Back-Slash by Bill Kitson

had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his conviction, and about Moran, but I’m not sure he really meant to kill him; despite what he said at The Golden Bear.’
    ‘In that case we’d better follow Jack out to this cottage, see what went on there. Don’t mention anything about this to anybody else, right? Before we go, get the details of that car from the computer.

    ‘Harry Jones here, Mr Brown. What’s happening?’
    ‘Everything’s been dealt with, Mr Jones. The item for urgent delivery has been dispatched. I can’t say when you will hear that it’s been delivered as the address is remote. However, it has been done.’
    ‘That’s exceedingly good news. Rather than waste time I think we should move on. I have another order to put your way. The dispatch isn’t as urgent but the sooner the order’s been executed the more content I shall feel. I’m sure I can trust to your expertise. I’ll send you the order form in the next few days.’
    ‘I’ll see to that, no problem. I take it payment for the urgent delivery has been sent?’
    ‘Naturally.’
    ‘Then I look forward to receiving your further order.’

chapter eight
    The officers stood in the lounge of the cottage. ‘We need a SOCO team out here. Organize it will you, Jack? Lisa and I will have a look round the rest of the place, then see if we can find anything outside.’
    They walked into the bedroom. ‘This looks as if someone’s been wounded.’ Nash pointed to the torn, bloodstained sheet and equally soiled towel. ‘Unless they were left over from the chainsaw accident.’
    Lisa shook her head. ‘Marshall told me he’d burnt those; made a joke of it. Said when he put them in the Aga they created so much smoke anyone passing the cottage would think he’d been elected Pope.’
    They were wandering round the back of the cottage when Binns joined them. ‘I can’t get a signal on this side of the woods. Do you want me to drive over to Bishop’s Cross? It’s a lot nearer the mast.’
    ‘You’d better do. Ask them to send a sniffer-dog. That’s if the handlers haven’t got flu or the dogs contracted distemper or rabies. It’ll take us weeks to search all this. A dog will do it in hours.’
    They watched Binns depart and Lisa asked, ‘You don’t think Marshall’s returned here, do you? I got the impression he was leaving the area.’
    ‘Maybe that’s what he wanted you to think. The other thing is, it takes two to have a fight. For all we know, Marshall could have killed someone and hidden the body.’ Nash gestured to the surrounding woodland. ‘We might as well make a start whilst we’re waiting.’
    Binns returned with the news that SOCO and the doghandler wouldn’t be available for another two hours. As he was speaking, Lisa shouted to Nash, ‘Mike, you’d better come and have a look at this.’
    Nash looked down at the plastic bag she had found. Stuffed inside were several items of clothing. They donned latex gloves and carried it into the cottage. In the bag they could see the familiar livery worn by staff at The Golden Bear. Nash slid the trousers out and held them up. ‘Lisa, how tall do you reckon Marshall is?’
    Andrews replied instantly. ‘Just over six feet, at a guess.’
    ‘What about his chest measurement? Approximately, I mean.’
    ‘I’d say he was about your size, a forty-two or a forty-four, why do you…?’ She stared at the blood-splattered jacket Nash had taken out of the carrier. ‘Oh, I see.’
    ‘If those bloodstains prove to be from Stuart Moran and Lesley Robertson, Alan Marshall couldn’t have been the killer. Not wearing those clothes anyway.’ Lisa looked at the suit and realized what Nash meant. There was no way Marshall could have squeezed his six feet two inch frame into trousers made for someone six-inches shorter, nor get his forty-four inch chest into a thirty-six inch jacket.
    Nash explained his theory to Binns. ‘There’s something else. Marshall’s been living like a hermit.