The Suitcase Murderer by James Andrew

Author:James Andrew [Andrew, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS bestselling crime fiction publisher
Published: 2020-04-18T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

‘Moffat’s threatening to call off the search for the body in Birtleby.’

When Blades had walked into the office, tossed his hat onto the coat-stand, and sloughed off his overcoat before discarding it in the same place, Peacock had studied him with alarm. Blades’ mood was written all over him and it was not good.

‘Don’t let him, sir,’ Peacock replied.

‘We can’t. We haven’t covered half the area,’ Blades said.

Peacock grunted. He also knew how much they needed to find that body.

‘Is he ending it?’ Peacock asked Blades.

‘At the moment, it’s a threat,’ Blades said. ‘Some helpful pressure.’ Blades walked over to his desk and slumped into his seat. His eyes swept over the papers sitting there, before he directed his gaze at Peacock, seated at his desk.

‘How about the search between Birtleby and Ramshead?’ Peacock asked.

‘That’s under threat as well,’ Blades said, ‘though he might give it longer as we’re covering a wider area.’

‘He thinks it more likely the Roots did it than Duggan?’

‘He didn’t say that, but he doesn’t think we’ve paid enough attention to them.’

‘We’ve no real evidence the Roots had anything to do with it.’

‘Nothing else has turned up to incriminate them but that might not mean anything. Something could have been going on between Thomas Root and Emma – which led to an argument, which led to Emma’s death.’

‘And a cover-up which we don’t think Amelia Root would agree to be complicit in?’ Peacock said.

‘It’s not likely,’ Blades replied. ‘Though how likely is anything? Nobody who was acting in a sensible way would kill anyone.’

‘Do we have corroboration for any naughty business between Thomas and Emma? Nobody’s come forward with information there was anything going on between them.’

‘Who’s been asked?’ Blades said, before answering his question himself. ‘The daily maid was interviewed.’ He lifted a file from the shelf behind his desk and sifted through it. ‘Here it is. Sergeant Ryan talked with her. Louisa Fleetwood, twenty-four, 18 Northcliffe Road.’

‘Why didn’t we see her ourselves?’

‘We were too busy. We were following up on Russell Parkes as we’d been told by Musgrave and Duggan.’

‘Helpful of them.’

‘There’s a full statement from Louisa, though, from what I remember, there’s little in it.’ Blades ran his eyes over it again. ‘She says, “Thomas Root’s a model employer who treats staff with respect and courtesy, pays on time, and doesn’t give employees excessive workloads.” Not a whiff of complaint about him in anything she said.’

‘Not one moan?’

‘No.’

‘Not about Amelia either?’

‘No.’

‘So, what did she say about Emma?’

Blades perused the page. ‘She did have a go at her. Thought she was a bit flighty and had ideas above her station. She was up to no good with that Alfred Duggan. Everyone knew all about that.’

‘When she said that everyone knew, did that include anyone who spoke to us?’

‘The Roots?’

‘But nobody else. So, what was she on about?’

‘You might ask.’ Blades looked thoughtfully at Peacock. ‘Louisa is Thomas Root’s second cousin on his mother’s side.’

‘Is she?’

‘She might defend the good Thomas as he’s family.’

Blades could almost see thoughts racing through Peacock’s mind now.

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