Free Unnatural Wastage by Betty Rowlands Page A

‘Wilkins!’ he exclaimed. ‘He must have taken it. He does odd jobs for the residents now and again . . . he was in here a few days ago adjusting one of the windows. He hated Fenella because he believed she tried to get him sacked . . . he must have seen the knife and taken it. He knew her habits . . . he must have been lying in wait for her and . . .’ His voice rose in triumph. ‘He’s your killer, Sergeant!’

SEVEN
    â€˜M r John Yardley?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜DC Pringle.’ Tim held up his ID.
    â€˜Ah yes, you want to talk about Fenella Tremaine.’ Yardley held the door open and stood aside for Tim to enter. ‘Do come in.’
    â€˜Thank you, sir.’
    â€˜Please sit down.’ Yardley indicated one of a pair of armchairs placed on either side of the window and sat down on the other. ‘This is a terrible business,’ he said gravely. ‘Poor Fenella . . . murdered and dumped in a skip like a bag of rubbish. Terrible!’ he repeated with a sad shake of his head.
    â€˜I see from the statement you made to one of our uniformed officers –’ Tim referred to his notebook – ‘that as chairman of the residents’ association you were present at a recent meeting when she had a rather acrimonious disagreement with Doctor Ellerman. Would you care to enlarge on that, sir?’
    Yardley gave a slightly rueful smile. ‘Oh dear, that was rather unfortunate, and in a way I felt partly responsible. You see,’ he went on, in response to Tim’s surprised expression, ‘before I retired I was on the board of directors of Maxworth Foods.’
    â€˜Who are also the employers of both Doctor Ellerman and Ms Tremaine?’ Yardley gave a nod of agreement. ‘Yes, I understand you held a senior position there, but that doesn’t explain—’
    â€˜I was the head of the Accounts and Administration department,’ he explained, ‘and shortly before I retired there was a sudden, unexpected vacancy when a senior member of the staff died very suddenly of a heart attack. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time from the company’s point of view; the auditors were working on the annual accounts and the deadline for filing them was fast approaching. Fenella Tremaine had been employed in the department, on the accounts side, for two or three years and was very competent. The chap who died had always spoken very highly of her and in the circumstances, having sought the then chairman’s approval, I took the decision to offer her the job. Only one person objected, and that was Doctor Ellerman.’
    â€˜What were the grounds for his objection?’
    â€˜It was obvious it was personal as they’d had a few disagreements in the past. To be frank, Constable Pringle, Ellerman can be somewhat overbearing at times and I have a feeling he was a bit of a misogynist in matters of business into the bargain. I wouldn’t have described Fenella as a feminist, but she had proved herself capable of standing up to him and I decided to take the risk.’
    â€˜And it was shortly after her appointment was confirmed that you retired?’
    â€˜That’s right, at the next Annual General Meeting.’
    â€˜Were you aware that under the proposed reorganization of the company, she and Ellerman were potential rivals for an important position in the department?’
    â€˜Oh yes, I’m a shareholder as well as drawing a pension, so I naturally continue to take an interest in the company’s fortunes. I recently met the new chairman, Anton Maxworth. A very capable man; the company will do well under his leadership. I must say,’ he added after a moment’s reflection, ‘it never entered my head that either of them would resort to murder to get the job.’
    â€˜So you think Ellerman killed Ms Tremaine?’
    â€˜I didn’t say that.’ Yardley’s