“Do you know what for?’ he asked. The desk officer shook his head. The sergeant headed for the inspector’s office, knocked on the door and entered. “You want to see me, sir?” he asked.
“Yes, Sergeant. How did you go on that Parfleet St Peter case?”
“Well, we interviewed the three witnesses and had a look around but couldn’t find anything except a recently smashed crab pot. There was a partial footprint in sand on a retaining wall and what may have been footprints on the dune. Looking over to the beach I couldn’t see anyone. I would say the man was attacked but there are no witnesses and I couldn’t find any evidence for that,” said the sergeant. “I need to contact the sick quarters at RAF West Sanby and find out if the victim has regained consciousness and whether I can interview him.”
“It seems that MI5 is interested in the case,” said the inspector. “Get your report written up as soon as possible. They are sending a man from London to speak to you. Also, contact RAF West Sanby and find out the latest situation.”
“Doesn’t sound good if MI5 is getting involved, sir. I’ll get the report done as soon as possible,” said the sergeant, and he left the inspector’s office. Going to his desk the sergeant called the young constable over and told him to telephone RAF West Sanby and ask about the victim. On telephoning, the young constable was told that the victim was a Corporal James Rogerson on leave from the RAF and was being transferred to RAF Hospital Nocton Hall. He was on his way there by ambulance. The constable told the sergeant and he responded with, “The plot thickens! Okay, son. Get us both a mug of tea and then let us get this report prepared. We still need the RAF doctor’s statement but we can get that later.”
Walmar was walking down the street from the school when the RAF Landrover went past him and turned down towards the harbour. He had heard the ambulance bell earlier but at the school they didn’t know the details of the emergency. He decided to go past his house and on down to the harbour to find out what was happening.
The Landrover pulled up outside the fish shop and Andy went in to see Yvonne. She wasn’t there but a local woman was behind the counter. Andy asked for Yvonne and was told that Yvonne was home. The co-operative partners had sent her home after her experience. Andy asked what had happened and the woman told him the story of how Yvonne had seen Jamie floating in the harbour and swam out to rescue him. Andy asked where Yvonne lived and the woman told him. He thanked her and went out. He reflected that if Yvonne had come out of the shop and walked towards the quayside and saw Jamie floating in the harbour and also the two men on that fishing boat then it must have happened down near the end of the sheds. Walking along the edge of the quay, Andy saw nothing. He turned and looked past the end of the sheds and saw a back lane to them. He decided to investigate. Near the third shed up, Andy noticed some fresh wood splinters on the ground and the broken crab pot. He looked around and saw the trolleys at the back of the co-operative but nothing looked out of place. Walking up to them, Andy noticed one had a tarpaulin lying on it. He lifted the tarpaulin and saw smudges of blood on the underside, as if it had covered something that was bleeding. Andy wondered about the crab pot. If Jamie was unconscious and had a smashed shoulder, could it mean that Jamie had picked up the crab pot and swung it to protect himself? That could explain his particular injuries. He explored the lane for further clues and then looked over the other side of the lane where a low wall kept the sand from drifting in. Nearly opposite the third shed Andy noticed the footprint that the police sergeant had seen. The footprint faced the wall with the emphasis being on the sole as though someone was climbing onto the wall. Andy looked over the wall and noticed the depressions in the sand dune and partially flattened blades of dune grass that hadn’t yet returned to the perpendicular. It suggested that someone had gone over the wall in the last two or three hours, judging by the grass. Andy then climbed up to see where the impressions led. He moved parallel to them. They became less noticeable as the wind blew more sand into them but the broken grass showed the direction. The trail led through the dunes for a way before going towards the shoreline. They disappeared where the sea had washed over them. Andy thought, assuming those are the footprints of the assailant, he then has had well over an hour head start and it wouldn’t be possible to catch him. He walked round to the front of the sheds and headed for the Landrover.
Andy saw Walmar walking down to his shed and noted that it was the third shed up. It was the back of this shed where the broken crab pot was. As he drew near, Walmar asked, “What are you doing around our sheds?”
Andy replied, “Jamie was a mate of mine and I suspect foul play so I came to find out what I could.”
“So what did you find?” asked Walmar.
“Well,” replied Andy, “at the back of your shed is a crab pot which has been hit pretty hard. It fits with Jamie’s injuries. Then someone went
