//[[index|Index to pages]]// ======Thornton Under Vale Mystery – Part 12 – The final chapter?====== [[:cwc:thornton-under-vale-mystery-part-1-v2|(Read from Start)]] {{:cwc:fnbearpaw-little-bear-set_1-300x300-1.png?300x300}} DS Damian Hawk and DC Sidney Web, previously colleagues, then enemies and now possibly victims, stood within the snowy woodland hollow, called The Vale, looking out into the forbidding pine trees. The two police officers stood back to back, watching out for any sudden movement, any sudden sound. Behind them, the yellow police tape surrounding the earlier crime scene fluttered. Sidney whispered to Damian, “Did you tell anyone you were coming here?” The whispered reply sent a shiver down his spine. “No. Viper told me he was about to close the case, and I should be here to see it through. Did you bring a gun from the armoury, Web?” “I didn’t think I needed to do that. I was just here to warn Inspector Viper about you.” Sidney quietly answered, focusing on the trees and snow. Was that a movement? No, just a bird taking off from a high snowy branch, scattering white flurries. Where was Inspector Viper? Had the Thornton Under Vale Bowman already got him? Hawk turned quickly, “If Viper wasn’t expecting you, then what was his plan? What evidence does he have to close the case?” Suddenly, from behind a nearby Pine tree, a figure in Arctic Camouflage appeared. The figure was holding a Police issue gun. The very familiar voice of Inspector Viper broke the winter silence. The icy, superior, tone reminded Sidney of the cartoon villains in a James Bond movie. “Only two annoying detectives. One who is the bane of my life, and the other too damn sharp to not fit the pieces together. And one is going to shoot the other, and, in remorse, kill themself.” Damian turned to face the military uniform. “You’ve been reading too many English Crime novels, Inspector Viper.” He paused, “or should I call you Comrade Viper. That’s a Soviet Uniform, if I’m not mistaken. Nice fit. I’m surprised it’s you here and not your sidekick, the Reverend Castle.” The Inspector’s voice retained it’s menace, but added with annoyance, “That damn man couldn’t be trusted to finish the job. He failed with the poison, and, when Cock returned later, he only stunned the arrogant thief. Totally useless agent. He shouldn’t have been activated but I suppose he was useful in keeping tabs on our enemies.” Sidney was bewildered. Assistant Chief Constable Viper was a Soviet Assassin? But, more importantly, he was convinced Robin Cock had accidentally poisoned himself. “I don’t understand. Why would the Reverend Castle poison Robin Cock?” Still pointing the gun at the two men below him, Viper replied, “Do you want to explain that to your younger replacement, Detective Sergeant Hawk? You were always good at working out the facts. Until you got distracted by that barmaid, when you lost all your detection skills. So much sloppy work. A good detective turned bad. That’s what my report will say.” Damian Hawk remained silent, but started to pace to and fro, as he had done in Swallow’s glass box office, cracking twigs under his feet. Sidney found the habit annoying, as did Inspector Viper. In an exasperated tone, Viper added, “No? Still jealous of Detective Constable Web’s promotion? I thought you would be. I knew that would push you over the edge and ruin your alibi.” He turned to Sidney, “I am sure you’d like to know, Web. You were getting pretty close in your report. The events were driven by love, but of Country, not lust. Robin Cock’s death was due to his breaking his Contract with us. He was supposed to make the fakes of the Romanov candlesticks for the Church of St Genesius, so the originals could be returned to Mother Russia and the Kremlin. Everyone would have been happy. “But Cock kept the originals and made more copies, and secretly sold them. The Kremlin discovered, and we Russians have a reputation to uphold. Your pathologist, Dr Fish, was surprisingly accurate. I had to suggest St John Wort to you, Web, to get everything back on track.” Sidney continued staring at the gun Inspector Viper was holding. He hoped help would come soon, and played for time. “But what about Edwina Fly? Why was she killed? And why use an arrow to kill Robin Cock?” Damian Hawk appeared not to be bothered about being shot. He continued to pace back and forth cracking twigs, while looking at Inspector Viper. “Sidney, Viper needed to incriminate me for both murders.” He paused his walk, and stood tall, hands on hips. Defiantly he added, “It wasn’t enough to get me sacked, was it, Comrade? You never forgave me for getting a higher score in archery than you in the team games, did you? A simple dumb sergeant being better than an Assistant Chief Constable? Swallow must have rubbed that humiliation in every day.” Viper sneered, “Only when he was awake enough. Once he was in his drug induced sleep in his office, he became my perfect alibi. He even signed my office time-sheet for the time I was getting rid of Edwina Fly. You know she tried to blackmail me? Luckily, her note could equally apply to you, Hawk. Even this weapon, “ he nodded to the revolver in his steady hand, “is signed out to you.” With a thin smile, Viper turned to Sidney, “ Unfortunately for you, Web, you came to warn me of Hawk’s murderous intention. And you know far too much. I am sure you will understand, Web. I’ll be glad to be getting back to St. Petersburg, once I have tidied up here. Goodbye, gentlemen.” Sidney’s heart was pounding, but he was too paralysed in fear to move. Eyes tightly closed. Wishing he had NEVER joined the Police. He felt every icy breath. He prayed for a miracle. He heard an odd “Phufft” and something heavy fall into the snow. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw grey Pine trees against trampled snow. Then the fallen shape of a man in Arctic Camouflage. With some surprise, Sidney realised that he had not been shot by the Inspector.  The fallen shape in front of him was Assistant Chief Constable, Inspector Viper. Next to Sidney stood DS Hawk, rigid, pale faced, still wearing the silly Rainbow coloured bobble hat. The icy air was leaving his lips like an old toy steam engine. From behind a thick Pine tree, Ivana Cock appeared in a tweed suit. The colour melted into the pine tree. Perfect camouflage. She was holding a long barrelled gun, yet there was no silencer. Moving forward to check the crumpled body, she paused. Then her delicate leather gloved fingers moved to the side of the body’s neck. She smiled and stood up. In her perfect clipped BBC Radio English, she said, “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Reverend Castle told me where to find you. Fortunately, our dear Comrade Captain Resnikov rather enjoyed reading Mr Fleming too much. He could never resist telling the Reverend Castle the plot, and our dear Reverend was concerned that if the Comrade Captain had been successful, his mortal time in his quiet Parish would be rather short lived.  Mr Hawk, thank you for distracting him while I approached.” Damian Hawk gasped, “Thank you for being here. I thought we were both gonners. I was expecting some Police back-up, but I don’t think they would have been so quiet. Sorry, I appear to be shaking. Is Dolly okay?” She smiled, while stooping elegantly to picked up the discarded police weapon, “Waiting for you back at Anbull Hall. She’s been worried. I think you’ll find you are to be medically retired rather than dismissed. I am certain Chief Inspector Swallow will not want to explain why he let a Russian agent run his police service.” Turning to the still emotionally frozen DC Web, she calmly said, “You both have the Official Secrets Act to sign. No more will be heard of this case. Far too politically sensitive!” Sidney was appalled. “But….. this is murder!” She smiled sweetly, “Please don’t worry, Detective Web. Your Assistant Chief Constable Viper-Resnikov, is not dead, just tranquillised. We will arrange his extended holiday back to St. Petersburg… with the fake candlesticks, of course. He will not be returning. I doubt the Kremlin is as forgiving as we are.“ Ivana Cock put her gun back into her jacket. It was as though it was not there.  She continued, “Sidney, Resnikov is your murderer. Unfortunately, you were right. Edwina did recognise him and invited him to tea to discuss blackmail. I’m sorry Sidney, but telling your office you were planning to interview her, rather sealed her fate. Resnikov was already on the way and got there before you. I did warn her. But she was as nasty and greedy as my late husband. Neither are a great loss to the World. You can think of me as the Merry Widow Cock of Anbull Hall.” Sidney was still trying to take in everything. He had been so wrong… and yet so right. “But how did Viper arrange to meet with Robin Cock in this place?” Ivana smiled calmly, “I don’t think he did.  After Reverend Castle admitted to failing to dispatch Robin with the Russian poison as instructed, Resnikov came to St Genesius’s Church to finish off Robin Cock himself. “Dolly was understandably angry with Robin’s attempt on her life, and that of his child, and mentioned Charlie Hen’s poaching bow in the cellar to Resnikov.  She just wanted Charlie Hen to be suspected, even charged,  in revenge for not supporting her in her justifiable case. Resnikov was happy to oblige. “But what she didn’t know was that the method of killing would incriminated her one true love, Damian Hawk.  She’s a lovely girl, but not exactly the brightest in the village. Do you agree, Mr Hawk?” Damian Hawk’s hands were still shaking, but his voice was calm. “Being dumb saved her life, and I am very grateful for that. It was not her fault that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viper… sorry, Comrade Resnikov…. appeared to be so understanding of my position I thought he was helping me, especially with the newspaper interview. I didn’t realise it was all part of his plan.” He looked at the unmoving body. His fists clenched, then relaxed. “I assume he planned to sneak up and blow my brains out here in the Vale. My simple suicide while mentally unstable.” Ivana smiled thinly, while nodding, “Whilst having the perfect alibi that he was with Chief Constable Swallow all the time. Case closed.” Sidney was still confused. “So, it was Inspector Viper and Reverend Castle who were speaking Russian, while Mr Owl lay in the church porch?” Damian Hawk looked at Sidney, and smirked, “Go to the top of the class, Detective Web. You should have been paying more attention at the Wake, instead of stuffing yourself with those awful sandwiches.” Sidney felt annoyed. He was being humiliated in front of the elegant, and dangerous, Ivana Cock. He snapped, “But… what if the story gets out? Ivana gave a giggly laugh, as she beckoned them up from the cake-icing white hollow, “And who would believe it? Soviet Spies, Ukrainian Counts, Romanov silver, and a murder plot based on a nursery rhyme, all in a tiny English village in Winter? Maybe, it could become a topic of dinner conversation, another Cock Anbull family fable.” She added, with a calm, but chilling tone, “ But for you both, the phrase “Silence is Golden” will be also good for your long term health. After-all accidents can happen in the strangest of places.” She looked back at the whitening hollow. Detective Constable Sidney ‘Spider’ Web felt the threat all too real. He was very glad to feel his heart beating, albeit rapidly. As they all walked away to Anbull Hall, Sidney turned back to look at the camouflage-dressed Inspector Viper, laying in a heap under the woodland pines. The camouflage was amazing; the body just looked like a natural feature of the woodland winter landscape. A dot of a snow flake drifted by, followed by another. How would they find him again? Ivana followed Sidney’s eyes, “He will be collected soon. Best if you don’t know anything more. You are at the beginning of two new myths. “The Mysterious Bowman of Thornton Under Vale” and  “Miss Edwina Fly, the Spider Witch of Thornton Du Bois”. Every English village needs a good mystery story to frighten the children. Don’t you agree, Mr Hawk?” Ex-Detective Sergeant Damian Hawk carefully crunched through the crisp snow towards the love of his life, and shrugged, “I’m just happy we are both still alive in this Cock Anbull story.” **Epilogue:** Within the winter white chill of a silent English wood, an odd mound moved. The mound emerged from the surrounding fresh snow. From the form, a pale human hand reach out to steady itself against a tall grey pine tree. Gaining balance, the figure paused. Then, silently, moved back into the grey columns and a gauze of fresh falling snow. The camouflaged figure was absorbed in the winter scene, vanishing completely in minutes. The Mysterious Bowman of Thornton Under Vale had revenge to plan. //(Prompts Given; Please don’t worry..; I was just here to…; He/She should not have…; Events were driven by …; The bane of my life is….; I’m surprised…; )// ---- Authored by: Mark Baker; Last updated: 2021-07-19T07:32:15(UTC)