The Coopers Field Murder

by Wonny Lea

  Half-heartedly Shelley mentioned the food she had prepared, but Martin had already turned off the oven, and it was two hours later before he turned it back on and they even thought about eating.

  ‘What about making this a permanent arrangement?’ asked Martin as snuggled on the sofa they shared a large bowl of the ham and broccoli pasta bake Shelley had made. ‘I would have suggested it sooner,’ he teased, ‘but I had to check out your culinary skills first, and judging by this they are almost as good as your other attributes.’

  ‘Cheek!’ said Shelley, but then she was quiet.

  ‘You haven’t answered my question,’ Martin said. ‘Do you need some time to consider? I just thought you felt the same way as me and I really want to be with you on more than a part-time basis.’

  Shelley kissed Martin on the end of his nose. ‘I love you,’ she said simply. ‘I have wanted this for much longer than you have, but I can’t just desert my father. He relies on me now that Mum’s no longer around.’

  For best part of an hour they thought about possible arrangements to accommodate the three of them, but nothing was quite right and, as Shelley admitted, it was something they needed to do with her father’s input.

  ‘Let’s not think about this now,’ said Shelley. ‘Let’s not think about the washing up either – let’s just go back to bed!’

  ‘You brazen hussy!’ laughed Martin, as he chased her up the stairs.

  Back at the Parkland Nursing Home Alex had decided to oversee the transfer of all the documents from the Administrators Office to Incident Room One at Goleudy, and he arrived just in time to hear PC Davies arguing with two men. Neither of the men was known to Alex and he asked PC Davies who they were and if there was a problem.

  Not waiting for PC Davies to reply, Mr Cooper interjected. ‘It’s more a question of who are you rather than who are we,’ he said, loudly and curtly. ‘For your information, my name is Anthony Cooper and I am the owner of this establishment. This,’ he said placing his hand in front of the other man, ‘is Dr Shaw, and he is our residents’ nominated general practitioner. We have every right to be here, but can the same be said for you, I wonder?’

  ‘No need for you to wonder, sir,’ said Alex in his most polite but officious manner. ‘My name is Alex Griffiths and I head up the Scene of Crime Investigation Team for this area. We are investigating the possibility of a crime or crimes, and so legally I am well within my rights to be here.’

  ‘Rubbish!’ Dr Shaw spoke for the first time. ‘Suicide is not a crime – hasn’t been considered so since the Suicide Act of 1961. Perhaps you haven’t caught up with it yet,’ he said rudely.

  ‘Oh, I think I have,’ answered Alex calmly. ‘I can quote you the subsequent amendments if you like – but who said anything about the crime in question being suicide?’

  ‘What else would it be?’ the doctor demanded.

  ‘That’s not for me to say, sir. Detective Chief Inspector Phelps is leading the investigation, and he will be the one to decide the nature of the crime. I am just here to ensure that everything he needs in order to reach that decision is made available to him. To that end I will be taking all the documents and paperwork from this office to Goleudy, the police headquarters in Cardiff Bay. I want to get the job finished before I go home tonight, so if you don’t mind I will just get on with it.’

  ‘That’s the problem,’ said PC Davies. ‘It was when I told these gentlemen that you were coming to take the files and things that they started arguing with me.’

  ‘I still say you have no right to take medical records. They could be needed if any one of the residents is taken ill during the night, and without access to the records a resident’s life could be put at risk. You would be responsible, and you can be sure that I would have no problem in pointing the finger. Do you get that?’

  Alex was losing his patience, but he had to admit that the doctor had a point and thankfully he had thought of a solution. He asked PC Davies for a pen and a piece of paper, and after writing down a name and a telephone number he handed the paper to the doctor.

  ‘If the nurse on night duty needs to send for a doctor for one of the residents, she can dial that number straight after doing so. I can personally guarantee that the notes she requests will be here before the doctor arrives so no one will be put at risk.’

  PC Davies had already boxed the things that were needed, and handed the first box to Alex who hurried off to load it in to his car. Realising they were not going to achieve anything by further arguments with the officers, Mr Cooper and Dr Shaw walked off and were heard arguing and swearing as they went in the direction of Cooper’s office.

  After he had taken what he believed to be the last box, Alex returned to check the room and to speak to PC Davies.

  ‘I don’t think there is any need for you to stay here,’ said Alex. ‘We can lock the door and take the key, and even if those two feel the need to come back here there’s nothing left for them to interfere with. Why don’t you call it a day and I’ll give you a lift back?’

  By the time Martin arrived at Incident Room One the following morning Matt was already there and had worked his way through three of the case files from the sets found on Peter Doster’s desk.

  ‘Morning,’ he said as Martin walked towards him. ‘First thing to say is that the red pen we found on Mr Doster’s desk is the one that has been used to write on these notes, and the pen has his fingerprints on it so it was used by him. Not that there was ever any serious doubt about that but I knew you would want it confirmed.’

  ‘Of course,’ replied Martin. ‘I have long since learnt not to take anything for granted.’ He picked up the three files that Matt had already scrutinised and asked him what conclusions he had reached.

  ‘No conclusions,’ replied Matt. ‘If you look at that whiteboard there, I’ve made eleven columns headed with the name of each of the residents whose case notes we have. To the left of the columns I am writing down the things that are marked in red in each of the records, and trying to compare things.’

  Martin laughed. ‘Watch it, Matt, you’re in danger of becoming a columns man like me, but as the saying goes, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. What can I say – I like your style!’

  Taking a closer look, Martin saw that there were four things written on the left-hand side of the board. The first was no surprise, as in all the notes looked at so far Mr Doster had circled in red, ‘This resident does not wish to be admitted to hospital under any circumstances’.

  The next thing in common to the three sets of notes was the sudden increase in medication, and on the three resident’s prescription sheets the red pen identified the dates that a variety of different drugs had been prescribed. Matt mentioned the fact that in the three cases the prescription drugs had been ordered by Dr Shaw, but they both agreed there was no real significance in that, as he was the designated GP for the home and would be the usual signatory for all the residents.

  The next thing Matt had as a common thread was, perversely, a different name in each of the records. Martin asked him to explain what that was all about.

  ‘I started at the top of the pile,’ said Matt. ‘The first case notes I looked at belonged to Colin James. In his notes alongside a date that is four days before his death is the name William Morris, circled in red ink. The next set of notes belonged to a lady called Connie Marshall, and in this case just three days before her death the name Edward Partridge appears and has been circled by Mr Doster. The last that I have looked at so far are the notes of a gentleman by the name of Terence Watts, and there is a similar pattern. In his notes, and again it is three days before he died, the name Caroline Wilson has been written and again it’s circled in red.’

  ‘I have no idea who Caroline Wilson is, or Edward Partridge, but of course we both know the name William Morris. He is the gentleman who first attracted our attention, and we know he is married to Colin James’ daughter. I am surmising that the other names are either the next of kin of
these deceased residents or are related to them in some way.’

  Martin nodded, and looked at Matt’s final line for comparison. This one needed no explanation. In all the notes the copies of the death certificates had been carefully stapled to the front cover, and each one gave the cause of death as pneumonia. Each one was signed by Dr Shaw. It now came as no surprise to find both these entries circled with the red pen of Peter Doster.

  Martin picked up the fourth record and called out to Matt to tick the items off in his columns if they appeared – and they did! Mavis Clegg was the one Martin studied and, yes, the request for non-admission to hospital was there, as was the sudden increase in medication prescribed by Dr Shaw. There was a name on her notes, written five days before her death, but this time there was no first name, just a Mr Watson. Finally the cause of death was the same as the others and the death certificate signed by Dr Shaw.

  The two men went through five more case records in exactly the same way and came up with exactly the same results.

  ‘The other thing,’ said Matt ‘is that up to this point these people are the same ones that Sarah and Maria came up with when they were randomly thinking back to residents who they had not expected to die when they did.’

  ‘Yes but we’ve got three more, why would that be?’ Without waiting for a reply Martin answered his own question. ‘Wait a minute; didn’t you say that Sarah went back over the past six months and the next ones in this pile pre-date that.’

  ‘How far do we need to go back then?’ questioned Matt.

  ‘The answer to that is just as long as it takes, and we might need to look at every single record, but I don’t really think that will be necessary. I think that in some way Mr Doster was involved with whatever has been going on here, and he either got cold feet or was unable to cope with his conscience. I wouldn’t be surprised if the notes he had on his desk are what he wanted us to see and in order to ensure that we didn’t miss anything he meticulously went through each one and highlighted the relevant entries.’

  ‘Do you think these people died as a result of the sudden increase in their medication?’ asked Matt.

  ‘It looks as if the medication was a factor, but I need expert medical opinion to verify that. For all I know, the drugs prescribed could be perfectly justified, or may be just simple vitamin supplements; I’m no expert,’ said Martin.

  ‘But what possible motive could Dr Shaw have for expediting the death of these residents?’ asked Matt.

  ‘Well, we all know about the cases where the doctor has decided to play God, but there is usually an underlying reason and, sadly, that reason has frequently got something to do with money. What I need you to do, Matt, is to find out who the people are whose names appear on the notes, and we will need to interview them all, as a matter of urgency.’

  ‘Yes I was just thinking that,’ replied Matt. ‘We may have a quick route to that information, as I’ve just been buzzed to say that Sarah and Maria have arrived for their interviews.’

  The mention of interviews reminded Martin that at three o’clock he was required to be one of the panel members for PC Cook-Watts’ transfer to CID interview. As far as he was concerned it was a formality, and he could see no reason why she should not be considered suitable for a career in CID but she was not the only candidate and due process had to be adhered to. He hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

  ‘Don’t take them to the interview rooms,’ suggested Martin. ‘Bring them straight up here. They’ve been most helpful, and I’m sure they want to get to the bottom of this, probably even more than we do. Get us all some coffee on your way back, please.’

  As Matt had anticipated, Sarah and Maria were able to identify the names on the notes as either relatives or the next of kin of the deceased, but in all cases it was only because they remembered seeing the names on the nursing notes and not because those people were caring, frequent visitors.

  When asked about the additional three residents’ names, they confessed to not being able to remember much about them. All three were residents who had not been much trouble to look after and none of them had required nursing care. If Sarah and Maria had gone back further than six months it was likely that the three names would have been included in their list.

  Martin showed Sarah the case notes of Colin James and asked if it was usual for certain entries to be circled in red. Sarah said that the last time she had seen Colin’s notes they had not been defaced in that way. ‘Who did it?’ she asked.

  Martin told her that a red pen had been found on Peter Doster’s desk and he believed that Mr Doster had circled the same items in all eleven sets of notes to draw attention to those particular entries. He showed Sarah the entries, and her interest immediately focused on the prescriptions chart. She took in every detail of the drugs that had been prescribed in the days prior to death and without making any comments on the one chart she asked Martin if she could look at the other ten prescription sheets.

  Matt took the prescription sheets out of the other notes and handed them to Sarah just as Professor Moore walked in. ‘I’ve just been informed that you would like my expert opinion on something, but if this is not a good time you can catch me later. I was supposed to be in Scotland so there’s nothing in my diary.’

  Martin introduced the professor to Sarah and Maria and explained their involvement. The professor obviously knew about the suicide at Parkland, as he had done the PM, but this was the first he had heard about an investigation into possibly premature deaths of residents. His professional interest was immediately aroused and he sat down next to Sarah and for the next hour they both poured over the type, frequency, and dosage of the medication prescribed in each case.

  While they were doing that, Maria helped Matt to identify the names circled in all eleven notes, and within half an hour CID staff, accompanied by uniformed officers, were on a mission to bring in seven of the eleven names for questioning. Those seven people had local addresses, but the remaining four names lived further away – three in England and one in Scotland.

  Martin made contact with his opposite numbers in the relevant areas and was assured that the people identified would be brought in for questioning and the outcome made known to him.

  It was looking increasingly as if the demise of all eleven residents was deliberately orchestrated, and if so he was looking at eleven counts of murder – or possibly more!

  Dr Shaw had prescribed a concoction of drugs, but had they had a lethal effect, and what possible motive could the doctor have for killing off these particular patients? Martin was sure that Cooper was involved, and now believed that Doster had been an unwilling partner in crime.

  Money had to be at the bottom of this, and Martin rang Charlie to help with accessing personal financial information in relation to Cooper, Shaw, and Doster, as well as the eleven names taken from the notes. She was in her element, and looking over her shoulder just twenty minutes into the task Martin could see she was already compiling a pretty damning spreadsheet. Dates relating to the transfer of large sums of money fitted the dates of deaths.

  Matt went to the interview rooms, where one of the identified relatives was already telling Sergeant Evans that he would say nothing until he had spoken to his solicitor. In an adjacent room was a woman, and although she had been told of her rights she was much more forthcoming. ‘I didn’t want to have anything to do with it,’ she protested. ‘My son-in-law said people were always popping off in these nursing homes so no one would be any the wiser. The doctor told him it would be a blessing, and the life insurance money was certainly a blessing to us. We would have had it eventually anyway but who knows, we could have been waiting years.’

  After reminding her that she was being interviewed under caution, Matt left her and went back to tell Martin what she had said.

  Martin had just finished speaking to Charlie and Professor Moore, and with the information Matt had brought he had enough to proceed.

  ‘OK,’ he said to Matt. ‘Let’s do it!’
<
br />   Chapter Twenty

  The Prof Ponders

  Just over an hour later, Martin and Matt were back in Incident Room One, and Dr George Donald Shaw and Mr Anthony Ian Cooper were in adjacent interview rooms – both waiting for their lawyers.

  It had been a frenzied hour culminating in the arrest of both men in connection with the deaths of a number of residents over a period of months. Martin had not used specific names when making the arrests, and would be waiting for the results of the interviews and seeking advice from the CPS before formalising any charges.

  They had made their first stop at Parkland Nursing Home, and had found Mr Cooper in his office shredding bank statements and a variety of other documents. It took some persuading to get him to stop and the air was blue when Matt explained that shredding was a waste of time, as copies of everything could be obtained electronically or even pieced back together.

  When faced with the choice of being handcuffed or walking out of the home to apparently help the police with their enquiries, he chose the latter. However this did not stop every window in the home being full of faces as staff and residents witnessed Mr Cooper having his head protected by the police officer as he was guided into the back of the police car.

  Their next stop, with a second squad car not far behind, was at the palatial home of Dr Shaw in Llandaff. There were a number of beautiful homes in the area but the Shaws’ residence was exceptional. It was detached, set in at least half an acre of landscaped gardens, and had been recently extended. Neither Martin nor Matt had ever met Dr Shaw and as they pulled up outside the house, just to lighten their mood, they had a bet on his age and description. Matt guessed at a short, portly man nearing the end of his professional life, and Martin settled for a middle-aged man who wore rimless glasses.