'Circa nineteen sixty-eight,' Roger replied.
'Well, I can tell you the place doesn't look like that now.'
'Ah, but look at this,' Roger said as he scrolled down the screen.
Odette watched, her eyes widening in surprise as the headline came into view.
''Murder at Dove Cottage remains unsolved.''
'Murder?' Odette asked as she turned to Roger.
'The headlines from nineteen seventy-four, but it refers to a murder that took place at Dove Cottage four years earlier.'
Odette looked back at the screen and sighed, her eyes once more fixed on the headline.
When Roger coughed slightly, she turned to look at him.
'The house was owned by a local family, the Brabs had farmed the land for at least three generations. George and Ethel Brab had one child named Arthur, and as far as I can tell he's still alive.'
'So, what actually happened?' she asked.
'George Brab died of a heart attack in sixty-four, after that Arthur ran the farm with his mother. They were a dairy farm and Arthur was away at an auction when his mother was murdered.'
'Someone killed his mother?' Odette asked in surprise.
'Afraid so, I've done some research, the police questioned the son about it, but like I said he was up in Cumbria when she was killed, he went with one of the farm hands, loads of witnesses backed his alibi.'
'And they never found her killer?'
Roger shook his head slowly. 'I've looked for crime scene images, and found nothing so far, but there are some written testaments taken at the time of the murder. Ethel Brab was sixty-five when she died, beaten around the head with a blunt object,' he paused, 'from what I can tell she was found in the same bedroom that the unknown woman was killed in, but so far that's all I can find,' he finished with a sigh.
Odette could feel the tension rising inside as she absorbed his words. 'And this happened in nineteen seventy?'
'That's right, there were a couple of follow-up pieces in the local papers, the last one in nineteen seventy-five but I assume nothing new came to light.'
'Do we know if anything was taken from the house?'
'Well, there's no mention of the property being ransacked and there was no sign of a break-in.'
'What about suspects?'
Roger shrugged. 'I haven't come across anyone yet, I mean, it's fifty years since she was murdered, and the records might not even exist now.'
'That's true,' Odette said as she spotted Lasser's car pull onto the car park.
'Right, keep looking and see what else you can find.'
'Will do.'
With a smile, she rose to her feet, and he watched as she left the room before pulling a mint from his pocket and popping it into his mouth, then he was hitting the keys again as he went back to work.
14
Morgan Pence tuned out as the teacher droned on about the Tudors. She couldn't see the point in learning about a mad family that had lived over four hundred years ago, when all they had seemed to do was cut off heads and eat vast amounts of disgusting food.
Looking down at her book, she hid a yawn before closing her eyes, the morning had been as boring as hell, double maths and now double history, and she liked neither.
When the bell rang, she blinked in surprise, and then the familiar sound of chairs being scraped back filled the room.
'Remember, walk don't run!' the teacher shouted above the noise.
As always, most of the students ignored the request as they dashed for the door, desperate to get to the front of the dinner queue.
Morgan took her time, hoisting the flimsy bag onto her shoulder before sauntering to the door, when she saw Scott waiting in the corridor, she smiled.
'You're looking hot,' Scott Clark said before hooking his arm around her shoulder, as they started to walk along the corridor.
One or two younger kids ran past, pushing and shoving one another as they hurtled along the corridor. Morgan smiled at a couple of girls who were loitering in a classroom doorway, when they scowled, her smile grew wider.
They were just jealous, it was written all over their faces, Scott was so good looking that half of the girls in school wanted to be with him, and she loved seeing the looks on their faces as she walked by his side.
Reaching a set of double doors on the left, they pushed out into the drizzle, Morgan lifted a small umbrella from her bag and seconds later, they were strolling across the crowded playground, the only two to have the protection of an umbrella. She felt the sense of superiority rise as she looked at the other kids all standing hunched together in small groups, getting a soaking.
Turning the corner of the building, Scott pulled out the pack of cigarettes and lit one before blowing the smoke out into the wet air.
'So, are you going to come to the party tonight?' he asked.
For the first time Morgan felt the smile slip from her face, Scott had mentioned the party last week and every day since he had asked her if she would be going with him, and so far, she had managed to sidestep the question. But now she knew the moment had arrived when she would have to give him an answer.
'Come on, you have to come,' he urged.
Morgan tried to smile, but she knew that her parents would not want her heading out to a party without first knowing who would be there, and then they would want to take her, and no doubt pick her up and that would be just so embarrassing.
'I'll try and get there,' she ventured.
Scott looked at her through a cloud of drifting smoke. 'What do you mean, you're either coming or you're not?' he said with a scowl.
Inside, Morgan Pence cringed.
'If you can't be bothered then I'll ask Clara, she'll come with me.'
Morgan felt her mouth drop open in shock, and yet Scott looked at her and then shrugged as if it was no big deal.
'Clara Bell?' she asked in a trembling voice.
Scott nodded as he took another pull on the cigarette. 'It's up to you, if you can't make it then that's fine, but like I said, Clara will be well up for it.'
'But you can't go with her,' Morgan gasped.
'Well, you know the answer to that, you come, or I ask Clara.'
Morgan felt the tears shimmering in her eyes as the rain bounced off the cover of the umbrella. 'What time does it start?'
'Half-eight, Billy's parents are on holiday and he has the place to himself so…'
'I'll be there,' she interrupted.
Scott smiled and then pursed his lips. 'You're not messing me about, are you?' he asked.
'No, no, I promise I'll be there.'
Flicking the cigarette away, he slid his hands onto her hips and leaned forward to kiss her, and, for the briefest of moments, she caught the disgusting smell of cigarette smoke, and then his tongue was in her mouth, and she almost gagged.
Easing away, he winked at her. 'I can't wait to get my hands on you later.'
Morgan smiled in return, but inside she felt the panic rise, she was going to have to find a way of getting to the party without letting on to her parents.
The small internal voice tried to tell her that he wasn't worth it, but she thrust it to one side, Scott was the best-looking boy in school, and she loved him…, didn't she?
'Right, I'll see you later,' he suddenly turned and vanished back around the corner of the building, leaving her standing in the rain alone, the grey day closing in around her.
She felt cornered, if she didn't turn up for the party then Clara Bell would go in her place and she would never hear the last of it. Bell would delight in telling all her friends that she had been to the party with Scott, and Morgan knew that if she failed to go then Scott would dump her.
The realisation slammed into her, she was walking a tightrope, one slip and she would be a laughing stock, the whole school would know what had happened, they would point the finger and snigger. Morgan Pence – the girl who had blown it and all because she wasn't allowed to go to a party.
The rain increased, batte
ring the umbrella, and at last the tears spilled free and slid down her cold white cheeks.
15
Lasser placed the three plastic cups on the table.
Bannister nodded in thanks as Odette explained about the murder that had taken place at Dove Cottage fifty years earlier.
'And Rog said that this Ethel Brab was found upstairs?' Lasser asked as he sat down.
'That's right, the same bedroom the unknown victim died in,' Odette picked up the plastic cup and took a sip.
'Well, we've just come from seeing Doc Shannon and we're no closer to identifying the victim, and, so far, no one has come forward to report her missing,' Bannister reached out for the cup but then changed his mind. 'The doc did say that there was some bruising on her upper arm and the back of her neck, but it wasn't the hammer that was used to kill her, that damage was done by a heavy-bladed knife.'
Odette grimaced at the news. 'Perhaps he threatened her with the knife to get her into the house?'
Lasser nodded. 'Makes sense, we know her shoes and clothing were wet and splattered with mud, so they definitely arrived on foot.'
Bannister sighed heavily and then rubbed at his eyes, Odette and Lasser exchanged a brief look of concern as the DCI cracked a yawn.
'Right, we all agree that the killer forced the victim into the house?'
Odette and Lasser nodded in unison.
Bannister opened his mouth and then closed it again as if he had suddenly lost his train of thought, then he looked towards the window and sighed before rising to his feet.
'I'm going home,' he suddenly said. 'I feel fucked.'
Odette almost spilled her drink as the DCI crossed the room, Lasser said nothing as he watched his boss snatch the door open and vanish.
'What was all that about?' Odette asked, sounding shocked to the core.
Lasser sighed and shook his head. 'I guess I was wrong.'
'About what?'
'I thought that perhaps he just needed a case to get him back in the saddle, but the truth is he needs time to sort his head out.'
Odette glanced towards the window as Bannister appeared outside and started to head toward the station gates. 'He doesn't even have a car.'
Turning in his seat, Lasser watched as his boss trudged through the rain before making his way to the road and then he turned left and disappeared.
'It's a five-mile walk back to the house,' Odette said, her face creased with concern.
'Leave him,' Lasser replied as he turned back to face Odette.
'Leave him?'
'Yeah, I tried to talk to him in the car,' he paused, 'on the way to see Shannon some tosser made the mistake of flicking his cigarette at the passenger window, and Bannister insisted I turn the car around, things got heated, and the idiot went for Bannister but ended up on his arse.'
'Bannister hit him?' Odette asked, her shock growing more acute at the notion of the DCI lashing out.
Lasser nodded. 'Yeah, then at the hospital he was miles away when Shannon was telling us about the victim.'
The door suddenly opened, and Carole Henson looked into the room. 'Tell me that wasn't Alan walking off the car park?'
Lasser winced as he saw the concern on Carole's face.
'He just needs some time to get his head together, he'll be back,' he said by way of explanation, but even to his own ears his reasoning sounded lame.
Looking from one to the other, Carole sighed and then nodded. 'Is there anything we can do to help?' she asked.
'We can be there for him,' Lasser replied. 'But right now, I think he needs to be alone.'
Carole held his gaze for a moment before turning to Odette.
'I know this isn't the best time, but I need a word with you.'
'Is it about Black?' Odette asked, and as soon as she saw the look of disgust in Carole's eyes, she had her answer.
'He came to see me earlier, complaining about last night, I tried my best to calm him down, but I have a feeling he's going to go above my head over this.'
Lasser felt the anger flood his mind. 'That man is a bastard, I bet he never even mentioned the woman found in the house.'
Carole nodded. 'Got it in one.'
'Prick,' Lasser snarled.
Moving across the room, Carole sat down at the table. 'He accused you of calling him a coward.'
'That's right. I did.'
Carole looked pained for a moment. 'He also claims Doc Shannon used the W word.'
Odette nodded. 'The truth is he left Shaun to enter that house alone, at the time they knew nothing of what was going on upstairs. They were responding to a report of a possible break-in and Black refused to enter the property, that's why I called the man a coward and I stick to that, I won't pretend I didn't say it.'
Carole glanced at Lasser – who remained furious – his teeth clamped, the muscles in his jaw flexing. Then she looked towards the rainswept car park and thought of Bannister trudging all the way home through the downpour, a man in pain.
'I'd get rid of Black if I could,' she paused and sighed, 'I will back you all the way on this, Odette, but for now all we can do is wait and see what he does and who he goes to see.'
'I'm fine with that,' Odette said with a small smile of sadness. 'I'm just disappointed that it's come to something like this.'
'Nothing to be disappointed about, Odette, the man is an arsehole, always has been, and given half a chance he would see the lot of us out on our arses,' Lasser rumbled, his voice deep and low.
Carole glanced at him and nodded in agreement. 'What about the autopsy, did Shannon find anything useful?'
By the time Lasser had finished explaining, Carole looked even more careworn. 'Well, all we can hope for is that someone will come forward to report the woman missing.'
'That could take a while depending on the victim's circumstances, she could have lived alone, kept to herself, and there's something else as well.' Lasser said as he glanced at the window picturing Bannister trudging through the pissing rain, the flare of guilt flashed through his mind and he did his best to ignore it, knowing that the DCI needed to be alone.
'Something else?' Carole asked with a frown.
Odette leaned forward and started to tell Carole about the unsolved murder of Ethel Brab at Dove Cottage fifty years earlier.
Taking a deep breath, Carole straightened her shoulders. 'Question is will this animal kill again?' she looked from one to the other in hope.
'Doc Shannon did say that the victim hadn't been sexually assaulted in any way, but the way she was nailed to the fireplace could point to some kind of ritualistic element to the killing,' Odette suggested.
'And then you have Black complaining about being ''bullied'' and yet he made no effort to even chase the killer,' Carole's face was suddenly flushed with anger as she rose to her feet.
'We've all known for years that he's a coward, and dangerous with it,' Lasser said, his dark eyes still full of anger.
Carole looked at them both. 'Right, you two, keep me informed and let's hope we get a break soon then we can get moving on this.'
They watched as she left the room, Lasser finishing the drink as Odette stood up.
'I'm going to go and see if Roger needs any help with the search, you coming?' she asked.
Lasser thought for a moment before shaking his head. 'No. I'm going to go and take another look at Dove Cottage.'
'No problem, I'll catch you later.'
Tossing the cup into the bin, Lasser followed her to the door, once in the corridor Odette moved to the left and Lasser watched her for a couple of seconds before turning right.
By the time he reached the exit he had his phone out, when Jackie's name appeared on the screen, he tapped the green icon.
16
Morgan hovered by the school gates, the rain had continued all afternoon and now it was falling harder than ever as the stream of students walked past her as she waited for Scott to appear.
Some of the boys were laughing and joking, oblivious to the rain, most
of the older girls carried umbrellas, not wanting to get their hair wet as they filed away from the school.
Gradually the tide lessened, she kept looking back at the school hoping to see Scott amongst the stragglers. Fifteen minutes later she was still standing there, a frown of confusion plucking at her brow, the cold wind making her shiver. During the afternoon lessons she had been unable to concentrate, her brain in turmoil as she tried to fathom how to make it to the party whilst keeping it a secret from her parents.
In the end she had reached a decision, it was weak and flawed but Morgan Pence had been unable to come up with anything better. She would have to say she was staying at Elle's, catching up on coursework, she cringed knowing that if her parents decided to check her alibi then it would come crashing down like a flimsy house of cards. Elle was her best friend or had been until she had started to go out with Scott, then things had changed, and only now was she starting to admit that it hadn't been Elle who had changed. The truth was Elle had been fine about it, but Morgan had started to spend more time with Scott, ignoring her friend in the process.
Now, she chewed her lip, knowing that if she rang Elle then she might not answer, and even if she did then Morgan suspected that her friend wouldn't be prepared to supply her with an alibi.
Blinking through the rain, Morgan suddenly realised that Scott wasn't going to appear through the school doors, no doubt he had been one of the first to leave, probably to dash home and get ready for tonight's party.
Lifting the phone from her pocket, she tapped at the screen, her finger hovering over Scott's name as she nibbled at her bottom lip in uncertainty, then she scrolled down to Elle's number and hesitated unsure what to do.
Suddenly an image of Clara Bell shot into her mind, as far as she was concerned Clara was a tart who would go with anyone, all the school knew it, and if Scott asked her to the party then no doubt Clara would let him do whatever he wanted.
'Is that what you really want to be like, is that what you want to do with your life?' the small voice inside asked.
Spinning away from the gates, she set off walking, her mind in turmoil, deep inside she knew the voice was right, and yet there was another part that was desperate to be with Scott Clark no matter what.
Third Eye - DS Lasser Series 25 (2021) Page 6