Death Line (Rafferty & Llewellyn British Mysteries, #3) E-Book

Geraldine Evans

• Herausgeber: Geraldine Evans
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

#3 in the Rafferty & Llewellyn British Mystery Series  'I think just about anyone would enjoy this.' READER REVIEW Jasper Moon, internationally renowned ‘seer to the stars’, had signally failed to foresee his own future. He is found dead on his consulting-room floor, his skull crushed with a crystal ball and, all, around him, his office in chaos. Meanwhile, Ma Rafferty does some star-gazing of her own and is sure she can predict Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty’s future –- by the simple expedient of organizing it herself. She is still engaged on her crusade to get Rafferty married off to a good Catholic girl with child-bearing hips. But Rafferty has a cunning plan to sabotage her machinations. Only trouble is, he needs Sergeant Llewellyn’s cooperation and he isn’t sure he’s going to get it. During their murder investigations, Inspector Rafferty and Sergeant Llewellyn discover a highly incriminating video concealed in Moon’s flat, a video which, if made public, could wreck more than one life. Was the famous astrologer really a vicious sexual predator? Gradually, connections begin to emerge between Moon and others in the small Essex town of Elmhurst. But how is Rafferty to solve the case when all of his suspects have seemingly unbreakable alibis? RAFFERTY & LLEWELLYN BRITISH MYSTERY SERIES Dead Before Morning #1 Down Among the Dead Men #2 Death Line #3 The Hanging Tree #4 Absolute Poison #5 Dying For You #6 Bad Blood #7 Love Lies Bleeding #8 Blood on the Bones #9 A Thrust to the Vitals #10 Death Dues #11 All the Lonely People #12 Death Dance #13 Deadly Reunion #14 Kith and Kill #15 Asking For It #16 The Spanish Connection #17 Game of Bones #18 AUTHOR WEBSITE/BLOG: https://geraldineevansbooks.com NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP LINK: http://eepurl.com/beYGIP

Leseprobe

Death Line

A Rafferty & Llewellyn mystery 

Geraldine Evans 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Death Line

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP LINK

BLURB AND REVIEWS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE HANGING TREE

CHAPTER ONE

WHERE TO GET THE HANGING TREE

OTHER WORKS

RAFFERTY & LLEWELLYN BRITISH MYSTERIES 17 NOVELS SO FAR IN SERIES

BLURBS AND REVIEWS

About the Author

BRITISH ENGLISH USAGE AND SPELLING

CONTACT THE AUTHOR

COPYRIGHT

Death Line

Geraldine Evans

©Copyright: Geraldine Evans 1995 and 2011 (Digital)

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual people, locations or events is coincidental or fictionalized.

Except for text references by reviewers, the reproduction of this work in any form is forbidden without permission from the author.

License Note: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

Cover Design: Nicole at covershotcreations

All rights reserved.

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MY LATEST RAFFERTY & LLEWELLYN MYSTERY NOVEL, GAMES OF BONES, #18, IS DUE OUT IN JANUARY 2018. It will be priced at £0.99/$0.99 for a few days, and then it will be priced at £3.99. Sign up for my Newsletter and receive news of when it will be available at the introductory price.

BLURB AND REVIEWS

BLURB-DEATH LINE

Jasper Moon, internationally renowned ‘Seer to the Stars’, had signally failed to foresee his own future. He is found dead on his consulting-room floor, his skull crushed with a crystal ball and, all, around him, his office in chaos.

Meanwhile, Ma Rafferty does some star-gazing of her own, and is sure she can predict Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty’s future—by the simple expedient of organising it herself. She is still engaged on her crusade to get Rafferty married off to a good Catholic girl with child-bearing hips. But Rafferty has a cunning plan to sabotage her machinations. Only trouble is, he needs Sergeant Llewellyn’s cooperation and he isn’t sure he’s going to get it.

During their murder investigations, Inspector Rafferty and Sergeant Llewellyn discover a highly incriminating video concealed in Moon’s flat, a video which, if made public, could wreck more than one life. Was the famous astrologer really a nasty sexual predator? Gradually, connections begin to emerge between Moon and others in the small Essex town of Elmhurst. But how is Rafferty to solve the case when all of his suspects have seemingly unbreakable alibis?

REVIEWS

‘The detectives brilliantly complement and oppose each other. For those who love Sherlock Holmes-style mysteries, you'll likely adore Evans' style, humor and method of detection. A wonderful cozy, rainy-night read rich with interesting characters that all appear guilty and innocent. At every turn you'll think you know who the killer is, but the true identity and motive won't come until the end. The reveal is not far-fetched or deceptive - it was there all along and it works perfectly.' CHARLIE COURTLAND OF BITSY BLINGBOOKS bitsybling.blogspot.com/2011/03/death-line-curl-up-with-cozy-mystery

'I would recommend this book for the suspense aficionado. There is color and fun to the story as well as secrets and darkness. The interplay is good and Evans slowly guides you through the red herrings to unmask the real killer. This is a slow building murder mystery, with just a bit of humor, something for everyone that enjoys a bit of the unusual.' TERRY WRIGHT RATING 4/5

wrighton-time.blogspot.com/2011/06/death-line-by-geraldine-evans.html

'Ms Evans writes with a nice, tongue-in-cheek style and in her policemen has created an attractive pair of sleuths. Recommended.' MICHAEL PAINTER, THE IRISH TIMES

'I love English detectives and the team of Rafferty and Llewellyn is no exception. Evans has created a pair that works well together without one overshadowing the other in any way. I love that. I cannot help but compare Evans to Sir Author Conan Doyle, her style is similar although her wit is not as dry, which is another plus in my book. In my opinion Geraldine Evans will soon be one of those must read authors whose books sell out in minutes.' RITA REVIEWS RITA'S RATING: FIVE STARS

CHAPTER ONE

This novel uses British English, so if there is a word or phrase with which you are unfamiliar, there is a handy list at the back of this novel.

Jasper Moon, internationally renowned "Seer to the Stars", had signally failed to predict his own future. He lay sprawled on the dark carpet of his consulting room with the back of his skull caved-in. A small, bloodied, crystal ball – presumably the murder weapon – lay beside him.

A black silk cloak covered the torso, leaving only the head and feet exposed. Disconcerted to see that, like himself, Moon sported a pair of vivid emerald green socks, Rafferty turned his attention back to the cadaver's other end. The waxy, heavy-jowled profile was in ghastly relief to the dyed black hair and the midnight richness of the silk. A crescent-shaped scar under his left eye showed up with a lividity it had lacked in life. Rafferty imagined that the reputedly vain Moon would have been glad that the cloak lent his podgy, middle-aged body a certain dignity, a touch of elegance. An elegance certainly not shared by the room.

Obviously, Moon hadn't subscribed to the less is more style of interior design. Even Rafferty, not normally one to flinch from the garish, spared only a cursory, deprecatory glance for the night black ceiling with its mother of pearl stars and scale paintings of the planets and what he assumed were astrological symbols decorating one of the walls.

Unlike Sergeant Llewellyn, whose face evinced its usual Sphinx-like inscrutability, Rafferty had never learned to mask his emotions. He was reminded of this flaw when Edwin Astell, a tall spare man and the victim's business partner commented from the doorway, 'You shouldn't judge Jasper by ordinary standards, Inspector. In his own way, he was as much of a star as his clients—they mostly came from the entertainment world. You could say that Jasper shared their showmanship and taste for the dramatic.'

So did his murderer, thought Rafferty. There was a TV and video in the corner. The video was undamaged, though empty of film, but the screen of the television had been smashed in; it looked as though someone had taken a hammer to it. The drawers had been removed from the desk and stacked on top of it, dislodging a vase of late roses. They lay strewn on the floor in front of Moon's desk, as though thrown in tribute by a mourner. The filing cabinet was surrounded by untidily strewn piles of its contents. Glass from a broken pane was scattered under the window. Rafferty walked carefully round the body and over to the window. The bottom sash had been raised to its full extent and a chill wind teased the curtains over the sill, blowing them about in a frenzied dance as he examined the rear of the premises.

An alleyway ran the length of the parade of shops and flats. The consulting rooms of the partners were on the first floor, above the Psychic Store, the partnership's side-line, which, Astell had already informed him, sold New Age books and trinkets. A door from the street opened onto a flight of stairs that led directly to the consulting rooms. But Astell had told them that it was seldom used and kept locked. During the day, clients came through the shop and reached the first floor by another, inner staircase; the one they had used. Moon's office was the largest of the three. It shared the back of the premises with a windowless internal kitchen and a small washroom with windows of frosted glass.

Whoever had broken into Moon's office would have found little difficulty, Rafferty realised. Not only had the burglar alarm been switched off, presumably by Moon himself, but access would have been simple as a small, flat-roofed extension from the ground floor of the shop ended just under the window. And, as an additional bonus for the intruder, although Moon's window had a security lock, the key was in it and he guessed that it had been a simple matter for the intruder to stretch an arm through the broken pane and help himself to the key that had presumably dangled from the empty hook less than one yard away.

Rafferty's lips pursed. He could understand the desire to have the key close at hand in case of fire, but surely a man who spent his time peering into the future could find sufficient foresight to put the key out of sight? Unwilling to risk any more mind-reading by Astell, he took the trouble to compose his features before he turned and nodded at the silk-shrouded body. 'You haven't touched anything? Is this exactly how you discovered him? Covered like this?'

Astell confirmed it, adding anxiously, 'I hope none of his client files are missing. They're confidential and it could be embarrassing.'

Rafferty frowned, inscrutability forgotten as the words "confidential" and "embarrassing" set off warning signals in his brain. Moon and his partner ran a kind of group practice, providing clients with astrology and tarot readings, as well as palmistry—hand analysis Astell had called it. He had told them that Moon had regarded the crystal ball as nothing more than an amusing paperweight and didn't use it in his work. As it seemed likely that this ball had been the murder weapon, he wondered if the dead man would appreciate the irony. Now, seizing on one of Astell's words, Rafferty repeated it, 'Confidential?'

'Perhaps it'll surprise you to learn this, Inspector, but in this profession, one can hear as many secrets as doctors, listen to as many confessions as priests. You might say we're the social workers, marriage counsellors and career advisors of the psychic world. I've often thought Jasper was unwise to keep so much personal information on his clients. My own files are much more circumspect. Of course,' he added deprecatingly, 'I rarely see clients personally, as Jasper did. But, even by post, people confide the most intimate details of their lives.'

'Are you saying that Mr Moon might have been murdered because one of his clients had told him something and then regretted it? Regretted it enough to kill him?'

Astell looked appalled at Rafferty's suggestion. 'I didn't mean that at all. I was thinking more of an opportunist, than a client, someone who thought there might be scope for blackmail in Jasper's files.' Astell nodded at the broken window. 'No client of Jasper's would need to break in. They would only have to use the intercom at the street for Jasper to release the private door.' Sounding a touch put-out that Rafferty should suspect the clients, Astell added, 'Surely, it's obvious that some intruder attacked him? Someone who riffled Jasper's files looking for whatever damaging information he could find.'

Rafferty didn't think much of Astell's detecting skills, though he could understand why he found this scenario more attractive than the alternative. Would Moon be likely to turn away from an unknown intruder and present the back of his skull so obligingly for the blow?

Rafferty realised that his face had again betrayed his thoughts. 'Jasper's clients were more concerned with matters financial and emotional,' Astell told him with a cool smile. 'No-one has yet confessed to anything worth murdering for.'

Not to you, perhaps, thought Rafferty, as he again forced his face into unnatural immobility. But, suspecting the flamboyant Moon would have been the repository of more such secrets than his reserved partner, he made the observation, 'I imagine Mr Moon would be more understanding of human weaknesses than most.'

Glancing again at the corpse, with its Dracula cape and Satan-black hair and beard, the late Jasper Moon looked, to Rafferty, to have had more than his fair share of such weaknesses himself; maybe one of them had caused his death.

Moon was certainly very famous; that his international clientele, many of them household names, should be prepared to travel to an Essex backwater, spoke volumes for his ability. Though, Rafferty, with a sceptic's humour, wondered whether Moon's greatest skill mightn't have been for self-publicity.

He remembered seeing Moon during an experimental dally with breakfast television a month ago. Moon had been giving his daily predictions. He had come over as someone larger than life, a creature apparently so running over with love and concern for his fellow man that he had called them all "darling". Such show-biz mannerisms always jarred on Rafferty. He had immediately switched off and gone back to BBC Radio 2.

He moved away from the window as he heard the SOCO team clattering heavily up the stairs, weighed down with their professional paraphernalia. Rafferty glanced atEdwin Astell and asked him to wait in his own office.

Once Astell had left the room, Rafferty had a word with Adrian Appleby, the head of the SOCO's. 'Can you get Moon's appointments book and the filing cabinet and its contents dusted ASAP?' He would need to speak to all Moon's clients. Of course, most of them would be quickly exonerated. He had had a quick flick through the diary earlier, and, even though Astell had briefly mentioned the names of some of Moon's more famous clients, it had revealed names from the film, music and literary world that startled him; people like Shane Dalton, the teeny-boppers' idol; Sian Silk, the hottest property in Hollywood at the moment; even Nat Kingston, the well-known writer and literary critic. If the rest of Moon's clients were even half as well- known as those, a fair number probably wouldn't even have been in the country – never mind in Elmhurst – on the night Moon was killed, which should, once their movements had been checked out, lessen the load a bit.

He had earlier noticed several threads of black material with glittery silver bits caught on a rough section of Moon's desk and, as he drew Appleby's attention to them, he heard, from the stairwell the unmistakable sound of Dr Sam Dally's Scottish tones muttering about "bloody women drivers". Rafferty went down to the shop to speak to him while Sam got into his protective gear. 'Here at last then, Sam? What delayed you?'

Dally raised his head. There was a lump on his forehead the size of a hen's egg. 'Some damn-fool woman. She was racing away from town here, way past the speed limit, overshot the lights and ploughed into me. She didn't stop, of course.' He gave Rafferty a grim smile. 'Got her number, though.'

'Are you okay?'

Sam nodded. 'Banged my head on the windscreen.'

'As long as you didn't damage anything vital.' Rafferty peered at him. 'Sure you're all right? You ought to get yourself looked at. There might be concussion.'

'I popped into old Boyd's, the optician here in the High Street. Luckily he lives in the flat above his business and I got him to give me the onceover. After gazing lovingly into my eyes for a bit he pronounced me fit, so I suppose I'll live. It would happen the day I forgot to put my seatbelt on, of course. You can be sure that blasted insurance company will make something of that if I go gaga in the next day or so.' Having finally struggled into his gear, Sam thrust his outer clothing at Smales, who was still guarding the door, with the instruction to mind it, before stomping up the stairs. 'Got a new toy I see,' he said to the video-camera toting photographer as he pushed his way into Moon's office. 'Nearly finished, I hope.'

'Just waiting to film the star.' Lance, the photographer, who had ambitions beyond police work, grinned as he got Sam in focus. 'Scowl nicely for the camera. That's it. It's a wrap.'

With an 'Hmph', Sam bustled past the SOCO team, bent over the corpse and got to work. 'Rigor's well established,' he remarked a few minutes later. He took the temperature of the room and the rectal temperature of the corpse, frowning as he made his calculations. 'He's a fine figure of a man, isn't he? Tends to slow the onset of rigor down a bit. Did you know, Rafferty,' he threw over his shoulder, 'that some particularly fine-figured specimens never develop rigor at all?'

Rafferty frowned. 'Are you trying to tell me that he's too fat for you to give me an idea of the time of death?'

Sam, whose figure was at least as "fine" as Moon's, tutted at Rafferty's want of sensitivity. 'Certainly not. He probably died sometime yesterday evening, say between 7.00 p m and 11.00 p m. Of course that's a rough calculation. But I can tell you that he was definitely killed from behind by a right-handed person plying our old friend, the blunt instrument.' Sam paused and added teasingly, 'Unless it was a southpaw masquerading as a right-hander. Modern killers are getting very crafty about hiding their tracks. t's all those crime programmes on the telly—gives 'em ideas.' He glanced at the crystal ball lying on the floor next to the victim's head. 'And by a Holmesian process of deduction, I'd say this cute wee thing was the weapon.'

Rafferty shook his head in mock admiration. 'Amazing. How do you do it?'

'Och, it's just a little skill the Almighty gives to fine-figured men in their prime, Rafferty.' Sam swept a disparaging glance over Rafferty's skinny frame and bright auburn hair, before adding, 'You'll need to get some extra flesh on your bones, a higher forehead and some wise grey hairs before he invests you with similar abilities.' Having satisfactorily put both Rafferty's comparative youth and his thick auburn mop in their place, Sam bent his balding pate back to its work.

'Anything else you can tell me, oh wise one? Like whether he was hit by a man or a woman, for instance?'

'Could be either, Rafferty.' Sam spared a glance for the murder weapon as one of the SOCO team placed it in a protective bag and smiled. 'Perhaps, if you ask Appleby here nicely, he'll let you have a peer into that crystal ball before he takes it away.' He got to his feet, picked up his bag and, after a few words with the scientific team, advised Rafferty, 'As far as I'm concerned, you can pop him in his jiffy bag now.'

After checking with the Coroner's officer, Rafferty gave the instructions. Moon's head, hands and feet were encased in protective plastic bags and his body lifted onto polythene sheeting and secured, before he was placed in the usual fibre-glass shell.

'Any idea when you'll be doing the PM, Sam? Only—'

'Trying to queue-jump again, Rafferty?' Sam paused consideringly. 'I'll maybe squeeze yon cadaver in this afternoon. About 5.00 p m. Is that quick enough for you?'

Rafferty blinked in surprise and nodded. He watched as, with Sam bellowing instructions, Moon's body was carefully manoeuvred round the bend in the stairs, and, with Sam in the rear, retrieving his clothes from the constable, the little procession disappeared through the front door.

With the removal of the body, Rafferty relaxed a little. 'Right,' he said to Llewellyn. 'Now that Sam has given us the benefit of his great wisdom, we can get on. Let's get back to Mr Astell.' He led the way through to Astell's office. It was a large, airy room. After the hectic busyness of Moon's office, Astell's was bare and clinical. There was nothing on the desk but a computer, which Astell presumably used to compile the natal charts. There was nothing on the walls, apart from several stark, simple but exquisite Japanese brush paintings.

Astell had evidently been thinking about what Rafferty had said earlier, because, as soon as they entered, he returned to the theme of their previous conversation. 'I wouldn't want you to think that Jasper ever went beyond the bounds of prudence during the consultations, Inspector. Although it's true that he had a way of drawing people out, he was sensitive to his client's privacy and would never probe in delicate areas without being certain the client was happy for him to do so.' Rafferty gave a diplomatic nod.

'I deal solely with postal clients, making up the computerised natal charts from their birth details. Jasper taught me himself. I've learned quite a bit about hand-analysis also, but I have nothing to do with that side of things. I suffer quite badly from eczema on my hands and I find clients don't like my touching them.' Rafferty had already noticed that Astell wore thin cotton gloves. He could see some greasy ointment already beginning to seep through. 'Jasper, of course, loved the more personal aspect of private consultations. He said if he was to help his clients he needed to meet them, see what made them tick. He liked people, you see.'

Rafferty pounced. He couldn't help it. Taken with his other vices, from what Astell had said, Moon sounded like a prime victim. 'You're saying he was inquisitive?' he asked sharply. 'In fact a bit of a nosy-’ Rafferty stopped abruptly as he saw Llewellyn wince. In his eagerness, he had forgotten that Superintendent Bradley's latest baby was a PR number entitled Politeness in Interaction with Members of the Public - PIMP for short, though luckily Bradley had yet to tumble to that aspect. Rafferty was rather pleased with the title. After all, he had suggested it. At least it was the most accurately named in a long line of Bradley's schemes. And like pimps the world over, Bradley got the benefits and the team - his public relations officers as he had taken to calling them, or PRO's for short got - well, they got what PRO's usually got. The jargon phrase for this little programme was, 'Politeness Costs Nothing'.

Convinced that, as long as you failed them with olde-worlde politeness, the public were ready to forgive your failure and even thank you for bothering at all, cost-cutting, "Long Pockets" Bradley had exhorted them all to mind their p's and q's and indulge in as much forelock-tugging as their hair would stand, and then some, and 'woe betide' the officer who offended against this regime.

As Rafferty, as a matter of principle, had offended against several of Bradley's previous arse-licking exercises aimed at winning for himself even more friends at Region, PIMP wasn't something he could lightly ignore. Not that he had anything against being polite to the public, far from it. It was just that the superintendent's man-management methods tended to pettiness, deviousness and, when these didn't work, outright bullying. His favourite pastime was reducing the younger WPC's to tears.

Thankfully, Edwin Astell wasn't aware of the Super's newly-tender approach to public relations, and although his nostrils pinched slightly, he didn't contradict Rafferty's description of Jasper Moon's character.

'I wouldn't have put it quite like that, Inspector, but yes, I suppose he was inquisitive. Though, a competent, experienced palmist could discover much about a person without them saying a word. I'm merely a knowledgeable amateur as far as hand analysis is concerned, but even I needed only to study a person's hands for a short time to discover if they were generous or mean, passionate or placid, creative or practical. Jasper, as a professional, was, of course, far more skilled.'

Perhaps he'd caught the look of scepticism on Rafferty's face, for Astell went on, 'If I might be permitted to provide you with an example?' Rafferty nodded. 'Although I've just met him and we've exchanged no more than a few words, I'd say your sergeant's a highly intelligent, analytical person, with refined tastes and a certain sensitivity. Of course,' self-deprecatingly, he added, 'this is just a cursory appraisal.' He turned to Llewellyn with an apologetic smile. 'You must forgive my using you as a guinea-pig, Sergeant. I hope I haven't offended you?' Not surprisingly, after such a glowing character reference, Llewellyn seemed more than happy to reassure him on the point.

Rafferty was shaken that his prejudices had been challenged and trumped with such ease. Although unwilling to second Astell's appraisal of his sergeant's virtues, he found himself admitting, 'You're right. That's Llewellyn to a 'T'. How on earth did you do it?' Next he'd be telling him, a la Sherlock Holmes, that Llewellyn was contemplating marriage and the production of 2.4 children.

Astell's smile had a certain diffident charm. He was quite a good-looking man, Rafferty realised. Along with his distinctly old-fashioned manners, he had the kind of face that, for some reason, made Rafferty think of tragic First World War poets; all planes and angles and shadowed melancholic hollows.

'It's not magic, Inspector,' Astell told him. 'Merely observation and rather elementary observation at that. Any student of palmistry could tell you as much. Your sergeant's hand is long, slim and full of lines, what we term a Water hand. It invariably points to sensitivity and an interest in the arts. The intellectuality is indicated by the long, straight Head Lines on both palms and the length of the topmost phalanges on his fingers. I told you, nothing can be concealed from an experienced palmist.'

Hastily, Rafferty put his hands behind his back, in case Astell was tempted to point out certain aspects of his own character. He doubted their revelation would render his expression as smug as that of his sergeant. 'And Jasper Moon was an experienced palmist?' he queried

'Oh yes, of course. Don't let Jasper's esoteric taste in decor give you the wrong idea. His knowledge was wide. I only dabble, though, as I said, astrologically, Jasper has taught me a lot. Of course, my real training is on the business side, which is why Jasper originally employed me before he offered me the partnership. I still take care of the administration side of the business.'

Rafferty felt out of his depth with all this hocus-pocus, as he thought of it. Whether Moon had been murdered by one of his clients or not, it sounded to Rafferty as if Moon's profession could offer lucrative opportunities to the unscrupulous. Judging from the quantity of files that had been scattered about Moon's room, he had a lot of clients, and, as his charges were, in Rafferty's opinion, extortionate, none of his clients was likely to be poor. They would all have to be questioned and eliminated. Rafferty sighed and asked, 'How soon could you let us know if anything's missing, sir?'

'As to the files - I'll have to go through the client list and match it up with the individual folders. It'll take a little while.'

Rafferty nodded. 'You can do that as soon as the forensic team have finished with them. What about the rest of Mr Moon's stuff? Did you notice if anything was missing?'

Astell's narrow face was apologetic. 'It was a bit difficult to tell. Jasper liked a lot of clutter about him.'

'What about money, sir?' Llewellyn put in. 'Do you keep much cash on the premises?'

'Not usually, but, as a matter of fact, Jasper asked me to draw £1000 out of the bank only yesterday morning. It should still be in the cash box.'

'Where do you keep this box?' Rafferty questioned.

'In one of the drawers of Jasper's desk.'

'If you'll just wait here, sir, I'll check.' Rafferty quickly put his gloves back on and opened the door to the waiting room. There was another door on the other side connected to Moon's office. He opened this too, and after a quick word with Appleby, walked over to the desk. The cashbox, a large, black affair, squatted in the deepest of the drawers. After lifting the other two drawers from on top of it, Rafferty attempted to raise its lid with a paperknife, but it was obviously locked. He shouted through to Astell, 'Have you got the key, sir?'

Astell appeared at the door and, after painstakingly removing a key from a leather pouch in his jacket pocket, he handed it to Llewellyn who passed it over. Careful to touch nothing, Rafferty inserted the key and turned it, raising the lid with the knife. The usual coin tray was on top. It must have contained about £50 in coins and with difficulty, Rafferty raised this, too, and peered underneath. Apart from a few folded sheets of stamps, the bottom of the cashbox was empty. 'You said there should be a £1000 in notes?'

Astell nodded. 'All in brand new £50 notes. I always insist on new notes.'

'Apart from the coins, there's nothing here now, sir,' Rafferty told him. He lifted up the cashbox. 'See for yourself.'

Astell's shocked face peered over Llewellyn's shoulder. 'I warned Jasper that carrying such large sums of cash about was dangerous. Of course, I was thinking more about him being attacked on the street. With the entry phone and window locks, I assumed he'd be safe enough here.'

'How many keys are there to this box?'

'Only two. I have one and Jasper had the other. Though, of course, our staff has daily access to it. Jasper usually left his key in his desk, I believe.' Rafferty checked. Moon's key was still there. 'Mr Moon wouldn't have taken the money himself and spent it already?' he questioned. 'You said you took the money out of the bank yesterday morning.'

Astell shook his head. 'When I warned him to be careful, he told me he wouldn't even be removing it from the premises. It would stay in the box till tomorrow - or rather, today, as it wouldn't be wanted till then. I take it from that, that whoever he wanted the money for would be coming to the office for it.' His lips thinned. Apparently that pleased him little more than that Jasper should walk about the streets with it.

In spite of his insistence that an intruder was responsible for the crime, the discovery of the robbery seemed to have shaken him. A case of the smaller shock helping the larger one to sink in, Rafferty guessed. He had seen it before. Though Astell seemed to find no incongruity, to Rafferty, there were points about this so-called burglary that struck him as peculiar. Although the money was missing, several other obviously expensive items on Moon's desk had not been taken; small silver, easily pocketable knick-knacks, for instance. If a burglar had taken the money, why hadn't he taken these also? Just as odd was the fact that there was no sign that he had entered the other offices. Even Astell had reluctantly admitted that he didn't think anything had been taken from them and their filing cabinets and desks were undisturbed.

Another thing, Moon's cashbox had been locked. Even if the key had been taken from Moon's desk, why would a burglar bother locking the box up afterwards, never mind replacing the key? Rafferty doubted that this careful burglar was the same person who had vandalised the office and murdered Moon. He relocked the box and stood up. After telling Appleby that the box was another item for priority fingerprinting, he made a mental note to check with the bank to see if they could let him have a list of the notes' numbers. It would be interesting to see if any of them showed up; even more so to discover who disposed of them. Back in Astell's office, Rafferty resumed the questioning. 'He didn't tell you who he wanted the money for?'

'No, but I can hazard a guess. Oh, not a specific identity,' he added as he saw Rafferty's quick interest. 'I don't mean that. Jasper was a bit of a magpie, Inspector and more than a little extravagant.' Astell's lips pursed. 'If he saw something bright and shiny he had to have it. This money would undoubtedly be required for some gewgaw. Though it's strange that Jasper arranged to see the seller here. As far as I'm aware, he never had before, yet he asked me to withdraw such large sums three or four times a year.' His gaze fixed on Rafferty. 'You - you don't think this person could have killed him?'

'I doubt it, sir. If this person did business fairly regularly with Mr Moon, as seems likely given that he had invited him to his office, why would he kill such a valued customer?'

'Why were these transactions always in cash, sir?' Llewellyn queried what Rafferty - brought up by his off-the-back-of-a-lorry, bargain-hunting Ma - had already guessed. 'Surely he could have written out a cheque or paid by credit card?'

Astell hesitated, shifting his gaze from Llewellyn's ascetic features to Rafferty's more accommodating ones. 'The legality of some of Jasper's purchases was a little - suspect shall we say? I gather he invariably dealt with the same man, and he insisted on cash. That's why I wondered if this person mightn't have killed him. Obviously, he's some kind of criminal.'

Rafferty nodded. 'I see your reasoning, sir, but I still feel there is a lack of motive for murder. As I said before, if this acquaintance of Mr Moon's had been doing business for some time, he would be unlikely to kill a long-standing and prosperous customer like Mr Moon.'

Astell admitted that, put like that, it sounded improbable. Rafferty paused, before softly posing the question that was guaranteed to get under Astell's skin. 'Was Mr Moon seeing a client last night, do you know, sir?'

As expected, Astell's lips thinned. 'Most unlikely, Inspector.' Rafferty deduced from his tone that Astell felt the partnership's clientele should be out of bounds to the police investigation. 'Jasper rarely saw clients on Thursday evenings,' he told them. 'He liked to keep them free for other work. But if he had made an appointment it would be in his diary.'

There had been nothing booked later than 4.00 p m against yesterday's date, Rafferty knew. He had made a particular point of checking this as he had flipped through using the end of a pen.

Astell was sufficient of a realist to add what the police would have anyway soon discovered from another source, 'Occasionally, if a client needed to see him urgently for a consultation, Jasper would make an exception, but that happened rarely. He was working on another book - you know that as well as more generalised works, he wrote astrological forecasts every year for each of the sun signs?'

Rafferty nodded. He'd seen them on sale in the shops - his Ma bought one every year, as did his sisters. They seemed very popular. But then Jasper Moon had been a popular astrologer.  The walls of the waiting room beside Moon's office displayed the monthly forecast columns he supplied to various women's glossy magazines. Rafferty persisted. 'Might he have forgotten to enter a later appointment? If the client rang after everyone else had gone home, say, and intended to arrive within a short time?'

Reluctantly, Astell admitted it was possible. 'Jasper could be careless about such things. But he's been better lately as I've impressed on him that if he doesn't enter the details I can't bill the clients. Jasper preferred to have his regular clients invoiced rather than charged cash at the time of the consultation. He felt financial transactions then were unprofessional.'

Too much like having his palm crossed with silver on the end of the pier, Rafferty sardonically translated before he could stop himself. Luckily, Astell was staring thoughtfully into space and unlikely to guess at Rafferty's latest breach of the PIMP code.

'You could ask our cleaner, Mrs Hadleigh. She was working here till about 7.00 p m. She'd be able to confirm that there was no client with Jasper.'

Astell seemed anxious to dispel the idea that one of Moon's clients had killed him. Understandable of course, Rafferty reasoned; the more sensitive souls amongst their customers wouldn't be reassured to discover that Moon numbered a killer among his clientele. Apart from any other considerations, it was hardly likely to improve customer confidence when the famous half of the partnership had failed to foresee and avoid his own murder.

CHAPTER TWO

There were two other doors off the landing, and Rafferty asked where they led. Astell placed his gloved hands together in the precise manner that was already getting on Rafferty's nerves and nodded towards the first of the doors on the left. 'This office is used by one of our staff, Mrs Virginia Campbell. The other one is used as a storeroom for any overflow of stock from the shop.' He opened each of the doors in turn. The second room contained books and fancily packaged bottles of oil, CD's, records and cassettes, all stacked on wall shelves, along with many other items. An old easel, stained and shoved just inside the door, was balanced precariously against the wall and Astell straightened it with a gesture of annoyance. 'I must throw this old thing away. I don't know why Jasper insisted on keeping it.'

'Not yet, please,' Rafferty cautioned. 'I don't want anything discarded until the case is concluded.'

Astell nodded and went on. 'As you know, the room between my office and Jasper's is used as a waiting room.'

'Do you employ a receptionist?'

'No. The nature of the work hardly warrants it. Mrs Mercedes Moreno, the woman we employ in the shop, directs our clients to the waiting room. She's from South America,' Astell explained the unusual name. 'Peru.'

'And they're the only other people that work here?'

Astell nodded. 'Apart from Mrs Hadleigh, the cleaner. She comes in at about 7.00 every morning.'

Rafferty frowned. 'I understood that you found the body when you came in at 7.30 a m. Or did you only make the call?'

'No. I found him. I had an early booking with one of my few regulars - she likes to see me on her way to the station. Mrs Hadleigh had a hospital appointment yesterday morning so I agreed she could do her chores in the evening, from 5.00 to 7.00 p m. My wife and I had a few guests last night and Mrs Hadleigh came over afterwards to help out. Unfortunately, she was only there a short time before she began to feel unwell. I sent her home just before 8.00 p m. Naturally, I told her not to bother coming in this morning. I tried to ring Jasper last night to tell him that if he made his usual mess he'd have to clean it up himself. He can - could be rather untidy.'

'You say you tried to ring Mr Moon? At what time?'

Astell nodded. 'I'm sorry. I suppose I should have mentioned it before. I didn't get through. The first few times I tried, Jasper's phone was engaged, and then, when it did ring, no-one answered.' His eyes widened, aghast at the implication of what he'd just said. 'God, I never thought...so many things going round and round in my mind. I suppose he must have died around then. How - horrible.'

'What time would this have been, sir?' Rafferty asked again.

'What?' Although still obviously stunned, Astell managed to pull himself together sufficiently to answer Rafferty's question. 'It was at 8.20 p m. That's right. I'd just made Mrs Moreno a cup of coffee - she had forgotten her gloves and returned about ten minutes earlier. I remember as the clock in the hall had just rung the quarter chime - it tends to be five minutes slow.' Rafferty made a mental note of the time. As Astell had surmised, it could be important. Whether Moon's killer had called someone from his office, or whether the phone had just become dislodged from its rest during the attack and the killer had replaced it, the phone company should be able to tell them.

Astell, his voice slow and disjointed after this latest shock, explained, 'I didn't want-want his first client to turn up and encounter Jas-Jasper's usual shambles, you see.' He broke off and after glancing at his watch, said in a more normal voice, 'It hardly matters now, does it? Still, I suppose I should ring and put them off? Though what I can possibly say to them...'

'Don't worry about that, sir. One of my officers will contact them.' Rafferty nodded to Llewellyn, who disappeared. 'You mentioned you had a client this morning. Did you ask her to leave when you found the body?'

Astell shook his head and looked cross with himself. 'Sorry. No. Didn't I explain? She rang to cancel, so I decided I might as well get on with some work. It was then that I found Jasper's body. I needed some stamps - as you saw, they're kept in the cashbox.'

After obtaining this client's name and address, Rafferty went on, 'You said Mrs Hadleigh would have finished cleaning at about 7.00 p m yesterday?'

'That's right. She usually did a full two hours. One hour on the consulting floor and the other in the shop.'

'And how long has she worked here?'

'Only about three weeks, but I've known her for some years. As well as helping out when we entertain, my wife and I employ her to clean our home. When our last cleaner left I offered her this job. I knew she needed the money, you see. She was pleased to accept.'

Rafferty glanced at his watch, and was surprised to find that it was nearly 9.15 a m. 'What time do your other employees normally arrive?'

'The shop doesn't open until till 9.30 a m, so Mrs Moreno doesn't arrive till then, but Mrs Campbell starts at nine.'

Virginia Campbell should have arrived by now. So where was she? Rafferty wondered. 'Has she perhaps got a day off today?'

‘No.’ Astell frowned. 'At least, if she has, I was unaware of it. She was off yesterday. Jasper might have agreed to her having today off as well. He didn't always remember to tell me if it was a last minute thing.'

'I'll need her phone number, sir. If she is coming in today and hasn't already left home, it would be best if she didn't come in at all. The forensic team will be working here for some time yet.'

'Of course. You can use the telephone in my office.'

Rafferty followed him back along the short corridor, and through the comfortable anteroom. Like Moon's office, this too had a television and video, presumably for amusing waiting clients. This television was undamaged. 'I gather Mrs Campbell's a professional astrologer?'

'That's right. She and her husband had their own astrology consultancy, but their business folded when they divorced. She brought a few clients with her when she joined us, but she mainly helps me on the postal side. She also covers in the shop when Mrs Moreno is at lunch or has a day off.'

'And Mrs Moreno? Tell me about her.'

'Mrs Moreno's a widow. She just works in the shop and has nothing to do with the main work of the consultancy.'

'Have Mrs Moreno and Mrs Campbell worked here long?'

'No. I've worked with Jasper for five years, three as a business manager and two as a partner, but it's only in the last twelve months that the postal side has really increased. We took Mrs Campbell on a year ago, and Mrs Moreno six months later when we were able to take over the lease downstairs.'

After Llewellyn had returned and confirmed that Moon's appointments had all been cancelled, Rafferty got him to phone Virginia Campbell and Mrs Moreno. There was no answer from Mrs Moreno's and Llewellyn quietly advised Rafferty that he'd tried Mrs Campbell's phone, but had just got the unobtainable signal. When he'd contacted the phone company, they'd told him her phone had been disconnected.

Rafferty raised his eyebrows and quietly commented, 'Let's hope she's not done a flit. Get someone round there quickly to check it out, Llewellyn.' Frowning, he turned back to Astell. 'I wouldn't have thought there would be much of a market in Elmhurst for New Age trinkets, sir.'

'There isn't. We sell mainly by mail order.' Astell opened a drawer and handed a glossy catalogue to Rafferty. 'I thought it would be a good idea to give our regular clients the opportunity to browse at their leisure, and Jasper agreed we should test the market.' Rafferty could see that a few browsing pop millionaires could be good for business. 'Growing numbers of people are looking for alternative ways to improve their lives, and some of the lines are very popular.'

Five minutes later, Appleby popped his head round Astell's office door. 'Inspector. Can I have a word?'

Rafferty excused himself. Llewellyn had returned and he and Rafferty followed Appleby back to Moon's office. He led them over to the wall behind the desk, careful to avoid the chalk marks outlining where Moon's body had so recently lain. There were some bright green daubs on the wall. It was blood, Rafferty knew, though looking more Martian than human. The colour was just an idiosyncrasy of one particular chemical. Another turned blood to the most delightful pink.

'These marks showed up by the victim's head when I tried the orthotolidine test,' Appleby told them. 'They're not very clear, I'm afraid. Looks like somebody tried to wash them off. Any ideas?'

Rafferty couldn't make much of them and said so. 'What do you make of them?' he asked Appleby.

'They were definitely drawn rather than splashed, and drawn by the dead man, most likely. I noticed his right index finger was blood-stained.'

Llewellyn hunkered down beside them and studied the marks for a few moments before he ventured a more considered suggestion. 'Could be an attempt at a name. Ian, say, or Isaac and Moon never got beyond the first letter.' Llewellyn pointed. 'See? The first 'I' is fairly weak. The second is a better attempt.'

Rafferty contradicted him. 'I doubt it's a name. If it was, and it meant anything significant, Moon's killer would only have needed to pick up Moon's finger and alter the lettering, to a 'J' for John,' he glanced slyly at Llewellyn. 'Or 'L' for-'

Llewellyn didn't give him a chance to go on. 'The murderer seems to have considered the marks important enough to have made an attempt to get rid of them.'

'Probably just rattled by the sight of the bright blood on the white wall. Even killers can have weak stomachs, you know. Moon had just been hit on the head. I doubt his brain was functioning sufficiently to write anything meaningful.' He stood up, pulling rank and closing the discussion and his workaholic Catholic conscience immediately began to berate him. Do you have to be so childish, Rafferty? it asked him. Yes, he snapped silently back. I do. Why don't you mind your own bloody business?