The Broads Mystery

By Dennis Woodroffe

Detective Chief Inspector Gregson wakes in Hospital not knowing why he got there. He'd been shot during a trap for a robber gang posing as holiday makers on the Broads waterways.

Sergeant Harbin clues him and he visualises a Master Mind with knowledge of the Broads. Charles Harris, ex Scotland Yard Detective who had a Boat Yard is suspected.

Harris tries to hit Tom with a baseball bat but Tom shoots him.

Learning of the killing, the gang separates. One to Spain but the two girls are frightened. Tom tries to murder Molly but kills wrong girl. Molly gets Police protection. Debbie goes to Norfolk.

Thomas follows, finds her and accidentally kills her. Gregson corners him and kills him in a shoot out.


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Cannot get this shorter without losing story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Dec 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465395313

Dennis Woodroffe

Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, in 1933. Age seven won a scholarship to Lincoln Cathedral Choir. Educated at Public School Winchester, Hampshire then worked for the Hampshire County Council until called up for National Service. Afterwards worked as cost accountant in Shrewsbury costing production of electric vehicles. Became interested in the Motor Industry and moved into Sales, then Sales Management, then General Management finally Director ending as Director of the second biggest Motor Group in the U.K. I married Ann (53 years) and have three sons, three Grandsons and two Granddaughters. Retired in 1984 and bought my own small group of Companies in Devon, selling out in 1999. Living in Norfolk I became interested in the Waterways called the Broads and the idea for this book was born there.

Book preview

The Broads Mystery

Dennis Woodroffe

Copyright © 2011 by Dennis Woodroffe.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4653-9530-6

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-9531-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

CHAPTER 1

Total blackness!. Comfortable, even peaceful. He was not in the least bit worried, he just floated. Sometime later he became semi-conscious again but his eyelids were too heavy to get open. At first he thought that he was standing and tried to look round. No Luck!. He couldn’t move. He thought about this for a moment and tried again. Still no good but the effort made him realise that he was in fact lying on his back. But why couldn’t he move?. Perhaps he was tied down!.

Strangely, none of this concerned him unduly and he was able to think in a rational way without the feeling of panic that might have been expected, but the effort was too much for him and he finally drifted in unconsciousness once again.

An indeterminate while later he again became slowly aware of his surroundings but this time the blackness had given way to a kind of grey that appeared to be getting lighter all the while. There was an even lighter area to his right and his instinct was to look that way, but he still couldn’t move.

He could only vaguely remember the last time he was aware of his existence but he now knew for certain that he was lying down and that he was not alone.

Next he tried to open his eyes again and succeeded in moving one eyelid so that the light hit his eye with such force that he closed it again. So, at least he could see!.

From there on, things happened in quick succession, he moved his head towards the light, opened both eyes a little and discovered a window.

Gradually he re-discovered his body but at the same time quickly realised that with awareness came pain and discomfort. He turned his head back and looking up, focused on a curtain rail that curved round his line of vision and he followed it round to his left. In doing so he came across the figure of a female, leaning over him. He looked at her dispassionately for a few seconds before realising that it was his wife, Ann.

Where am I? he said, What happened to me?. What am I doing here?.

No sound came out of his mouth but Ann had noticed that his eyes had opened, had seen the small movements of his head and watched his lips move. She leant down and said softly into his ear, Don’t worry David, we’ve got you back and you’re going to be O.K., Just rest now.

He closed his eyes again, and this time he slept.

When he woke again there was someone holding his hand, but this time he saw that it was a nurse taking his pulse. Standing beside her was a tall, thin, sandy haired young man in a white coat and, spotting the usual symbol of office round his neck, a stethoscope, David assumed that he was a Doctor. He was studying a screen and the paper issuing from a machine whose ‘beep beep’ was measuring David’s existence. David tried to sit up and see more of what was happening but didn’t make it.

Ah, there you are’ said the Doctor, Nice to have you back with us".

The nurse gave David some water through a tube and this slowly allowed him to gain control of his vocal chords. Where exactly are we? he asked What have you done to me, my back and shoulder hurt like hell.

One thing at a time said the Doctor in his slight Northern accent "first, my name is Mark Appleby and I, together with our nursing staff, will be looking after you. To answer your questions in the right order, you are in the Intensive Care unit at the Royal Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Never mind for the moment what happened, you will remember in your own time, but I can tell you that your somewhat confused state is due to the sedatives, antibiotics and pain killers that we have been giving you, nothing else.

You have been with us for nearly three days and you have finally turned the corner and will now make a full recovery".

The Doctor turned to the Nurse and discussed in quiet tones the results of his medical inspection and David returned to his thinking.

He had suddenly become aware that he was a Policeman and he was also painfully aware that he had sharp pains in his chest and shoulder. He knew that he lived in Norwich, that he had a wife called Ann and had two sons. He also remembered that his wife had been at his bedside when he was last conscious and that she was there no longer.

Addressing his remarks to the Doctor he said I saw my wife here a while ago, where is she now?.

The ‘while ago’ that you mentioned was last night he replied and she has been at your bedside for the three days that you’ve been here and now that you are out of danger I’ve managed to persuade her to go home.

Thank you said David can you tell me what happened now?

Well he replied "I suppose that not knowing would have a worse effect than knowing, so I will tell you what I can. As I have said, you were brought in three days ago, unconscious and suffering from a severe loss of blood after being shot.

I don’t know much about the circumstances but I do know that you have been very lucky. As a matter of fact, you were shot twice in the chest, obviously from the front and once high up in the shoulder from the back. Which shots came first I have no idea but it was certainly no accident!."

Outwardly David was quite calm although inwardly he was staggered. How could that have happened?. Where had he been?. Why?. Of all the things that he had thought might have brought him to the Hospital, being shot had never crossed his mind. This was Norfolk, not Chicago!.

The Doctor would no doubt see on his machines, signs of his increased heart rate, but he did his best to control himself and think clearly.

Of course the Doctor was continuing you are presently suffering from what we call post trauma amnesia, but don’t worry, all of the details will come back to you soon enough but right now you should relax and let it happen naturally. What you need now is more real sleep but I am going to help you with a light sedative so that the pain will go away and that will give your wounds more time to knit.

David hardly felt the needle and the Doctor, watching him with some satisfaction, instructed the nurse to remove the saline drip, but to leave the various connections to the patient’s vital statistics oscilloscope, just in case!.

When he awoke again it was daylight and the sun was streaming through the window of his private room. He realised several things instantly. He was fully conscious, it was a new day, he was aware of things that he couldn’t remember yesterday and that he had a dry mouth and a pain in his chest.

He couldn’t at that moment feel any pain in his back, but he realised that it was bandaging that was making it difficult to breath deeply. Still, he thought, with three bullet holes in him that was only to be expected.

He lay back and reviewed the ‘new’ knowledge that was coming to him. Obviously the shooting was intentional and with that many shots, both front and back (coming and going he thought) the person using the gun had intended to kill. One shot was enough to warn or stop him, but to be shot twice when he was facing the gun and then to be shot again when he had presumably turned round, indicated an intention to stop him permanently.

He must have slept some more because when he was woken up it was by a nurse bearing a tray with what turned out to be hot soup. He was not quite sure what the soup was but it was clear and hot and there was a lot of it.

He sat up carefully and took the tray. The nurse busied herself in and around the room until he had finished when she took his pulse.

Then, after removing the tray and allowing the effects of the hot soup to wear off, she took his temperature and made up the chart at the foot of his bed. The soup had been surprisingly good and he realised just how hungry he was. Even the dryness in his mouth had gone but this had been replaced by an increasing pain in his back and chest. He lay back and thought some more.

It was all clear now. He was Detective Chief Inspector David Gregson of the Norfolk Regional Crime Squad. That meant that he was only usually involved in serious crime and it also meant that his work crossed over the usual boundaries of the Police Divisions into which the County was split.

He remembered how he had just successfully finished a rather difficult forgery case and had been to the District Court in Norwich to see the three miscreants involved sentenced to eight years each, when a young Constable met him at the door. to say.

A message from Chief Superintendent Erskine, Sir, and you are wanted in his office right away if not sooner. His words, not mine.

These thoughts were returning to him and rattling through his head with increasing speed, but the more he remembered the more uneasy he became.

When he had knocked on the Superintendent’s door, Erskine had called him in and wasted no time in coming to the point.

He had waved a sheath of papers under David’s nose and demanded. How much do you know about these Country House robberies?.

Well, nothing, sir , David replied I’ve been busy on several other cases and anyway, from what I hear it is not a matter for our squad anyway.

It wasn’t growled the other but it is now!.

Erskine went on to say that there had now been FOUR large house robberies and those upstairs were getting upset that their friends, who either owned the houses that were burgled or owned others like them, were calling up every five minutes to demand action. That pressure has landed on me, he’d said, and now I’m passing it to you!.

David had studied the papers given to him and thought for a while.

Well?. Said Erskine What do you think?.

David looked up I’ve only just heard about the matter first hand he said and I’d like more time to make any intelligent response, but with this many robberies taking place over a matter of one month and in peaceful Norfolk at that, we have to be looking for the same gang.

Quite right said Erskine and that means an organisation, and that means probably an outside gang and that’s where we come in!.

Erskine had then proceeded to review the facts.

On April 3rd a large house on the outskirts of Norwich had been broken into with access being gained through a small upstairs window at the rear. The somewhat elderly alarm system had been expertly by-passed. From information given by the family the raid was thought to have taken place around 3.30 a.m. and although there were several people in the house at the time, no-one had heard anything and no fingerprints or other clues were left The thieves took only a collection of high class, old silver and left a number of other valuable items.

They seemed to know what they wanted and where to find it!. One odd thing was that although one or two people in the neighbourhood were awake and moving about at that time, nothing had been seen and no vehicle had been heard. From the weight of items stolen it was thought that either one thief took more than one trip or there was more than one person involved.

The next burglary was carried out on April 12th at a house in a village near Coltishall, around ten miles North West of Norwich. Again, the house was entered at the back and again through an upstairs window.

Although the alarm system was of a different make to the previous one, it too had been professionally disabled. A valuable collection of jade figures had been stolen but nothing else had been touched. No alien finger prints had been found nor any other worthwhile clue. The owner had retired to bed at around 12.30 a.m., as usual, and the housekeeper had got up to make early morning tea at 6.30 a.m., precisely she said!.

Nothing had been heard in between which left a time range of some five and a half hours. Three vehicles were identified from reports, one a young man delivering his girlfriend home at about 1.0 a.m., another a delivery van that arrived back to the drivers home at around 3.0 a.m. and the third a diesel milk float making it’s rounds at about 5.0 a.m. All of the villagers questions were sure that they would have heard any other vehicle because almost all sounds in the night were unusual there.

Sometime on the night of April 23rd, a large house at Brundall, some nine miles East of Norwich, was burgled with much the same modus operandi. This time the house had been empty and no accurate time could be established but as usual the alarm system had been professionally dealt with. More silver and some china figurines had been taken but although no real clues had been found, an interesting discovery had been made at the side of the house under the small, toilet window through which entry had been gained.

In a flower bed a size eight footprint had been found in the damp soil. This had been made by a canvass shoe of similar design to any number that could be bought in shops up and down the riverways and small lakes that were collectively called The Norfolk Broads. A plaster cast had been taken of the print. The trouble was that the footprint was nearly one and a half inches deep.

The Police had found one of their number who took size eight shoes, dressed him in canvass shoes of the sort that had made the print and stood him in the flower bed. A cast was taken of this footprint and, even allowing for the fact that the ground may have dried out a bit, when compared to the original the Constable’s print was an inch less in depth. The Constable was weighed and turned out to be around twelve stone (Erskine said that he couldn’t be doing with Kilos) and they had then set about establishing the probable weight of the thief that had made the original footprint and they had established that the man had weighed somewhere near eighteen stones.

When the owner of the house returned it was found that neither he nor anyone else in the house owned any canvass pumps and, having no gardener, he could say that no-one that he knew of had been around the area of the flower beds for at least six days.

The question was, how in hell did an eighteen stone man get through a small lavatory window?.

Finally, on April 29th, only last Thursday, there was the theft of more silver from a large house at Horning, ten miles or so North of Norwich.

However, this time the safe had also been expertly opened and jewelery had been stolen. There was no-one in the house because the family only came up at weekends and so timing was difficult although it was known to be at night because the house cleaner had been there until 5.30 p.m. In fact it was she who discovered the robbery the next morning.

Entry had been by the same method as before, through a small window at the rear of the building. Clearly not by a fat man with size eight shoes!. The method of entry was by sticking tape on the glass, cutting round it and removing the glass silently. Then the thief put his hand through the hole and undid the latch, opening the window and entering. No alarm had been tripped for the sufficient reason that no alarm had been fitted to the window which was considered too small for anyone to gain entry through.

There had been considerable rainfall the night before but no footprints or tyre marks had been found.

David had been following the review on the written reports and when Erskine finished, he had sat back and thought some more.

Clearly a gang and clearly a well organised one. More than one man because of the ‘red herrings’ they were able to throw in the Police’s way and because what they had done was impossible for one. The four burglaries were alike enough to be connected but unalike in many different ways. However, it was clear to him that some-one local, or some-one living in the area for some time, was masterminding the affair.

Finally he said, I need more time to study these reports, but has anyone listed the similarities?.

Not as far as I know replied the other but there’s no reason why we can’t do that right here and now, is there. Gregson had found a pad and placing the reports in date order had begun to list the similarities between them".

1)  The robberies were all carried out between 11 p.m. at the earliest and 6.0 a.m. at the latest on the following morning.

2)  On every occasion, entry had been gained through a small upstairs window.

3)  On each occasion the window had been either at the rear or at the side of the house, towards the rear.

4)  The houses had been large and isolated, they had substantial gardens, front and rear, and were approached via private roads of varying lengths from the available public roads.

5)  Each contained portable, valuable items which must have been known to the thieves because they had been highly selective.

6)  Burglar alarm systems, although not all of the same make and design, had been expertly dealt with even though professionally fitted.

7)  No-one had seen or heard an unidentified vehicle near the houses and no unidentified tyre marks had been found.

8)  With the exception of the footprint (carefully manufactured and left for us) no clues had been found. Clearly they were wearing gloves!.

David had been reading the items out as he was writing and his superior was nodding in agreement.

O.K. David he had said that’s pretty comprehensive for a start, now let’s see what conclusions we can draw from it all, and after that we can look in the files for any villains with similar modus operandi’s and start to look for any signs of oddities or discrepancies..

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CHAPTER 2

As he lay there, in David’s mind he was just about to recall his reply when he was rudely dragged back to the present by the Doctor who was making his morning rounds with the nurse. This reconstruction of past events had only taken a few minutes and David was so deep into the past that he had completely forgotten where he was. He opened his eyes and the Doctor, noticing the movement, said Good Morning, how do you feel today?.

David hadn’t even considered the situation and said so.

Well, that’s a good sign, anyway, said the other your chart indicates that things are getting back to normal, but your wounds must be given time to heal and you will be quite weak for a time. Best that you lie there for as long as you can stand it but there’s no reason why you can’t visit the toilet on your own if you are careful, and you can wash your hands and face, and even shave if you wish, but no showers and no bath. The nurses will take care of that.

The Doctor having suggested the toilet reminded David that there was the beginnings of a need and he slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. His reward for this was a series of sharp pains in his upper body. He broke out in a sweat and sat there for a moment until the pain subsided, then tried to stand up. A similar result!.

Mark and the Nurse were watching him closely and at a nod from the Doctor, the nurse took his arm and helped him up and across to the door of his en suite, then left him.

While finishing his ablutions David saw in the mirror a fair haired man of a little more than 6ft in height with broad shoulders and a lean, tanned, fit looking face. He was clean shaven and his hair was short as was to be expected in the Police Force.

When he returned he felt fresher and, he thought, a little stronger. There was a chair near the window and after looking in that direction and raising an eyebrow at the Doctor, and having received a nod, he made for it and sat down.

That’s good said the Doc but be careful. Those wounds will only mend at their own rate, you can’t rush them. Now, we have to talk about lunch. You have only had a light soup to help your digestion get restarted but I expect you are getting hungry right now. I’m going to get on with my rounds and the nurse will tell you of the gastronomic delights available to you. Later, if there are no emergencies, I’ll come back and we’ll talk some more.

David thanked him and when the nurse came over he chose a clear soup, poached fish with boiled potatoes and peas. He declined the sweet. The nurse finished tidying up and before she left he asked about visiting hours.

She informed him that family could come at any time after the Doctor’s rounds, which meant that he could probably expect his visit any time from now.

David looked out of the window and thought some more. So much had happened that the only way that he could make sense of the memories that were flooding back was to force himself to remember the events in the correct order. If he let his mind wander, he was immediately subjected to random flashes of memory which were invariably counter productive.

He recalled his Superintendent asking for his summary and conclusions but at that time he had had only a few ideas and had not been in a position to be anything but sketchy in his reply.

He remembered how he had said that, looking at the points that he had listed, he was already convinced that they were looking for a gang of three or four although this needed to be proved. Then, looking at the list of similarities had given his answers to each in turn.

Obviously he had begun "The fact that in number one all of the robberies having taken place at night was understandable. They usually did!. But in numbers two and three, the point of entry was a different thing all together.

It was clear that only a small person or a contortionist could get through a small window and so we ought to measure the smallest window and establish the maximum size of the person who could have entered. What is more puzzling though is that there was no mention in your reports of any ladders. How did the thieves get up there?". Furthermore, did the person that had entered the house first let the others in or did they all climb through the window?. If he let the gang in, where?, how?.

Erskine scratched his chin for a moment then, having glanced through his papers, said Do you know, that’s the most stupid thing, no-one has thought to ask!. Leave that with me for the time being and I’ll ask each local Station to check on their robbery reports to find out.

O.K. David had replied, I’ll move on. In numbers four and five we are back on more solid ground. The houses were big and isolated and this was as we would expect. Also, the fact that these houses stood in their own grounds is no surprise as they would be most likely to contain items of greatest value. One question is—did the thieves already know what there was to take and another question is—if so, how?.

Finally, I would also like to know, do all the houses back onto water?.

Number six is a puzzle. A past employee of an alarm system manufacturer and/or supplier may know all about his own model of alarm, but would he know all about other makes?. If we find that across the board this knowledge is usual, then did the ‘expert’ need to know the type of alarm before trying to enter a house or did he improvise when he got there?.

Did the need for this knowledge make the expert the one who entered first or did the gang know all about the alarms and were able to enter and then take care of the system?.

On the other hand, if such multi-system knowledge is not usual, it may be helpful to look for anyone that is reputed to be capable of ‘cross-system’ maintenance etc.

Number seven is linked to number four and my question about the houses backing onto water. We all know that Norfolk has a system of waterways and lakes that are collectively called the Norfolk Broads, and most large houses are built with their own grounds extending across lawns at the rear, down to a jetty and the water. What if the gang are getting about in a boat?, you wouldn’t hear any road traffic then, would you?.

His chief had nodded at this and waited for David to finish.

Finally, David had concluded, there is the ‘Red Herring’ of the canvas shoe, and here the gang may have been too clever.

It points us to the water and boats which is where this kind of shoe is worn and causes us to think about the make up of the gang and their possible sizes. No other clues were left which further indicates people who have done this sort of thing before and this is borne out by the fact that a safe was opened in one of the houses.

David finished and looked over at his Chief.

That was damned good at short notice Erskine had said, What you have just outlined are much the same conclusions that I have reached, plus some, and I’ve had the files for a day or two!. Get your desk cleared and pass over any other outstanding matters to me so that I can assign them to other officers. This must take priority.

David recalled that he had left to collect the files and had made his way down one floor and then to the end of the building where he was lucky enough to have a corner office with two windows and two aspects.

Now, sitting at the window in his Hospital room, he idly contemplated the respective views and without effort slipped back into his revue of past events.

He remembered how he had started to formulate a plan of action and had wondered if he should visit all of the houses to see the set-ups for himself.

He recalled that he had decided not to do so straight away but would assume that the various local forces had done what they were trained to do. Only later when he had a clearer picture would he make his visits.

Just then the door opened and looking round David saw his wife Ann. She looked tired but cheerful and immediately crossed to the window to give him a kiss and a very gentle hug. Even so, David winced and Ann was instantly apologetic. I’m so sorry darling she exclaimed I was being as gentle as I could.

That’s alright he replied I didn’t know myself that I was that tender. Anyway, It was worth it and it’s great to see you!.

You old smoothie she laughed But, by God you gave us a scare!. Have they told you yet what happened?. Can you remember?.

Hold on, one thing at a time. First I haven’t seen anyone from the firm, second I’ve therefore heard nothing and third, I am remembering everything up to the actual shooting. What I’m trying to do is to get it all into the right order.

Well, I won’t say anything she replied Not that they’ve told me much anyway!.

They talked about their sons, Ian (15) and Nicholas (12), and about mundane matters such as their up-coming holiday to North Africa. David hadn’t fully accepted yet how near he had come to death but felt a new awareness of things that seemed to matter more now than they had recently. But Ann knew.

They chatted happily until the orderly arrived with his meal and it was with some surprise they realised it was lunch time. Ann took her leave promising to return at 3.0 that afternoon.

The orderly positioned a wheeled tray over his lap and David settled down to eat. The food was surprisingly good and it occupied his thoughts for a while with the sun shinning on him through the window. All in all he felt quite good.

He had not finished when Dr Appleby returned. How is the lunch? he asked as he saw David with his tray,. I’ve finished my rounds and had a quick snack so I thought I’d call in on you and answer any questions that you may have, within reason of course.

I can remember everything now replied David, finishing the last of the potatoes except the actual shooting itself, what led up to it and what happened afterwards

First the Doctor said "call me Mark. Now, as I told you earlier, you were shot three times and without going into technical jargon.

What we believe was that the first bullet entered your left shoulder, fairly high up, missing anything vital, but being of small calibre it did not penetrate far because the muscles are quite large there.

It was still there when you were brought in and we had to dig it out which is why you are quite sore there. Your chaps have it, of course".

"What we assume was the next bullet entered the chest, grazing your left lung, glancing off a rib, which it broke in transit, and exiting under your left arm which we believe was raised at the time.

We also believe that you were turning during this time because the third bullet caught you high in the left shoulder at the back, but was not much more than a flesh wound. You were lucky that the second bullet was not two inches lower and three inches to the right or it would have hit your heart.

You were also lucky that the bullets were small. Your colleagues believe that the gun was an automatic capable of firing the three shots as you turned and fell. More than that I cannot tell you".

David pushed his tray over to Mark who steered it onto the bed.

Thanks for all that he said but how long am I to be in here?. I’ve still got a lot to do on this case, even more in fact now that we know someone has a gun.

You won’t be doing anything for a couple of weeks the other replied "as I have already told you twice, you have got to give these wounds time to heal.

Anyway, I believe that someone else has taken over the case and the priority has been stepped up because of the shooting. I understand it’s now a case of attempted murder!".

They can’t do that shouted David involuntarily, and then Sorry Mark, I didn’t mean to raise my voice but you understand how I feel, don’t you?.

I do, but it seems to me that they are quite right!. In any event, I can’t stop here talking to you all day, and your wife will be back shortly. Get some rest, that’s the best way to get out of here quickly.

Mark Appleby went out and David was once more left with his thoughts. Of course Erskine would re-assign the case, that was obvious now that he thought about it, but he had to get back in there somehow.

He would talk to his Sergeant, Freddie Harben, and get the latest information from him.

That seemed a good plan for the moment and would enable him to catch up to be ready to take over again at the earliest opportunity.

In the meanwhile, he may not be able to move around but that wouldn’t stop him from thinking, and Sgt. Harben could be his legs.

He got up and made his careful way over to the cupboard where he found his watch in a drawer with his personal effects. It was nearly two o’clock. He returned to the seat by the window and was soon lost again in the past.

He recalled how he had decided to get a large Norfolk map and a detailed map of the Broads brought to his office, not, he thought, the same thing. He had called for Sergeant Harben