A Fatal Night

by Faith Martin

  As May Queen, she was to rule the village for the day, for tradition had it that the May Queen’s every wish had to be met. Of course, in the past, this had led to some jolly japes, with one May Queen famously ordering that all the pigs must be ‘painted’ green, and all lads must have daisy-chains for belts!

  Margaret, for one, had had severe misgivings about giving Iris Carmody, the little minx, so much scope to make mischief, and she didn’t believe that she was alone in that. There had been more than one wise matron who had taken her aside and muttered darkly about the village’s choice this year.

  But looking at Iris now, dressed in a long white gown embroidered with a swathe of tiny colourful flowers and her long, waist-length hair topped by a crown of violets, bluebells, primroses and narcissus, even Margaret had to admit that she epitomised youthful beauty and the spring.

  Even the colourful ribbons, hanging from the crown of the maypole, and which were now wrapped tightly around and around her body, holding her fast to the stone edifice, looked pretty.

  But underneath the swathe of beautiful fair hair that was framing her profile, Margaret Bellham could see a string of darkly smudged bruises around Iris’s neck, and even more horrifically, the congested, contorted face and lolling blue tongue that made the dead girl look like a grotesque parody of what a May Queen should be.

  Finally, the monstrousness of what she was seeing freed Margaret Bellham from her paralysis, and she began to scream, before wailing pitifully.

  Chapter 1

  It was a week and four days after the murder of Iris Carmody, and DI Harry Jennings was beginning to feel the strain. His officers had been working on the case non-stop, with the press breathing down their necks every inch of the way. He wasn’t particularly surprised by this, as a beautiful girl dressed as a May Queen and found strangled and bound to a village maypole was many a newspaper editor’s dream.

  But it was just one more headache that he didn’t really need.

  And he knew that another one was about to walk through his office door at any moment. He sighed heavily and leaned back against his chair, feeling the lack of sleep catching up on him. The trouble was, for such a spectacular crime, the investigation of it was turning out to be frustratingly pedestrian.

  For a start, nobody had seen the dead girl on the day of her death. The girl’s parents had no idea why she’d dressed so early and left the family home when she had such a busy day ahead of her. And nobody in the village had heard anything untoward occurring at the village green, either the night before she was found, or early in the morning – not even those sleeping in the cottages surrounding the crime scene.

  And whilst there had been gossip and speculation aplenty within the village about the dead girl – and her love life – there was very little confirmatory proof to actually go on. Oh, it quickly became very clear after the PCs had finished interviewing everyone in the small village that everyone and their granny had a lot to say about the dead girl – and not much of it flattering. Or too flattering, depending on who was doing the talking. According to most of the women, she was a flighty girl at best, a man-eater at worst, but nobody could actually point the finger with any conviction at the supposedly long list of her potential victims or lovers. And whilst a fair proportion of the men had liked to hint that they knew Iris rather well, on being pushed for times, dates and proof, nobody would actually go so far as to admitting to being the girl’s paramour.

  Everyone agreed that her ‘official’ boyfriend of the moment had probably been taken for a fool, but unsubstantiated gossip didn’t provide rock-solid motives for murder.

  And now, piling tragedy upon tragedy, there had been a second death that was almost certainly connected to the murder of the May Queen. Although this one looked, thankfully, far more straightforward to deal with, and the inspector had high hopes that it could soon be closed. Especially once his next visitor had been tactfully dealt with.

  Well, perhaps …

  Here DI Jennings heaved a massive sigh. As he did so, there was a sharp, peremptory rap on his office door, and before he could bid anyone enter, the door was thrust open and a tall, brown-haired man walked in. Dressed in a slightly rumpled, charcoal-grey suit, he was not fat but not particularly lean, and although he was a handsome enough individual, he looked noticeably pale and hollow-eyed. He also looked much older than the fifty-two years that Harry Jennings knew him to be.

  As well he might, poor sod, the inspector thought grimly. Jennings hastily shot to his feet. ‘Superintendent Finch, sir,’ he barked out awkwardly. ‘Er … won’t you sit down?’

  The superintendent nodded and sat very carefully and precisely in the chair in front of the inspector’s desk, a clear indication of how rigidly he was controlling himself. The superintendent had already given his formal statement to Jennings yesterday morning, which had been painfully awkward for both men concerned, but Harry hadn’t been surprised to have received the call from Keith Finch late yesterday afternoon asking for another ‘informal chat’ today.

  ‘Sir, again, I’d like to say how very sorry I am about your son. I assure you, his case is being treated with the utmost care and respect,’ Harry said flatly, retaking his own seat.

  His superior officer grimaced. ‘Yes, I’m sure it is,’ he agreed. Then his shoulders slumped slightly. ‘Look, let’s not beat about the bush, Harry,’ he said wearily, suddenly dropping the formality and looking and sounding more like the bereaved father that he was, rather than a still-serving police officer of some rank. ‘David’s death has left us, my wife and me, I mean … well … all at sea, as you can probably imagine.’

  Harry cleared his throat helplessly. He was beginning to feel a shade angry and resentful at being put in this position, but he knew it was hardly the Super’s fault. Even so, he wished the man would just take some leave and keep well out of things. It would make things so much easier for everyone all around. But he knew, just from looking at the other man’s face, that that was not going to happen any time soon.

  ‘Let’s put our cards on the table, shall we?’ Superintendent Finch said grimly. ‘There’s no denying that my boy, David, was head over heels about this Carmody girl. He’d not yet brought her home to meet us, even though they’d been stepping out together for some weeks, but we were all well aware that he was well and truly smitten. And I don’t mind telling you, his mother was worried about it. Even before her murder, we’d been hearing rumours about her. You know what it’s like – women gossip and delight in bringing bad news to your door, and a number of people went out of their way to warn Betty that, well, this girl he was seeing might have been two-timing him.’

  ‘Very distressing for you and your family, sir, I’m sure,’ Harry said soothingly.

  ‘Yes, well, his mother was concerned, as I said, but for myself I thought … well, David was a good-looking lad, young, doing well at university … and frankly, Harry, I thought it would all blow over. When I was his age …’ He trailed off and shrugged.

  Again Harry nodded, wishing that this was all somebody else’s headache. But it wasn’t. The mess had been dropped well and truly in his lap, and now he had to try and steer a course that kept a superintendent happy, whilst showing no bias or favour in his pursuit of closing the Carmody case.

  And the best of British luck with that, he thought sourly. On the one hand, he had his immediate bosses braying at him to close the case, and on the other, he had Superintendent Keith Finch, who was not going to be happy if he solved the case at the expense of his family and his dead son’s reputation.

  ‘You thought that he would soon get tired of Iris and find someone more suitable sooner or later.’ The inspector followed his line of thought easily. ‘Yes, sir, I understand, and who’s to say you wouldn’t have been proved right?’ Harry was careful to keep his voice neutral.

  The superintendent eyed him with another weary smile. ‘I realise this isn’t exactly an ideal situation for you either, Harry. Especially now. David’s death has hit us a
ll hard, but there’s no denying …’ He paused, took a deep breath and sat up straighter in his chair. ‘You know, of course, that they’re saying that David killed her? And then killed himself out of guilt?’

  Jennings nodded miserably. Three days ago, this man’s son had been found hanging in a barn belonging to a close friend of the family. So far, although it was early days, there were no signs to suggest that it had been anything other than suicide. Naturally, the village was aflame with speculation, and the newspapers were only too happy to stoke the fires.

  ‘I find that impossible to believe,’ Keith Finch said. Then he held up a placatory hand as the inspector opened his mouth to respond, adding quickly, ‘And yes, I know, how many times have we heard family members of suicide victims or murder suspects say exactly the same thing?’ He ran a hand helplessly over his face.

  The inspector, aware that he could put it off no longer, said, ‘Sir, I assure you that we’re going to conduct a proper investigation into everything, but, obviously, I can’t keep you apprised of anything …’

  Luckily, he didn’t have to continue. Usually, telling a superintendent things that he didn’t want to hear wasn’t a smart move for a man with ambitions, and Harry Jennings hadn’t been looking forward to doing it. So it was with something of a relief that he stopped speaking as his superior officer again raised a hand.

  ‘Don’t worry, Harry, I’m not here to ask you to keep me updated. The chief constable has already made it clear that I can’t be involved in this thing in any way. Especially with David being a murder suspect in the Carmody case.’

  Harry let out a relieved breath. ‘Yes, sir.’ But he was very much aware that he was in a uniquely awkward and unenviable position. He wanted to be able to tell his superiors – and the press – that he’d found the killer of the May Queen; and when a murdered girl’s boyfriend hangs himself a few days later, that’s usually taken to be as good as a confession. Which meant that, normally, he could be confident of closing the case once they’d been able to collect some evidence cementing the hypothesis that her lover had killed her in a jealous rage.

  But when the dead suspect was the son of a superintendent of police, and an old acquaintance, it could hardly be business as usual. Especially when dealing with a man who, before now, could claim to have high-ranking friends in both the police force and society in general.

  But Harry was well aware that the superintendent would not be able to weather this particular storm unscathed. Unfair or not, the chances were that Keith Finch now faced not only a personal loss, but a professional loss too. For surely the powers-that-be were already making plans to pension him off – the usual fate of anyone who caused them such public embarrassment?

  Harry had been careful to make sure that there were no newspapers on his desk that morning, but it was impossible that the Finch family wouldn’t have read the speculation in the local press. He knew David had had a sister, and he could only guess the hell she was going through right now. He suppressed a shudder and sighed gently.

  ‘The thing is, of course, that I don’t believe for one moment my son killed her, Harry. Of course, I know you have to consider the possibility that he did, but I have every confidence that you’ll find no evidence supporting this. And that you will eventually find out who did,’ the superintendent added hastily, although there was nothing on his face to indicate whether he believed this to be true or not.

  Harry swallowed hard, unable to meet his gaze.

  ‘So, to get down to brass tacks. I’m here about the inquest on David. It’s set for this Monday, yes?’ Superintendent Finch said briskly. Whatever his personal tragedy, he was determined to keep a stiff upper lip, and for that Jennings was grateful. He wasn’t sure, given the circumstances, what comfort he could give to a grieving father in imminent peril of breaking down.

  ‘Yes, sir. Starting at 10 a.m.’

  ‘And it’s the old vulture presiding?’

  Inspector Jennings nodded. ‘Yes, sir. He’s the best, as you know.’

  ‘I agree. I’ve always rated Dr Ryder very highly – even when he’s being the proverbial pain in our necks,’ Keith Finch said heavily but with a wry twist of his lips.

  Jennings merely grunted. In the past, he’d had to have more to do with Dr Clement Ryder than he’d ever wanted. Why the man couldn’t act more like a regular coroner, and just do his job and leave the police to do theirs, he didn’t know. But no, he had to stick his nose in – and, even more annoyingly, often come up trumps.

  ‘And that brings me to the purpose of this visit. I’ve had a word with the chief constable, and he’s agreed with my proposal.’

  At this, Harry Jennings felt his heart rate began to ratchet up a notch or two, and a slow, sick feeling sidled into his stomach, making him swallow hard. ‘Sir?’ he asked warily.

  ‘We might turn a blind eye to things, Harry, but that doesn’t mean to say that the powers-that-be haven’t noticed that that girl of yours and our coroner have developed a habit of, well, shall we say, “supplementing” our more normal lines of inquiry?’

  At this point, Harry Jennings got a really bad feeling. ‘Sir,’ he began to object, but wasn’t allowed to finish.

  ‘Now, I know we can’t expect WPC Loveday and Dr Ryder to help you on the actual Iris Carmody case—’

  ‘No, sir, we definitely can’t! WPC Loveday has barely completed her probationary period and—’

  ‘But Dr Ryder, as city coroner, has before now done some, shall we say, follow-up inquiries on a number of his inquest cases, isn’t that so?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Harry admitted miserably.

  ‘And with some considerable success?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ he was again forced to agree.

  ‘Very well then. As I said, the chief constable is with me on this, Inspector. After the inquest on my son is over – no matter what the verdict may be – you will approach Dr Ryder and ask him to make further discreet inquiries about my son and the circumstances of his death.’

  ‘Superintendent, sir, I don’t think that’s really wise …’

  Keith Finch gave a harsh bark of laughter, and for the first time looked seriously angry. ‘It may not be wise, Inspector,’ he snapped, leaning forward in his chair, ‘but everyone’s going around saying that my boy – my boy! – murdered that girl and then killed himself.’ Suddenly he slammed the flat of his palm down on Jennings’s desk so hard and fast, that Jennings nearly went into orbit. The sharp ricochet of sound had the heads of the police officers in the outer room swivelling in their direction.

  ‘And I’m not having it, Jennings. Is that clear?’ Superintendent Finch said through gritted teeth.

  Harry nodded wretchedly. ‘Yes, sir,’ he agreed. Clearly the Super still had some clout with the higher-ups, and he was in no mood to be thwarted.

  ‘Very good. So, continue your investigation into the Carmody case,’ the superintendent said mildly now, standing up and looking as if nothing dramatic had happened. ‘Let nothing interfere with that. Continue regarding my son as a suspect if you must. But let that clever girl of yours and the old vulture sniff around my son’s case without any impediment. Understood?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Harry said, standing up politely.

  It was clear, all right, but that didn’t mean to say he had to like it. And, whilst he might have to tread carefully – for now, anyway – that didn’t mean he would always have to toe the line. Especially if they finally got some proper evidence as to who had murdered Iris Carmody, and why.

  He watched his superior officer leave the room and then slumped back down behind his desk with a groan. Great! As if he didn’t have enough troubles already. This was infuriating – another case with his station’s annoyingly efficient and pesky lone WPC and the old vulture snooping around in police business.

  Just what he needed!

  Want to read on? Order now!

  Click here if you’re in the US

  Click here if you’re in the UK

  Want mo
re?

  To be the first to hear about new releases, competitions, 99p eBooks and promotions, sign up to our monthly email newsletter.

  Click here to sign up!

  If you want to be the first to know about the next gripping Ryder and Loveday novel, sign up to Faith Martin’s newsletter!

  Click here to sign up!

  To see all the books in the Ryder and Loveday series and to learn more about Faith as an author, click here to visit Faith’s website.

  Dear Reader,

  We hope you enjoyed reading this book. If you did, we’d be so appreciative if you left a review. It really helps us and the author to bring more books like this to you.

  Here at HQ Digital we are dedicated to publishing fiction that will keep you turning the pages into the early hours. Don’t want to miss a thing? To find out more about our books, promotions, discover exclusive content and enter competitions you can keep in touch in the following ways:

  JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:

  Sign up to our new email newsletter: http://smarturl.it/SignUpHQ

  Read our new blog www.hqstories.co.uk

  https://twitter.com/HQStories

  www.facebook.com/HQStories

  BUDDING WRITER?

  We’re also looking for authors to join the HQ Digital family! Find out more here:

  https://www.hqstories.co.uk/want-to-write-for-us/

  Thanks for reading, from the HQ Digital team

  If you enjoyed A Fatal Night, then why not try another gripping mystery from HQ Digital?

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.