Playing At Murder (A Butterworth Mystery Book 1)

by Gillian Larkin

  Playing At Murder

  Chapter 1

  “What are you going to do now you’ve retired?” Connie Butterworth asked her sister-in-law, Sable.

  Sable shrugged and said, “I might join a book club.”

  Connie handed her a plate with a slice of lemon cake on it. “But that would involve talking to other people. You know you don’t like talking to other people.”

  Sable placed the plate on the little table in front of her. “It’s just the annoying people I don’t like. And the ignorant ones. And the ones who have to let everyone know their opinions.” She used her fork to scoop a bit of cake into her mouth. “This is lovely. You always make a good cake.”

  “Thanks. There’s plenty for you to take home too. I’ve made too much again. And I can’t eat it all. I’ve got enough padding on me already. Not like you. You’ve never put on a pound in all the years I’ve known you.” Connie picked up her cup of tea and settled back in the comfy armchair. “Apart from joining a book club, what else are you thinking of?”

  “I thought I could scrub my house from top to bottom. Perhaps a bit of decorating might be a good idea too.” She glanced around Connie’s living room. “I could help you redecorate in here. And I could help you declutter. How many ornaments do you actually need?”

  Connie chuckled. “It’s more than my life’s worth to get rid of any ornaments. Each one is a present from my children. And there’s no point decorating, not with two mischievous grandchildren running around here. Back to you. What are your plans? You’ll be at a loss now you’ve got no one to boss around every day at work.”

  Sable bristled. “I never bossed anyone around. As area manager, it was my duty to make sure people were dealing with their workloads effectively.” She lowered her fork. “Why the sudden interest in my spare time? I retired last month, and this is the first time you’ve shown any interest in my spare time.”

  Connie looked down at her jeans and picked a bit of fluff off them. “I was merely passing the time; that’s all.”

  Sable pointed her fork at Connie. “Nonsense. You’re up to something. I’ve known you for over forty years, Connie Butterworth. I know when you’re up to something. Look at me.”

  Connie looked up; spots of pink appeared in her cheeks. “I just thought you must be bored with all this spare time you’ve now got. You worked at that office for a long time. And now you’ve got nothing to do. I was concerned about you. And you can stop pointing your fork at me.”

  Sable put her fork down. “You’re keeping something from me. Anyway, you’re one to talk. You’re retired too. But I’m not giving you a hard time about it.”

  “I’m hardly retired. I’m a grandmother and a mother, and they never retire. We don’t even get days off.” She was about to say more but noticed Sable’s eyes glistening. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful about being a mother and grandmother. I’ve told you before you can borrow any one of my kids. And the grandchildren too.”

  Sable gave her a small smile. “I might take you up on that offer one day.” She cleared her throat. “Tell me what’s on your mind. And why you’re so interested in my spare time.”

  “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I’ve always wanted to be a private investigator.”

  Sable burst out laughing. She immediately stopped when she saw Connie’s expression. “Oh! You’re serious. Sorry. I thought you were having one of your jokes again.”

  “I’m not joking. My Clive used to laugh at how many murder mystery shows I watched. He said I was an addict. But I loved how the mysteries were set out, and how one clue led to another. And how the murderer might give themselves away. I often worked out who the culprit was before the detective did.”

  Sable looked at the cluttered shelves behind Connie. She noted the box sets: Poirot, Murder, She Wrote, Midsomer Murders, Morse. “You’ve got quite a collection. What’s this got to do with my retirement plans?”

  Connie gave her a broad smile. “I want to set up a private investigation company. And I want you to be my partner.”

  Sable stared at her for a moment, and then said, “I’m going to need more cake.” She pulled the plate on to her lap and scooped a large piece into her mouth.

  Connie went on, “I’m serious about this. I think we’d make a good team. I’m a bit behind with technology, but you could help with that part. I think I’d be good at the talking to people bit.”

  Sable put more cake in her mouth while keeping her eyes on Connie.

  Connie continued, “And it’s not that difficult to set yourself up. There are even online courses you can take to gain qualifications. You can learn interviewing skills, basic surveillance skills, report writing and lots of legal stuff. We’d have to learn the legal stuff, of course.”

  “Of course,” Sable said weakly. She put her empty plate down. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. Just because we’re getting older doesn’t mean we have to stop living. This could give us a new lease of life.” She gave Sable a hopeful smile. “Well? What do you think?”

  Sable held her hands out. “But how? And where? And …”

  “I can talk you through all the details later. I’ve made a list of what we have to do.”

  Sable folded her hands on her lap. “I don’t need to look at your list. No offence, but this is a ludicrous idea.”

  “Why?”

  “We can’t become private investigators at our age! It’s dangerous.”

  “That depends on the type of work we’d do. We can do surveillance work. We can find missing people. The online training takes us through all that.”

  Sable shook her head. “It’s crazy. Just crazy. Who would hire us? How would they find out about us?”

  “We’d advertise online.” Connie leant forward in her seat. “We’d need a website. And business cards.” She saw Sable’s eyes light up. “And we’d need to set it up as a business with tax records with all the proper paperwork. That would be right up your street.”

  “Perhaps. What else would we need? If we were to proceed with this ridiculous venture.”

  Connie paused for effect. “We’d need insurance. All sorts of insurance. Something called public liability or indemnity something or other. You’re the insurance expert. You’d know how to deal with that side of things.”

  Sable looked into the distance, a wistful smile on her face. “Indemnity insurance. Yes. We’d need that. And we’d have to rent office space. And contact the tax office about setting up a business. Yes. There would be a lot of organising to sort out. A lot of paperwork to do. Yes.”

  “So, you’ll do it then? Set up a business with me?”

  Sable snapped back to attention. “Just a minute! I never said that. It’s a preposterous idea.” She frowned. “But I might give it some serious contemplation. Weigh the pros and cons. Make some lists. With bullet points.”

  The doorbell rang. Connie got to her feet.

  As she walked towards the front door, she said to Sable, “You can do your contemplating while we speak to our first client. Help yourself to more cake.”

  Chapter 2

  Connie brought their first client into her living room. She wasn’t surprised to see Sable had a notepad and pen ready on the table in front of her. Sable was the most efficient and organised person she knew. Connie didn’t miss the sharp look directed at her from her sister-in-law. She turned her attention to the young woman at her side.

  Connie said, “Tina, this is my partner, Sable Butterworth.” With a bright smile on her face, she looked at Sable. “This is Tina Dawson. And this little chap in her arms is her son,
Tom. He’s two.”

  Sable gave Tina and Tom a curt nod but didn’t say anything. She picked up her pen, aimed it slightly in Connie’s direction, and clicked the top. Connie half expected a poisoned dart to come shooting her way.

  Connie moved her hand in the direction of the armchair. “Please, take a seat. Would you like tea? Coffee? A slice of cake? Perhaps something for Tom?”

  Tina shook her head. “No, thank you.” She took a seat and settled Tom on her knee.

  Connie noticed how tired Tina looked. She took in her rumpled hair and the blouse which was fastened up incorrectly. She sat in the armchair opposite Tina and asked how they could help.

  Tina said, “I’m not sure you can help. I’m not sure I should be here. It seems silly now that I’m here. I saw your card in the post office window, and it was a spur of the moment thing when I phoned you.”

  Sable arched one eyebrow and looked at Connie. “We have a card in the post office window?”

  Connie flapped a hand at her. “We’ll talk about that later. Tina, why don’t you tell us what your problem is, and we’ll see if it’s something we can help you with.”

  Tom leant his head against his mum’s chest and put his thumb in his mouth. Tina smoothed down his hair before saying, “It’s my childminder. She’s gone missing.”

  “Really?” Connie said. She looked in Sable’s direction and was pleased to notice Sable writing on her notepad. “Tell us more. Don’t leave any details out, no matter how small.”

  “Okay. She’s called Rachel Woods, and she’s been my childminder for five years. I’ve got another child, Katie, who’s seven. Rachel’s wonderful with her. Katie has boundless energy and is full of questions from the second she wakes up. She can be hard work, but Rachel knows how to deal with her.” She kissed the top of Tom’s head. “I don’t know what I’d do without Rachel. She looks after Tom all day while I’m at work, and then goes for Katie at school. She even helps Katie with her homework. I told her she didn’t have to, but she says she doesn’t mind.”

  Connie nodded. “And when did Rachel go missing?”

  “On Monday. I know that’s only two days ago, but Rachel has just disappeared. She hasn’t sent me any messages to say where she is. She’s never let me down before. I turned up at her house on Monday to find it empty and her car gone. I’ve phoned her many times, but there’s never any reply. I couldn’t find another childminder at short notice, so I’ve had to take time off work.” Her eyes welled up. “I’m so worried about her. Rachel’s not the kind of person to let anyone down.”

  Connie reached for a tissue box and took it over to Tina. The young woman gave her a grateful smile.

  Tom slid off his mum’s knee and climbed on to the sofa where Sable was. Still with his thumb in his mouth, he lifted his head and looked Sable directly in the eye.

  Sable said, “Good morning, young man. Would you like a notepad too? I’ve got plenty in my bag.”

  Tom continued to stare.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Sable reached into her bag and brought out a notepad and a pencil. She put them on Tom’s knee. “Write down everything. Okay?”

  Tom took his thumb from his mouth, gave her a gummy smile and picked up the pencil. He shuffled a bit closer to Sable so that his little leg was touching hers.

  Tina dabbed her tears away and smiled at Sable. “He never goes to strangers. He must like you. Have you got children of your own?”

  “No. I was never blessed.” She pointed her pen in Connie’s direction. “Connie’s my sister-in-law, and she’s got four children. Whenever I felt the need to be around children, I’d come here. And when I’d had enough of them, I’d simply leave.” She looked at Tom. “You don’t have to write that down.”

  “Does Rachel look after other children too?” Connie asked.

  Tina gave her a wry smile. “She used to. But my Katie was such a handful that Rachel couldn’t give her full attention to the other children she looked after. And instead of asking me to look for another childminder, she asked the other mums to look elsewhere. In a polite way, of course. That’s how kind she is. And that’s how I know she wouldn’t have deserted me. I’m not sure whether I should go the police. Is it even my place to do so? She could have gone on holiday and forgotten to tell me. Or she could have told me, and I forgot.”

  “Do you really think that’s the case? That you forgot?” Connie asked.

  Tina pressed her lips together and shook her head. “No. I rely on Rachel more than anyone else in my life. I would have made a note if she was going away. And I would have made arrangements for Tom and Katie. Do you think you could help me? Or am I being silly?”

  Sable rested her pen on her notepad. Tom copied her movements and put his pencil down. Sable said, “You’re not being silly. If she’s the kind of person you say she is, she wouldn’t have left you in the lurch. Who’s going to look after your children now?”

  “I will. I don’t have a choice. It’s hard to get a minder at such short notice. I don’t even want another minder looking after them.” She blinked away a tear. “But it might come to that. If I don’t get back to work soon, I’ll lose my job.”

  Sable picked up her pen. Tom grabbed his pencil.

  Sable said, “Let’s not go down that avenue yet. Connie, are you able to take this case on?”

  “I am. We’ll need to take all the details down. Tina, are you ready to carry on?”

  “Yes. Thank you. How much will this cost? I’ve got some money put by.”

  Connie gave Sable a swift look before saying, “As we’re new to this line of work, we’ll do it for free. It’ll be good practise for us. How does that sound?”

  “But I …” Tina began.

  Connie held her hand up. “That’s our final decision. Now, I’m sure you could do with a hot drink while we get all the details down. Tea or coffee?”

  “Tea would be wonderful. Thank you. Oh! I can’t stop crying today! I’m so glad I saw your card in the post office.”

  Connie headed for the kitchen door. As she passed Sable, she saw a neat line of questions for Tina written on the notepad. Tom had drawn something unrecognisable on his paper.

  As soon as she entered the kitchen, Connie closed the door behind her. She broke into a smile and jigged on the spot.

  Their first client!

  She jigged some more.

  She would have to explain herself to Sable when Tina left. No doubt, she was in for a grilling, especially about putting a card in the post office window. She wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

  But still. Their first client!

  This was going to be a marvellous adventure.

  Chapter 3

  It was thirty minutes later when Connie accompanied Tina Dawson and Tom to their car. She assured Tina they’d get on to her case straight away, and that they’d keep her informed of any developments.

  When Connie returned to her living room, she found Sable putting the pages she’d written on into a plastic wallet. Sable had placed a white, rectangular sticker on the wallet with Tina’s name and today’s date. Connie glanced at Sable’s large handbag. The stationery supplies must have come from there. What else did she have in there? A stapler? A hole-punch? A filing cabinet?

  Sable smoothed down the wallet and said, “The fact that I’ve made a file doesn’t mean anything. I was merely taking notes on your behalf.”

  “I know.” Connie took a seat.

  “And just because I’ve jotted down a few ideas of what might have happened to the childminder doesn’t mean anything either.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want you to get the idea that I might be interested in this ridiculous scheme of yours.”

  “I know.”

  “A private investigator company! Ha! As if we could do something like that. It’s absurd.”

  Connie said, “It isn’t. We’d be good at it. We have years of skills at our fingertips. We know how people think, and how they act.”


  Sable picked Tom’s paper up and placed it in a plastic wallet. “That little boy has excellent pencil control, for his age. I think I’ll put this on my fridge.” She smiled at the scribblings.

  Connie let out a heavy sigh. “Poor little chap. He’ll be missing his childminder. Children need security in their lives. It’s such a shame that we can’t do anything to help him.”

  “What do you mean? You told Tina you were going to help her.”

  “And I will. I’ll pass her case on to a firm of established private investigators. There are plenty online.” Connie sighed heavily again. “I liked Tina. I would have loved to help her with her problem. And I would have loved you at my side. But, as you said, it’s a ridiculous idea.”

  Sable wagged a finger at her. “Don’t try that reverse psychology nonsense on me. It won’t work.”

  “I know.” Connie’s brow furrowed. “Do you know, I think I will help Tina and Tom after all. There’s no reason why I can’t be a lone investigator. My Clive left me enough money to set up a business. Yes. That’s what I’ll do. Tina’s case can be my first one.”

  Sable’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to do this on your own?”

  “Yes. Perhaps when I have more experience under my belt, I can hire someone to help me.” She got to her feet. “I’d better make a start. There’s so much to do.”

  Sable focused her attention on Tom’s scribblings and casually said, “What will you do first?”

  “I thought I’d go round to the childminder’s house and suss things out. Perhaps I’ll speak to her neighbours.”

  “You can ask them if they saw anything out of the ordinary recently. Any unfamiliar faces or vehicles. And, as Rachel’s car has gone, we could ask if anyone saw her driving away, and what she looked like at the time. Did she look normal, or was she distressed? We also need to find out if she had visits from prospective clients recently.”

  “We?” Connie couldn’t help smiling.

  Sable got to her feet. “Take that silly smile off your face. What sort of a friend would I be if I let you go out there on your own? This is a dangerous world, and you’re far too trusting. I’ll help you with this case until you find someone else.” She tutted. “I don’t know what Ian will think about this. He’ll think I’ve gone mad. I’ll tell him about it later.”