The Determined Widow (The Matthew Holland Mystery Series)

by Adam Melrose

  ‘Morning, yes, his surname is Stimpson. We are due to meet him at nine-thirty at the Safe Harbour pub. It’s just at the other end of the hotel grounds, so no distance at all.’

  Bruno nodded and grabbed himself a coffee.

  ‘What’s Stimpson’s reputation like; any intel on that?’

  ‘I called a mate who has worked with him in the past. Stimpson has a good reputation as a thorough copper, and a decent and incorruptible man. I don’t think we have anything to worry about as far as he’s concerned. That said though, like any policeman, he isn’t going to welcome us snooping about in case we find something he and his team have missed.’

  Matt turned towards where the twins were sitting.

  ‘Max, Joe, would you guys be happy to grab the metal detector and take one of the cars and go back to the quarry? I want you to scan around the gate area and see if you can find anything of the old padlock. It’s a long shot, but if you did find anything, then at least we can confirm we are on the right track as far as that is concerned. Ava should be getting you permission now; she’s on the phone to Mr Collins.’

  Max stood up and walked towards Matt.

  ‘Actually Boss, I would quite like to meet the SIO and weigh him up myself if you don’t mind.’

  ‘Of course, sorry I should have thought of that. Norton, are you happy to go with Joe?’

  ‘Sure thing.’

  Matt made some notes on his tablet.

  ‘OK then, I think everyone is sorted.’

  At that moment Ava walked in from the balcony, having just got off the phone with Mr Collins.

  ‘He will meet whoever is going over to the quarry at nine-thirty and let you in.’

  ‘Right then,’ Matt called everyone to attention, ‘OK so Joe and Norton, you are heading to the quarry gates; I wouldn’t give it too long; no more than an hour max. It’s just a long shot and at this stage it is only to test the glued padlock theory. Everyone else with me to the pub to meet the SIO; the hotel has said they will bring a pot of coffee and tea over. We can sit out on the veranda as the pub is not open until after eleven. Then we can all meet back here.’

  The team milled about, chatting and drinking coffee and tea until it was time for the respective groups to head off.

  By the time Joe and Norton pulled up to the gates at the quarry, there was a white pickup parked across them, signalling Mr Collins was already here and waiting. As they got out of their vehicles, Mr Collins gave a ‘Hello’ that was as welcoming as it was when they first met. Mr Collins lent against his pickup and took out his phone.

  Joe replied, ‘Morning Mr Collins.’

  Mr Collins gave a second welcome, ‘Morning lads.’

  ‘Thanks for this, we won’t be long. Can I just ask you something first?’

  ‘Sure you can.’

  ‘Great. When the police arrived and took over the quarry, did they use your padlock to lock the gates at night?’

  ‘No, they used their own padlocks I guess. Then when the quarry was returned to us a couple of days later, I came down and the gates had been closed, but they weren’t locked.’

  ‘Ah OK, so anyone could have got in here then?’

  ‘Yes, pretty much. Now we know the steps were sunk, I guess that’s how whoever did that got up to them with all the equipment they would have needed.’

  ‘Yeah, I think so. Right, thanks, we had better wave this metal detector around and see what we find.’

  Their plan was indeed a good one, because it took them less than twenty minutes to get an alert from the detector. They found the padlock. Although it was rusted where its metal casing had been in long term contact with the damp soil, it was still very clearly a heavy-duty padlock that had been cut. Norton having been careful to photograph it where it lay then picked it up with an evidence bag. Out of another pocket in his jacket, Norton took a moisture absorbing bag, broke its air-tight seal, and dropped the bag in with the padlock, sealing the evidence bag shut.

  When they got back to the cars, they showed the evidence bag to Mr Collins.

  ‘I’m really sorry, yes that is indeed one of our padlocks. I now feel rather stupid for not looking for it on the day.’

  Joe gave Mr Collins a friendly smile.

  ‘You’ve nothing to be sorry about; you had a fair amount going on that day to deal with. I am guessing the padlocks don’t look that different, if you can remember the original one?’

  Mr Collins held the evidence bag.

  ‘No, as you can see, that is the type we use; that’s what is on there now.’ He pointed to the open gate, its large chain and heavy padlock.

  ‘It’s the brand our local DIY store sells, so I guess it is not surprising that they used the same make.’

  Joe and Norton agreed it was not.

  ‘Thanks again Mr Collins, Joe and I will be off and let you get back to work.’ The three exchanged pleasantries, and having got Mr Collin’s permission to keep the padlock, Joe and Norton headed back to the hotel to join the others.

  When they parked up, they noticed the rest of the team still waiting on the veranda; Stimpson the SIO was a no-show. Matt looked up when he heard footsteps on the wooden veranda.

  ‘You guys didn’t take long.’

  Joe smiled, ‘No we didn’t need to; we found the padlock.’

  Norton was holding the evidence bag with the padlock in it and passed it to Matt. He in turn passed it around for everyone to have a look. There was clearly some solid glue showing on the edge of the latch. The bag eventually came to rest on the table. From behind them a voice spoke up.

  ‘Good morning, I’m Detective Chief Inspector Edward Stimpson; sorry I am running a little late, I got delayed interviewing a suspect.’

  A man in his mid-forties, with a very official bearing, and a well-fitting suit leant forward to shake everyone’s hand in turn. They all made their introductions and offered him some coffee. Matt motioned to him to take a seat. DCI Stimpson was doing his best to present an unruffled, calm persona. He had checked up on these guys, so he was aware they got results.

  ‘Well Mr Holland; as I said on the phone there is not much I can tell you. Nothing we found points to anything other than an accidental death. Obviously, I could not discuss the details of the case with you normally; but in this case I can talk to you as Mrs Stone has told you everything I have told her. I’ll summarise it for you.’

  ‘A call was made to the emergency number with reports of a dead body found floating in a disused and flooded quarry. The caller made it clear that the body was heavily bloated, and death had occurred some considerable time ago. They explained even someone with no previous experience of dead bodies could tell that.

  ‘On arrival the first officer on the scene, who is quite a new lad could not ascertain whether this was a result of misadventure or a deliberate attack, so he treated the body and the scene as a category one death and quite rightly so. As a result, everything was preserved. As we went through the investigation over the next few days, it was downgraded to a Category Two death by me as SIO, having liaised with the Pathologist and the Coroner.

  ‘The Coroner was satisfied that the concrete found in the fatal injury to the head matched the concrete sample taken from the stairs. It would match with him losing his footing at the top of the quarry cliff and landing on the concrete stairs. There was no grass or debris found in the wound as you will have read; but that is deemed to have leached out from the wounds whilst the body was in the water. Being forced in deeper due to the impact, and being heavier, the concrete particles remained in the wound.

  ‘We could find no good reason for him being in this part of the world; we looked down every possible avenue, but there just weren’t any. Nothing came to light at all. There was no vehicle, his company car was in Reading where it should be, as was his own car. His wallet and phone were missing and never traced. After considerable time and a lot of effort from everyone an inquest was held; in pretty quick time I might add, and the only conclusion that could be dr
awn was drawn; “Accidental Death or Misadventure”.’

  Norton leant forward as if to speak. As he did so, he caught Matt’s stare. Matt calmly but clearly shook his head slowly enough that Norton knew to sit back and keep quiet.

  Matt spoke instead, ‘So you visited his place of work?’

  ‘I did, a house in the countryside outside Reading. He was head of security there. Place is apparently owned by some absentee tax exile who is never there. The place is stuffed with amazing furniture, and a large collection of valuable cars, so it needs protecting.’

  Matt and the others all instinctively glanced at each other.

  ‘And you found everything there to be in order?’

  ‘We did, yes. Why?’

  ‘Oh no reason, I just wondered.’

  Stimpson began talking again, ‘As I say; I’m sorry if I seem to be being unhelpful, but I have shared all the information we have, there is nothing else going on here, I’m sorry if you have had a wasted journey.’

  Matt looked thoughtful for a moment.

  ‘Of course, we understand that. I am guessing that if we should find anything amiss, you would like us to let you know though?’

  Edward Stimpson was beginning to get up.

  ‘Yes, please do. I don’t think we have missed anything, but I’m not a stupidly proud man; if somehow we’re wrong, then I certainly want to know about it. If there has been foul play I will certainly want to apprehend the culprit or culprits, and I will want to see them prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It’s just that in this case I don’t think there is anything amiss. We don’t have unlimited resources to spend endless time on every case, but we were and always are thorough.’

  DCI Stimpson was about to make his goodbyes and leave, Matt nodded to Norton; Norton cleared his throat and spoke.

  ‘DCI Stimpson, you might be interested in this then.’ He pushed the evidence bag across the table. Stimpson didn’t hesitate in moving forward to pick it up.

  ‘Ah, so it was tampered with.’

  The team realised at once how sharp minded this particular policeman was. They were talking about one closed case, when he must have plenty more open current cases in his head; and yet on seeing the padlock, he had instant recall and understood its significance.

  Nevertheless, Norton wanted to be clear that they were all on the same page about one thing.

  ‘If you look carefully at the small flap where the keyhole is, you will see a hard clear substance stuck to its outer edge.’

  Stimpson looked closer and agreed, ‘I do. I see the blob of glue. Can I hold on to this for now then?’

  Matt and Norton both murmured a ‘Yes.’

  Stimpson slowly looked round the table, his facial expression open and inviting, ‘Have you found anything else?’

  For a moment or two no one said anything. Various versions of the same thought were going through the minds of the six team members; namely that Stimpson had played it straight with them and wasn’t warning them off; so on balance, there seemed to be no reason to keep anything from him.

  Ava was the first to break silence.

  ‘It’s just that we have found out the concrete steps at the quarry have been destroyed; the ones that are identified as the ones that resulted in Peter’s death. Someone has used some underwater equipment to cut through the metal stakes holding them in place.’

  Stimpson gave Ava’s comment a moment’s thought before speaking.

  ‘Yes I remember; we were told about the steps going missing. A very diligent young officer thought my team should be made aware of the incident, given how it seemed such an odd occurrence. My colleague and I gave the situation some careful consideration; we pondered what motive could have led to the steps being moved, and wondered if the concrete sample could be the concern. I checked with the lab though, and the concrete sample was where it should be, and had already been a match to the steps; so, we could see no logic to it. We put it down to a unique act of vandalism.’

  Stimpson paused for a moment, ‘Well if you have nothing else; I’ll be on my way.’

  Matt got up to walk with Stimpson as he left, and thank him for taking the time to speak to them. They had not always met with such an open and accepting fashion by the officials they had encountered on previous investigations.

  Chapter 8

  As Matt and DCI Stimpson walked off one end of the veranda, someone approached from the other end. It was Bella.

  ‘Hi everyone.’

  Max had to catch his breath with this unwelcome surprise. What the hell was she doing here? He had stuck his neck out to help her, and she had repaid him by blatantly lying. He wasn’t sure how best to handle this; he had wanted time to plan how to confront her properly. His mind was desperately trying to remember why she was his ex, had she done something? Did he break up with her? Why could he not remember? That was not like him at all.

  ‘Hi Bella.’ Everyone was welcoming, though they all looked deeply surprised to see her there.

  Registering the surprise on everyone’s faces made Bella panic slightly, perhaps she shouldn’t have come. She suddenly wondered if she was pushing her luck, so thought it best to quickly explain.

  ‘As I’ve never been here before, I thought I would come and say hello, look the place over and see if there was any update. I’m sorry Max, but I couldn’t keep away.’

  Max looked directly at Bella and smiled. Bella thought the smile lacked its usual power; perhaps he was tired.

  ‘We were all heading back to the Operations Room we have setup; would you like to come with us, and we can update you?’

  They all stood up in unison and headed along the veranda and down into the car park. Max smiled and said ‘Good morning’ to the two members of hotel staff that were passing them. They smiled back, but they looked at the group strangely.

  Once they had passed the group, they stopped and turned round. The one with blonde hair spoke first; her accent was Eastern European.

  ‘Bella… It is Bella Stone, yes?’

  Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Bella’s previous sentence began to repeat in Max’s mind before it trailed off. “I’ve never been here before…”

  The repeat of Bella’s sentence was interrupted with a sentence of Max’s own that conveyed exactly how he felt. A very short sentence as it happened; just one word in fact, and he was careful to only mutter it under his breath so that no one else heard: ‘Shit.’

  Chapter 9

  Bella looked genuinely puzzled, ‘I’m sorry, have we met?’

  Max was watching Bella’s reaction like a hawk; specifically her body language, especially her eyes. His gut still told him she was the decent woman he had always believed her to be, but he could not rationally discount the increasing number of pointers towards this no longer being the case. At the very least she was lying. She could be lying for good reason though, he thought.

  Both women moved closer towards Bella. The other member of the couple spoke now.

  ‘No, you have never met us, but we know all about you. We have seen your photo. We know; I mean we knew your husband Pete pretty well.’

  Bella’s whole body gave a visual jolt. It was so noticeable that the other woman instinctively put her hand on Bella’s shoulder in sympathy.

  The woman quickly clarified her last statement.

  ‘No, not biblically; he was our friend, that’s all. He used to come and spend his lunch breaks with us on occasion. By us I mean the hotel staff. Ten of us got permission to turn a disused bar into our break-room. Your husband would come by and eat lunch with us on occasion. Turns out one of the guys who works here in the grounds knows your husband from way back.’

  ‘Mary,’ the other girl looked aghast, ‘I don’t think Mark meant us to tell anyone that; remember what he said.’

  Mary was quick with her response.

  ‘Oh don’t be silly; she’s his wife, Mark won’t mind.’

  Mary paused for a moment before continuing.

  ‘Why don�
�t you come over and say hello to whoever is in the break-room. I’m sure they would want to pay their respects; your husband was liked by everyone, very much indeed.’

  Bella looked to Max for some input. Matt had just joined them having said thank you and goodbye to DCI Stimpson. Max thought they should all go in. He was hoping they may well learn something to their advantage.

  Mary looked hopefully at the group of people standing with Bella.

  ‘Of course that invitation is to you all.’

  Max smiled and took the lead on behalf of the group.

  ‘Thanks, we would like that.’

  Mary looked happy to have them all coming too.

  ‘Well come on then, this way.’

  The group of nine crossed the end of the tarmac, and walked over some undulating and very short grass. The group passed through a small copse of willow that had been allowed to grow up, and once on the other side saw the building the women had been referring to. A run down and smaller version of the smart pub they had just left. Mary noticed the various expressions of surprise on the group’s faces.

  ‘This was the original pub that was here when the quarries were being worked. It’s too small to be practical for the hotel, but it is part of the area’s heritage, so they don’t want to pull it down. Until they decide on what they are going to do with it, we can use it. Coming here feels like we get away from things during our break times.’

  Mary climbed the steps and pushed the door open whilst beckoning everyone inside.

  The main room had been decked out with some sofas. They looked like the ones in the hotel and Matt guessed they were furnishings that were considered past it for continued use in the hotel, although they still looked like they had plenty of life left in them.

  ‘Please take a seat; can we get you all a drink?’ Mary said.

  Matt thanked them.

  ‘Some water would be great.’

  The team fanned out and looked at the printed photos that were on the walls. All around the room, stuck to the walls were photographs of the same people laughing and joking in different poses. The photos were printed on cheap printer paper. What they lacked in presentation they made up for in jollity and happiness.