‘Yes, yes, yes…’ answers Martina’s weak voice and for a few minutes she tried to find the phone in her little backpack.
‘Martina, calm down, please!’ said Kristin, nervously. ‘I think the phone is in your pocket.’
‘Oh yes, you are right,’ Martina replies, takes the phone from her pocket and dials with trembling hands.
‘Hello! Sorry, here is a corpse! Dead woman!’ Martina said with a trembling voice.
‘Where are we? I do not know. This is probably East Scares Street between the castle. Wait, I see a man with a dog walking, not far from us, he’ll tell the exact address.’ Martina started calling the man and then ran towards him, at which time his dog began to bark aggressively.
‘I’m sorry, but I need your help! Please tell the police where we are,’ rattled Martina and handed the phone.
He took the phone with displeasure and said something, then asked in a strange voice, ‘Where is the corpse the police want to find?’
Martina looked at him, frightened and in a pleading voice said, ‘There, on the hill.’
When she rejoined her friend, she noticed that Kristin was concentrating her attention on the face of the dead woman. The impression was that her friend was not only studying attentively but trying to memorize every feature of a dead woman.
Five minutes later, at 10.55 a.m., the police car drove up to the place where the body was found. They asked a few questions, then told everyone to step aside and wait for the detective. Hearing the sirens of the patrol cars, about fifteen people gathered around. Among them was a man in shorts and a red Adidas jacket, who identified the woman’s corpse. He was stunned by what he saw and kept repeating, ‘It cannot be! This is Danielle Jackson.’
From afar, Kristin and Martina closely watched the detectives and criminologists during their inspection of the crime scene. After examining the corpse, pathologist, Ben Robertson, tells Chief Inspector Steve Duke, ‘Death occurred in the period between eleven thirty and twelve last night. It looks like there were two blows to the head with a stick, followed by another with something heavy, more precisely, a large stone. I will give you more details after the post-mortem examination. Yesterday, from eight in the evening to five in the morning, it was raining. It rained cats and dogs. I do not envy your task, my friend.’
‘Yes, I agree,’ said Chief Inspector Steve Duke.
When an obese man, no more than fifty-five years old with blue eyes, introduced himself as Chief Inspector Steve Duke to Martina and Kristin, they silently understood that this middle-aged man with a big belly was Barbara’s husband. Chief Inspector Steve Duke was with a young, plump man about thirty-five years old, who held a thick notebook and introduced himself as Inspector Dave Tanner.
‘Hello, ladies! So, did you find the woman’s corpse?’ Chief Inspector Steve Duke asked with an insightful look. ‘Could you please give me all your details? We need your statements to assist our investigation.’
‘Of course, we understand perfectly. I am Kristin Smith,’ said Kristin in a tired and quiet voice.
‘I’m Martina Gverzoni,’ said Martina.
Hearing familiar names, Chief Inspector Duke almost shuddered at this unexpected link to his wife and meeting the two women, who he had avoided previously and had made chaos appear in his quiet family life.
‘Smith and Gverzoni… Yes, yes, yes,’ he said with a gaze and an irritable voice. ‘So, so, I do not understand something. Where’s Madame Duke?’
‘She works today,’ said Martina, dryly.
Inspector Dave Tanner looked at his boss with bewilderment, trying to understand why he was talking about his wife.
‘Chief, can I have a minute?’ asked Tanner.
When Detective Duke approached the inspector, he asked irritably, ‘Dave, what’s so urgent?’
‘Chief, I would like to know who these women are and how you know them? And your wife?’ Dave Tanner asks vaguely.
‘Dave, we have a woman’s corpse in front of us! I don’t have time to listen to your chatter about personal irrelevancies. It is much better that you go and question our male witness, who is a neighbor of the corpse,’ Chief Inspector Steve Duke nervously responds. ‘If you’re really interested in knowing who these women are, I’ll tell you that these women are my wife’s new friends who have been brainwashing her lately.’
‘Chief, they are not as terrible as mortal sin, like you described them,’ says Dave Tanner, teasingly. ‘They are very beautiful women and self-sufficient.’
‘Personally, I didn’t notice anything special and this is the first time in my life that I’ve seen them,’ says Duke irritably and he heads back to the witnesses. ‘Enough talk, we have a lot to do.’
When Duke and Tanner walked away, Martina could not resist the temptation to comment and blurted out, ‘Poor, Barbara, he is just a self-satisfied egoist!’
‘I would say that he is most like a naughty child: at first his mother was so blind, and then his wife indulged in everything,’ said Kristin, quietly. ‘I think he is a good person.’
‘Inspector Tanner will talk to you now. Please try to tell him all you know; every detail is very important in the investigation of the case. I will call you later if we need your further cooperation,’ Chief Inspector Duke said hastily, then turned his attention to the dead woman’s neighbor.
Inspector Tanner opened his eyes wide in surprise upon hearing this unexpected order from his chief inspector and timidity moved towards the women, opened his notebook, looked at their statements, and said with a stammer, ‘I’m sorry… Kristin Smith and Martina Gverzoni, I have to ask you a few questions.’
‘Oh, yes, please,’ said Kristin and adventurously looked at her friend.
Noticing the shyness of Inspector Tanner in the presence of attractive women, Kristin and Martina decided to play a little with him during the interview. Tanner, unlike Detective Duke, is a congenital intellectual; his beautiful smile doesn’t leave anyone indifferent. During their conversation with the inspector, Kristin noticed that Danielle Jackson’s neighbor was talking intensely to Chief Inspector Steve Duke. She wanted so much to hear their conversation, know what details they were talking about and learn why a woman with such a bright appearance was dead on this hill. However, she was also tormented by another question, why is Barbara’s husband avoiding Martina and her at this critical time?
When Martina and Kristin said a friendly goodbye to Inspector Tanner, he followed them with a half-open mouth and a long look, to which he was completely oblivious when Duke approached him.
‘You forgot to close your mouth,’ said an annoyed Chief Inspector Steve Duke.
Inspector Tanner winced at the unexpected appearance of Duke and said, ‘Yes, they are very beautiful women.’
‘Do not forget that they are both married and have delightful husbands,’ warned Chief Inspector Duke.
‘Do you know them personally?’ asked Tanner.
‘No, as I already told you, I haven’t seen them before today,’ answered Duke.
‘So, chief, tell me how you came to the conclusion that these extremely horrible women have wonderful husbands,’ asked Tanner, ironically.
‘You’re getting more impudent every day, my friend,’ Duke said, indignantly. ‘We have no time to chat, go to 24 Mary’s Street.’
The Find
‘Kristin, I have to run. Marco called several times, for half an hour now as a client is waiting for me in the gallery,’ said Martina in an anxious voice. ‘Are you going home?’
‘I want to walk a little first and then go home. Martina, do not worry, you can safely go about your business. Bye,’ Kristin answered, thoughtfully.
‘Are you all right? You’re just a bit detached. Certainly, seeing a dead woman is not easy. Do you want to go to our gallery?’ Martina asked, anxiously.
‘Thank you, but I’m fine. Actually, I also have to go home, I will call you,’ Kristin said, hugging her friend. ‘Bye. See you tomorrow morning.’
Kristin sig
hed with relief when she was left alone with her thoughts. Firstly, she needed to talk to the dead woman’s neighbor, who was hurriedly preparing to leave. With rapid steps, she walked up to him and sighing heavily, said, ‘Hi! I am Kristin. I found the corpse.’
‘Hi! I am Grant. I can only imagine the horror you must have experienced. Are you okay?’
‘If you can call it okay. It’s actually so awful to find a beautiful dead woman.’
‘I also feel very distressed, because she — Danielle Jackson — was my neighbor. True, she did not communicate much with her neighbors and we rarely spoke, but her husband is a good guy, a doctor and not aloof.’
‘Grant, I know Dr Jackson. Is he a gynecologist?’
‘As far as I know, he is a physiotherapist. You must be confused with someone else.’
‘Maybe, Grant. So, she lived not far from here?’
‘Yes, at 24 Mary’s Street, seven minutes from here. This is where she always walked with her dog and it seemed to me that she loved only her Labrador.’
‘She did not have children?’
‘No, only the dog since they moved to our street, more than eight years ago.’
‘Grant, you notice that she was in evening dress, probably was in some kind of celebration.’
‘Last night there was music playing and a lot of people crowded in her home. Our whole street was lined with cars.’
‘How terrible that after the party, she is dead.’
‘Yes, we do not need such a tragedy. Kristin, are you Italian?’
‘No, I’m French.’
‘Oh, yes, I see now. I have to go!’
‘Okay, goodbye!’
Kristin’s guilty glance accompanied the murdered woman’s neighbor as he left; she was embarrassed for her small lie about knowing Dr Jackson, of whom she had previously been totally unaware. For some reason, she decided to return to the crime scene and look around, trying to find something. Her attention was attracted by a wooden bench, which was fifty meters away from the place the body was discovered. Now tired to the point of near exhaustion, she went to the bench for a short rest.
She sat on the wooden bench and from the height of the hill, thoughtfully looked at the mysterious and powerful North Sea, which excites, fascinates and delights her with its power and beauty. The cry of white gulls, the sound of the surf breaking against the shore and the divine smell of the sea are so delightful and inimitable that it captures her spirit and draws her back, time and time again. Without taking her eyes off this unfathomable landscape, she uttered, ‘What secrets are you carrying with you?’
Kristin lost track of how many minutes she sat on the bench and was only forced to return to reality by a phone call. She abruptly rose from the wooden bench, startled by the sudden ringing, dropping her mobile phone to the ground when she tried to pull it out of her small leather bag. Picking up the cell phone, she noticed something sparkling under the bench, stooped closer and saw a small item of decorative jewellery — a pendant with two pigeons on the background of a heart.
Kristin grabbed the pendant, threw it in her bag and answered Cameron’s missed call.
‘Hello, my dear!’
‘Hi, my dear! No longer am I just hoping to talk to you.’
‘So, you have some free minutes?’
‘Yes, my dear, I had the opportunity to call. I miss your magic voice.’
‘I miss you too.’
‘I hear the sound of the sea. Are you still walking?’
‘Yes, I walked, I’m already going home, although I need to buy something for dinner.’
‘Oh, my dear, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Do not be bored! Kisses. Bye!’
‘Bye!’
When Kristin finished talking, she threw the cell phone into her bag, took out the pendant and began to examine it in extreme detail. She realized that it was a pigeon with a heart pendant made of white gold and in the heart was a garnet stone. Kristin carefully put her find in her handbag, looked at her watch and said, ‘Yes, now at 2.10, I have 2 more hours left before Cameron comes home. In the evening, I need to check the website for lost and found items, like the pendant with two pigeons. And now I need to take a look at 24 Mary’s Street’
House on Mary’s Street
Arriving at 24 Mary’s Street, Chief Inspector Steve Duke began to consider the area around the house.
‘Dave, one thing we know for sure is that no one entered or left the house this morning, although it seems that the dog is very eager to get outside. Now let’s go and inspect the house and talk to Mr Jackson,’ reported Steve Duke.
Steve Duke and Dave Tanner rang the doorbell for about ten minutes until they heard approaching footsteps. The man with a hoarse voice, trying to calm the barking dog, shouted, ‘Apollo, you can shut up!’
Opening the door for them, was a tall, athletic man of about forty years old, with disheveled light brown hair and the tired face of someone nursing a serious hangover. Puzzled, he looked at the cops and asked, ‘Hi, have I drank that much?’
‘Good afternoon! We didn’t count your drinks. Are you James Jackson?’ Chief Inspector Steve Duke asked sharply.
‘Yes, I’m James Jackson,’ he answered in a confused tone.
‘My colleague, Inspector Tanner, and I are here about the murder of your wife. We have some questions for you, as well as an obligation to inspect your home,’ Duke said in an official tone and showed his ID.
‘What murder? What about Dani? I do not understand anything,’ cried James in a daze.
‘Allow us to enter?’ repeats Duke, coldly.
‘Yes, please…’ James says.
When the police entered the house, they saw the terrible mess left after the noisy party, the smell of alcohol and spoiled food spread throughout the house.
Looking at this chaos, Duke gave a piercing look. ‘Today, at eleven in the morning, on a hill at the coast, the body of your spouse was found.’
‘So, this is not a joke about finding my wife’s body. Oh my God!’ stammered James.
‘It’s not like we came here to play with you then go back to the station,’ said Duke, indignantly.
‘Sorry!’ James said and slowly sat down on a chair in the living room. Seeing how the forensic experts were examining the house and bedroom, he involuntarily began to massage the temples of his head, the bridge of his nose and rub his neck in attempt to relieve the pain of a severe headache.
Inspector Tanner, checking the answering machine, saw several missed calls and voice messages.
First at nine thirty. ‘Hi Danielle, this is Maggie Collins. How are you? Are you all right? The manager is asking about you. Call.’
Secondly at ten. ‘Hi Danielle, it’s me again, we worry about you, why don’t you get in touch.’
Thirdly at 12.10 p.m. ‘Hi Dani, this is your mother. Why do not you answer the phone?’
Lastly at 12.20 p.m. ‘Dani, It’s Mom. Dad and I are worried about you.’
After inspecting the house, Chief Inspector Steve Duke entered the living room, sat down on a chair and began to observe the extraordinary behavior of Jackson. Trying to get the measure of his adversary, Duke said in a cold voice, ‘Mr Jackson, forensics should pick up your laptop and some of your wife’s personal belongings. Are you ready to answer our questions?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Jackson replied.
‘My colleague, Inspector Tanner, will record all of our conversation, noted Duke.
‘Yes, I understand,’ Jackson said and took a glass of water, left the previous evening by one of the party guests, from the coffee table and drank, trying to quench his strong thirst.
‘Are you ready? asked Chief Inspector Duke again.
‘Yes.’
‘Did you have a family celebration yesterday?’
‘Yes, a wedding anniversary, ten years.’
Gently opening the front door, the young criminologist headed to Chief Inspector Duke and said in a low voice, ‘Excuse me, sir, may I speak to you?’
Duke nodded
his head to the criminologist in agreement and turned to Jackson, ‘Excuse me, Mr Jackson.’
‘Sir, you have to see something,’ said Charlie, the young criminologist, when they stepped aside.
‘Come on, Charlie,’ said Duke and headed for the exit to the garden.
Charlie, along with Chief Inspector Duke, approached and greeted a policeman who was standing near the rubbish bin.
‘Look what we found,’ declared Charlie, opening the lid of the bin. ‘A broken umbrella sporting a wooden handle stained with blood.’
‘Yes, badly hidden, or so it was planned,’ said Duke, thinking aloud. ‘Let’s see what the forensics show.’
Returning to the living room, Chief Inspector Duke asked in a calm tone, ‘Did you have a lot of people at yesterday’s event? Please list the names and full addresses of all the people who attended yesterday.’
‘Well,’ answered Jackson. ‘Yesterday we had my parents, my wife’s parents…’
‘Excuse me, Mr Jackson. We need full names,’ interrupted Tanner.
‘Yes, yes… Fiona and Richard Jackson are my parents, they live at 19 Nelson Street. They are retired, they spend more time in Torrevieja in Spain, where they have a small house. Peter and Karen Henderson, Danielle’s parents, they live at 41 Bell Street. Jennifer Davidson, Danielle’s younger sister, her husband, Craig, and their sons, Leonard and Chris. They live at 8 Warrack Street. Our friends, Lisa and Mark Simpson, were also at the party with their children Sarah and Andy. They live at 12 Main Street.’
‘Mr Jackson, what time did your guests leave?’ asked Chief Inspector Steve Duke.
‘Sorry, but I do not remember,’ James answered, apologetically.
Duke abruptly jumped up from his seat, thrusting his hands into his pockets and paced around the room for about twenty seconds then sat down in a chair opposite James. Looking at James’s confused eyes, he said coldly, ‘Mr Jackson, as you do not remember, that means you were either drunk last night or absent from home.’
‘Yes, you are right. When the guests left, I was not at home, but in “The Abbey” pub. I don’t remember anything much about last night other than that.’
Trap for a Goose Page 3