Chapters 27 & 28 are a bit short so we decided to publish them together.
The liquorice pipe which is Dave’s trade mark was Kevin’s idea. He was a mine of information about confectionery of the 1950s through to the 1970s. I recall sweet cigarettes myself, because I was an avid collector of cigarette cards and bubble gum cards, although it was Kevin who added the caption ‘For tomorrow’s smokers’.
Amongst Kevin’s drawings there are Caning Commando cigarettes. Mars Attacks bubblegum cards were after my time but we adapted them for Marshal Law as superhero cards.
Pat.
Chapter 27
Stoke Basing Star August 30th 2016.
MURDER IN MORDLE STREET
Police have now revealed the location of the murder house as 10 Mordle Street, where the body of Mrs Jean Maudling was recently discovered. Mrs Maudling was reported missing in 1957, aged 32. The house is just a short distance from 2, Mordle Street, where the Maudling family were living when she disappeared. Number 10 was a derelict, bombed-out house at the time, and police say anyone could have gained entry.
Police are appealing to neighbours or friends who knew the Maudling family to come forward and help them with their enquiries.
They have also released details of a knuckleduster found in Mrs Maudling’s shopping basket. The weapon had blood on it and it is thought that Mrs Maudling could have used it to defend herself against the murderer before they strangled her with her fur boa. However, there is no match for the murderer’s blood on the national DNA database.
In other developments, the police are considering evidence that Mrs Maudling’s husband, Peter, used the house at number 10 to produce ‘moonshine’ alcohol, still remembered by local people, and whether this could be connected with her murder. Peter Maudling turned the upper floor of the murder house into a lock-up containing home brewing equipment. He died there in 1970 after sampling his latest 40% bockbier that he called ‘From Here to Eternity’.
Claims that he could have been responsible for his wife’s death have been angrily denied by his daughter, pensioner Annie Ryan, 71. ‘Mum and dad argued all the time, but he really thought the world of her. Mum had a sometimes eccentric and unconventional disposition and he was very patient with her. He would never have harmed her.’
Police have been unable to contact David Maudling, 67, Mrs Maudling’s son.
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Chapter 28
‘So you see, doctor,’ said Dave, ‘my hallucinations are beneficial and are having a positive effect on me. I’m more ambitious now.’
‘That’s good,’ smiled the doctor, ‘I know you suffered from low self-esteem.’
‘You’re right,’ said Dave. ‘I never wanted to be an Alpha Man or a Beta Man. I wanted to be the Omega Man.’
‘You wanted to be Charlton Heston?’ The doctor looked startled.
‘No. But maybe one of the mutants he was up against.’
‘Ah,’ said the doctor.
‘Plus, I’m more assertive. You remember I told you about Mr Cooper?’
‘The newsagent with the great smell of brute? Yes,’ sighed the doctor.
‘If I came across Cooper now, I would knock hell out of him,’ said Dave heroically. He stood up and paced around the room. ‘I would punch that cruel bastard right in the face.’ He leaned over the desk and smiled confidently at the GP. ‘And it’s all down to mum. I’m not afraid anymore.’
The doctor looked suspiciously at him. ‘She’s not telling you to harm yourself or other people, is she?’
‘No, no.’
‘You’re quite sure?’
‘No. Nothing like that.’
‘Well, I suppose as long as she’s not asking you to go out and kill anyone, it’s all right.’
Dave thought about telling him, ‘Only her murderer.’ But decided against it.
Because of his father’s breakdowns, he was always concerned that he, too, might crack up one day. If the men in white coats ever came for him, he needed to be ready for them, so he had researched the possible cause of his hallucinations and wanted to discuss this.
‘Now I’ve been wondering about the liquorice, doctor.’
‘As I’ve explained, Dave, the industrial quantities you’re eating are harmful.’
‘But is it possible that the hypertension caused by too much liquorice might be responsible for my hallucinations?’
‘Anything is possible with you, Dave.’
‘I’ve also read that liquorice enhances memory and can be used to help amnesia. Maybe that’s why memories of my childhood are finally coming back?’
‘I’m very pleased to hear it, Dave. Now … I do have other patients to see.’
A buoyant Dave left the surgery, greatly reassured by the doctor’s responses.
Of course it wasn’t entirely true that his mother’s hallucinations were not a threat to his wellbeing. There was her latest proposition, which he was still firmly vetoing. She said it would help him find her murderer, but the Liquorice Detective didn’t care. If he carried it out, and he was discovered, they would section him and throw away the key. If he was going to do anything that crazy, he first needed proof that she was a genuine spirit from the other side and not a Ziggy Stardust alter-ego, or a Three Faces of Eve-style manifestation of multiple personality disorder, or some other bizarre workings of his subconscious. So he pursued his mother’s case no further, even though the Canon still seemed like the number one suspect.
And then another suspect entered his life.
He was in his attic rooms one evening in late January. He was looking forward to watching Make Mine Mink, starring Terry Thomas and Hattie Jacques, about misfits who steal mink coats. It was quite chilly and he was thinking of changing into his gorilla suit to stay warm.
Then, without warning, the door suddenly opened, and the Phantom of the Fleetpit strolled in. Despite the passing of two decades and his scarred face, Dave recognised him instantly. How could he not?
It was Mr Cooper.
The ex-newsagent sat himself down in the armchair opposite. ‘Hello, Dave. Thought it was time we had a little chat …’
A fearful Dave stood up and slowly backed away from his old tormentor grinning at him from across the room.
Stark terror swept over him in waves as he started silently repeating to himself, ‘He chews Sherlock’s. We choose Sherlock’s. Everyone chooses Sherlock’s …’
Serial Killer by Pat Mills & Kevin O’Neill is the first book in the Read Em And Weep series and is on sale digitally or as paperback.