Ice axe
Good Morning, Midnight (Reginald Hill Edition)The Ice axe is a mountaineering tool displayed beside a portrait of Palinurus Maciver Senior in outdoor clothing. Initially treated as an old household object, it becomes central to the account of his death: during a struggle, it came loose from its mount and fell onto him. The account presents that sequence as a possible explanation, but not a forensically established one.
Display and Earlier Examination
The axe hung on the wall alongside a portrait showing Palinurus Maciver Senior in mountaineering attire. When investigators examined it, they found faint residual traces of blood beneath dust and rust. Those traces were judged to be too old to connect with the current investigation and were tentatively attributed to an earlier mountaineering mishap. The rope examined with it showed no signs of having been used to hang or whip anyone, distinguishing the axe’s old traces from evidence of a recent assault.
The Fall During the Struggle
After Palinurus Maciver Junior’s letter accused Kay Kafka of repeated sexual harassment, Palinurus Maciver Senior blamed his wife and told her to leave for America, adding that he did not want her near his family, particularly Helen Dunn. According to Kay Kafka’s account, when she objected, her husband tried to force her out of the room. They struggled against the wall, dislodging the mounted axe; it fell and struck Palinurus Maciver Senior on the head. The object’s role is therefore bound to an abrupt reversal: a displayed piece of sporting equipment became part of a domestic confrontation with fatal consequences.
Evidentiary Uncertainty
The narrator acknowledges that the collision with the wall could have disturbed the display, but questions whether an axe falling only a few feet could have gained enough momentum to cause the damage. A proper forensic examination might have resolved that issue. He decided not to pursue one, reasoning that the suspicious circumstances surrounding Palinurus Maciver Senior’s death would give the press reason to attend to the allegations he had been circulating. The axe thus remains both a material clue and an unresolved point in the account: its fall is described, but its sufficiency as the cause of death is not confirmed.
