Mother and Child Reunion (Dead Reckoning series - Part 47)

Continued from Episode 46 (Can You Dig It?)

The story so far:  Josiah's 'on the rebound' romance with the woman he thought was his old flame, Jeanette DeVille, proved to be with her twin sister, Nenette, and led to him and Archibald being left for dead in the rapidly rising waters of the cellar of Evanley Hall.  Since then, there has been much to occupy the Merkin-under-Heathwood police force, not least the apparent suicide of a young man in the local reservoir (last seen in the company of Precious DeVille - Nenette's supposed daughter) and then the further apparent suicides of Nenette and her 'driver' Hames.  The common denominator in all of these deaths appears to be Precious, who made a surprise reappearance, fetchingly dressed in lingerie, in Archibald's hotel room, a room he thought he had been given as a Secret Santa gift from Josiah.  Now Archibald is missing, along with two operatives from the rival firm of Cadwallader and Carruthers.  CCTV has shown Precious and the men from Cadwallader and Carruthers leaving the hotel in a van, with a body bag and Samantha and the Detectives have separately realised just where she might be heading!  Following a call from Precious, threatening Archibald's life, Josiah  arrived at Evanley Hall, only to encounter an open grave and the flat side of a shovel.  Samantha rushed to Jeannie's cottage to ask her to help and the Detectives, realising where she might have gone, are rushing to stop her doing anything impetuous.  Meanwhile, Jeannie and Samantha have gone up to the Hall to find out what is going on.  When it became clear that Josiah was in danger from Precious, Samantha wanted to take her down but Jeannie stopped her because she didn't want her daughter hurt!:

“I’m telling you,” Josiah shouted, as best he could, between coughs, as the swirls of dust rose from the soil being heaped upon his person, “it was Nenette that you were living with, not Jeanette.  She only pretended to be her sister to lure me here” He coughed violently again and his dirt-imprisoned chest complained, bitterly, “She was jealous of my relationship with Jeanette, that’s why she tried to kill me”
“I’m not listening” Precious snapped, put her shovel down and placed her fingers in her ears, “Da-dee-da-dee-dee=da-dee, see, I’m not listening”
“What will killing me achieve?”  He tried an appeal to logic.
“It’ll make me feel better, that’s what!” Precious spat, and resumed her shovelling.

* * * *

“Your daughter?” Samantha looked astonished, “What do you mean ‘your daughter’?”
“Worrisay” Jeannie jutted her chin out, “look, I canna explain now, can I?  Yer’ve just gotta trust me”
“And what are you going to do?”  Samantha frowned.
“Make her see some sense!” Jeannie snapped.

* * * *

“It gives me the creeps, this place” D.S. Stone said, with a shudder, as their car slowly climbed the gravel drive up to the Hall.
“Shouldn’t think you would have fond memories” D.I. Wood chuckled, “It comes to something, Stoney, when you’re the only policeman to have nearly been drowned in the middle of Cheshire”
“It wasn’t a laughing matter, sir” D.S. Stone said, tersely.
“No, no, course not” D.I. Wood suppressed a titter, brought the car to a halt and climbed out.  D.S. Stone did likewise, nodding to the two uniformed officers sitting in the squad car behind them, who also exited their vehicle.
“I think I can hear voices, sir” D.S. Stone said.
“Right, Sergeant, approach with caution and no heroics, are you listening?”
“Sir” D.S. Stone nodded and led the way, to the left of the Hall, in the direction of the sound.

* * * *

“Look, think about it logically” Josiah implored, spluttering dreadfully, “If she thought I was your father, why didn’t she say anything?  Why did she try to kill me and not say a word about you, eh?”
Precious stopped her shovelling for a moment and thought.
“I don’t know” She said, eventually, “But then, nothing you and her do, or did, surprises me!  Anyone who could abandon a child, as you both did, without a care in the world.  And don’t try to deny it, you’re on the birth certificate, you know?  When I got my adoption papers, it was there for all the world to see”
“I know nothing about that…” Josiah began.
“Shut up, just shut up!” Precious screamed and hurled a shovelful of soil over his face.

* * * *

“There’s an open grave” D.S. Stone reported, peering around the corner of the kitchen, as they all stood flush to the stone wall, “and there’s a young girl shovelling soil into it”
“Precious, do you think?” D.I. Wood asked.
“Looks that way, sir” D.S. Stone nodded, “there’s another couple of blokes standing to one side who could be that pair we’re looking for from the other Undertaker’s”
“Any sign of whatsisname, the dopy looking one?”
“Archibald Thurble, you mean, sir?  No, but I suppose he could be in that grave”
“Then there’s that Mr. Oakshott, where the hell is he?”
“I think I saw his car parked on the front, sir”
“God almighty!  It’s like a Mothers Union meeting, this place!  Why can’t they all steer clear and leave it to the professionals?  Do you think she’s armed?”
“Only with the spade, as far as I can see, sir”
“Do you think you could rush her, safely?”
“I could give it a go, I suppose” D.S. Stone conceded, dubiously, “If the lads would back me up?”  He looked at the uninformed officers, who looked less than keen.
“Right then Stoney, you two, on Stoney’s count, charge at her”
“Ok then, one…two…” D.S. Stone began, “Oh, bloody hell!”

* * * *

“PACK THAT IN!”  Jeannie launched herself at Precious, causing her to fall to the ground kicking and writhing.
“What the…!” Precious screamed, “Get off me you mad old bat!”
“You shut up and lie still, my girl” Jeannie ordered.
“Get off me, I’m warning you!” Precious yelled, whilst attempting to wrestle the old woman off her.
“That’s enough, d’ye hear me?” Jeannie tried to force the struggling young woman down.  There was a sudden ‘CRACK’ like the sound of a firework exploding and Jeannie gave a low moan.
“I bloody warned you!” Precious shouted.
“Oh my god!  You’ve shot her!”  Samantha rushed up to the scene, branch in hand.  She realised that Precious, although still trapped under the inert body of Jeannie, was trying to point the gun in her direction.  She brought the branch down in a swinging arc across Precious’s wrist and the gun went spinning away.
“You bitch!” Precious screamed, in pain.
Samantha was about to bring the branch crashing down, once again, when she suddenly saw D.S. Stone and two uniformed officers sprinting toward the scene.  D.I. Wood was ambling along, a few paces behind them.
“Put that down, miss, and step back” D.S. Stone commanded.  Samantha dropped the branch, breathing heavily, and stepped back, as ordered.
“She…she shot her” She said, in a choking voice, “and Josiah…he’s…he’s down there” She pointed to the grave and the pile of earth within it, which was ominously quiet.
“Where’s the gun?” D.S. Stone asked.  Samantha pointed to the edge of the grave.  He marched forward briskly, picked it up, with a handkerchief around the handle, and checked if it was loaded.  “One shot fired, sir” He reported.
“Good work, Stoney” D.I. Wood nodded, “Get it bagged up”
One of the uniformed officers was checking Jeannie for signs of life.
“There’s a pulse, sir, but it’s weak” He reported.
“Let me look” Samantha eased the body of Jeannie away from the struggling Precious.  D.S. Stone leapt forward and slapped handcuffs on the girl.
“Precious DeVille, I’m arresting you for…”  He looked at his superior, quizzically.
“Erm, on suspicion of the murders of Nenette DeVille, the person known as ‘Hames’, the young man known as ‘Jimmy’, and the…” He looked down into the grave, where the other uniformed officer was clearing the soil from Josiah’s face.
“He’s alright, sir, well, he’s breathing any road.  But he’s in a bad way”
“…attempted murders of Josiah Oakshott and Jeanette DeVille” D.I. Wood concluded, “Other charges may be brought in due course”
“Hang on!  What?  Who?” Precious asked.
“Josiah Oakshott and Jeanette DeVille” D.S. Wood repeated.
“Jeanette?  What do you mean, ‘Jeanette’?”
“The lady you just shot, allegedly” D.S. Stone advised.
“That old bat?  Are you saying she’s…” Precious looked stunned.
“…You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.” D.S. Stone intoned.
Precious spat at him.
To one side, Samantha was checking Jeannie over.
“She’s been shot in the thigh” She yelled, “She’s lost a lot of blood” Samantha slipped off her jacket, wrapping it in a ball and pressing it hard against the wound.
“Get an ambulance, pronto, and some more officers” D.I. Wood shouted to one of the uniforms, “There’s her, and him in the grave, at least.  It’s like a bloody war zone, this place” He ran his hands through what remained of his hair, “Where the hell’s Lurch, does anyone know?”
“I’ll check, sir” D.S. Stone handed Precious to one of the uniformed officers.
“We’re just off then” Frank said and waved a cheery goodbye, “You’ll find Archibald in the kitchen, but he’s out cold”
“Where the hell do you two think you’re going?” D.I. Wood looked at the two Undertakers assistants, incredulously.
“Well, if it’s all over, we thought we’d get back.” Frank explained, apologetically, “Mr. Cadwallader will be wondering where we are”
“Get back?  Are you mad?  At the very least you’re material witnesses and, for all I know, you might be part of a conspiracy to kidnap and murder.  So, no, you are not ‘just off then’, you’re coming back with us to answer some serious questions, alright?”  D.I. Wood fumed.
“I’ve found Mr. Thurble, sir” D.S. Stone reported, “As the gentleman said, he’s unconscious but seems to be breathing normally and, as far as I can tell, he’s otherwise unharmed”
“Well, that’s a blessing, of sorts” D.S. Stone rubbed a throbbing temple, “Right then, we need him checked out medically as well.  We should be able to keep a few ambulance crews busy, at this rate!  How’s Miss DeVille doing, Mrs. Knight?”
“She keeps slipping in and out of consciousness” Samantha said, in a worried tone, “I’m really concerned about her, she’s lost a lot of blood and she’s not as young as she was, she needs medical attention urgently”
“How about Mr. Oakshott?” D.I. Wood shouted down to the grave.
“Breathing reasonably ok but he’s not in good shape” The uninformed officer reported.
“Bloody hell!” D.I. Wood put his face in his hands, “At this rate, we’re going to need some Undertakers and the ones we’ve got are either under arrest or unconscious!”
“That’s not in very good taste, is it sir” D.S. Stone admonished.
“Probably not, Stoney, but it’s bloody true, isn’t it?” D.I. Wood sighed, “It’s bloody true!”

You can find a lot more from Josiah and Archibald, including the prequel novel to this series, in The Undertakers collection.

Now read Part 48