Patti hitched up a shoulder. “Who knows? Poor bloke.”
“Do we know who called it in?” Katy glanced around at the bystanders hovering by their gates, a few alone and some choosing to be with other neighbours in a cluster.
“I haven’t got a Scooby. Maybe uniform will know. Almost there with the tent.”
“I’ll be right back.” Katy walked towards a uniformed officer who was speaking with a member of the public, a wee elderly lady whose face lacked any colour. “Can I have a brief word, Constable?”
“Yes, ma’am. Excuse me, Mrs Drake, I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time, it’s not like I’m going anywhere soon with your lot blocking the road.”
Katy smiled and took a few paces to the side. “Is she the one who called it in?”
“She is. Spiky sort. Softly-softly approach with her.”
“You’re doing a fabulous job. Apart from complaining about being restricted, has she given you anything of use?”
“She said she opened her curtains at about seven-thirty this morning and noticed the victim, an Otis something, she can’t remember his surname.”
“It doesn’t matter, we can sort that out later. Go on.”
“She noticed him come out of his house, even waved to him. He waved back—friendly sort, apparently. Then she went into the kitchen to see to her pussy, her words not mine, and put the kettle on. She sat and ate her breakfast for the next ten to fifteen minutes, added a few items to her shopping list. We’re delaying her getting to the supermarket before ten, her usual time.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “The joy of getting older and getting stuck in a routine.” She sighed. “And?”
“And then she went upstairs to hop in the shower. She pulled the curtains in the bedroom at around eight-thirty, and that’s when she saw him lying in the road. She rushed out to see if he was all right—she used to work in a care home. Anyway, she felt for a pulse but couldn’t find one. She called the ambulance and the police.”
“Damn, so she did see the culprit or plural then?”
“No. However, I asked around, and a young man said he saw four guys get out of a black…” He looked down at his notebook.
“Range Rover?” Katy filled in for him.
“Yes, I believe that’s correct. The chap was in a rush, said he’s got a tyrant of a boss and had to leave for work. I’ve arranged to return at five-thirty to take down his statement.”
“Good. Did he give you an inkling into what they looked like, or perhaps tell you the car reg?”
“No. There was no stopping him. I tried to delay him; he was having none of it, though.”
“Bugger. Not very helpful then.”
“Sorry, I did my best.”
Katy patted his forearm. “I’m frustrated, not with you, just the situation. These guys will be long gone now. If only people would understand how difficult our job can be at times.”
“Agreed. Maybe he’ll come up with something significant later when I return.”
“We can live in hope. The old dear can’t tell us anything else?” she asked, sensing she was clutching at straws.
“Not really.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. At least we have a rough idea what happened. Can you make sure you ask all the neighbours for me and get down their statements if they saw anything to do with the crime?”
“I’ll do that. Spend all day here if I have to.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to remember you at Christmas.”
“I’ll hold you to that, ma’am.”
Katy left the constable and darted back across the road.
Patti and Charlie were discussing personal stuff, centred around Lorne.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re not,” Patti replied. “Anything of use from that mob?”
“Yes and no. The old dear was the one who called it in. She saw Otis”—Katy pointed at the horizontal corpse—“coming out of his house. Waved to him and went about her day out the back. After she’d had her shower, she pulled the curtains and saw him on the ground and rang the police.”
“Sod it! She didn’t see the culprits then.”
“No, but a young man did. He saw four men arrive in a black Range Rover, attack him and steal the vehicle.”
“Okay, if that’s the case, how come it was the old lady who made the nine-nine-nine call?” Charlie enquired.
“Pass. The constable told me he tried to prevent the man from leaving but he refused to hang around, gave the excuse that his boss is a tyrant.”
“Oh really? Does that sound legit to you, Katy?” Patti shook her head in despair.
After mulling it over, Katy announced, “No, but it’s all we’ve got to go on. I’m thinking I should chase the young man up at work, get the facts for myself and not delay.”
“I’d be inclined to do the same,” Patti replied.
“Did you get where he works?” Charlie asked.
“I didn’t. Go and ask the constable if he took down the information. If he didn’t, then we’re screwed.”
Charlie set off and returned a few moments later, shaking her head. “We’re officially screwed.”
“Ha…and I didn’t feel a thing,” Patti piped up.
Katy suppressed the smile threatening to erupt.
The technicians gave Patti the go-ahead to enter the tent. Katy and Charlie filed in after her.
Patti carefully uncovered the corpse and placed the sheet on the plastic square a few feet away. “What have we got here then?”
Katy glanced down and winced at the bruising on the man’s face. Her gaze drifted down his body. “I can’t see any open wounds, can you?”
“Nope. Let me check his head.”
She ran a hand underneath his head, and when she checked her glove it was smeared with blood. “It would appear he took a whack to the head. That could have been enough to kill him. Maybe it was accidental. What if his leg came loose and he lost his footing and dropped to the ground, banging the back of his head during the contact?”
“Sounds plausible to me. You’ll
