by John Glover
click here for cast list

Episode 14 - "Suicides and Pitchforkings" (May 18th 1998 3pm)

Yaxley Farcett (DI) and Brian Worthington were sitting in the sunshine on the low wall at the side of Ealham Cathedral. Both of them were eating doughnuts. The one hour developing shop had said that due to a staff shortage they would now take two hours. 'Right' said Yaxley firmly, 'Brian. I want you to be my sounding board. This case is now seven hours old. Since then I have been assaulted by someone who looked like Bette Davis, seen a man called Reg Dixon with a pitchfork through his heart, spoken to your mum, who said I looked like a prat, by the way..' Brian gave an embarrassed smile. 'Er.. Sorry Yaxley. She's too old to bother being polite. She said that when she got past her three score years and ten she was going to tell everyone the truth as she saw it'. Yaxley nodded ' Good for her.....Where was I ? Oh yeah. Jak Jackson gave me the roll of film, I went to Barnham to find my new digs, met you, of course and Mrs.Parsons and then came over here to the delightful Ealham. Been a full day so far'.

He leaned back and looked up, feeling the sun warm his face up. Fantastic he thought. Hot in May. Months of this to come. The transfer from Bradford was already starting to seem a long time ago. 'Who d'you reckon did it Yaxley ?' asked Brian, who was also reclining in the sunshine. 'I was hoping you would be able to tell me that' replied Yaxley. 'There can't be many secrets in a small village like Barnham. If someone hated Reg Dixon that much you would have known about it, surely ?' Brian thought for a moment.

'Well', he replied,'I'm probably cutting my own throat here but there was never any love lost between our two families. All dates back to before the first war. Reg's grandad and mine were best friends and they went out on a drinking binge one weekend. There were about thirteen pubs in the village then and Reg and Horace were determined to get round them all. Well, the story goes that Reg was leading him on and Horace didn't know what was happening to him. After they came out of 'The Skaters Run', Old Reg, his grandad, left my Grandad Horace to fend for himself. Horace was found dead the next morning on the Railway line at Cauliflower Drove. He'd laid his head on that track and the last mail train took his head right off. Old Reg was always blamed for not getting him home the state he was in that night'. Yaxley took some time to let this sink in.

Cauliflower Drove was obviously not as tranquil as it seemed when he had arrived this morning. Suicides and pitchforkings in The Fens. Something he hadn't expected. 'And how has this ill feeling shown itself since then, Brian ?' asked Yaxley. 'Well, I've always got on well with Reg because I take people as I find them, but I know my brother Cyril and him used to fight like cat and dog. They had a big bust up over a girl as well, just before Cyril moved out to Blendswell. My Mum and Reg's Mum never got on either. They were always rivals for the same things: chairwoman of the WI, secretary of the Parish Council, that kind of thing. Never anything wore than sarky comments to each other, though'.

Not much to go on thought Yaxley. A seventy year old suicide story and two women moaning at each other. He looked at his watch. 'C'mon Brian. FotoFinish awaits !'

The prologue - Episode One -  Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 -  Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 -  Episode 8 -  Episode 9 - Episode 10 - Episode 11- Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 15 - Cast List and Episode Index

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