The Scent of Death--A Sukey Reyholds British police procedural (6 page)

‘That's fine,' said Vicky. ‘Let me have your reports when you've finished.'

‘We've been having a chat with Romeo,' said Sukey. ‘He's quite a character. Couldn't help us with our enquiries, but he has an original turn of phrase.' She repeated his comment about Rainbird's opinion of himself and his bodily functions, much to their enjoyment.

The four of them went upstairs. When Vicky cracked open the door of the Orchard Room Justin was saying, ‘Right, we'll now hear the second movement.' Catching sight of Vicky he said, ‘Yes sergeant, who would you like to see next?'

‘Could we have Mr and Mrs Day and Mr and Mrs Harland, please?'

Two couples stood up and followed the detectives out of the room. Sukey noticed that the Harlands made no attempt to hide their irritation at the interruption, while the Days appeared intrigued at the prospect of being interviewed by members of the CID. They presented a slightly bizarre appearance when standing side by side as Stan Day, who was on the portly side, barely came up to his very slim wife's shoulder.

‘We realize this must be upsetting for you,' Vicky began when they were settled in one of the rooms Chapman had set aside for the interviews. ‘We'll be as brief as possible.'

‘That's perfectly all right,' said Day. ‘We don't think we can be of much help as we don't remember seeing or hearing anything unusual, but we know that sometimes things that seem insignificant can be very important in an investigation.'

‘I'm afraid we're both very keen on detective stories,' said Trixie Day with a self-conscious giggle.

‘No need to apologize,' said Vicky. ‘Now, if you wouldn't mind telling me …'

She began with a few routine questions; from their answers it appeared at first that neither of them had observed anything worth mentioning.

She was about to ask about previous events on which they and Rainbird had been present when Trixie said, ‘One unusual thing I recall about Lance yesterday evening; he was unusually quiet over dinner.'

‘That's right, love,' said Stan. ‘He usually finds something in the day's programme to talk about, but he hardly said a word – seemed almost preoccupied, didn't stay for coffee, said something about needing fresh air and went out.'

‘Did anyone comment?'

Stan shook his head. ‘I think I heard someone make a crack about it being a change from the usual
hot
air and there were a few chuckles, but nothing significant.'

‘So everyone else stayed chatting over coffee until it was time for the evening programme to begin?' said Sukey.

‘Yes – except Justin of course,' said Trixie. ‘He always nips up to the Orchard Room a while before the rest of us, to check his equipment. A real perfectionist is Justin.'

‘Yes, he mentioned that. He told us that you've been to quite a few of these events since they began. Were you at the first one?'

‘Oh yes – and so was Lance.'

‘We have the impression that he sometimes irritated other people by showing off his knowledge.'

‘That's one way of putting it,' said Stan. ‘You could see some people getting impatient, although others were quite appreciative of something he told them about a work or a composer that they hadn't heard before.'

‘Apart from exchanges of that nature while everyone else was around, have you ever heard him having a serious dispute with anyone?'

‘Not enough to make them a suspect,' said Stan. He looked appalled at the thought. ‘But surely you don't think he was attacked – murdered even?'

‘Until we find out exactly how he came to fall into the lake we are treating his death as unexplained, which means we have to consider all possibilities,' said Vicky.

‘I understand.'

‘You've probably got to know Justin Freeman quite well after attending so many of his events,' said Sukey. ‘Would you regard him as a friend?'

‘Not exactly a friend,' said Stan. ‘We like him very much and we've learned quite a bit about him through chats over coffee and at meal times. He's a widower with one son who lives with his wife and children in South Africa and he visits them every winter for a couple of months – but mostly our relationship is confined to making arrangements to attend the events that appeal to us. He confirms the booking and acknowledges the fee, makes all the arrangements and sends details of the hotel once everything's finalized. He's very businesslike and professional and everything usually runs like clockwork, but he's very quick to deal with any problems.'

‘Not that there are many of those,' said Trixie.

‘Well, thank you very much,' said Vicky. ‘Do we take it that you'll be staying on until Tuesday?'

‘Oh yes, of course,' said Stan. ‘As far as I know, only Mrs Dacre has been talking about leaving early – but I believe she's changed her mind. Is that all for now?'

‘For the time being. We hope you haven't missed too much of the music.'

The couple went back to the Orchard Room and Vicky checked the time. ‘There's only another ten minutes or so left to half past,' she said. ‘It's hardly worth interrupting again so why don't we go to the bar for a quickie before lunch?'

‘Good idea.'

‘We don't seem to have picked up anything significant so far,' said Vicky as they took their drinks to a corner table. ‘Is there anything we haven't covered?'

‘I suppose we should try and pinpoint the exact time Freeman left to go up to the Orchard Room to check his equipment,' said Sukey, ‘but only because DI Rathbone will expect us to have logged every detail. And perhaps we should ask around to see if anyone has any idea why Rainbird was so preoccupied at dinner. About Romeo – there's something bugging me … something I noticed or some remark he passed … but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.'

‘If it's important, it'll come back,' Vicky prophesied. She raised her glass. ‘Cheers!'

S
ukey and Vicky were joined a few minutes later by Tim and Mike and the four sat together with their drinks in the bar lounge and studied the menu while comparing notes about the people they had interviewed during the remainder of the morning. The music lovers would shortly have their lunch in the dining room; however, a few dropped in for pre-lunch appetizers and it was noticeable that most of them stood at the counter with their drinks and even those who sat at tables made a point of avoiding the corner where the detectives were sitting. Most of the chatter was about the morning's programme and Eric's voice could be heard above the others, declaiming about the choice and quality of the music.

‘A classic example of a symphony composed in the sonata form and brilliantly performed,' he said and heads nodded in agreement. ‘It's just occurred to me,' he went on, ‘the investigations being carried out by our noble band of police officers –' he turned towards the far corner of the bar and waved his glass in their direction – ‘could almost be compared to the way Mozart constructed the first movement of his fortieth symphony.' His voice rose in pitch and volume as he developed his idea. ‘The first subject was of course Lance's disappearance, the second subject the discovery of his body and the closing theme the arrival of the boys in blue. How about that then?'

‘Ooh, death in sonata form!' Trixie squeaked in excitement. ‘That'd make a good title for a mystery novel, wouldn't it?' There were appreciative chuckles all round.

‘I'll drink to that!' said Eric, suiting the action to the words. ‘What are we all going to do this afternoon? Lots to see in Bristol – I'm told the zoo's worth a visit, and the aquarium.'

‘There's a beautiful cathedral,' said Hugh, ‘and a famous church. Queen Elizabeth the First said …'

‘… and the art gallery and museum,' Eric broke in, evidently determined not to relinquish centre stage.

‘I'm told it's a very good shopping centre too,' added Trixie, at which her husband rolled his eyes in mock dismay.

Eric finished his half pint of ale and put his glass down. ‘Right, I'm for lunch,' he announced. He went out followed by the others, leaving the four detectives exchanging amused glances.

‘Well, you got your explanation of sonata form, Sukey,' said Vicky. ‘No need to ask Freeman. Maybe the first subject in the second movement will be the discovery of a vital clue – except that we won't recognize it straight away.'

‘You mean like the something that I couldn't pinpoint after our chat with Romeo?' said Sukey. ‘Perhaps we should take him up on his invitation to hear him sing this afternoon – it might ring a bell.'

‘You never know,' said Vicky, brandishing the menu. ‘Have we all decided what we're going to eat?'

After lunch a number of people congregated in the car park. A few couples drove off separately but others, who appeared to have agreed on their destinations, stood by their cars studying maps. Eventually several carloads drove away in convoy. Some members of the group had evidently retired to their rooms, presumably for an afternoon nap, but a few couples chose to wander round the garden before the sun lost what remained of its warmth.

‘A few of the ones who've stayed behind are among those we still have to see,' said Vicky, ‘but I think it would be as well to leave them to digest their lunch in peace. We could catch a few more at teatime, after Romeo has done his act.'

‘Tim and I thought we'd have a walk round the lake,' said Mike. ‘We've only checked a short distance on either side of the point where Rainbird's body was found and we figured it might be worth looking a bit further afield for possible clues.'

‘Good idea,' said Vicky. ‘Sukey and I have already been part of the way round and made a few observations, but it would be as well for the four of us to go together. We might pick up something between us that we missed.'

They set off, walking clockwise this time. Eventually they came to the pile of cut timber. ‘One of those chunks would make an ideal blunt instrument,' said Tim.

‘That's what we thought,' said Vicky, ‘but if the attack took place here, and if Rainbird was partly concussed, we thought it was unlikely that he could stagger back to the point where his body was found, even though it is only a short distance. And if he fell in here there's no current to carry him along.'

‘And if his attacker intended to kill him and realized he hadn't succeeded the first time, he'd hardly have stood by and watched; he'd have been more likely to take another swipe at him to make sure he'd finished the job.'

‘That's something the result of the post-mortem should make clear,' said Mike.

They were about to walk on when Sukey said, ‘Just a minute, I think I can hear something. It sounds like water trickling.' They all stood still and listened. ‘It's coming from along here.' She walked back a few yards and peered through the dense foliage. ‘There must be a spring. I'll just see if I can … oh!' She gave a sudden shriek and grabbed at an overhanging branch.

‘What is it?' asked Vicky. ‘Don't tell me you've found another goner.'

‘I very nearly fell in,' said Sukey as she scrambled back. ‘I think someone should point out to the manager that there should be a rail or something here; this part of the bank shelves quite steeply.'

The others moved forward to investigate. ‘You're right,' said Mike. ‘If Rainbird's attacker had struck him near the edge with one of those bits of tree trunk, he might have staggered forward a couple of paces and found himself heading down the slope and into the water before he could stop himself. Then, if he was dazed anyway, he might not have been able to struggle to the surface.'

‘That still doesn't explain how his body came to be found a few feet along,' Vicky objected.

‘But if he was at least semi conscious, he might have been struggling to keep afloat long enough get back to a place where he could scramble out of the water,' said Sukey. ‘And look there,' she added, pointing to a leaf floating on the surface and gently drifting in the direction of the point where Rainbird's body had been found, ‘there is a current, admittedly a bit weak, so the sound we can hear must be a little waterfall.'

‘You're right,' said Tim, who had been investigating. ‘As you suspected there's a stream gushing out from the bank and that's causing the water to move.' He picked up a couple of leaves that were lying on the ground and walked back a few paces before throwing one of them into the water. ‘See what I mean? It's moving slowly in the right direction.' He retraced his steps a short distance and threw in the second leaf, which floated without moving. ‘Now what current there is has petered out – and in any case it's isn't strong enough on its own to move a body – but if Rainbird remained conscious long enough and with that bit of extra help he could easily have struggled as far as the spot where he was found, passed out at that point and drowned.'

‘Right, let's do a recap,' said Vicky. ‘Rainbird was unusually quiet at dinner, didn't stay for coffee and went out, saying he needed fresh air.'

‘From what the Days said it sounds as if he had something on his mind,' said Sukey.

‘Right. Let's assume for the moment he'd arranged to meet someone by the heap of logs to discuss what ever it was and that someone – or maybe someone else – was either waiting for him or arrived shortly after and crept up on him.'

‘Clobbered him with a heavy log and watched him stagger down the slope into the water …' said Mike.

‘… stood by with his log intending to have another go if Rainbird tried to get back ashore …' continued Tim.

‘… watched him flailing about in the water and eventually passing out …' said Sukey.

‘Probably hung around to make sure he didn't come to,' said Vicky, ‘and when he was sure his victim was dead or at least soon would be, went back into the hotel – which is what I suggest we do now. We've got a lot to think about and Romeo should be here shortly. Let's jot down some notes and then foregather in the lounge for his performance. We can do our detailed reports later.'