A Well Kept Secret (42 page)

“Possibly, although I very much doubt it. What I noticed was that whereas in places the sentence constriction was markedly different, with the meticulous attention to some aspects of the case, and the glossing over of other parts were alien to everything else in his work that I have been able to check through, other parts were similar to what he would normally have written. You need to understand that I have no proof and certainly I am not making any accusations, yet I am starting to suspect that the report was actually dictated at least in part by the police.”

“Why on earth would they wish to do that?”

Dr Rawlinson shrugged eloquently. “Your guess is as good as mine, and although we can never prove it one way or the other, I’ll wager that although the report is undoubtedly in his handwriting, it was partially or wholly dictated to him. For reason’s I cannot even start to guess at the police wanted certain facts suppressed about this crime. I understand that the two men killed were known criminals; maybe the police connived at their murder? It is all sheer speculation of course, but I certainly found it curious. Now, if I am right, Dr Marston being the sort of man he was, he must have been put under terrible pressure to go along with it. The police must have threatened him with something pretty horrendous, because for my money there can be no other explanation. Not only that, I have discovered that he resigned his position as police surgeon a matter of a couple of weeks after that report. Co-incidence? Possibly, only knowing your uncle, if he felt that he was being compromised in some way it would be about the only thing he could do. Perhaps this is what Mrs Jefferson noticed? If my unsupported speculations are correct, then I have no doubt that matter was on his conscience from that day onwards. Still, like I said; all supposition.”

It was coming up towards one o’clock when Martin left the surgery and headed towards the ‘Rose and Crown’. Although there were many blanks yet to be filled in, he had the feeling that at last he was getting an idea of what had happened all those years ago, and in a way it was a relief to know that it was not all his imagination. He could still construct several scenarios that would fit what little he now had in the way of facts, and all of them had serious connotations. It now seemed more than possible that June’s father had been involved in the crime resulting in the sensational double murder. It was possible that the murders had not been intended, and because Charles Carpenter had perhaps been an unintentional witness to what had happened, the killer or killers had decided to eliminate him as a means of ensuring his continued silence. However, if that was true, why was his body not found along with the other two? As a man already known to the police, one more body would probably have made little difference as far as the criminals were concerned.

It was all too easy to make assumptions and theorise; how could he be sure that the crime was only intended to be a car-jacking, or whatever term the criminal fraternity used for this type of felony? If straightforward robbery wasn’t the motive, was it possible that the double murder had been planned right from the beginning? Was murder purely a case of villains falling out, or was there police involvement? If Dr Rawlinson’s suspicions were justified, it threw a completely different light on matters from what he had previously theorised, and he couldn’t ignore the fact that the officer who discovered the killings was well known to his uncle. Was that just a coincidence, or was it as he now suspected more strongly than ever, linked in some way?

Mrs Jefferson had been convinced that the doctor had killed somebody, using the evidence of the spent bullet to support that belief. She was equally convinced as to the identity of the victim, and he wished now that he had asked her for the date of the holiday during which this alleged killing was supposed to have taken place. If in fact Sergeant Burton had retired from the force subsequent to the date she was away, then obviously he couldn’t be the victim. He also needed to acknowledge that perhaps there had been no ‘victim’ anyway; it was not impossible that that bullet had been introduced by some agency other than as a result of the known brutal double slaying.

On the other hand, just supposing that Mrs Jefferson’s suspicions were only too well founded, where did that leave him? It suddenly struck him that he had already theorised that a killer who had just disposed of two victims and left them in situ to be discovered wouldn’t bother about concealing the body of a third. What if the killer or killers hadn’t made the decision to kill Carpenter at that point? Just theorising for a moment that Sergeant Burton was in it up to his neck in the car-jacking, perhaps actually present at the crime, even being the actual killer; might he not have needed the help of June’s father Charles Carpenter to transport whatever it was had been taken from the car to a safe place? Once in that safe place, perhaps the need both for the car and its driver was over. If that was so, then Carpenter would have been disposed of elsewhere once his usefulness was over.
 
Was it possible that by using some sort of hold over Dr Marston, Springwater House had been that safe place? If that scenario was substantially correct, then it was equally possible that Charles Carpenter had been the victim, and not Sergeant Burton, and that his body was buried somewhere in the grounds of the house.

It dawned on him that if his theorising was broadly accurate, then it was quite possible that Sergeant Burton was by no means dead. If he was still alive, and if connected with the crime in the way he theorised, then it was more than likely he knew that Dr Marston had died and had been watching the house. Rather than run the risk of the body being discovered he would need to take steps to prevent it happening. If he
was
involved, then it was not inconceivable he was wealthy enough to buy the place for himself. Who, in that scenario, was better fitted the bill as the mysterious would be purchaser, Carl Bremner?
 
Likely or otherwise it was all theory and supposition, with not a single shred of irrefutable evidence to support any of it, yet instinctively he felt that there was a kernel of truth in what he was thinking.

The two questions that now loomed large in his mind were, (a) presuming most of his assumptions were more or less accurate, how far would Bremner, or Burton or whoever it really was, go in protecting themselves? And, (b) what should he do about it? He toyed briefly with the idea of going directly to the police, but quite aside from being naturally concerned how June would react to such an arbitrary unilateral action on his part, what did he actually have in the way of even tenuous evidence to support any of his ideas? Not only that, if, as had been suggested to him, Phillip Burton was a popular local police officer in his time, maybe even some sort of local hero because of his part in the sensational crime that had more or less put Wellworthy on the map, his ex-colleagues would probably not take too kindly to the idea that one of their own was involved in a crime that had undoubtedly been shelved a good many years since. He could not forget that the report uncovered by Dr Rawlinson appeared to suggest it had been at least in part dictated by police, ergo, it was not impossible that the whole business went a whole lot deeper than he imagined.

He was still turning this over in his mind when he suddenly spotted June and the girls heading towards him. He waved to let them know that they had been seen, and automatically quickened his pace. He saw that both the girls were carrying bulging bags, and judging from their excited expressions, they had been having a most enjoyable morning. After a brief exchange of greetings they went into the Rose and Crown where, at Martin’s suggestion, they took a table in the rear garden. It was quiet in the bar, and Syd came out in person and took their orders, jovially pulling the girl’s legs as he did so, and probably secretly amazed at how much they thought they could eat. June and Martin ordered somewhat more moderately, and Syd eventually went off to execute their order. Whilst they were awaiting the arrival of food and the drinks, the girl’s decided that they would have to go off and explore the whole garden.

Taking advantage of the few moments of relative privacy their absence provided, June asked Martin how he had fared.

“It looks pretty certain that your tip about Cattleman’s was right,” he responded. “I saw the old man’s son, and a pretty unsavoury looking character he is, too. I’ll go into more details later if you like, but for my money he knows something.”

“He knows about the car?”

“Naturally he didn’t admit anything; I didn’t expect him to; I’m a pretty good judge of when someone is lying to me, and I’m certain he knows something.”

“Maybe he knows where my father went?”

Martin shrugged eloquently. “Like I said; I’m not sure
what
he knows, yet judging by what he did say, and by the way he reacted to some of my questions he almost knows certainly knows something about the car at least. No vehicle was ever found that could be connected with the double murder, so maybe it was intended all along that the car would be taken there so that it could be quickly disposed of?”

“I cannot for a moment imagine my father agreeing to something like that?”

“Perhaps that was never part of the agreement he entered into when he decided to take part in whatever enterprise was being cooked up at that time? If the murders were something that wasn’t planned, then the need to get rid of the vehicle may have only become necessary at the last moment. Maybe your father drove it to Castleman’s yard believing that he would get a replacement vehicle; all sorts of things may have happened, we just don’t know. Personally, I doubt he did drive it there; I’ve a feeling that somebody else did that.”

He could sense the anguish his words must have caused, yet beyond a tightening round the eyes she did not betray the fact overtly. “Which makes it even more likely that he is dead, don’t you think?” she asked tightly.

“Yes, I’m afraid so; I’m sorry.”

She looked down at the table for a few moments, a faraway look in her eyes. There were no tears, but he could sense only too well how she felt.

“I suppose I’ve always known in my heart he was dead,” she said at last, turning to look at him once more, “Only I have never wanted to admit it to myself. Well, it’s no good me continuing to fool myself any longer; time to grow up and face reality. If only I knew where his body was, maybe; but that I suppose is wishful thinking.”

He leaned over the table and took hold of her hands. “Unless I’m much mistaken,” he said quietly, “if he is dead, then I believe he is buried somewhere in the grounds of Springwater House.”

Her eyes widened a little as she took in what he was saying. “Surely you don’t think that your uncle had anything to do with his death? You have to be mistaken; I can tell you for a fact that he would never do anything like that!”

“No, nor do I believe it to be possible either, yet there is a connection.”

“Connection?”

“June, just think about it for a minute; why on Earth do you think my uncle took you under his wing?”

“I don’t know; I always assumed it was because he was such a kind hearted person?”

“I do not doubt that, yet he must have helped countless people over the years and never took them into his house and into his life in such a complete way. Did you not tell me that when you first talked with my uncle, you disclosed to him your true identity?”

“Yes; what difference would that make?”

“I think he realised at once from what you told him who your father was, I think he knew who killed him, and being the sort of honourable man he was he determined to do all he could for you to atone in some small measure for what had happened to your father. You said yourself he even wanted to leave you his entire estate; why else would he want to do such a thing? You have to admit that if he knew that your father had been murdered, yet unable to disclose that fact for reasons we cannot even guess at, it makes sense out of an otherwise illogical situation?”

She looked at him reflectively for a few moments. “I never thought of it like that before,” she said at last. “Now you put it into words, yes it does make sense of sorts. Only I simply cannot understand why, if he knew that murder had been committed, he never alerted the police?”

“Because I think the killer had some hold over him.”

“You mean, blackmail?”

“Of a sort, yes; I can find no evidence that he was paying out large sums of money to anyone, but yes, I think he was blackmailed into silence.”

“Then, if you are right, what should we do about it?” she asked. “I mean, if we find my father, this whole terrible business will all have to come out, won’t it?”

“I’m not sure yet what we should do for the best,” he admitted, and then added a bit hastily; “Look out, the girls are coming back now, we will talk about it later this afternoon if you like?”

The meal was a pleasant affair, and June managed to keep her feelings well hidden as she laughed and joked with the youngsters. In between whiles Martin managed to have a few words with Syd the landlord and ascertained that he had seen nothing else of the tall man that Martin was certain was June’s husband. He hoped this meant that he had moved away from the area yet doubted it. For his money, the man would try to make trouble for June sooner or later, and in a way Martin hoped that he would try; he wouldn’t need much of an excuse to thrash the man, and would no doubt enjoy the experience!

Whilst he was in the bar area he bumped into Jim Perkins. They chatted together for a few moments, and then Martin invited him out to be introduced to Beverley, and of course her friend Georgie.
 
They all stood around chatting for a while, and then the solicitor’s clerk suddenly remembered the time, and with rapid excuses, scuttled off back to his office. Martin decided that it was time that they made a move also, and having settled up with Syd, he escorted the others back to the car. When they finally got back to Springwater House the girls announced that they would go out again on their cycles, and once they had vanished from sight, Martin went out on the terrace where he was eventually joined by June, who brought with her a tray with cups and saucers together with a pot of tea.

Once tea was poured, Martin outlined in more detail the gist of what he had learned from various sources, and by stringing together all the bits and pieces of information he had gathered, outlined what he honestly believed it all added up to. June followed his words carefully and without interruption, and when he finally came to an end, he waited to see what her reaction would be.