Echoes With No Apologies

Part II

The ride passed in silence thanks to Ianto slapping my hand away from the radio every time I tried to turn it on.

When we arrived outside the squeezed-in two-up two-down, complete with stamp sized garden, my theory was almost confirmed. Walking up to the door, Ianto knocked three times and we waited once again for Miss Mary Yonge to grace us with her presence. Once again, she did nothing but disappoint.

"Do you need a warrant to break into the home of a suspected murderer?" I asked, a little rusty on the red-tape.

"Yes."

I nodded, and a thought occurred to me.

I didn't.

"Wait here." I said, walking a few houses down to an ally and following it to the back of Miss Yonge's home, ignoring the call of 'What are you doing, Wilde?' from my legally bound companion. After all, what could the Boss do, fire me again?

At least it would be reasonable this time around.

A wooden gate was all that barred me entry, and I peered through it to ensure I was unobserved, before reaching over, in an admittedly rather undignified manner, and releasing the latch.

The garden wasn't over grown as such, but it was certainly neglected. A week without water in the summer heat will do that, and I suspected that the guardian of these plants had skipped town a little while ago. I walked towards the house and found the back door barely hanging from its hinges, obviously I wasn't the only one who'd come looking for her.

"Mary, Mary, Mary," I tutted under my breath as I stepped into the darkened kitchen. Broken glass and crockery were scattered across the floor, I moved to the living room and saw that the television had been wrenched from its plugs. "Who did you owe money?" I whispered. Standing there, I could see what had happened.

They'd come with the intent of collecting and maybe scaring her a bit, but she was nowhere to be found. They were frustrated, more than if they'd just popped in unannounced. They'd arranged this meeting- no, she'd arranged this meeting. She'd promised them the money that she knew she'd have and then she decided to keep it. After all, murder is a lot of effort. She probably felt like she deserved it.

I strode over to the front door and let Ianto in.

"I think we have our motive sorted out."

I let him take in the scene.

"Do we think gang related, or loan sharks?" He asked.

"They took the TV."

"Loan sharks then."

"Yeah."

I left his fresher mind to consider the crime. I'd always been better at people.

In the lounge, I walked to the centre and stopped, standing as still as I could. She had pots of plants sprinkled all around her house, one or two I recognised as toxic. Hardly concrete proof that she's a poisoner, but it's all in the details.

I heard the faint scuttle of rats or mice beneath the floor boards, perhaps that's where she got her inspiration, thallium was used in rat poisons in the years of old, illegal to do so now, of course, but not everywhere.

Then there were the candles. If she was short of cash then she might be accustomed to the odd evening without power, but usually that only requires cheap tealights, not vanilla-scented incense and candles in coloured jars. It didn't quite sit right. Perhaps-

"Anything?" Ianto interrupted. I turned to face him, scowling.

"I was thinking."

"Yes, I could see that. What did you conclude?" He rolled his eyes at me.