Episode 24 - Final Countdown

A few minutes later Cleo was sitting in Dorothy's kitchen table. The smell of fresh baking was tantalising.

"Would you like some currant bread?" Dorothy said, and without waiting for an answer, put the bread, a knife, butter and plates on the table.

"Don't try and cut it thin," she advised. "It's only just come out of the oven."

Cleo cut two large corners off the loaf.

"Frederick Parsnip always likes doorsteps,” said Dorothy. “Laura used to say my baking gave her indigestion, but that was because most of the time she stuffed herself with synthetic stuff with sugar given as the main ingredient and washed it down with cheap wine. She did know what a healthy diet was."

"Take it as her way of paying you a compliment for this wonderful bread."

"Laura never paid anyone compliments, Cleo, but it will be strange not having her around to be cross about. She could be very annoying sometimes."

"I think it was because she was constantly on the defensive, Dorothy. So would I be if I was hiding a past like hers. But mine has been extremely tame and boring in comparison."

"I'm sure it was preferable to prostitution, Cleo."

"I'm quite sure it was."

"We'll give her a good send-off. That's the least we can do. It's such a pity that the chorus dissolved. I wonder if we can get Gareth Morgan to bring them along to the funeral."

"You should ask the vicar about that, Dorothy."

"Yes, I should. He's very cut up about her death."

"To be honest, I didn't really come here to talk about Laura's murder."

"But aren't they still looking for the culprit?"

"That's just it, Dorothy."

"Spit it out, Cleo."

"Bontemps committed suicide during the night."

"Oh dear!"

"He left a letter confessing to Laura's murder. He even explained how he did it. Here’s a copy. I’m sure you should read it.”

"How terrible it is!" said Dorothy after reading the letter twice. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a suicide note before.”

"It’s all so sad, don’t you thin Dorothy? He loved Laura, but she did not return his affections. I think she had agreed to see Bontemps in that courtyard behind my office to tell him once and for all to stop pestering her.

“Do you know if he had arranged to see her?”

“He does not say so in his farewell epistle.”

"And loving Laura can’t have been a reason for killing her," said Dorothy. “I saw how deferential he was to her. She gave him the change from her shopping. He probably interpreted that as a sign of affection and returned it manifold by giving her extra cheese, the rosiest apples, and so on.”

“That’s why I’m sure he didn’t kill her, Dorothy, and troubled that Gary thinks that the case is now solved.”

Cleo told her about the stolen goods, his confession to smuggling cocaine in date boxes and trading with the Nortons brothers. He did not have a clean slate and that was another reason for his suicide.

 “The problem all along has been the unlikelihood of someone like Bontemps being capable of such action,” said Cleo. “Somehow he was the runt of the litter. He had an awful mother and a deluded life. Do you know that he was planning to go on the stage and be a star?”

“I heard something like that after the impro show last Christmas, but he can’t have been serious.”

“Of course, desperation and despair has also driven some murderers to commit their crime,” said Cleo. “It seems to be a common bond between Laura’s and Jason’s murders."

“Bontemps did stab Laura to stop her going to the police about the drugs, but Laura was stabbed three times Dorothy.”

“Bontemps had nothing to do with Jason, I’m sure.” said Dorothy.

“Exactly.”

“So we are supposed to believe Bontemps confession to Laura's killing because he's dead and it's in writing, but what if he was taking the blame for actions by the Norton brothers?” said Dorothy. “What if he also knew who killed Jason and took that knowledge with him into the grave?”

“For that we need to know if there was a link between Jason and the Nortons. No one has asked that question, Dorothy.”

“Let’s ask it now, or do you think the police will continue investigating?"

"In dribs and drabs, I should think. They might still try to get Jessica for Jason's killing. They can get the Norton brothers put away on other charges, and Jessica could have killed Jason," said Cleo. “But they might be satisfied with their coup over the Nortons and Bontemps’s confession and put anything else on the back burner.”

“What a mess, and Gary is in the middle of it all,” said Dorothy.

“It’s his department, Dorothy, and he tries to run it like a one man show. Maybe all this mess will teach him a lesson. He needs at least one reliable assistant, not a woman like Shirley Temple who is more anxious to get him into bed and herself a step up the career ladder than in solving crime. Roger Stone is his boss and seems to have withdrawn into some hazy administrative role leaving Gary virtually on his own. It isn’t good enough.”

“You are quite bitter, Cleo. I do believe you have a soft spot for Gary.”

“I do, Dorothy, but I can see his weaknesses and I’m afraid for him.”

Cleo was troubled by the inconclusiveness of the cases and not happy with her own achievements. She went through everything connected with Jason’s killing slowly and carefully. Dorothy fetched a memo pad and wrote down the main points, asking questions where necessary.

"I've got a hunch, Cleo.”

“Spit it out, Dorothy.”

“I'll phone Bontemps' mother and ask her if he was left-handed. I won't say what's happened, just that he's a friend and I want to buy him a new potato peeler. I think Bontemps was left-handed because he sliced ham with his left hand and a right-hander would not do that. But I'm not certain."

"Explain in detail please."

"I saw a movie once where the murderer turned out to be left-handed."

"Go on!"

"If Mr Bontemps was left-handed and some of the stab wounds were done right-handed, that would prove his innocence of murder. Even in death, he should be cleared if possible, don't you agree?”

“One problem is that Chris could not say which stab-wound had been inflicted first,” said Cleo. “He did say that any of the stab wounds could have been fatal, but that was not based on scientific evidence, but on seeing the approximate position of the gashes. Maybe he knows more now.“

“Of course, it doesn’t solve Jason’s killing, Cleo, but an accurate interpretation of those wounds may solve Laura’s.”

Was Dorothy onto something? Those thirties black and white movies had been researched, after all, or were based on actual cases.

Cleo phoned Gary, who was in a foul mood.

"What is it now, Cleo? I’ve got money-washers to chase, and the Nortons are behind bars but probably not guilty this time."

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not sure of anything anymore.”

"About the Laura Finch case, Gary. Dorothy has had a hunch. I am to ask you if all the stab-wounds all on the same direction."

"What the hell?"

"Just find out. Explanations later and for heaven’s sake get out of that bad mood you are in."

"Sorry. Dorothy has been on the right track before. I'll phone Chris and ask."

It didn't take long to get the information. Because it had been assumed that there was only one killer, the comment in the detailed report that both a left-handed killer and a right-handed one could have been involved had not received any attention by Gary. Now he read Chris’s whole report slowly, including the gruesome parts he had skipped over. He then rang Cleo back.

"So which of the stab wounds was fatal?" Cleo wanted to know.

"I’ve looked in the full report, Cleo. One of the two right-handed ones dealt the deadly stab-wound, but does that matter now? We have Bontemps' confession."

"Gary, Bontemps thought he had killed Laura, but he hadn't. He was probably left-handed."

"Good God! If he didn’t, who did?"

"Try Betjeman Crighton. You've nothing to lose."

They were probably going to have a long wait for Gary's next phone call. Cleo thought it would be better if she was at HQ to support Gary. Dorothy made fresh coffee. It was a good time to catch up on events she might have missed.

"What sort of a person is Jessica Finch, Cleo? What makes her tick?"

"She's definitely promiscuous, Dorothy. Mrs Silver, a young woman who lives diagonally opposite Laura's bungalow, said Jessica was hired by Betjeman for sex the night she was supposed to be staying with us at the cottage. She saw them go into Laura’s bungalow and put light on in the bedroom, where they apparently stayed for some time."

"Was she spying on them?"

"She was afraid that Betjeman would accost her two daughters, so she kept an eye on Betjeman. Mrs Silver saw Betjeman talking briefly with Jessica and handing her something.”

“But wasn’t it the middle of the night?”

“There’s a street lamp in front of Laura’s Bungalow, Dorothy.”

“Mrs Silver said that Jessica then opened the front door with a key and disappeared into the front bedroom immediately with Betjeman close on her heels."

"What else do we know about Betjeman Crighton?"

"Apart from him being insane and lecherous, nothing much. I think he is guilty of Jason's murder. He was nearby. Being mad, he would not need a motive we could fathom.  He saw his chance and took it. I’ve no idea if he had something against Jason."

"Do you know what I think, Cleo?"

"No, but I'd like to."

Dorothy got up and fetched the percolator.

"My sister Vera sent me this. Isn't it splendid?"

Cleo was getting nervous. 

 "I don't know why you are so jittery, Cleo. Relax for a few minutes."

"I've had a few pretty drastic days, Dorothy."

"It’s Gary, isn’t it?"

Cleo nodded. A few minutes later, after relishing the hot coffee, Dorothy told Cleo what conclusions she had reached on the basis of what she knew.

"I think what probably happened is that Jessica put Betjeman up to Jason’s murder."

Cleo was aghast. That was quite a new slant on the affair.

"Do you think they planned it together?"

"It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Betjeman had no idea he was being manipulated by Jessica. The whole neighbourhood knows that he is odd."

Cleo realised that Jessica could be holding the missing piece in the Jason jigsaw. She dialled Gary's mobile number.

"Gary, I'm still talking to Dorothy."

"Reminiscing, I hope. We've solved the murders, Cleo. Bontemps is dead and Crighton makes out that he does not know what I am talking about. He’s as mad as a hatter, Cleo. Can you please take a cab and come here now? I really need you.”"

"I’ll come as fast as I can, but I want you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“I want you to pull Jessica in. I'd like to talk to her again."

"Is that necessary, Cleo?"

 "Yes."

"I'll do it, but she's your responsibility."

"I'll take the rap."

"Anything else?"

"Check if Jessica and Betjeman are both right-handed, Gary."

"Why?”

"Just do it, please."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Cleo."

"Trust me. And get Jessica now!"

Gary could not afford any more errors of judgment after suicide by someone in his custody. He would comply with Cleo’s requests. There was always an outside chance that Cleo was onto something. He phoned Bontemps' mother. It was something he preferred to leave to others, but this was urgent.

 "Mrs Goodweather, I'm so sorry about your son," he started.

"It doesn't surprise me," she replied, as cool as a cucumber.

So she already knew. Who the hell had told her?

"He'd been up to some funny business, hadn't he? He never liked to face the music."

"Was your son left-handed, Mrs Goodweather?"

"Yes. I told someone that over the phone just a while ago."

"Did you now?" So that's how Cleo had found out. Nothing to do with cutting cheese, as she had intimated. That was also probably how Mrs Goodweather knew about her son’s death. Gary thought he was losing his grip.

"Tell me, Mrs Goodweather, did your informant have an American accent?"

"Oh no. Quite prim and proper she was. Why all the fuss? She didn't tell me about my son."

Gary thought Miss Price would have left that to the police. Very shrewd, those amateurs.

"So who did tell you, Mrs Goodweather?"

"Someone calling himself a friend."

"Did that someone offer you money?"

"Don't be impertinent."

Gary dropped the matter. The Norton brothers had friends. It could have been one of them.

"So what is it all about?" Mrs Goodweather asked. "I knew he'd come to a bad end. You get children, and then you have to give them up to their fate. That's life."

"We'd like to clear him of the most serious crime."

"What difference does that make now?"

"It's for our records, Mrs Goodweather.”

Gary noticed that beads of sweat had formed on his brow during that phone-call. Cleo would have described Mrs Goodweather as a tough cookie. Gary thought she was a nasty, heartless old woman.

So Bontemps was left-handed. Gary had watched the Norton brothers sign their preliminary statements, but he sort of remembered that they were both right-handed.

Cleo decided that she would get to HQ faster if Robert took her there, so she called him from Dorothy’s and he was actually waiting for her to get home. It was late on Saturday afternoon and Robert had planned a cosy dinner and even bought wine and collected films on DVD from the newsagent’s. Mr Davies kept a small library there and charged unreasonably, but Robert did not care. A trip to HQ was not what he had in mind, but he knew that Cleo would go there even if she had to walk there, and she did sound desperate.