Murder Unexpected

by Anita Waller

  Chapter 35

  The rain had stopped by Thursday morning, although the sun hadn’t put in any sort of appearance, not even a weak one. The pavements still looked dark grey, as though they had absorbed so much water they might never dry out again. Trees dripped occasional droplets as their branches moved in the slight breeze, and Kat watched as the girls at the Village Green café wiped down the outside furniture, knowing that the stalwart hikers preferred to eat and drink al fresco. Only torrential rain teeming down into their lattes sent them scurrying inside.

  Kat felt nervous. Her late night text the previous evening had said, Two more sleeps x, and Carl’s messages were now at the stage of making her giggle. She hoped he didn’t want to sit outside the Village Green; it was a little too close to the office for comfort, and she didn’t want to have to explain anything to Mouse and Doris, not yet. Inside the café, she could hide.

  She was still looking out of the office window when Marsden pulled up. Hannah got out of the driving seat, and Marsden out of the passenger side. They walked into the reception, and one look at their faces convinced both Kat and Mouse that they needed to take the two police officers into one of the back rooms.

  ‘We’ll go in mine,’ Mouse whispered and Kat nodded.

  All four of them sat around Mouse’s desk.

  ‘Is your nan not here?’ Tessa asked.

  ‘She’s gone for a hair-do,’ Mouse said. ‘She said she looked like a Dulux dog. She’ll be in later when they’ve turned her back into a terrier.’

  Marsden smiled, but the smile soon disappeared. ‘I’m killing time, coming here,’ she said. ‘We’re here to take Alice Small in for further questioning, and she won’t be back from her run yet. I don’t want her to have the embarrassment of a police car waiting outside for her, so we’ll go about eleven.’

  ‘You think she did it?’ Kat was shocked.

  ‘Yes, I do. I’ve had a long talk this morning with my boss, and he agrees with me. She’s certainly fit and strong enough, and, although there are no fingerprints of hers on the ladder used for access to the loft above number four, I believe she’s not so stupid as to do the deed without wearing gloves. Bear with me while I go through what I think happened.’

  Kat and Mouse exchanged a glance. This wasn’t sounding good. Kat pulled a notepad from her bag. ‘Just in case anything occurs to me,’ she explained.

  ‘I think,’ Marsden began, ‘that Alice has, or had, something massive against Judy. I suspect she knew why Judy was searching for Mrs Bird, and I think she knew she had to do something about it, for the sake of her nephew. She certainly loved Tom. Before Alice bought that property at Bradwell, she lived in one of Tom’s houses, the one where the chap from Bournemouth is going to live, number four. I believe she retained a key to that property, either deliberately or accidentally.’

  Marsden paused to gather her thoughts. ‘On the morning of Judy’s death she was late setting off for her run and tried to say it was because she had to stay in for a delivery.’

  Both Kat and Mouse nodded. ‘We all now know that the delivery was the day before. She tried to explain the error away by saying her memory isn’t what it used to be, and yet when she did do her run on that morning, at a later hour than normal, she told two of her friends, one being Rosie who writes everything down, that she’d had to wait for a delivery.’

  There was a quick glance between Kat and Mouse. Marsden was making sense.

  ‘So to the deed itself.’ Again there was a pause, and Kat knew Marsden didn’t want to accept the facts. ‘I believe she reached the back gardens of that row of cottages, and that is who Judy saw when she called out. It wasn’t to scare a cat or a dog off, it was to tell the woman she despised to bugger off, she wasn’t wanted around there. I suspect Alice was surprised to be seen so early in a morning – it was around seven – and she did leave, but only as far as two doors down where she used her key to enter number four. I checked with the estate agents last night, and she handed in two front door keys but only one back door key when she left. She said Tom had the other one in case he needed to get in to her at any time.’

  Kat felt sick. A lot of it was circumstantial, but powerful nevertheless.

  Marsden was relentless. ‘She used the loft ladder that she had used when she lived there to go up into the attics, walked along until she reached the end one, then waited until she heard Judy go into the bathroom and either the bath or the shower be activated. Alice lowered the loft ladder, came down and raised it again. The next part is guesswork but I believe she waited in the bedroom, possibly behind the door, and she attacked Judy with something heavy to lay her out cold. We haven’t found the weapon that caused the massive wound on her head. Then she stabbed her.’

  ‘You can’t prove this theory.’ Mouse’s voice was flat, emotionless. The theory echoed her own thoughts, and she had dismissed them as fanciful rubbish, Alice wouldn’t stab anybody. Alice was like Kat; a Christian who believed thou shalt not kill.

  ‘No, you’re right, I can’t. And I’m gutted that I have to try. I like Alice, but it’s my belief that she did it. And what’s more, I think she will admit it. We have traced the most direct line she would run between the cottages at Hope and her cottage in Bradwell, and we have dozens of officers doing a fingertip search, looking for either bloody clothing, a knife or a bloodied weapon that she used to hit Judy on the back of her head. We will find something. It’s a lot of ground for them to cover, but they’ll cover every inch of it.’

  All four sat in silence, taking in everything Marsden had spelled out, and then Hannah spoke. ‘Shall I make us a cup of tea?’ Her voice shook, an indication that there were four people in that room who didn’t want Alice to have done it.

  They all nodded, and Hannah stood. ‘For what it’s worth, and I know I shouldn’t say this, boss, but I’m Team Alice.’

  Marsden gave a rueful smile. ‘So am I, Hannah, so am I.’

  Alice didn’t argue. She had been prepared for this, in a way. Hannah escorted her upstairs while she showered and changed out of the sweaty jogging clothes and into a skirt and top, then both of them returned to where Tessa was waiting in the lounge. She had inspected all of the photographs: there were several of Tom, a picture of a couple that she guessed would be Tom’s adoptive parents, and, funnily enough, one of Keeley and Henry Roy. Not one single photograph showed Judy Carpenter.

  Marsden turned as Hannah and Alice entered the lounge.

  ‘There’s medication I need to take regularly,’ Alice said.

  ‘If you get it for me, I’ll take it to the station for you. Do you require a doctor in attendance?’

  Alice gave a slow, gentle smile. ‘No, I have enough tablets.’ She cast a long lingering look around her lounge. ‘I don’t suppose I’ll see this place again, but I’ve been happy here. Thank you for your consideration, DI Marsden. I do appreciate it.’

  She crossed to her sideboard and picked up two boxes of tablets, along with two small tablet bottles. ‘The rest are in the kitchen.’

  ‘Would you like me to get them?’ Hannah asked.

  ‘Would you mind, dear? It’s a yellow plastic basket on my fridge. Just bring the basket, I need them all.’

  Hannah smiled but wanted to cry. She walked into the kitchen, took a carrier bag from a holder on the wall, and placed the tablet basket inside it. She took a deep breath and returned to the lounge, wanting the horrible day to be over.

  Hannah was driving, the other two sharing the back seat. They were almost at the station before Alice spoke. ‘What do I do about my hospital appointment tomorrow?’

  Marsden felt uncomfortable. This was quite surreal. The elderly lady by her side seemed to have accepted she wouldn’t be going home, and yet she had made no admission of guilt, in fact had hardly said anything. Marsden knew that unless they found one of the weapons involved, the rest was pretty circumstantial. She thought for a moment. ‘Can it be postponed?’

  There was a small laugh from Alice. ‘Not really.�
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  ‘Then I’ll make sure we get you there. Which hospital is it?’

  ‘Weston Park.’

  Hannah’s head swivelled towards the back seat, and then just as quickly reverted to watching the road. The oncology hospital was known throughout Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and you didn’t go there if you had anything other than cancer.

  There was a deep sigh from Marsden. ‘Where is it? The cancer…’

  ‘Lungs, liver and I’m at the stage now where I will be having brain tumours. That’s endstage. You’ll not get your trial, DI Marsden.’

  ‘Mrs Small, I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be. I’m ready to go. I’ve had a wonderful life, and although Tom was my sister’s son, he spent a lot of time with me, and that brought me a great deal of happiness. When I was diagnosed a year ago, I decided I would carry on with my running, keep as fit as I possibly could, and if God was gracious he would let me simply collapse and die while running the fields around Bradwell and Hope. That’s clearly not going to happen now, but I think once my running stops, the cancer will overwhelm.’

  Hannah parked in the police station car park, trying to shut out the conversation she had just heard. She couldn’t begin to imagine what would happen now. Surely they couldn’t put this old lady in a cell until she died.

  They walked into the station and Hannah booked Alice in while Marsden led her to an interview room. A constable followed them in, and she asked him to get a cup of tea for the prisoner. He disappeared, and Hannah joined them.

  ‘Don’t treat me like glass,’ Alice smiled. ‘I’m a tough old bird. But I will enjoy a cup of tea. Now, DI Marsden, I’m going to tell you everything when you’ve got yourself organised. I had hoped you wouldn’t have been quite so smart and I would have had a bit longer, but it’s not to be, so… Everything is written down at my home, and I know the envelope will be found when you search the place. You will be searching it, won’t you.’

  Tessa nodded, feeling out of control. ‘Please don’t say anything else, Alice, until the tape is running.’ The door opened and the constable carried in her cup of tea, placing it on the table. Tessa started the recording and everyone logged themselves in. Alice took a sip of her tea, and waited patiently.

  Doris felt angry. She listened to her two girls tell of everything that had happened while she was having her hair done. ‘Do we believe Alice did it?’ she demanded.

  ‘Tessa does, but I’m not convinced Hannah Granger agrees with the boss.’ Kat checked her watch. ‘It’s just after two, so they’re bound to be interviewing her now.’ She pulled the notebook towards her where she’d tried to write down every point Tessa had made, showing how guilty Alice was. She handed it to Doris. ‘I think there’s something missing from this.’

  Doris looked at Kat. ‘Something that will help Alice?’

  ‘Strictly speaking, no. But I don’t see anything that tells us why. What motive did she have? Nobody kills somebody just because they can. Do they? Surely there has to be some sort of reason for it. Alice didn’t particularly like Judy, but that was because she was a rubbish wife to Tom. And Tom died some time ago, so why kill Judy now? I tell you, I’m floored by this.’

  ‘Think Tessa will ring us?’ Mouse asked. ‘She used us as a sounding board this morning, so I’d like to know what’s happening.’

  ‘Why didn’t Alice tell us she used to live at number four, do you think?’ Kat mused. ‘You know what, in my head it’s starting to look as though she could have done it. She’s fit, she’s healthy – she runs miles, not just a few yards. But I still can’t see why. We’ll have to hope Tessa can work this one out so she can tell us.’

  The group of police searching their way through fields between Hope and Bradwell were recalled. It seemed that the hammer used to hit and knock-out Judy Carpenter and the knife used to pierce her heart had been found. In a shed. In the back garden of a pretty cottage in Bradwell.

  And that was almost the end of that Thursday.

  Chapter 36

  With Alice charged, Tessa felt she could finally breathe again. The confession had been full and explicit, and it seemed that Judy had been bad-mouthing Tom for some considerable time, until Alice could take no more. It was Judy wanting the tiny silver cross and chain that had been the worst insult in Alice’s eyes. No way would she allow that to happen, Tom had given it to her.

  This was followed by Judy telling her she was planning to fleece Pam Bird of her wealth, and it was really the final straw when she discovered Judy’s sister Grace was as involved as she was. Judy had to die.

  The terminal diagnosis spurred her on to kill sooner rather than later, and the act itself had been exactly as calculated by Tessa Marsden.

  The letter had been found in the drawer of the sideboard at the cottage, and addressed to DI Marsden. She hadn’t read it yet; she felt exhausted and emotionally drained. This woman might be a cold and calculating merciless killer, but what the hell, she liked her. Included with the letter was a small blue jewellery box that held a tiny silver cross and chain. She guessed that when she read the letter it would explain where the child’s necklace had to go.

  Tessa had sent Hannah home. The young officer had held it together while they listened to the story told by Alice, but it was clear when they left the interview room that Hannah needed time out. Tessa stood at the one-way window looking into the room, and watched as Alice visibly slumped. Marsden saw a young policewoman enter the room, carrying a glass of water and two tablets for Alice, and cursed aloud. Why hadn’t she thought to ask if Alice needed anything? She was probably in considerable pain and needed her medication.

  She would make sure it was her who took Alice to hospital. For security reasons she would take Hannah along as well, but she doubted there would be any attempt at escape.

  The officer handed her the two tablets, then the glass of water. She turned before leaving the room and asked a question of Alice, presumably wanting to know if she needed anything else. Alice smiled at her and shook her head.

  Her hand went to her mouth and she took a sip of the water, then sank back in her chair and relaxed, obviously waiting for the medication to kick in and give her some relief from the pain.

  Tessa walked up to her own office, and as she entered the briefing room, there was prolonged clapping and shouts of ‘well done, boss’. She tried to smile, to acknowledge the congratulations. In her own tiny office she wiped away a tear.

  What a fucking mess.

  She picked up her phone and spoke to the custody sergeant. ‘I want Alice Small in her cell with extra blankets and a proper pillow within the next five minutes. She is seriously ill, and she may need to sleep as she has just taken morphine. Is it already done?’

  ‘It is, ma’am,’ he said, and within two minutes it was.

  Marsden didn’t want to go home. The house held no comfort for her, and she needed solace that night. She considered ringing Kat, but knew she would have to go through everything again; the next day was soon enough for that.

  She called in to the Star and Garter for a carvery meal, loaded up her plate, and ate only the carrots. Then she finally went home, played a Johnny Mathis CD and opened a bottle of very expensive malt.

  She fell asleep before she’d taken one sip; it was almost as if her guardian angel was watching over her, preventing her getting blind drunk no matter whether she wanted to or not.

  Alice stared at the four walls of the tiny cell. They had brought her a pillow, a second mattress to place on top of the existing one and two or three blankets. She somehow knew Tessa Marsden had organised these extras. She asked the young lady who had delivered the blankets if she could have a glass of water, and two minutes later a bottle and a plastic beaker arrived, along with two slices of toast.

  Alice wondered how Tessa and young Hannah were feeling; they had clearly been disturbed as she had told her story, and she took a minute to offer up a prayer for them. God would help them.

  She rested her head on the pillow, but
couldn’t sleep. The pain was bad because she hadn’t taken the tablets brought to her earlier. The skirt she had chosen to wear had pockets, and she had dropped the two hefty painkillers in there. She offered up an extra prayer for God to help her get through the next couple of hours.

  He did.

  Eventually the little window in the door opened and two eyes peered in. ‘Are you okay, Alice? Do you need any more medication?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ she said. ‘I need two more of my morphine. They will see me through to tomorrow morning as long as you don’t wake me. Is that okay?’

  ‘I’ll get them now, sweetheart,’ PC Vincent said, and he disappeared. Two minutes later he returned with two tablets. Whatever she wants, she gets, DI Marsden had said, and he wasn’t about to go against her. He opened the door and walked across to Alice. He handed her a couple of biscuits on a plastic plate. ‘Don’t take tablets like this on an empty stomach,’ he said. ‘It’s lights out in fifteen minutes, and we’ve not put you near anybody else, so you try to sleep. Shout out if you need me during the night. My name’s Stuart, Stuart Vincent.’

  Alice smiled gratefully at him. ‘Thank you so much. You’ve been very kind.’

  He went out and locked the door, then stood for a moment. Sweet old girl, he thought, pity she’s done what she’s done.

  Alice ate the biscuits, then placed the two tablets he had just brought her on the plate. She added the two from her pocket, then undid the back fastening on her bra. She slid the straps down her arms, and pulled the entire bra out down the front of her top.

  On the inside of the bra she had made a tiny pocket. In it were ten tablets wrapped carefully in clingfilm so that they laid flat. The bra had been ready for a week, and she was grateful that she had been allowed the shower earlier, so that she could wear it. She pulled out the thread closing up the top of the pocket and took out the tablets, tipping them onto the plate to join the other four.