The body in the river- a short story by Austin Mitchell

                                                    The Body in the River
                                                               by
                                                   Austin Mitchell

                   Fuzzy pushed Carlene’s body into the river. He had hit her in the back of her head with a hammer. He then dragged her body across the road. It was a pity that the river wasn’t flooded. In such a case it might be days before they found her. He had thought of burying her body but couldn’t find any tools with which to dig a hole. This was a lonely place but he didn’t expect that her body would stay long without being found. He had taken cash and other valuables from the house. He had made sure to wear gloves as he didn’t want to leave any finger prints.

              Denzil Barned drove up to Carlene’s house that night at around nine o’clock. He wanted to talk and probably have a few drinks with her. They had a two year old relationship going but he didn’t plan to spend the night. He had always warned her about being alone in such a lonely place. She was a teacher at a school three miles away. She always took a taxi to and from school.

           Her nearest neighbors were half a mile away. She had always said that her dogs would protect her. Lights were on in the house which meant that she hasn’t gone to bed as yet. He got out of the car and went to knock on the gate and instantly the dogs were at the gate. He kept on knocking but there was no answer. The dogs were used to him and they let him pass and go into the house.

            All the doors were opened he noticed. He went into the kitchen. There were red spots on the floor. Blood! He knelt down on the floor. The spots led out of the house. He took his flashlight out of the car and went out of the kitchen door. He followed the spots down the road and there was Carlene’s body in the river! He knew that the river wasn’t powerful enough to wash her body downstream. But who could have done this to her he wondered?

            Detective Sergeant Peter Brown looked at Denzil.

            “You know what I think, Barned. You hit that girl on the back of the head because she refused your advances.”

            “You dragged her body down to the river and then you panicked and called us. I supposed if it wasn’t the dry season by the time we found the body it would be just skeleton and bones.”

            “I didn’t kill her. I told you that she was my girlfriend. I came to look for her and found her dead.”

            “I’ve no choice but to hold you for questioning. When we get to the station you can call your lawyer or whoever but you have the right to one phone call.”

            “What did you use to hit her in her head-back, a hammer or a big stone?”

            “I’ve already told you that I didn’t do her anything.”

            Scores of persons had descended on the scene including Carlene’s relatives.

            “You are going to make people believe that I killed Carlene.”

            “I’m not arresting you, Barned, just holding you for questioning. If we find the evidence we’ll arrest you for murder.”

            Denzil got in touch with his lawyer but the man couldn’t make it to the station. In the lockup he had time to reflect. Miss Darla, Carlene’s foster mother had returned to England after her husband’s death. Carlene had made Fuzzy the  caretaker redundant as she said there wasn’t enough work for him. That was six months ago.

            The next morning his lawyer, mother and father and his or release him. Realizing that he didn’t have the evidence to charge Denzil, Brown released him but promised to have him in cuffs before the week was out.

            “You said that the murdered young woman was your girlfriend. What type of relationship did you have?”John Taylor, his lawyer, asked.

            “Intimate, we never had any major quarrel.”

            “Her dogs would never allow anybody near her unless it was a person they knew,” Taylor commented.

            “Her family members usually visited her. Apart from them I can’t think of anybody else.”

            Denzil thought of Fuzzy but dismissed the idea. Fuzzy had gone back home to St. Mary, a parish in the north of the island.

            “Brown wants to charge you. He’s a very ambitious young man. He doesn’t want any unsolved murders in his area. That might hurt his prospects for promotion.  He thinks that you are a likely candidate for a murder charge.”

            “He’s going to try and pin it on you. I want you to tell me all that you know. Start with going to the house that night.”

            Denzil gave the lawyer a description of what took place when he went to visit Carlene.

            The autopsy was held the next day. It was revealed that she had died from a blow to the back of the head from a blunt instrument.  It was also revealed that she had not been molested. Carlene’s body was released to the family and the set-up was planned for the next Friday night and the funeral the next day.

            Both at the set-up and the funeral Denzil noticed that family members were avoiding him.

            Miss Darla came from England. She told him that she didn’t believe he had anything to do with Carlene’s murder. Fuzzy brought several friends from St. Mary and he was drunk both nights.          

            By Wednesday everything returned to normal as Miss Darla returned home. Fuzzy remained to help her pack some things she was taking back with her. Carlene’s parents came for her belongings. Miss Darla appointed her father the new caretaker.

            Denzil was at work one day when he got a call. Sergeant Brown was on the line. Denzil was a salesman for drinks manufacturing company in Kingston.

            “Barned, you’re holding up our investigations. Why don’t you tell us where the murder weapon is?”

            “How come it was only yours and dead woman’s fingerprints we found in the house?”

            “I’m not talking to you again without my lawyer. I’m tired of telling you that I didn’t kill Carlene.”

            Brown didn’t reply. Apparently he had hung up in frustration.  John Taylor had said that the case was stalled. The police didn’t have any eye-witnesses and they couldn’t find the murder weapon. Barring a confession from Denzil, Carlene’s murder might remain unsolved for years.

            Denzil was passing one night when he noticed lights in the house. He stopped the car and came out. As he reached the gate and called out the lights went out. The dogs rushed out barking but they stopped when they saw him.

            “Who’s there?” Denzil called out.  He pulled the gate and entered the yard. He was entering the house when he heard running footsteps. He ran after the person up the hill but the man jumped down a gully and disappeared into the darkness.

            The policemen at the station gave him some blank stares. Did he recognize who it was? He had more luck with Carline’s relatives. Several youths from the area agreed to stake out the house. A month later they reported that the intruder was Fuzzy! They didn’t manage to catch him.

            Sergeant Brown was exasperated.

“Fuzzy, from St. Mary. There must be hundreds of Fuzzys living in that parish. How come nobody knows where this man lives?”

But they did find Fuzzy a couple weeks later. He confessed to killing Carlene. He led them to the murder weapon. He did it because she had made him redundant.