would probably be on you catching him, only there’s a good chance you’d kill him. No mercy with you, is there?’
Cathy winked and Annie smiled.
‘I’m not a violent person. What are you trying to say? I’ve only ever used violence when it was a life or death situation.’
‘I know, but there’s only you who ever gets into life or death situations in the whole county of Cumbria. Relax, I’m only winding you up, but that’s why you’re on strict orders not to go near this case with a barge pole. Your husband will have me strung up, hunted down and shot if so much as a hair on your head gets harmed.’
‘Well, that’s very nice of you both, but you do know I’m quite capable of looking after myself and making my own decisions. It really pisses me off when everyone else decides what I can or can’t do.’
‘See what I mean? Perfect example of why you’re hard as nails, with that take-no-shit attitude. I love it, kid. Don’t ever let anyone wear you down so much that you are afraid to answer back. Now go show George how to do something useful with those statements. What had they taken from the rugby club?’
‘A case of King’s lager, a box of cheese and onion crisps and the charity tin off the bar.’
‘Kids. No self-respecting burglar would be seen dead carrying a case of that lager. Did you check the playground behind to see if our would-be burglars had a party and left behind all the evidence?’
‘Yes we did and it was clean, but I’m going to ring the council to see if anyone had been in to tidy it up first thing this morning.’
‘You know your talents are truly wasted being a response officer. Why don’t you sit your detective’s exam or your sergeant’s?’
‘Honestly, I can’t be bothered. I just want to do my shift and go home to my boy wonder.’ She winked at Cathy who laughed and almost choked on the last bite of her baguette.
‘I have to say that I probably would myself if I was married to him. It must be nice waking up to someone who doesn’t make you groan with disgust first thing in the morning.’
Annie left her to go and eat her dinner, write up her stuff, and then hopefully it would be time to go home.
31 December 1930
Every light in the Beckett house was burning bright; each and every room had been searched thoroughly. Nothing was left undisturbed. As the guests began to arrive they were greeted by Lucy, who informed them they were dreadfully sorry but Master Joseph had gone missing and the party was now cancelled. The men had insisted on coming in to help with the search and the women went in search of Martha’s mother, Eleanor, to comfort her and help in any way that they could. When the police finally arrived it was just as a group of six men were about to begin searching the gardens. They gathered everyone inside to listen to what had happened exactly before Joe had disappeared.
The policeman who had looked a little bit like her father had taken Martha to one side and knelt down on the floor to speak to her, and she told him exactly what she had told everyone else. That she heard Joe crying down in the cellar and then he was gone. Everyone was told to stay where they were while the police went to search the cellar. There was a lot of muttering amongst the men about time being wasted but none of them wanted to disobey the officers, so they stayed where they were. They finally came back upstairs and agreed there was no sign of him.
‘The only place he could have fallen is down into that drainpipe. Was the iron cover across it when you went down there the first time to look for him, Mr Beckett?’
‘Yes, it was. It wasn’t quite on the hole but it was covering it. My son is nine years old and if he did fall into it he would be screaming blue murder for us to rescue him. There is no way if he did go down there that he would have been able to move the cover and then put it back across. It’s a two-man job; it is so heavy.’
‘I need some volunteers.
Cathy winked and Annie smiled.
‘I’m not a violent person. What are you trying to say? I’ve only ever used violence when it was a life or death situation.’
‘I know, but there’s only you who ever gets into life or death situations in the whole county of Cumbria. Relax, I’m only winding you up, but that’s why you’re on strict orders not to go near this case with a barge pole. Your husband will have me strung up, hunted down and shot if so much as a hair on your head gets harmed.’
‘Well, that’s very nice of you both, but you do know I’m quite capable of looking after myself and making my own decisions. It really pisses me off when everyone else decides what I can or can’t do.’
‘See what I mean? Perfect example of why you’re hard as nails, with that take-no-shit attitude. I love it, kid. Don’t ever let anyone wear you down so much that you are afraid to answer back. Now go show George how to do something useful with those statements. What had they taken from the rugby club?’
‘A case of King’s lager, a box of cheese and onion crisps and the charity tin off the bar.’
‘Kids. No self-respecting burglar would be seen dead carrying a case of that lager. Did you check the playground behind to see if our would-be burglars had a party and left behind all the evidence?’
‘Yes we did and it was clean, but I’m going to ring the council to see if anyone had been in to tidy it up first thing this morning.’
‘You know your talents are truly wasted being a response officer. Why don’t you sit your detective’s exam or your sergeant’s?’
‘Honestly, I can’t be bothered. I just want to do my shift and go home to my boy wonder.’ She winked at Cathy who laughed and almost choked on the last bite of her baguette.
‘I have to say that I probably would myself if I was married to him. It must be nice waking up to someone who doesn’t make you groan with disgust first thing in the morning.’
Annie left her to go and eat her dinner, write up her stuff, and then hopefully it would be time to go home.
31 December 1930
Every light in the Beckett house was burning bright; each and every room had been searched thoroughly. Nothing was left undisturbed. As the guests began to arrive they were greeted by Lucy, who informed them they were dreadfully sorry but Master Joseph had gone missing and the party was now cancelled. The men had insisted on coming in to help with the search and the women went in search of Martha’s mother, Eleanor, to comfort her and help in any way that they could. When the police finally arrived it was just as a group of six men were about to begin searching the gardens. They gathered everyone inside to listen to what had happened exactly before Joe had disappeared.
The policeman who had looked a little bit like her father had taken Martha to one side and knelt down on the floor to speak to her, and she told him exactly what she had told everyone else. That she heard Joe crying down in the cellar and then he was gone. Everyone was told to stay where they were while the police went to search the cellar. There was a lot of muttering amongst the men about time being wasted but none of them wanted to disobey the officers, so they stayed where they were. They finally came back upstairs and agreed there was no sign of him.
‘The only place he could have fallen is down into that drainpipe. Was the iron cover across it when you went down there the first time to look for him, Mr Beckett?’
‘Yes, it was. It wasn’t quite on the hole but it was covering it. My son is nine years old and if he did fall into it he would be screaming blue murder for us to rescue him. There is no way if he did go down there that he would have been able to move the cover and then put it back across. It’s a two-man job; it is so heavy.’
‘I need some volunteers.
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