The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello

by Chris McDonald

  Adam shook his head.

  ‘No worries,’ said Sam. ‘We were supposed to be having breakfast together. I’ll go and see where he is.’

  ‘I’ll go, you stay and finish your breakfast. I can’t stomach mine.’

  ‘If you see Ross, tell him to hurry up and all. He drove home last night to sort something with his new girlfriend and I’ve not seen him reappear yet.’

  Adam left the stench of the breakfast behind and walked to Danny’s room, which was on the ground floor at the far end of the building. He thought to himself that Danny probably hadn’t set an alarm, or, if he had, he’d simply hit the snooze buttons one too many times. That, or he might still be pissed off with Sam over whatever they were arguing about last night.

  He passed a marble bust of some old dude who used to own the house and approached Danny’s door. When he knocked, the door slipped out of its lock and swung open.

  Inside, the room was dark. The curtains were more heavy duty than in Adam’s room and were doing a good job of keeping the sun out. As Adam’s eyes adjusted, he could make out a mound on the bed, tucked in under the duvet.

  Adam called out his name a few times, but got no response. He walked to the end of the bed and shook Danny by the ankles, again getting nothing. The guy wasn’t even stirring.

  He walked back to the curtains and opened them, letting light flood the room.

  With the room illuminated, Adam noticed that the room was a mess. A lamp was lying on the floor, its shade left at an odd angle, the plug upturned. His case was lying open, the contents strewn across the floor.

  Danny had always been messy, Adam thought. He remembered a school trip to France, ten years ago. Their dorm room had stank worse than the smelly cheeses they had been pressurised into trying by overzealous teachers, mostly on account of Danny’s poor personal hygiene.

  Rounding the corner of the bed, Adam noticed the vomit on the mattress and on the floor.

  Ignoring the putrid stench and the uneasy bubbling feeling in his own stomach, he pulled the duvet back.

  Danny lay on his back, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. His face was ghostly white, save for the drops of dried sick on his chin. He was wearing the clothes from the night before, the top button of his shirt torn off.

  Adam checked for a pulse, already sure of the outcome. Sure enough, he couldn’t feel anything.

  Danny Costello was dead.

  7

  THE GAMECHANGER

  Adam sat on the steps of the hotel, gulping in the fresh air, having just thrown up in a bush to the side of the entrance, narrowly missing the stone mane of the proud lion.

  He’d never been good with anything squeamish. Once, he’d driven an ex-girlfriend to hospital whose appendix was about to burst. He reluctantly went with her into the treatment room and noticed too late as they inserted a needle into a vein in her arm. A single drop of blood fell and spread onto the bedsheet, blossoming like red petals. To his shame, he’d made his excuses and ran to the bathroom, throwing up on the tiled floor as soon as he’d got through the door.

  The relationship didn’t last long after that.

  A drop of blood was one thing. A dead body was something new altogether.

  Adam would never forget the glassy eyes or the translucent skin or the smell that TV shows never managed to capture accurately. No one ever threw up after discovering a body either.

  He thought back to his actions, and, despite shivering at the thought, was quietly proud of himself. He’d made sure that Danny was definitely dead and had managed to hold it together until he had phoned the police. He’d taken control of a pretty messed up situation, and that counted for something.

  * * *

  COLIN SAT BY his friend’s side, trying to console him.

  He couldn’t imagine finding a dead body, let alone the body of someone you considered a friend.

  An annoying friend.

  A friend most people had had some sort of altercation with at some stage, but a friend all the same.

  This kind of thing didn’t happen to people like them.

  In the distance, he heard sirens. If Adam hadn’t been the one to find the body, they both would have been excited to be in the midst of a real-life investigation. As it was, there was nothing to look forward to.

  What was supposed to be a celebratory weekend where two friends joined together in matrimony had quickly turned to a nightmare. As well as the horror of a dead friend, it also meant that the wedding was probably off, causing Sam and Emily to be out of pocket to the tune of thousands.

  Well, the Campbell family, but potato potato.

  Colin shook his head at how unfair life could be.

  * * *

  ADAM LOOKED UP as the sirens grew closer. He could see them beyond the hedgerow, turning slowly into the hotel’s sweeping driveway.

  A police car emerged from the tree lined approach, gravel spitting from under the tyres as the brakes were applied. An ambulance followed close behind. They stopped close to the elaborate water fountain, the blue lights stopped flashing and two police officers emerged from the car who looked like they’d rather be elsewhere got out. Two paramedics followed suit, busying themselves in the back of the ambulance, gathering the necessary equipment.

  Gravel crunched underfoot as they made their way across the front of the building, surveying the impressive building with minimum appreciation. One wore a short sleeved shirt with aviator sunglasses perched on his nose. He clearly thought he was too cool for school.

  The other was ginger and hunched and look like he’d been bullied at school so had taken the job solely for the power it would bestow upon him. Adam quickly formed a dislike for both of them.

  ‘We believe there’s been a bit of bother, lads,’ Sunglasses said with a smirk.

  ‘My friend has died,’ Adam replied.

  ‘Shame,’ Ginger said, though clearly, he couldn’t care less.

  ‘Why is there only two of you?’ Adam asked. ‘Shouldn’t there be CSIs and the coroner?’

  Both of the police officers laughed at him.

  ‘You watch too much TV, son,’ Sunglasses scoffed, walking past them and up the steps towards the foyer of the hotel. Ginger followed, as did the paramedics.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Adam and Colin got up and walked around the back of the hotel. Since Danny’s room was on the ground floor, they figured they could watch the police go about their business through the window, as long as they did it covertly.

  They carefully took their positions, one on either side of the window. They heard the heavy door creak open inside and listened to the man from reception tell the police and paramedics that they were short staffed. Ginger excused him with a grunt and he left the room, slamming the door closed.

  Colin stole a glance inside.

  The two police officers stood with their backs to the window, observing the body, while the paramedics performed a series of checks. After a few minutes, they spoke, though their deep voices didn’t carry quite so well and Colin had trouble understanding them.

  Adam watched as the paramedics repacked their things and left the room while the police officers performed a cursory glance around the room and then made for the door again. He looked at his watch. They hadn’t even been in the room for ten minutes.

  As Danny’s door closed, Adam and Colin sprinted to the front of the building and retook their places on the steps just as the ambulance was pulling away. A few minutes later, the police officers reappeared.

  ‘We’ve just spoken to the fella who is getting married and he told us that you were the one who discovered the body,’ Ginger said to Adam, who confirmed the rumour with a nod of his head.

  ‘Do I need to give a statement or anything?’

  Again, the policemen laughed.

  ‘No, son. Statements are only needed if the death is classed as suspicious. This one isn’t. I’m afraid to say your pal had a bit too much to drink and sadly passed away by choking on his own vomit, according
to the paramedics.’

  ‘But, the state of the room…’ Adam started.

  ‘Aye, he was a messy boy, wasn’t he?’

  Adam stared at them, incredulous at what he was hearing.

  ‘You’re not even going to investigate it?’

  ‘We just have. Haven’t you been listening?’

  ‘But…’

  ‘Listen to us and listen well, young man. Believe it or not, we know what we’re doing. Even though we owe you no explanation, here is one anyway. Last night, a bunch of young twenty-somethings were let off the leash at a swanky hotel with cheap booze. Your pal had too much and died as a result. Now, it’s tragic, but, as you know, it’s the Twelfth weekend and we have bigger fish to fry.’

  Adam couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  ‘Is that the reason why you two aren’t doing your job properly?’ he said, standing up. ‘Are you annoyed that you’re missing the marching bands and were sent to the countryside on a jolly?’

  Sunglasses took a step closer.

  ‘Now, listen here you, ye wee prick, that’s enough. One more word and this will not end well for you.’

  Ginger took a step forward too, as if to underline the point.

  Colin smiled disarmingly at the policemen and led Adam up the steps.

  ‘We’ve spoken to the lad at reception and we’ll arrange for the body to be moved later today,’ Ginger shouted after them. ‘As you said, all our best men are busy with the nasty Orangemen today.’

  The police officers strode to their car and gunned the engine, taking off down the driveway at pace, leaving nothing but a bad taste in Adam’s mouth.

  * * *

  Adam threw himself onto the bed and fought back the tears. Tears of injustice. Tears for his friend who wasn’t getting a fair hearing.

  ‘There’s no way Danny died from drinking too much,’ Adam said, piquing Colin’s attention.

  ‘He could drink most of us under the table, that’s for sure.’

  ‘And, when I spoke to him not long before he stormed out, he seemed grand.’

  Colin raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Are you thinking there was foul play involved?’

  Adam didn’t know if he was being ridiculous. Surely no one here; his friends, anyone in this stately home, could be capable of murder, could they?

  ‘It couldn’t hurt to ask around, I guess,’ Adam said. ‘The police have made their minds up and we’ve got a day with nothing to do.’

  ‘Are you saying what I think your saying?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Adam nodded, standing up. ‘Our Sherlock marathon is cancelled.’

  8

  WARDROBE CHOICES

  Everyone gathered on the spacious lawn at the front of the manor. Some sought the solace of shade that a smattering of ancient trees offered, their branches and foliage casting long shadows across the grass. Others basked in the mid-morning sun, content to confront the sun’s rays head on in the hope of topping up a tan that would look good in the wedding photos.

  If there even was a wedding.

  Rumours had started to swirl at the first sighting of the police car. The sirens had barely stopped when ill-advised and ignorant whispers began.

  Some concluded that Danny had been battered to death.

  Some suggested that he’d died of a drug overdose – he had been known to dabble from time to time, after all.

  Tragically, some of Danny’s friends only found out about his untimely death by way of this gossip.

  Sam and Emily – possible bride and groom-to-be – emerged from the entrance of the stately home, cutting Adam’s thoughts on Danny short. Emily had arrived not long after the police had departed, and she and Sam had taken residence in the bridal suite, presumably discussing what to do next.

  They weaved their way through the assembled groups on the lawn. Emily occasionally touched hands with one of her friends in way of hello while Sam stared straight ahead as he led his fiancée towards the decorative bandstand in the centre of the garden.

  If this was on TV, Adam would’ve laughed at how overblown it seemed.

  They walked up the steps and took their places in front of the crowd. Conversations hushed, and all eyes turned to the happy couple.

  ‘Can everyone hear me?’ Sam shouted, sounding like a headmaster at the front of an assembly hall.

  Murmurs from all sides of the crowd suggested that yes, everyone could hear him.

  ‘We’re aware that people have been talking and we wanted to let you know exactly what has happened. I’m really sorry to say it, and it is heart-breaking, but Daniel Costello died in his sleep last night.’

  Though most people already knew or had guessed, a gasp clouded Sam’s next words. He paused to let everyone get it out of their systems.

  ‘We’ve deliberated and, obviously what has happened is a terrible tragedy, but we’ve decided to press ahead with the wedding.’

  Adam glanced around the crowd, wondering if this came as unwelcome news to anyone. All he saw was happiness.

  He pulled on Colin’s sleeve and signalled for his friend to follow him.

  It was time to put a plan in place.

  Adam emerged from the bathroom with a flourish and a twirl.

  Colin sat on the bed with a look of confusion etched on his face. He tried to focus on Adam but it was sensory overload.

  His friend was wearing the clothes he’d been given for the wedding ceremony, given that he was part of the official wedding party - a navy three-piece suit combined with a plain white shirt and a red cravat. Pointed brown shoes completed his look.

  ‘You’re a day early,’ Colin said.

  ‘Wrong, old chap,’ Adam replied. ‘This is my detective outfit. Sherlock had a deerstalker and a pipe; I have a fashionable suit. You have to look official.’

  ‘But what are you going to wear tomorrow? And, if we’re actually going to do a bit of digging, we’re going to be talking to our friends. Our friends who are all dressed super casually. You’re going to get laughed at.’

  Adam considered this.

  ‘They won’t if we are both wearing suits.’

  Colin laughed.

  ‘If you think I’m putting on a suit to go and talk to our friends, you’ve got another think coming. I’m dreading wearing one tomorrow, given the weather. I’m already sweating just thinking about it.’

  ‘Fine,’ Adam said, knowing that the matter was settled. ‘Let’s make a plan.’

  With the beginnings of a plan in place, Adam and Colin walked down the stairs and made their way up the lavish corridor towards Danny’s room.

  Step one, they had decided, was to take a good look at the body, just to confirm Adam’s suspicions that foul play was indeed behind his passing. If Colin was unconvinced, they would abandon their folly and simply retire to their room to drown in episodes of Sherlock.

  Colin made sure that no one was watching them while Adam pulled the handle, relieved to discover that the door had not been locked after the police’s visit. Adam slinked into the room and Colin followed, easing the door closed with a gentle click.

  Inside the room, the air was cloying and the heat held in by the heavy curtains that the police had redrawn before leaving felt oppressive. Adam wouldn’t admit it, but he could feel the sweat gathering at his armpits under the woollen suit. He looks at his friend’s casual get up – a T-shirt and shorts – with envy.

  Colin flicked the light on and walked around the bed, getting his first glimpse of Danny’s body. In his line of work, he had seen dead bodies before, but it never became any less shocking. This was different. This body belonged to someone he knew, someone who had their whole life ahead of him.

  He scrunched up his nose to block out the smell of the vomit and tried to take in as many details from the body as he could.

  ‘What do you think?’ Adam asked.

  ‘I agree with you, there’s something fishy.’

  Adam noticed details, as if for the first time. Details he must’ve
taken in subconsciously when he discovered the body, enough to form initial suspicions.

  A lump and a vivid purple bruise bloomed at the temple on the right side of Danny’s face. A trickle of blood had escaped from a small cut in the same area, pooling on the pillow below his head.

  Adam had to look away when he noticed this as he began to feel woozy. Colin pretended not to notice his friend recoil at the sight of the blood.

  Another set of bruises, either side of the jaw, seemed to glow like beacons against the white of the face.

  They look like finger marks, Colin thought. As if someone had grabbed him roughly.

  Aside from that, and the tracks of vomit on his chin, there was nothing else to see.

  Adam checked the windows, pleased to find that they were secured from the inside. That meant one thing. Whoever killed Danny came in through the door and left the same way. That meant that Danny had let them in.

  ‘So, what do we do now?’ Colin asked, taking one last look at the body and moving around the bed.

  ‘We talk to the last person to see him alive. And thus, we begin our investigation.’

  9

  THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS

  Colin sat on a comfortable chair in the wide corridor outside his bedroom, looking out the huge bay window towards the sea.

  Eternally pessimistic, he wondered how long it would be until the cliff receded far enough to drag the beautiful stately home towards the rocks and waves below it. A couple of hundred years, maybe?

  He wondered if what they were about to do was worth the time and effort. Would their friends laugh in their faces as they played at being sleuths, trying to uncover something that wasn’t there to be uncovered in the first place?

  Surely, the police knew what they were talking about in matters of death. Though, the bruising on Danny’s still face was troubling.