Deadheads
By Reginald Hill
The Contect Of The Story :
The story "Deadheads" happend in Yorkshire, UK. In a very big mansion full of gardens of roses, named : Rosemont.
How could roses be connected with murder ? A rose garden in the summer is a delighful place, full of colours and sweet scents. It has nothing to do with jealousy, hate, greed, revange - the usual motives for murder.
The owners of all those gardens were Mrs. Florence Alderman, she was an old lady from the middle class, "The widow of Rosemont" was her nickname by the neighbors, everyone loves her although she had a very tough character.
Sometimes she loves her gardens more than her husband, she hated to see her garden looking so neglected.
She had a son, Patrick was his name.
One day in the garden, when Patrick was 12 years old, Mrs. Alderman decided to cut all the deadheads roses, "Why do you do that?" Patrick asked her. "When the flowers fade and begin to die we have to cut them off, so the new flowers can grow. We call it deadheadsing". She said. Patrick want to try and cut the deadhead too so he took the knife and strated cuting the roses carfully. "Let me see how you remove the deadheads" she ordered him. She took hold of a dead flower. "Cut it just here, Patrick!! Are you listening to me?" she asked nervously. He looked from the knife to his mother, his face was not quite so expressionless as usual. He ignored the dead rose, and slowly raised the knife so that the sun shined on the polished steel. The rose that she had been holding towards him escaped from her hand, and its outhers dug painfully into her arm. Then there were other, more violent sentsations in her shoulder and neck, which had nothing to do with the rose thorns.
She scremed once before she fell backwards into her rosebed. Petals from dying roses rained down on her.
Patrick waited untill all the movement had stopped, then he dropped the knife, and ran towards the house, serching for help. His mother, Mrs. Alderman had a heart attack.
Twelve years later, when Patrick become an adult, he got married to Daphne, a tall, good looking, blonde woman.
They had two childrens : Diana and David.
He worked as an accountant in "Elgood Ceramics", he never had a problems with money or the police, he's used to live with his wife and the children in Rosemont mansion and had a peaceful life.
One night, in the "Elgood Ceramics" office, Chirstopher Burke, one of the Elgood's employees was found dead. Who killed him ?
There were no withnesses, nobody knew who killed him..
Dick Elgood, who was the boss of "Elgood Cermics" reported the police about Patrick and blamed him of Burke's death and attempted murder. The police decide to investigate this case.
"Elgood gone soft in his head" says Chief Superintendent Dalziel, he and Inspector Pascoe started to investigate deeplt this case.
Andy Dalziel is a fat, brash, uncouth police Chief. Inspector from Yorkshire. He says eactly what he thinks and doesn't suffer fools gladly, he's divorced. Despite all that, he's got a heart of gold, he just doesn't let anyone see it very often.
His long suffering assistant, Inspector Peter Pascoe, often had a pained expression on his face at his lord and master's behaviour.
The third main member of the team is Sergeant Wield, a good solid policeman.
Pascoe would rather be catching burglars, but he begins dutifully to dig into Patrick Alderman's past.
Meanwhile, his wifr Ellie, becomes friendly with Daphner, Alderman's wife.
After few nights Elgood has a big Chirstmas party in his seaside cottage. Patrick was invited too. Elgood forced his finanacial director, Brian Bulmer, to take a beverage every few minoutes. After the party was over, latr at night, Brian was defintly drunk, he tooks his car and strated driving back home, suddenly he bumpe into a big tree on the road, Brian was dead too.. and again no witnesses, nobody saw the accident. At the morning Dalziel and Pascoe came to Elgood's office and strated to ask quwsetions.
Elgood denied the fact that he's as the man who forced Bulmer to drink all the time. And again he blamed Patrick of Bulmer's death because Bulmer's office was next to Patrick office so Patrick was jealous of him because he had a better job.
Inspector Pacoe and Chief Dalziel don't belive any of Elgood's wrods, so they went to Patrick's house on Rosemint. Pascoe & Dalziel take the squad car and after one hour they found the house. Dapne saw them from the kitchen window and get outside to talk to them. They introduce themselves and she invited them into the living room while they were waiting for her husband.
Patrick got home from work and saw Pascoe & Dalziel in his living room waiting for him, "Hello Mr. Alderman I'm Inspector Pascoe and this is Chief Dalziel from Yorkshire Police Deapartment, we investigate all the death cases of Bulmer and Burke. Do you know anything about it?" Patrick told them everything he knew about the two deaths.
A month later a 3rd death occured at "Elgood Cearmics" : the assistant of Patrick, Tiomthy Eagles, had a heart attack and died. Again Elgood balmed Patrick and Patrick decide to make a compaint to the police in Yorkshire about his suspicion that Elgood is the one who killed all the people in his office. And he's was right !
On the 4th time, when Elgood tried to kill someome the police cought him and arrested him for murders.
When Elgood had inverstigated by the police he admitted his crimes, he said "Like I remember my mother cut the heads of the dead roses, she called them "Deadheads" I "cut" from this life the people the don't like me ! "
In the end, Patrick discover he had a brother, Dick Elgood, that never knew about it !
The Biography Of The Writer :
Reginald Hill has received British's most coveted mystery writers awards, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for lifetime achievment, as well at rhe Golden Dagger Award for Dalziel & Pascoe series. He also writes another mystery series featuring Joe Sixsmith for St. Martin's Press, and pens thrillers under the name Patrick Ruell.
Born in 1936, Hill taught secondary school and college until 1980, when he decided to pursue writing full-time. He lives with his wife in Cumbria, England.
Task :
· The cover of the book - Hos does it reflect the events / theme of the story ?
The cover of the book reflects the events and the theme of the story by the picture on the cover page, we have a rose and hands of someone who hold a knife and cut the rose heads off while all the blood is running down the roses leaves.
In the story we have 3 murders that somehow the killer connects with his anger of his mother. She had an hobbit : to cut all of the deadheads roses before they die.
In my opinion the killer, Elgood, really loves his mother and after she's died he always thought about his brother, Patrick, even if Patrick didn't have any idea about his brother. He's discovered that only in the last part of the book, he strated to susped it only when he noticed that his boss blames him in any death.