Bunburry--Death of a Ladies' Man by Helena Marchmont

Author:Helena Marchmont [Helena Marchmont]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Published: 2019-02-07T11:12:05+00:00

6. The Police Station

Sergeant Wilson sauntered into the office and plonked himself down on the chair across the desk from Emma. “Right, Hollis, what you got?”

Emma produced her notes. “Time of death is estimated at one a.m. Mario fell backwards down the steps of the Indian pavilion, hit his head on the marble, and that’s what killed him. No sign of any defensive injuries or any other injuries. So, there’s every likelihood that it was just a fall.”

“Drunk, was he?”

“He’d had a few drinks, but not enough to cause serious impairment. The paths in the park are well lit, but the pavilion’s behind all those bushes. He could just have missed his footing in the dark.”

She hesitated.

Sergeant Wilson sighed heavily. “Okay, Hollis, spit it out. You’re going to tell me it’s not just a tragic accident. Have you noticed, whenever we have trouble, it’s because of foreigners?”

“Mario Bellini came from London, Sarge.”

“Exactly! Foreigners!” The sergeant laughed heartily at his own joke. “Anyway, get on with it.”

“Just a couple of things, but I don’t think they’re relevant.”

Sergeant Wilson rested his forearms on the desk and loomed in front of her. “I don’t remember you getting promoted to sergeant, Hollis. I’ll be the judge of what’s relevant.”

“He had Alfie McAlister’s card in his pocket.”

The sergeant sat back triumphantly. “I might have known McAlister was mixed up in this. Okay, bring him in and we’ll get a statement from him.”

“That could be seen as a bit heavy-handed, Sarge. We don’t want to be accused of police harassment. I’ll have a chat with him as soon as possible.”

“A chat? Sounds cosy. Fancy him, do you? ‘Tell me, Police Constable Hollis, what first attracted you to multi-millionaire Alfie McAlister?’” He laughed again.

Emma flushed. “Of course I don’t fancy him,” she muttered.

“You said there were a couple of things. What other piece of so-called irrelevant information are you concealing from me?”

“It seems during the evening, there was a bit of an altercation between Mario Bellini and William.”

“Care to explain that in plain English, Hollis?”

“William was upset. He thought Mister Bellini was being a bit too friendly towards Carlotta. He swung a punch at him.”

“Now we’re getting to it! Yeah, that makes sense. The Italian bloke was a gigolo. Stands to reason he was going to come to grief at the hands of a cheated husband.” He leaned across the desk and snatched up Emma’s notes. He scanned them quickly. “Well, well, well. Were you planning on telling me about this?”

“Of course, Sarge. I just hadn’t got around to it yet.”

“So, just beside the Indian pavilion, the butt of a cigarette. Capstan unfiltered. Not very popular these days with everyone so worried about their health. Difficult to come by, as well. In fact, I only know one person in Bunburry who smokes this particular cigarette – orders them in bulk, I believe. William, the friendly publican. I lay you odds it’ll be his DNA on that cigarette.”

“Sarge, you can’t believe that William’s a murderer,” Emma protested. “He gets a bit overwrought sometimes, but he’s not capable of killing anybody.

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