Chapter 2

She laughed and went back to her desk. Tomorrow, she hoped, a few more answers would be forthcoming. This one had the feel of her last big case, in her mind, this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

The next day, the three detectives went north to see the doctor and the bank manager. The first would see them, in his clinic, at ten, the other, at the bank after eleven. Sally had spoken to her friend, and they had agreed to meet on his lunch break, at a café in Burton.

The doctor was not a long visit. He told them that his patient was healthy, had no signs of any depression. In fact, he said, the man had been looking forward to his future. He wouldn’t be drawn on the subject of the wife, declaring that she saw another doctor. The bank manager was equally certain that his friend had no suicidal tendencies. He told them that his friend had been a stable man, a member of his Lodge, and a pillar of society. When asked about the finances, he realised that he should be frank.

“Detectives, Harrison Prentice had sold the private hospital he owned and transferred the bulk of his money to a charitable trust. He was intending to move to Chester, where he had purchased a Childrens Home in the name of the trust. He had always wanted children, but his wife would not allow that. The trust will fund the Childrens Home, and he was intending to buy a small house, close by. All of this was carried out more than a month ago, along with a rather large mortgage on his local residence, the proceeds of which followed his other funds into the trust. I can give you the names of the trustees, they will be sad at his passing, but the money will keep them open for years to come, allowing them to find more donors. His account only has a small amount, plus the deposit money for his new purchase.”

Sally allowed Ben to lead with the question that they all had.

“So, Sir. If the wife inherits the house, there will be a substantial payment to be made, each month. How long before she runs through what’s left?”

“About six months, I expect. Much less if she keeps drinking. Look, I have to lay this on the line. He was my friend, and I was sad to see him being eaten up by her lifestyle, her total disregard for appearances and her willingness to bed any good-looking man. There are a few, in the Lodge, that have taken her to the local hotels.”

“Are there any who have been, shall we say, regulars?”

“No, she may return to one, or two, after a while, but no-one special. It’s my job, like yours, to keep tabs on my best customers. I’m certain that he was murdered, and that she had something to do with it!”

“So are we, Sir. So are we.”

They went into Burton to meet the uniformed officer, parking next to the squad car outside the café. Over a light lunch, her friend told them that the stepladder that they used was an old wooden one, with large, rectangular feet, and that they had to cut the rope with a hacksaw.

“Strange one, that,” said his partner. “We’ve had to take his missus home, blind drunk, more than once. If anything, I would have expected her to be the one hanging, with him owning up to it. She was a real mantrap, that one.”

“Yes,” murmured Sally. “I had to pour her into a taxi, one night when I was still a WPC. If she could have stayed sober, she could have been a model, or an actress.”

“We haven’t seen so much of her, lately. I wonder if she had a regular boyfriend. A couple of times she had called us to give Johnson Ridley a talking to. She was complaining that he was being far too hands on, so to speak, not something she usually minded.”

“Where would we find this Mister Ridley?”

“He isn’t a local, has a big place in Kidderminster, or nearby. They tell me that he’s a multi-millionaire, but you wouldn’t know it, to speak to him. Nice as pie, he is. I think he has a business in Burton, a side-line, if you like. It sells tourist things and artworks. I think that it’s an outlet for a few of his arty pals.”

The trio went to spring a surprise visit on the wife. When Sally rang the bell, the door was opened by an older woman wearing an apron.

“Yes, we’re not buying anything.”

“We’re police officers,” said Sally as they all showed their warrant cards. “We would like to have a word with the lady of the house, if she’s in.”

“Her Ladyship is in, all right, not long out of bed. She’s in the conservatory. You’re lucky you caught me, I finish my notice, tomorrow.”

“Did she sack you?”

“No, I gave her my notice. It was all right while the master was alive, he liked his food; but she eats like a bird, preferring liquids. Don’t know what I’ll do, but being home would be better than putting up with her. I could, I suppose, go back to cooking in a restaurant, but it would have to be one that didn’t serve up that arty-farty stuff that’s all the rage.”

Sally reached into her bag and pulled out a card from ‘Off the Bone’.

“Give Jim a call and tell him that Sally sent you along. They used to do the arty-farty stuff but it’s all hearty feed, these days. It’s only over in Walton.”

“Thank you, Miss, I might just do that. Now, let me take you to Her Snootiness.”

In the conservatory, the cook introduced them, “The police want a word with you, Ma-am. I’ll be off now, see you tomorrow.”

The woman, stretched out on a sunbed, just waved a glass in their direction and the cook made her get-away. Sally took the lead.

“Mrs. Prentice, we have been asked to look into your husband’s death. There are a few oddities about it that do not usually turn up at a suicide. Can we ask you some questions?”

“Ask away, officers. Take a seat. I won’t offer you a drink, there’s only enough for one, here.”

She waved the glass at a bottle, clearly still three-quarters full.

“Now, Madam, can you tell me how your relationship with your husband was. Were there any tensions?”

“Of course not! We had a happy home life. He had his past-times, I had mine. He wasn’t very good, in bed, but I forgave him his little deficiencies, and I do mean little.”

“Did he ever talk about taking his own life?”

“No, but he has been saying things like he was coming to a decision. I really don’t know what he was thinking.”

“What did he do, for a living?”

“He ran a private hospital. He had made his money in old folks homes but sold that a few years ago. I never had anything to do with that side of things, just played the dutiful wife.”

“And were you, dutiful, that is?”

“Have you been listening to the gossips around here. They’re all just jealous because I’m beautiful, and they’re not.”

“Did your husband ever go sailing?”

Sally saw her eyes light up.

“Him! Sailing! That’s a good one. The man was a wimp, officer. He’d never take a chance on falling in the water. If you want to find a sailor, go to talk to Johnson Ridley. He sails, or so I’m told. He asked me to go for a trip, with him, once. I’ve had to call in the locals to talk to him, more than once. He failed to notice that I’m a happily married woman and thought that his money would buy me. Now you come to mention it, I wonder if he would have murdered my husband to get me alone and helpless.”

“Do you know where we can find this Ridley?”

“He has a place down in Kidderminster way. Quite a pile, so I’m told. Not that it worries me, I have this place now and enough money to last me for the rest of my life. Harrison was rich, and there’s a substantial life policy.”

“I believe, madam, that most life policies do not pay out in cases of suicide.”

“But they will, if you arrest Ridley for his murder!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Prentice. We’ll see our own way out. We may want to speak to you again. We’re sorry for your loss.”

Outside, Ben was able to let out a little snort that he had been bottling up.

“I think that we’re sorrier for Prentice than that witch. Did you see her eyes light up when we got to asking about who might have killed him? She was itching to hand us the name. I bet that when we go and talk to Ridley, he won’t have an alibi, has special sails and a coil of new rope that has a bit cut off the end.”

“I won’t even lay a bet on that one, Ben,” sighed Sally. “This is getting more to look like the clowns had someone to take the rap. It’s all too clear that it’s a stitch-up. Unless, of course, that Ridley actually did it and it’s been made to look like he’s being set up.”

They went back to the station and wrote up their notes. Tomorrow, they intended to make an appointment with Johnson Ridley, as well as following up any other similar cases, should there be any. Sue asked Sally how they were getting on and was told that it was very murky, but they had a few leads.

The next day, Charlie organised a visit with Ridley, at his home. They drove down to Kidderminster, actually, to the other side of Kidderminster. It was a large country house off the A456. They were greeted, at the door, by a butler, who led them through to the library. Ridley was sitting in an armchair, a glass on the table beside him, and a book, inverted, on his lap. He closed the book, put it on the table and rose to meet them, putting his hand out to shake.

“Good morning, officers. Take a seat. What can I do to help you?”

“We would like to talk to you about Harrison Prentice. Can you tell me how you knew him?”

“Harrison, good man. Such a shame about his passing. Never thought that he would do what he did. Last time I saw him he told me that his life was about to change but didn’t go into what that change would be.”

“Where, and when, was that conversation, Sir?”

“It was at a meeting of the Burton and Area Businessman’s Association. He has paediatric clinic that he manages, and I have an art gallery in Burton. He was as bright as a button, that evening.”

“Was that the last time you saw him?”

“Yes, it was. Next thing I heard was that he had hung himself. Terrible waste.”

“How well do you know his wife?”

“The Witch Hazel! Not as well as some I know of. She picked me out at a night club, once. Got all friendly, then screamed blue murder that I had molested her. Kept sending the local coppers over to the shop to give me a talking to. I really don’t know what is going on in her head, but I suppose she will be able to get by, inheriting his money. One can only hope that her liver is in better shape than her morals.”

“Tell me, Sir. Do you sail?”

“Yes, I do. What has that got to do with the price of fish, I ask?”

“I’ll get to that, in a minute. I suppose that you do the whole sailor bit, hauling the sails, leaning out over the water.”

“Good Lord, no! My yacht is a good forty feet long, and I have a crew to do all that stuff. We never put out in a high wind or heavy sea; it spills the whiskey. I’m purely a flat sea sailor. The Foxy Lady is almost a hundred years old, and everything about it reflects its heritage.”

“Do you keep anything from your yacht, on the property?”

“No, it’s all down at the marina at Swansea. No good having anything here.”

“Would you mind if I organise someone to look at your yacht?”

“Not a problem. Look, this is not a usual line of questioning, What has my yacht got to do with Harrison hanging himself?”

“I’ll reveal that after we have had a look around your outbuildings, Sir. If you don’t mind?”

“Not a problem, officer, I have nothing to hide and can wait for you to tell me what this is all leading to.”

They all stood, and he led them out of the house and to the outbuildings.

“The closest to the house is the garage, big enough for six cars, it’s usually locked when I’m away. The next is a storehouse; that is kept locked as it has the freezers for the kitchen. The next is the old laundry, which we don’t use. The last is the general store shed, with everything else and the gardening equipment in. I don’t bother with any but the first one, let the staff call the others home.”

“That last shed, there’s no door.”

“No, it blew off in a windstorm a couple of years ago and we’ve not bothered to put it back. The only thing worth stealing in there is the ride-on mower, and that’s so slow you could race ahead of it and shut the gate, should anyone actually manage to start it. My gardener has been on to me for some time to get something new.”

“Do you mind waiting here, with me, while my partners have a look inside that one?”

“No problem, as long as we get towards you telling me what this is all about.”

Ben and Charlie snapped on gloves as they went into the shed.

“Tell me, Sir. Where were you on the day that Harrison Prentice died?”

“Damn strange, that day. I got a call from a friend of mine. He told me that he had discovered a wonderful new artist who would sell well in the Gallery. We were to meet at the Wellington, in Brecon. I got there and he never turned up. I had lunch and rang him. He said that he was in Scotland and hadn’t rung me.”

“Can you prove that you were there?”

“I think I can. I went to have a look at the Royal Welsh Military Museum and took some pictures of the exhibits. I took a couple of selfies in front of a few of the dioramas. Hold on, let me see if I can show them to you.”

He pulled out his phone, fiddled with it, swiped it a few times and then showed Sally the pictures he was talking about. There, she saw his smiling face with a diorama of a bloody battle behind him, and a time and date on the bottom for two fifteen on the day of the murder. He thumbed the screen to find her others, with the last one that him in it at two forty.

There was a call from the door of the shed, and they walked over to where Ben waited for them.

“As we expected, boss. Hardly even tried to hide it.”

He led them to a corner, behind the mower, where a coil of new, slippery rope was coiled, with the end looking like it had some sawn off. Behind it, stood a metal stepladder, with mud on the legs.

“Right, officers. This is when you tell me what this is about. I can see that I have two options, here. One is to shut up and go and call my lawyer, and two is that you tell me what this stuff is, and why it’s in my shed.”

“Sir, I’ll tell you now, if you would go back inside. One of my officers will be calling for a local forensic team to come out and dust this area for prints. After seeing your pictures, and also from things that have been said, I can tell you that you have no troubles from us, although somebody has gone to great lengths to make it otherwise.”

“This had better be good, young lady. I have friends in high places, and I don’t like being messed about with.”

Back in the library, he sat down in his armchair and took a good swig of his drink as Sally and Ben sat opposite.

“Sir, I have to tell you that Harrison Prentice was murdered, he did not commit suicide. He died at around the time that you have shown me that you were in Brecon. The murderer used a piece of that rope to hang him with and the knot that attached the rope to the tree, was a special one used to tie slippery ropes and Dyneema materials, used in high performance sails. The murderer also used a metal stepladder to lift him to his end. I expect that the rope used to hang him will match the rope in your shed. I also expect that the marks in his lawn, from the stepladder, will match the dimensions of the one in your shed, as will the soil still, conveniently attached to the bottom.”

“That’s a worry, for sure. Why aren’t you putting the cuffs on, now, seeing that it’s so cut and dried?”

“You’ve got it in one, Sir. The clues were laid out as if they were steps on a ladder, each one leading up to you. His wife told us that you were likely to have killed him to get her alone for you to swoop. There are police reports that say that you’ve been spoken to about harassing her. The rope and the knot are peculiar to performance yachting, and you have a large yacht. Now, we find actual evidence in your shed. You are either an innocent patsy, or else a very clever murderer who is playing with fire. Which is it to be, I ask.”

“Thank you for that, officer. I’ll help you in any way I can. I had no idea that he had been murdered. Why do you think they went to all this trouble?”

“I expect that it’s because he had a substantial life policy. They do not usually pay out on suicide, but might do with murder, unless the beneficiary is involved in the murder. They needed someone, removed from the family, to take the rap. The link to the sailing was their mistake, because it has shown that, whoever hung him, knew about boats.”

“Our first thought,” said Ben. “Was that it was supposed to look like it was carried out by clowns. I’m starting to think that this wasn’t the first time, although finding others will be a problem.”

There was a knock on the door and Charlie came in.

“FSI from Stourport are here, boss. They’ll dust around and take the two things with them. I’ve told them to send the report to DCI Cousins, at Aston. I had another look around but couldn’t find the hacksaw. You would have expected them to leave that, as well.”

“Right, what do you want of me, now.”

“If we ring Swansea, can you go down there and show them your yacht. It would go a long way towards eliminating you from the scene. Now we’ll have to go back to find who Hazel Prentice is seeing.”

“I might be able to help you, there. I saw her in the Elms, at Burton, a couple of months ago. She was in the beer garden with a chap I’ve seen before. He does odd-jobs and gardening around the area. The council suggested I use him to look at a couple of trees here. They looked very loved up, more than I’ve seen her in the past. Josh something, I think he’s called. He did some work on the Centenary Woodland if I remember rightly. I think he was there to work on some of the tree lopping. Strapping fellow, very much her speed.”

“That’s interesting, Sir. We’ll follow that up. We’ll need to do some research into his history before we make any moves.”

They all shook hands and left, with Sally telling him that he should call the Swansea station when he’s on his yacht, as she will tell them to expect the call and instruct them on what she wants them to look at. She assured him that, if what he had told them, the yacht was as he said it was, the visit may only be a few minutes.

On the way back to the station, Sally glanced at Ben, in the passenger seat.

“What’s all this ‘boss’ stuff. We’re all the same rank?”

“We were there when Sue put you in charge of us, boss” Ben smiled. “It’s all about being correct, in front of the public.”

“It’s also about experience, boss,” piped up Charlie from the back seat. “We are both amazed that we’ve been accepted into a team that’s solved two mass murders in a single year. You were in the raid on that restaurant, and a central part of the team that saved that girl’s life, in the cave. We’re just babes when it comes to serious detecting. This is the first murder case for both of us.”

“All right, but don’t make a habit of it, and try to make sure that you don’t use it in the office. Now, what do we have to do when we get back?”

“Contact the council to find out what surname they have on an arborist called Josh, and if they have an address for him.”

“Look to see if he has any history, and if he also goes climbing, there’s only one of him but it’s what tree fellers do.”

“Very droll, Charlie, you should be on the stage.”

“Thank you, boss, I do my best.”

“What do we already know about him?”

“He will know how to tie a Buntline and may know the variation.”

“He may be the father of the unborn child.”

“He has been to Kidderminster before and knew where to put the evidence.”

“If he’s bedded the wife in her home, he also knows the layout of the garden. Being a tree man, he would have noted the very stately tree that was used for the hanging.”

“You two are now showing the thinking that put you into our office. Never let a feeling of ‘newness’ cloud your thoughts. You can say what you think, and it will, I can assure you, be listened to. Our team hasn’t solved all of the crimes by paperwork and forensic, it is often the random bit of imagination that cracks the case. It was Andy and his idea that the Boat House cave was too far off the radar to be true, that saved Andrea and solved that case. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing is too weird, odd, or crazy to not speak about. This one is a similar situation. What’s the betting that Josh has an ironclad alibi for the day of the murder, and only delivered the evidence to Kidderminster as a favour for our Mrs. Prentice. I may be wrong, but this one has more twists and turns than the Tour de France.”

Marianne Gregory © 2023