by Ford, P. F.
‘We think he drove all the way back to Tinton where he met up with Angela Rossiter who had the Rochester’s van. Woods drove the van to Diana’s, killed her, and then returned the van to Rochester’s. There was no one to see him, only the CCTV.’
‘And Celia Rowntree subsequently removed the disc with that footage on it,’ said Jolly.
‘That’s right,’ said Slater. ‘She bought the knife block at Angela’s behest and left it in the van. And she also helped frame Rossiter by planting a mobile phone in his desk. Woods took Diana’s phone when he stabbed her and gave it to Angela. That’s how it came to be in Rossiter’s sock drawer.’
‘Did Celia know about Woods?’
‘No. That’s the clever part. She still thinks it was Angela Rossiter who stabbed Diana. She has no idea about Woody’s involvement, so there’s no way she could have told us about him. And it looks as though Angela Rossiter was so besotted she wasn’t going to give him up come what may. He very nearly got away with it.’
‘So let me get this straight,’ said Jolly. ‘We have two people conspiring to murder Diana Woods, and three people conspiring to frame Bruce Rossiter.’
‘That’s about the size of it,’ said Slater. ‘Norm said it was three-way conspiracy, and I thought he was having a laugh!’
‘It’s quite disappointing,’ said Jolly. ‘I had Ian Woods marked down as a nice man who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Now it turns out he was little better than Bruce Rossiter where the ladies are concerned, and, on top of that, he’s a murderer. Could I have been more wrong about him?’
‘It could be he was even worse than Rossiter,’ said Slater. ‘Charmless as Rossiter might be, he doesn’t try to hide what he is. It’s there for all to see. Woods, on the other hand, is very much the dark horse.
‘When Norm called earlier he told me Susie Brennan had seen him this morning and asked him what he was doing. So he told her, and he also told her Ian Woods had been arrested.
‘Now, if you recall, he’s said all along that he thought there was something going on between her and Woods. He reckons her reaction confirms his suspicions.’
‘Maybe you should tell Angela Rossiter,’ said Jolly. ‘She might not be quite so keen to protect him if she knew he was two-timing her.’
‘Now there’s a good idea,’ said Slater, smiling.
Epilogue
‘So you finally did as I suggested, and charged Woods.’ Murray glared at Slater. ‘I told you he was guilty, right from the start. Why the hell did it take you so long to follow a simple order?’
‘We didn’t have any conclusive evidence at the time, as you well know,’ argued Slater. ‘I thought we were supposed to ensure we have a case before we charge someone.’
‘There was a case,’ said Murray. ‘You’ve just wasted a lot of time poking around unnecessarily.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ said Norman. ‘I think it was time well spent. We would never have got Angela Rossiter to turn against Ian Woods otherwise. I have no doubt a half-decent lawyer would have got Woods off without us putting that time in.’
‘So what was the big rush?’ Slater asked Murray.
‘It’s quite simple. It was an open and shut case,’ said Murray.
‘But two people would probably have slipped the net if you had your way. And a good brief would have torn our case against Woods to shreds.’
‘Yeah. We wondered if maybe you had some other reason for being in such a hurry,’ added Norman.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Murray, uncertainly.
‘Oh, is that right?’ said Norman. ‘So it didn’t have anything to do with your name and number being in Diana Woods’ contact list?’
‘Really?’ said Murray. ‘I can’t imagine how she got my number.’
Slater couldn’t recall ever having seen Murray embarrassed before, but he was now. Slater and Norman waited while Murray struggled with his conscience.
‘I only saw her a couple of times,’ he mumbled, eventually. ‘There’s no need for anyone else to know about this. My wife would be deeply hurt if she found out.’
‘That didn’t worry you when you were shagging Diana Woods, did it?’ asked Slater. ‘Or when you went back for afters.’
‘Just remember who you’re talking to, Sergeant,’ said Murray, bristling with anger.
‘Oh I know who I’m talking to,’ said Slater. ‘I’m talking to the DCI who would have been happy to see the first face that came along charged with murder just to make sure we didn’t stir the muck enough to bring his own indiscretion floating to the surface.’
‘But I was right,’ roared Murray. ‘He did murder her!’
‘But we didn’t know that for sure, back then, did we?’ said Slater.
He stood up and made his way across to the door.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Murray’s voice echoed around the room ‘You come back here. I haven’t finished with you yet.’
‘But I have finished with you,’ said Slater as he swung the door open. ‘I used to respect you, but I’m afraid I’m going to find that a bit difficult in future. Sir.’
He marched out and pulled the door closed behind him, totally ignoring Murray’s shouted order.
‘Come back here!’ roared Murray, but the door swung closed and Slater was gone.
‘He’ll pay for this,’ muttered Murray. ‘I’ll show him.’
‘I don’t think so, do you?’ asked Norman, who had been silently observing the exchange. ‘We know your dirty little secret, and you wouldn’t want it to leak out, now would you?’
‘Don’t tell me you’re going to turn against me, too,’ said Murray. ‘We go back a long way. I helped you out when I brought you here.’
‘That’s true,’ agreed Norman. ‘You did help me out, but I don’t remember ever saying I’d be prepared to repay you by perverting the course of justice.’
‘Yes, but-,’ began Murray.
‘Don’t you dare try to defend yourself,’ interrupted Norman, raising his voice. ‘There is no defence for what you wanted us to do. And, it was all because you couldn’t keep your pecker under control.’
‘You don’t know what it was like for me back then,’ pleaded Murray.
‘You’re right,’ said Norman. ‘I don’t know what it was like for you back then, and you know what? I don’t give a shit, because whatever it was like back then doesn’t excuse what you wanted us to do now. ‘
He climbed to his feet and headed for the door.
‘I suggest the next time you feel like taking your crappy temper out on any of the staff who work here you remember this conversation,’ he told Murray, as he walked.
‘Where are you going?’ demanded Murray.
‘There’s a rotten smell in here, Bob,’ replied Norman, as he stepped through the door. ‘I need some fresh air.’
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Next Box Set In This Series
If you’ve enjoyed the first four Dave Slater Mystery Novels and you would like to read more, you can now buy Box Set Two, featuring the next four novels in the series:
The Red Telephone Box
The Secret Of Wild Boar Woods
A Skeleton In The Closet
The Kidney Donor
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About This Series
This was never intended to be a series. The first book, Death Of A Temptress, was always intended to be a one-off, but after Dave and Norm had somehow managed to solve their first case, it occurred to me that maybe they were worth a second book.
Through a mixture of luck, persistence, intuition, experience, and a fair degree of bumbling, it seemed they had found a working relationship that suited them both, and in the process, using the same qualities (especially the bumbling), I had found a style!
After adding a variety of colleagues, (some effective, some wayward), villains in various guises, and plots that are sometimes unbelievable (this is fiction, after all!) I have a series that has taken on a life of it’s own.
Although I try to make every book in the series a complete story, there are threads that run through the series which follow the ups and downs in the private lives of the two main characters.
This was never intended to be a heavy, dark series, and was always meant to be a mixture of mystery and fun. Because of this it manages to straddle genres such as Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, British Detective, and sometimes even strays on to Cozy Mystery territory!
I just hope it’s as much fun for you to read as it is for me to write.
P.F. Ford
Books In This Series
Dave Slater Mystery Novels
Death Of A Temptress
Just A Coincidence
Florence
The Wrong Man
The Red Telephone Box
The Secret Of Wild Boar Woods
A Skeleton In The Closet
The Kidney Donor
What’s In A Name?
A Puzzle Of Old Bones
A Fatal Deception
Wrongly Convicted
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About the Author
P.F. Ford is the author of the Alfie Bowman Novella series, and the Dave Slater Mystery Series.
A late starter to writing after a life of failures, P.F. (Peter) Ford spent most of his life being told he should forget his dreams, and that he would never make anything of himself without a “proper” job.
But then a few years ago, having been unhappy for over 50 years of his life, Peter decided he had no intention of carrying on that way. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed by a partner (now wife) who believed dreamers should be encouraged and not denied.
Now, happily settled in Wales, Peter is blissfully happy sharing his life with wife Mary and their four rescue dogs, and living his dream writing fiction (and still without a “proper” job).
Follow P.F. Ford here:
www.pfford.co.uk