A Mystery On Tyneside

Chapter Three

Chapter ThreeOnce the manager had finally pulled himself together, Alan was able to enquire whether he had noticed anyone leaving their table during the half-hour before Mrs Lockwood arrived.

“You must understand, Chief Inspector, I do not spy on our diners.”

“Of course you don't, Leo,” Alan replied. “But I also believe that nothing gets past you.”

The manager coughed. “Well, now that you come to mention it, I did see two gentlemen head out towards the men's room.”

“Are both men still here?” Alan asked.

“I can see one of them,” Leo said, after a swift glance around the room. “He's sitting over there – the man in the grey suit.” The manager gestured towards a group of twelve people sitting around a table. “They are here for a celebratory lunch. I only hope all this hasn't spoiled their day – they might…”

“And the other man…?” Alan interrupted, before Leo began a lengthy explanation about how the diners might demand a refund.

“Oh yes, sorry, the other man,” Leo said, glancing around the room. “No. I am afraid he isn't here. He must have left before the commotion began.”

“What can you tell us about him?” Agnes asked.

The manager stared at her and threw out his arms. “Like what? I don't know our diners personally.”

“For instance, had he booked a table in advance? In which case, you would have his name. Or had he just walked in on the off-chance you would have a table free? Was he alone, or was someone accompanying him?”

While Agnes was reeling off her questions, Alan moved towards Andrews. Pointing to the man Leo had mentioned, he told his sergeant to have a few words with him.

“Ask him if he recalls seeing anyone else in the men's room. It seems he went out there at about the same time as our victim.” Alan then glanced across at the detective constable, who was talking to a couple sitting at a table near the door. “Also, try to keep an eye on Morris. I'm still not sure about him.”

Andrews nodded, before moving away.

Alan re-joined Agnes in time to hear the manager's reply.

“Oh, I see what you mean, madam,” Leo said, clasping his hands together. “No, no, no, the gentleman had not booked a table. He just happened to rush through the door and, before I had a chance to welcome him properly, as is my custom you understand, he asked whether we had a table free.”

“So, I take it you had a table free,” Alan said.

“No! I did not.” He screwed up his eyes. “Well, not really…”

“Well then, how did he end up in here?” Alan sounded frustrated.

“If you will let me finish, Chief Inspector,” said Leo, wringing his hands together. “The gentleman said that he had heard such good reports about our restaurant that he wanted to try it for himself – with a full a la carte menu. Therefore, Chief Inspector, how could I possibly say no? Head Office insists that we, the managers, should be instrumental in bringing new customers into the restaurants.”

“But, if you didn't have a table free, how could you possibly say yes?” Alan shook his head. “Don't bother to answer. My guess is that you always keep a table free – just in case.”

“Yes. But, you must understand, all restaurants do this.”

“Okay. So this man had the full a la carte menu, then what? He disappeared into the gents? Maybe he just didn't want to pay.”

“No, no, no! Let me tell you what happened.” Leo sounded agitated again. “Yes, the gentleman ordered the full meal. But immediately after he placed the order, I saw him walking towards the men's room. That is not unusual, it often happens. I thought he would return in in a few minutes. However, as it turns out, I have not seen him since.” Leo raised his hand and brushed a tiny speck of hair from his jacket as he spoke. “Once the first course was served and he hadn't arrived back at the table, I cancelled the rest of his meal. I merely thought he had sneaked out when I wasn't looking.”

“You didn't think to go out to the men's room and check whether he was still in there?”

“No! Why would I?” Leo replied. He blew a sigh. “Chief Inspector, as manager of this restaurant, I am expected to do a great number of things to make sure that everything runs smoothly. However, I am relieved to say that having to check who is, or who is not, in the gentlemen's facilities is not one of them.”

Alan glanced towards the ladies' room, where Dr Nichols and his team were still working. Was it possible that the body lying on the floor in there was the same man who had entered the restaurant without having booked a table?

“Did you notice what this man looked like, or even what he was wearing?” Alan asked. “You know what I mean, anything that would help us identify the man.”

Leo shrugged. “Well, as you know, I do not scrutinize our guests. But yes, maybe I can help a little. Let me see,” he said, as he rested his elbow in one hand and tapped his head. “The man was clean shaven. He had brown hair, neatly cut and parted on the right. He was wearing a navy blue suit, a white shirt and a dark blue tie. His shoes were…” Leo shuddered, “he was wearing those trainer things. Not what you would see in a high-class restaurant. Also, he was wearing a watch on his right wrist.”

“That's great, thank you, Leo. I think you should attend to your customers. They seem to be becoming a little edgy.” But then, as Leo moved away, another thought popped into Alan's mind. “Before you go, Leo – did anyone else arrive at the restaurant shortly after the man in question?”

Leo placed his hand on his chin while he thought for a moment. “Yes.”

Alan perked up and looked at the people seated at the tables. “Is that person still here and, if so, can you point them out to me?”

Leo chuckled. “It was a woman and, yes, she is still here. She is standing right beside you.”

“Okay, thanks, Leo, you can go now.”

Alan looked at Agnes, as the manager hurried off to speak to his customers. She was wearing a large grin and shaking her head.

“What?” He raised his shoulders as he spoke. “It was a fair question – the killer might have watched him enter the restaurant and then decided to follow him.”

“Yes, you're right. And, who knows, I could be the killer.”

“Don't say that – not even in fun. Someone could get the wrong impression.” Alan glanced behind him as he spoke, hoping no one was listening. “But, getting back to Leo, I was right, he certainly doesn't miss anything. If only all our witnesses were so observant.” He sighed and gestured towards the ladies' room. “His description fits the man lying in there – right down to the watch on his right wrist.”

Agnes nodded. “Yes, it does. It sounds to me as though the victim knew he was being followed and rushed into the restaurant hoping to lose them. But, as it turns out, it didn't work. The killer must have rounded the corner in time to see him disappear through the door.”

Alan glanced around the restaurant, seeking out his two detectives. Hopefully, they were picking up information which would help solve the case. Morris was first to come into view. He was chatting quite intensely to an attractive, blonde-haired young waitress; only pausing for one brief moment to write something in his notebook. The DCI blew a sigh. He hoped that Morris was noting what the waitress had seen in the last hour, rather than taking details of how to contact her for a date. But, knowing Morris the way he did, Alan felt it was most probably the latter.

Shaking his head, in an effort to dismiss Morris from his thoughts, the DCI turned away and sought out Andrews. At least he could rely on his sergeant. Though, only a few months ago, he thought he was going to lose him.

Sandra, Andrews's fiancée, had been troubled at the number of hours he spent at work. So alarmed at the thought he might lose her, Andrews had considered leaving the force to seek a job with more normal working hours. However, after Alan had given him a few words of advice, Andrews had talked it over with Sandra and it seemed to have worked. The young couple were still together and planning their wedding and Andrews was still his detective sergeant.

To this day, Alan still didn't understand why he had even considered advising his sergeant on his relationship with Sandra. His own love life certainly wasn't anything to crow about. He and his wife had divorced shortly after they were married. Everything they had going for each other had fallen apart after the wedding. Since then, he'd had a few other relationships. Yet none had lasted very long.

Now he was with Agnes, the woman he met at school all those years ago and who he had never forgotten. Yet, even so, they'd had a few problems over the last eighteen months which, he would be the first to admit, were mainly his fault. Nevertheless, they were still together and that was all that mattered.

Sergeant Andrews was still speaking to the large group of people who had gathered at the restaurant for a celebratory lunch. Alan clicked his tongue at that last thought – celebratory lunch. This was certainly going to be a day that none of them would forget.

“I'll be back in a minute,” Alan said to Agnes, before heading off to join his sergeant.