Free To Honour the Dead by John Dean

urgent now.‘You have got to get whoever did this quickly, Jack. You know what people round here are like.’
    ‘I am afraid I do, Henry. What have you been hearing?’
    ‘I’ve already had several old dears from the village coming up to me saying they are frightened to sleep in their own homes tonight.’ Maitlin glanced across to where the young television reporter was watching as her cameraman filmed people heading into the street. ‘And when she interviewed me, that Landy girl asked me if I thought Chapel Hill was a safe place to live. I did not know what to say, Jack.’
    ‘Tell them they’ll be safe enough. This place will have officers on patrol all night. I’ll see to that.’
    ‘I’m not sure that will be enough. Folks are really scared.’
    ‘I’m sure it’s a one-off.’
    ‘I hope you’re right.’ Maitlin hesitated. ‘Don’t be too hard on Rob Mackey, Jack. I know you don’t like the man but he’s been very generous to the Legion. Even paid for the refurbishment of the pavilion. I don’t know what we would have done without him.’
    ‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ said Harris bleakly as Maitlin headed off towards the cottages. The inspector looked at Gallagher as the men started walking again. ‘Do we really have nothing?’
    ‘Pretty much. Forensics reckon the place is clean. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. This feels like pros, it really does, and that means they have got to have come from outside.’
    ‘I guess you’re right,’ said Harris as they paused at the war memorial. He surveyed the graffiti then turned as Barnett approached. ‘Give me some good news, Roger.’
    ‘Might be able to do just that. That old bloke over there by the phone box, chap with the little dog? Well, he lives down the bottom of Tenter Street and reckons he was woken up by the sound of a car door sometime after midnight. Looked outof the bedroom window and saw a vehicle on the far side of the green. He says it disappeared towards Levton Bridge.’
    ‘He get a good description?’
    ‘His knowledge of cars stopped when the Morris Marina went out of production. However, he did notice that one of its brake lights was out.’
    ‘The one we saw yesterday,’ said Gallagher. ‘Didn’t Butterfield say that traffic had given it a ticket?’
    ‘She did indeed,’ said Harris as he headed off across the grass towards the car park. ‘Get on it, will you?’
    ‘Sure. Where will you be?’
    ‘Got to talk to an old friend.’
    Roger Barnett looked quizzically at Gallagher. ‘An old friend?’
    ‘Leckie,’ said the detective sergeant, ‘it’ll be Leckie.’
    ‘Chief Inspector!’ called a woman as Harris reached his Land Rover.
    The inspector turned to see the television reporter and her crew approaching.
    ‘Ah, Miss Landy,’ he said thinly, ‘taking a break from scaring the shit out of innocent old people, are we?’
    ‘I don’t think that’s a fair comment, Chief Inspector. After all, a man has been murdered here – can’t exactly exaggerate that, can I? Oh, don’t look like that, Jack, you know it’s true. Everyone seems to believe that the dead man is Harold Leach. Can you confirm that?’
    ‘We have not made a formal identification yet,’ said Harris, giving her a hard look, ‘but if it is him, that will be Harold Leach VC to you and me. Around here, young lady, we honour our dead. I suggest you do the same.’
    ‘Not sure they honoured Harold.’
    Harris said nothing, turned and walked over to his vehicle. Standing not far away, on the edge of the green, Lenny Portland was watching the confrontation when his mobile phone rang. He fished it out of his parka pocket.
    ‘Yeah?’ he said.
    ‘It’s me,’ said a man’s voice. ‘You better not be responsible for what happened last night.’
    ‘It weren’t nothing to do with me. I wouldn’t do a thing like that.’
    ‘Well, someone did the old bastard over.’
    ‘I tell yer, it weren’t me that killed him. Got to go.