Land Rites by Andy Maslen

Author:Andy Maslen [Maslen, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ford received a summons from Sandy. She used her Python tone of voice, so he went in vowing to tread carefully.

‘Tell me about the case,’ she said. Then added, ‘Or is it cases?’

‘Case,’ he said. ‘The murders are connected, I’m sure of it. There’s a good chance Tommy actually witnessed Owen being killed. And both men were shot by rifles in calibres we can place in the possession of Lord Baverstock, who, by the way, is aka Philip Martival, and something of a crack shot himself.’

‘You’re not telling me you suspect him of two murders? On his own land? Henry, have you truly lost it? Do you want to push Martin “Cheers Now” Peterson’s on button?’

‘I just heard from a witness who claims Lord Baverstock told him to fill in a badger sett on Mark Ball’s land. Which looks decidedly odd, don’t you think? But to keep you sweet, let’s just call him a person of interest.’

‘Good. Because unless you can bring me compelling evidence of his involvement, I would prefer you to keep your distance. What other leads are you working?’

‘Let’s assume, for the moment, it’s not Lord Baverstock we want. I still believe the motive is tied up with the land where the murders happened. I spoke to a young woman who was with Tommy just after he witnessed Owen’s murder.’ He consulted his notebook. ‘Tommy told her another “person” appeared while he was scoping out land for hare-coursing. They started arguing, there was some kind of struggle, a gun went off and Owen dropped dead.’

‘Leaving aside the technicality that what you’ve got is hearsay, what did she mean by “person”?’

‘Tommy was cagey. But whoever it was, they were armed, on Alverchalke land and clearly proprietorial. I’m looking at the gamekeeper, Joe Hibberd. He’s ex-army and had an axe to grind with Tommy.’

Sandy made notes in a small red leather-covered notebook with a gold propelling pencil. She looked up at him. She’d lost the fearsome glare in those pale blue eyes. He felt a small measure of relief.

‘Good. Well, focus your energy on Hibberd for now,’ she said. ‘Unless or until you have something concrete on Lord Baverstock, I want you to leave him alone. That’s an order.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

Sandy’s eyes flashed at Ford’s gentle teasing. He thought she could handle it.

‘Have you spoken to Owen’s wife?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Could she have done it?’

He shook his head. ‘CCTV from the Met puts her in London throughout the relevant time period for both murders.’

‘I had to ask. But I don’t see her as the type. She’s a ballet teacher, right?’

‘Yes. But even if she could handle a rifle, I can’t see her slinging her dead husband’s body in a river after stabbing it multiple times to prevent it floating. That feels like more of a man’s MO.’

‘What’s your gut feel?’

Ford counted off points on his fingers. ‘It’s one – or less likely, two shooters. But if it’s two, they’re connected. We know Tommy witnessed Owen getting shot and was planning to blackmail the shooter.

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