Arthur Upfield - Sinister Stones

“Quarter, I’d say,” supplemented the yardman. “Decentsorta bloke, though.”

There was a pause in their critical appraisal, terminated by the old doctor.

“He’s all there. Entitled to his police rank, for he’s learned more than to read and write. The shape of his head and the power of his eyes have brought him a long way. If either of you men have anything to keep under cover, watch your step. You made a bad break, Sam, when you said what you’d have done if MrsStenhouse had been your sister.”

“Oh! How so?”

“MrsStenhouse had a brother, and you remember what happened that day she was buried.”

Bony Takes Charge

BONY’SFIRSTIMPRESSIONof Senior Constable Irwin was not favourable. It was, however, to be of short duration.

Irwin drove a sturdy utility and, in accordance with practice, his trackers rode on the load behind the cabin. Emerging from the driving seat, he advanced to meet Detective-Inspector Bonaparte, walking stiffly, less from cramp than in recognition of their respective rank.

He was large and loose-limbed, and his feet were turned slightly inward through years in the saddle. Perhaps thirty-five years old, his hair was red, his eyes were blue, and his mouth was wide. Over the mahogany-tinted face was a smile which seemed to be a fixture, and before saying a word he laughed as though the discordant crows were joking about the dead man in the jeep.

Following the mutual introduction, Irwin said:

“We were able to radio-contact headquarters last night, and the Chief suggested that, as you happened to be on the spot, you might like to take charge of this job. Sends his compliments, sir, and says he’ll fly a man to Agar’s to take overStenhouse’s district.”

Bony noticed the absence of humour in the light-blue eyes, and it was then that the first impression vanished.

“Very well, Irwin,” he said. “I’ll be glad to assist if I might have your co-operation. This case may be a simple one, or it may not. Ihope, the latter. Have you breakfasted?”

“Yes. Stopped at daybreak for a feed.”

“Then, when you and the trackers have had a spot of coffee, we’ll get to work. We have done nothing as yet. Laidlaw covered the body when he passed here yesterday.” They walked to the men about the fire, the two trackers standing by the utility.

The others greeted Irwin easily, yet betrayed knowledge that this large man’s jovial front was but a mask. He picked up a used pannikin, filled it with coffee, adding a little of the doctor’s brandy.

“Had breakfast, thanks. Hey, Charlie! Larry! Bring over your pannikins.”

They came, two ebony-skinned, dark-eyed young men wearing military greatcoats over their ordinary clothes, broad-brimmed military felt hats and heavy military boots. They were intensely proud of this uniform which gained for them great respect from all aborigines. Irwin told them to return to the truck. Bony asked the transport driver to detail everything he did on discovering the dead policeman, and, having heard Sam’s story, they pushed the jeep back to its original position by the stones on which the blood had dripped.

“Did you at any time enter the jeep?” Bony asked Sam.

“No, Inspector. I moved thedunnage about at the back to find what was missing, but I did that from the ground.”

“You are sure that when pushing the jeep off the track you did not touch the steering-wheel?”

“Yes, I am. The front wheels slewed enough without that.”

“And the brakes were not applied?”

“No, they were free enough.”

“All right! We’ll get the body out for Dr Morley’s preliminary examination.” Sam removed the blanket, and the doctor and the two policemen studied the position of the dead man and noted the ravages committed by the birds to the face and neck.

“Stenhousebelieved in making himself comfortable. Good idea having the seat back built like that,” remarked Sam.

“Yah,” agreed ’Un. “Old Williams, the blacksmith at Agar’s done that for him when he built the canopy.”

“Ready, Doctor?”

“Yes, Inspector.”

They removed the body and left it with the doctor, who nominated the yardman as his assistant. Sam was asked to boil water, and Bony said to Irwin:

“Although, according to Sam, the tracker’s swag is missing, and there’s no rifle, indicating that the tracker shotStenhouse and cleared out, I am not satisfied that Jacky Musgrave killed his boss.”

“Nor me,” agreed Irwin. “Seems that Jacky Musgrave was extra loyal toStenhouse, from what I know, and thatStenhouse treated him pretty well. What’s the alternative?”

“As yet, I’m not sure. Does the back of the driving seat tell you anything?”

“Yes. The bullet passed through it after passing through the body.”

“Let’s move thedunnage. I see a tin immediately behind that bullet-hole in the seat back.”

Spare tyres and camp equipment were taken out, and Irwin removed the four-gallon tin of oil. Most of the oil had leaked from the hole made in only one side, and it was obvious that the tin had been full when punctured. They poured the remainder of the oil into another tin, and found the bullet, which had been cushioned by the thick oil. The nose was slightly broadened by the impact.

“H’m! Lead bullet. ·44. Should give us the weapon from which it was fired,” murmured Bony.

They searched the vehicle and found no rifle. In an attache-case on the driving-seat was a ·32 automatic and cartridges, documents, and the dead man’s official diary. A suitcase contained spare underwear, shoes, shaving tackle and a brush and comb.

“No rifle,” said Irwin.

“Mightn’t have brought one.”

“Unlikely, sir. The tucker-box…”

Irwin pounced on the small wooden case, rummaged among the contents and laughed.

“No cooked tucker,” he said. “Tracker must have shot him, and cleared out with his swag and the constable’s rifle and what cooked tucker there was. It adds up.”

Bony was standing back from the front offside wheel.

“If the tracker shot him, he must be familiar with rifles or revolvers,” he said. “He could have shotStenhouse from this point, but there was little margin to miss the windscreen. Ah, Doctor. What’s the verdict?”

“Shot through the heart, I think,” replied Morley.“Soft-nosed, steel-jacketed bullet from a high-velocity rifle. The bullet passed out through the back, making an exit wound about two inches in diameter. The range, I’d guess, was about twenty-five yards.”

Bony beamed, and the doctor’s eyes swiftly clouded.

“Most interesting,” Bony said, and held out his hand on which rested the bullet taken from the oil tin. “This was not the bullet which killed him?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Been dead… how long?”

“The day before yesterday at shortest, and at longest the day before that.”

“Placing death either on the 15th or the 16th, eh?” Bony paused to light a cigarette. “We haven’t found a soft-nosed, steel-jacketed bullet. Look at the seat back, please. The bullet which passed through it was not, you think, the bullet which passed through the body?”

Dr Morley leaned into the vehicle to examine the seat back, and on turning to Bony he shook his head.

“When the bullet emerged from the dead man’s back, it was a shapeless metal mass, such a bullet expanding after impact. I’d say that the bullet which passed through the seat back is the one you have in your hand.”

“Fired through the seat back before the body was placed there behind the steering-wheel, eh?” Irwin surmised.

“Could you tell us, after our return to Agar’s Lagoon, if that blood on the seat and on the ground is human or animal?” asked Bony.