In for the Kill (24 page)

I suppose he had some idea of confronting him with it in front of you. Clipton had called the prison; they told him that Miles was collecting you.’

‘But how did he get to the conclusion that Miles was Andover?’

‘We believe that he got suspicious when Roger Brookes committed suicide. We know that Brookes made a call to Clipton, but there was no record of what was said. Perhaps Brookes confessed before he killed himself, anyway it was enough to make Clipton act. He, like us, found out about Joanne Brookes and her drug smuggling. She was never charged though. Miles must have bribed someone high up to keep it quiet. We’re still investigating that.’

‘Did you find all this in his notebook and files when he was found dead in his car.’

‘No, they
were
missing. Which is what got
us
thinking. Clipton was a stickler for writing things down. He would never go anywhere without his notebook. When we went to his house, after he died, we found some of his notebooks but not all of them.’

‘Let me guess, the ones covering my questioning had vanished.’

‘Yes, along with a couple of others but they were just decoys. When Jennifer Clipton told us about her father mentioning Andover we knew he must have been investigating you, and that he had discovered something important. We started from scratch, just like Clipton did, this time assuming you had been telling the truth.’

‘Thanks,’ I snarled. ‘Did Clipton really die of a heart attack?’

‘Yes. That was a stroke of luck for Miles Wolverton. Miles knew that Clipton was getting near to the truth; Joe Bristow had told him that Clipton had been asking questions about Joanne Brookes. Miles discovered from one of the prison warders that Clipton had called the prison to find out about the date and time of your release. Miles caught the same ferry and kept an eye on Clipton.

He followed him down to his car when the ferry docked at Fishbourne. Then suddenly Clipton slumped against the steering wheel, Miles opened the back door and took Clipton’s briefcase containing his mobile phone and notebooks.’

‘It would have been nice if you had told me all this.’

‘We didn’t know much of it until the last twenty-four hours. We knew that you had made no secret that you would go after Andover. We thought you might lead us to him, and you did almost at the same time as we got there ourselves.

We didn’t know why you were the victim until we heard Miles tell you. We couldn’t get to you in time before your boat trip, unfortunately. We were too far away.’

‘How is Ruby?’

‘She didn’t make it. I’m sorry.’

And so was I. She hadn’t deserved a death like that. And neither had my mother deserved to die. I was glad Miles had paid for both with his own life. I took a deep breath. Poor Scarlett. I didn’t think she would ever forgive me for leading her mother to her death.

Crowder continued. ‘Rowde’s arrival on the scene complicated things and we were nearly persuaded to step in. Sorry you had to take a beating.’

‘That makes me feel a lot better,’ I said, sarcastically.

‘You won’t need to keep that appointment with Rowde by the way. We’ve picked him up and charged him and his henchman, Barry Chertsey, with extortion, wounding, oh and murder –

Westnam’s will do for a start.’

‘I hope you’ve got enough evidence to put them away for a long time.’

‘Rowde also told me that he was paid by Miles Wolverton to claim he had kidnapped your family.’

‘I know. I’ve found them…’ I faltered.

Crowder’s words jarred. Why? I urged my tired brain to function; it seemed intent on refusing to co-operate. Adams, at a sign from Crowder, began to head down into Port St Helens and the Embankment. Within a couple of minutes we pulled up outside my houseboat. I needed a drink and I needed to think. For that I needed to be alone. I couldn’t get rid of them fast enough.

Crowder didn’t seem to mind. I promised I would make myself available later that morning, and watched them drive away.

Scarlett’s car was in the lay-by opposite her houseboat and I could see a light in her window.

My heart ached at the thought of her alone with her grief. I wanted to go to her, but how could I after what I had done?

I poured myself a stiff drink and took it to the patio doors. I pressed my forehead against the cold glass and urged myself to think. Crowder had said that Rowde had confessed that Miles Wolverton had paid him to say he had kidnapped Vanessa and the boys, but Gus had flown them here, and they were living in Gus’s house. Gus had kidnapped them to make sure that Vanessa stayed afraid of me, and for the money he thought I had. Rowde was lying or was he?

I spun round. What a bloody fool I’d been. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I could hardly believe it.

Miles and Gus had been working together. Miles wasn’t Andover. It was Gus and Crowder knew it. That was why he had asked me the question outright. It was why he had brought me back here. To wait for Andover to show up.

I tossed back the whisky, not tasting it, slammed the glass down on the table and paced the floor, my mind whirring trying to fit the pieces of the jigsaw together. I felt the breath being sucked from me as each piece slotted into place. As the incredible truth finally dawned on me, instead of the fury that I had felt confronting Miles, I was amazed to find myself quite calm. But it was a dangerous calm, full of hatred. At last I had come to the end of my journey. Or, rather I was near the end. There was one more confrontation to come. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he came here. I snatched a glance at my watch and with immaculate timing my door was thrust open.

Gus was standing on the threshold.

At the sight of him the calmness inside me hardened with a resolve to see this man suffer, as I had suffered. I had already decided which way to play this. Physical violence wouldn’t work. I’d learnt that much in Guernsey.

No, with Gus I had to play to his superiority and his intellect.

‘You look dreadful,’ Gus said stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

‘I’ll live, which is more than you’ll do when Rowde finds out you conned him.’

I could see him weighing things up. I needed Gus to think that Rowde was still free rather than in police custody.

‘It’s over, Gus. It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally got to the truth. Miles wasn’t Andover. It was you.’

For a moment I thought he was going to deny it. Then vanity got the better of him. Hatred was in my soul for this man, but I also wanted justice and to
see
justice done. I was counting on the fact that Crowder hadn’t yet removed his listening devices from the houseboat.

I said, ‘Was it just Vanessa that you wanted from me, or did you also want the three million from your victims?’

‘You tell me, Alex. You seem to have all the answers.’

‘You set up the fake charity, you hacked into my computer and you sent those e-mails from my computer. Miles gave you your victims though: Couldner, Westnam and Brookes, three men with a secret that they were desperate to keep hidden. I suppose the idea for all of this came to you after you discovered that Miles was Hugo’s grandson and that my mother and Percy Trentham had falsely betrayed Hugo. You went to Miles and told him and between you, you hatched up the plan to destroy my reputation and my marriage.’

I was amazed that I could keep my voice so even. It was as though I was discussing a business plan and not the ruination of my life, not to mention the destruction of my mother’s life and now poor Ruby’s. Oh, Miles had
killed
both women, but it was this man who had goaded him into doing it. To me he was the more evil of the two. I hated his smugness, his cleverness, his superiority. I could see even now, as I confronted him, he was arrogant enough to believe he could get away with it. I knew he wouldn’t. What I had in mind for Gus Newberry wasn’t a quick death like Miles’s.

I went on. ‘That story Miles told me about the elderly man recognising him in court was bullshit, wasn’t it?’

Gus couldn’t resist it, as I knew he wouldn’t be able to. ‘I admire you, Alex. I didn’t think you’d get there, and if you did I felt sure you’d blame Miles.’

‘Oh, I did until I discovered you had a house in Seagrove Bay and flew Vanessa and the boys here. I also know that Miles is hopeless with computers. He doesn’t even have one on his office desk. The hi tech bit was beyond him. You bribed Rowde with a share of the three million pounds you and Miles extorted from Couldner, Westnam and Brookes.’

‘You’ve got it all worked out.’ Gus said evenly.

‘Congratulations.’

I almost yielded then to the temptation of striking him. I willed myself to stay in control. I envisaged him slopping out and cleaning urinals.

It helped. My fists stayed unclenched, but my body was stretched so taut that I knew it might snap at any moment.

‘Why did you do it, Gus? Don’t you think you owe me some kind of explanation,’ I added when he hesitated.

‘I suppose I do.’ He couldn’t resist the chance to show off. He continued, ‘When I saw Vanessa quite by chance here on the Island I knew that I was still in love with her, but she told me she was happily married and could never leave you.

After that I made it my business to find out everything I could about you. You valued honesty; you were creative and enterprising.

You’d built up a successful business. Vanessa was loyal to you, a dedicated wife and mother. She hated hypocrisy and deceit. She had rejected me once; I wasn’t about to lose her for the second time. I knew that the only way to get her to love and marry me was if I disgraced you. I had to show her you were a sham.’

‘And that’s when you decided you had to ruin me and that Vanessa would need a big strong shoulder to cry on.’ Even if I had tried I wouldn’t have been able to keep the bitterness from my voice. I could see in an instance that Gus liked that. It gave him back an element of dominance.

OK, so let him think that.

‘Family history is a hobby of mine,’ he said. ‘I started to delve into yours. Everyone has skeletons in their cupboard and I surmised that your family would be no exception.’

I recalled seeing the framed picture of Gus’s genealogy on the wall in his breakfast room. The same room that my sons had sat in and done their homework. For a moment I thought fury might invade my calm and erupt into physical violence.

I willed myself to be still. It wasn’t time yet.

‘What I did find out was quite remarkable,’ Gus said. ‘Your grandfather had drowned in August 1940, not long after the attack on the Ventnor radar station.’

I didn’t correct him, but let him continue.

‘That was my starting point. I found Percy who, as you know, always liked to talk about the war.

Soon I had the story of the three young men, Hugo, Max and Edward. Percy wouldn’t say what happened to the others. I could see he was uncomfortable about something so I made my own enquiries and learnt that Hugo had been arrested for treason, after being turned in by two teenagers. He had died in prison before he could be hanged. I tracked down his wife, Amelia, who had a daughter and a grandson: Miles Wolverton.

I didn’t approach him, not then. Later on I located Maximilian Weber. He was a professor at Frankfurt University. I was surprised you’d not followed it up before.’

‘What did Max tell you?’ I snapped.

‘Everything. He had no choice. I threatened to expose him. I told him I was from the British Government. He was old and he was ill. It didn’t take much and perhaps he wanted it off his conscience anyway. He told me about the money they had taken from the Jews in payment for helping them to escape Germany, and that Hugo had been a spy. I knew he was lying. After all why Hugo when Max was German. After that it was easy. I went to Miles and told him that your mother had betrayed his grandfather. She had helped to destroy Hugo’s reputation. I said that Hugo had suffered terribly in prison and the authorities had hushed up his death. Miles couldn’t get a pardon without raking up the past but he could get even with you. I told him about my idea of the fictitious charity and that we could make some money from it. I needed three wealthy businessmen to cough up. Miles could supply that easily. The connection with my firm was a coincidence and I hadn’t realised it until you crashed in on me in Guernsey. Miles really enjoyed watching you suffer the humiliations of the trial and imprisonment. He saw it as justice.’

I tensed. Was he goading me deliberately? No.

As I stared at him I saw how mad he was. What a lethal combination he and Miles had made. Miles eaten up with an inferiority complex and fuelled by revenge, and Gus suffused with a surfeit of unhealthy superiority. To them I had been merely an instrument to achieve what they wanted. Well fuck them! One of them was dead. Prison though would be better than death for Gus Newberry.

But I wasn’t finished yet.

‘How did you find out about the brooches?’ I asked almost casually, marvelling at my ability to disguise my real emotion. But then prison had taught me so much, and in that instance I knew with certainty I could never go back to being the Alex Albury I had once been.

‘What brooches?’ Gus said.

‘You didn’t know that each man had part of an account number engraved on the back of a brooch which gave the whereabouts of the Jewish money?’

‘No. Does Miles know?’

‘He did. He had all three brooches before he died. We had a little accident in my boat. They’re somewhere at the bottom of the Solent now.’ Or were they? Perhaps the police had discovered them on Miles’s body. Crowder hadn’t said.

Gus went on, ‘Now I can see why Miles got so fanatical about you. He killed Joe.’

‘I know and others. Did he kill Couldner?’

‘Someone had to. It was the only way to get the police to start the enquiry. I haven’t killed anyone, Alex.’

‘Only me and everything I valued,’ I said. My pulse was quickening and I was fighting to keep myself under control. There was silence for a moment. With every last fibre of my being I urged myself to remain calm.

I crossed to the patio doors. I thought of Vanessa. Gus had tricked and betrayed her as much as he had me. I knew that she would never forgive me for what I was about to do to Gus, but that couldn’t be helped. Besides I didn’t want her forgiveness now.