Authors: Elly Griffiths
Clough is still talking to the fisherman, who gave his statement with the stolid air of one who regularly finds dead bodies tangled up in his nets. A duty policeman had answered the first 999 call but, as soon as it was clear that a body was involved, Nelson was on his way. Jack Hastings was already there when he arrived, his dogs barking excitedly as the fisherman and the PC hauled the corpse above the tide line. Nelson was wondering whether to summon Clara when she appeared, wearing a coat over her pyjamas. Clough had attempted CPR but soon gave up. As he turned the body onto its side, water spouted from the mouth and the head flopped backwards, eyes rolling. It was then that Clara screamed.
The deputy pathologist, whom Nelson much prefers to Chris Stephenson, estimated that the body had only been in the water for a couple of hours, but that was time enough for Eckhart's handsome face to become bloated and obscene. He is dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers and the
knife wound, bloodless after immersion in the salty water, is almost directly over the heart. Nelson summons reinforcements to search for the murder weapon but he doubts that it will be found. Eckhart's body had become wedged between rocks; otherwise it would have been carried away by the tide. The knife could be halfway to Norway by now.
âCome on,' he says now to Clara and her father. âIt's perishing here. Let's go up to the house.'
Stella Hastings meets them at the door and guides Clara inside. âCome on, darling. We'll get you dressed and you can have some hot chocolate to warm you up.'
Nelson stays in the doorway, feeling in the way but knowing that he must come in and, if possible, talk to Clara. Also, he'd rather like some hot chocolate. Jack Hastings takes pity on him.
âCome into the kitchen and we'll have something to drink,' he says. âI'm sure you need to speak to Clara. She must have been the last person to see the poor fellow alive.'
Apart from the murderer, that is, thinks Nelson, following Hastings along the stone-flagged corridor. He notes also that the âKraut journalist' has become âthe poor fellow'.
Hastings' mother, Irene, is, as usual, knitting by the fire. Nelson wonders if she has been told of the morning's events, but as he sits at the scrubbed oak table she turns to him and says, âWas it him? The German boy?'
âYes.'
âPoor soul,' says Irene, knitting steadily without looking down. âThat path is wickedly slippery. Easy to lose your footing, especially if you've had a drop to drink.'
Nelson hesitates. He knows he must tell the Hastings family
how Dieter Eckhart was killed but he wants to choose his moment for doing so. At some point he'll have to take formal statements, from Clara at least. He thinks it's interesting, though, that Irene assumes that Dieter may have been drunk.
âWe don't know what happened yet,' he says. âThere'll have to be a post mortem.'
Hastings puts a mug of tea in front of Nelson. Irene looks disapproving.
âSorry, Ma,' he says. âI couldn't find the cups.'
âTea tastes better out of a cup and saucer,' says Irene. âDon't you think so, Sergeant?'
âThere's something in that,' agrees Nelson, accepting, with an effort, being addressed as sergeant.
âWill you be able to trace the next of kin?' asks Hastings, sitting opposite Nelson.
âI think so. He was affiliated to the university or we can contact his publisher. Shouldn't be difficult. My sergeant's on to that now.' He has sent Clough back to the station with specific instructions. He can't help emphasising the word âsergeant'.
âClara might know,' says Hastings. âBut she's terribly cut up. It was an awful shock.'
âShe was very sweet on him,' cuts in Irene.
âOh, I don't know,' Hastings looks annoyed now. âShe barely knew him.'
At that moment, Clara comes into the room. She is wearing jeans and a heavy jumper and looks pale but composed. She doesn't appear to have heard her father's words.
âMiss Hastings,' says Nelson gently, âis it all right if I ask you a few questions?'
Clara looks round at her mother. âCan I stay with her?' asks Stella.
âOf course. It's just a few informal questions. She can come into the station later to make a proper statement. You can all stay,' he adds, as Hastings and his mother show no signs of moving.
Clara sits down opposite Nelson and next to her father. Her mother puts a mug in front of her and she wraps her hands tightly round it.
âMiss Hastings ⦠Clara ⦠were you with Mr Eckhart last night?'
âYes,' says Clara, her voice low but clear. âWe went to the pictures and then had a meal.'
âDid you come back to Sea's End House together?'
âYes. He drove me. We got back at about eleven.'
âDid he come in? To say goodnight?' Nelson wonders if they were sleeping together. He imagines so, thinking of the entwined couple on Ruth's sofa but, at all events, they do not seem to have shared a room at Clara's parents' house.
âJust quickly. We had a cup of tea.'
âWas anyone else up?'
âDad was in his study watching TV. I put my head round the door to say hallo.'
âI was dozing really,' says Jack Hastings. âCan't stay awake after ten these days.'
âBut you remember Clara coming in. Did you see Mr Eckhart?'
âI remember seeing Clara, she said something about what I was watching. It was football, I think. I didn't see Eckhart.'
âWhat time did Mr Eckhart leave the house?' Nelson asks Clara.
âAbout half eleven, I think.'
âDid you watch him drive off?' Nelson asks. âWave him goodbye?'
âNo,' says Clara. âHe told me to go inside because it was so cold. I waved from the door, his car was still parked outside but he was texting and didn't see me. So I went upstairs, had a bath and got into bed.'
âWhat time was that?'
âMidnight. I remember looking at the time before I got into bed. You know how spooky it is when the clock says 00.00.'
âThe witching hour,' says Irene. Clara shivers.
âWhen you drove up to the house,' says Nelson, âdid you see anyone hanging around? Notice anything suspicious?'
âNo.' A smile fleetingly curves her pale lips. âWe were too busy to notice anything.'
âToo busy spooning,' explains Irene helpfully.
âWhat about you, Mr Hastings?' asks Nelson. âDid you notice anyone hanging about outside the house?'
âNo. I took the dogs out for their last run at ten-ish. They would have barked if there was anyone they didn't know.'
âDo you suspect that he was ⦠murdered?' asks Stella, almost in a whisper.
âI'm keeping an open mind,' says Nelson. âNow I'll leave you in peace. I'll have a WPC contact you about making a statement, Miss Hastings. Take care of yourself now.'
Before he goes back to the station, Nelson asks Hastings to show him round the back of the house. Beyond the French
windows and the terrace there are just a few metres of land before the broken fence and the sheer drop to the sea. Nelson goes as close as he dares and peers down. Far below, the sea is breaking against the rocks, jagged murderous-looking debris left by numerous cliff falls. For the first time, Nelson realises how close to destruction the house actually is.
âIs this where you walked the dogs?' he asks.
âNo. Too dangerous for them here. They can easily go over the edge of the cliff, I've seen it happen. Dog chases a seagull and â wham. No, I always take them to the front garden at night.'
Nelson looks back at the house. There is really nowhere for a potential assassin to hide, no bushes, no trees, no outhouses. Just sheer grey walls and shuttered windows. He walks back around the side of the house, where the steep path leads down to the beach. He stops in front of a small green door.
âWhat's in there?'
âGardening room. It's where we kept all our patio stuff, when we had a patio.'
Nelson tries the door; it's locked.
âIs it always kept locked?' he asks.
âYes. No-one really uses it now.'
The front garden has some trees, though they are bent double by the constant wind that comes from the sea. It would be just possible, though, for a man to hide behind them in the dark.
âAnd you saw nothing when you went out last night?'
âNo. As I say, the dogs would have barked if there'd been anyone lurking around.'
âAnyone they didn't know, that is.'
Hastings looks at him sharply but says nothing. As Nelson drives away, he sees Jack Hastings still standing in the front garden, frowning up at the house.
*
Nelson drives quickly, overtaking the myriad Sunday drivers out for a toddle along the coast. Dieter Eckhart was murdered, no doubt about that. Whether the killer was someone he knew remained to be seen. It usually is, Nelson knows that. Nine murders out of ten are committed by someone close to the victim. The dogs that didn't bark: isn't that a Sherlock Holmes story? Archie Whitcliffe would have known. Was there someone hiding in the garden that night? Or did the killer come from inside the house? Nelson would give a lot to know who Dieter Eckhart had been texting as he sat in his car outside Sea's End House.
Does Nelson really suspect Jack Hastings, a highly respectable politician, of killing three people just to preserve his father's reputation? On the face of it the thing is unlikely, but Nelson knows to look beyond the face of things. Buster Hastings is certainly revered in Sea's End House and Dieter Eckhart would have had no compunction in denouncing him as a war criminal if he could find the evidence. In Hastings' eyes, Eckhart had even corrupted his daughter. Nelson had noticed his face when Irene mentioned âspooning'. Jack Hastings had not been happy that his daughter was dating a German, not happy at all.
Back at the station, a grey-faced Judy is sitting at her desk. All officers have been called in to work. Whitcliffe, horrified at the autopsy report on Archie, is throwing everything at the case.
âHow are you feeling?' asks Nelson.
âLike death.'
âWell, there's a lot of it about. Good night last night?''
âBrilliant. I can't remember anything after midnight.'
âDid Ruth enjoy herself?'
âRuth? I think she left early. Tatjana stayed the night at my place though. She was up at eight for a run. The woman's a marvel.'
âAny luck on Dieter Eckhart's next of kin?' says Nelson.
âYes.' Judy looks at him sideways. âI rang his university. Apparently he's got a wife and two children.'
âSo he was married all along?' says Ruth.
âApparently so,' says Nelson, who is finding it hard to drag his eyes away from Kate. âHis wife's due in England tomorrow. She's going to fly his body back home.'
âDid Clara know? That he was married, I mean?'
âI don't know,' says Nelson, who is building a tower of red and yellow bricks. Kate watches him narrowly.
Clara Hastings had been in that morning to make her statement. Nelson had asked Judy to drop Eckhart's wife casually into the conversation. Clara hadn't flickered. Towards the end of the session, though, she had grown tearful.
âIt must be so hard for you,' Judy had said sympathetically. She is good at this sort of thing.
âI'm just thinking about his kids,' Clara had sniffed.
So she had known about the children.
Nelson adds another brick and then knocks over the tower. Kate laughs delightedly. She loves destruction. Ruth is beginning to regret letting Nelson come at a time when Kate would be in the house. It makes her uneasy to see them
together. Whilst, on one hand, she wants Nelson to love his daughter (and, by extension, her?), she knows that the more attached Nelson gets, the more complicated their situation becomes.
âWhat did the post mortem say?' she asks, to bring him back to earth.
âEckhart was stabbed with a sharp metal object. They think it was scissors.'
âScissors?'
âHeavy-duty scissors. The sort used for dressmaking or cutting back plants. They were honed to a point apparently.'
âHoned. So someone had planned this? It wasn't spur of the moment?'
âNo,' says Nelson soberly. âSomeone sharpened those scissors and waited.'
âHave you any idea who?'
âI've got lots of ideas,' says Nelson. âEach more ridiculous than the last.'
âDo you think the same person killed Archie Whitcliffe and Dieter Eckhart?' Nelson has told her about the autopsy report on Archie. Death by asphyxiation was the verdict, probably with a pillow.
âYes I do,' says Nelson, still looking at Kate as she thoughtfully sucks the building bricks. âThe method was different but I'm convinced the link was the murder of the six Germans. Someone is prepared to kill to stop that story getting out. There's Hugh Anselm too, the old chap in the stairlift. I'm sure he was murdered too.'
âIt's so far-fetched though,' complains Ruth. âLike something out a murder mystery.'
âArchie Whitcliffe was a big fan of murder mysteries,' says Nelson. âLeft a pile of them to his carer.'
âReally?' Ruth looks interested. âWhat sort of books?'
âNothing special. I hoped they might be worth something. She hasn't got two pennies to rub together, the carer, but they were just a load of old paperbacks. Second hand, most of them.'
âDo you have the list of the titles?'
âSomewhere. Why are you interested?'
âI don't know. Just an idea.'
Nelson gets Judy to fax through the list of titles (Ruth is almost the last person in the world still to have a fax machine). Ruth reads through the names while Nelson plays peek-a-boo with Kate. Ruth wishes Clough could see him.
The Third Truth by Kurt Aust
Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
The Fourth Assassin by Omar Yussef
One Step Behind by Henning Mankell
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sherlock Holmes
Sea Change by Robert B Parker
Lost Light by Michael Connelly