Leo picked up one of the newspapers and handed it to me.
‘Read that.’
It was open at the obituaries page and one of them had been circled. ‘Richard Stilman, Flyemouth, beloved husband of Joanne, died unexpectedly abroad on April 8.’ I looked up at Leo. ‘So who was Richard Stilman?’
He smiled enigmatically. ‘That’s a very good question.’
He handed me another paper. Again, it was open at the obituaries. ‘Richard Stilman – ’ I looked at Leo again. ‘Richard Stilman. It’s the same man.’
‘Keep reading.’
‘Richard Stilman died, aged 43, leaving his devoted wife Heather. Richard was a victim of the Australian air crash of March 29. A memorial service will be held in Edinburgh High Kirk on April 15.’ I shrugged. ‘So they had the same name.’
‘And died within a few days of each other.’
‘A bit of a coincidence, I’ll grant you, but – ’
He passed me another paper. There was another obituary for another Richard Stilman. This one was 39, from Doncaster and left a wife called Marie. The next one was from Oxford, aged 40, married to Gail and had died at sea. Then there was a 42 year-old Richard from Congleton with a wife called Charlotte and one from Abersoch aged 38 whose wife was called Natalie.
‘Six men with the same name, all dying within a week of each other?’ I said incredulously. ‘And it’s not exactly a common name, is it?’
‘All similar ages too. Is that the Flyemouth Gazette?’ Leo asked, indicating the paper under my arm. I had taken the job advert with me to make sure I found the address. ‘Page 35.’
Page 35 contained a more detailed obituary for the first Richard. He had worked for the Diplomatic Service and had been killed in a terrorist bombing in the Middle East. The funeral service was today, in about half an hour.
A thought struck me. ‘How did you notice all these? Do you spend all your time reading the obituaries?’
‘Not all my time,’ he said seriously. He began folding up the papers, very neatly.
‘Is this a case?’ I asked, wondering if there was some serial killer going around murdering people with the same name.
‘It’s certainly suspicious, don’t you think?’ He opened one of the filing cabinet drawers, rifled through some drop files and placed the newspapers in one.
‘Suspicious of what?'
He gave that enigmatic smile again. 'Let's go and find out.'
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It was open at the obituaries page and one of them had been circled. ‘Richard Stilman, Flyemouth, beloved husband of Joanne, died unexpectedly abroad on April 8.’ I looked up at Leo. ‘So who was Richard Stilman?’
He smiled enigmatically. ‘That’s a very good question.’
He handed me another paper. Again, it was open at the obituaries. ‘Richard Stilman – ’ I looked at Leo again. ‘Richard Stilman. It’s the same man.’
‘Keep reading.’
‘Richard Stilman died, aged 43, leaving his devoted wife Heather. Richard was a victim of the Australian air crash of March 29. A memorial service will be held in Edinburgh High Kirk on April 15.’ I shrugged. ‘So they had the same name.’
‘And died within a few days of each other.’
‘A bit of a coincidence, I’ll grant you, but – ’
He passed me another paper. There was another obituary for another Richard Stilman. This one was 39, from Doncaster and left a wife called Marie. The next one was from Oxford, aged 40, married to Gail and had died at sea. Then there was a 42 year-old Richard from Congleton with a wife called Charlotte and one from Abersoch aged 38 whose wife was called Natalie.
‘Six men with the same name, all dying within a week of each other?’ I said incredulously. ‘And it’s not exactly a common name, is it?’
‘All similar ages too. Is that the Flyemouth Gazette?’ Leo asked, indicating the paper under my arm. I had taken the job advert with me to make sure I found the address. ‘Page 35.’
Page 35 contained a more detailed obituary for the first Richard. He had worked for the Diplomatic Service and had been killed in a terrorist bombing in the Middle East. The funeral service was today, in about half an hour.
A thought struck me. ‘How did you notice all these? Do you spend all your time reading the obituaries?’
‘Not all my time,’ he said seriously. He began folding up the papers, very neatly.
‘Is this a case?’ I asked, wondering if there was some serial killer going around murdering people with the same name.
‘It’s certainly suspicious, don’t you think?’ He opened one of the filing cabinet drawers, rifled through some drop files and placed the newspapers in one.
‘Suspicious of what?'
He gave that enigmatic smile again. 'Let's go and find out.'
Download the whole story here for free