‘Found anything?’
‘Not a damned thing!’ The Thornkirk sergeant sounded disgruntled. ‘You know, I’d have been quite happy to have found some proof that the old woman had been murdered so I
could hand the whole thing over to Regional Headquarters. There’s something definitely fishy about this case.’
‘That’s what I thought.’ Black looked pleased.
‘It’s this story of Mrs . . . Wakeford’s that puzzles me. I can hardly believe that any woman in her right mind would do what she says the dead woman did. But maybe the old
biddy wasn’t in her right mind?’
‘She never gave any indication that she wasn’t, but I’m beginning to wonder about it myself.’
‘Or maybe it’s Mrs Wakeford that’s got delusions?’ Watt sat down on the bench when Derek Paul handed him a mug of tea.
‘No, I think Mrs Wakeford’s telling the truth.’ John Black stepped back to let the constable deposit another mug on the counter in front of him. ‘What happens
now?’
‘There’s really nothing we can do until we have the result of the post-mortem, but I left word for them to ring straight through to here. They’re taking a heck of a long time,
though.’ Watt took a sip of tea, and willed the telephone to ring. ‘Maybe he has found something.’
It was only two minutes later that the telephone made them all jump up expectantly. ‘Tollerton Police. Sergeant Black speaking.’ He held out the receiver.
Sergeant Watt stood up. ‘Watt here . . . No traces? . . . What’s that?’ He listened for a few minutes. ‘Oh, so it’s definitely murder? Thanks.’ He laid the
phone down. ‘Well, so that’s it!’
John Black waited, rather impatiently, for him to explain, but Watt sat down and took another gulp of tea first.
‘That was the pathologist. Apparently, the doctor at Thornkirk found no traces of arsenic in the body, but he did find the mark of a hypodermic needle on the back of the dead woman’s
neck. So he sent her off to Aberdeen, with the details of the discovery of the body, etcetera, etcetera.’
‘So it wasn’t the arsenic?’ Black made a face. ‘Was our doctor right, then? Was it heart-failure?’ Randall would be cock-a-hoop if it was.
‘No, it wasn’t heart failure either. The Aberdeen pathologist discovered that she was full of insulin, injected into her system through her neck.
‘I didn’t know that insulin could kill.’
‘He says it can, if it’s introduced into the system of a person not suffering from diabetes.’
‘Well, well!’ John Black was impressed. ‘There’s never been a murder in Tollerton before, as long as I’ve been here.’
‘There’s always a first time. But that’s it taken off our hands now. It goes to Grampian CID, and the procurator fiscal has already been notifed. He has to receive reports of
all murder investigations in his region.’
He straightened his tie and put on his hat. ‘I’ll go and call off my boys at Honeysuckle Cottages. It’s up to the Homicide boys from Aberdeen now, though I don’t expect
you’ll see them till tomorrow. I wish them luck, they’re going to need it. Mind you, I think Mrs Wakeford’s probably right. Not about her being poisoned with arsenic, but about
the nephews being the ones who disposed of the old woman. So long.’
Sergeant Black was left with only his young constable with whom to discuss this extraordinary new development. ‘Fancy her being killed with insulin. That’s a new one on
me.’
Derek Paul nodded sympathetically. ‘You’re always learning. Who could have done it, though? It must have been somebody with medical knowledge, and access to insulin and a needle, but
there’s only Doctor Randall in the village, and you surely don’t think he did it?’
‘Thank God we don’t have to figure it out, Derek. That’s what the CID are paid for. The trouble is, they’ll likely be real whizzkids, setting the whole place’s
teeth on edge with their efficiency.’
The constable had
‘Not a damned thing!’ The Thornkirk sergeant sounded disgruntled. ‘You know, I’d have been quite happy to have found some proof that the old woman had been murdered so I
could hand the whole thing over to Regional Headquarters. There’s something definitely fishy about this case.’
‘That’s what I thought.’ Black looked pleased.
‘It’s this story of Mrs . . . Wakeford’s that puzzles me. I can hardly believe that any woman in her right mind would do what she says the dead woman did. But maybe the old
biddy wasn’t in her right mind?’
‘She never gave any indication that she wasn’t, but I’m beginning to wonder about it myself.’
‘Or maybe it’s Mrs Wakeford that’s got delusions?’ Watt sat down on the bench when Derek Paul handed him a mug of tea.
‘No, I think Mrs Wakeford’s telling the truth.’ John Black stepped back to let the constable deposit another mug on the counter in front of him. ‘What happens
now?’
‘There’s really nothing we can do until we have the result of the post-mortem, but I left word for them to ring straight through to here. They’re taking a heck of a long time,
though.’ Watt took a sip of tea, and willed the telephone to ring. ‘Maybe he has found something.’
It was only two minutes later that the telephone made them all jump up expectantly. ‘Tollerton Police. Sergeant Black speaking.’ He held out the receiver.
Sergeant Watt stood up. ‘Watt here . . . No traces? . . . What’s that?’ He listened for a few minutes. ‘Oh, so it’s definitely murder? Thanks.’ He laid the
phone down. ‘Well, so that’s it!’
John Black waited, rather impatiently, for him to explain, but Watt sat down and took another gulp of tea first.
‘That was the pathologist. Apparently, the doctor at Thornkirk found no traces of arsenic in the body, but he did find the mark of a hypodermic needle on the back of the dead woman’s
neck. So he sent her off to Aberdeen, with the details of the discovery of the body, etcetera, etcetera.’
‘So it wasn’t the arsenic?’ Black made a face. ‘Was our doctor right, then? Was it heart-failure?’ Randall would be cock-a-hoop if it was.
‘No, it wasn’t heart failure either. The Aberdeen pathologist discovered that she was full of insulin, injected into her system through her neck.
‘I didn’t know that insulin could kill.’
‘He says it can, if it’s introduced into the system of a person not suffering from diabetes.’
‘Well, well!’ John Black was impressed. ‘There’s never been a murder in Tollerton before, as long as I’ve been here.’
‘There’s always a first time. But that’s it taken off our hands now. It goes to Grampian CID, and the procurator fiscal has already been notifed. He has to receive reports of
all murder investigations in his region.’
He straightened his tie and put on his hat. ‘I’ll go and call off my boys at Honeysuckle Cottages. It’s up to the Homicide boys from Aberdeen now, though I don’t expect
you’ll see them till tomorrow. I wish them luck, they’re going to need it. Mind you, I think Mrs Wakeford’s probably right. Not about her being poisoned with arsenic, but about
the nephews being the ones who disposed of the old woman. So long.’
Sergeant Black was left with only his young constable with whom to discuss this extraordinary new development. ‘Fancy her being killed with insulin. That’s a new one on
me.’
Derek Paul nodded sympathetically. ‘You’re always learning. Who could have done it, though? It must have been somebody with medical knowledge, and access to insulin and a needle, but
there’s only Doctor Randall in the village, and you surely don’t think he did it?’
‘Thank God we don’t have to figure it out, Derek. That’s what the CID are paid for. The trouble is, they’ll likely be real whizzkids, setting the whole place’s
teeth on edge with their efficiency.’
The constable had
Similar Books
