Free A Capital Crime by Laura Wilson

Constable Williams in Wales, sir. Statements of a Mr and Mrs Howells.’
    ‘Thanks.’

    ‘Right.’ Stratton put down the receiver. ‘Grove and Porter will bring Davies back by the early train. They’ll say nothing to him about finding the bodies – as far as he knows, it’s still just the briefcase we want him for. The train gets into Paddington at ten past ten, so we’ll need to organise a car to meet it. I’ll go along. We’ll need the formal identification first thing, and once we’ve interviewed Davies, which we’ll do straight away, we need to get the Backhouses in to make separate statements. Then there’s the workmen. Backhouse said they were at the house three weeks ago, which means they must have been around when Muriel and the baby were killed. We need to find out who they are and have a word with them, sharpish. Presumably the bodies weren’t in the wash-house before they arrived, or they’d have spotted them – they seemed to have used the place for storing paint and whatnot. And we need to find out when they gave Backhouse those floorboards for firewood, assuming that’s where they came from.’
    ‘I was wondering why he hadn’t used them, sir. After all, it’s been pretty nippy recently.’
    ‘Perhaps he was using up his coal,’ said Stratton. ‘The thing that’s still puzzling me is the dog. I know that we couldn’t smell anything, but you’d think it would have been scrabbling against the door and making no end of a fuss.’
    ‘Perhaps they didn’t let it into the garden, sir.’
    ‘I didn’t see any evidence of it – well, except for those bones, but they might have put them out there afterwards. Looked like they used the garden as a rubbish dump, didn’t it?’
    ‘It was in a bit of a state, sir.’
    ‘Let’s see what Davies’s aunt and uncle have to say for themselves.’ Stratton scanned the statements. ‘Mrs Howells said that Davies arrived unexpectedly on the fourteenth of November at six thirty in the morning. They hadn’t seen him for three or four years, apparently. Said his employer’s car had broken down in Cardiff and could he stay with them while it was being repaired … Left his suitcase at the station in Cardiff – Mr Howells said he saw acloakroom ticket and that Davies told them Muriel and Judy were staying in Brighton until after Christmas … Left on the twenty-first and came back on the twenty-third with a suitcase. Told them Muriel was at their flat when he went back but she walked out without a word and left him holding the baby …’
    ‘Sounds like our boy all right, sir.’
    ‘It certainly does. He told Mr and Mrs H. he’d given Judy to some people who’d look after her and paid them fifteen pounds to do it. When they asked why he hadn’t taken her to his mother he said it was because she was out working … hadn’t thought to bring the baby to Wales with him, apparently … Seemed quite contented throughout his visit, went to the pub with his uncle, enjoyed himself … This is a bit odd …’
    ‘What’s that, sir?’
    ‘Says Davies bought a present for Judy – a teddy bear.’
    ‘To throw them off the scent, sir?’
    ‘Doesn’t sound like he’s bright enough for that. I’d say it’s more likely he was trying to pretend to himself he hadn’t done it – that would fit with the statements he made, wouldn’t it? Anyway … Mrs H. had written to Mrs Davies about him and got a letter back two days ago – which tallies with what she told us – telling her that Davies had sold his furniture and people were dunning her for cash. When Mrs H. confronted him about it, he said his mother was lying and the furniture was still in the flat. Very upset, apparently, couldn’t finish his breakfast, and then he went to the police station. Well, it’s all of a piece, isn’t it?’
    ‘Yes, sir. Beats me how he thought he could get away with it.’
    ‘He probably didn’t think at all … Just made it up as he went along. Right. We’ll