Mac’s eye was caught by a red package that stood on a shelf at about head height. It was red and had a drawing of a rat that was lying on its back.
‘What’s that?’ Mac asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Molly replied.
She moved the lawn mower and got a closer look.
‘It’s rat poison I think,’ she said as she raised her hand to touch it.
‘Don’t touch it!’ Mac said forcefully as her hand went towards the poison. ‘Look!’
He pointed to the corner of the packet which had been gnawed away. Some of the poison had leaked and tiny paw prints could be seen.
Molly looked around at Mac with a shocked expression on her face.
‘You don’t think…you couldn’t…I mean that must have been there for years. I didn’t even know it was there.’
Mac turned to Leigh and whispered, ‘I’m phoning Andy. Can you get her back in the living room and don’t let her out of your sight until someone comes.’
‘Do you think she’s the murderer?’ Leigh whispered back.
‘If I’m honest, I’m not sure, but it looks like she might have had the means to carry out the murder as well as a motive. I can’t take the chance.’
He rang Andy Reid and told him what he’d found. Andy said that he’d be there in fifteen minutes and that he’d also arrange for a forensics team to visit as soon as possible. He asked Mac if he could stay where he was until they arrived. Mac decided to have a look around the rest of the house while he waited.
He found it difficult to make his way around as every room was so full of junk, even the upstairs bathroom had stacks of old newspapers in one corner. However there was one room upstairs that was locked. Mac got out his lock picks and had the door open in seconds. Even he was surprised at what the room contained.
No wonder she didn’t want us looking around, Mac thought. He went back downstairs and Molly gave him a questioning look.
‘I’ve looked in all the rooms upstairs Molly,’ he said, stressing the word ‘all’.
She said nothing. After a few seconds she nodded her head and the nervousness was replaced by a look of resignation. He knew then that his guess had been right.
A few minutes later the bell rang and Mac ushered Andy and Toni in. He gestured at them to follow him outside. He showed them the rat poison.
‘Do you think she did it then?’ Andy asked.
Mac shook his head.
‘No, I don’t think it’s her. She seemed genuinely surprised when I found the rat poison and the tracks look a bit small for a squirrel. She obviously resented Catherine greatly but, that being the case, why wait for a year before killing her?’
Andy went and took a look.
‘I see what you mean about the tracks. We’ll get forensics to take a look anyway. So you think she may be innocent?’
‘Of murder at least.’
‘What do you mean?’ Andy looked intrigued. ‘You think she’s guilty of something else, don’t you?’
‘Follow me and I’ll show you.’
As they trooped through the living room on their way upstairs Molly watched them go by with an expression that was half-smile, half-grimace.
‘Here,’ Mac said, pointing to the door.
Andy opened the door and looked inside.
‘Good God!’ he exclaimed and then motioned for Toni to follow him inside.
Mac stayed in the hallway, there was barely room for two inside the door.
‘What’s she doing, starting up her own shop or something?’ Toni said with some surprise.
‘Tell me what you see,’ Mac asked.
‘There’s kid’s toys, kids clothes, socks, trousers, shirts, underwear and yet more kid’s toys, stacked right up to the ceiling. Boxes and boxes of them and a lot of them still in their original packaging. Does she have any children?’ Toni asked.
‘There’s none living with her now but I’ll bet she had one once,’ Mac replied with certainty.
‘You think she’s a shoplifter, don’t you?’ Andy asked.
‘Yes, I’d bet on it and a good one too if she’s managed to steal all that without getting caught. ’
‘But why? It doesn’t look as if she’s even opened any of this stuff?’ Toni asked.
‘Some people steal for the thrill of it but it can also be a cry for help. In my time I’ve come across quite a few shoplifters who were quite relieved to get caught, it brought whatever personal crisis they were going through to a head.’
‘Let’s get her down the station then. Mac, would you mind hanging on until the forensics team arrives? I’ll send a uniform down as soon as I can to keep them company.’
‘No problem. Do me a favour though, I asked for some addresses earlier, do you think he could bring them with him?’
‘I’ll make sure he does. See you later for the debrief.’
Molly didn’t seem surprised when Andy asked her to accompany him to the station, if anything her expression was one nearer relief. She got her coat on, gave Mac a pale smile and meekly followed the two policemen out.
‘Does Andy really think she murdered Catherine?’ Leigh asked.
‘No, she’s not being arrested for that. We found an Ali Baba’s cave of stuff upstairs, almost certainly stolen.’
‘You mean Molly’s a shoplifter?’
‘Yes but she didn’t steal for herself, she only stole children’s clothes and toys, all unopened. I’ll like to know why though.’
He rang Amanda and asked her if Molly had any children. She told him that she had once talked about a son. He was living in Australia now and apparently she hadn’t seen him for quite some time.
When he finished speaking to Amanda he told Leigh the news.
‘I thought she might have had a child who died but Australia? Well, that’s a kind of bereavement too, I suppose.’
‘So what do we do now?’ Leigh asked.
‘We sit and wait for forensics to show up.’
Mac sat down and made himself comfortable.
‘Tell me do people still surprise you?’ Leigh asked.
Mac looked at Leigh with interest.
‘Why do you ask?’
Her shoulders slumped.
‘Well I looked you up on Google last night. I was curious but, if I’m honest, I wasn’t expecting to find anything.’
‘And did you?’
Leigh nodded.
‘Wikipedia has quite a bit on you. You know I wondered why DI Reid put me with you. I figured out that you were an ex-policeman but I wouldn’t have guessed that you once headed the Met’s Murder Squad. I looked up some of your cases too.’
‘And did you find them interesting?’
She nodded.
‘Anyway you were asking if people still surprised me and I’d have to say yes, all the time. When you take a big step back the patterns of behaviour can be near enough the same but I find that the texture of each case is always different. I never find people boring.’
‘I’ve noticed that when you ask a question you’re always looking quite hard at how they react as well as listening to what they say,’ Leigh said.
‘Body language is very hard to disguise, although I’ve known one or two who could do it, but generally I must admit that I trust someone’s reaction more than what they say. Words can be very slippery, can’t they?’
‘So tell me, what did you notice about Molly?’ Leigh asked.
‘Her reaction when I asked if we could have a look around was quite revealing. Before that I couldn’t quite make out if she was nervous about us being here or if she was just one of those people who fidget all the time. Then there was the rat poison. I could see that she was really surprised at it being there at all and, not only that, if I hadn’t stopped her I’m sure she’d have touched it. If she had killed Catherine with that poison she’d know how deadly it is and wouldn’t have wanted to get so close. So, if I’m honest, I didn’t fancy her for the murder but I was certain she was hiding something. The, when I looked in the locked room, I
knew then that she had something to be nervous about.’
Mac heard some sounds from the front of the house and opened the door. A big van was parked half on the pavement and two men were getting into white plastic all-in-ones. When they’d dressed one of the men approached Mac as he pulled his gloves on while the other was taping the front fence - ‘Crime Scene – Do not enter.’
‘Mr. Maguire, I take it?’ he said.
Mac noticed that forensics people never shook hands much even when they weren’t gloved up.
‘Yes that’s me.’
‘I’m Bob Yeardley, I’d be grateful if you could show me what you’ve found.’
Bob went back to the van and got what looked like a very large black toolbox, his forensics kit. Mac led him through the house and showed him the rat poison in the shed. Bob opened up his box and got a large clear plastic evidence bag from it. He carefully picked up the packet of rat poison and placed it in the bag and sealed it. He held it up and looked at the back of the packet.
‘Your case involves thallium doesn’t it?’ Bob asked.
‘That’s right.’
‘Well this isn’t the source then. This poison is Warfarin based.’
He placed the bag carefully in his box.
‘Anything else I should be looking at?’
Mac led him to the upstairs room. Leigh followed them. He could see that, even though Leigh knew what was in the room, she was still surprised at just how much of it there was.
‘I take it that you think that all of this is stolen?’ Bob asked.
‘Hopefully you’ll be able to confirm that for us. It would be nice if we could trace some of the more recent items back to the shops they were lifted from.’
‘I’ve never seen anything quite like this before,’ Bob said. ‘All kid’s stuff and look at that over there, an old Gameboy still in its original packaging. I used to play one of those when I was a kid.’
‘Looks like she’s been doing it for quite a while then.’
‘Well, we’ve got our work cut out alright.’
‘I’ll let you get on with it then.’
‘Can you tell my partner to join me up here?’ Bob asked with a sigh.
As he was doing so a police car pulled up. A uniformed policeman got out.
‘Are you Mr. Maguire?’ he asked.
‘Yes that’s me,’ Mac confirmed.
‘DI Reid said I should give you this.’
He handed Mac a sheet of paper. Mac thanked him and headed for the car. He felt a sharp stab of pain as he bent down to get into the car and, once seated, he pretended to study the sheet of paper until it went away. When he could think again he pulled out the map.
‘Unfortunately none of these addresses are within a half kilometre of Amanda’s house.’
He handed the paper to Leigh.
‘So where to first?’ she asked.
‘I suggest we visit Catherine Mathers then Peggy Corning. We’ll leave the other two until later. So we head out towards Baldock and then over to the other side of the golf club.’
‘Do you think it might be an idea to have a rest then?’ Leigh asked with some concern. ‘I could see you were in a bit of pain as you got into the car.’
‘Well noticed. Yes, I suppose a lie down for an hour or so won’t hurt.’
He looked at Leigh as she drove. He was beginning to think that they might get on.
Catherine Mathers lived in a small modern estate about halfway between Letchworth and Baldock. Mac’s knock on the door was answered by a plump, grey haired woman.
Leigh showed her warrant card.
Mac introduced Leigh and then started to introduce himself.
She put her glasses on and peered at Mac as he spoke. He was just about to explain why they were there when Mrs. Mathers interrupted him.
‘Yes, of course you are. How exciting! I take it you’re here about Catherine?’
She ushered them both inside.
Although both women lived alone this house was the exact opposite of Molly Etherington’s being spacious and comfortable looking. Mac thought it was the first house he’d seen in this investigation that he might actually consider living in.
‘Tea or coffee?’ she asked.
‘Coffee please, Mrs. Mathers,’ Mac replied.
‘Oh please call me Kay. And you dear?’ she asked turning to Leigh.
‘Can I just have a glass of water?’ Leigh asked.
‘Of course, coming up.’
She disappeared into the kitchen.
‘I never turn down a cup of coffee or tea when offered,’ Mac stated. In a lower voice he continued, ‘Water’s too quick. Tea or coffee always gives you the chance for a sneaky look around.’
He looked first at the pictures on the mantelpiece. A slightly younger Kay Mathers standing by a sea wall with a man in his fifties, the dead husband Mac surmised. An even younger Kay standing in a garden with a small boy and even smaller girl. From what she was wearing, Mac guessed it was taken sometime in the seventies.
He glanced over towards the picture window underneath which there was a small desk. On the desk there was an open laptop and a wooden book stand that had a magazine on it. On the wall next to the desk there were two cork boards that had cut-out newspaper and magazine articles pinned to them. He went over and had a look. They were all about crime, murders mostly.
‘Bloody hell!’ Leigh heard Mac exclaim softly.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
She came over to take a look. He pointed at a picture of himself, a Mac that was some ten years younger.
‘Her remark did puzzle me a bit, you know when I was introducing myself.’
‘So she knows who you are then? She looks like a nice woman, why would she be interested in all this?’
‘I can think of a good reason, a very good reason indeed,’ Mac said with a slow smile.
Chapter Nine
‘I see you’ve found my little office then,’ Kay said cheerily as she placed a tray on the coffee table. ‘Here, I’ve got some nice biscuits too.’
Mac and Leigh sat down on the settee.
‘Having a look around while I was out of the room?’ Kay asked with a cheeky smile.
‘No…well yes, actually,’ Mac admitted.
‘Just what I’d expect from a good detective.’
‘I know your little secret, Mrs. Mathers,’ Mac said with a smile as he took a sip of coffee.
‘You’ve found me out have you DCS Maguire?’ Kay said with a broad grin. ‘I’d expect no less from you.’
‘Found out what?’
Leigh was clearly puzzled.
‘We’re looking at Letchworth’s answer to Agatha Christie, isn’t that right Kay?’
‘Well I must admit I don’t like Agatha Christie that much, all those country house murders. I was going for something much tougher with my writing, more urban if you like, that’s how I knew who you were. I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’ve looked at all your cases. Now I get to meet you in person, quite exciting really.’
‘Tell me, as you’re in the business, what’s your take on Catherine Gascoigne’s murder?’
‘Well I must admit it’s not a storyline I’d have ever come up with. A death in a Jane Austen fan club, not exactly Elmore Leonard is it?’ she said with a wry smile. ‘However I’ve thought about it quite a bit but I’ve gotten nowhere, too many suspects perhaps. Catherine was not a well-liked woman.’
‘What about you? Would you have been tempted?’
‘Oh no dear,’ Kay said with a big smile. ‘I found the politics tiresome but no more than that. When I heard that Anne had formed her own little group I jumped at the chance. For me it’s all about the novels, all the little cliques and the manoeuvring that went on in the Society almost took the shine off Jane for me.’
‘What about the other members of your group?’
‘You surely don’t suspect one of us do you?’ she said, looking quite serious.
‘Not necessarily but I’d
still like to know more,’ Mac persisted.
‘Okay there’s me and Anne who runs the group. Then there’s Amanda, Molly, Peggy, Diane and Zsuzsanna with a Z. Well two Z’s actually.’
‘That’s an unusual name isn’t it?’ Mac asked.
‘Yes it is. I think her family were originally from Eastern Europe.’
‘Okay I’ve already spoken to Anne and Amanda, tell me about the rest.’
Mac didn’t want to have to explain what had just happened with Molly. She’d hear about it soon enough. Anyway he was interested in hearing her opinion of Molly.
‘Okay, Molly Etherington never misses a meeting and she really knows her Austen. I suspect she’s a bit of a lonely soul and the meetings are a large part of how she socialises. I don’t think she’d say boo to a goose personally. Then there’s Peggy Corning. She’s like me, getting on a bit. She said that she joined the group to find out more about Austen as her daughter was mad on her. She said once that she lives with her daughter if I remember right. Nice woman, very friendly. And then there’s Zsuzsanna Dixon. She’s in her fifties and she’s very clever. She’s deputy head at St. Hilda’s School and every bit as good as Catherine when it comes to the scholarly side of Jane’s books.
Now Diane Caversham’s quite different to the rest of us. She’s only thirty or so and already divorced, poor dear. She’s always really well dressed and obviously not short of a bob or two. She reads Jane non-stop and I’m sure if she got an edition that had a full stop in the wrong place she’d notice it. She left the Society quite acrimoniously apparently, denouncing Catherine as a manipulating bitch in front of all the members. However she never told us exactly what it was that upset her so much, which is strange isn’t it?’
‘Tell me more about Diane Caversham,’ Mac asked.
He was interested. It seemed that she and Catherine were enemies and he wanted to know why.
‘Well as I said she’s definitely not short of money. She once let it slip that her ex-husband was a banker of some sort.’
‘What do you mean by ‘let it slip’?’
‘Well that’s the only thing I’ve ever heard her say about her life before she moved here.’
‘She’s in Wymondley, isn’t she? How long has she lived there?’ Mac asked.
The Dead Squirrel (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 2) Page 8
