Death on Tyneside

Chapter Three

Chapter ThreeThe taxi dropped Agnes off at the entrance to the park. She had taken the first cab in the taxi rank close to the hotel, rather than contact Ben. He might have felt inclined to give her another free ride and she wasn't having that.

Despite the chill in the air, she found a number of people in the park. Most were teenagers using the skateboard area. The local schools had broken up for the Easter break. She stopped to watch as they rolled up and down the slopes. The more self-assured travelled at high speed on the higher slopes, obviously loving every minute. Some of them were very clever, making it all look effortless. Others, not so confident, preferred to take things more slowly, staying on the lower slopes. Agnes decided that were she a youngster today, she would have been part of the latter group.

In her day, roller skates were the big thing. Someone had even let her borrow a pair one afternoon. But, once strapped to her feet, they seemed to take on a mind of their own. The wheels had started to move, taking her with them. The street they lived on had a slight slope, allowing the skates to gather speed. Why hadn't someone told her how to stop? She finally came to a halt when she crashed into a wall at the end of the road. She smiled to herself. Thinking about it now, it seemed funny, though at the time it had been quite frightening.

Moving on through the park, she came across the play area meant for younger children. She had been here numerous times as a child and was pleased to see it hadn't been forsaken for the more up-to-date entertainment.

Glancing at her watch, she decided to make her way back to the entrance. Alan was picking her up at seven o'clock and she still had to unpack her cases. Besides, the sun was going down and it was starting to get colder. However, she made a mental note to come back again another day; there were still lots of things she wanted to see.

She had almost reached the entrance, when she noticed several birds had gathered near one of the bushes. There had been two or three hovering around the bush when she passed earlier, but she had surmised they were enjoying the remains of someone's packed lunch. However, now a few more had gathered. Surely the sandwich, or whatever it was, would have either been eaten or carried away by now?

Agnes stepped a little closer to see what the attraction was. At first, she couldn't see anything and was reluctant to get too close, fearing the birds might fly at her – especially if they thought she was going to take their food. But when a couple of birds on the ground moved slightly to one side, she was able to see part of a shoe poking out from beneath the bush.

It looked like a trainer; in quite good condition, too.

“Maybe they'll come back to look for it,” she mumbled, as she backed away.

However, as she continued walking along the footpath, her natural curiosity began to take over.

She stopped and turned around. Several birds were still there. Some were on the ground, while others hovered above the bushes.

At that moment, she made a decision, birds or no birds, she was going to have to go back and take a closer look.

* * *

“So what time are you meeting Mrs Lockwood this evening?” Sergeant Andrews asked, after Alan had told him he was taking her to dinner. “Fingers crossed something earth-shattering doesn't come up before then.”

“I'm picking her up at seven, which reminds me, I need to book a table somewhere.” He paused. “Perhaps it would be best if we dined at the hotel. Agnes is sure to be tired after her flight.”

“Her flight? You mean she flew up here?” The sergeant grinned. “I know you told me she had missed being here on Tyneside, but it sounds as though she really couldn't wait another minute to get back here.”

“Yes, I gather she took the first flight…” Alan's sentence was cut short when his mobile phone began to ring.

“You're kidding me, right?” Even as he uttered the words, the chief inspector knew he wasn't being fooled around. “You say you've found a body in the Exhibition Park? Where exactly in the park are you?”

Sergeant Andrews picked up on his boss's words. “A body – in the park? Who found it?”

Alan held up his hand, instructing Andrews to wait.

“We'll be right there.”

“Get your coat. That was Agnes. She's found a body in the Exhibition Park.” Alan grabbed the receiver of the phone on his desk and left instructions for the pathologist and his team to get over to the park. “We're already on our way.”

“Mrs Lockwood certainly doesn't hang around,” Andrews said, as he grabbed his coat and hurried towards the door.