Murder Comes Calling Read Online Free PDF Page A

deadly serious. “Is that why so many homes are up for sale, assuming the spate of For Sale signs predates the murders?” he asked his friend.
    “Seven. Ten per cent of the total number of homes. But you know what people are like. Sheep. They suddenly get scared they’ll miss out and get left behind. But a high volume of signs devalues the properties. The homeowners are all trying to undercut each other.”
    “Chris Walker must have been in clover—before he ended up in hot water.”
    “Oh, he was exploiting the situation, telling everyone it was time to move out and get into a newer property. The sellers, quite frankly, can’t tolerate the increase in noise pollution.”
    “That bad?”
    “Dogs barking like you wouldn’t believe. Motorcycles with modified pipes that sound like Boeing jets. And it used to be such a peaceful community,” Malcolm said wistfully. “A lot of homemakers and retirees with time to spend on their gardens and organize neighbourly events like barbeques and fêtes on the green … Jocelyn was very involved.”
    “She was a remarkably gifted woman,” Rex reminisced along with him.
    “It’s not the same without her. Not just for me. All of Notting Hamlet suffered when she passed away.”
    “I remember her funeral was very well-attended.”
    Malcolm indicated Rex’s jacket lying in transit across his lap. “Can we at least wait until morning?” he asked, looking lost and dejected.
    Rex took pity on his bereaved friend. “Fair enough,” he relented. “It’s getting late and I’m ready for bed.”
    “I’ll show you around the Hamlet tomorrow, give you a better picture.”
    “That would be helpful. Shame you don’t have a dog we could walk. It would be a good way to meet people and get information.”
    Malcolm reacted cheerfully to the suggestion. “Mr. Olson, who’s currently bedridden, has a nice black Lab that needs walking. The neighbours take it in turns to help out.”
    “I like Labs. And I need the exercise. What’s the dog’s name?”
    “Magic.”
    “Well, let’s see what magic he can conjure up for us,” Rex said. They would certainly need it. It appeared someone didn’t want any sellers leaving Notting Hamlet and preferred to see them dead.

five
    Magic proved to be getting on in years, much like his owner, but like most Labradors was eager to please and obediently followed Rex on his lead, his black tail wagging obligingly. Malcolm had gone to “turn himself in” as he put it, and almost two hours later had not returned. Before leaving, he had given Rex a tour of Notting Hamlet in his car, pointing out where the murders had taken place. Police tape still girded the homes of Ernest Blackwell, Barry Burns, and Vic Chandler, a reminder that crime had made multiple visits to Notting Hamlet.
    The community was essentially T-shaped, with a cul-de-sac at each end of the top bar. A square, referred to as “the green,” stood in between the cul-de-sacs, bucolically named Badger Court and Otter Court respectively. These backed onto the River Ivel, a tributary of the Great Ouse, and contained the most prestigious properties, due to the water views, though even with all the rain this part of the river was narrow, as Rex had noted from his bedroom window. Barry Burns and Vic Chandler had met their deaths in Badger Court, Malcolm’s cul-de-sac west of the square. Mostly surrounded by evergreens, it afforded privacy and shelter from the wind, not to mention ample cover for an intruder bent on murder.
    The developer had continued his wildlife theme by designating the street leading from the square to the entrance as Fox Lane. This, the sole vehicle access to the community, was approached from the south side by Notting Hamlet Road, which ran through open countryside, the fields and gently undulating hills interspersed with copses of bare trees. As far as developments went, Notting Hamlet had been well-planned, and its drawback of residing off the beaten track had no doubt