One Coffin Too Many

by Brendan O'Grady

  “ Try the bedroom, “ asked Devoy. “ See does it tally with what you saw on the tapes. I’ll have a look at the office. “

  Angela went into Caroline’s bedroom. She sat down at the foot of the bed and switched on the DVD player. She watched as Caroline and the blond with the mask cavorted about on the bed. Every time the wall above the bed came into view she froze the image.

  “ Frank, “ she said out loud. “ Some of the videos were shot here. The wallpaper at the head of the bed is a giveaway. I’m going to try another one. “

  There was no reply from Devoy. She could hear him moving around in the room behind me which had served as Caroline’s office.

  She inserted another DVD and set about examining the film. It was while she was looking at the DVD that she sensed a presence behind her. She turned her right hand slowly moving towards her gun. She threw the player on the bed and quickly turned taking out her automatic at the same time. But there was nobody there. Then she heard tapping on the wall mirror. She put her ear up to the mirror and heard muffled tones.

  Devoy then appeared at the door.

  “ Two-way mirror, would you believe. Follow me. “

  She followed Devoy into Caroline’s office and saw that he had pulled away a shelving unit that was on an arm.

  “ See how it works, “ he said. “ You take away the books, pull this out and set up your camera here. Have a look. “

  Devoy stepped back to allow Angela to look into the bedroom.

  “ When you’re finished filming, you fold the stand back and hey presto you’ve got yourself a book case again. Neat, huh? “

  “ Very neat. “

  “ But where’s the camera and where’s the switch? “

  “ I’d say it’s operated by remote control – probably near the bed. Let’s have a look under the bed. “

  Devoy got down on his knees and looked under the bed.

  “ Well, well, well, “ he said, “ everything at hand for the Caroline Gleeson show and her circle of friends. “

  Devoy’s phone rang. It was his personal one.

  “ Inspector Devoy? “ a man’s voice said.

  Devoy didn’t recognize the voice.

  “ Yes, who’s this? “

  “ Carmody. You remember. You asked me to do a job for you with the videotapes? “

  “ Oh, yes, I remember now. Any news, Mr. Carmody? “

  “ Yes, plenty. Sister Flood phoned me and asked me what did I do with the old tapes? I told her I’d dumped them. And two, I had a look at the tape you want me to enhance. Out of the question, I’m afraid. The tape has been cut to bits. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to edit out certain sections. For want of a better word it’s been butchered. “

  “ I see, Mr. Carmody. That’s very interesting. “

  “ What do you want me to do with the others? “

  “ Hold them for me. I’ll come by Monday. Is that okay? “

  “ Look I’m not going to get into trouble with the tapes, am I? “

  “ I don’t see why. The police asked you to hold onto them. That should be good enough for anybody, shouldn’t it? “

  “ Yeah, but somehow I don’t think Sister Flood would appreciate that. “

  “ Look, you told her you dumped them so they’re dumped. End of story. “

  “ Fine. And the other matter? You know the speeding ticket. “

  “ That has been taken care of, Mr. Carmody. See you Monday. “

  Carmody rang off.

  Angela eyed him.

  “ What was that all about? “

  Devoy told her about the altered videotapes.

  “ This is getting more and more complicated, Frank. I’m beginning to think Horgan was set up. “

  “ It’s beginning to look that way. I wouldn’t rule out another arson attack. We’ll have to be on our toes from now on, Angela. I just hope I haven’t put Carmody in the firing line. “

  ✽✽✽

  CHAPTER 29

  Monday

  “ Frank, I was only in the door this morning at 8 when the phone rang. A woman by the name of Sister Flood, Director of a nursing home called the Old Convent, or so she claimed, said you and Detective Moore insulted her on Saturday morning by insinuating she was a lesbian. She asked me to have words with you and to ask you to stop harassing her. “

  Superintendent Sullivan spread his hands.

  “ You know this woman? Explain. What’s going on? “

  Devoy related what had taken place on Saturday morning during the course of a routine interview.

  “ So why were you interviewing her, then? Why her particularly? “

  Devoy explained she had been among a group of female mourners at Caroline’s Gleeson’s funeral. Seeing as Caroline seemed to have no friends they thought she might be able to cast some light on Caroline’s background.

  “ I see. But why her? Why not some other woman? What’s so special about her? “

  “ I’ll come to that, Harry. And let me say she’s not the only female in our sights. Detective Moore and I are going as fast as we can. We’ll get to the other women in due course. “

  “ These women being the other mourners I take it? “

  “ Spot on. “

  “ So what’s the connection with this dead woman Caroline apart from being a friend? “

  “ They weren’t just friends, Harry. They were lesbians. Caroline for certain. “

  “ So what’s the big deal, then. If people want to engage in homosexual activity that’s their business, Frank. I shouldn’t have to remind you of that. “

  “ No you shouldn’t and you don’t need to. A person’s sexual orientation is no concern of ours as police but that isn’t why we took an interest in Sister Flood. We believe she and other women are part of a circle – a lesbian circle and that they may be the subject of blackmail. They’re not your average semi-detached suburban housewife, Harry. These women so I’m led to believe are professional women, married with children probably to prominent men in the locality and therefore in a position to be blackmailed should their lesbian activities come to light. “

  “ This Sister Flood – this is the same woman who helped us out with that video that put Horgan in the frame for the murder of Fallon? “

  “ The very one. “

  “ So why put the squeeze on her if she’s helping us. “

  “ We didn’t put any squeeze on her. We simply asked her a few questions about Caroline – like did she know anything of her background, family, where she came, things like that. And we drew a blank. We thought that odd. That she could consider herself a friend of this woman and not know a thing about her. It didn’t make sense. “

  “ So where did the lesbian element come in? “

  “ We knew for certain that Caroline was a lesbian. We have videos of her and we had been led to believe by a certain party who wishes to remain anonymous that a certain circle existed. We were getting nowhere so we had to introduce something radical to break the ice so to speak. “

  “ And that something was lesbianism? “ suggested Sullivan.

  “ Yes, the mention of the word lesbian provoked a reaction. Given what we know and what we have relating to these women it was a reaction we were hoping for. And we got it. “

  “ I see. Did either of you say so in so many words that Sister Flood was a lesbian? “

  “ No, what we said was did she realize that Caroline was one? “

  “ And what was her reaction to that? “

  “ That it wasn’t a crime. “

  “ And then she concluded from this line of questioning that we were insinuating that if Caroline was a lesbian then her friends were – meaning her. “

  “ And what happened then? “

  “ The conversation degenerated then. It seems she is harbouring certain ideas namely that Caroline Gleeson was innocent of all charges brought against her; and that Horgan was without doubt, guilty even though he hadn’t been brought to trial. Needless to say we contradict
ed her which provoked her anger. “

  “ I see. Now can you prove any of this? “

  “ Of course we can, Harry – in full colour. Show it, Angela. “

  Angela stood up and placed the DVD player on Sullivan’s desk.

  “ I hope you’re not squeamish in sexual matters, sir? “

  Sullivan gave a little laugh.

  “ At my age and with my experience nothing surprises me anymore. I can say I have seen it all. “

  “ As you wish, sir. “

  Angela set the DVD player in play and turned it to face Sullivan.

  “ It’ll take a while to warm up, sir, “ she added. “ The action, that is. “

  Sullivan put on a pair of reading glasses and leaned forward to watch the screen. After a while his face went from a smiling one to utter stupefaction as his eyebrows shot up and down.

  “ But these are women, “ he exclaimed.

  “ They’re lesbian women, sir. “

  “ That’s…” he said pointing, “ that’s the woman who died. Caroline Gleeson. Jesus, no holds barred. She’s really revelling in it, isn’t she? And no mask. “

  Sullivan leaned back in his chair.

  “ Where did you get this stuff? “

  “ Like we said – in Caroline’s cottage. It’s not the only one, Harry. There are loads of them. “

  “ Who’s the blond with the mask? “

  “ We believe it’s Sister Flood. We’re not one-hundred per cent sure. She’s not the only local lady to feature. “

  “ I see. And where are you going to go with this? After all it’s not a crime to be a lesbian. “

  “ No, it’s not a crime but we feel that somehow Horgan became aware of this carry-on and started to blackmail these women. So he had to go. “

  “ And you think these women were after him? “

  “ We think so. Caroline we know for sure. Her friends or should I say her circle had a very good reason for getting rid of him. “

  Sullivan shook his head.

  “ It’s all very tentative, Frank. You’ll have to watch your step here. This could cause ructions. People are still very touchy about the religious in spite of all the scandals. “

  “ There’s also another matter which came to light. “

  Devoy explained to him what the surveillance technician had found.

  “ So the tape was doctored, then? “

  “ Yes, there’s no doubt about that. “

  “ I’d like to speak to this man. Is he local? “

  “ His business is local. Why? “

  “ I think the sooner we get our hands on all those tapes the better…”

  The phone on Sullivan’s desk rang. He picked up the receiver and listened.

  “ Yes, he’s here. “

  Sullivan handed the receiver to Devoy.

  “ Yes? “ asked Devoy.

  Devoy listened for a few moments.

  “ Carmody? Is he alright. I see. I’ll be right there. “

  “ That was Sergeant Power. Carmody’s van disappeared during the night. It was later found burnt out on an isolated country road. The videotapes have gone up in smoke, I’m afraid. We’ve been beaten to it again. “

  “ So what’ll we do now? “ asked Angela.

  Devoy looked at Sullivan.

  “ It’s your play, Harry. What do you want us to do in the light of what happened? “

  Sullivan rubbed his jaw with his hand for a few seconds.

  “ What were you planning, Frank? “

  “ We were planning to get the tapes off Carmody but that’s a no-no, now. “

  “ Who else were you planning to visit? “

  “ Mrs. Marshall. “

  “ Mrs. Marshall, Roderick Marshall’s wife? “

  “ They’re no longer married - they’re kind of separated. “

  “ Please, not the Marshalls – not on a Monday morning. A lesbian nun is about all I can take before tea break. “

  “ We’ve no choice. Sister Flood drove immediately to her boutique after the interview and then both of them went to the Marshall home. We were hoping they’d lead us to others but no dice. “

  “ Right, okay. See what Mrs. Marshall has to say for herself but leave Flood alone for the moment. “

  “ Okay, we can do that. “

  “ When are you planning to see her? “

  “ Probably today but then again it’s Monday. Her boutique may be closed. “

  “ Does she feature in any of this lesbian stuff? “

  “ We believe so but again there’s the masks. “

  “ Better be damn sure she does, Frank. “

  Sullivan stood up.

  “ Good luck both of you. “

  “ Thanks Harry. Eh, incidentally there’s something I wanted to bring up with you. It concerns this technician Carmody. Carmody was doing us a big favour and I was wondering…”

  Devoy turned to Angela.

  “ Could you leave us alone for a few minutes, Detective Moore? “

  Angela smiled and closed the door after her.

  Ten minutes later Devoy exited Sullivan’s office. Angela was waiting for him.

  “ Well, “ she asked, “ did you get what you wanted? “

  “ It wasn’t for me, Angela. It was for Carmody. The least we can do for him is a pull a speeding ticket. After all we put him in the shit. I didn’t want you there when Sullivan was giving the okay. So let’s give him the good news. “

  They found Carmody at his place of work. He was examining a videocassette on a professional video player. Devoy gave him the good news.

  “ Well at least that’s something, “ he said.

  “ The superintendent okayed it, Mr. Carmody. I explained to him how you were helping us. He’s very grateful. He says he’ll bat for you with the insurance if there’s any problem. A superintendent’s word carries a lot of weight. “

  “ It wasn’t a complete disaster, Inspector. Sure all the videocassettes in the van were destroyed but I happened to have the others in my case as I planned to look at them over the weekend. “

  “ You mean…? “

  “ Yes, I mean the ones you wanted tidied up and enhanced I’ve still got them. In fact I’m working on them now. The one you’re particularly interested in is as I told you in a bad state but I can still work with it. It’ll take some time but… “

  Devoy couldn’t believe his luck.

  “ Look, Mr. Carmody you’ve no idea what this means to us. You do what you have to and don’t forget to bill us. It’s the least we can do for you. “

  Outside Carmody’s workshop Devoy and Moore paused.

  “ We’ve got to keep up the momentum, Angela. We’ve got to continue putting the squeeze on them until something pops out. “

  “ What do you suggest? “

  “ I’d like to squeeze you but that’ll have to wait. Let’s go have a look at Mrs. Marshall’s lingerie boutique. I think I need an appetizer. “

  Despite the fact it was Monday morning they found Mrs. Marshall’s Range Rover parked outside her boutique.

  “ I’d like you to lead the way, Angela, if you don’t mind. “

  “ Fine with me. Which way do you want me to handle it? “

  “ Well Mrs. Marshall is not going to say anything about Flood. To do so would be to admit they’re cronies and that she’s aware of what’s going on. No, she’ll play dumb but she’ll be prepared and cagey and unlike Flood who was caught by surprise she’ll be anxious to close the breech. Let’s try the same line of questions that we did with Flood. Okay? “

  Angela nodded.

  “ You got it. “

  Devoy and Moore looked in the window of the boutique Devoy’s eyes slowly devouring the exhibition of sexuality that was on display. They could see the figure of somebody in the back of the store opening cartons.

  Angela knocked on the door which carried a closed sign. She was ignored. She moved back to the shop window and hammered on the glass with her keys. This tim
e she got a response. Mrs. Marshall appeared at the door with a frown on her face her hand pointing down at the closed sign. Angela gave her a big smile and then tapped on the door with her police badge. Mrs. Marshall eyes squinted in disbelief as she looked at the ID.

  She opened the door a little bit and shook her head in dismay.

  “ We’re stocktaking today, Miss,” she said in a haughty voice. “ Can’t you come back another time? “

  “ Well isn’t that a coincidence, Mrs. Marshall. “ replied Angela.” We’re taking stock, too but of another nature. “

  “ Oh, I suppose you want to come in? “

  “ Yes, but if it’s inconvenient we could go to your home. “

  Mrs. Marshall looked up and down the street. She opened the door further and nodded with her head for Devoy and Moore to come in.

  “ So what’s this all about? Don’t tell me I’ve been speeding. “

  “ Nothing of the sort,” replied Angela. “ Incidentally, I’m Detective Moore and this is my partner, Detective Inspector Devoy. “

  “ We’re here to speak to you about Caroline Gleeson. We saw you at the cemetery and we were wondering could you throw some light on Caroline, particularly her past? “

  Mrs. Marshall shrugged.

  “ I’ll tell what I know. “

  “ That would be great, “ Devoy said breaking his silence.

  “ Why don’t we go into my office? We won’t be disturbed in there. “

  As they made themselves comfortable Devoy tried to figure out where he had seen Mrs. Marshall before. Her hair was cut short and she had deep piercing brown eyes. But it was her nose that held his attention. It was a fine aquiline nose, probably French, like his wife’s but it was the combination of the nose and the eyes that awakened something in him. As she sat across from him and adjusted her skirt over her shapely legs an image came into his mind. It was an image that was at variance with her feminine presence. She caught him looking at her and smiled, perhaps aware of the effect she had on men. As the questioning progressed Devoy continued to watch her. Perhaps aware of his gaze from the side she began to move slightly in her chair crossing one shapely leg over the other and then casting a quick glance to see was Devoy responding to her provocation as her skirt rode up her thighs. Devoy knew then he had seen her before in one of the videos. She was the proverbial ‘ bitch ‘ or female in the lesbian coupling. The too feminine woman whom he’d heard liked to play the seductress with men just for the hell of it, maybe to see could they still do it having crossed over. The line from the Four Tops single of the 1960s, Reach Out, ran through his head. “ I Can Tell By The Way You Hang Your Head, that clinched it for him. All that was missing was the mask. What a terrible waste of woman, of beauty, he said to himself. What had led this fine specimen of womanhood to forsake the bed of her husband for the dubious delights of lesbianism. His sourness must have registered on his face.