Devious Murder (20 page)

‘You liar! You're not pinning Blunt's murder on me.…'

And before anyone could restrain him, Leo hurled himself at Cairncross with such force that they both fell struggling to the floor.

As the confusion of arms and legs heaved across the room, Treadwell and Monk watched the contest like spectators at a wrestling match on television. Treadwell's arms moved spasmodically as though he himself was in the match. Wilbur Havenith watched it all with calm disgust.

‘Littlejohn and Cromwell tore the combatants apart.

‘Finish your tale, Chief Superintendent,' said Havenith, senior.

‘Just a question to Cairncross, please … What happened between Blunt and Kaltbad that night?'

‘Why ask me? I'm not admitting that I was there.'

‘We know that you were there. We've also found Kaltbad's body. Did you shoot him?'

Cairncross had been busy mopping the blood from his mouth and rubbing the facial injuries inflicted on him by Leo. Now he forgot his wounds.

‘I didn't do it. Neither did Leo. It was Blunt who shot him.'

‘Tell us about it … Where were you when it happened?'

There was a pause punctuated by Treadwell's asthmatic breathing and Monk's digestive struggles.

‘They were both in a small room at the back and were
talking when we first saw them through the window. There was one light on. The back door was loose and we crept in to hear what was going on. They seemed to be angry with one another about Kaltbad's price. Then Blunt produced the diamonds from his side pocket. It was as much as I could do not to rush in and take them both on and get the necklace back. But Kaltbad pulled out a revolver and flourished it. He was real nasty about it. He said something to Blunt I couldn't catch and Blunt said out loud “That's blackmail”, and up flew his leg and he kicked the gun from Kaltbad's hand. I never saw anything so quick. They both rushed for the gun and there was a struggle and a shot and there was Kaltbad stretched out dead on the floor.'

‘And then?'

‘Blunt pocketed the necklace and the gun and then he dragged the body to the hall and opened a door which we could see led to the cellar. We saw it all. We were behind the kitchen door and thought that at any minute Blunt would see us. But he was too busy. He went out in the garden and we followed him carefully. He'd got the gun, you see, and we didn't want… Well, he went to a shed in the back garden and came out with a spade, went back to the house and we could hear him dragging the body down the cellar steps. He buried it under the coal.…'

‘How did you know it was under the coal?'

‘I just guessed it. We didn't go down.…'

‘No. You saved that for another visit. The one which Inspector Hassock interrupted and you struck him unconscious. You went back to spy out the land and see if Blunt had hidden the diamonds along with the body. You shouldn't have tied the Inspector up with a medical knot. You might just as well have signed your name across Kaltbad's face. You almost killed Hassock and then left him to rot in the cellar.'

Cairncross was ready to protest, but caught Wilbur Havenith's eye and dried up.

Littlejohn turned to Leo.

‘Have you anything to say about all this. What were you doing while Blunt buried the body?'

‘We both waited. I didn't intend to kill him. Just make a deal. I didn't know he had the diamonds until he produced the necklace and Cairncross told me what they were. I wanted to give up and go home. I was wet through and getting my death of cold. We waited to see what happened. Cairncross said he'd take an opportunity of jumping Blunt and get the diamonds back. In the end he came up from the cellar and he still had the spade and, believe it or not, he went to replace it in the shed.…'

Cairncross turned on Leo in a fury again.

‘Don't tell him anything more. He's trying to trap us. He wants to pin a murder on us. We won't say anything more without our solicitor.…'

Leo paused. ‘Yes. That's right. We want a lawyer before we say anything more.'

Wilbur Havenith slowly moved across to Leo and seized him by the collar and shook him.

‘You'll finish it or I'll kill you. You little rat. Get on with your story.…'

Leo sagged and made sobbing noises.

‘I didn't kill Blunt. Cairncross jumped him as he crossed to the shed. They struggled in the dark and pouring rain and Blunt hit Cairncross, who kept shouting to me to come and help. Blunt went in the shed and we could hear him putting back the spade as though his life depended on it. Then he came out and hit Cairncross again and ran. Cairncross ran after him and when I caught up with them Blunt was stretched out at the front gate and Cairncross was searching in his pockets. He'd hit Blunt with a truncheon.

‘The diamonds weren't there. Cairncross said he'd only given Blunt a tap on the head. He'd soon come round and we'd better go back and hunt for the diamonds. I said I couldn't and wouldn't. We were arguing when a drunk staggered in the gateway and we couldn't get rid of him. Cairncross was getting ready to hit him as well, when a police patrol car passed. We both made off through the back garden and we walked to an all-night garage in Hampstead village where we got a car home.'

Cairncross looked trapped and completely exhausted.

‘You know, Leo,' he said. ‘That's all a pack of lies to save your own skin. You know you killed Blunt because you thought he would tell your father what a little swine you were and how you'd behaved with your own stepmother.'

‘But I'd no motive after you told me he was just a thief after the diamonds. Why should I kill him?'

‘Take them both away, Littlejohn. Book them both for murder. I never want to see either of them again.'

Wilbur Havenith said it slowly and with bitter hate.

Littlejohn gave Cromwell a significant look.

‘By the way, sir,' Cromwell said to old Havenith,' I have something for you.…'

He took out the necklace and handed it over.

‘We found it in a bag of fertiliser where Blunt hid it.'

Cairncross stared at the diamonds and then at Wilbur Havenith. He looked frightened to death.

The pale autumn sunlight struck the diamonds which shone and sparkled like something alive. They seemed to dominate the room.

‘I never want to see those again, either,' Wilbur Havenith said and he walked briskly from the room.

Cairncross and Leo were both eventually charged with manslaughter and lied and bickered their ways through the trial.
They were each sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.

Julie, disowned and divorced by Wilbur Havenith, married a film producer.

Gorge Bellairs is a pen name of Harold Blundell (1902–1985), a crime writer born in Lancashire. Blundell was a prolific writer who published over 50 crime and mystery novels in his life, most of them featuring the detective Inspector Littlejohn.

Blundell also wrote regularly for the Manchester Guardian.

Discover books by George Bellairs published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/GeorgeBellairs

Death Before Breakfast
Death on the Last Train
Devious Murder
Murder Adrift

For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain references to missing images.

This electronic edition published in 2014 by Bloomsbury Reader

Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP

First published in Great Britain in 1973 by John Gifford Limited

Copyright © 1973 George Bellairs

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The moral right of the author is asserted.

eISBN: 9781448214488

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