A Stranger Death (Ch 3)

Chapter 3

As expected it didn't take too long before the house and garden became full of police personnel, all with their role to fill as a part of the investigation. As Robert had expected, DCI Morgan had been appointed as the investigating officer. Once he had taken a look at the body and the scene, discussing it with the pathologist, he had a talk with Robert.

"There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious in this guy's death," he said, "but it is certainly a bit of a mystery as to what he was doing in your back garden. Do you have any ideas?"

"None at all sir," replied Robert. "None of us have ever seen him before and it's as much a mystery to us as it is to you. Anything I can do to help sir?"

"Not really Robert. As you know, as you are personally involved you can't play any part in the official investigation. However, I would be pleased to hear about anything that you hear concerning the events leading up to this morning's find. You know where to find me."

After speaking with Darren, DCI Morgan approached Sarah as the other witness to the morning's events.

"Sarah, can you tell me what happened here this morning?" asked the detective. "Your mother is still a bit shaken from her experience so I'll have a chat with her in a minute or two."

"Yes," replied Sarah "I heard this loud scream and immediately came downstairs to investigate. I met Robert on the stairs on my way down, and we agreed that it was probably our mother who had screamed. We looked for her in the house, but then I spotted her at the bottom of the garden. It was when we went down there that we spotted the body on the ground. After making sure that he was dead, Robert telephoned the police station to report it."

"Did you touch or move the body at all?"

Sarah looked horrified at this suggestion. "No, I never went near it. After Robert said that he was dead, I ran back indoors and up to my room. It was horrible. My mother nudged the man's arm a few times to see if there was any response, but I didn't touch him at all."

Sarah wondered whether she should tell him about seeing her mother doing something to the body while Robert was phoning. However, as she hadn't seen exactly what she had done, she decided against it.

"Was it just the three of you in the house this morning?"

"Yes. My father is a nurse at the Torbay Hospital where he was on night shift last night, so he hadn't returned from work. My other brother, Doyle, stopped at a friend's house last night. They have exams coming up at school and decided to revise together."

Once he had finished interviewing Sarah, DCI Morgan approached Mrs Maddison.

"I'm sorry to encroach Mrs Maddison, but do you feel up to answering a few questions?"

"Yes. I'm still a bit shaken, but I'll try to help you as much as I can."

"Thank you. I'd like you to describe for me, in your words, what happened here this morning. I believe that you were the first person to see the body?"

"Yes, that's right," said Sandra. "I was in the garden to water the flowers. I wanted to get it done before the sun got up to full strength. It was while I was doing my watering that I spotted a small pile of dirt in the vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden. Thinking a neighbour's dog had got into the garden and been digging, I went down to smooth the earth over again. That was when I spotted the man lying there in a shallow dip in the ground. I tried to check to see if he was injured or had been taken ill, but there was no movement or any other signs of life from him at all. It was at that time that Robert came down the garden and then called the police."

"I see. Did you touch or move the body at all?"

"Not really. I jogged his arm a few times to see if he would move, but I didn't turn him over or anything. Robert said to leave everything exactly as it was, so I did."

"Thank you, Mrs Maddison. Sarah tells me that it was only the three of you here this morning so I shan't need to question your husband or your other son. However, I may have a need to speak to you and Sarah again, so I'll be in touch should that need arise."

Eventually, the police had finished their work at the scene, and the body had been removed. Robert told her that it would be sent for an autopsy as that was standard procedure with any unexplained death. Life at the Maddison household returned to normal, or as near normal as could be expected after an event such as this.

However, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Chapter 4 will be posted tomorrow. Follow me to make sure that you don't miss an episode.