by Robert Gott
She cleaned the slate, and in laborious, infantile script, wrote, ‘Me do bad. Them bad, but.’ She was satisfied with that. She wiped around the edges of the slate, put it on the end of his bed, and took up the shovel that leaned near the back door. Matthew kept its blade sharp for her. Just for a moment she faltered, but the opening of the back gate galvanised her. Rose entered the yard, saw Aggie, and raised her hand in a small wave. Aggie strode towards her niece, holding the shovel in both hands. Rose thought nothing of this. Aggie was always digging in the garden.
‘I came as quickly as I could …’ were the last words Rose Abbot spoke. The flat of the shovel caught her full in the face, and she’d barely hit the ground before Aggie drove the blade into the side of her head. Two movements — that was all it took. Aggie had no idea that she had such strength in her body. She began to move rapidly. She wiped her fingerprints from the handle of the shovel, and, using a towel to manoeuvre it, scooped blood into its bowl and splashed it about Selwyn’s shed. She then placed the shovel on the floor beside his bed, used the towel to soak up blood from Rose’s wounds, and smeared Selwyn’s hands and face. He woke up, confused. But by the time he’d sat up, Aggie had locked the shed door and returned to the house.
She telephoned the police, and the exchange put her through to Constable Paddy Filan’s house. He was half awake when Agnes Todd told him that her retarded brother, Selwyn, had gone berserk and murdered her nephew Matthew and her niece Rose. He was safely locked in the shed, but she didn’t know his strength, and someone needed to come immediately. She hung up before Constable Filan could ask any questions. She hoped he would take this as the action of a woman on the edge of hysteria. She then walked out into James Street and waited.
–11–
AS SOON AS Constable Paddy Filan entered Aggie Todd’s house and saw the bodies of Matthew and Rose, he knew he was out of his depth. There were usually three policemen in Port Fairy, but Sergeant Macpherson was in hospital in Warrnambool with a kidney infection, and the junior constable, Jimmy Doggart, was laid up with a heavy summer cold, made more severe by his asthma. Filan was on his own. He was well liked in the town. His father had been the sergeant here back in the 1920s, so no one was surprised when Paddy Filan had followed in his footsteps. Filan never threw his weight around, and even the Protestants found him agreeable and helpful. He was used to dealing with drunks, and could hold his own in a fight, but he had never seen anything like the scene on Aggie Todd’s property. Selwyn was banging on the locked door of the shed and making noises that sounded like distress. Having quickly checked the state of Rose Abbot’s head, there was no way that Paddy was going to let Selwyn loose. He touched nothing, except Rose’s wrist to make sure that she was dead. There was no need to confirm that Matthew was dead.
Filan telephoned Warrnambool for advice and assistance. He was told what procedures needed to be followed, and he then went out into James Street, where Aggie Todd was sitting on the grass. She seemed to be in a daze. She stared up at Filan as if she couldn’t quite make out why he was there. Her look reminded him of the look he’d once seen on the face of a man who’d been pinned under a tractor — shock, disbelief, wonder. He felt a little like this himself. He knew Miss Todd. He used to see her at Mass, and he knew both Matthew and Rose to say hello to. He knew Selwyn, too, of course. He’d never been any trouble.
‘I know this is very difficult, Miss Todd, but can you tell me anything about what happened here?’
Aggie made to form a word, but appeared unable to do so.
‘Would you like a glass of water?’
Aggie nodded, and Paddy Filan returned to the house. As carefully as he was able to, touching nothing except the glass and the tap, he filled the glass and took it to Miss Todd. She swallowed the water slowly.
‘Can you tell me anything?’
‘Selwyn became violent. I’ve always been afraid that he might. He’s so strong. I don’t know what set him off. I couldn’t stop him.’
‘What did he do?’
‘He strangled Matthew. I didn’t see him do that, but I heard them struggling, and then he came out of the room, looking like a maniac, like some sort of wild animal, and he chased Rosie into the backyard and he …’ She paused, as if what she was about to say was almost too difficult to manage. ‘I saw him take the shovel and hit her in the face with it, and then he, then he …’
‘Yes, I understand. How did you get him into the shed?’
‘I didn’t. It was so strange. He just walked into the shed of his own accord. It’s his bedroom, you see. I rushed out, terrified, and locked the door. It will be dreadfully hot in there.’
‘There’ll be policemen coming from Warrnambool in half an hour. They’ll take him into custody. So, after you’d locked your brother, Selwyn — Selwyn is your brother?’
‘Yes.’
‘After you’d locked him in, what did you do?’
‘I went into the front room to see if Matthew was all right.’
‘You didn’t check on Rose first?’
‘Of course I did. She was right there, and I could see that she was … I checked on Matthew, and I found him sitting there. At first I thought he might be alive, but when I went closer I could see that he wasn’t.’
Constable Filan had been discreetly taking notes while Aggie was talking.
‘Is there someone we can get to come and keep you company?’
‘No, thank you. I don’t think I could bear it. Matthew’s fiancée will have to be told, and Rose’s husband.’
‘I’ve already telephoned Mr Abbot. He’s coming into town as soon as he can.’
‘He’s not coming here!’
‘No, Miss Todd, he’s going to the police station. My wife will meet him there if he gets away from the farm early. I can’t leave here until Inspector Halloran arrives from Warrnambool.’
‘What about that awful Macpherson, or Doggart?’
‘I’m afraid I’m all that there is for a few more days. Can you tell me anything else?’
‘No.’
‘Why were your niece and nephew here at such an early hour?’
Aggie thought quickly. There’d be more of this sort of question. She mustn’t seem flustered.
‘It’s a private, family matter.’
‘I’m sorry, Miss Todd, but privacy is the first thing to go in a murder investigation.’
‘Murder?’
Paddy Filan was taken aback by Aggie’s incredulity.
‘Yes, Miss Todd, murder. That’s what this is.’
Until the word had been spoken, Aggie hadn’t considered that this was the crime she had committed. Rose had murdered Matthew. She’d simply dealt with Rose. They hanged people for murder in the state of Victoria. She felt faint, and began breathing rapidly. Paddy Filan diagnosed this as continuing shock. She recovered, her face beaded with sweat.
‘They can’t hang Selwyn, can they? He’s retarded.’
‘I don’t know, Miss Todd. Can you tell me what the private family matter was? Would it help if Father Brennan was here?’
Aggie straightened her shoulders.
‘Father Brennan? Certainly not. If you must know, we were discussing what was to be done about Selwyn. I’m getting too old to look after him. Living on a busy dairy farm is out of the question, and Matthew and Dorothy can’t be expected to take him. They’re getting married soon.’
‘That’s Dorothy Shipman, isn’t it? I didn’t know they were engaged.’
‘Well, they are.’ Aggie realised what she’d said, and choked. Paddy Filan fetched another glass of water.
‘We were discussing putting him somewhere.’
‘The lunatic asylum in Warrnambool?’
‘Somewhere. Perhaps he overheard us, and that’s what set him off.’
Aggie was pleased with this scenar
io.
‘But why were they here so early?’
‘My nephew and niece work long days, Constable. The very early morning was the only time that suited everyone.’
Among the notes he was taking, Filan made short observations about her demeanour. He’d noticed the sharpness in her reference to John Abbot, and he’d noticed, too, that she always mentioned her nephew ahead of her niece. ‘Niece and nephew’ was the usual order, and surely it was easier to say than ‘nephew and niece’, yet Miss Todd carefully put ‘nephew’ first. But maybe it meant nothing.
The banging on the inside of the shed had stopped. Paddy worried that Selwyn might have passed out in that hot box. He hurried through the house and into the backyard.
‘Selwyn Todd?’ he called.
Scuffling noises and then giggles assured him that Selwyn was fine. Filan had had no experience of a murder scene, let alone the scene of a double murder. He was, however, an observant man, and there was something about this that didn’t fit Miss Todd’s version of what had happened. She, of course, was above suspicion. She was a good, boring, Catholic spinster. The idea that she would have had the strength to strangle Matthew Todd or batter Rose Abbot was ludicrous. Her story of Selwyn going berserk made sense, especially if he’d overheard them planning to lock him up in an asylum. But would Selwyn Todd know what an asylum was? Was Miss Todd covering for someone? No. He put the thought out of his head.
When he returned to the front of the house, Inspector Greg Halloran was pulling up in a police sedan. Close behind him was a second car, this one fitted with a coal burner at the rear. Halloran and a uniformed man got out of one car, and a second uniformed man got out of the other. Aggie, alarmed by the spectacle of so many policemen — whose job it would now be to expose her, and see to it that she was hanged — retched dryly.
CONSTABLE FILAN GAVE a thumbnail sketch of what they would find beyond the front door. In anticipation of the obvious first query, he said that the suspect was securely held in a shed down the back.
‘His name is Selwyn, sir, and he’s known around here as the village idiot, I’m afraid. Until now, he’s been harmless.’
Inspector Halloran asked if the Port Fairy lock-up had anyone in it at the moment. Paddy Filan said no, and that it rarely had anyone in it for very long — the odd drunk-and-disorderly, but even they mostly staggered home without causing trouble.
‘All right,’ Halloran said. ‘I want this Selwyn character out of harm’s way, so that’s the first job.’
The policemen entered the house, gave a cursory once-over of the body in the front room, and moved through to the backyard, where Rose Abbot’s body lay exposed in full sunlight. Only Greg Halloran had seen anything like this before. The others experienced a mixture of horrified fascination and fear. The man who’d done this was inside that shed, and it was their job to contain him. Paddy Filan pulled back the bolt on the door and swung it open. They’d all been expecting someone to rush out at them. Instead they heard a barking laugh. Halloran called.
‘Selwyn?’
There was no response.
‘You need to come out now, Selwyn.’
Still nothing.
Halloran approached the shed, and slowly, in full expectation of having to avoid a blow, put his head around the door, and withdrew it instantly. This was an automatic response. The glimpse he’d caught of Selwyn Todd, sitting on the edge of his bed, naked in the heat, assured him that he was in no danger. He indicated to the others that they should stay back, and he stood in the shed’s doorway, where Selwyn could see him. Selwyn’s eyes hadn’t adjusted to the light, and he squinted up at the strange man. It wasn’t Matthew, so he needn’t be afraid. He was only afraid of Matthew. Halloran saw that Selwyn had blood on him. He saw, too, the bloodied shovel leaning against the wall near the bedhead.
‘It’s hot in here, Selwyn. You should come out where it’s cooler. You must be thirsty.’
Selwyn stood up, unselfconsciously. Halloran stepped back from the shed door, and Selwyn stepped into the sunlight. The sight of him made Constable Adams, one of the Warrnambool men, laugh. Selwyn laughed in response. Halloran shot the constable a look that silenced him.
‘Hand me my murder bag,’ Halloran said. He opened it and took out a swab.
‘Can you show me your hands, Selwyn?’ Halloran pointed to Selwyn’s hands as he spoke.
Selwyn, who hadn’t yet noticed Rose Abbot’s body, looked down at his hands. Why were they sticky? He held them up. Was the man going to hose them for him? Halloran took a sample of the blood, put it in a bag, and sealed it.
‘Would one of you go into the house and get a blanket or a sheet so that this man can be covered?’
‘Shouldn’t he just get dressed, sir?’ Constable Adams was trying to make amends for his undisciplined laughter.
‘No, he shouldn’t. I don’t want anything in that shed disturbed until we’ve gone over it properly. And I don’t want Selwyn cleaned up until he’s been thoroughly examined. But he can’t stay here. Constable Filan, if you’d take Selwyn to your lock-up, I’d appreciate it. Constable Adams will go with you. Constable Manton will stay here with me. We’ll come to you as soon as we can.’
Aggie watched as Selwyn, swathed in one of her best cotton sheets — she’d have to burn it if she ever got it back — was helped into a car and driven away. He’d been no trouble; a curious fact that wasn’t lost on Constable Filan.
Inspector Halloran questioned Aggie briefly. She told him what she’d told Paddy Filan. Inside the house, Constable Manton was photographing the bodies. He’d been asked to do this because photography was a hobby of his, and Warrnambool didn’t run to a professional police photographer. He was doing his best, although he wasn’t confident that his shots were either in focus or properly exposed. When Halloran came back into the house, he found that Manton had finished and that he was taking notes in the front room.
‘Constable Filan said that the local doc will be here as soon as he can, sir. A woman is inconveniently giving birth, even as we speak.’
‘We’re going to need help with this, Constable. I don’t want the bodies moved until Homicide gets here from Melbourne, and I know that won’t be until late this afternoon, at the earliest, assuming they can send people at all. We can cover the body of the woman once the doc has had a look, but I’m afraid I’d prefer that they stay where they are. Awful, I know.’
‘This isn’t as straightforward as it looks, is it, sir?’
‘Does it look straightforward, Constable?’
‘Well, Filan said that the old lady’s story was that the retarded bloke went berserk and killed them. They’re related, apparently.’
‘Yes, that’s the story. Does it look that simple to you?’
‘No, sir, it does not.’
‘It doesn’t to me either. Gut instinct, Constable?’
‘I don’t think the person who killed the man in the front room is that same person who killed the woman in the backyard. I think the bloke’s been dead for a longer period of time.’
‘You’ll make a bloody good detective, Constable Manton. Why do you think he’s been dead longer?’
‘The spittle and mucous around his mouth and chin are dry and crusted. The blood around the woman’s head is still wet and sticky. Also, the lady …’
‘Her name is Miss Agnes Todd.’
‘Miss Todd said that Selwyn went crazy and that she heard him struggling with her nephew in the front room. There are no signs that there was a struggle. It’s neat and tidy. The body looks like it’s been placed there. It doesn’t look like he died there.’
‘So that nice old lady — and she’s not that old — sitting out on the footpath is lying to us about what happened?’
‘Yes, sir, I think she is. Constable Filan said as much as well.’
‘Constable Filan is a
s sharp as you are. Any theories, off the top of your head?’
‘No, sir. It does look as though Selwyn hit the woman.’
‘It does look that way, doesn’t it?’
Halloran asked if Manton had photographed the interior of the shed. He had. He then examined Matthew Todd’s body. He pulled the shirt collar down to reveal raw ligature marks.
‘He certainly wasn’t strangled while he was sitting in this room. I’d say he was brought here, either from somewhere else in the house or from outside the house. There’s a bit of sand in the tread of the shoes, which is hardly unusual in Port Fairy. There’s no damage to the hands, and nothing under the fingernails. He didn’t, or couldn’t, put up a fight.’
‘Which means the killer was strong.’
‘And that rules out Miss Todd. I don’t see how those skinny arms could draw a cord this tightly around his neck. Any sign of the cord?’
‘No, sir — not in the room. We haven’t had time to do a thorough search.’
‘Let’s look at the woman. Her name is Mrs Rose Abbot.’
In the backyard, the early cohorts of flies had arrived. Halloran waved them away.
‘We need to get Mrs Abbot covered.’
Constable Manton went inside and returned with a tablecloth. Halloran looked down at Rose.
‘This is a very different crime. Her face is unrecognisable. Are we even sure this is Rose Abbot?’
‘According to Filan, Miss Todd says that she saw Selwyn attack her niece with the shovel.’
‘And then he took it and drove the blade into the side of her head? That seems very precise for the man who came out of that shed. He didn’t react at all when he saw her on the ground. Did you notice that?’
‘I got the impression that he didn’t understand what it meant.’