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Inspector Walter Darriteau #8.5
The Missing Man
Towards the end of a busy day, Inspector Walter Darriteau returns to his workstation. There's a neatly-written pink notelet on his desk. Please ring Mrs Susan Woodhams, and a local number. He picks up the phone and pokes in the digits. After three rings, a woman answers.
‘There’s something preying on my mind,’ she says, ‘and it has been for more than twenty years.’
‘Go on,’ says Walter, imagining it's something and nothing.
‘Almost a quarter of a century ago, I murdered my husband.’
There was a brief silence before she spoke again. She wants Walter to call at her apartment at 10am the following morning and she’ll tell him about it, but gives him a warning. ‘Come alone or I won’t say a thing.’
Walter warns her of the consequences of wasting police time, but seems satisfied and interested, and agrees to call.
She coughs up the address and abruptly rings off.
Could the woman be serious? Or maybe she’s lonely and wants male company. Or could she be setting him up?
Either way, Walter will keep the appointment. Later on, he can’t stop imagining how she might have done the deed. Poison in the tea? Knife in the back? Pushed him down the stairs. Run him over in the garage? Eaten him? Who knows? It wouldn’t be the first time. There were plenty of choices, and whichever it was, it would be fun finding out.
The case of “The Missing Man” was open, an Inspector Walter Darriteau novella, and like all the others, set in and around the ancient city of Chester in the north-west of England.
‘There’s something preying on my mind,’ she says, ‘and it has been for more than twenty years.’
‘Go on,’ says Walter, imagining it's something and nothing.
‘Almost a quarter of a century ago, I murdered my husband.’
There was a brief silence before she spoke again. She wants Walter to call at her apartment at 10am the following morning and she’ll tell him about it, but gives him a warning. ‘Come alone or I won’t say a thing.’
Walter warns her of the consequences of wasting police time, but seems satisfied and interested, and agrees to call.
She coughs up the address and abruptly rings off.
Could the woman be serious? Or maybe she’s lonely and wants male company. Or could she be setting him up?
Either way, Walter will keep the appointment. Later on, he can’t stop imagining how she might have done the deed. Poison in the tea? Knife in the back? Pushed him down the stairs. Run him over in the garage? Eaten him? Who knows? It wouldn’t be the first time. There were plenty of choices, and whichever it was, it would be fun finding out.
The case of “The Missing Man” was open, an Inspector Walter Darriteau novella, and like all the others, set in and around the ancient city of Chester in the north-west of England.
127 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 7, 2021
40 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
David Carter
37 books15 followersI have been writing for longer than I care to remember, both fiction and non fiction, and started out by writing business articles and columns.
The reason I write is because I enjoy it. It is as simple as that. If other people happen to enjoy the results then that is a huge buzz, and a great encouragement to write some more!!
At the moment I am concentrating on my Chester based detective, Inspector Walter Darriteau, (see The Murder Diaries and The Sound of Sirens) and my philandering man, Gringo Greene - (see The Life and Loves of Gringo Greene) though the truth is that, like many other writers, I always have several projects under way at any one time.
Thank you for visiting my page and I hope you like at least some of my stuff.
Have fun,
David C.
The reason I write is because I enjoy it. It is as simple as that. If other people happen to enjoy the results then that is a huge buzz, and a great encouragement to write some more!!
At the moment I am concentrating on my Chester based detective, Inspector Walter Darriteau, (see The Murder Diaries and The Sound of Sirens) and my philandering man, Gringo Greene - (see The Life and Loves of Gringo Greene) though the truth is that, like many other writers, I always have several projects under way at any one time.
Thank you for visiting my page and I hope you like at least some of my stuff.
Have fun,
David C.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 26, 2024
Not a Who-Dun-It, but a Was it even Done
Great little story with tension and confusion to spare. The ending was totally unexpected—at least, by me— and the story really delivered.
Great little story with tension and confusion to spare. The ending was totally unexpected—at least, by me— and the story really delivered.
November 7, 2025
Another excellent read in this series. A woman confesses to paying to have her husband murdered 20 years ago. Inspector Darriteau investigates, but after 20 years clues are thin on the ground.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews