by R. W. Heber
Morton nodded. This was precisely what Adrienne had claimed she did.
“And, as I told you, when I hinted in front of her that I knew where it was, it appeared on my bed.”
“Thank you, Mr. Savage,” Morton said, convinced that these explanations held water. “It’s all very plausible.” He gave Savage a friendly smile for the first time ever. “Now tell me how do I get Mrs. Chancemain into court?”
Jemma looked at the inspector. “I thought the police often started with a lesser charge and worked up from there to a confession.”
“You’ve been reading too many crime magazines, miss.”
“Writing them, actually.”
“Well.” Morton considered this. “Could it be proven that the tranquillizer bottle was stolen? She claims it was given her and Ted Matthews isn’t alive to dispute that.”
“Wait a minute,” Jim said, showing excitement for the first time himself. “You might have a witness. Gary, the assistant keeper, the boy who insisted that Ted never made mistakes. He’d know if a bottle had been officially missing.”
Half an hour later Gary was with them, in his ranger’s khaki uniform, and explaining that Ted had complained about a missing bottle. Shown the vial, he recognized it at once.
“I remember now. Ted was very particular about equipment. He’d had two empty ones of these by the lab sink and he asked me if I’d taken one. Well, I hadn’t. Nor had no one else. Then, after Ted got killed, we forgot all about it.” He looked hard and long at Morton. “You mean that dart was interfered with, like?”
“Some of the tranquillizer was transferred to this bottle and the other must have been topped up with water.”
“Well, I can swear on oath it was stolen, if that’s what you need.” Gary looked both horrified and bewildered. “Bastards,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry,” Morton assured him, “we’ll get them.”
* * *
THE TRIAL several months later at Oxford Crown Court was far from being an open-and-shut case. Loredana was charged with murder and Hamish with being her accomplice. But they had hired good lawyers and the most Loredana would ever admit was that the horoscope had made her decide that she and Hamish must elope.
When the trial ended, after eleven days, the jury was divided, unable to agree. Both the accused walked free, though to boos and catcalls from the crowd outside.
Morton felt strongly that the prosecution should have opted for a lesser charge, though Savage knew that once they had realized the weakness of the case, neither Loredana nor Hamish would have given way.
In the meantime Jim Savage had found a job as secretary of a country club, which kept him occupied but was hardly exciting. He and Jemma were both called as witnesses by the prosecution and when the trial was over he felt curiously empty, as though an era of his life had ended.
The Gilroys were more than thankful that it was all over, although the publicity had doubled the gate money at the Lion Park.
“Agatha Christie would not have approved,” Dee Dee told her husband as they drove back to Wittenham “And that is absolutely the first and the last of our murder weekends.”
However, Buck was ready for her. “Definitely,” he agreed, “but I’ve had a brilliant idea, darling. Why don’t we go into hosting ghost weekends instead?”
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Copyright
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
MURDER AT WITTENHAM PARK. Copyright © 1986 by Thornton Cox Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Production Editor: David Stanford Burr
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
First Edition: October 1997
eISBN 9781250091628
First eBook edition: June 2015