Three Little Maids (13 page)

‘You’ve done your homework there. Has it got you anywhere though?’

‘Not so far. I wouldn’t think there was any chance of a connection there with the other girl and perhaps there isn’t any at all. Both girls could have been picked out willy-nilly. On pure chance, simply because they were out on their own late at night. But nevertheless we will check up on those men that Yvette has met during her work time and see if they match up. So I think we’ll talk some more to Mrs Flitch.’

‘The Nag’s Head is very busy but we do have our regulars that come in. And Yvette was an added bonus. She sparkled like a diamond behind the bar but she had to watch it because of that boyfriend of hers,’ Kathie Flitch said as Kent handed over the list of chapel attendants.

‘So did any of these men on this list frequent the pub?’

‘Let me see. Roger Welbeck is one definitely and Tom Berkley another. Roger’s a nice bloke. Tom Berkely now…’ She wrinkled her small nose. ‘Throws his weight about a bit. And never brings in his wife Brenda.’ She made a face. ‘She wouldn’t choose to come in here. She’s more the Coffee mornings, Bridge evenings type but Berkeley’s spent a good bit of time in here since Yvette came. While Brenda’s been rehearsing her part in the Mikado.

‘And Raymond Perkins whenever that Maureen had a row with him came in here. Yvette flirted with him but she did with anything in pants. Old Billy Mooney now, he’s a nice old chap comes in for half a pint of home brew with Joe Corbet his pal. They used to man the lifeboat when a ship’s in trouble in the Channel but they might have retired by now.’

‘So did Yvette seem more than friendly with either of the younger men?’

She shrugged her shoulders and her dress slipped tauntingly low. She hitched it back up with silver painted fingertips. ‘Berkley possibly. He has the money. Roger because he’s a pleasant chap anyway. She made all the men feel special. It was just her way. She was a natural flirt.’

And you’re not above turning the charm on yourself, Turner thought as he noticed with a wry grin, how she was chatting up the Inspector. He was in on a chance there if he wanted but he was keeping strictly to business. She was wasting her time on Jon Kent.

‘You mentioned Raymond Perkins. Was he in here Thursday night?’

She thought for a minute or so as she gave back the list. ‘Yes
- I think he was. He downed a couple of pints in ten minutes or so. But he can’t take much and sat in the corner looking like a lost dog in the pound. About nine, I think it was. Can’t say exactly when he left though.’

‘And what about Saturday night, was he in here then?’

She shrugged. ‘He might well have been. We were very busy and it was a good night. The place was filled with holidaymakers with a terrific thirst. This hot weather brings them in here in droves. So I couldn’t take notice of all the regulars and Raymond Perkins is not that special.’

‘He was in here Thursday. So young Ray was telling porkers,’ Kent remarked. ‘Do you have a raffle in here at all, Mrs Flitch?’

‘Sometimes - yes. Actually we did last Thursday. It was to help the local hospital to furnish the new children’s ward.’

‘So would one of the prizes be a box of chocolates by any chance?’

‘Yes. That’s right. And now you’ve mentioned it, Raymond Perkins won the third prize. And that was it, a large box of chocolates. He left soon afterwards I think.’

‘So perhaps we’d better have a chat with Roger Welbeck and your Mayor, Turner. And some more with Raymond Perkins.’

‘The parents of the girl are due to arrive shortly, guv. They lost no time once they were contacted.’

24

The Incident Room was filled with activity and noise, computers busy and phones and cells answered and ringing. There had been talk earlier in the year from the town hall of reducing some of the lower ranks. Shannon had fought hard against it. There were rising problems with recruitment. House prices and rentals were high in the town and there was always the ongoing fight against drugs.

Could be thought Turner, answering the phone that they were on the wrong track here entirely. It could be a stranger in the town picking on vulnerable young women. With so many holidaymakers on one of the busiest week of the season it was a tough task. They were interviewing and chasing up all known sexual offenders. Trying to trace any come in from out of town. Shannon had given a pep talk to everyone and they were working flat out.

Kent did some checking for himself on records. According to the Essex police, Terry Bolton had changed his name to Williams for his own protection after coming out of prison eight years ago but he was involved in a road accident shortly afterwards and was killed. Reading this served to quiet some of his fears but not those that told him that there could be worse to come if the killer struck again.

Viviane heard Kent come in about ten. She heard him sneezing on the stairs. He would be trying to wind down. Another day to face tomorrow and more people to see. She remembered Bill when he was on a heavy case. Jon wouldn’t need her to talk about it
; he would want to forget his work if it was possible once he came in.

But she was mistaken. A knock at the door came shortly afterwards.

‘Yes? Jon?’

He put his head round her kitchen door where she was preparing Simon’s lunch for the next day. ‘Viviane, may I talk to you a minute or so? That is if you’re not too busy.’

‘Simon’s in his room. You can talk in here.’

‘I want you to give me some info on one or two local characters, if you can. Turner is a gem. A real goldmine of information but he has the eyes of a policeman. Tell me what you know about Aiden Ludlam for instance.’

‘What do I know about Aiden Ludlam! Oh boy! A real pillar of society and a bit of a killjoy if you enjoy a tipple he doesn’t drink much, only a couple of glasses of wine at the most. He was a junior teacher who married the headmaster’s daughter and took over the joint when his father-in-law retired.

‘He’s a bright light on the Police Committee and a good father and husband. He has a nice little wife in Gwynith and two small daughters. He also has a great love of music and helps to support a youth orchestra in the town and is appearing in the amateur operatic company. They put on the Pirates of Penzance last year and it’s the Mikado this year. He has a good tenor voice by the way. What would be his motive for killing Maureen, none I would say unless he’s a psychopath? I suppose Maureen might have formed a passion for him, as he is quite charismatic if you like his type,’ she said doubtfully. ‘But I can’t see him risking so much for a sleazy affair with an
underage trollop like Maureen.’

‘Yes I get your point. So what else does this charmer do for the community? I wonder.’

‘Now you’re being sarky. I’m sure he is a freemason. Along with Tom Berkley. But he’s as different from Aiden as chalk and cheese and I think Berkley is under pressure at the moment with the wedding on the horizon and his wife and daughter calling all the shots.’

She chuckled. He was casting envious eyes over the food she was preparing. ‘Are you hungry? Help yourself to a sandwich. Simon will come down presently and have a midnight feast I expect.’

He grinned. ‘I’ve increased my appetite and my girth twice over since I’ve been down here. I had cod and chips earlier. It’s the sea air, I suppose.’

She chuckled. ‘It’s lucky you don’t put on weight. You eat at such odd times and so often. It comes with the job
, I suppose. Stan Turner is always scoffing peppermint lumps in between meals which doesn’t help his intentions to diet and give up smoking.’

‘So I’ve noticed. He’s a happy enough bloke though. Obviously more able to handle it
, not like Julie and myself,’ he said biting into a chicken sandwich from the plate appreciatively.

‘Julie your ex? Did you ever bump into her afterwards, Jon? Tell me if I’m being nosy.’

‘Yeah-once. She married her chap, sent me a Christmas card last year and let me know she was expecting a baby. I suppose I’ll get a card any day now telling me that she’s had it. With the sex, weight and name,’ he growled and helped himself to another sandwich.

She studied his rueful face. ‘You didn’t want children?’

He stared back at her. ‘Actually I did. But it didn’t happen for us. Luckily, I suppose, as our marriage didn’t work. So - tell me more about this business tycoon Berkley. He’s the local mayor and held in with high esteem in the town and like Ludlam he’s on the police committee too, I understand.’

‘Yes, he has a son, Michael, studying at Ludlam’s school. Only the best for Berkley’s son and heir. He’s more academic than his father though. I doubt if he’ll want to take on the family business. Simon knows him quite well. Plays rugby with the local schoolboy team occasionally. He’s a nice boy, came here several times. Good looking and rather shy. It’s a pity; he’s not interested because the business came down from Jack Berkley, Tom’s great-grandfather. And Tom is really serious about that.’

‘Then there’s Roger Welbeck. You probably know him? He’s a heating engineer.’

‘He fitted this place up with gas radiators when first I moved in. I didn’t fancy building up coal fires and he’s checked on the library heating. And, I think he’s been putting in the radiators for Esmeralda Corrie in her flat, while she’s staying at the hotel. He’s a local and well established. His grandfather was a fisherman and his father before him too but Roger became a landlubber. There’s not much room in fishing these days. His brother took on the boat. What else do you want to know? You’ve met his wife.’

‘But what about Roger himself? His wife told me that she was aware that Maureen Carey was not short about coming forward. And didn’t care if she knew it. There was a good motive for murder. If he didn’t want his wife to know, Maureen was gabby enough to invite Sara’s dislike while she was being painted. But Roger was perhaps not aware of this and was afraid about his wife’s reaction.’

She looked at the paper with the names written down on it. ‘You’ve got Raymond Perkins here. You can’t think, Jon, that this youngster killed Maureen, do you? ‘

‘Well - he’s not given us the correct information about his whereabouts on Thursday evening, Viviane. He’s keeping something back. Partly I think because he’s afraid of his gran. He’d been in the Nag’s Head and not where he said he was. And he does have a motive. Jealousy. Maureen provoked him deliberately by telling she had another admirer. He’d been getting his oats frequently and then she cuts him off. He’s bound to feel rejected and angry. He’s young, it’s all those hormones and he feels real bad.’

‘But you don’t know that it is anyone of these. It could be someone else entirely. Surely if the same person attacked both girls these motives wouldn’t come into play, Jon. Not unless you can find a connection between any of these men and both young girls.’

‘Hmn, I suppose we can strike out Aiden Ludlam. Dull as ditchwater, despite the outer charisma. But both Roger and Tom Berkley are still on the list as possibles, and, according to Mrs Flitch, Raymond Perkins got a twinkle in his eye whenever Yvette served him in the Nag’s Head but didn’t relish Yvette treating him like a silly kid. It could be he wanted to take out his anger on her after he’d killed Maureen. Killing becomes easier a second time.’

‘I don’t believe it.’ She picked up a sandwich and nibbled it thoughtfully.

‘Raymond could have more wits about him than we give him credit for - and intended to make the deaths look like a psycho’s handiwork so that he wouldn’t be suspected. Meanwhile we’re still checking up on his movements that evening and Yvette’s after she left the Nag’s Head.’ He paused.

‘And that brings her boyfriend, Cliff Jones
, into it. We know that Eric Turner, the taxi driver took her to the chapel. Yvette was also playing around and I’ve been warned that Jones was on a pretty short fuse. How would he react if he discovered she was cheating on him?’

‘Both girls then were murdered in the same fashion and this information has not been released to the general public. So
- did Jones plan to pick out some another unsuspecting girl before killing Yvette and it was Maureen who was his first choice,’ Viviane said slowly. ‘I can’t see that happening, can you?’

‘No and I don’t like this line of thought one bit,’ he groaned. ‘It only serves to back up the first idea I had that we’ve got a serial killer here
- a real crazy nut.’

‘Or a clever murderer.’

25

She heard Kent leave the house before she’d made her early morning coffee. They had talked on well into the night. About old times, laughed a lot and discussed those things that were harder to discuss and divulge in the light of day. ‘I lost my mother when I was ten,’ she said. ‘My Dad’s remarried. Are your parents still living?’

‘I was adopted, Viviane,’ he announced it quite casually.

‘Really, Jon?’

‘Yep… I was only a few hours old when I was left in a phone box in the grounds of a London hospital and adopted by Jim Kent and his wife Margaret. My Mum and Dad. And two brothers and a sister Briony as well. I had a great home life.

‘So you never knew your real mother?’

‘No. And I could have been just like Raymond, if I’d had a single parent mum. I didn’t have the problems and trauma that the lad has obviously gone through. I consider myself a damn sight luckier than he was.’ He said getting up from the chair. ‘Better call it a day I think.’