1911021494 by Michael Hambling

Author:Michael Hambling [Hambling, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books Mystery, Crime Thriller, Suspense
Published: 2016-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

‘Well! What a handsome young man!’

Maria Ogamba gave a throaty laugh. ‘You’re safe to come in, Constable. I don’t bite. Leastways, not much.’

She led Melsom through to a small sitting room, and went to make them a pot of tea.

‘You know, it’s about time that some of you lot followed up that wicked crime. But it’s not exactly recent, is it? What’s taken you so long? Was the paperwork a bit difficult?’ She laughed.

Jimmy smiled rather nervously and took out his notebook.

‘Mr Eastways said you’d probably remember what happened better than anyone. Could you just tell me, and what your thoughts were?’

‘Of course, Jimmy. You did say your name was Jimmy, didn’t you? My memory isn’t what it was, you know . . .’

She looked at him from under lowered lashes. ‘Only joking!’ Her grey curls shook as she laughed.

‘Where shall I start? Well, it was Harry Mowbray that brought the little kitten in. He worked in one of the timber yards, so he walked across the heath to work some days and so did Ray Potts. Harry lived in the same row of cottages as me, four doors along, I think.’

Not again, thought Melsom. Why hadn’t he thought to ask how they knew the heath and what they did for a living? He was becoming a little depressed about his deficiencies as a detective.

‘You can tell I’ve been thinking about it, can’t you?’ She laughed. ‘I wouldn’t normally remember something in this much detail, you know.’

‘You’re doing very well, Mrs Ogamba.’

‘Ms, Officer. I never got married. My man was a real rascal. He fathered my children and then buggered off. Fancy leaving a beautiful woman like me, eh? Can you believe it?’ She roared with laughter.

Melsom smiled weakly.

‘It was me that made the entries in the records, you know. Neat writing, eh? Did you read them? But that was only the medical details. The poor kitten had been strangled, then a week later the puppy came in. It was terrible. What kind of person could do that to a poor young animal? But you know all this already, don’t you?’

Jimmy nodded.

‘I think the animals were from the farm, you know, and had been taken onto the heath deliberately. One of the men who found them said that they’d seen an old sack thrown away by the rock. There were lots of kittens on that farm. The cats lived in the barn and kept the rats and mice away. They had dogs as well, and the one that came in was about the right size for a litter of collies that had been born a good few months before.’

‘But who would have done it? Killed them, I mean?’

‘And in that horrid way. It was just awful to see that puppy’s injuries. I remember hoping that it hadn’t suffered much.’ Maria’s face had lost its cheer. ‘There was a camp on the farm at the time. Some kind of youth group. They were using the field closest to the heath. I reckoned at the time that it was one of the lads from there.

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