Christmas Killing

by Chrissie Loveday

  ‘Okay mate? You made good time. Come on in.’

  ‘Mandy’s here and Kylie. Kylie was stoppin’ over at ours. Haven’t found another girl yet.’

  ‘’Ow about Matti? Think she’d like to come?’ said Mandy.

  ‘Who’s she?’

  ‘I think she took over as the new elf at Foredyce’s. You know, after Julie was done in.’

  ‘D’ya know her number? Give ’er a call. Phone’s in the ‘all.’

  Mandy went to phone and came back looking a bit green.

  ‘You’ll never guess what’s ‘appened? Someone’s done for Santa. You know, the old man Jimmy summat or other. Well someone stabbed ‘im.’

  ‘Blimey’ said Jace, one of Kevin’s mates. ‘Poor old bugger. Who the heck would do that?’

  ‘Weren’t me,’ Kevin said hurriedly.

  ‘Course it weren’t. Why on earth would it be you?’

  ‘Dunno. The police seem to think it were me what done in Julie. If it hadn’t been for you two saying I was wiv you on the phone nickin’ thing, I reckon they’d ’ve got me for that. Anyway, beers all round?’

  ‘Yes ta,’ Fred said.

  ‘Girls?’

  ‘Ain’t you got nuffin’ else?’

  ‘I dare say there might be some wine. I’ll go and look.’ He went to the fridge and there was a bottle, left by Shelley for their supper. ‘Bingo. Here we go girls.’ He unscrewed the cap and poured out a large glass for each of them.

  ‘Ta.’ Kylie took a sip. ‘Bit dry. Is this all there is?’

  ‘I can give you some sugar.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ll drink it. Make sure you get summat sweeter next time.’

  ‘I certainly will. I’ll put some music on, if I can find anythin’ we like.’

  Soon, the party was well underway. The two girls got up to dance and one of them kicked over someone’s beer.

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Mandy apologised. ‘Is there a cloth in kitchen?’

  ‘I expect so. Come on Kylie. Dance with me while she cleans up the mess.’ Kevin quite fancied the girl and was ready to make a new start with someone.

  ‘I should help Mandy.’

  ‘Nah. Don’t bovver. She’ll be all right. D’ya fancy comin’ upstairs wiv me?’

  She gave a shrug and followed him up. The two lads left downstairs made typically rude comments as they went.

  ‘Go for it Kev,’ called Fred after them. They sat there for a while, with Jace wondering if Mandy would be up for a trip upstairs.

  There was a hammering at the door. Jace looked out.

  ‘Blimey. Looks like it’s the fuzz. I’m sure that’s the cop what interviewed us.’ He went to the bottom of the stairs and bellowed for Kevin to come down.

  ‘Bugger off,’ he yelled back.

  ‘The cops are here. Come on down now.’ He went to open the door, as they were offering to call for someone to come with a ram to batter it down. ‘Mornin’,’ he said opening the door.

  ‘Is Kevin Riley here?’ said Chief Inspector Jones.

  ‘’E’s jus’ cummin.’

  ‘And you are?’

  ‘Jace Blenkinsop.’

  ‘Oh yes, I know you. Something to do with mobile phones.’ The youth looked down, as if he was avoiding the policeman’s stare. ‘We’d like to come in,’ he said, pushing past Jace. Ted Wilkes followed him, looking round the room as he did so.

  ‘’Ere, you can’t do that. ‘Ave you got one of them thingies? What d’ya call it?’

  ‘A warrant,’ Fred told him.

  ‘Yer. ‘Ave you got one of them wot ‘e said?’

  ‘We could waste a whole lot of time getting one but as we’re here now, we’ll speak to you all. Now, where’s Kevin? And where’s Mr Riley? I mean the one who owns this place.’

  ‘Dunno,’ Fred replied. ‘Kev invited us over. P’raps he went out somewhere.’

  ‘And gave you lot permission to be here? I somehow doubt that. Ah, here’s the man himself,’ he said as Kevin came down the stairs.

  ‘Mornin’,’ he muttered. ‘What now?’

  ‘We’d like you to come along with us. A few questions to be answered.’

  ‘What am I s’posed to ‘ave done?’

  ‘Hopefully, nothing. We have a few matters to clear up.’

  ‘’Ow did you know I was ‘ere?’

  ‘Your Mum told us. She didn’t mention you’d have friends here too.’

  ‘You’d best clear off now,’ he told his mates. ‘Kylie? You’ve gotta go,’ he yelled up the stairs.

  ‘Perhaps you’d better clear up a bit first, too,’ said Ray. It’d be a dreadful shock for your brother to come back to this lot. We can wait for a few minutes.’

  They watched as the lads stuffed the empty cans into the kitchen bin.

  ‘I haven’t really cleared up the beer spill properly,’ said Mandy.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Jace told her.

  ‘We might need to speak to you again. Where do you live?’ Ray asked them. They gave him their addresses, which he seriously doubted actually existed.

  ‘Don’t worry Sir, we’ve got them on record. Except for you two young ladies.’

  ‘She’s my sister and the other’s called Kylie. She lived down the road from us,’ Fred informed them.

  ‘Very well. Off you go then.’

  ‘Right. See ya round,’ Fred said as he collected the rest of his group together. They all piled into his car and he drove away sounding his strident horn along the street.

  ‘That should have woken anyone having a lie in,’ remarked Ted.

  ‘Okay sonny. Let’s go,’ Ray told Kevin.

  ‘I thought ya wanted to talk ‘ere.’

  ‘No. I think we’ll take you to the station.’

  ‘Wot am I s’posed to ‘ave done?’

  ‘That we shall find out.’

  They bundled him into the car and drove back to the police station. He was put into an interview room and left for a while to calm down. Ray took out the interview notes and read them through.

  ‘What gave you the idea that Kevin wasn’t involved with the phone nicking scam?’

  ‘It seems he gave the wrong names about who he was with. You must remember ... he said he was with Joe and Alfie. We’d got Fred and Jace for the job. I know he was pretty dense about who he was with but I assumed that was just him trying it on. Okay. Let’s go. Let’s see what he’s got to say for himself.’

  Kevin was making all sorts of a din by the time they reached the interview room. Fortunately, the seats were screwed down to the floor, as was the table. The audio visual recorders were built into the room so he hadn’t been able to damage any of that equipment. He was banging on the door and shouting at the top of his voice.

  ‘What the ‘ell are you doin’? Shuttin’ me away in ‘ere. I’m gonna complain to ... well someone.’

  ‘Calm down young man. Come on, sit down and shut up.’ Obviously his consumption of beers was enlivening his attitude and he was becoming angrier and angrier.

  ‘What’s up then? Come on. Tell me.’

  ‘We want to look at last Wednesday afternoon again.’

  ‘Yer know what I was doin’. I was nickin’ mobile wiv me mates.’

  ‘Oh yes. Joe and Alfie wasn’t it?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘You told us it was Joe and Alfie. Friends from the pub.’

  ‘Yer, well maybe it was.’

  ‘I don’t think so. Fred and Jace are our most likely candidates. They admitted to it when they were interviewed.’

  ‘Fred and Jace it is then.’

  ‘Only you weren’t with them, were you?’

  ‘Course I were.’

  ‘So how much did you get for the phones?’

  ‘I dunno. They deal with that.’

  ‘But you must know how much you made on the afternoon.’

  ‘A few quid I s’pose.’

  ‘So where were you really? On Wednesday afternoon. About four o’clock.’

  �
�I was out wiv me mates. I want a s’licitor. If ya don’t believe me I need a s’licitor.’

  ‘Very well. I’ll call the duty solicitor. It may take a while as it’s a Sunday. Perhaps we’d better put you in a cell while you’re waiting.’

  ‘Nah. Don’ want a cell. I’ll wait ‘ere.’

  They ignored what he said and booked him in properly and he was taken to a cell.

  ‘You hungry son?’ asked the duty sergeant.

  ‘Bleedin’ starvin’,’ he replied.

  ‘Right. Well I’ll see what I can do about getting you something to eat. Take him to number four will you?’ he asked one of the staff.

  ‘Thanks. I think we’ll go out to the Foredyce’s store now, Ted. Kevin will keep. I need to see what the latest news is from there.’

  The store was very busy. It seemed that lots of extra people had gone there to see what was happening and to bag a bargain or two for Christmas.

  ‘I wonder if Miss Pringle has come in today? She usually seems to know what’s going on. I think I’ll go to her office and see.’

  ‘I’ll go along to the Grotto and make sure it’s still closed,’ Ted said.

  The HR’s office also seemed to be closed. The doors were locked and he turned away, slightly disappointed. He heard a buzz of noise coming from another room along the corridor and stood outside listening for a moment or two. It was obviously something important.

  Chapter Seven

  The Board Meeting had been called for ten-thirty. Miss Pringle was present on site at ten. She fussed around sorting out coffee and biscuits and was there to greet everyone as they arrived. The two Foredyce family members were there first and stood muttering out of her earshot. She was frustrated by this and desperately wanted to know what they were saying. She was interrupted by two more people arriving and they were followed by a further three.

  ‘I hope this isn’t going to take long,’ said Mr Green. ‘It’s my golf morning and I don’t want to miss it entirely.’

  ‘It’ll take as long as it takes,’ was Mr Geoffrey Foredyce’s reply. He was the executive director of the company. ‘If we’re all here now, I suggest we begin. Miss Pringle, we’d like you to stay to inform us of what you know. Oh and you can take minutes, please.’

  ‘Very well sir.’ Miss Pringle was relieved that she wasn’t about to be thrown out of the meeting.

  ‘Bit formal taking minutes isn’t it?’ asked Mr Green. He was met with a glare from Geoffrey.

  ‘Right,’ he began. ‘I think you’re all aware that two grisly murders have taken place in our Christmas Grotto.’ There was a murmuring round the large table. ‘The police seem to have no idea of who has committed this crime and so most people are under suspicion. Miss Pringle. Can you tell us what exactly happened during this week?’

  ‘Yes indeed. I have been working closely with the police and assisting them wherever possible.’

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m sure you have. But we need the main facts please.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Well, on Wednesday afternoon, the elf was thought to have gone home about four o’clock. Sadly, it turned out she’d been strangled and thrust into her locker. They have a locker to keep their clothes in, you understand. On Thursday morning, when Jimmy North ... he’s the man playing Santa, when he came in, he noticed a piece of green fabric sticking out of the elf’s locker. When he opened it, there was the poor elf, crammed in there and strangled. He couldn’t remember seeing the piece of fabric from her costume on Wednesday night.’

  ‘Terrible business. No suspects, you say?’ another member of the board asked.

  ‘Not that I’ve heard.’

  ‘Go on Miss Pringle,’ Geoffrey urged her.

  ‘Well, he went home for the rest of Thursday and came back on Friday. We found a replacement elf to work with him. She was called Matti something or other. I forget now but her father works in Goods Inwards. A reliable sort of man and when he offered his daughter might do the job, we took her on till Christmas Eve.’

  ‘What happened after that?’

  ‘It was a fairly normal day. Then on Saturday, Jimmy came in and went to the canteen, where he had a cup of tea or coffee, I don’t know which. He went to the changing room and put on his costume. I think he was a bit early for his shift actually.’

  ‘Yes, yes. Get on with it please.’

  ‘Sorry. The next thing I knew was when the elf, the replacement elf came in and started screaming that Santa was dead on the floor. I was called and went along to see what was going on. Poor Jimmy had been stabbed. You couldn’t really see it at first with him wearing his red costume. Then the police arrived and everyone was shut out of the room. They say it must be kept closed for a while and the Grotto is to be left closed for as long as necessary. There is only one more Saturday till Christmas and then we start our sale the following Monday. It’s all very upsetting.’

  ‘Thank you for an excellent account of the various happenings,’ said Geoffrey. She nodded. ‘What we have to decide now is what we do about this wretched Santa Claus. The Grotto being closed for a while means he’d have to sit somewhere else. Assuming we can find someone to play the part. I’m afraid it wouldn’t be the most popular role for anyone to play under the circumstances. I understand the elf has also resigned.’

  ‘Yes indeed. She said she wouldn’t play the part any more though I suspect it was merely her reacting to the situation. She may possibly be talked round.’

  ‘If we don’t have a Santa, will it make a lot of difference?’ asked Mrs Jenkins, one of the older members of the board.

  ‘Oh, I think so. It’s always such a big feature of Christmas at Foredyce’s.’

  ‘How practical would it be to place Santa somewhere else?’

  ‘Perhaps we could put him in the toy department somewhere. Make an alcove for him to sit in. Stick some fairy lights around and there you are.’

  ‘Perhaps that would be better than nothing. We still have to find someone to play the part however. Miss Pringle? Your thoughts?’

  ‘Leave it with me. I’ll find someone and we shall have to get another outfit. That’s not a problem.’

  ‘Don’t we sell Father Christmas outfits?’

  ‘Well yes but they are rather cheap and certainly not the best look possible,’ Miss Pringle informed them. ‘Don’t worry. I know where we can get one. Do you want me to organise another elf as well? I was thinking having two of them would make a difference.’

  ‘See what you can do. Meanwhile, Sidney and I will look at the toy department and see if there is a corner we can use.’

  ‘Anything else?’ said Mr Green. ‘Or can I go now.’

  Geoffrey looked furious.

  ‘You’d better get off to your wretched golf. There are a couple more matters to be decided but far it be from me to keep you here unwillingly.’ Mr Green growled slightly and sat down again. He glanced at his watch. He’d missed most of the morning by now and might as well stay.

  The rest of the meeting continued and eventually, began to break up. They spoke in small groups and all of them showed their deep concerns.

  ‘Right Sidney. Shall we go and look at the toy department?’

  ‘After you, boss.’ Sidney Foredyce was Geoffrey’s younger brother and was the Chief Accountant. ‘I’m not sure how vital this all is, you know.’

  ‘You can’t have Christmas without Santa, now can you?’

  ‘Perhaps we’re about to find out. Come on then, brother. Let’s go look and see if there’s somewhere to put a new Santa.’

  As they came out of the Board Room, they met DCI Jones, who stopped them.

  ‘Excuse me,’ he said. ‘May I have a few words with you?’

  ‘We’re just going to the toy department to see if there’s somewhere the new Father Christmas can sit. I gather you’re the policeman in charge of things here?’

  ‘Indeed yes. Detective Chief Inspector Jones.’ He produced his warrant card to show them. ‘And you are?’

  ‘Geoffrey Foredyce and
this my brother, Sydney. I’m the Chief Executive and Sydney here is the Chief Accountant. How can we help?’

  ‘First I must apologise for having to close your Grotto. I realise it must be of great inconvenience to you. However, a couple of days and you can probably use it again.’

  ‘Well, if we can take out the large chair and move that at least, it will be a great help.’

  ‘I’ll need to see if the SOCO team, the Scene of Crime Officers, have finished with it. If not, then I’m afraid it will have to remain where it is.’ He asked them a few more standard questions, deciding they didn’t have much information to help. ‘Thank you sirs. Can we have a list of Board members please? We’d better check all of them before we’re done.’

  ‘Ask Miss Pringle. She’ll have all the information you need. Tell her I’ve authorised it.’

  ‘Thank you.’ DCI Jones didn’t like to say that he was entitled to all information, whether Mr Geoffrey Foredyce authorised it or not.

  The two men left the detective and went along to the toy department. They wandered round it, looking for a place where Santa could be seated.

  ‘I can see why the Grotto was built in the clothes department. There really isn’t anywhere we can put it here, is there?’ Geoffrey was disappointed. ‘You know something? I hate bloody Christmas. It just causes a whole load of extra work.’

  ‘And a whole load of extra profits. Don’t forget that. Without the extra at this time of year, it would be a pretty poor show. Let’s just hope they’ll have finished with the Grotto sooner than they say. We’ll have to keep on at them to see if they’ll clear off sooner than they hope.’

  ‘And now it’s snowing, just to add to the fun. We must make sure the sledges and other snow stuff is brought forward.’

  ‘There you are. More money in the bank for Foredyce’s.’

  ‘Do you think we should cancel the staff party for Christmas Eve?’ asked Sydney. It was the custom to give all the staff a few drinks and nibbles after the store closed at one o'clock on Christmas Eve. It was usually a jolly sort of affair with prizes given to best performing staff over the year.

  ‘I’m really not sure. It’ll be quite a while after these murders have died down. I think it might cheer folks up at bit before Christmas. No, I think we should go ahead with it, unless there’s anything else awful happens of course.’