“There’s that pub on the Brayford Road, Sir. The Bell.”
“Check that out, Sergeant. And I’ll get a couple of extra PC’s to help you make more local enquiries. Once we find out who the victim is, then we can begin to unravel the rest of it. Maybe it’s nothing more than an accident, but we at least need an ID. Well get on to it, Sergeant. We don’t want the trail to get colder than it is already.”
Sergeant Jones left. As he drove back to South Molton he did not relish his task. He was not optimistic about two unknown PCs going around asking the villagers about an 8 month old incident; but it was what the Inspector wanted.
***
Two days later the Inspector had what he jokingly referred to as ‘a result’.
The police enquiries and a bit of pressure about his allowing drinking after hours had jogged the mind of the publican at The Bell. He told the police that back in September he had seen a youth arguing with a smartly dressed man outside at one of the tables. He said that he remembered that it was a warm evening and that the man had driven up in a BMW. He also remembered that the young man had been in the pub a few times before and that he had seen him talking to a local girl; Ann Bishop.
The police had checked the DVLA records for BMW owners within a radius of 50 miles of South Molton, but so far they had not found a match. The breakthrough came when they spoke with Ann Bishop. She thought that the dead man could be her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Kaminsky. He had a quad bike and she had shown Sergeant Jones a photo of her and Daniel on the bike. It matched the one found in the woods.
When asked why she had not reported him missing, she said that they had broken up in the previous September and she had not heard from his since. She told them that he lived alone in a cottage on the hillside above Brayford, and that she knew that he had inherited some money from an uncle and planned to go to France and tour around. She agreed to identify the body and her father went with her to the morgue.
When Inspector Fletcher went to meet her there he had recognized her father, Fred Bishop. He remembered that Bishop had been arrested a few years back for attacking a couple of ramblers who had walked across his farmland. As he recalled, Bishop had been given a suspended sentence for criminal assault.
***
As they relaxed after supper, Cynthia told them about their plans to sell the houseboat that she and Lance had on the Thames.
“It’s time for the weather forecast,” Katie said as she reached over to turn on the television. She wanted to take everyone to show them the wild Exmoor ponies the next day and the North Devon weather was unpredictable. The moor was notorious for low clouds and mist, even in summer, and the ground soon became a quagmire following heavy rains. They watched the last of the news broadcast which preceded the weather forecast.
Today the police have released the name of the person found dead at Sherracombe Ford earlier this month. Daniel Kaminsky, aged 25 who lived near Brayford was killed last September when his quad bike was involved in an accident. Mr Kaminsky lived alone and there are no next of kin. A friend, Ann Bishop, has identified the body. The police are also seeking information as to the owner of a black BMW who was seen talking to Mr. Kaminsky the day he is believed to have died.”
“My god, poor Marian!” gasped Katie.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Katie,” said Ralph.
“Who’s Marian? What’re you talking about?” Lance wanted to know.
Katie explained that Marian was the friend they had stopped off to see in Exeter on the way down. She told them that Marian had mentioned that she had been at an archaeological dig over at Sherracombe Ford last summer. She was careful not to mention that Marian knew the dead man or that Ralph had Daniel Kaminsky’s address in his pocket.
“You think that this friend of yours may have been the one whose BMW the police are looking for?” Asked Lance.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Lance,” said Ralph.
“I’m going to give Marian a call, Ralph,” said Katie.
Cynthia was busy with her IPad and answering some emails. She had not really been paying attention to the conversation or listening to the TV.
Later, when Katie and Ralph were in the kitchen washing up the supper plates, she told him about her call to Marian. She explained that Marian had told her that the police had asked James to go down to Heavitree Police station in Exeter and that he had contacted his lawyer as he was sure that they were going to arrest him in connection with the incident and not reporting it.
“She told me that James had found out that she’d spent the night with Daniel Kaminsky and had driven over to The Bell, at Brayford, and faced it out with Kaminsky. Marian said that James had offered him 3,000 pounds for the photos, but that Daniel wanted 10. She said that they’d argued and then Daniel had driven off on his quad bike.”
Just then the phone rang. Katie picked it up. She turned to Ralph. She was ashen-faced when she eventually put it down.
“That was Marian. James’ lawyer phoned and told her that James’s been charged in connection with Kaminsky’s death. They’re saying that he gave Daniel a drug that caused him to crash his quad bike. The lawyer wants Marian to go to the police and tell them the whole story. What’ll we do now?”
“Well, there’s no need for me to go looking for Daniel Kaminsky,” said Ralph. “We have to find some way to help
