Kerry Tombs - The Malvern Murders

‘Trouble Crabb?’ inquired Ravenscroft, sensing that something was wrong.

‘A note sir, delivered from Malvern College. It says we are to come straight away. It seems that Mr. Sommersby has met with a fatal accident!’

As Ravenscroft and Crabb made their way down the winding path that lead to Malvern College, they were overtaken by a trap that drew up sharply at the front entrance of the building.

‘It seems as though our Doctor Gladwyn has been sent for as well,’ said Crabb.

‘News travels fast,’ remarked Ravenscroft.

‘Good evening to you again gentlemen,’ said Gladwyn alighting from his trap, ‘It appears that Sommersby has met with an accident of some kind.’

The door was opened by the porter, who was clearly in an agitated state. ‘Thank goodness you gentlemen have come. Doctor Sommersby seems to have met with a terrible accident. If you would all come this way.’

The porter led the way across the hall and down the cloister like corridor, until they reached the library. ‘I think perhaps you should enter first gentlemen.’

‘Good heavens!’ exclaimed Gladwyn.

The floor was littered with books and Ravenscroft noticed that one of the large bookcases had been pulled to the side of the room.

‘Doctor Sommersby must have been working in the library when one of the bookcases fell on top of him. We lifted the bookcase from off him, and placed it over there,’ said the porter.

Sommersby lay on his back, completely surrounded by the fallen books.

Gladwyn knelt down to examine the body.

‘Have you moved the body at all?’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘No. We naturally moved some of the books that were on top of him, to see if we could render him any assistance, but all to no avail.’

‘He must have been killed instantly by the force of the bookcase and the falling books,’ said Gladwyn.

‘The bookcase cannot have been very secure. He must have been reaching up for one of the books, when the bookcase toppled over,’ suggested Crabb anxious to contribute to the discussion.

‘The other bookcase, which is also in the centre of the room, looks pretty secure,’ said Ravenscroft placing his hand on one of the shelves. ‘It would require quite a lot of force for the case to come down on one. On the other hand if someone gave it a hard thrust from the other side, I have no doubt it would come down easily enough.’

‘Poor man, what a terrible accident to have happened. First Pitzer and now Sommersby,’ said Gladwyn getting to his feet and shaking his head.

‘I don’t think it was an accident,’ said Ravenscroft kneeling down by the side of the deceased. ‘Look how the body is situated, on his back with his two arms at either side. It is almost as though the body had been arranged in this position before the bookcase was pushed over on top of him. If he had been placing a book on the shelf, and the case had begun to move suddenly, I believe Sommersby’s instant reaction would be to either move back quickly, or at least attempt to cover his head with his hands, or even turn away. I can see a line on the floor where the edge of the bookcase stood. Sommersby is far too close to the line. Whoever killed him tried to make it look like an accident.’

‘Good heavens!’ exclaimed Gladwyn.

‘Look for his pince-nez Crabb. They are not on his face. Again, if the bookcase fell on top of him they would have broken the glasses, and yet I cannot see them anywhere,’ said Ravenscroft. Crabb began to look around the room, searching through the piles of books on the floor as he did so.

‘Doctor Gladwyn, can we turn Sommersby over?’ asked Ravenscroft.

The two men knelt down and moved Sommersby over so that his face lay to the floor.

‘Ah, it is just as I suspected. See at the back of his head. He had been hit by a hard instrument of some kind. That is what killed him.’

‘It could have been one of the books that hit him?’ suggested Gladwyn.

‘But the body was positioned on its back when we entered the room. It seems unlikely that after a falling book hit him on the head Sommersby would have turned round to face the rest of the falling books. If the first book hit him on the back of the head he would have fallen in a different position.’

‘I suppose you could be correct inspector,’ replied Gladwyn somewhat grudgingly.

‘Ah here we are sir. I’ve found them on the floor over here,’ announced Crabb holding up the glasses.

‘I think you would agree Doctor Gladwyn that the position of the glasses in the room is too far away from the body,’ said Ravenscroft

‘Sommersby could have taken them off, before he moved over to the bookcase,’ suggested Gladwyn.

‘And left them on the floor? I don’t think so.’ said Ravenscroft kneeling down on the floor and pushing the books to one side.

‘What are you looking for sir?’ asked Crabb.

‘I’m examining the carpet to see — ah, here we are. Do you see Crabb? Look at this patch of blood on the carpet. This was where Sommersby was killed. He was struck on the back of his head by a sharp instrument of some kind, fell to the floor where some of the blood from the wound stained the carpet. He was then dragged across the floor to the base of the bookcases, which were then toppled over on top of him to make it look like an accident.’

‘My word sir!’ exclaimed Crabb. ‘Then it now seems that we now have two murders on our hands.’

‘It would appear so. Did you see Doctor Sommersby enter the library?’ Ravenscroft addressed the porter.

‘He came in here about an hour ago sir.’

‘Did you see anyone else enter, or leave the library, after Doctor Sommersby?’

‘No sir.But my station is in the entrance hall, and I do not have a view of the library from where I am situated,’ replied the porter.

‘So it would have been comparatively simple for someone to enter the library from either the other end of the corridor, or through one of these windows, and you would not have seen them?’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘That is correct sir.’

‘Did you hear the sound of the bookcase fall?’

‘Yes sir. There was an almighty crash.’

‘And what did you do?’

‘I ran into the library. I saw what had happened and ran off to the kitchens to summon help, so we could lift the bookcase from off Doctor Sommersby.’

‘You saw no one in the library, or anyone running away?’ asked Crabb.

‘No.’

‘How long were you away from the library fetching help?’

‘About a minute or so sir. We came back as quickly as we could.’

‘It would have been easy for the murderer to have hidden himself in another part of the library when you entered the room, and for him to slip away unnoticed whilst you were away,’ said Ravenscroft, staring out of the window. ‘Tell me, was Doctor Sommersby a single man?’

‘He was as far as I know sir.’

‘Did he have rooms in college?’

‘Yes sir. As the Assistant Master he was entitled to reside in the college. His rooms are upstairs,’ replied the porter.

‘Then perhaps you would be kind enough to allow my colleague and myself to view them,’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘Do you want me any further Ravenscroft?’ asked Gladwyn.

‘No thank you doctor. You have been most helpful.’

‘I’ll arrange for the collection of the body and inform the coroner,’ said Gladwyn sadly.

‘Thank you Doctor Gladwyn.’

Ravenscroft and Crabb followed the porter up two flights of stairs and down a long corridor until they reached a door at the end of the passageway.

‘These are Doctor Sommersby’s quarters,’ said the porter unlocking the door.

‘Thank you. We will look round on our own, and let you know when we have finished.’ said Ravenscroft entering the rooms as the porter made his way back along the corridor.