It wasn't difficult to find a sports shop that sold Northern Aspect equipment, and once I was in there, it wasn't difficult to find the bag I was after. It was the most oversized, hard-wearing kitbag they had; the Northern Aspect Headquarters model had plenty of colours to choose from; I purchased a red one.
I smiled with self-satisfaction as I made my way back to Woodside Park.
When I returned home, instead of DCI Burton being there to heap praise on my ability to find the right bag, I found a note, which read:
Quintus,
I have gone to Cheltenham and will not be back until tonight.
Sandra xxx
Three kisses? Didn't that mean something?
Somewhat disappointed she wasn't there but pleased and proud that she had taken such a bold step so soon, I sat down and began to examine the bag.
The walls were of a textile I had never seen before: strong but somewhat supple and certainly watertight. It felt like a very hard-wearing fabric -- lattice, perhaps? -- doubly layered with copious vinyl. A D-shaped zipper ran across the top, which was covered by a D-shaped flap. Certainly, a bag that could be out in the rain.
It had handles at the sides, and on both ends, so the bag could be carried by one person or two -- and it was easily hefty enough to hold more paraphernalia than one person could contentedly have.
Heavy interlaced nylon density straps ran around the bag in several ways, making it easy to intensify the load inside the bag so the fillings would not move around.
The zipper itself fascinated me; the teeth were more protuberant than any I had ever seen and made from plastic-coated steel. It certainly wasn't going to fall apart or rust anytime soon.
I considered the numerous ways in which somebody could lock the bag; this seemed particularly crucial in light of claims that Tina Davis had somehow climbed into the bag and locked herself in without any help. She lost her nerve because she couldn't get the lock open, then asphyxiated or died of a heart attack, reliant on which account you happened to believe if you believed any of them.
At each end of the fastener was a steel device through which a fabric pull is threaded. I could bring the zipper almost closed, thread a padlock through the pulls, then force the tags far enough apart to squeeze the lock into the bag. But then, it would have been conceivable for someone more diminutive than me to climb into the bag, bring the zipper almost closed, grab the pulls and bring them into the bag, then thread a lock through them. Why anyone would do that was and still is entirely beyond me.
I am aware of the practice known as autoerotic suffocation, starving your body of oxygen to augment sexual pleasure. I haven't tried it, nor have I ever been desirous, but there's no repudiating that people do it. I have heard of many diverse ways people have done it, some of which have cost them their lives. Yet, accidentally, it is always claimed.
A tiny corner of my brain understands what drives people to experiment with various methods of augmenting their desire. But no part of me understands why anyone would intentionally choose a technique as dangerous as this.
I wondered what sort of person would look at this bag and think that would make for an incredible orgasm.
Then I wondered what sort of person would look at it and think, That would make an outstanding assassination weapon, and I felt the backbone chills once again.
I tried to imagine what it would take to restrain a woman inside a bag like this. Once trapped in such a bag, she wouldn't be able to do anything except breathe and not for very long.
If somebody, somehow, got Tina Davis into the bag, padlocked it shut and left in the bathtub, Tina wouldn't have had a chance, even if they didn't tighten the density straps.
The police, or sources allegedly within the police department, had been leaking the theory that an unknown person had locked Tina in the bag for sexual kicks, planning to return later and release her.
But how anyone could believe a person trapped in such a bag could be left alone for any length of time and would still be alive later? How could anyone do such a thing for kicks? So why would anyone lock the bag unless there were hidden intentions?
How could a female numerical prodigy, who grew up to do respected undercover work for the government, be so stupid as to say, Please lock me up in this heavy plastic bag and leave me in the bath? And could those have conceivably been her final words?
The more I thought about it, the more I thought, either Tina Davis was extremely irrational or assassinated.
I couldn't wait for Sandra to return. I liked having the DCI here, and I found myself with nothing to do but turn the bag over habitually in my hands and my thoughts intermittently over in my mind.
But when I awoke the next day, I felt Sandra Burton's naked body pressed up against mine. I didn't remember her coming back or sliding into bed next to me, but I felt comfort in the fact that she was there.When she woke, she didn't seem embarrassed, and when I finally got out of bed, I found her downstairs examining the bag.She looked up at me smiling and then asked whether I had given the bag the once over."Indeed, I have," I reply, "And the longer I looked at it, the more it looked like a murder weapon.""Nobody would stand a chance once they were locked in this type of bag," Sandra said, and I smiled grimly."As I see it," I continued, "either Tina Davis was exceptionally demented, or she someone murdered her.""I can tell you how demented she was," Sandra replied. "I've just returned from Cheltenham."I nodded, and the DCI continued, "I went there to meet Jenny Quance. She was Tina Davis's landlady, and she's a gorgeous lady. W
"We're sure a certain person or persons unknown murdered Tina Davis?" Sandra asked, to which I nodded my answer. "We've seen the bag, you've met Tina's landlady, and because of what we now know, we can be confident that somebody intentionally killer her. So, I'd say the likelihood that she died by suicide or accident is about the same as the prospect that she died of natural causes." I smiled grimly and let her continue. "If, as we think she was, murdered, then she was killed in the safe house on Suffolk Street or killed elsewhere, and her body was brought into the safe house, apparently by the killer or killers.""Which do you think it was, Sandra?" I inquired."Killing an MI6 agent in an MI6 safe house seems an extremely daring thing to do.""But consider the option," I replied. "How much boldness would it take to kill an MI6 woman elsewhere, then lock her body in a holdall and drop it in the bathtub of her very own flat, even if that flat were not in a safe h
I paused at the door, looking intently out into the street. Then, after a few moments, satisfied that the time was right, I stepped out into the street. Reaching Finchley High Road, I waved for a taxi, and my trackers followed suit.Almost immediately, a taxi pulled over to pick me up. As I stepped in, I shouted above the din of the street, "The London to Edinburgh overnighter leaves in forty minutes, driver. I will double your fare if you get us to King's Cross in time!"Then, I saw two climbing into another newly-arrived taxi.The taxi across the street made a quick, illegal, 180-degree turn and followed close behind us."Faster if you can, driver," I said, and as my pursuers drew nearer."Slow down a bit now," I said next, and the driver gave me a quizzical look in his rear-view mirror."We want to lose them, but not quite yet, driver," he said. "We should play them along for a bit, don't you think?"As we sped towards Kings Cross,
"I beg your pardon," Sandra said, "I thought perhaps you had the rest of the mission laid out already.""If only!" I sighed. "If I could solve murders involving espionage by following a recipe, Sandra, even the dozy sods at Scotland Yard could do it. As a rule, I plan my assignment one move at a time," I continued. "I have a purpose in mind and an overall impression of how to get there, but any new advance can make me change my ideas. For example, I was planning to stay in London for at least another few days, but the sudden and dramatic visit from Hector Nelson has changed my mind.""How?" Sandra asked."His attendance, in camouflage, no less and that of his followers served as a warning that direct inspection in the city might involve grave danger while encouraging inadequate palpable compensation.""I see.""But the information Nelson gave us alternative lines of thought that already seemed promising to me, and these thoughts make our presence i
"It's a shame Hector couldn't have stayed longer," Sandra said suddenly. "I would be interested in hearing his opinion concerning enigmatic Mediterranean couple, about which so much spoke about in the media." "That is one of the issues on which I plan to speak to about when I next meet up with him," I replied, "although I have little hope of making much progress." "Of all the bizarre details about this case," Sandra said, "the story of the secretive couple appears to be the only one formally recognised by the police. I wonder whether this is particularly significant, or whether -- " "Whether it's just additional diversion?" I finished her sentence. "The likelihood cannot be disregarded, specifically because it would be an astute move for the crime squad to make." "Do you think they're using some distraction here?" "That is the problem," I replied. "If I were running the investigation, I would be careful regarding the evidence I circulated. To
"Perhaps you can answer one for me, Detective Chief Inspector?""Of course!" She replied. "Ask me whatever you wish.""We haven't seen the body of Tina Davis, and I doubt whether we will," I continued, "so we cannot know exactly how progressive the state of putrefaction was when the police found the body.""No, Quintus," she replied, "all we have is the description provided by the team investigating the crime.""But we know something about the holdall," I said, "and we know Tina Davis was alive seven or eight days before they found her in it. Do you think the body could have reached an advanced state of decomposition genuinely? Or do you think someone would have required some unnatural assistance? ""It is tough for me to guess without knowing the actual cause of death," she replied. "We still don't even know whether she was dead when she was put into the bag, or ..."Her voice trailed away, but I sat in silence."Some toxins and cert
"Do you fancy a short walk?" I asked once we left the train at Francistown, and Sandra nodded readily."We've been sitting for so long. Why not?" She replied. "Where do you want to go?""I want you to see one of the most astonishing pieces of construction in Britain," I answered, "and supposedly one of the eeriest places in all of Wales.""Do you think it's harmless?" she asked."I don't see why not!" I answered. "She wasn't annoyed with you, was she?""Who?""The woman at the window!""What window?""One of the windows of the castle! You haven't been perusing the rags, have you?""No," she said.We crossed a walkway over the railway line and another over the main road. "It's inconceivable!" She gasped. "What is it?"Weaver Castle," I replied. "Have you never been informed of it?""I can't say I have," she answered. "and I am sure if I had seen a photograph of this place, I would have recollected."
The following day, we enjoyed a quick but hearty breakfast, then a short taxi ride from the Charles Hotel to the Francistown Junction railway station, where we would catch the train for Haliheved.I carried a small package I had brought from the hotel, and while we waited for the train, I handed it to Sandra, saying, "I had a chance to visit reception, Sandra. Look after these for me, would you."Inside the package, she found a stack of morning papers."For both of us," I informed her when she came across a smaller package.Sandra removed the wrapping to reveal a thick stack of picture postcards. "What's this?" She asked."Just a something for my book," I said and then changed the subject by adding, "We will pass some wonderful views in a few minutes, and it would be sad to miss them," I continued. "We'll pass over the river at Chiefwater, where they constructed the bridges into an ancient fortress."" Wonderful!" Sandra said."We'll