A Full Churchyard Page 15

  ‘Surely, there was a search for it? By someone? Family, carer?’

  ‘There was. A very thorough search was made but it was never found. As I told you, PC Carey searched his house and garden too.’

  ‘And did you suspect the carer? Was the carer a member of the CVC?’

  ‘Yes, as it happens. Anyone could have stolen it, even a sneak thief. I had an open mind, Montague, I suspected everyone. The house doors were often left unlocked to permit entry by carers, neighbours and friends in an emergency.’

  ‘So it would have been easy to enter the house and steal that watch, especially if the old fellow was asleep or if it was on show. Even on his wrist?’

  ‘Yes, even if it was on his wrist.’

  ‘We could be thinking of a sneak-thief here, an opportunist villain. They are always about,’ acknowledged Pluke. ‘But the CVC has keys to all their clients’ homes and most are fitted with key-safes, so why did Mr Lindsey leave his doors open?’

  ‘The carers’ keys aren’t available to friends and neighbours, Montague, and the codes to the key-safes are not generally known. People such as friends and neighbours need unlocked doors to gain access. Inevitably that puts the house and its contents at risk and the occupants too but it allows constant access to the householder. It’s a case of finding the right balance and it seems to work very well in Crickledale. It’s full of honest decent people. I don’t think there are many sneak-thieves in the population. Such crimes are rare here, as I’m sure you know.’

  ‘That’s quite true. So did you interview the carer? Who was she? Or he?’

  ‘We targeted the old man’s regular CVC carer. One of my experienced constables went to see her and I accompanied him. She was a newcomer to the CVC, a 22-year-old called Fiona Grainger. Miss Fiona Grainger.’

  ‘And her background?’

  ‘She’s an unemployed cleaner who lives at home with her parents in Crickledale. I interviewed her at the CVC offices with her boss present.’

  ‘John Furnival?’

  ‘That’s him. He’s got those carers licked into shape, Montague. They were somewhat disorganized until he arrived. No records maintained, a lackadaisical system of working.’

  ‘A new broom, eh?’

  ‘Exactly. He tightened things up admin-wise, and he keeps the staff on their toes – he often drops in unannounced, even on his days off, to check on the standard of care his volunteers are giving their clients. He takes his duties very seriously.’

  ‘It sounds rather like the inspector or sergeant arriving unannounced to check a constable’s work?’

  ‘It’s the same principle. It protects the clients and helps to prevent the carers being falsely accused of wrongdoing. You and I both know how easy it is to accuse someone of theft or worse if they regularly visit the homes of vulnerable people.’

  ‘Sadly, they are always at risk, even from the most unexpected people.’

  ‘Furnival will be aware of that. He’s an ex-fire officer, he knows the ropes, Montague. Have you met him?’

  ‘Briefly at his office, I can’t claim to know him. So was this young woman the only one you interviewed?’

  ‘She was, but only because she said she had noticed the absence of the watch but not alerted anyone. You know the system, Montague – the person who reports a murder is often the guilty party trying to cover up their culpability by reporting the death. It’s the same with reported thefts.’

  ‘So did you suspect her? Surely other carers visited Mr Lindsey?’

  ‘They did, but she was the most regular, and the newest recruit. She called at the same time every day and did most of his housework and some preparation of meals in a two-hour spell of duty. Obviously she came into the frame but I felt she was innocent – if indeed there had been a theft. That is still in doubt, the old chap could have simply lost his watch. Or mislaid it.’

  ‘So Fiona Grainger spent quite a substantial amount of time alone with him?’

  ‘Yes. That’s how the Carers build up trust with their clients. Miss Grainger had no job prior to this, Montague, she had no money. A motive for theft may have there but she does not have a criminal record. And she hasn’t disposed of the watch anywhere in town – we’ve checked all the likely outlets, even car boot sales.’

  ‘Did you check the other carers?’

  ‘We did. Same result. All clear, even Mrs Pluke!’

  ‘She never told me!’

  ‘That’s understandable. However, I must tell you that there was suspicion against one of the professional carers when she worked for a local firm. She was suspected of pilfering – Juliet Jarvis that is. Nothing was ever proved, there was a suggestion it was a malicious complaint by a subordinate who felt she’d been wronged. In addition, one of the male carers has a record. He’s called Dorsey, Keith Dorsey, a 47-year old window cleaner by profession. He has one conviction as an 18 year old for fighting in the street. CVC uses men like him for fixing things like plumbing, electrical faults and so on.’

  ‘You’ve checked his whereabouts at the time the watch vanished?’

  ‘Not really, we couldn’t. We were never sure when it vanished, only when it was found to be missing. He was nowhere near the premises then. He was cleaning drains for an old woman at the other side of town.’

  ‘Any other suspects?’

  ‘Mr Lindsey had his chimney swept about a week before his watch was reported missing. A sweep called Black, Sooty Black. He helps out at the churchyard and gives free sweeps of chimneys for CVC clients. We quizzed him about the watch, but he denied ever seeing it.’

  ‘It sounds as though you did a thorough job, Inspector Horsley. And that young woman, Fiona Grainger has never admitted the crime?’

  ‘No, she was very upset when we interviewed her but adamant she was innocent. Mr Furnival comforted her and assured her he had not the slightest suspicion against her, and promised she would not be dismissed. We assured her that our interview was to establish her innocence, not her guilt. I think that helped her come to terms with what was happening. So there we are, Montague, a very good cold-case review subject for you. If you can find that watch and the thief responsible, I shall be very grateful. We’ll be able to record it as a crime detected.’

  ‘At the moment I’m interested in more serious crimes.’

  ‘Then why are you here, asking me about a missing watch?’

  ‘Because it belonged to a man whose death was considered sudden and unexpected; the police were called but the conclusion was that Mr Lindsey died from natural causes. I’m examining all such deaths where there was a hint of suspicion.’

  ‘Well, I can tell you there was suspicion in this one, Montague, but it was all wrapped up as a death from natural causes. The death was never investigated as a possible crime.’

  ‘Suspicion, you say? So what was unusual about it?’

  ‘Well, when I visited the scene to see if PC Carey was coping, all the doors and windows were standing wide open and the deceased was lying on the cold floor of the downstairs bathroom. A freezing cold stone floor.’

  Chapter 14

  ‘Is PC Carey on duty this morning?’ asked Pluke before leaving the inspector’s office. ‘I’d like a chat with him.’

  ‘He’s on the town centre beat. Shall I call him?’

  ‘Thanks, that would be helpful. Ask him to come to my office. Depending on what he tells me, I may want a further chat with you.’

  ‘I’m always pleased to help the might of the CID, Montague. Shall I sit in on your chat with young Carey? Then I’ll know exactly what’s going on in your exclusive world and might be able to offer more assistance. After all, I am the town duty Inspector for Crickledale.’

  ‘You’re welcome to join us. I’ll be in my office when PC Carey arrives.’

  And so Pluke returned to the CID suite upstairs and invited Wayne to join him for his chat
with PC Carey. As they settled down, Mrs Plumpton arrived with an armful of files.

  ‘I’ve examined all these, Mr Pluke,’ and she placed some on his blotter and others beside them. ‘Those on your blotter are sudden death reports over the last ten years where a post mortem examination was carried out, and the others are where there was no post mortem.’

  ‘Very efficient of you, Mrs Plumpton. Now that we are together, another thought has occurred to me. There have been many deaths in the town with which the police were not involved. That’s absolutely normal. So, Wayne, did your search at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, produce such a list?’

  ‘Yes, it’s in my office.’

  ‘Then we must examine it to ascertain whether any of them were receiving care from the CVC. In particular, we’re looking for elderly people living alone, people the police would rarely be aware of in an official capacity.’

  Mrs Plumpton chipped in, ‘I can do that, Mr Pluke. I’ll run them through my computer as a double check. It won’t take long.’

  ‘Good, thank you.’

  Inspector Horsley and PC Carey, dark haired, slim and powerful in appearance, arrived a quarter of an hour later to find Mrs Plumpton fussing over them with a tray of coffee cups and chocolate biscuits. As they settled down, she performed her usual bowing and ducking manoeuvres to the puzzlement of the young Constable Carey. He thought she was rather too old to be trying to attract a man as young as he and when she departed, Horsley smiled and said,

  ‘Well, Montague, we don’t all get a Folies-Bergère cabaret with our coffee and biscuits. Some of us live the high life and some of us never get a cup of coffee on a morning, do we, PC Carey?’

  ‘No, sir,’ said Carey not really understanding the undertones of Horsley’s comments. Office politics among the higher ranks was not something with which he was familiar, although he was regularly offered cups of coffee or tea whilst patrolling.

  ‘So,’ said Pluke as he opened the proceedings. ‘PC Carey, I’m pleased to meet you. How was the driving course?’

  ‘Very good, sir, thank you. I had no idea there was so much to learn about driving police vehicles and so much to discover about the ways motor vehicles can be stolen and shipped overseas. I hope to get a transfer to Traffic before too long.’

  ‘Then I wish you luck. Now, I understand from Detective Sergeant Wain that you dealt with a rather curious sudden death some time ago. Miss Adelaide Croucher? Can you remember it?’

  ‘Yes, sir, I can. Very clearly. It turned out to be death from natural causes.’

  ‘There were peculiar circumstances, I believe? Can you remember your first impressions of the house interior? Detective Sergeant Wain has explained because he was at the scene too but I would like your version.’

  Sipping his coffee with some nervousness in the presence of a trio of such high-ranking police officers, PC Carey explained about his attendance at Miss Croucher’s house. Listening intently, neither Pluke nor Wain detected any difference from the formal version of that case. Both Pluke and Horsley asked him a few questions to clarify doubts but his story supported the known recorded facts.

  ‘Now,’ said Pluke. ‘I believe you dealt with another sudden death with odd circumstances – Mr Edgar Lindsey. Can you recall that one?’

  ‘Yes, sir, it was another death from natural causes but there was no post mortem. His doctor had treated him regularly and certified the cause of death.’

  ‘Who was the doctor?’

  ‘Doctor Simpson, from Crickledale Surgery.’

  ‘Do you recall which day of the week the death occurred?’

  ‘It was a Thursday, sir. I remember because my weekly rest days were Tuesday and Wednesday that week, it was my first day back on duty working nights.’

  ‘So did the death actually occur on the Thursday or was that when the body was found?’

  ‘The precise time of death was never determined, sir. I was called at two o’clock on the Friday morning. The doctor said he thought it might have happened late on the Thursday night but wasn’t prepared to make a positive statement about it.’

  ‘Thanks for that clear memory. I believe something at the scene was rather odd which was the reason why the police were called in?’ persisted Pluke, wanting the constable to tell his story without any prompting.

  ‘Mr Lindsey was found lying on the floor just inside his front door. His neighbour, Mrs Frankland, found him. He was wearing only pyjamas trousers. His bed was upstairs but was made and seemed not to have been slept in. It was assumed he had collapsed and died . . . Doctor Simpson couldn’t explain how he had come to be lying on the floor but thought he must have collapsed. He was not injured and there was no sign of a physical attack but all the windows and the back door were standing open.’

  ‘So were SOCO or the police photographers called in?’

  ‘No, sir, nothing like that. Once the doctor certified death was from natural causes, it had nothing more to do with us. The doctor organized collection of the body and the undertaker took Mr Lindsey’s remains to the chapel of rest to await his funeral. I took no further part in investigating his death.’

  ‘So his death was not associated with the theft of his gold watch?’

  As PC Carey hesitated slightly, Inspector Horsley responded. ‘I have read the file, Montague, and there was not the slightest evidence to suggest his death and loss of the watch were connected. His death occurred several days after his watch had reportedly disappeared and there was no sign of injury on the body – there was no cause to believe his watch had been forcibly or illegally removed from him whilst alive and certainly it hadn’t in death.’

  ‘But there was doubt, was there?’

  ‘Well, it’s quite possible he could have mislaid or lost his watch some time before his death.’

  ‘So the only odd thing about his death was the circumstances in which his body was found?’

  ‘Right, Montague. And neither the doctor, the undertaker nor our officers could offer any explanation about that.’

  ‘So who were the undertakers?’

  ‘It wasn’t a Crickledale firm, Montague. They came from Coventry, the son wanted his dad buried in Coventry where he could visit and tend the grave. The son did not comment on the manner in which his father had been found dead.’

  ‘Perhaps he thought it was a normal type of collapse?’

  ‘Well, the doctor never went upstairs so he wouldn’t see the undisturbed bed. We didn’t have the body transferred back upstairs to be laid out, that would have been very difficult for untrained people, so we covered him with a sheet and left him.’

  ‘Was he lying there for a long time?’

  ‘No, he was awaiting the Coventry undertakers. They came late on the Friday afternoon.’

  ‘So they didn’t question or comment on the fact that the deceased had been found lying on the floor just inside his front door?’

  ‘No, they accepted the doctor’s opinion he had collapsed there. After all, Montague, old folks are unpredictable especially when they are ill and suffering from dementia. They do some peculiar things and get into odd situations, like leaving windows and doors open.’

  ‘Yes, that happens. Now I must ask this question of you, Inspector Horsley. Have any of the sudden deaths that you’ve attended or supervised been odd in any way whilst later being attributed to natural causes? When I say odd, I mean strange either in the way of Mr Lindsey’s or peculiar due to some other factor?’

  ‘Yes, a few. I can’t recall their names just now but as you appreciate, we do deal with many sudden deaths even in Crickledale, most of which turn out to be due to natural causes. And don’t forget, a high percentage never come to the official notice of the police – after all, they are not our concern.’

  ‘It means we are unaware of all those personal dramas and it’s unlikely we would officially know anything about
them. Is that an open door for secret murders, Inspector? So how many of the deaths that your officers have attended within the last three or four years, involved elderly folks living alone whilst under the care of Crickledale Volunteer Carers?’

  ‘You’re up to something, Montague! Are our carers up to no good?’

  ‘Just answer my question, Inspector.’

  PC Carey never said a word during the high-level interchanges but he listened very carefully as his inspector continued.

  ‘Well, as you ask, Montague, I would think that most of the elderly folks living alone in Crickledale would be known to CVC. CVC can’t compel them to accept the offer of care even if it’s free, but I believe the carers are constantly aware of those old folks and always keep an eye on them without being formally called in. The people of this town are like that, Montague. Very caring. They look after one another most discreetly and will raise the alarm if and when necessary.’

  ‘That’s very comforting, but taking this a step further, can you answer this? Among the old folks living alone, how many, to your knowledge, have been victims of crime? I’m referring to minor crimes, probably of the sort your uniform patrols would deal with. In the CID, we would surely be aware of any old folks being victims of serious crime.’

  ‘I’d have to go through our crime complaint files to answer that with any degree of accuracy, Montague, but from memory I can say there are some who have been victims of minor crime.’

  ‘Can you give examples?’

  ‘There was one old lady whose daughter claimed that her mum had lost a valuable necklace. She kept it in a box on her dressing table and it disappeared.’

  ‘So what did you do about that?’

  ‘What could we do? She was elderly and senile, there was no evidence of a break-in at her home and she’d not had any intruders during the daytime or night-time. She had never been out of the house so how could we prove theft? She could have simply lost it, Montague.’

  ‘Are you saying you recorded it as lost property? Not stolen?’