Where There's A Will

Chapter Seven

Stone pulled open the door and entered Branton police station, ready for another day of investigating. Almost immediately he was hailed by the duty sergeant at the counter.

"Nate."

"Bill." There was a cautious note to Stone's voice as he acknowledged the sergeant.

"Can you spare a minute?" Sergeant Frost asked.

"What's up?"

"This is Mrs Cromwell," Frost indicated the lady at the counter. "She'd like to speak to someone about the hit-and-run on Sunday night. Mason and Grey aren't in yet; would you mind?"

Stone was tempted to say that yes, he would mind, but that was the kind of thing Mason would say, and he had no desire for anyone to consider them similar, in any way. "Sure," he said with a nod of his head. "If you'll come with me, Mrs Cromwell, I'll take you up to my office and you can have a cup of tea while you tell me how I can help."

"Thank you." Mrs Cromwell made her slow way through the security door Stone was holding open.

"Steven, would you get a cup of tea for Mrs Cromwell," Stone requested of his partner when they reached his office. "While we wait for the tea, Mrs Cromwell, would you care for a biscuit?" He fished in the bottom drawer of his desk for the packet of digestives he kept there to stave off the cravings for a cigarette, cravings that were, thankfully, getting fewer and farther between.

Burke returned to the office in a little over five minutes, bearing a tray on which he had one of the few china cups to be found in the second floor's small kitchen.

"Thank you, Steven." Stone waited until his visitor had taken a sip of her tea, and then he addressed her. "Now, why don't you tell me how I can help you, Mrs Cromwell; Sergeant Frost said you want to speak to someone about the hit-and-run that took place on Sunday night."

"That's right, inspector. I saw the picture in the paper this morning of the gentleman who was knocked down – I think he's my neighbour, Alan Bollard. It was hard to be sure, the picture wasn't very good, but I think it's him."

Stone had seen the picture in the paper and had to agree with her, it wasn't very good, but he knew it could have been worse – Mason had at least waited until the mystery gentleman had been cleaned up in hospital before he took the picture.

"It looked like him, and I didn't see Alan yesterday."

"Do you normally see Mr Bollard?" Stone asked.

Mrs Cromwell nodded, making the cup rattle in the saucer she was holding. "Yes, I see him every day, walking his dog or going to the shop; he's a good neighbour, always pops in to see if I need anything."

"That's good of him. I'm sure it's a comfort to have such a considerate neighbour."

"It is. I don't get out much now, even with my stick, and my daughter can't get over to help me out or take me shopping as often as I'd like, so it's a real help that Alan is willing to get bread or milk for me when I need it. I'm not sure what I'd do without him."

Her words made Stone feel a little guilty, as he thought about how long it had been since he last checked on his grandmother. "You say Mr Bollard has a dog," he said, resolving to pay his grandmother a visit that evening. "Could you describe it?"

Mrs Cromwell sipped at her tea while she thought about the question. "I've never been very good with animals," she admitted. "It's some kind of mongrel, I think, part Labrador and part something else."

"That sounds like the dog that was found with the gentleman who was run down," Stone said. "If you'll excuse me for a moment." Pushing his chair back, he got to his feet.

"What're you looking for?" DS Mason asked suspiciously when he found Stone going through his desk.

"I'm after the photographs you took of your hit-and-run victim's dog," Stone told him. "I've got a lady in my office who thinks she might be his neighbour. She's pretty sure she recognised him from the paper this morning; I want to see if the dog looks familiar, if it does I'll take her to the hospital so she can make a positive ID on the guy."

"Why wasn't I called?" Mason wanted to know. He stepped forward, as though he was going to force Stone away from his desk. "The hit-and-run is my case."

"I know, Justin, but the lady was in reception when I got here; Sergeant Frost tried to get hold of you, but when he couldn't, he asked me to speak to her."

Through gritted teeth, Mason said, "Thank you, Nathan, I can take over now, though."

"I don't think so," Stone disagreed. "I'll finish up with Mrs Cromwell, I'll let you know if she's able to provide a positive identification." He found the photos he was looking for and turned away.

"Nathan, sir!" Mason protested, following Stone as he headed back to his office, where he was stopped by the door, which was shut in his face.

While Burke remained at the office, Stone took Mrs Cromwell, who was more confident that the man featured in the paper was her neighbour after seeing pictures of his dog, to the hospital.

Together they stood at the foot of the bed, looking at the elderly hit-and-run victim, who was heavily bandaged and hooked up to a number of machines. They remained like that for a minute or so before Stone asked, "Are you sure this is your neighbour?" of Mrs Cromwell.

Mrs Cromwell nodded slowly. "Yes, that's him. Poor Alan, he never did anything to anyone, why would anyone run him down."

"We suspect it was an accident, rather than deliberate," Stone told her. "Not that that makes this any better." He intended the comment to be reassuring, but it didn't sound it to his ears. "Does he have any family? Anyone we should contact?"

"He has a sister in Australia, and a nephew in Canada, I think. He hears from his sister occasionally, but I don't think he's had any contact with his nephew since he left." Mrs Cromwell was silent for a few moments when a noise came from the man in the bed. "I have his sister's number at home somewhere, he gave it to me in case of an emergency. I'll look it out when I get home and call her; I don't suppose she'll be able to come anytime soon, but she should know what's happened to Alan."

"That's good of you, Mrs Cromwell," Stone said, "but if you'd prefer, you can give me the number and I'll arrange for someone to call her."

"Thank you. Alan has told me about his sister, but I've never spoken to her; I'm not sure I'd be able to find the words to tell her what's happened." Her relief at not having to make the call showed on her face.

"Would you like to go home now?"

Mrs Cromwell shook her head. "I think I'll stay for a while; after everything he's done for me, it doesn't seem right to leave Alan here on his own, especially when his family is so far away."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate the company, even if he doesn't seem aware of it," Stone said. "I'll get the nurses to arrange a cab for you when you're ready to go home." She smiled at him in gratitude. "It's the least I can do since you've solved the mystery of who Mr Bollard is." From his pocket, he took out a card. "When you find the number for Mr Bollard's sister, you can get me on this number."

Stone was at the door when he thought of something and turned back. "We have Mr Bollard's dog in the kennels with our canine units - do you know of anyone who could take her? She's being well looked after, but I'm sure she'd be happier with someone she knows."

"I suppose I could take her," Mrs Cromwell said after a brief hesitation. "Daisy knows me, and I have a spare key to Alan's house so I can get her food and things from there."

"Thank you. I'll have a constable deliver Daisy this evening, if that's alright."