Read Online The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders by Leonie Mateer - Free Book Online
Authors: Leonie Mateer
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out into the street. He needed to go back to the pub and ask more questions. Maybe someone did see him in the pub last night. It was a big crowd and he could easily have been forgotten.
C H A P T E R 2 6
It was all over the news. “Auckland man missing in the far north presumed dead. His black Toyota truck was found early Sunday morning submerged upside down in Whangaroa harbor. Divers have not found his body. Locals say he was a guest in a nearby chalet. He had dined in the waterfront restaurant the night before and no one had seen him since. Constable Driver said that divers will continue their search at first light today.”
“We suspect it was an accident,” said the local constable “and we do not expect foul play”.
Constable Driver looked at the front page of the paper. What a start to his new career in Kaeo. First week on the job and he is already quoted in the national media. Today his family is arriving from Auckland. He really needed the support of his wife. They had been married thirteen years and he still loved her as much as on their wedding day. He missed his boys too.
Driver’s last twenty four hours had been some of the busiest in his whole career. His Father and Grandfather were both cops so he knew what was involved in cases like this.
Although he had told the press he felt the incident was an accident there were still so many questions not answered. He looked at his notes for the umpteenth time. Something just didn’t seem right. If he had driven into the bay when he left the restaurant why had he packed everything from his motel room before dinner? Had he planned his suicide earlier in the day? Or did he want it to look like he had drowned and, in reality, wanted to start a new life somewhere else? But why? His wife said they had already agreed on the separation details and she was getting the house. His boss had said he was a good employee and he had agreed to give Doug a leave of absence while he sorted himself out. Maybe he was just depressed and he really had planned it all. The woman, Audrey, seemed a nice lady and she had mentioned he had been drinking heavily before and during dinner. Driver put his notes away and headed out to the accident location. The divers should be searching again now. Maybe they have found the body. The driver’s door had been ripped off during its path down the rocky cliff to the water. Blackmore had obviously been thrown out of the vehicle. But where was his body.
Driver decided to stop at the pub on the way to the site to see if, in fact, Blackmore had stopped off for a beer after dinner. He would ask Marge to see all the credit card receipts from Saturday night. Maybe Blackmore paid with a credit card. Audrey had said he had paid with his bill with a credit card. He would pull his credit card records and check all his payments leading up to the accident. He just couldn’t put this case to bed. Not yet.
C H A P T E R 2 7
Audrey felt wonderful. She had the best night’s sleep for as long as she could remember. Today she had guests checking into both suites so she had a busy day ahead of her. On her way up to the Suite A she looked down at the road. There was very little traffic this morning. She had heard the road down to the waterfront was closed due to the accident. She imagined the restaurant and pub were still open for the local residents. It was mostly the locals on the waterfront who frequented them anyway.
Audrey loved lilies. She had them delivered to the petrol station in Kaeo every week from Kerikeri. Arranging them in the clear tall vases made her feel like she was giving her guests that little something extra. Their sweet fragrance permeated throughout the room removing any smells left over from the guests before. The oils she used on the native timber throughout the chalets also had a fresh clean
C H A P T E R 2 6
It was all over the news. “Auckland man missing in the far north presumed dead. His black Toyota truck was found early Sunday morning submerged upside down in Whangaroa harbor. Divers have not found his body. Locals say he was a guest in a nearby chalet. He had dined in the waterfront restaurant the night before and no one had seen him since. Constable Driver said that divers will continue their search at first light today.”
“We suspect it was an accident,” said the local constable “and we do not expect foul play”.
Constable Driver looked at the front page of the paper. What a start to his new career in Kaeo. First week on the job and he is already quoted in the national media. Today his family is arriving from Auckland. He really needed the support of his wife. They had been married thirteen years and he still loved her as much as on their wedding day. He missed his boys too.
Driver’s last twenty four hours had been some of the busiest in his whole career. His Father and Grandfather were both cops so he knew what was involved in cases like this.
Although he had told the press he felt the incident was an accident there were still so many questions not answered. He looked at his notes for the umpteenth time. Something just didn’t seem right. If he had driven into the bay when he left the restaurant why had he packed everything from his motel room before dinner? Had he planned his suicide earlier in the day? Or did he want it to look like he had drowned and, in reality, wanted to start a new life somewhere else? But why? His wife said they had already agreed on the separation details and she was getting the house. His boss had said he was a good employee and he had agreed to give Doug a leave of absence while he sorted himself out. Maybe he was just depressed and he really had planned it all. The woman, Audrey, seemed a nice lady and she had mentioned he had been drinking heavily before and during dinner. Driver put his notes away and headed out to the accident location. The divers should be searching again now. Maybe they have found the body. The driver’s door had been ripped off during its path down the rocky cliff to the water. Blackmore had obviously been thrown out of the vehicle. But where was his body.
Driver decided to stop at the pub on the way to the site to see if, in fact, Blackmore had stopped off for a beer after dinner. He would ask Marge to see all the credit card receipts from Saturday night. Maybe Blackmore paid with a credit card. Audrey had said he had paid with his bill with a credit card. He would pull his credit card records and check all his payments leading up to the accident. He just couldn’t put this case to bed. Not yet.
C H A P T E R 2 7
Audrey felt wonderful. She had the best night’s sleep for as long as she could remember. Today she had guests checking into both suites so she had a busy day ahead of her. On her way up to the Suite A she looked down at the road. There was very little traffic this morning. She had heard the road down to the waterfront was closed due to the accident. She imagined the restaurant and pub were still open for the local residents. It was mostly the locals on the waterfront who frequented them anyway.
Audrey loved lilies. She had them delivered to the petrol station in Kaeo every week from Kerikeri. Arranging them in the clear tall vases made her feel like she was giving her guests that little something extra. Their sweet fragrance permeated throughout the room removing any smells left over from the guests before. The oils she used on the native timber throughout the chalets also had a fresh clean