Edward Marston - Instrument of Slaughter

‘It was too dark, Inspector. I just know he was there.’

‘But you have no real proof.’

She was wounded. ‘Don’t you believe me?’

‘Yes, of course, Mrs Skene. But it would have been so much more helpful to me if you’d actually caught sight of the man and could tell me at least something about him. How old was he, for instance? Was he tall or short? What was he wearing? Any detail would have been useful.’

‘He’s an evil man,’ she said, ‘and he’s stalking me.’ She reached for a piece of paper on the table and consulted it. ‘After you left the last time, I remembered a few other times when something odd happened. I’ve made a list of them in sequence. You were right about a pattern, Inspector.’ She handed the paper over. ‘It’s quite clear.’

Marmion glanced at the list. ‘I’m not sure that I can see it.’

‘Four of those occasions are on club night.’

‘Do you mean that you went out to a club once a week?’

‘ I don’t,’ she replied, ‘but my husband does. If he’s not working the evening shift, he never misses a night at the social club. That man knows it. Because he’s been watching the house, he knows that I’m here on my own on a particular night. That’s when he comes and … stays out there. Yesterday he turned up even though my husband was here. I was horrified. It’s the reason I begged you to call again, Inspector. Tonight is Wilf’s club night. That man will be back again.’

‘You can’t be certain about that, Mrs Skene.’

‘Yes, I can,’ she affirmed, hands trembling. ‘Do you ever lie awake at night when you have something troubling you?’

‘Oh, yes,’ he admitted. ‘It happens whenever I’m involved in a difficult case. I stay awake in the dark, wondering how on earth we can solve it.’

‘It was like that for me last night. Something kept going round and round in my mind. It just wouldn’t let me sleep. Eventually,’ she said, sitting forward in her chair, ‘I realised what it was. I’d forgotten the most important evidence of all.’

‘And what was that?’

‘It was the day when Cyril was killed. I wasn’t expecting him to call but he knew that my husband wasn’t here so he took the risk of coming. It was wonderful to see him so excited about that meeting. I shared in his joy. That was my mistake,’ she went on, sorrowfully. ‘I should have kept my eyes open. Because it was dark outside, I thought it was safe to walk with Cyril to the end of the street. He’d only have a hundred yards or so to get to the bus stop. He gave me a kiss and left.’ There was a sharp intake of breath. ‘That was the last time I saw him alive.’

‘You said something about keeping your eyes open.’

‘He was there , Inspector. I half-noticed him at the time but I was too happy at having seen Cyril to look properly at anyone else. I went straight back to the house and thought about the unexpected treat I’d just had. It was only in the middle of the night that it finally came back to me,’ she recalled. ‘That man was there. He could have followed Cyril and murdered him.’

‘He could have, Mrs Skene, but we don’t know that he did.’

‘ I know,’ she said with conviction. ‘I know he was there that day and I’m equally sure that he was outside this house yesterday even though it wasn’t Wilf’s club night. I’m not simply a nervous woman given to flights of fancy, Inspector. This man is real and he’s a killer.’

Marmion looked down at the list again. The pattern was inescapable. On four separate occasions in the past month, Caroline had been convinced that the house was being watched. Each time coincided with her husband’s absence at the social club. Since she’d been left alone, her instincts had been heightened. The stalker did exist, Marmion accepted that. What he could not decide was what the man was after. On first hearing that she’d been followed, it had occurred to him that Eric Fussell might be involved, but the revelation about his sexuality eliminated him from any list of possible suspects. There was a secondary reason to omit the librarian. When she was out with Cyril Ablatt one time, Fussell had passed by on the other side of the street and Caroline had been pulled into a doorway. She’d actually seen the librarian. He was not the man she’d glimpsed following her on her way home.

She might be fearful and highly strung but Caroline was patently in need of his help. Club night had come to hold an eerie significance for her.

‘What time does your husband leave this evening?’ asked Marmion.

‘Seven o’clock on the dot.’

‘I’ll be here some time after that, Mrs Skene. That’s a promise.’

Gordon Leach was putting loaves of bread into the back of the cart when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned round to see Ruby Cosgrove standing there. He wasn’t sure whether he should be delighted or disturbed.

‘Why aren’t you at work, Ruby?’

‘I can be late for once. This is more important.’

‘What is?’

She put her hands on her hips. ‘Did you send Fred Hambridge round to me?’

Leach was stunned. ‘Would you say that again?’

‘He came to speak up for you,’ said Ruby.

‘Well, he had no right to do that,’ he said, fuming. ‘I’d never send anyone to speak on my behalf — least of all Fred. He’s hopeless when it comes to talking to women. That’s why he’s never had a girlfriend. What did the idiot say?’

‘He was only doing his best.’

‘I’ll give him a flea in his ear when I see him.’

‘Don’t be cross, Gordon,’ she said. ‘What he said made sense. I didn’t think so at the time because I was mad at him — and mad at you as well. I should have known that you wouldn’t trust Fred with a job like that.’

‘Are you still mad at me?’

‘No — I’m just annoyed at myself for flying off the handle. Fred meant well. He showed me an article that Cyril had written. It was full of big words I didn’t understand but I remember one phrase — “instrument of slaughter”. The article said each man was a dangerous weapon. Put him in uniform and he becomes a killer.’ She grasped his arm. ‘I don’t want you to be a killer, Gordon.’

‘There’s no chance of it ever happening.’

‘And I don’t want you to do anything that’s … wrong for you.’

‘I’m so pleased to hear you say that,’ he said, grinning with relief. ‘Joining a non-combatant corps would sicken me, Ruby. I just couldn’t do it.’

‘Then you don’t have to.’

‘But I thought …’

She beamed at him. ‘I’m here now, aren’t I?’

‘Does that mean we’re friends again?’

‘I never stopped being friends with you,’ she said, before correcting herself. ‘Well, I did for a while when I thought that you’d sent Fred Hambridge to see me. But it soon passed. And that article did make a difference so he did help.’

‘He’ll still get an earful from me,’ warned Leach.

She glanced at the cart. ‘Your round takes you near the factory, doesn’t it?’

‘I’ll drive you straight there.’

‘Then I might even arrive on time, after all.’ She giggled. ‘Well? Don’t just stand there goggling at me. Do something, Gordon.’ He grabbed her impulsively and planted a kiss on her cheek. She pulled back and saw the white marks on her coat. ‘You’ve got flour all over me!’

After her late night meeting, Alice Marmion nevertheless arrived at the depot full of vitality the next day. Vera Dowling was not the most perceptive of women but even she noticed the glow in her friend’s face and the sparkle in her eyes. Assuming that it had something to do with the visit to Hannah Billington’s house, she pressed for details. Alice described the house and the delicious tea with mingled awe and gratitude. What she didn’t even touch on was the invitation she’d been given in the main bedroom. The euphoria she felt in the wake of her conversation with Joe Keedy had expunged it from her mind. When Hannah came across to them, therefore, Alice was not in the least embarrassed.