Chapter 20 D. S. Smart
Peter whispered to Winona ‘Who was that at the front door?’
‘It’s the police and I don’t think he’s come to help us!’
Eric said ‘Why do you say that?’
’Because he’s got a gun and he’s pointing it at Pat’s head, that’s why and he wants all of you to come down!
Bill whispered, ‘I’ll chance it and stay up here, I might be able to do something to the phone lines first and then go for help through the skylight. You’ll just have to say that I’m not here. Say I’m home with a stomach ache!’
Eric descended the steps and Eric pushes the button and the steps slid up and the trapdoor closed. He noticed that this time the light didn’t go out and hoped that Smart had not noticed either.
Winona, Peter and Eric were shocked to see D.S. Smart standing with gun in hand and beckoning each to descend to the ground floor squeezing and pulling Pat by the arm which made her almost cry out in pain.
Smart said, ‘Where’s that nosey know-it-all bastard Bill Monkton?’
Winona said, ‘He’s at home with a stomach ache!’
Smart said ‘Pity! I wanted him specially, a little cruelty goes a long way!’
‘Why do you want to do something to my husband, what’s he done to you?’
‘If he hadn’t poked his nose into my business, I would have got away with murder! So! Please ‘phone him and tell him to come round. You see I said please, pretty please!’
Winona looked confused and hesitated.
‘He might be in bed!’
’Well! He can get up, cant he! What are you waiting for! Telephone him, NOW!’
Winona moved to the phone and started to dial the number and to her surprise Bill answered and Smart snatched the phone from Winona, and at the same time pressed the monitor button that allows the conversation to be heard by all.
‘I want you here, standing in front of me you, you bastard!’
’I can’t come!’
’If you want to see your wife’s pretty face again, you will be here!’
’Why You bloody-minded insane pig!’
‘Now! Now! Lets not be too hasty with our words, I’ve already put someone in hospital, another person won’t make any difference to me!’
Smart replaced the receiver.
Eric said ’I thought you were after me!’
’I am and this is so cosy to have you all in one place!’
’What’s to stop us all rushing you!’
’This!’ Smart produces his gun and he starts waving it around and fires a shot upwards just missing the centre light fitting.
’That was not very practical, the neighbours will hear if you keep firing that gun of yours!’
Smart shrugged his shoulders.
‘They won’t hear! One side is on holiday, the other is up for sale. It’s all down to good honest precision planning!’
‘I can not see anything good in this or even honest for that matter!’
‘Be quiet! No one asked for your opinion! What’s keeping your husband?’
Winona said, ‘We live about 15 minutes away – Bill hasn’t got the car, it’s in the garage being serviced, so he’s having to walk.’
‘How did you get here?’
‘I came with Peter and Pat.’
‘I didn’t know they lived near you.’
‘They don’t. They came and picked me up.’
‘If you’re lying…….!’
‘Why should I lie?’
‘You could be playing for time!’
All the time Smart was pacing up and down waving the gun about
Eric said ’I don’t suppose it’s too much to ask, but could you put that gun away?’
Smart put the safety catch on and placed it in his jacket pocket.
‘Thank you!’
‘Don’t get any ideas!’
Smart patted his jacket pocket reassuringly and walked to the lounge steps, paused briefly and then went up to where the trapdoor was, paused again and then pressed the button that operates the trapdoor. As usual it slid open and the steps moved very slowly down. Smart climbed to the top and the light was already on. He didn’t climb into the loft space, but came down and pressed the button, the ladder disappeared and the loft door close and the light turned off. He came down the lounge steps and muttered. ‘I’m sure the light never went out as you got off the last rung of the steps! Have you had it changed since I was here last and why don’t you keep these steps in the down position, it would save time, having to keep pushing that stupid button!’
‘To answer your questions, yes the light did not go out as you say, but I think the solenoid is stuck and it’s not working properly. The reason why we don’t have the steps down is if there are only two of us in the house, we don’t need the extra space. We keep it open only when we have visitors. There are only two bedrooms, a shower room and toilet facilities. In fact I have had a lot of teething problems and the whole thing might have to be scrapped and have a permanent stairway built.
‘If you should live that long! You might……………shh! I thought I heard a noise!’
Smart looked towards the lounge stairs.
Eric said, ’Everything in this building creaks a lot, being brand new. Perhaps it might be wise to leave the steps in the down position, probably the creaking noise will stop! Also you never checked the downstair’s bedroom!’
’Thank you – I will just go and do that!’
’Don’t mention it!’
Smart disappeared into each bedroom and Eric was able to signify to the others by nodding his head in the direction of the loft space that he could see help was arriving in the form of police constables, who must have obtained a ladder and had climbed onto the roof and gained access through the open window, left by Bill, who must have driven like blazes to get home to answer the telephone which he knew was going to ring. This he could see through a ventilator grid built into the wall. Somebody had used their brains by sliding the grid handle backwards and forwards. Probably that must have the noise that Smart heard. Bill must have rung the police and informed them of the situation. On the way back Smart pressed the button and the trapdoor slid jerkily back and the steps only came halfway down and the light never came on. Smart pressed the button again and nothing happened. He shrugged his shoulders.
Smart said ’It doesn’t work at all now! And all the bedrooms are clear.’
Eric said ’I thought you were going to be invisible to the events, not show your face, be a witness to my arrest, you said. Why show yourself?’
’Your wife! She’s come out of her coma. She can identify me. I can’t get anywhere near her because of her police guard. So the next best thing is to eliminate you!’
Eric was taken aback.
Eric said ’You must be mad!’
Smart said ’Aren’t I?’
Eric said ’I can’t see why though! There’s got to be more than just Jenny in the equation, you’ll have to refresh my memory.’
Smart said ’Yes, there is! I started up my own business, I was in the same kind of line as your company and it was thriving very nicely. Mr. Cranbrook invited me to view his set-up and to discuss the possibility of my firm supplying cables at cost price. I informed him that my business was too small to be able to cope with that sort of work load. So he decided to undercut my prices so much that eventually I went bankrupt and had to sell up at a loss!’
Eric said ’I don’t see how this involves Barbara or myself for that matter. My department deals in Plastics and Barbara has been a housewife ever since we were married, so she has not been involved with her Father’s firm at all!’
Smart said. ’You don’t understand, do you? I lost everything, my business, my fiancée, my money, my respectability and I thought that the only way back to civilisation was to move away and start again.’
’You can’t blame me for Jenny’s death, you murdered her!’
Smart said ’Yes I know, but that was an accident, I didn’t mean to kill her! She just happened to be crossing the road at the wrong time. It was shortly after my last meeting with your Father-in-law to try and persuade him not to go ahead with his plans. I wasn’t going anywhere fast, so I decided to cut my losses and that’s when I devised this scheme of implicating you!’
Eric said ’Why are you telling me all this, aren’t you afraid that I might tell the police everything, considering you even tried to murder Barbara and confessed to it!’
Smart said ’But you see I’m not letting you walk from here, because of that reason! I would have to be completely insane to allow you to go!’
Eric said ’So you are going to shoot me and kill all my friends as well!’
Smart said ’If it’s necessary! I have five bullets left in the gun and a further three in my pocket.’
’It’s going to be a very noisy affair!’
’There are ways of shooting people without it being noisy.’
Eric said ’By the way the police have found Mr. Jackson. He will be able to identify you for a start.’
‘I thought they would take longer to find him as I had trussed him up and placed him at the bottom of one of the inspection pits with your car on top!
At that moment the doorbell went. Smart removed the gun from his pocket and waved Eric towards the front door.
Smart said ’Stay close! Move!’
Eric said ’Okay! Don’t poke me with that!’
Eric moved towards the front door followed closely by Smart. He opened the door and it was Bill.
Smart said ’At last you’re here!’
Bill shut the front door and walked towards Eric and Smart and at the last moment sees the gun pointing at Eric’s back. If he was thinking of jumping Smart this was not a good time to do it. Bill walked past Eric and Eric is told to turn round and march back to the lounge. Smart followed them into the lounge. He pushed Eric down in the first available chair and went up to Bill and struck him on the back of the head. Bill fell in a heap. Winona screamed and rushed towards Bill’s crumbled form.
‘You’ve killed him!’
’I wish! He’s breathing isn’t he?’
‘You callous bastard!’
’Language!’
Eric said, ’There was no reason for you to do that!’ Winona knelt down and placed Bill’s head on her knee and began to stroke his head, he comes to and grabbed Winona’s hand and said ’Don’t do that! It’s very sore!’
’Don’t they look cute together!’
’Why did you hit me? I haven’t done anything against you!’
Smart said ’Of course you did. You remembered me, but I suppose it was my own fault for eating too many sweets and leaving the wrappers. A very bad habit, I must remember not to do it in the future’
Eric said ’You’re not so smart as you think you are, of course you are Smart, but not so smart in the way you’ve handled this!
Smart laughed ’Ha! Ha! Ha! So you think you’re clever, we will see about that!
He picked up a cushion and placed the gun up against it and fired, Eric cried in pain as the bullet entered his right arm, blood began to pour from his arm and he clutched it with his left hand to try to stem the bleeding. Winona screamed and Pat fainted. Peter rushed forward to help Eric, but Smart pushed him back in his chair.
Smart said, ’Be a good little boy!’
He waved the gun under Peter’s nose, if you want to help, tend to your wife’s needs. Peter moved to where Pat lay and picked her up and placed her onto the sofa. He went to the kitchen for glass of water and picked up a tea towel and threw it Eric’s direction.
Smart said ’I warned you!’
He waved the gun again in Peter’s direction and he took aim and then the front door bell rang. There was a heavy silence.