It was a dark and windswept night with rain pattering on the window as we sat down to dinner after a lovely evening walk around the grounds of Hartsfield Manor.
We were just tucking into a delicious spicy tomato soup with granary bread rolls when a ghost dressed in full cricket whites wafted into the dining hall and introduced himself as Mr Gordon Marks. He told us he had been Murdered!
Location. Oakley’s Cricket Ground.
The victim was found at 1700 hours by his teammates lying face down on the floor of the men’s changing room.
Early indications show that the victim had severe wounds both to the back of the head, neck and groin area. He had signs of petechial haemorrhaging
The recently won cricket trophy was laying on the floor near the victim and had a severe dent in it.
Scattered around the victim were a variety of sport equipment including helmets, pads, boxes and cricket bats etc. The forensics team found traces of baked oats on the floor near the victim.
The police had held 3 suspects for questioning and released without suspicion Mr Robert Howles.
Married in 1995 with 3 children (3,5,7) he was very involved with the local community and had been a judge in both last years Cacti competition and the Whack a Rat at the Green Village Pageant.
Gordon was proud to have engaged the services of Mr Robert Howles a former professional English cricketer to join the local team as an ‘enthusiastic amateur’.
Gordon was overjoyed with the winning result of that day’s cricket test as it was the only time since he became captain in 1996 that the team had won. Unfortunately, it was also the day of his murder!
Mr Robert Holwes a professional cricketer had recently been the subject of tabloid exposure due to his financial situation. He had been stopped by immigration officials in 2001 on suspected trafficking charges. All of the charges were dropped. He is separated from his partner.
Mrs Valerie Marks
The widow of the deceased is a stay at home mum. She has no obvious skills but is a keen baker and a member of several social clubs in the village including the women’s royal voluntary society (WRVS) and the amateur dramatic society.
Valerie is also a keen dominoes player and a well-liked member of the community. She attends church regularly.
The Marks joint bank account details show that Valerie has made no transactions on the account since 1998.
Mr Geoffrey Jones
Divorced with no children due to an unknown medical condition he is the long standing captain of the Red Lions pub cricket team but has had some disciplinary issues and several complaints made against him over the years.
These complaints have largely been ignored as Geoffrey has managed to win every cricket match for the pub, for over ten years.
Geoffrey is the legal owner of Licensed Firearms and director of ‘Operation Target’ a local outdoor pursuits and corporate team building company
Geoffrey is an ex member of the territorial army (TA) and is trained in camouflage and stalking techniques but does suffer from an allergic reaction to nettles for which he takes prescription drugs which can make him drowsy.
His kit bag has been taken as evidence as an item has been claimed to be missing from the bag.
Ms. Alison Nettles
Alison is a team player. A very ambitious, young (40+) free and single graduate from Cambridge University (1991) Alison is the sole key holder to the pavilion where the murder took place. She has no children and is the manager of ‘Green and Pleasant Land’ an estate agency (realtor) in the village high street.
Alison recently sold No 13 Simpletons Lane to Mr Robert Howles which meant that he was eligible to play for the local pub cricket team.
Since the death of Mr Marks. Alison has become of interest to the Inland Revenue Service and is currently under investigation relating to £76,000 ($100,000) of hidden and unpaid taxes. (all evidence pending revue)
So, there you have it. All of the evidence that you need to find the murderer. You can ask me questions if you wish about the various suspects relationships with each other to test your suspicions.
So, who done it?
Over to you and as if you needed further incentive to crack this case. I’m offering 5 steem (pegged to today’s price* $0.37) to the first person to identify the killer.
The winner, if there is one will be announced in 7 days time in a summing up post. Assuming no one gets the right answer the most plausible answer will win the prize.
Your answer must include the motive for the murder.
*The last time I did this kind of prize post it cost me $50 as the price of steem shot up that week to over $10 per steem. Happy days lol
