“Possibly so,” said Roger, “but judging by what has happened, it would appear that David played right into Anthony’s hands. Somehow or other, and I don’t know how because there’s nothing in here, Anthony and his crew found out and decided to do something about it. I’m not saying they wanted to remove him altogether. Maybe what they had planned all went wrong. But what better time than midnight in a sleepy little village.”
“There’s a lot of ifs and buts there, Mr Hunter,” said Gardener, “but you put forward a very good theory.”
“I doubt anything would be impossible with this lot,” said Reilly. “Looking at how good they are with computers, it would be easy for them to drop some spyware into your brother’s computer and follow his every move.”
“Stands to reason that they would know where he was going and when,” said Roger.
“Trouble is,” said Reilly, “we’ve been through his computer, we didn’t find anything.”
“Maybe this lot are clever enough to plant a program that self-destructs when it’s done its business,” answered Roger.
“Maybe so,” said Gardener, “but it still doesn’t answer what started all of this in the first place.”
Roger picked up a third diary. “What you’re looking for might be in here. When Anthony left university he had a series of menial jobs before jumping onto the IT ladder. He eventually approached David for a loan. Anthony was devastated – as were Ann Marie and David – when the bank refused him, despite his being able to show them potential figures, and a reasonably solid business plan put together by David. One excuse was the state of the economy; they were not up for putting money into small businesses. He should try a small bank, not the prestigious one that employed a member of his family.”
“That must have gone down well,” said Reilly, leafing through one of the diaries.
“According to all the notes I’ve found, Anthony never forgave them.”
Gardener thought about it. “I can see why he would carry a grudge, but killing someone is a whole different ball game. That suggests it was more than a refusal of a loan.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” said Roger, “but that’s where you come in. I’m just pleased I could share something with you.”
“We appreciate that, Mr Hunter,” said Gardener. “Can we take these, please?”
Roger Hunter nodded.
Gardener was about to stand up before asking, “Was there something else?” he asked, staring at the A4 envelope.
Roger glanced at it. His expression suddenly took on one of those light-bulb moments when something suddenly comes flooding back to you.
“Do I detect you discovered something else?” Gardener asked.
“You asked me about someone called Alfie Price recently. With everything that’s happened, my brother, the hit and run, not being able to get any closure, it went completely out of my mind. I believe Alfie Price is Anthony Palmer.”
“Go on,” said Gardener, aware of the information, but the man obviously knew something he didn’t.
Roger opened t
he envelope and took out some photographs. Gardener could see that they were old. As Roger flicked his way through them he stared at one in particular before passing it over to Gardener. The picture appeared to be a ventriloquist’s dummy: the face porcelain, hard and shiny. Short black hair, big red lips, parted slightly with a twisted, lopsided grin. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and red tie. The most disturbing aspect however, were the eyes, as if somehow they were human, and had the ability to stare into your soul and read what you were thinking.
“That’s pretty creepy,” said Reilly, “what the hell is it?”
“It’s the start of a really strange story,” said Roger. “I remember something about this because Ann Marie told me when she found out. That, gentlemen, is Alfie Price.”
Roger paused, then continued, “It’s a clown doll, toy and ghost all rolled into one. It belonged to Anthony’s parents, Jennifer and Richard Palmer. Apparently it was named after the two legends of the horror genre – Vincent Price and Alfred Hitchcock.”
“That’s interesting,” said Gardener. He told Roger about the vehicle used in the hit and run being registered to Hammer Studios in the name of C. Lee.
“That’s just the type of damaged mind you’re dealing with here. Anyway, Richard came across the doll toy in a junk shop in Toxteth near Liverpool. Being entertainers and fans of creepy memorabilia, he bought it for £25.
“Shortly after taking Alfie home, they began experiencing bizarre occurrences. A number of times, Alfie suddenly vanished from where they left him, only to reappear in unexpected places. Richard once found the clown doll with both arms pointing straight at him. He later set up a tape recorder nearby. He captured a deep, raspy type of voice uttering the words ‘You belong to me!’ But the room was always empty.”
“Christ,” said Reilly.
“Richard researched the doll,” said Roger Hunter. “He believed it to be possessed by the spirit of a child, but the identity of the ghost remained a mystery. Whether he found out more and never said, or he simply couldn’t find anything, I don’t know.
“But the strangest thing ever, was that once the authorities untangled the wreckage of their car, Alfie Price was found in the boot.”