Murder Mystery Trilogy

By Steve Graham

The Murder Mystery Trilogy contains three of Steve Graham`s most recent and most popular crime fiction books, in the Inspector Jameson series.

Death In The Woods - When the body of a young woman is found in the woods, it was to be the first of a chain of events that would have the residents of Helperton afraid for the safety of their loved ones. Inspector Jameson and his assistant Sergeant Jones investigate, but it proved to be one of the most complicated and difficult cases that they had ever had to deal with. How could they solve this case when they don`t know who is committing these crimes, or why. There are so many twists and turns that it will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.

My Daughter Is Missing - When a mother contacted Helperton police station to report her daughter, Becky, as missing, Inspector Jameson and his assistant Sergeant Jones began to investigate. At first they hoped that Becky had just run off with her new boyfriend, and that she`d turn up eventually, but then they discovered traces of blood in Becky`s flat, and they realised that this was something far more serious.

Psychopath - When a man was viciously attacked, the sleepy town of Helperton was rocked to its very foundations. The blood-stained scene was like something out of a horror movie, and Detective Inspector Jameson knew that he had to find the man responsible before he could attack anyone else. This proved to be very difficult however, because there were just so many questions, and he did not know the answer to any of them. Who was doing this? Why were they doing it, and would the attacker strike again?
The pulsating story continues with many twists and turns, until reaching its thrilling conclusion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Graham
• Release date: Dec 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463704448

Steve Graham

Steve Graham is a retired financial adviser, who now lives in Staffordshire. He is married to Anita and they have four children – Lynne, John, Diana and Gary, and three grandchildren – Logan, Dylan and Sami. Not forgetting their dog Stan, a Springer Spaniel / Border Collie cross, that is loved by them all. Now that he has retired, Steve spends most of his time doing the things that he enjoys most, which includes writing, walking. Carp fishing, and looking after his grandchildren.

Book preview

DEATH IN THE WOODS

Steve Graham

First published in 2018

by Smashwords.com

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1.

Lynne Price was feeling rather pleased with herself. She`d attended her Weight Watchers class earlier that evening, and she`d lost another two pounds. She`d only started at Weight Watchers in January, and now in mid-April, she had lost just over a stone in total.

‘If I keep this up, I`ll reach my target weight by July, in time for our holiday.’ she said to herself, as she jogged along the little track beside the woods. She was going to Barbados on holiday with her husband John, and she wanted to look good as she walked along the beach in her bikini. The two of them always went away on a nice holiday to somewhere warm each year, but Barbados was a special destination for them both. It was where they`d gone on their honeymoon six years before, and they`d both been looking forward to going back. As well as being careful with her diet, Lynne had started taking more exercise, so she had been going to her local gym three times a week, and had taken up jogging too. Although she had only taken up the jogging as a means of losing weight and getting fit, surprisingly Lynne had found that she really enjoyed it. It gave her time to think as she ran, with no distractions, and she always felt better for it, and more relaxed afterwards.

Back at home, Lynne`s Husband John, was sitting watching the television, while he waited for her to get back from her run. He had to admit that he was feeling a little bit guilty that he hadn`t been more supportive with Lynne`s fitness regime.

‘Perhaps I could have gone jogging with her, or gone down to the gym with her now and then.’ he said to himself.

To make up for it, he decided to take her out for a nice meal that evening. They`d been to Pinocchio’s, the local Italian restaurant in Helperton, about five or six weeks before, and Lynne had loved it, so perhaps he`d take her there again tonight.

John Price was 39 years old, and six feet one tall with dark hair, and had been happily married to Lynne for six years. He was an accountant, and owned a local accountancy firm in partnership with his friend Peter Dawson. The firm was doing very well, and John didn`t have a worry in the world. As he sat there watching the television, his mobile rang, and when he looked at the screen, he saw that it was Peter.

‘Hi Peter,’ he said, ‘what`s up mate?’

‘I just wondered if Sarah was over your place with Lynne. She wasn`t here when I got home, and I can`t get through to her on her mobile.’

‘No I haven`t seen her Peter, and Lynne`s not here either. She`s gone for a run, and then I`m taking her out for a meal when she gets back.’

‘Not to worry John, I`m sure Sarah will turn up eventually. Enjoy your meal, and I`ll see you in the office on Monday. Goodnight.’

‘Thanks Peter, goodnight.’ he replied.

It was half-past six on Friday evening, and at Helperton Police Station, Detective Inspector David Jameson, and Detective Sergeant Beverley Jones were just about to go home. Dave Jameson was six feet tall, with dark hair and brown eyes, and he`d been Detective Inspector at Helperton for almost ten years. He had been married to his wife Linda for more than eighteen years now, and despite the pressure of the job, they were still very happy, after all that time. They had two children, Darren who was sixteen, and Bella, who was fourteen, and both children were a credit to them.

Bev Jones had been promoted to Detective Sergeant just over two years before. She was five feet seven tall, and a brunette with brown eyes. She was engaged to her boyfriend John Harper, who was an ambulance driver, and they planned to get married the following year.

Just as they were about to leave, Sergeant Brown approached them. Paul Brown had been Desk Sergeant at Helperton for as long as any-one could remember, and he was very popular with everyone there.

‘We`ve just had a rather disturbing phone call Inspector.’ he said.

‘Oh really Paul, you`d better tell me about it.’

‘Well the call has been recorded of course, so you`ll be able to hear it all later, but I can tell you the gist of it. The call was from a man who claimed that he had just killed a woman, and that her body was in Helperton woods, not far from the junction of Thornton Road and Helperton Road.’

‘Right we`ll go down there and have a look. Hopefully it`s just a hoax call, but we`d better not take any chances. Can you arrange for half a dozen others to come and help us to search the area please Paul.

‘Of course Inspector, I`ll get on to it now.’

Just ten minutes after they had started searching, they realised that the call had definitely not been a hoax, when they found the body of a young woman. The cause of death was obvious, because the back of her skull had been caved in, and there was an awful lot of blood. She was dressed for running, and they couldn`t find a handbag, or any form of identification, but they did find a mobile phone.

‘We should be able to find out who she is from the phone number guv.’ Bev suggested.

‘Yes I`m sure that you`re right Bev.’ Dave replied. ‘Let`s get back to the station. I want to listen to the recording of that call. That was a vicious attack, and I want whoever did it caught, and off the streets, before he can hurt anyone else.’

About an hour later Sergeant Brown came to see Dave, with the news that they`d traced the owner of the mobile phone, which had been found at the scene.

‘It`s registered to a Mrs. Lynne Price, at number six Cavendish Crescent, Helperton, Inspector. I`ve checked the address, and there is also a Mr. John Price registered as living there. He`s aged 39, so I presume that it`s her husband.’

‘Thanks Paul.’ Dave replied. ‘Bev and I will go there straight away. I`ve listened to that recording several times, and I don`t like it one little bit. It`s almost as if the guy is taunting us. He seems to have used some sort of device to alter the sound of his voice so that we can`t recognise it. Perhaps you can get one of our technical chaps onto it. They might be able to make it clearer. Can you get someone to get what he said down on paper for me please? It might help if I can see what he said in black and white, rather than just listening to it.’

‘I`ll arrange that to be done straight away Inspector.’ Sergeant Brown replied.

‘Right Bev, let`s go and see Mr. Price. The sooner we get this over with, the better.’

They arrived at number six Cavendish Crescent just before half-past eight that evening. It was a large four-bedroomed detached house, with a double garage, on the outskirts of the town. Dave rang the bell, and the door was answered by a tall dark-haired man.

‘I am Detective Inspector David Jameson,’ said Dave, showing him his warrant card, ‘and my colleague is Detective Sergeant Beverley Jones. Are you Mr. John Price?’

‘Yes I am. Is it Lynne? Is she alright?’

‘Perhaps it would be better if we talked inside Sir.’ Dave suggested.

‘Yes of course Inspector, please come in.’

Once they were inside, John asked again.

‘Has something happened to Lynne?’

‘I`m sorry to inform you Sir, that a woman was found in Helperton woods earlier this evening. Sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene. A formal identification hasn`t taken place yet of course, but a mobile phone, which we have confirmed as belonging to your wife, was found nearby.’

‘Oh my god no, not my Lynne. I knew that something had happened to her, but I didn`t know what to do.’ he said, and he started to sob.

‘I`m sorry Sir, how did you know that something had happened to her?’ Bev asked.

‘She went out jogging just after I got home this evening. She`s normally out for about an hour or so, but when she hadn`t come back two hours later, I knew that something was wrong. I tried ringing her, but she didn’t answer. Can you tell me what happened to her please Inspector?’

‘There will have to be an autopsy I`m afraid, so I wouldn`t like to speculate at this stage, but it seems that she was attacked.’

‘Why would anyone want to hurt my Lynne? She`s never done any harm to anybody, and everyone liked her.’

‘I realise that this has been very traumatic for you Mr. Price, but there are several questions that I need to ask you. It`s purely routine you understand, but it has to be done.’

‘Of course Inspector, what do you want to know?’

‘Can you tell me where you were today please?’

‘I went to work just before nine o`clock this morning as usual.’

‘And where do you work Sir?’

‘At Dawson and Price, the accountants in Main Street.’

‘Were you there all day?’

‘Yes I didn`t leave the office except for a quick snack at lunchtime, when I went into the Red Lion with Peter. We were both very busy, so we only stayed for half an hour or so.’

‘And who is Peter?’

‘Oh sorry, that’s Peter Dawson. He’s my partner in the firm.’

‘What time did you leave the office this evening?’

‘At about twenty past five. The office shuts at five o`clock, but Peter and I were discussing a client, so we both left a little later.’

‘Where did you go when you left the office?’

‘I came straight home. Lynne was just getting ready for her run as I got back, and she went out about ten minutes later.’

‘So what time would that be?’

‘I don’t know. About twenty to six I suppose. Maybe a little later. I didn’t really notice the time.’

‘And you`ve been here since then?’

‘Yes I haven`t left the house. I was waiting here for Lynne. I was going to take her out for a meal, to the Italian restaurant in town.’

‘Is there anyone that can confirm that you were here?’

‘No I suppose not because I was here by myself, although Peter did ring me at about half-past six.’

‘You say that you tried to ring your wife, but she didn’t answer.’

‘That`s right Inspector. I must have rung her five or six times.’

‘Did the calls go straight through to answerphone?’

‘Not straight away no. Her phone rang for a short while each time, before the answerphone kicked in. I left a couple of messages, but I didn`t get a reply.’

‘That will be all for now Mr. Price. Thank you very much for your help. There is one more thing that you can do for us. Have you got a recent photograph of your wife please?’

‘There`s one on the coffee table over there. It was taken on holiday last year.’

‘That will be perfect thank you. I`ll have some copies made, and then I`ll make sure that the original is returned to you. I realise that this has been very difficult for you, and I`m very sorry for your loss. We`ll be in touch as soon as we know any more.’

‘Is there someone that could come to stay with you Mr. Price? A family member or a friend perhaps?’ Bev asked.

‘There`s my Mum and Dad, but they’ll be devastated. They loved Lynne, and they treated her just like their own daughter. I don’t know how I’m going to break it to them.’

‘You just take care, and we`ll be in touch. If you need to talk to us about anything, then don`t hesitate to ring.’

‘Thank you Sergeant.’ he said, as he started to sob once more.

2.

Back at the station the next morning, Dave gathered all his team around him, and started to organise the investigation, and write down the main points on a white board.

The victim was a Mrs. Lynne Price

Age - 34

Five feet 10 tall

Blonde hair

Blue eyes.

Occupation – Administrator at Greens Rubber Mouldings, Helperton

Married to John Price

Address 6 Cavendish Close, Helperton

Time of death - between 5.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Friday 12th April 2019

Cause of death – A blow to the back of the head

Place of death – Helperton woods.

‘That`s what we know so far. Of course when the pathologist has completed the autopsy, we should know a lot more. Now there is one very strange part to this case. The murder was reported to us by telephone, by a man claiming to be the attacker. He identified the place that the victim could be found, and that information proved to be correct. The caller told us that his name was Bill, but there`s no way of knowing if that is true. Some other things that he said during the call were very worrying. He said that this would not be the last victim that would be found, and that he`d call again when he`d killed the next one. He then said that the police weren`t clever enough to catch him. It was as if he was taunting us. Because the call was made on a mobile phone, I was hoping that we`d be able to trace the number, and the callers details, but unfortunately it was a pay as you go phone, and we`ve not been able to trace it, which is very disappointing. Now this was a vicious attack and this man is extremely dangerous, so we need to catch him before he has a chance to attack again. In view of this, I`m afraid that all leave is cancelled with immediate effect.’

‘Any questions?’

‘Have we been able to gather any helpful information from the crime scene?’ Bob asked.

‘They`re still searching at the moment Bob, but they should finish by about mid-afternoon, so hopefully they`ll have something to tell us soon.’

‘Paul, I want to make an appeal to the public for help. Could you arrange that for me please? I`d like it to be sometime tomorrow morning, if that`s possible. Can you set up a help-line to receive calls too please?’

‘I`ll get on to it now Inspector.’

‘At this stage we don`t know if Mrs. Price was specifically targeted, or if this was just a random attack, but I think that we`d better start by assuming that this wasn`t random. The caller made several disparaging remarks about her. He called her a slut, said that she deserved it and that there was now one less bitch in the world. He obviously had something against her, so we need to know what it was.’

‘Craig can you go to Greens, where she worked, and see if you can find out anything.’

‘Yes guv.’

‘Shirley, can you go down to the gym please? Apparently she has been working out there about three times a week since January, so she should be quite well known. Ask if there`s anyone there called Bill, but don`t tell them the reason why you`re asking.’

‘I understand guv.’

‘There are about a dozen or so houses fairly near to where the victim was found. Bob, can you and Terry speak to the people living there. They might have seen something. Perhaps someone was seen following her for instance. If there`s no-one in at any of those houses, then make a note of it and call back. It`s important that we don`t miss anything.’

‘Sure guv.’

‘Okay let`s get to work, and find this guy.’

‘What did you make of the husband guv?’ Bev asked after the others had left the room.

‘I`m not sure Bev, but we`ll ask around, and if he had anything to do with it, then I`m sure that we`ll soon find out. I think that we`ll go and see his business partner, Peter Dawson. The accountancy firm is just along the street. They`ve been working together for some time, so he should be able to give us some insight into John Price`s character, and also the state of his marriage.’

‘I`m sure that you`re right guv. Apparently they were quite good friends, as well as business partners.’

‘I think that we`ll walk down there. It`s not far, so there`s no point in taking the car. You`d better get your coat though Bev, because it`s quite chilly out there this morning.’

When they walked into the accountancy firm of Dawson and Price, they introduced themselves to the secretary, and she showed them into Peter Dawson`s office.

‘I`m afraid that John isn`t here at the moment.’ he told them. ‘He`s taking some time off, after what happened to Lynne.’

‘That perfectly understandable,’ Dave replied, ‘but we`d like a word with you if we may.’

‘Of course Inspector. How can I help?’

‘Well it`s just routine, but as you are his business partner, you obviously know Mr. Price very well,’

‘Yes I`ve known John for several years, and count him as one of my friends as well as a business associate. In fact my wife and I have known both John and Lynne for some time. Sarah used to go to the gym with Lynne quite regularly, although Sarah used to spend most of her time there in the pool or the Jacuzzi, rather than doing anything strenuous. She`s been jogging with Lynne a couple of times too, although Lynne normally ran by herself. Have you any idea who did this to her Inspector?’

‘The investigation is progressing, but I can`t say much more at this stage. I`m sure that you understand. You can help us though by telling us what you know about Mr. And Mrs. Price. Was it a happy marriage?’

‘I`m afraid that you`re way off the mark there Inspector. John and Lynne were devoted to each other. I don`t think that I can remember them ever having a cross word, and they were as happy together as any couple that I have ever seen.’

‘Was there anything that either of them were worried about?’ asked Bev. ‘Did they have any money troubles for instance?’

‘Not at all Sergeant. They both seemed very content. As far as money trouble goes, I don`t think that was a problem at all. The firm is doing very well indeed, so much so that we have been thinking about taking on another partner, and maybe moving to larger premises, because we`ve got more work than we can handle.’

‘One last thing Mr. Dawson, did you speak to Mr. Price at all yesterday evening?’ Dave asked.

Yes I did Inspector. I rang him to ask if my wife was there with Lynne, but he told me that Sarah wasn`t there and that Lynne was out running.’

‘And what time would that be?’

‘About seven I suppose, or maybe a bit before, and then John rang me at about half-past nine to let me know what had happened, and to say that he wouldn`t be coming in to work today.’

‘Thank you very much for your help Mr. Dawson.’ Dave said as they stood up to leave.

‘I just hope that you catch him. Lynne was a lovely woman, a real lady, and it was a terrible thing that happened to her. If there`s any way that I can help, then please don`t hesitate to contact me.’

‘Thank you Mr. Dawson. Good morning.’

‘Well what do you make of that guv?’ Bev asked as they walked back to the station.’ Mr. and Mrs. Price seemed to have the perfect marriage.’

‘On the face of it yes Bev, but Dawson is a friend of John Price, so he`s hardly likely to slag him off to us. It doesn`t seem to gel with what the caller said about Mrs. Price on that recording either.’

‘That`s a fair point guv.’

‘Would you request the phone records for John Price`s mobile please Bev? He told us that he made several calls to his wife that evening, and I`d like to check that he did, and at what times he made those calls. The records should also show the call from Dawson too. While you`re at it, can you request the phone records for Lynne Price`s mobile as well. Get them for the last three months. You never know, there might be something there that can help us.’

‘That`s a good idea guv. I`ll do it as soon as we get back.’

Just after eleven o`clock that morning Craig Simms walked into Dave`s office. Craig was twenty-seven years old and five feet 11 tall, with ginger hair, and had been a constable at Helperton for the last four years.

‘I`ve been down to Greens, where Lynne Price worked guv.’ he said, as he approached the desk.’

‘Thank you Craig. What did you find out?’

‘She worked there as an administrator. I spoke to quite a few people there, and they all seemed to have a similar opinion about her. She was very well liked, and seemed very happy. No-one knew of anything that was worrying her, or of any arguments that she`d had with anybody. The impression I got was that she was just a very nice person. I know that everyone always says that when someone dies, but in this case I got the impression that it was true.’

‘Thanks Craig, that`s very interesting.’

Craig had only just left the office when Shirley Townsend walked in with Bev. Shirley was five feet 7 tall, and very attractive with her fair hair and blue eyes. She`d been a W.P.C. at Helperton for the last six years, and had proved to be a very valuable member of the team during that time, to such an extent that Dave had recently recommended her for promotion.

‘What can I do for you Shirley?’ Dave asked, as she approached.

‘I`ve just got back from the gym guv.’ she replied.

‘Oh good. Pull up a chair and tell us all about it.’

‘Well I talked to quite a few of the members there, especially the girls, and most of them knew Lynne Price. I tried to find out if she got on well with any of the male members. She used to go there about three times a week, but it appears that although she was always perfectly friendly with everyone, she just used to get on with her fitness exercises and keep herself to herself. No-one knew of any of the other members having any problems with her, or of anything that she was worried about. While I was asking about Lynne Price however, I was told something about another of the members. Sarah Dawson, who was a friend of Lynne`s, and the wife of her husband`s business partner.’

‘What did you hear about her?’ Bev asked.

‘Well I heard the same thing from two different girls, and they both said that Sarah Dawson was well known for going after other men. One girl told me that she knew of two male members that she`d definitely had affairs with. Now after what was said about Lynne Price on that recording, I was half-expecting something like that to be said about her, but there wasn`t anything. I don`t know if it`s relevant at all guv, but I thought that you ought to know.’

‘It`s something to bear in mind anyway. Did you find out anything else while you were there?’

‘I asked if there were any members with the first name Bill, or William, and there were two. I`ve got their details here. The first one is William Harper. He`s sixty-seven years old and goes to the gym about once a fortnight with his wife. Apparently he isn`t that mobile and they normally spend about an hour or so in the pool. The other one might be of more interest to us though. His name is William Bowen. He`s thirty-two years old and goes to the gym most days. He`s very fit and spends a lot of time lifting weights.’

‘Now that does sound more like it. Did you get contact details for them both Shirley?’

‘Yes I`ve got an address for each of them and a mobile number for Mr. Bowen. Mr. Harper hasn`t got a mobile, but they gave me his home phone number. I`ve written it all down here for you guv.’

‘That`s fantastic work Shirley. You`d better go and have a break.’

‘That guy Bowen sounds like he`s worth checking out guv.’ Bev said, after Shirley had left the room.

‘Yes he does Bev, but I think that we`ll go and see both of them, just to be on the safe side. Give them both a ring and try to make an appointment to see them today if you can. Ideally I`d like to see Mr. Harper this afternoon, and Bowen this evening. Harper`s sixty-seven, so he`s well past retiring age, and should be in during the day. Bowen`s only thirty-two, and I presume that he`s working, so an appointment for this evening might be better.’

‘I`ll try to get hold of them now guv.’

Thanks Bev, and when you`ve done that we`d better grab something to eat. I doubt if we`ll get much chance later.’

3.

When Dave and Bev got back from lunch, Terry Hawkins was waiting for them. Terry was twenty-eight years old, and had been a constable at Helperton for the last five years. He often worked with Bob Shilton, and although Bob was three years younger than Terry, and hadn`t got quite so much experience in the job; they got on very well, and formed a formidable partnership. Dave had given them the task of speaking to the residents of the houses near to the crime scene, and Terry had come to let Dave know about the results of those enquiries.

‘There are four houses that we`ve got to go back to guv, because no-one was in when we called, but we plan to do that this evening before we finish work. Most people didn`t see anything and weren`t much help, but there was one chap who said he saw a car parked in the layby, a couple of hundred yards from where the body was found. His name is David Paisley, and he`s a retired engineer. I`ll let you have the full statement later this afternoon, but he told us that he saw the car parked there just after six o`clock last night. He said it was a silver coloured Volkswagen 4x4. He was very definite about that, and told us that he`d been thinking of changing his own car, and had been looking at a similar one down at the Volkswagen garage, which is why he`d noticed it. He couldn`t tell us what time the car was parked there, or what time it left, and of course he didn`t make a note of the registration number. He didn`t get a sight of the driver either unfortunately. It`s not much guv, but it might just help.’

‘Let`s hope that someone at one of the houses that you re-visiting tonight saw that car too, and if we`re lucky, then perhaps they might even have caught a glimpse of the driver. Let me know when you`ve seen them all. Thanks Terry.’

Dave and Bev went to see Mr. Harper that afternoon, but it soon became apparent that he had nothing to do with the crime. Neither Mr. Harper nor his wife could remember seeing Lynne Price, either at the gym, or anywhere else for that matter, so after thanking Mr and Mrs Harper for their help, they headed back to the station.

Sergeant Brown had some news for them on their return.

‘The search of the crime scene has been completed Inspector.’ he told them.

‘Did they find anything interesting Paul?’ Dave asked.

‘I`m not sure Inspector. I think that it`s going