Inspector Temple

Although neither Temple nor Cantwell knew it at the time, that was how this all began. A 'missing' man. I say 'missing' because that's what their desk sergeant filed when Brenda Ellacott phoned in.

If you are to follow the story, you need to know some basic facts. Everything took place in Starmouth in South Devon in 1950. It was, and still is, a typical English seaside resort lying on the eastern edge of a wide estuary. The town's western edges front the meandering river; the southern aspects face the sea.

Starmouth is well served by buses to Exeter and it lays claim to a neat little railway station right in the middle of the town centre. In the town itself, entertainment came in two forms: the cinema and the pub. There were three cinemas each providing escape from the drab reality of 1950s Britain still suffering from the aftermath of war. Cantwell's wife, Debbie, practically lived in them. Three times a week at the local flicks and once a week in Exeter.

The pubs came in many shapes and forms. There were the homely snugs and the more up-market lounge bars of the pretentious hotels. They all provided a means of dulling the senses. It came at a high price for many though and I don't just mean financial.

You also need to know about the Exeter and Plymouth Greyhound race tracks and the flapper track at the Halfway. This is where the poor old dodgy dogs are to be found. Not that it's their fault, you understand. It's the bloody bastards who are up to the dodgy business.

I suppose you also need to know a bit about Detective Inspector James Temple. He was aged 35 when the case began and had been demobbed from his regiment for five years. Though memories and nightmares of the war still haunted him. He was alarge chap, about about six feet three and had a mane of unruly blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

Theoretically, he was still married to Barbara and hade an eight-year-old daughter called Sally. But he hadn't seen either of them for over a year. Barbara lasted precisely eighteen months in Devon. A Londoner born and as she said, "A Londoner I'll die!" So saying she packed her bags and, together with Sally, went back to Camberwell to be with her mother and sister.

Do he miss them? Not Barbara, not one bit. She couldn't cook, couldn't sew and spent money like it was water. But, he told Cantwell that he missed Sally. He only met her when she was four. He'd been away in Italy, Sicilly, Germany and France - too busy fighting. So when he first saw her, she fled behind her grandmother's settee. Not a good start. Still they grew on each other. So, yes, he said he did miss Sally.

That's some of the personal stuff out of the way. You'll get to know Sergeant Cantwell as the investigation proceeds.

Whatever happened to Ben Ellacott?

Let me introduce this blog, who I am and what the blog is about.

I am retired Detective Inspector Tom Stringer. For 15 years I worked as a detective sergeant under Detective Inspector Cantwell. He was a bit of an old buffer - but he told a good story. He talked all the time about Inspector Temple. Theirs was a love-hate relationship. Temple taught him everything he knew, but he rather resented Temple's manner.

Anyway - to cut to the chase. When Cantwell left the force, he gave me a large package and told me to read the contents at some stage in the future. Well, I never had the time - too busy on the job. I left the police and set up my own PI office. I ran this for a number of years. The usual round of divorce cases, insurance fraud, that sort of thing.

However, I retired last year and opened Cantwell's package. It contained Temple's and Cantwell's notes on what Cantwell called 'The case of the Dodgy Dogs'. I was intrigued. I knew at least two of the crooks they had been after and I remember the stink the investigation caused at the time.

The county set in South Devon tried to keep the facts away from the public - too much dirt would stick, I guess. But now I think it's time to put the record straight. I owe it to both Cantwell and Temple.

What you'll read is their account. I've changed some tenses and filled in some details that I recently discovered. But basically this is the story.

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So - to start at the beginning:

It had been raining for days. The sort of weather that only happens in Devon, where it is always supposed to be sunny. The river Exe flowed fast and wide overflowing its banks and carrying debris from its upper reaches on the moor.

Ben Ellacott ran breathlessly along the margins of the river. His shoes squelching in the thick, red mud. They had been polished bright by Brenda that morning but now were unrecognisable clumps of sodden leather that hindered his running. And run he must. Redbourne's men were gaining on him. True, the short stocky man had stopped to get his breath but the tall, lanky one called Steele, who ran on the higher drier ground of the pasture, was parallel now with him.

A twisted willow hung precariously over the swirling waters of the river. Ellacott held on to its trunk, as a sudden stitch caught at his side. Looking up towards Redbourne's man, Steele, he realised any escape via the road had been cut off. To outrun Steele would be impossible. He was trapped. Unless... he glanced at the river, at its further bank. At this point the river ran straight, but five yards ahead it bent into a looping meander. If, he entered the water at that point, he would be carried to the opposite bank and safety.

Steele seemed to read his mind, he ran speedily down from the high ground directly towards him.

Ellacott pushed himself away from the trunk and stumbled to the point that he saw as giving him some hope of escape. "What the hell! Nothing to lose." He said softly as he braced himself against the sudden shock of the cold water.

Steele yelled at the other man and waved him on, pointing at Ellacott.

Steele later said that Ben Ellacott gave no indication that he either heard or saw him coming towards him. He said that he made a grab for Ellacott but that he slipped from his grip and fell into the river. That's what he said ... Of course his side-kick Drake confirmed everything - but then he would, wouldn't he?