The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (18 page)

              “Good idea” said one of the detectives.    “This garden looks pretty new.  Why would the lady make a garden up here in the woods?  Do you think we should dig it up?”                

“Lets organize a small digger to excavate the whole area tomorrow” said Driver. “I’ll go and find Armstrong,” said Driver as he headed on foot down the hill to his car.

              Driver found Armstrong in the cow shed.  He was finishing off the day’s milking.  Driver didn’t want to disturb him so waited by the turn gate for the last cow to leave the shed.  The cows all walked quietly towards their paddock relieved of the extra weight they had been carrying.   Armstrong waved to him and when he had closed the gate behind the herd and walked back to where Driver was waiting.   

              “We are hoping you can help us,” said Driver. “Do you have a minute or two?”                  

“Yep” said Armstrong wiping his hands on his coveralls. “What do you need?”                

“Would you come over the chalets with me. We have a situation over there and need some advise.”

              “Sure” he replied. Can you wait a moment while I hose off the yard?”              

              “No problem” said Driver as he watched the farmer working. He felt a slight envy for his lifestyle devoid of crime.

              “I will follow you over on my bike.  I have to check some cattle over that way” said Harry as he jumped on his bike and followed the police car back to the chalets. 

              They both parked by Suite C and headed up the hill on foot.   Driver asked him if he had seen any wild pigs around Audrey’s place.  “I shot a couple of them last night for her” he said. “She had planted a garden up there and found her pet lamb dead. I got rid of the lamb and shot the pigs for her.  Caught a couple beauties.  I told her I would get the rest tonight.   They have been making a mess up there.” 

              Driver asked him why she hadn’t got him to shoot the pigs before.

              “She doesn’t like anyone pig hunting on her property while guests are staying there.  I guess she has no bookings for the next couple of days and so this is a good time to get rid of them” he answered.

              When they reached the site Driver noticed the police were searching the area thoroughly. 

              “Found anything?” he asked.  “Nothing yet” said the detective. “But the dogs can definitely smell death here.”  

              “This is Harry Armstrong” introduced Driver. “He’s the farmer next door and a well known pig shooter in the area.  At least, that is what Old Smithy says.”   

              Harry walked over to where Audrey had planted her garden and showed where he had seen the pigs the night before.   “Mean buggers” he said.   “I am guessing there are at least two, possibly more, up here.   I am coming back at dark tonight to get the last of them hopefully.  My dogs will sniff them out.”   

              “Would they attack a man?” asked Driver feeling rather ignorant where wild pigs are concerned.

              “Not unless he was passed out or injured.  But I can’t imagine anyone would be wandering around up here. The chalets are a fairly busy place and Audrey keeps a strict eye on things here.”

              “Thanks” said Driver.  “You say you will be back here tonight? Let us know if you see anything unusual”  

              “Will do,” said Harry as he started back down the hill to his bike.

C H A P T E R   6 9

              Strange, thought Harry.   Why would the police be so interested in pig infestation? Do they think it was wild pigs that killed the two missing men?  But why would their bodies be so far away from their cars? He was beginning to have second thoughts about accepting the dinner invitation from Audrey.  He only agreed to come to dinner to be neighborly after all.  He didn’t really find Audrey an attractive lady.   She was much too old and too buxom for him.  He preferred his ladies young, small and petite.  For the past year he had been a regular in the Whangaroa brothel scene although he never actually visited the brothels. He preferred private visits and had two regular girls he saw on Tuesday and Thursday nights.   He enjoyed the routine of getting dressed up in his best jeans and a clean shirt and knowing he was going to get laid.  

              Sex was important to Harry.   His ex wife had been very sexual and he wished he could afford more visits out of town.  He liked to buy a full hour of their time.  It felt more civilized and romantic than simply paying for a bonk by the minute. 

Harry was quite a romantic man although his shyness around women made it difficult to approach them. His Tuesday and Thursday women drained his bank account but provided what he needed.  His farm kept him busy and he was already losing acreage to his ex wife along with a heavy financial settlement.  It meant a huge mortgage on his farm, which he had finally made freehold of debt only a couple of years before. 

              Harry moved the cattle from the flats below to a couple of paddocks behind Smithy’s old house.   Smithy was out burning some trash and creating a nasty black poisonous smoke trail into the blue sky.    Harry stopped and asked him what he was burning. 

              “Just some upholstery out of the old cars” said Smithy who had a collection of car parts scattered across his property.  

              “Smells more like old tires,” said Harry knowing that was exactly what he was burning illegally.   “Watch the cops across the road don’t smell it” said Harry. 

              “Oh shit?” said Smithy  “Better put it out.  What are the cops doing up at Audrey’s again?” he asked. “They seem to be spending a lot of time there.” 

              “They are checking out the pa area.  They are concerned about the wild pigs. I guess they think the pigs may have had something to do with the bones found at the bottom of the valley.” 

              Harry left Smithy to put out his fire and headed on back to feed his pigs and check on the sheep.   Maybe I will telephone Audrey and say I am too busy on the farm to have dinner but I will go up and shoot the pigs later when it gets dark.

C H A P T E R   7 0

              Audrey was exhausted. She must have tried on at least twenty different outfits.  She hated trying on clothes.  She had to look in the huge mirror in the dressing room and they all made you look fatter than you really were.  She squeezed into sizes obviously too small for her.  Nothing fit over her boobs.  Then, finally, she found a long black top that didn’t look too bad.  She forgot she owned at least three similar tops but it was all about having something new for tonight.  ‘New’ made her feel more special somehow.  Her stripy black skirt would work wonderfully with the top.   Now she had to get back to the chalets and wash her hair and get the roast lamb in the oven.    She hoped the cops had all left.   She didn’t need them hanging around spoiling her good mood.

              It was almost three thirty before she arrived back home.  She didn’t realize how long she had been in Kerikeri.   As she pulled up the driveway she noticed all the police cars were gone.  She breathed a sigh of relief  “Thank goodness” she said.

              She unloaded her groceries and put the wine in the fridge to chill. She prepared the leg of lamb with fresh rosemary and little slithers of garlic pushed into freshly cut slits in the skin of the lamb.  She poured over olive oil, added a sprinkle of salt and pepper and put the pan in the oven set at 375 deg. She peeled kumara, potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips and onions and cut them to size and placed them in a large bowl of water ready to just pop in the oven in an hour or so. Then she went upstairs and took a long shower.    She didn’t hear the phone ringing downstairs.  She was oblivious to anything other than her thoughts of a wonderful evening. 

              She was in love.  She knew she was finally in that wonderful place that lovers go.  Everything looked brighter, more alive.   She had put the vegetables in the over half an hour ago and the aroma of a roast dinner in the oven permeated throughout the suite.

She poured herself a glass of wine.  It was five thirty. Dinner would be ready in about an hour.  She had told Harry to come at six thirty.   She still had to cook the peas and make the gravy. She had already made the mint sauce with fresh mint from her garden.  

She sipped her wine and checked the temperature of the hot tub.  It was perfect.   Tonight was going to be a special night.  Full of romance, laughter and, if she was lucky, he might even make a pass at her.   She did look lovely in her new black top and pencil skirt.

              At six thirty she put on her favorite music - Keb Mo and listened for the quad bike. She imagined he would be on the quad bike because he would be going up to shoot the pigs when it got dark.  The dogs would need to be tied up while they had dinner or they may smell the pigs and take off up the mountain.  She looked at the clock again.  The peas and gravy were cooked.  She had turned down the oven so the lamb and vegetables would not overcook.  Everything was perfect.  She had set the table for two with soft green tablemats and matching napkins and picked flowers out of her garden to create a nice centerpiece.  Two wine glasses sat empty in anticipation of the evening. 

              It was almost seven o’clock. Audrey was worried about the dinner.  Soon it would become overcooked.  There was nothing Audrey hated more than overcooked food.  It reminded her of her Mother’s cooking when she was a child.  

Her happy mood was beginning to get darker and darker. She was always early for an appointment. Lateness was a sign of rudeness and Audrey couldn’t tolerate it.  She picked up the phone to call Harry.  Maybe he had a problem on the farm. 

Then she heard it… the familiar message tone, beep…beep…beep….  “Damn” she said “It better not be Harry to say he isn’t coming. She hadn’t thought to check for messages. She keyed in her code:

              “Hey Audrey” she heard. “It’s Harry here.  Sorry, but I can’t make dinner tonight – too busy on the farm.  But don’t worry I will still take care of the pigs.  I will be up there when it gets dark about nine thirty or so.  I won’t disturb you.  So sorry about the dinner, but just too busy at the moment.”   

              Audrey threw the phone across the room.  It hit the wall and shattered.  “Fucking Men!” she screamed.  “I hate them! Selfish, lying bastards!”  She knew Harry just didn’t want to come to dinner. Didn’t want to spend any time with her.  “I bet he sleeps with hussies.  Filthy, dirty, disgusting, fucking men!” she shouted as she took the dinner out of the oven and threw it into the trash bins outside her suite.  The peas, gravy and mint sauce she poured down the sink.   “Wasted! Wasted! Wasted! All of it wasted!”

Audrey huddled into a ball on the floor in the corner of the room.  She hugged her knees, put her head in her lap and cried.  “I tried,” she said. “I tried to be nice.” They all hate me and I hate them. Their dirty penises, groping hands, filthy mouths” she sobbed.

              Then Audrey knew what she must do.   She sat on the floor and made a plan.  Finally she stood up, found her glass of wine, turned off the music, cleaned the kitchen, picked up the broken phone and changed into her sweat pants and sweat top.  She filled her glass for the third time and sat quietly on her patio in the evening air.  

              In half an hour she would take a quick trip to Kaeo.  She had a little chore to do. She knew Constable Driver and his family would go down to the Waterfront Restaurant for the Sunday night Roast Dinner.  He had mentioned it the other day to her and while they were out she had a little gift she wanted to deliver.

C H A P T E R   7 1

              Harry sat down to his dinner. He had cooked up a few pork chops and mashed some spuds.  It may not be as good as Audrey’s dinner but at least he didn’t have to try and make conversation.  He was not a social animal.   Pig hunting, farming and sex was about all he cared about and not particularly in that order.   He turned on the evening news.  They were still talking about the missing men in Whangaroa.   The police were following certain leads but the cases were not considered homicides and yet they could not confirm them as accidents until further investigations were made.  “The second man had not been found and was now confirmed missing” the announcer said.  Harry thought about the last person to see them alive.  It was Audrey.  Both men had stayed at the chalets before they went missing.  The police obviously suspected something or they wouldn’t be spending so much time up there. They should be checking out some the gang members around here, he thought.  They are a dangerous lot. 

As he watched the rest of the news he became more and more relaxed.  Before long he had fallen asleep on the sofa.  It was almost nine o’clock when he awoke.  He looked up at the old clock on the wall.   He lived in his Mother’s house.  She had passed away a short time ago.  It was his Mum and Dad’s house for many years. His Dad had it built when he was just a small boy.  It was about forty years old now but still in good nick.   Harry had been running the farm since his father died.  The family had a good reputation in the area.  The Maori marae was next door surrounded by a small Maori settlement.  Some of the youth were Black Power members.  But most of the Maori in the area were nice folk. Many of them remembered Harry’s Mum and Dad and were fond of Harry.    Harry’s sons and daughters were not interested in running the farm.  He wondered when he died what would happen to the farm.  He guessed it would have to be sold to pay off the mortgage.