NO AGE TO DIE: The release of a dangerous prisoner leads to murder (DCI John Blizzard Book 9) by John Dean (free ebook reader for android .TXT) 📗

‘Cut her off. Refused to talk to her. A woman like that who had given so much to the church being ignored by a bunch of young’uns. They wouldn’t even let her arrange the flowers. It weren’t right.’ There was anger in the old man’s voice. ‘That woman deserved better. She should be able to rest in peace and Tom needs to know what happened to her, an’ all. Good luck, gentlemen.’

The constables watched him head off down the street. They were silent for a few moments, digesting the old man’s words.

‘Come on,’ said Leighton. ‘Let’s keep looking.’

Rowan nodded.

‘And let’s find her,’ he said.

* * *

‘So,’ said Arthur Ronald, ‘it’s all down to a crooked vicar, is it then?’

‘It’s looking that way,’ said Blizzard. ‘Give it long enough and he’ll end up on one of your beloved Channel 5 programmes. Who knows, Arthur, you could end up being interviewed by Stacey Dooley.’

It was mid-afternoon and the two men were sitting with David Colley in the superintendent’s office, sipping at their customary mugs of tea. Following yet another call from the chief constable, Ronald had requested an update.

‘And you agree, do you?’ asked the superintendent. He looked at Colley. ‘Is it all down to the vicar?’

‘I reckon so. He’s a one-man crimewave is Henry Sanders. I’m even coming round to the governor’s theory that he might have killed the kid.’

‘But what have you got to back it up?’ said Ronald. ‘We’ve already arrested one innocent man, we need to be sure about Sanders before we take him into custody.’

‘Well, for a start, he’s got form,’ said Colley. ‘I talked to someone at his previous church in Welwyn Garden City and, after I pressed her, she admitted that they had their suspicions about him after money went missing there as well. That’s why he left.’

‘So how come St John’s took him?’ asked Ronald.

‘They didn’t know anything about it. The people at Welwyn Garden City gave him a glowing reference.’

‘Yeah,’ said Blizzard. ‘Lo, did Moses come down from the mountain and decree that thou shalt conceal thine vicar’s dodgy employment record? They were desperate to be rid of him, Arthur. Don’t tell me you haven’t done the same thing in your time. I certainly have. And, like Rose-Harvey said, churches are desperate to avoid a scandal.’

‘OK, I might be persuaded to buy that,’ said Ronald. ‘But why kill the boy? It sounds like too much of a stretch to me.’

‘Maybe not,’ said Blizzard. ‘We’re working on the theory that the kid knew about his cash fiddles. If Phil Calvert is right and Sanders and Marian Holdsworth have been having an affair, it’s perfectly plausible to believe that the kid could have heard something and blackmailed the vicar. Or maybe he threatened to tell Stevie boy. The vicar would know he was dead meat if that happened.’

‘Or just as bad,’ said Colley. ‘Maybe the kid threatened to tell us about the theft of the money. How long do you think a defrocked vicar would last in jail?’

‘Whichever way you cut it, Henry Sanders was a man with a motive to kill,’ said Blizzard. ‘And it’s up to him to persuade us otherwise… assuming we can find him, of course.’

The superintendent considered the ramifications for a few moments. None of them were good.

‘God knows what Margaret Hatton will make of all this,’ said Ronald. ‘Because it sounds like you are suggesting that Albert Macklin has nothing to do with the boy’s death. Even though he was seen down by the canal? I mean, are we really saying that he is innocent?’

‘It’s beginning to look that way, Arthur. And I never thought that I would hear myself saying that of the old scrote.’ Blizzard did not have time to say anything else because his mobile phone rang. He listened for a few moments then ended the call. ‘Marian Holdsworth wishes to see us. Turns out she’s been keeping things from us as well. Who would have thought it?’

Chapter twenty-one

‘I have not been entirely honest with you, Chief Inspector,’ said Marian Holdsworth. She looked at the detectives as they sat once more in her living room, surrounded by her Christian icons. ‘In fact, I am afraid I have been guilty of concealing things from you.’

‘Now, where have I heard those words before?’ said Blizzard. ‘It seems that there is a special Eleventh Commandment for everyone linked to St John’s – thou shalt lie through thine back teeth. I take it that the dark secret you want to confess is your dalliance with the vicar?’

She gazed at him in amazement.

‘How did you know about that?’ she asked.

‘It’s my job to know, Marian.’ Blizzard pointed upwards with his forefinger. ‘Me and the Big Fella, we’re omnipotent. Exactly how close are you and Henry Sanders?’

‘Before I answer that, I need to know if you plan to release Steve? I am terrified of how he will react if he finds out what has been happening between myself and Henry.’

‘We have no option. There is absolutely nothing to link him to the death of Jamie. I don’t know where he was when your son died but I’m sure he was not down by the canal.’

‘I can tell you where he was,’ said Marian. ‘He’s having an affair.’

‘We did wonder.’ The chief inspector leaned forward in his chair. ‘Go on, do tell.’

‘I had suspected something for a while; then six weeks ago, when Steve was due to have his last shore leave, he told me he had to work instead. That weekend, Jamie fell ill with scarlet fever and I rang the rig to tell Steve. The man who answered said that he had gone to see his girlfriend in Barnsley.’

‘Does he know that you know?’ asked Colley.

‘No.’ She gave a weak smile. ‘And as you