A Mystery On Tyneside (Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Book 4)

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Book summary

Agnes Lockwood, no stranger to crime scenes, stumbles upon the body of a man in the ladies' room, leaving her shocked. Teaming up with her partner DCI Alan and her friend Sandra, they launch an investigation into the murder. However, suspicion arises as they wonder if someone among them might be withholding vital information. As Agnes starts connecting the dots, danger looms on the horizon once more. With the clock ticking, can Agnes, Alan, and Sandra uncover the truth and catch the killer before more lives are lost, all while ensuring their own safety?

Excerpt from A Mystery On Tyneside (Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Book 4)

Chapter One

Agnes was enjoying a carefree spending spree in the city centre. It had been quite a while since she last visited the Eldon Square shopping mall. With the weather being so warm during the summer months, she had never felt like wandering too far away from the quayside. The gentle breeze from the River Tyne, as it calmly flowed towards the open sea, had acted rather like a fan, keeping her cool while she had sat outside her favourite café near the Millennium Bridge. Even so, there had still been the odd day or two when the heat had been too much for her.

However, that morning there was a slight drizzle when they awoke and Agnes had decided it was the perfect excuse for her to catch up with some shopping. Not that she ever needed an excuse to go to the shopping mall. There was nothing she liked better than to wander around the shops. Besides, Alan, a Detective Chief Inspector with the Newcastle Police, wouldn’t miss her as he was on duty. But then wasn’t he always? It certainly appeared that way. She couldn’t begin to count the number of times they had planned to go somewhere, only to have something come up and spoil it.

On the other hand, Alan didn’t like wandering around the shops. If he had accompanied her, she would never have been able to spend so much time browsing through so many wonderful outfits. He hated lingering around women’s clothing departments and would huff and puff and ask why she was taking so long. But then, even her late husband, Jim hadn’t liked waiting outside the changing room while she was trying on outfits.

In a way, Alan was a bit like Jim, when it came to buying new clothes for himself. He would walk into his favourite shop, flick through the rail of suits until something caught his eye. If he found it suitable, he would pay for the item and leave – job done. Yet, at the same time, Agnes had to admit that the method appeared to work, as Alan always looked so well turned out. It had been one of the first things she had noticed about him.

Agnes glanced at her watch. It was time to make her way to the restaurant, where she and Alan had arranged to meet up for lunch. She had booked a table before setting out that morning; afraid it might be busy when they arrived. Therefore, the only other problem was whether something had suddenly cropped up at the police station during the morning to prevent Alan from joining her.

It didn’t take Agnes long to reach the restaurant. Thankfully the rain had eased by the time she left the mall, meaning she was able to make her way across Northumberland Street and along the road to the restaurant, without needing to unfold her umbrella. It was handy to have it tucked away in her bag, but there was always the problem of what to do with it once she arrived at her destination and it was dripping wet.

Leo, the manager, was standing by the door. He helped her off with her coat, before showing her across to the table. However, finding that Alan hadn’t yet arrived, Agnes decided pop into the ladies’ room to re-freshen her make-up. Once inside, she hurried across to one of the mirrors above the line of washbasins opposite the door; the last thing she wanted to do was to keep Alan waiting. While she had the whole day to herself, he was limited to his short lunch break.

Agnes swiftly pulled her lipstick from her bag and leaned over the washbasin to get closer to the mirror. However, she had only applied the lipstick to half of her upper lip when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the reflection of a foot poking out from one of the cubicles. Shocked, the lipstick fell from her fingers and rattled around in the basin as she swung around. Now leaning back against the washbasin for support, she saw that the door to the cubicle was open.

“Are you okay?” Agnes called out, her heart beginning to thud with alarm.

When there was no reply, she slowly made her way across to the cubicle, again asking if the woman needed help. But, yet again, there was no reply. By now, Agnes had reached a point where she could see the woman’s foot more closely; she was wearing trainers. Perhaps she had been out jogging and had found it all too much. These things happened all the time. However, as Agnes drew closer, she was stunned to find it wasn’t a woman after all, it was a man who was lying on his side. She was about to asked him what he was doing in the ladies’ room, thinking that perhaps he was mending something, when, to her utter horror, she saw a bullet hole in his forehead. Blood, still oozing from the wound, was trickling down his brow before dripping to the floor.

Clasping her hands over her mouth, Agnes took a few steps away from the body.

“Oh no,” she murmured. “Surely this can’t be happening to me all over again?”

****

It had been a relatively quiet morning at the station for Detective Inspector Alan Johnson and his sergeant. A disturbance in Northumberland Street had been reported. However, when a couple of uniformed officers arrived on the scene they found it had all blown over.

“It’s possible that those involved in the brawl got wind that a street vendor had called the police, so they scarpered,” the desk sergeant told Alan. “Everything appeared to be back to normal when the officers got there.”

Alan had been relieved to hear the news. If the fracas in the city centre had turned out to be something more serious, he and his sergeant could have been summoned to the scene, meaning lunch with Agnes would have been cancelled.

Agnes was already somewhere in the city buying new clothes for the autumn months. She had suggested waiting until he had a day off so he could accompany her. However, he had been more than happy for her to go on her own. A few weeks ago, he had gone with her to choose a new three-piece suite for the apartment they now shared. But shopping for furniture was a different matter altogether. He had quite enjoyed helping to choose the style and colour of the sofa and chairs for their new home.

When Agnes had first brought up the subject of buying the penthouse apartment, he had been a little hesitant. But that was mainly because he knew the price would be well beyond anything he could afford. The sale of his house in Heaton would never fetch that sort of money and he didn’t really want to take out a mortgage; not at his age. However, when he finally voiced his thoughts to Agnes while on their way to view the property, she had assured him that buying the apartment would be a joint venture.

“I’m not expecting you to buy it on your own, Alan. If we agree to buy the apartment, we’ll share the cost. The sale of my house in Essex and the sale of your house should cover the price,” she had told him.

“Yet, there’s the possibility that it won’t match the price,” Alan had persisted. “Though house prices have fallen over the last year or so, prices for apartments are still rising.”

However, Agnes had simply shrugged it off, saying how could the vendors refuse an offer when it was cash in hand? “I could pay for the apartment until our properties are sold,” she reassured him.

Alan looked at his watch. It was almost time to leave the police station to meet up with Agnes.

“I’ll be off in a few minutes, Andrews. But give me a call if you need me.”

His sergeant nodded. He was about to say something, but Alan’s mobile rang, beating him to it.

“It’s Agnes,” Alan said, looking at the screen. “I bet she thinks I’ve forgotten about our lunch arrangement.”

“No, Agnes, I haven’t forgotten. I was just about to leave…” he began.

“Alan, you must come now,” she interrupted.

“I’ve just said…”

“No! You don’t understand – I’ve found a body…”

“What? Where are you?”

Alan glanced at Andrews and raised his eyes to the ceiling as Agnes went on to reveal her location.

“Get uniformed officers to the restaurant, ASAP, Andrews!” Alan called out. “Agnes has found someone she says has been shot.”

“I called an ambulance before calling you,” Agnes continued. “Thankfully, no one has needed to use the ladies’ room, so far. Yet someone could walk in here at any moment,” she added, glancing at the door. “I haven’t even informed the manager. But perhaps I should have said something to him…”

“No! You did the right thing. Leave everything as it is. Keep everyone out. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

By the time Alan had finished speaking, his sergeant had already called for officers to attend the scene.

“Also, get Jones and Smithers to…” Alan began.

“I can’t,” Andrews replied. “They’re at some meeting with the superintendent – remember?”

By now, Alan had already grabbed his coat and was heading for the door. “Yes,” he replied, swinging around to face his sergeant. “Why did Blake need to take my best detectives with him? Jimmy and Martin are looking into something else, so who are we left with?”

“What about Morris?” Andrews suggested. “He’s here – somewhere. He could help us out.”

“Morris?” Alan almost spat out the detective constable’s name as he swung around to face his sergeant.

“Yes, Morris,” Andrews replied. “If you aren’t going to use him, why keep him on the team?” The sergeant was aware that Detective Constable Morris was not at the top of the DCI’s detective list, since he had let the team down a few months ago by admitting to passing on police information for money.

Alan was so angry back then that his first instinct had been to speak to the superintendent about having him removed from the force. However, he had held back and even now, a few months later, he was still reserving his judgement. Maybe Morris’s performance today would help him make up his mind.

“Okay, get hold of Morris and tell him to meet us outside,” Alan said. “But if he messes up this time…” He broke off and shook his head. “He’s out!”

Chapter Two

The DCI found a couple of police cars already parked outside the restaurant when he pulled up. Obviously they had been in the vicinity when the word went out. One officer was standing at the front of the building to stop anyone entering or leaving the restaurant until they had been cleared to do so. Alan guessed another would be somewhere around the back, in case someone tried to sneak out that way. The other two patrol car officers were probably inside.

The three detectives stepped out of the car and hurried into the restaurant. Alan found Agnes waiting near the ladies’ room. Though she looked rather strained, she smiled when she saw him hurrying across to her.

“It’s okay. I’m here now,” he said, as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’ll be alright,” she replied, pressing her arms into his back. “You’d better get on with your job.”

Alan would like to have asked an officer to drive her back to the apartment, but he was aware from past experience that she would refuse to leave the scene of the crime – especially as it was she who had found the body. He turned and looked around. The two officers had done a good job at keeping the customers away from the crime scene. One was standing guard outside the ladies’ room, while the other was questioning Leo Galdi, the manager.

Until today, Alan had never seen the manager look even remotely flustered. Always without a single hair out of place and wearing an immaculate smart suit, with the tip of a pristine white handkerchief peeping out from the top pocket of his jacket, he would miraculously appear at the entrance of the restaurant the moment a customer entered, to greet them with a warm welcome. Even when a patron, who had had too much to drink, behaved in the most irritating way simply to gain attention, he always remained calm while smoothing down the situation.

Today, however, Alan was seeing Leo in a whole new light. His hair was ruffled, probably from him constantly running his fingers through it. Also, his usually untouched handkerchief was clasped firmly in one hand as he repeatedly mopped his forehead. The poor man was obviously in a state of disbelief at what had happened in his restaurant. But then, who could blame him?

Alan walked across to the ladies’ room and the officer opened the door in readiness for him to enter. However, the officer raised his eyebrows when he saw Agnes following closely behind.

“It’s okay,” Alan assured the officer. “This is Mrs Lockwood. You’ll recall that it was she who found the body. I need to know exactly what she saw when she first entered the room.”

As he spoke, he pulled out some covers for their shoes.

Now inside the ladies’ room, Alan stared down at the body on the floor.

“This is exactly how you found the body?” Alan asked, taking a quick glance around the room.

Agnes nodded. “No one has entered the room since I called you. I stood outside the door until the officers arrived. I was here,” she added, moving to where she had been standing when she first spotted the body. “I saw the reflection in the mirror.”

By now, Alan had stepped inside the cubicle and was busy peering around for any clues.

Meanwhile, Agnes glanced in the mirror to relive the scene. Maybe there was something she had missed. Oops, yes there was; though it had nothing to do with the case. It appeared that in her haste to call Alan, she had only applied lipstick to one half of her top lip. Swiftly scooping up the lipstick from the basin, where it had landed earlier, she re-painted her lips.

Alan backed out of the cubicle and looked around the room. There didn’t appear to be any blood anywhere else, other than the small pool by the victim’s head. Everything else seemed to be in order. But then, how would he know? The ladies’ room was not usually his port-of-call.

“Agnes, when you came in earlier, did anything strike you as being different to how it usually looks?”

“I honestly didn’t take much notice, Alan. I only popped in here to check my make-up. Agnes glanced across to the cubicle as she spoke. “But, getting back to your question, everything in here looks to be the same as usual. What on earth could be different in the ladies’ loo?” It was then that her eyes rested on the window high on the outside wall. “Well, except for that window.”

“What about that window?” Alan asked, his eyes following her gaze to the rather small metal-framed, frosted glass window.

“It’s wide open,” Agnes replied. Her eyes were still focused on the window. “I have never seen that window fully open before. There was something on the inside to stop it from being opened too wide.” She looked at Alan. “You know what I mean – the sort of thing on the windows at the hotel to stop someone leaning out too far and falling to the ground. But here, it’s more likely it was to stop people from trying to get in here.”

Alan stared up at the window. Even though both he and Agnes had covered their shoes before entering the ladies’ room, he still didn’t really want to move any closer until the pathologist and his forensic team had scoured the whole area. Nevertheless, even from where he was standing, he could see a metal chain dangling from a hook on the wall. But, was that because someone had broken into or out of here?

Alan didn’t get a chance to voice his thoughts, as Dr Nichols suddenly walked through the door. He was wearing his coveralls; ready to get to work on the body.

“Your sergeant said I’d find you in here.” He smiled at Agnes, before turning back to the DCI. “If you’re done for the moment, we’ll make a start.” He nodded towards the door, as his forensic team entered the room.

“Yes, I’ve finished for the time being, Keith,” Alan replied. He began to escort Agnes towards the door, but then suddenly stopped and turned back to face the pathologist. “Can you make sure someone checks out that window? It seems to have been tampered with. I’ll be somewhere in the restaurant when you have any information.”

Back in the corridor, Alan spoke to one of the police officers as he removed the covers from his shoes. “Check the window in the gents. Let me know whether the chain that holds it in position has been broken. You’ll find me in the restaurant. I need to speak to the manager.”

“Alan, why didn’t you tell me that my lipstick wasn’t on properly?” Agnes whispered.

“Wasn’t it? I didn’t notice.” Alan looked surprised.

“And you call yourself a detective!”

Chapter Three

Once the manager had finally pulled himself together, Alan was able to enquire whether he had noticed anyone leaving their table during the half-hour before Mrs Lockwood arrived.

“You must understand, Chief Inspector, I do not spy on our diners.”

“Of course you don’t, Leo,” Alan replied. “But I also believe that nothing gets past you.”

The manager coughed. “Well, now that you come to mention it, I did see two gentlemen head out towards the men’s room.”

“Are both men still here?” Alan asked.

“I can see one of them,” Leo said, after a swift glance around the room. “He’s sitting over there – the man in the grey suit.” The manager gestured towards a group of twelve people sitting around a table. “They are here for a celebratory lunch. I only hope all this hasn’t spoiled their day – they might…”

“And the other man…?” Alan interrupted, before Leo began a lengthy explanation about how the diners might demand a refund.

“Oh yes, sorry, the other man,” Leo said, glancing around the room. “No. I am afraid he isn’t here. He must have left before the commotion began.”

“What can you tell us about him?” Agnes asked.

The manager stared at her and threw out his arms. “Like what? I don’t know our diners personally.”

“For instance, had he booked a table in advance? In which case, you would have his name. Or had he just walked in on the off-chance you would have a table free? Was he alone, or was someone accompanying him?”

While Agnes was reeling off her questions, Alan moved towards Andrews. Pointing to the man Leo had mention, he told his sergeant to have a few words with him.

“Ask him if he recalls seeing anyone else in the men’s room. It seems he went out there at about the same time as our victim.” Alan then glanced across at the detective constable, who was talking to a couple sitting at a table near the door. “Also, try to keep an eye on Morris. I’m still not sure about him.”

Andrews nodded, before moving away.

Alan re-joined Agnes in time to hear the manager’s reply.

“Oh, I see what you mean, madam,” Leo said, clasping his hands together. “No, no, no, the gentleman had not booked a table. He just happened to rush through the door and, before I had a chance to welcome him properly, as is my custom you understand, he asked whether we had a table free.”

“So, I take it you had a table free,” Alan said.

“No! I did not.” He screwed up his eyes. “Well, not really…”

“Well then, how did he end up in here?” Alan sounded frustrated.

“If you will let me finish, Chief Inspector,” said Leo, wringing his hands together. “The gentleman said that he had heard such good reports about our restaurant that he wanted to try it for himself – with a full a la carte menu. Therefore, Chief Inspector, how could I possibly say no? Head Office insists that we, the managers, should be instrumental in bringing new customers into the restaurants.”

“But, if you didn’t have a table free, how could you possibly say yes?” Alan shook his head. “Don’t bother to answer. My guess is that you always keep a table free – just in case.”

“Yes. But, you must understand, all restaurants do this.”

“Okay. So this man had the full a la carte menu, then what? He disappeared into the gents? Maybe he just didn’t want to pay.”

“No, no, no! Let me tell you what happened.” Leo sounded agitated again. “Yes, the gentleman ordered the full meal. But immediately after he placed the order, I saw him walking towards the men’s room. That is not unusual, it often happens. I thought he would return in in a few minutes. However, as it turns out, I have not seen him since.” Leo raised his hand and brushed a tiny speck of hair from his jacket as he spoke. “Once the first course was served and he hadn’t arrived back at the table, I cancelled the rest of his meal. I merely thought he had sneaked out when I wasn’t looking.”

“You didn’t think to go out to the men’s room and check whether he was still in there?”

“No! Why would I?” Leo replied. He blew a sigh. “Chief Inspector, as manager of this restaurant, I am expected to do a great number of things to make sure that everything runs smoothly. However, I am relieved to say that having to check who is, or who is not, in the gentlemen’s facilities is not one of them.”

Alan glanced towards the ladies’ room, where Dr Nichols and his team were still working. Was it possible that the body lying on the floor in there was the same man who had entered the restaurant without having booked a table?

“Did you notice what this man looked like, or even what he was wearing?” Alan asked. “You know what I mean, anything that would help us identify the man.”

Leo shrugged. “Well, as you know, I do not scrutinize our guests. But yes, maybe I can help a little. Let me see,” he said, as he rested his elbow in one hand and tapped his head. “The man was clean shaven. He had brown hair, neatly cut and parted on the right. He was wearing a navy blue suit, a white shirt and a dark blue tie. His shoes were…” Leo shuddered, “he was wearing those trainer things. Not what you would see in a high-class restaurant. Also, he was wearing a watch on his right wrist.”

“That’s great, thank you, Leo. I think you should attend to your customers. They seem to be becoming a little edgy.” But then, as Leo moved away, another thought popped into Alan’s mind. “Before you go, Leo – did anyone else arrive at the restaurant shortly after the man in question?”

Leo placed his hand on his chin while he thought for a moment. “Yes.”

Alan perked up and looked at the people seated at the tables. “Is that person still here and, if so, can you point them out to me?”

Leo chuckled. “It was a woman and, yes, she is still here. She is standing right beside you.”

“Okay, thanks, Leo, you can go now.”

Alan looked at Agnes, as the manager hurried off to speak to his customers. She was wearing a large grin and shaking her head.