, Sir,” Sally replied, smiling sweetly at her boss. “You know, Polly Urquhart’s family who have been reported for giving the Urquharts so much trouble.”
“And?” Gresham exclaimed sharply, a small vein appearing on the side of his head.
