Murder in the Grave: A Redmond and Haze Mystery Book 5 (Redmond and Haze Mysteries) by Irina Shapiro

Author:Irina Shapiro [Shapiro, Irina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Merlin Press LLC
Published: 2021-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Saturday, August 10

Saturday morning found Jason and Daniel heading to Upper Finchley. Jason expertly drove the chestnuts, while Daniel looked morosely over the passing countryside. Come Monday, he’d have to report to Chief Inspector Coleridge, and he had promised to update Bishop Garner on the progress of the investigation. As of this morning, he had nothing of value to share with either man. Sebastian Slade had been immoral and duplicitous, but if every man who fit that description were killed, the country would be strewn with corpses. Daniel did not see a clear motive for the murder, nor did he have any viable suspects.

This morning, the plan was to interview the two people who would know most about what went on in the village, namely the publican and the postmistress, but Daniel worried that they’d simply be frittering away precious time without much to show for it. Had either one known something pertaining to the case, surely they would have come forward already.

“People rarely realize what they know,” Jason said, correctly interpreting Daniel’s gloomy silence. “What might seem commonplace to them can in actuality be an important clue.”

“You are right, of course,” Daniel replied. “I suppose I’m putting undue pressure on myself, since failure to solve this case can affect my future with the police service.”

“Daniel, no detective solves every case. Surely you know that.”

“I do. I suppose it’s terribly vain to think I can be that one exception.”

“Vanity is not a character trait I associate with you, but doggedness is. Odds are the more people you speak to, the better chance you have of stumbling upon someone who either saw or heard something.”

“I suppose,” Daniel replied, smiling despite his determination to remain negative.

“Would you prefer to interview the publican or the postmistress?” Jason asked, grinning.

“I’ll take the publican. The ladies are way more impressed with you than they are with me.”

“Sorry, old chap, I just can’t seem to tone down my American charm,” Jason joked.

“That’d be funny if it weren’t true,” Daniel replied in jest. He suddenly felt lighter. Jason was right. Not every case got solved, and even the commissioner himself had suffered a few setbacks in his day, some of them quite well documented in old issues of the Illustrated Police News.

Once they arrived in the village, Jason left the curricle by The Black Boar and continued on foot toward the post office, while Daniel went inside to speak to the publican.

The publican, a Mr. Brockton, was in his forties. He was short and stocky, with a florid complexion and a luxuriant moustache that hung like a fur curtain above his mouth. He raised a hand in greeting, no doubt having recognized Daniel from when he’d seen him at the graveyard on Tuesday. A young woman, who resembled him too much not to be his daughter, hovered nearby, her gaze following Daniel as if she were afraid to miss something important.

“Good day to ye, Inspector. Would ye care for a jar of ale or a cup o’ cider? We make it ourselves, and it’s the finest in the county,” Mr.

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