My blackboards, he said. Nowadays it would be disks, but Im a paper man.
He removed one of the files then dragged out a box which seemed too heavy to lift. He sat down and opened the file on his knee.
Samuel Joseph Flood. Appointed curate of St. Ylfs in August 1960. Found drowned in Mecklin Moss in March 1961. Inquest held in April Here we are.
He took out a folder which held some typewritten A4 sheets stapled together.
What is that stuff? demanded Sam, impressed.
Record of the inquest.
Jesus, when he said he had connections, he meant connections.
Howd you get a hold of that?
He said, I told you. I was Head of CID for fifteen years. All cases of sudden death came under my remit. Any linked to Illthwaite I took a personal interest in.
She was starting to think there was something just a bit scary about Noddy Melton. Not the scariness of insanity, maybe, though it might have something to do with its near cousin, obsession. But if it prompted him to help her, why knock it?
Now, what do we have? he asked, studying the report. Canceled Bible class that afternoon. It was a Sunday. At two oclock the vicar, Mr. Swinebank, took Sunday School with the younger kids in church while at three Flood held a Bible class for the eleven-pluses in the church room attached to the vicarage. That day the kids found a notice on the door saying the class was canceled no one much bothered till he failed to turn up for evensong the vicar might have got worried a bit sooner but he was distracted by a family emergency checked Mr. Floods room in the vicarage after the evening service no sign reported his concern to PC Greenwood circa 7.30 P.M Greenwood mounted a search but soon had to call it off because of darkness and foul weather
PC Greenwood? Your successor?
Next but one. The one that followed me didnt take, so they got him moved.
Whos they?
The power brokers Woollasses, the vicar, Joe Appledore at the Stranger
You mentioned him before. Whats his relationship to Mrs. Appledore?
Joe was her father.
Then whys she called Mrs.?
It seems she went off to catering college in Lancashire. Did her course, fell for one of her tutors, they got wed and set up in business down there. When her dad died she and her man Buckle was his name came and took over the Stranger. I gather Buckle didnt like it round here. He wanted to sell up and move back south. That cant have gone down well. Theres been Appledores running the Stranger for centuries and they dont like change in Illthwaite. But, to general relief, he died before anything was decided. Heart attack. They said. So Edie stayed put. Pretty soon folk were back to calling her Appledore, with the Mrs. tagged on in acknowledgment she was a widow.
It seems she went off to catering college in Lancashire. Did her course, fell for one of her tutors, they got wed and set up in business down there. When her dad died she and her man Buckle was his name came and took over the Stranger. I gather Buckle didnt like it round here. He wanted to sell up and move back south. That cant have gone down well. Theres been Appledores running the Stranger for centuries and they dont like change in Illthwaite. But, to general relief, he died before anything was decided. Heart attack. They said. So Edie stayed put. Pretty soon folk were back to calling her Appledore, with the Mrs. tagged on in acknowledgment she was a widow.
Weird, said Sam. What about her mother?
Died when Edie was fourteen. After that she ran the house and helped out in the pub.
With all that hands-on experience, why did she need to go to catering college?
Good question, said Melton approvingly. Story is she had a disappointment. Round here that can mean anything from cut out of a will to crossed in love. Anyway, same result, she almost got away, but the tendrils snaked out and pulled her back in.
Like you, thought Sam.
You were telling me about the local power brokers? she prompted him.
Oh yes. A lot of voices, but ultimately its the Woollasses who really make things happen. Local powers nothing unless youve a line to the big power sources outside. Committees, dinners, charities, old-boy networks, that sort of thing. Upshot was that in the end they got the kind of policeman they wanted. Sandy Greenwood. Stayed here for nigh on twenty years till they pulled the plug on village bobbies.
So hed know the patch pretty well?
Hed know which farm would dish up the best tatie-pot and how many free pints he could sup after hours at the Stranger and still be able to cycle home, said Melton scornfully. Likely if theyd told him not to worry about the curate going missing hed have done nothing. But people were worried. The missing man was very popular. It was established that thered been three sightings. One as he came out of the vicarage gate, the next along the main road through the village, the third and last on Stanebank, the track that leads up by the Forge and the Hall. If you keep going where the track bends round to Foulgate, you get to Mecklin Moss. First thing next morning the search was concentrated up there, and about nine oclock a cross belonging to Flood was found. They kept on looking and the body was recovered at quarter to eleven.
Poor bastard, said Sam. And hed definitely drowned himself?
Didnt seem any doubt. No note, but they found that Floods pockets were filled with stones. Ive got them here.
Out of the box he pulled a Hessian sack which he opened to let Sam see inside. It was filled with smooth rounded stones, black and white and gold and ruddy brown.
Jesus! she thought. What else had he got in there? Skulls and body parts?
About four kilos, Id say, said Melton. Enough to counter the natural buoyancy of his clothes. No point hanging about when youve made up your mind. No marks of violence on the body, evidence of an agitated state of mind Hard to make it accidental death, so the coroner reluctantly brought in a suicide verdict.
Why was he reluctant? said Sam, dragging her gaze away from the sack.
Serious business in those days, suicide. You could go to jail for it.
An old police joke, she guessed. Maybe it had once been funny.
He went on, In addition, Flood was a Man of the Cloth. Farmers can top themselves in droves and its regarded as a risk of the job, but vicars are expected to show a better example. Also everyone who gave evidence went out of their way to say what a splendid young man he was beloved by everyone a picture of perfection
Balder, said Sam, recalling Winanders story.
Sorry?
Nothing. Any explanation of this agitation?
None offered formally. Law says all relevant information has got to be supplied to the coroner. Whats relevant is up to the investigating officer. In this case it was an old boss of mine, DI Jackson. Good man, Jacko. Not much got past his beady gaze. Dead now. His missus told me after the funeral, take anything you want, Noddy. As a souvenir. I had a ratch around. Jacko was a bit of a trophy man. Liked something positive to remind him of his cases. His wife was going to junk it. Dont blame her. Some of the stuff
He shuddered. Pot calling the kettle black, thought Sam.
Thats where you got the stones? she said.
Thats right. The Illthwaite connection. But what I really wanted was this
He delved in the box again and produced a battered notebook which he opened.
You can learn a lot from a good cops notebook. Jacko might have had his little quirks, but he was good. Now, lets see. The vicar, Mr. Paul Swinebank, thats Rev. Petes dad, gave a glowing testimonial. His explanation was that maybe his curate felt the woes of others too intensely. In some ways his words he was too good for his own good.
Much good it did him, said Sam.
Eh? Oh yes. The inscription. The anticlerical Mr. Winander. Took a nonbeliever to get really indignant that they wouldnt give him a church burial.
What did the vicar say about the way Flood was acting the day he died?
He appeared quite normal during the morning services and at lunch. The vicar left shortly before two oclock to go to the church in preparation for the Sunday School. He was accompanied by his housekeeper, Mrs. Thomson. He was a widower, by the way. Mrs. Thomsons duties included acting as monitor at Sunday School. I gather some of the kids used to get restless during his analysis of the Churchs Thirty-Nine Articles.
He uttered his ironies deadpan in a neutral monotone.
Any suggestion he was screwing her? asked Sam.
The old man looked at her blankly for a moment, then grinned.
Jacko did write Query jig-a-jig alongside their names, which I wasnt going to mention out of delicacy but I see I neednt have bothered. Who knows what goes on under a cassock? But I doubt it. Rev. Paul was old school. St. Ylfs didnt need central heating. His description of hell could get you sweating on the coldest winter day.
You knew him?
Oh yes. He was in charge when I arrived. Not a comfortable man. To him pastoral care meant getting your Sunday roast carved before the gravy went cold. His sons a different kettle of fish, like hes trying to compensate. Real helpful to everybody.
Not to Aussie visitors asking awkward questions, thought Sam.
To continue, said Melton. On their return shortly after three, he and Mrs. Thomson were surprised to find a note canceling the Bible class pinned to the vicarage door. About fifteen minutes earlier, the curate had been seen coming through the vicarage gate by two boys on their way to Bible class. Silas and Ephraim Gowder.
The Gowder twins? exclaimed Sam. Jeez, no wonder they dont bother with names. Which is which?
How would I tell you? said Melton. Youve obviously met them.
I saw one of them digging a grave when I visited the church yesterday. And Ive got a feeling the other was up on the church tower.
Before your accident? Which I heard was caused by the wind blowing the trap shut. But you suspect a human agency?
Im probably wrong. Why should a Gowder want to harm me?
The thought processes of the Gowders are mazy and hazy, said Melton. They strike me as a throwback to some race which preceded man. They are not brutes, they are not malevolent, but they act and react instinctively, which means that sometimes their actions can appear both brutish and malevolent. I shouldnt care to provoke them.