Page 6 of A Village Theatre Murder

‘I see. And Jane…Can you…? Someone needs to tell her.’ Julia motioned to the curtain, behind which was Jane.

Roger looked about a hundred years old. His artsy outfit and boyishly tousled hair contrasted starkly with his grey, lined face. ‘Right,’ he said, slowly. A man who was seldom at a loss for words or self-confidence, Roger Grave seemed unsure of himself. Julia felt for him, knowing he was about to perform one of the hardest tasks there is – break the news of a loved-one’s demise. ‘Nobody move, nobody touch anything. I’ll go and speak to her,’ Roger said again, still not making any move in that direction.

‘Hello?’ came Jane’s voice. She had mounted the steps at the side of the stage and was calling at the curtain. ‘Julia, what did Sean say? What’s happening?’

Roger bounded to the curtain and stopped. ‘Julia, can you come with me? You know her better. It might be better if you are with me when we break the news.’

Jane and Julia did attend book club together, and although they liked each other, they weren’t particular friends outside of the club. Jane was one of those people who didn’t socialise much outside of her family. Julia did not want any part of giving her the news of her husband’s death. She looked around hopefully, as if a more suitable candidate might appear.

‘Please,’ Roger said. She sighed, nodded, and took a step towards him.

He pulled the curtain apart enough for her to slip through, and then followed her, pulling the two sides of the curtain firmly closed behind him to keep Jane from seeing the grisly scene on stage.

Roger stood silent for a long minute. He swallowed hard. Jane stood with her head to the side, waiting for Roger to speak. Just as Julia had the awful thought that he was waiting for her to break the news to Graham’s widow, he spoke, in a formal tone. ‘Mrs Powell, I’m sorry to inform you that there’s been an accident. Your husband…your husband has been shot. Dr O’Connor is…’

Jane paled. ‘Shot? Where? How? Is the ambulance on the?—’

Jane’s question went unfinished, interrupted by the crash of the large wooden doors to the hall opening loudly, and closing hard, followed by the sound of footsteps. Detective Inspector Hayley Gibson came down the aisle between the rows of seats, with Detective Constable Walter Farmer following close behind. Julia caught sight of Tabitha at the side of the stage. Her red beret, which had looked so fun and fetching earlier that evening, looked inappropriately jolly, quite ridiculous in fact, in light of current events.

‘Superintendent Grave,’ Hayley said, nodding in his direction as she reached the stage. ‘I believe you were on the scene. Can you brief me on the situation?’

Roger looked at Jane and back at Hayley. ‘I’m afraid I can’t really give you that information right now.’

Hayley Gibson straightened to her full height, which was almost a foot shorter than that of Roger. Nonetheless, she somehow gave the impression of staring the older, taller, more senior man down. ‘The Berrywick police have responsibility here, as I’m sure you are aware. You are required to cooperate with the local police in this matter.’

Roger continued, ‘I take your point, DI Gibson, but I must insist that we discuss the matter in a private place.’

Hayley responded in a clipped tone. ‘No buts, and no insisting. I understand that you are the senior officer on the scene, but this is our jurisdiction.’

Hayley was clearly poised for a showdown. She didn’t much care for Roger Grave at the best of times, and the best of times this wasn’t. Julia realised what was happening. Roger didn’t want to speak about the accident in front of Jane, who did not yet know that her husband was dead. Not aware that Jane was the victim’s wife, Hayley assumed Roger to be pulling rank and trying to take over.

‘Now. Take me to the…’

‘Hayley!’ Julia had to stop the DI before the word ‘body’ came out of her mouth. ‘Perhaps a word?’

Hayley turned to Julia, scowling at the interruption. Julia widened her eyes and gave her The Look. Hayley paused, then held up her index finger to Roger. ‘One moment.’

She turned towards Julia and the two women took a few steps away from the others. ‘What is it?’

Julia lowered her voice. ‘The body is Graham Powell. He is dead. That’s his wife, Jane. She doesn’t know yet. She knows there was an accident, but she doesn’t know it was fatal.’

‘Damn.’

‘Yes.’

Hayley’s sigh held all the tragedy of the world, and the weight of her chosen career path – a choice that she sounded like she might regret at this precise moment. She turned back to tell Jane the terrible news.

As it happened, this was not required. Tired of waiting, Jane stepped through the stage curtains. The high-pitched wail and the thump that followed, shaking the boards, told them that Jane had seen for herself.

5

The stage was heaving with people. The coroner’s van had arrived, as had the forensic team. DI Hayley Gibson was in charge, and she’d got straight to work.

‘Your attention please,’ she shouted over the hubbub. ‘As you know, there has been a fatal shooting accident. I need everyone connected with the production, cast and crew, on stage and backstage, to stay, please. No one can leave until Detective Constable Walter Farmer or I have spoken to you.’

There were one or two hands up already, and some murmured questions, but Hayley held her palm up to silence them. She turned to Walter: ‘DC Farmer, clear the hall of everyone not connected to the production and come straight back.’

As Walter went off to shepherd the stragglers out of the door, she addressed the group again. ‘DC Farmer will be coming round to take your name and contact details, and how you are connected to the play. We will be taking brief statements this evening, and some of you with more direct information will have to come into the station for more detailed discussions.’

---