Death Drop

by B M Gill

  "Thank you, sir, but Mr Fleming and I had a full discussion before coming to court "

  "Have you a question to ask this witness?''

  "Please Mr Hammond, wouldn't you say five minutes was an unreasonably long time before you went to investigate?"

  Hammond's adrenalin flowed even faster in the face of a new enemy A good-looking, suave, elegant little bitch "I didn't time myself with a stop-watch, it could have been less "

  "When you heard the child cry out, how did you know which child screamed?"

  "There was only one child in the region of the poop deck "

  "Where the open hatch was?"

  "Near where the open hatch was "

  "When you arrived did you go directly to the poop deck or did you look down the hatch into the hold?"

  "I looked down the hatch into the hold."

  "You thought it probable that David had fallen down it?"

  Hammond, aware of gin traps under soft undergrowth, trod warily. "Durrant – the older boy – was already there. He indicated that David had fallen."

  "Indicated? Could you tell me more clearly what you mean? Did he say 'David has fallen down the hold' or 'I saw David falling down the hold'…?"

  "I don't remember. I can't see that it matters what he said – or didn't say."

  "There is rudder machinery on the poop deck. David was supposed to be there on an assignment. The accident could have happened there. You could have been expected to go there directly. The hold itself is fairly dark. If you went directly to the hold expecting to see the child there then you must have had a reason. If the boy, Durrant, told you to look there, then that is a reason. If he didn't, then you must have anticipated the accident. You must have been aware of the danger of the uncovered hatch. If you were and did nothing about it then you failed in your contractual duty of care."

  Lessing was on his feet. "I don't like your imputations."

  The coroner, who didn't like them either, liked Lessing's interruption even less. He told him to sit again. "Answer Miss Crayshaw's question, Mr. Hammond. Were you aware of the danger of the open hatch?"

  "No, sir. If I had been I wouldn't have set the lad's assignment so near it."

  "You wouldn't have gone directly to it if young Durrant hadn't made it plain to you that the child had fallen there?"

  "No."'.

  "And you can't remember Durrani's words?"

  "No."

  "That's understandable. When you realised the child had fallen down the hatch into the hold, what did you do?"

  Hammond felt the salt of sweat on his lips. It was caking at the corner of his mouth. He didn't want to remember the hold – or the climb down into it. He tried to disassociate the mental image from the words, but with no success. The words came out painfully.

  "He was lying on his face. I had never seen anyone with a broken neck. I didn't touch him. I could see he was dead. I climbed out of the hold. I thought I was going to vomit. I went to the rail."

  The coroner's voice was toneless. "You noticed that his eyes were bandaged?"

  "Yes."

  "His hands were free?"

  "Yes."

  "You didn't touch him at all?"

  "No."

  "What happened then?"

  "Mr. Sherborne came over from the ship that was anchored close by. The doctor and police were sent for."

  "And we have their evidence. Mr. Hammond, have you any ideas on how the child came to fall?"

  "No."

  "He was in your House at school?"

  "Yes."

  "So you knew him quite well?"

  "As well as one can know any child."

  "It has been suggested – again we're back in the realms of conjecture – that he might have been acting out a game, a pirate game perhaps, anyway some sort of fantasy that involved a blindfold. Does that sort of thing equate with what you knew of the child?"

  "It's possible. He enjoyed acting. It could have happened that way."

  The coroner addressed Lessing "And now, Mr Lessing, have you anything to ask?" The rebuke was implicit Lessing bounced up from under it "Yes Mr Hammond, has any child m your care ever had an accident before?"

  "No "

  "You are a conscientious man and you have an excellent reputation both up in the school and here in the town where we have a close liaison with the school I believe that the standard of care shown was first-class You couldn't have done more " He looked at Thirza "Some of Miss Crayshaw's questions were difficult and distressing but you answered them honestly The one other question I want to put to you is a very simple one – is your conscience clear on this matter?"

  "Yes'

  "Then that, ' said Lessing, "is good enough for me "

  And nicely put the coroner thought, if the jury needed convincing – which it didn't The verdict of accidental death was already a foregone conclusion Even so, justice needed to be seen to be done The boy's father was sitting there as if he were witnessing a crooked dice game and was powerless to do anything about it If he didn't feel he had to do everything possible to give him a fair deal he wouldn't call the last witness He didn't like calling on juveniles to give evidence, but Durrant had been the first on the scene It was Durrant who had indicated (blast Miss Crayshaw's insistence on the interpretation of this) to Hammond where the boy had fallen He thanked Hammond for his evidence and told him he could stand down Durrant took the stand Today he looked a man and was in his glory The machine in his mind was functioning at high pilch and was fully controlled He saw the courtroom as a room full of sub-normal aliens from an inferior satellite – a pusil lammous, cretinous bunch of observers The only one there of any account was Fleming himself He dared to look at him and then dared to smile at him The smile he saw with satisfaction, needled him like a poisoned dart He wondered if he should ask to affirm rather than to speak the oath and then decided against it Shulter was sitting midway down the left aisle and if he affirmed now there would be long heart-searching sessions with him later He had dropped God together with his mother yesterday – not that God had ever figured very much He read out the oath and then turned his attention to the coroner Breddon who had not looked forward to questioning a nervous and probably sensitive fifteen-year-old was put a little off-balance by what he saw The lad was tall for his age and he was standing very straight with his shoulders back, almost a military stance Brannigan hadn't described him this way Brannigan's description had been sympathetic – something about a miserable home background, lack of confidence and so on This boy, now, was almost scornful m his attitude as if he dealt with a bunch of fools All the same, he was a child Breddon corrected himself – a child up to fourteen, a young person from fourteen to seventeen He was a young person of relatively tender years and must be treated as such He had already decided to use his Christian name, but found it didn't come easily to him "I'm sorry you had to be called today, Steven, but you realise how important this enquiry is?"

  Durrant looked at him with a degree of contempt. "Yes, sir "

  "Did you know young David Fleming well?"

  "No, sir"

  "But he was in your House at school?"

  "Yes, sir "

  "Feel free to expand your answers, Steven What we're trying to do at this inquest is to understand the circumstances of David's fall."

  "Yes, sir."

  "You say you didn't know him well – would that be because of the age difference between you?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "I should have thought in the environment of a boarding school, with its separate Houses, there would have been a family atmosphere."

  "No, sir."

  Breddon, suspicious that the monosyllabic answers were deliberately insolent, said sharply, "Why not?"

  Durrant had a quick mental image of his mother in bed with the photographer. Why was this man going on about families?

  "A school is a school, sir."

  "Meaning?"

  "There is no family atmosphere."

  Breddon had to accept it.
"I see." He abandoned his attempt to get to know David through the eyes of another boy. "You were called to give evidence, Steven, because you were the first on the scene of the accident "

  "Yes, sir."

  "Tell us about it."

  Durrant, forced into speech of more than one sentence, took his time in answering. He glanced casually at Brannigan, hardly seeing him, and then looked at David's father again The power-house in his mind felt a sudden surge that ramified through his whole nervous system As Hammond had earlier, he spoke to Fleming alone.

  "I was sketching in the fo'c'sle when I heard a scream It came from the other end of the ship – the poop deck. I went to see what had happened. I looked down the hatch and saw David lying in the hold. He was dead." He lingered on the word dead. It came out gently.

  Breddon, equally gently, asked, "Why did you look down the hold?"

  "I could see there was no-one on the poop deck I had to pass the hatch to get to the poop deck It was the obvious place to look."

  "You didn't see him fall?"

  "No, sir"

  "You have heard since that he was blindfolded?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Have you any thoughts on that?"

  "Kids-do corny things, sir He was only twelve."

  Fleming felt the words – only twelve – like a deliberate bruising. The mockery in Durrani's eyes had come and gone. He was looking away from his now and back at the coroner.

  Breddon, not insensitive, had been aware of the nuance, but didn't know how to interpret it. The sooner he got the boy off the stand the better. "Mr Lessing, have you any question to ask this witness?"

  "No. I think the boy gave his evidence very well."

  "Miss Crayshaw?"

  Thirza shook her head She felt she walked a foggy landscape on a dark night. The boy gave her the creeps, but she couldn't fault him.

  The coroner told him to stand down He made his speech to the jury as brief as possible. "We don't know why David Fleming fell. Had his hands been tied his death might have had more sinister overtones. Fortunately they were not. He applied the blindfold for a reason we'll never know. It's possible he was playing a game of some kind. The sketch you have been shown might indicate a disturbed state of mind, but we have had no expert witness to confirm this. You must consider the possibility of suicide, but there is no solid evidence to support it. The boy came to Marristone Grange almost a year ago, following the death of his mother. There is no reason to suppose that he didn't settle happily into the life of the school. The reputation of the school is high in the town. You might believe that the Mariana was hazardous – indeed, it turned out to be – but the care taken of the children seems to me to be reasonable. The poop deck was a safe area, if the child had stayed there all would have been, well. I shall ask you to retire now, give the matter careful thought, and then return with your verdict."

  The jury took less than five minutes.

  All seven tradesmen and true were unanimous. The school would continue to be painted and plumbed and cleaned and fed. There wasn't a stain on its character.

  The foreman, who was also the local butcher, spoke the verdict. "Accidental death… and may we express sympathy with the boy's father?"

  Fleming was already on his feet and on his way out of the court. For the first time that afternoon he saw David – the features, the wing of his eyebrows, the steady look from the hazel eyes.

  He felt a terrible sense of failure.

  The inquest had been a charade.

  "You're dead," he told David in his mind. "My arms are around your shoulders, you're standing out here in the sunshine with me – and there isn't any bloody justice anywhere"

  Jenny had followed him out. She was about to put her hand on his, but she let it drop. He wasn't aware of her or of anyone. His isolation was complete. He saw no-one but his son.

  Ten

  "A BOTTLE OF the best bubbly," Lessing said. I bought it on my way to the court as a gesture of confidence." He put it down on Alison's Georgian table, pushing aside her display of antique paperweights.

  She was blooming again, he noticed, like a half-dead flower plunged into fresh water. The verdict had been tonic enough without the champagne. The champagne was a bonus.

  Brannigan, he knew, would deem it indecent to celebrate too openly. Here, up at the school house, within an hour of the verdict, they could be as indecent as they chose.

  Alison, smiling, went to fetch the glasses.

  Brannigan would have preferred Scotch, but drank the champagne to please her. On the drive back to the school she had lavished him with praise. He had given his evidence perfectly. He couldn't have done better. He was the rock on which the school stood. Saint Peter, he had told her dryly, had had his moment of denial, too – in fact three of them – he wondered if he had felt three times as bad.

  She had looked at him, quite patently at a loss. "What do you mean?"

  It seemed unkind to turn off the glow. "Nothing. The verdict was fair, I suppose."

  "You suppose? You should be jumping over the moon. Today the school had justice done to it. It's a good school and you know it – the whole town knows it. No harm has been done."

  He refrained from stating the obvious. He had seen Fleming's expression as he had stood outside the court. Even Jenny had got nowhere with him He had walked off through the crowd as if he walked a desert Lessing drank two glasses of champagne before taking his leave. He wondered if he would see the Crayshaw woman again. Fleming's bird had beautiful plumage. She had fluttered at the inquest without much effect Had she flown in less alien country she might have achieved a different verdict – but he doubted it Her inside knowledge was nil. His own suspicions were another matter, but they would keep for another day Let Alison have her moment of glory. Later, some neat and discreet patchwork over the cracks should restore the fabric of the school. Today's verdict had given the old alma mater a future. He had noticed two of the governors at the inquest – Colonel Goldthorpe and Mrs. Telford Afterwards they had gone to have a word with the coroner No graft, of course Breddon couldn't be bought. They were buddies up at the links Mrs. Telford was lady captain this year and Mrs Breddon was vice-captain. It didn't signify anything, but it all helped. If the school had crashed there would have been one hell of a financial loss. Alison walked to the door with him and waved him off the premises. Normally she didn't like him. Today she did. When she returned to the sitting room she saw that Malcolm had gone to sit with his back to the open window. There was a small breeze now though the day was still very sultry. It ruffled through his thinning hair and she went over and smoothed it " You're sitting in a draught You'll get a chill." It was the first time she had touched him m days and he smiled at her with a degree of affection The wine had taken the edge off his disquiet and allowed optimism to creep through. He was glad he had done what he did – not only for her sake but for the sake of the whole school There was the sound of boys' voices in the air. Cricket on a summer's day. The academic results hadn't been bad this year, considering the smallness of the sixth form. There had been some Oxbridge successes. Next year the potential was even better. He liked teaching. If he could get more help on the administrative side he might be able to have more time in the classroom. He needed to adopt a more positive approach. As from now he would try to see things with fresh eyes. It didn't do to dwell on failure. He wished he could get Fleming's face out of his mind Corley senior arrived at the school at twenty minutes to five. He had intended arriving in time for the inquest, but a natural reticence had kept his foot from pressing too hard on the accelerator Rage coupled with anxiety had made all things seem possible when he had set out on the journey, but as time had gone by he knew he couldn't do it He hadn't been called as a witness A dramatic denouement from the back of a crowded courtroom might be possible in the mind, but couldn't be done in fact. He knew nothing at all about courtroom procedure. He had never attended an inquest in his life. To make a statement out of turn might result m being charged with contempt
of court Neville, distressed and tearful, was safe. Dramatic gestures, desirable as they might be, were for the extroverts of this world, not for mild-mannered bank managers.

  He paused m the town long enough to buy a packet of cigarettes and find out what the verdict had been. Not surprised by it, he drove straight up to the school The games period was coming to an end now and the boys were strolling over to the mam building. He stood and watched them for a moment, and then he went up the cracked steps to the door of the school house and rang the bell. His anger was cocooned inside him.

  Alison, opening to him, saw a corpulent middle-aged man wearing a well-cut grey suit. She had met him once before, but he was one of the parents who rapidly became faceless m retrospect. His wife, loud, lean and enthusiastic, she would have remembered quite clearly, but this man she remembered not at all. She thought he might be the first of the reporters – they always took longer to arrive in time of good news – and she had a speech prepared Her smile was welcoming. "Yes?"

  He remembered her. "I should like a word with your husband, Mrs Brannigan."

  She knew Malcolm wouldn't handle the interview half as well as she would The Press would sniff out his doubt and pounce on it "He's rather busy at the moment -won't I do?"

  "I hardly think so. You don't remember me, do you? I'm Neville Corley's father "

  Her smile became tight and frozen before her lips closed. She stood aside and indicated that he should come in.

  Brannigan. he noticed, wasn't busy at all He was slumped in his chair looking half asleep. There was a bottle of champagne on the table.

  He said quietly, "Celebrating'7"

  Brannigan got to his feet Not poised as high as Alison, there was no euphoria to quench A sudden pain of apprehension came and went He held out his hand "Mr Corley, I'm glad you've come."

  Corley ignored it. "May I sit down?"

  "Please do "

  Alison, her voice unnaturally high, asked how Neville was. He answered dryly, "Alive "

  Brannigan, aware of animosity deliberately overt and not to be ignored, became tense. "The police told us he was safely home We were extremely worried I tried contacting you several times by phone."