A Murder Mystery by Ashley Parkes

Historically, the local constabulary dealing with crime in the farming community of Allthorp have had it easy. A stolen bike here, a little poaching there, or an occasional alcohol-fuelled dispute is about all they had to deal with, although lately thefts of farm equipment are definitely on the rise. But that all changes when a recently returned resident is found murdered outside his deceased parents’ house. 

The investigation is barely under way before a second body is found. And then another. But perhaps life in this rural community never was quite as serene as it first appears.

Farm kids were expected to help around the farm from a young age, and it was hard work. They might grow attached to an animal only to see it taken away to the slaughterhouse or, worse still, killed on the farm witnessed by the kids in order to ‘toughen them up’. Nice cuddly foxes can cause havoc and need to be destroyed, as do rabbits, and it was perfectly normal for a twelve-year old to be strolling around with a shotgun, or driving a tractor….
The adults have their own issues to contend with…..During long dark winter months there are few affordable pleasures to offer distraction and the incidence of extra-marital affairs and divorce seem quite high, as are stress-related illnesses, alcoholism and suicide, not helped by the number of shotguns on hand. A strong community perhaps, but maybe not quite as blissful an environment as it might at first appear.

With more red herrings than you’d find in a Russian trawler, one event follows another.

It was a truly atrocious night. Wind howled through the trees like a Banshee and, thanks to the torrential rain, the car park at the Poacher’s Arms resembled a lake, while the old pub sign swung noisily back and forth as if it would rather be anywhere else. Inside, however, a fire blazed in the hearth, music blared from a number of loudspeakers and the atmosphere was convivial, to say the least. 

Then, just after eight, the door suddenly burst open letting in the wind and rain before a boy staggered in. He was probably eighteen or nineteen, but the most noticeable thing about him was the wooden handle of a large knife protruding from his chest. His jacket was covered in blood spreading rapidly, aided by the rainwater. He took three faltering steps into the bar, looked up pitifully as if to speak and then fell to the floor.

As tensions rise in the village incidents just keep on occurring.

No answer, but there was a distinct rustle of dried leaves just a little way ahead. For a second she was paralysed with fear, then the spell broke and she turned and bolted headlong back the way she’d come, only to trip over an exposed tree root within her first half dozen strides. With hands spread wide she broke her fall, but her handbag burst open emptying all of its contents onto the path. Frantically, she pulled herself to her feet and, terrified of what she might see, peered back over her shoulder…...