Families Part 3 Copyright Robert Fullarton 2007

 Families Part 3

Copyright Robert Fullarton 2007

Chapter 3

Murder diagnoses.

The fine tall Victorian lamps lit up beaming down on the passing pedestrians as darkness threw its blanket upon Victoria Bridge in Belfast city. The setting sun descended ready to go to slumber while plumes of smoke dispersed around the sky as far as the mortal eye could behold. It was half past nine near the peak of sunlight on the longest day of the year. Romantic couples holding hands embraced God’s wondrous sky and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of the summertime. People sat on benches chatting privately together. One man chased after his terrier across the streets, nearly having a coronary heart attack.

 It was a fine Thursday at twilight’s hour and rather humid for that time at night.

On the right hand side can be seen the great Harland and Wolff shipyard with its mighty cranes. It employs up to 35,000 worker’s the very spot the Titanic was constructed and set. Shipbuilding and the production of linen were the two most important and two exclusively special industries for the people of Northern Ireland. The demand for linen declined to the production of other less expensive textiles and so the linen industry began to disappear and jobs were lost.

Andrew Campbell strolled along the bridge with an associate from the RUC. A car pulled up at the top left hand side of the bridge he shouted down to the pair of them.

Their pace quickened twice as fast and they approached his black Rolls Royce. The car was parked and he came out to greet them.

“What about ye,

You must be Mr. Campbell and Mr. Thompson”

, he pointed at them both.

“Yes that’s correct, you are…….

  Howard Smith,” spoke Andrew trying to remember

“Yes, get in and we’ll talk.” Said Howard

He drove off taking many turns and diversions on the road passing many side streets and entries. The steering wheel turned from side to side and he glanced from time to time in the rear-view mirror. Then he parked the car on the curb. They were now around the Windsor estate where the Loyalist football team Linfield played in Windsor Park.

Andrew Campbell wore his fine pinstripe suit and smoked a thinly rolled cigarette while he stood on the pathway waiting for his other two associates to gather a folder of files in the back seat. The warbling song of the Blackbird sang out from a distant tree while he thought to himself taking drags off his cigarette.

“Gentlemen don’t languish forever outside, go over to the blue pot full of bedding flowers and underneath you’ll find the key to the front door.

Go ahead I’ll follow you over. I’ve just got to find some something”

, said Mr. Smith rooting away in his car boot.

“Alright then, come on David we’ll go in inside,”

yelled Andrew.

He put his cigarette out with the sole of his shoe and proceeded up the garden path opening a small gate. He lifted up the pot and grabbed the small silver key away from the woodlice crawling underneath.

He opened the front door and then opened the hallway door the house was a medium sized semi detached attractive house. Like one of the old Victorian houses which station soldiers near the many Royal Army barracks in Belfast.

Andrew stood in the hallway waiting patiently.

 Then the other two followed suit over to the hallway. Mr. Smith clutched a black folder in his right hand.

“In this way” he pointed, to the right in the dinning room

he then turned a light bulb on and closed the front door.

The dinning room had three old ugly looking leather chairs but there was an attractive, golden brown sweet of furniture made from mahogany wood in New Zealand specially imported with the right price. The walls were painted a citron lemon colour.

He poured a measure of Dunvilles Whiskey into three crystal glasses and lit a small king Edward cigar. He handed the whiskey to them while they sat on either side with a small fireplace to the left hand side.

“So let’s talk police business.”

“How did you get this information so fast with only three days on the assignment?

You spent two nights in a hotel in Dungannon right?”

Andrew began to speak.

“Let me talk first of all about my report.”

“The Commissioner himself briefed me to undertake this investigation; I examined closely the scene of the crime. I have a fair idea what weapons were used to perpetrate the crime. I have built up my report on the incident that night

A large knife around twelve inches was drawn through the chest of the first victim twenty times penetrating deep into the left lung and causing internal bleeding.

The men went upstairs and fired two fatal shots into the face of the second victim who was asleep and completely unaware of what happened downstairs.

The third victim was their ten-year-old son, shot twice through the chest with cold precision. The forth victim was a thirteen year old girl shot once twice while a third shot hit the wall and made a small dent. We found the bullets and we know that a 45 Colt handgun was used.

I believe only one of them was armed the rest carried probably knifes and other close combat weapons. These men were not professional’s because I presume in some kind of error or mad panic they smashed on entry of trespass, the pane of glass on the front door.

The Good news is that we will have the results of the fingerprints collected from one of the cupboards in the upstairs bedroom where the killers ransacked and rummaged for money and other belongings. We have examined the broken glass as well.

The perpetrators set fire to the victim’s barn, the method they used was to leave a trail of petrol inside and light a match to set the place ablaze.

According to the next door neighbour who lived quite apart from the victim’s farm and detached house, she spotted four men running sprinting off up the surrounding hillside.

Her eyes looked in disbelief at the sight of the flaming barn to the sounds of cows moaning inside. I spoke to the witness yesterday morning, she told me that she glanced at one of the killers who straggled behind, he was yelling at the others and he carried the petrol can with his right hand while he ran through the trees.

She gave me a good description of him.

Since that night the RUC has made several arrests and has interned men believed to be Republicans from Cookstown, Dungannon and in the local area. We believe that the killers were from the local area because they escaped on foot and that’s the reason for targeting a quite rural farm. On the report I also mentioned that drops of blood were on the glass and I assume it’s not one of the victim’s blood.”

 Spoke Andrew analysing and accessing the case while he sipped his glass of whiskey.

“Why was the witness out at that hour anyway?”

Said Mr. Thompson

“She said as strange as it seems, that she got up out of bed to let the cat into the house, when she heard gunshots fired and yells coming from next door. So she went and checked it out.” said Andrew in reply.

Mr. Smith who sat silent until then perked up and focused less on his King Edward cigar concentrated more what was discussed.

“The IRA is behind these killings, I have a file on who I indeed believe had a hand in this.”

“Here take this”, he gave Andrew the file from a black folder he carried.

“Oishin Flynn,” he spoke aloud, examining the file closely.

“Our sources tell us that he trains republican anti-treaty activists in the East Tyrone area

and a little bird told me he planned the brutal murder of that couple who were walking home from church one Sunday, when they were beaten and stabbed to death, this was last year in Benburb. The Fleming case, it was called, I think.”

“They target rural communities because the locals are vulnerable and it presses their advantage not to be seen. I have been a private detective in Belfast for the past ten years and before that I spent 20 years working for Scotland Yard in London.

We have the advantage with this information to clean up this scum, but we need guns, good effective Thompson Machine guns.

I want blood and blood we’ll get.”

“Hey were not the murderers here” exclaimed Andrew

, “but I do agree, guns are needed, not machine guns now!”

 

He then changed the subject.

  

I told you both about the source; he’s working for us so he feeds me direct information on the phone in the station. One of the suspects a Mr. Brian Murphy from Cookstown drinks every Friday night like clockwork in the Mountain Tavern off the main street.”

“By the way, who is the informer, where’s he from”

, Said Mr. Thompson

“Well he’s not really an informer since he is not involved with the suspects in the first place he works in the pub; I had to pay him to talk. The local RUC there informed me further on the whereabouts of Mr. Murphy. We have a warrant for his arrest; I believe he was an accessory before the crime, colluding with the killers on a small scale. He has a record of felony for burglary and assault on a police officer. He was released on remand after serving a small 2-year sentence. The information I receive is genuine.

This coming Friday will be ready to meet Mr. Murphy and ask him a few questions, we will block all exits and entrances.”

“How are we supposed to guess what he look’s like and where he’ll be sitting in the pub.” Said Mr. Thompson

“That’s taken care of don’t worry, we have the photo taken from his jail sentence five years ago. My source will inform me where his exact location is in the premises.”

“Were going to have to be violent, it’ll be like trying to get blood out of stone.

But how and ever we will all meet at the RUC station in Cookstown at 9pm sharp on Friday, got that.”

“Yes”, they both responded and nodded.

“That’s everything sorted then.”

Said Andrew breathing heavily and feeling tired.

“What’s it like over there in Tyrone, Andrew, is it true they keep their coal in their bath tub and some of them don’t even have toilets.”

Detective Smith spoke with a smart remark.

“No, that’s nonsense, that’s a discriminating remark,

I do know that there’s high unemployment, that’s all I know.”

Spoke Andrew rather annoyed.

The detective then rose up and poured three more measures of whiskey into the glasses for them.

“You told me about that minister up in Carncastle, oh what was his name! ……

, Robert Moore that’s it, you told me that he’s been threatened with violence by several thugs being led by a man from the Orange Order, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I’ve known the man for years and he’s a decent sort himself.

What’s been done about it?”

, Andrew demanded.

“Police have questioned the Orange Grandmaster in Larne and Rev. Moore is being looked after. Police are keeping surveillance on the situation, so don’t worry!”

, said the detective trying to reassure him.

He then changed the subject.

“Its getting dark and I think its best you head home, I’m going to hit the hay myself very soon, it’s been a busy day.”

“Gentlemen I will give you a lift back near City Hall, from there you can get transport back to you’re home’s.

, Said Mr. Thompson in response.

“Ill keep in touch with you.”

, Said Andrew to the detective.

           

Andrew arrived in the door of his house at around eleven o’clock in the night.

Both Cecilia and Emma were both asleep in their beds. He went up upstairs trudging slowly and yawning loudly in exhaustion.

In his bedroom he got undressed and slipped into a pair of comfortable pyjamas then he got into his big double bed where Cecelia had taken most of the duvet cover for herself.

She then woke up. He was still awake so they spoke quietly to one another.

She turned over to the right hand side and faced him, while he slept on his back,

with his eyes warily drawn to the ceiling.

“Why are you back so late, at this hour!”

, she demanded to know.

“Because it’s part of the job, I’m going to be promoted soon from Sergeant to district inspector of my own area, if I can clean up this case.

I’m going to retire sometime in the next couple of years. I can’t take the pressure that’s put on me; I have to go to Cookstown on Friday to make an arrest on a suspect in the Pomeroy killings”

, responded Andrew.

“That was savagery, utter savagery what happened to that family,

I hope you catch those animals that did it”, she exclaimed angrily.

“Well we have a good chance of catching them with the information supplied to us from

a witness who saw the killers and from a local police source.”

She didn’t seem to have any interest in what he said.

She closed her eyes and tried to go asleep.

We don’t see much of you lately, you’re always out and you’re gone very early in the morning or you’re away on police duty. What about you’re wife, what about the children

, do we matter anymore?”

She said speaking bitterly.

“There not children anymore there adults and they know how to look after themselves.

 I am the main breadwinner of the family and I keep the food on the table, your wee job working in the linen mills does not keep this household, nor help Michael and David with their rent. I pay for Emma’s College fee’s so don’t hassle me when I come from work and what hours I get home, I won’t put up with it.”

He shouted with anger and ranted on.

“Now look what you’ve done, you’ve gotten me worked up and steamed up completely.

She’s trying to sleep in the other room so let’s talk quietly.”

“I pay my own way without your money,

I saved up over several hundred pounds to support this family and for an emergency in case the children need it”

, she spoke in a quiet manner.

They both fell fast asleep and peace dwelt amongst them as silence was found in every quarter of the house that night. The light of the moon radiated brightly in the sky and a large yellow moth scampered up and down the outside widow trying to get in through the window.