by AB Morgan
‘Perhaps it was a good plan’
‘I can’t think what else to do, Netty. You heard the old biddies in the shop practically making up stories about him. To top that off, I had a really long man-chat with Steve-the-Kiwi and there have been cancellations.’
‘What? Bike lessons?’
‘Yeah. Bad, isn’t it? The old boy could lose his job if we don’t put a stop to the rumours.’
‘Off you go then, don’t be late picking his lordship up from the station.’
Barney grinned. ‘Once Kon gets his car back he can give us a lift to the village hall for the press conference.’
‘And pay the bill for his service, as well as the MOT and two new tyres from last time. No mates-rates either. He’s not short of a bob or two, so you make him cough up, or I will.’ Once her finger had been wagged at Barney, Annette sighed as she returned to the task in hand, settling down to sort through receipts.
* * *
Barney returned within the hour, Konrad Neale in tow.
‘Ah, the three amigos, back together again.’
Annette greeted him with a kiss on the cheek before she held him at arm’s length. ‘Very smart, Kon. What’s the occasion?’ Scanning up and down she admired Konrad’s expensive suit. ‘Is that a new eyepatch?’
‘You never miss a bloody trick, do you? Yes, it’s a new eyepatch. I have a splendid collection these days, some of which match my ties. The suit, if you must know, is my second best one. My aim is to highjack the press conference and I want to look serious.’
There was a determination in his voice that Annette had rightly identified. ‘What have you found out about Rory to warrant this level of reaction?’ She indicated to a solidly built wooden kitchen chair, allowing Konrad time to sit before pouring him a coffee.
‘Coffee, husband?’
Barney shook his head.
‘There’s no point. I can’t even smell it.’
He took a seat opposite Konrad, sniffed loudly and, having produced a grubby crumpled handkerchief from his boiler suit pocket, trumpeted into it. Annette sighed loudly, reached across and, using thumb and index finger, removed the soiled handkerchief. She placed one foot on the pedal of the kitchen waste bin and as the lid rose she deposited the grimy, crusty, germ-laden cloth into the bin before washing her hands at the sink.
‘That is disgusting, Barney. Fancy keeping that in your pocket. Whatever happened to “catch it, bin it”? We’ll all go down with the dreaded lurgy if you keep that vile thing flapping around. Here, use these.’
Strategically, she placed a large box of man-sized tissues on the table within reach of her husband. ‘Infused with balsam for that delicate hooter of yours. Do me a favour, don’t keep wiping your nose on your sleeve, there’s a good man.’
‘Bloody hell, Barney, I thought those were grease marks on your overalls. You animal.’ Konrad’s face wrinkled up in revolt. ‘Now then, about your young friend Rory Norton. It wasn’t hard to find out some interesting facts about his background. Credit where credit’s due, Lorna did most of the digging. According to what she’s found so far, your friend Rory may not be as innocent as he makes out and I’m a little concerned that you may be backing the wrong horse here, old friend.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. Pay attention, and I’ll explain. We already know he used to have something to do with mental health services in his last job. That is true. He was a registered mental health nurse and a high-up clinical manager of a unit in Devon, but he had to take ill-health retirement after he was assaulted by one of his patients. From what Lorna has gleaned so far, it seems to have been one of those unfortunate incidents where a patient was completely deranged at the time and Rory got caught by a flying chair right across his nose. A head injury, as well as a broken conk, landed him in hospital.’
Annette was several steps ahead of her husband, who was focussed on breaking into the box of tissues. ‘The patient was Anna Chamberlain, I take it?’
Konrad smiled. ‘As I said, you never miss a trick. Correct, Miss Marple. That patient was Anna Chamberlain.’
‘So, you think he has killed her in a twisted need for revenge because of losing his job? Bloody hell, Kon. You were asked for help, not to vilify the man on the basis of a wild assumption.’
‘I’ll have you know that these are not entirely “wild assumptions” and he did not lose his job because of that injury. He went back to work after he recovered and here’s where it gets interesting. His wife Sara becomes the community nurse in charge of follow-up for Anna Chamberlain when she’s finally discharged from hospital. Unusual, don’t you think? Now then, before you ask, we also know what happened to Sara Norton.’
Barney looked up having liberated a few large tissues from the box on the table. ‘Go on, Cyclops, tell us the worst.’
‘She died in a house fire while Rory was at work. He never went back to nursing or managing in the NHS after that. He moved away and started a new life. Here.’
Annette’s head dropped and her chin disappeared into the rolls of fat on her neck. ‘Oh, how sad. I knew there had to be a reason for those sorrowful eyes and why he still wears a wedding ring. What an awful thing to happen. No wonder he moved away and left his job. I think I would too, if Barney died.’
Barney spluttered. ‘It’s just ‘flu, I’m not planning on departing this fine life any time soon,’
‘What you are suffering with is not ‘flu. It’s a head cold. Goodness me, you’d think it was the end of the world that you couldn’t taste your bacon this morning. What a dreadful fuss he made, Kon. I never would have married him, if I’d known he was such a wimp.’
Barney declined to be embarrassed into apologising. He took hold of several tissues and blew loudly. Konrad tilted his head towards his friend. ‘Yes, we get it. You’re feeling unwell, now may I continue?’
Konrad laid his palms downwards onto the table. ‘Here’s the crux of the matter: we have all noticed that Rory doesn’t talk about his wife, he never mentions her. Why not? Too painful? Maybe. But you should know, there were questions asked about the house fire and some conjecture that Rory was implicated in his wife’s death.’
‘Come on, Kon. That’s not fair to the boy. It’s pure gossip. Just like we have here in this village. Where’s your integrity man?’ Barney stirred the contents of the sugar bowl to his right. He lifted the spoon to wave in Konrad’s direction. ‘We asked for your help, not for you to condemn the poor sod.’
‘Sorry, old mucka, but this is fact. According to the coroner’s inquest report, Rory would still have been at home when the fire first started and yet he left in the early hours of the morning apparently to take over from a sick night-staff nurse who had to be sent home from the inpatient unit. The batteries in the smoke alarms were not working. If they had sounded, then Sara would have woken up. However, the fire service investigation unit insisted that the fire had taken hold in the airing cupboard before Rory left for work, so why didn’t he wake his wife? Nothing was ever proven, one way or the other, and there was no convincing motive for why Rory should want to kill his wife. Nevertheless, she did die in a house fire in questionable circumstances. Lorna’s still digging around for information as she’s convinced there’s more to this business with Anna Chamberlain than revenge for assault.’
Barney leant forward planting his elbows on the tabletop and placing his hefty chin into his upturned hands. ‘I don’t get it. Rory has tried every way possible to help that girl.’
‘Are you suggesting that his helpfulness is a front?’ Annette brushed biscuit crumbs from her mountainous chest, before picking up a digestive and dunking it into her coffee. She passed the packet to Barney who waved them away. ‘They taste like cardboard.’
‘Your loss. Kon, biscuit?’
He too declined and continued to hypothesise aloud. ‘What if Rory blames Anna for the death of his wife for some reason? Now that is very strong motive indeed. Or what if Anna knew the truth about Rory killing his wife and
he wants to silence her? Just a thought.’
‘What truth? Kon, this is all dreadful supposition and guesswork. No wonder the rumours are flying. The girls are missing, not murdered. Who else knows this information apart from you and Lorna?’
‘Hang on, you said “girls” plural.’
‘The rumours are that Gemma Waterford, Anna’s cousin, has gone missing. She hasn’t been seen since Monday, although Rory said he saw her yesterday.’
‘He said that, did he?’ Konrad sounded sceptical. ‘Christ, I hope the press don’t get wind of that one,’ he sighed. ‘The interest in this story is growing rapidly and the nationals are beginning to dig into his background. Things are stacking up against your friend Rory. In the last week alone he’s been harassing Anna’s GP Dr Dalby, and then she reported her concerns about him to police when they questioned her. He’s contaminated evidence at the scene where Anna’s car was found, he’s impersonated NHS staff to gain access to information—’
Annette interjected, annoyance in her tone. ‘That’s a warped, biased view from a sensationalist journo. Rory’s not a bad man. He’s really been worried. He’s very private and keeps himself to himself. No more than that. If the police were convinced that he has something to do with Anna Chamberlain’s disappearance then they’d hardly let him go home again, would they?’
Konrad shook his head. ‘There’s more to it. He set up a camera to film Fewtrell’s Yard from his house. A vantage point for voyeurism, I’m thinking. You have to question his lack of action in that regard. He knew what went on in Mad Leo’s foul stinking compound and never reported any of it. He watched it. The rapes, the illegal slavery, animal cruelty … everything. Taking the facts into account; single man, isolative, private, dead wife, missing women, and the last person to see them alive - I think they’ll be charging him any day now. Body or no body.’
‘And just how on earth do you know all this?’
‘Man on the inside.’
‘Copper?’
‘Can’t reveal my source.’
‘Have you tried speaking to Felicity Norton? She’ll have the real story about the wife’s death, so please don’t say anything in public before you do that. I’ll phone Rob and we’ll call in to The Valiant before we go to the village hall.’ Annette reached for her phone. She uncorked herself from the kitchen armchair and walking towards the stove, placed a comforting hand on Barney’s right shoulder. He looked up into her eyes in stunned silence and putting his chunky hand to his mouth was rendered speechless by a paroxysmal cough.
33
Mother Spills the Beans
Felicity Norton’s hair was scraped back from her elfin face. She wore no make-up as she sat alone at a table for two in the otherwise unoccupied dining room of the Valiant Soldier Inn, occasionally sipping from a delicate china teacup. It rattled as she allowed it to slip from her fingers into the saucer, when caught by surprise. Barney called her name.
‘I was miles away. Sorry, I didn’t even hear you come in.’
She looked up and a fleeting smile crossed her lips in recognition of her visitors. ‘And you must be the famous Konrad Neale.’ She raised her right hand, which was taken gently within Konrad’s own. ‘Please, have a seat,’ she said. ‘We’ve got plenty of time before we have to go to the village hall. How can I help?’
Konrad’s life was spent interviewing unpleasant individuals behind bars and attempting to throw doubt on their convictions for murder or, conversely, questioning their insistence of innocence. He could read body language like a book and had developed a keen sense for lies being told. In the pub, with limited time available, he had to forgo a gradual approach to eliciting vital clues, and therefore a less delicate questioning style was in use.
‘Why doesn’t your son ever talk about his wife Sara?’ He waited as tears rolled freely down the side of Felicity’s nose. She dabbed at them with a tissue before answering.
‘Rory has never forgiven himself for her death. He blames himself entirely. He doesn’t talk about it and he doesn’t want people to know what happened because they label him as being guilty or pity him. I can’t give you any more detail than that. He’d be furious with me for even having this discussion.’
‘I already know about the house fire, and I already know that Rory was suspected of being implicated in his wife’s death. That must have been a very difficult time for the family.’
Felicity stared at him through her tears. ‘We don’t talk about it. Rory was innocent and that was proven. That’s all anyone needs to know.’
‘I have to ask you if you know of any connection between Rory and the missing girl Anna Chamberlain, other than the fact he was assaulted by her when she was a patient of his.’
‘What?’ Felicity was still. She froze in her seat.
Barney and Annette were a discreet distance away in the empty dining area, but both had heard the questions and the responses. Barney leaned into his wife’s neck. ‘She didn’t know …’ Annette bit her bottom lip as a crease formed between her eyebrows. ‘Shit,’ she whispered, as Konrad was seen rolling his eyes towards the ceiling and visibly cringing.
‘I thought you knew. I do apologise.’
‘Apologise? I need to know what you mean. When was he assaulted by her? And when exactly was she a patient of his? You can’t make such statements without giving me the facts. These vile rumours have to be stopped.’ She stood, resting her hands on the table to steady herself.
Konrad tried to reach across to touch her, but she slid her hands to her sides before he could make contact.
‘You are quite right. That’s what I intend to do, but I can’t help your son if I don’t know the truth. I’m sorry I upset you.’
Felicity was shaking and casting her eyes towards the door.
‘How about you come with us to the press conference?’ Konrad suggested. ‘You shouldn’t have to go alone.’
‘Actually, Rob’s coming along and so is Rory. He should be here soon. Thanks for the offer though.’ Felicity spoke as if by automated response. ‘Excuse me. I’d better go upstairs and get ready.’ She made her way to the “Residents Only” door, daintily weaving past chairs and tables. She didn’t acknowledge Barney or Annette who followed her with their eyes.
‘She’s in a bad way.’
‘She certainly is now that our great friend Kon has put his size elevens in it. Bugger…’
The dining room door opened with a creak as Rory entered looking anxious and wan. ‘He’ll have to break the news to Rory himself. I’m not doing his dirty work for him,’ Barney said staring across at Konrad, before greeting his young friend. ‘Hey there, Rory, how are you holding up, pal? You look worn out.’
Rory meandered over to where his friends sat, taking a sideways glance at Konrad, who sat alone at the table vacated by Felicity a few moments previously. ‘It’s been a tough couple of days, that’s for sure, but it’s amazing how much better you feel after a shower to wash off the stress of being questioned by the Gestapo again.’
Annette touched his arm lightly. ‘Do you want to stay with us for a few days?’
‘Thanks for the kind offer. But that’s got to be the final time they arrest me, there are no more questions to answer. I didn’t realise telling the truth was the most difficult option. Where’s mother? I thought she’d be in here?’ Rory scanned around.
‘She’s gone upstairs to get her make-up on. Won’t be long,’ Konrad said as he stood and approached the three of them, holding out a hand to Rory who clasped it firmly. ‘Are you coming along to the press conference too?’ Rory asked. Konrad nodded prior to confessing his poor judgement in disclosing previously unknown facts to Felicity. Rory breathed forcefully out through his nose, clenched both fists and closed his eyes before daring to reply through gritted teeth.
‘Why did you have to do that? I’ve deliberately kept it from her you fucking inconsiderate bastard. She’s already worried sick about me with all the police business and rumours flying about that I’ve killed
Anna and dumped her body somewhere.’
Rory stretched to full height, achieving the advantage by looking down at Konrad. He then wheeled round to face Barney, dragging his hair back from his temples through open fingers. ‘Some help your friend has been.’ He paused, slapping his hand against an upright oak beam with such force that the resounding thwack repeated around the room, startling Annette. ‘I’ve been questioned a total of three times now. My house has been searched, next door has been searched and half of them have been arrested - thank God. I have nothing to hide. In fact it would be to my considerable advantage if Anna Chamberlain could be found, so let’s go to the bloody press conference and support her heartbroken parents. Shall we?’ Exasperation had set in, as had an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Rob who plied them with a coffee and banal chit-chat while they waited.
The “Residents Only” door eventually swung open and Felicity sprang back into the room, her high-heeled sandals making a tip-tapping on the flagstone flooring. Her face lit up at the sight of her son and she rushed to give him a reassuring hug before launching into a tirade of questions about Anna Chamberlain. Rory had but one response. ‘I couldn’t tell you, Mum. It’s confidential information.’ He shot a pleading look at Konrad who stepped in to take the flack.
‘It was my fault. I shouldn’t have mentioned it at all. None of it. I’m so sorry for causing such upset.’ He held his hands up in surrender. Barney began to feel like part of an audience to a melodrama as he and Annette observed again from the side-lines.
For a diminutive woman Felicity was dangerously defensive where her son was concerned and she took the fight to the aggressor. Swivelling, she squared her shoulders and aimed her nose up at Konrad’s face. She used both forefingers to stress her words. ‘You have been digging around in other people’s lives for too long without consideration for the feelings of their families. Shame on you in your flashy suit and your pirate patch! Well it doesn’t wash with me. My son− ’
