A Meditation On Murder. Robert Thorogood

actual suspects? The people who were inside the locked room with the victim. What did you make of them all, Camille?’

      Camille fanned out the witness statements so she could see them all. ‘So first we’ve got Saskia Filbee,’ she said. ‘I thought she was the classic innocent bystander. Shocked, but willing to help.’

      ‘I’d agree. That’s what I thought of her, too.’

      ‘And then we’ve got the husband and wife, Paul and Ann Sellars. And they’re an odd couple, aren’t they?’

      ‘Go on,’ Richard said.

      ‘Because she’s kind of crazy. I had an aunt like that. You know, larger than life. Talked too much. But it was because she never married and she had to keep noisy or she’d notice there wasn’t much going on in her life.’

      ‘You think Ann’s unhappy?’ Dwayne asked.

      ‘I don’t know. But she definitely talked too much. You know?’

      ‘Maybe she’s feeling guilty?’ Dwayne offered.

      ‘Maybe,’ Camille conceded, though she wasn’t too sure.

      ‘Then what about Paul?’ Richard asked.

      ‘He’s so sure of himself. And in control. Isn’t he?’ Camille said, and Richard couldn’t help but smile as this tallied with his impression of Paul as well. ‘And patronising. I got the distinct impression he didn’t take me seriously because I was a woman.’

      ‘Then what of Ben Jenkins?’

      ‘I don’t know,’ Camille said. ‘He was happy to give his statement, but there was something about him I couldn’t quite pin down.’

      ‘How do you mean?’

      ‘He was helpful enough, but I felt he was being careful. Like he’d had a brush with the law in the past.’

      ‘That’s exactly it!’ Richard said, delighted. He’d been unable to place Ben’s manner himself, but Camille was right. When Richard talked to Ben it was as though Ben knew he had to be guarded around policemen.

      Richard turned to Dwayne.

      ‘Dwayne? According to his registration document, Ben Jenkins lives in Portugal. When you do your background checks, see if he’s ever had a run-in with the authorities, would you? Not necessarily criminal. He’s a property developer there, it could be financial. Or legal. Or maybe he was investigated by the tax office. Or by the government’s Planning Department. But Camille’s right, the man was too canny for someone giving evidence for the first time.’

      Dwayne looked puzzled.

      ‘Problem?’ Richard asked.

      ‘Sure. I’ll do all that, but I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Chief, but we’ve got the killer in our cells. She’s already confessed to the murder.’

      ‘I know, Dwayne, but it doesn’t mean we should believe her.’

      Dwayne looked at his boss. ‘You don’t think we should believe criminals when they confess to their crimes?’

      Before Richard could answer, there was the thump of footsteps on the verandah and everyone turned to see Fidel enter the station, his hands holding a manila file full of statements.

      He was hot and he was very, very bothered.

      ‘Ah, Fidel. How were the other hotel guests?’

      Fidel dumped the notes onto his desk before responding.

      ‘Confused. Panicked. Shocked. And all I got from them was a whole heap of nothing.’

      ‘Well, let’s see about that.’

      ‘I’m telling you, sir, I spoke to thirty-seven different guests and they’re all saying the same thing. Aslan was kind, quiet—a “man of peace” a few of them said.’ Fidel spread out his notes on his desk and read out a few choice quotations. ‘‘‘He was the person I aspire to be.” “He’s the reason I come to this Retreat year after year.” “He had a soul of pure gold.” I’m telling you, sir, they all think he was some kind of a saint.’

      ‘Then how come he ended up getting knifed to death?’

      ‘Not one of them has the first idea. But a couple of people did say something interesting.’

      ‘Oh?’

      ‘They said the only person at The Retreat who didn’t seem to like Aslan was Dominic, the handyman. Dominic would apparently make comments. He thought Aslan didn’t live in the real world.’

      ‘Which would be interesting,’ Richard said, ‘except for the fact that he wasn’t in the Meditation Space when the murder was carried out, so I don’t think we can consider him a suspect. Did you get anything that suggested that anyone inside the locked room with the victim at the time of the murder had a grievance with him at all?’

      ‘I’m sorry, sir. I got nothing like that.’

      ‘Then what about the argument? Did any of the guests hear a man shouting at Aslan in his office at 6pm the night before?’

      ‘And nor could I find anyone who heard any kind of argument at 6pm yesterday—either in Aslan’s office or anywhere else.’

      ‘And is that likely?’

      ‘How do you mean?’

      ‘That the only person in the whole hotel who heard a man shouting “You’re not going to get away with it” to Aslan was Saskia Filbee?’

      Fidel thought for a moment. ‘I don’t know. It was pretty hot yesterday, most people would have been outside at that sort of time, I reckon.’

      Richard considered this a moment before continuing. ‘Then what did the hotel guests have to say about Julia Higgins?’

      Fidel started checking through his notes again as he said, ‘And that’s just as much of a dead end, sir. I couldn’t find anyone who had a bad word to say about her. She helps out in the office and she’s always polite. Cheerful, that’s a word a few people used. As for her relationship with Aslan, everyone said she hero-worshipped him. I couldn’t find a single person who believed for a second that she could be our killer.’

      Not for the first time, Richard felt as though he were looking at the case the wrong way round. After all, why would a woman no one had a bad word to say about, kill someone who, by all accounts, she adored? And why would she do it inside a house made of paper? And in broad daylight? In front of four other potential witnesses? And, having killed a man everyone said she hero-worshipped, why would she then confess to the murder—but then fail to provide the police with any of her means, motive or opportunity?

      Well, Richard mused to himself, there was one way to find out. Julia was currently in their police cells. He could ask her.

      ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Dwayne and Fidel, I want you to finish processing the evidence. And Fidel, I want you dusting the murder weapon for fingerprints, of course, but first I want you to lift whatever prints you can find on the drawing pin I asked you to bag at the scene.’

      Fidel looked at his boss. ‘You want me to lift whatever prints I can find on the drawing pin I found on the floor of the Meditation Space?’

      ‘That’s right,’ Richard said, a little irked. Hadn’t he made himself clear? ‘Whatever prints you can lift from the drawing pin.’

      ‘And you want me to do that before I start processing the actual weapon that was used to kill the victim?’

      ‘Yes. I said. As for you and me, Camille, I want to have another chat with our killer. And this time I want her to tell us why she killed Aslan Kennedy and how she smuggled a knife into the murder room without anyone seeing.’

      Richard led through the bead curtain into the cells at the back of the station. This was his least favourite