Murder Ring (A DI Geraldine Steel Mystery) (27 page)

Des put the ring back in his drawer. The dog growled.

Lenny shrugged helplessly. ‘When can I come and get it?’

‘I’ll have it ready in an hour.’

The dog growled again, and Des shouted at it to be quiet. Lenny nodded. He knew when he was beaten. Still, a grand was better than nothing, and on top of it he was being paid to get Gina off his back. He was sorry he had come to see Des. He should have just pawned the ring and walked away with the proceeds, and to hell with Gina and her demands. He’d be better off without the whining bitch. A pawnbroker might give him more than a grand for a rock like that.

‘We got a deal?’ Des asked.

Lenny hesitated. He would have liked to ask for his ring back, but Des had already closed the drawer and there was no way Lenny could get past him, not with the dog’s eyes fixed on him.

‘You better make it look good,’ he muttered.

‘Come back in an hour and your bird won’t know no different. Ain’t no one else in the whole of London would do a job half as good. Lucky for you, you come to the right bloke.’

51

A
PAIR OF
plain-clothes constables waited outside the bar on Monday to arrest Jack. They contacted Geraldine to advise her that the suspect hadn’t turned up for work that day.

‘No one knew you were waiting for him?’

‘No one.’

Geraldine went to the bar herself to find out what had happened. Recognising her, the manager sighed when she entered his office. He didn’t get up but sat peering at her from the other side of his desk, his thick eyebrows lowered.

‘What can I do for you this time, Inspector?’

‘It’s just routine,’ she lied. ‘I need you to think very carefully. Can you remember anything about the night of the shooting that you haven’t told us yet? Is there any detail that came back to you after it was all over? It’s not unusual for people to remember details later on, once the shock has worn off. Is there anything more you can tell me, however small?’

‘All I can remember about that evening is that your lot turned up, went stomping all over the place, and chucked all my punters out. Until then, as far as I was aware, it was no different to any other night.’

‘We’d like to speak to all your bar staff who were here on the night of the shooting.’

The manager checked a list pinned to the wall ‘Well, two of them aren’t here, but you can speak to the rest if you have to.’

‘Who isn’t here?’

‘Rafe and Jack.’

‘Is it their day off?’

‘Yes and no.’

‘Don’t play games with me.’

‘It’s Rafe’s day off. Jack just hasn’t turned up. It happens.’

‘Is Jack unreliable?’

‘No, not as a rule, but you know how it is with youngsters nowadays. It’s good for business to have young, good-looking staff, but they tend to please themselves. Some are worse than others. Jack’s generally reliable but he acts like he thinks he’s the boss, you know – cocky.’

Geraldine nodded, wary of letting it slip that she was looking for Jack. The manager might alert him deliberately, or he might happen to mention the police visit to someone else who could warn Jack. Whatever happened, Jack mustn’t be scared off before they had a chance to question him.

‘I’ll send a constable in for a quick word with the staff who are here, and you can give me addresses for the two who aren’t.’

She would send a couple of constables along to ask the staff if they had remembered anything else. It wouldn’t take long, and would scotch any suspicions her visit might otherwise arouse. The manager printed off a document and handed it to her.

‘I’m not sure I’m allowed to give you their addresses…’

‘We can easily get hold of them anyway,’ she reassured him. ‘This just saves us time, and of course it’s an opportunity for you to show that you’re willing to aid us in our enquiries.’

‘Of course,’ he said quickly. ‘We are careful to keep well within the law here.’

‘I’m sure you are.’

Sitting in a corner of the restaurant, Geraldine sorted through the statements, trying to piece it all together. Two men who worked at the bar both reported independently that Jack had a close relationship with Katy, who worked behind the bar with them. Geraldine read their statements thoughtfully. The first one had seemed reluctant to voice his suspicions.

‘He and Katy had a thing going on.’

‘What do you mean, “a thing”?’

‘Relations.’

‘You mean they were having sex? How do you know?’

‘You can just tell, can’t you?’

It was very vague. The constable had been under instructions not to appear particularly interested in Jack so the conversation had moved on, leaving nothing resolved.

The second man had been more forthcoming. According to him, Katy was aggressive in her pursuit of Jack.

‘Were they having sexual relations?’

‘I couldn’t say, but she’s always mooning around, asking for Jack. She’s got the hots for him all right.’

Geraldine decided to speak to Katy herself. She began with the same wording that had been used with all the staff.

‘This is just routine. Take your time and think carefully before you answer. Is there something about the night of the shooting that you haven’t told us?’

She was surprised when Katy gave a guilty start. ‘What the fuck do you mean?’

‘Is there any detail that occurred to you, when it was all over? It’s very common for witnesses to recall things after the event, once they’ve got over the initial shock of it all. Can you tell me anything else? Anything at all? You were working upstairs, weren’t you? Are you sure you didn’t notice anything unusual?’

Katy insisted she couldn’t remember noticing anything out of the ordinary that evening. Geraldine approached the next question cautiously, feeling her way.

‘One of your colleagues suggested you might be particularly friendly with Jack –’

Katy interrupted her angrily. ‘Particularly friendly? What the hell’s that supposed to mean? Who told you that anyway? They’re a bunch of busybodies here. Makes me sick.’

‘More than one of them appears to be under the impression that you and Jack are very close.’

‘Look, I don’t know who’s been saying what, but it’s a load of malicious crap. Sure I like Jack, and he likes me. Nothing wrong with that, is there? But that’s all it is.’

‘So you’re not his girlfriend?’

‘Bloody hell, no. Anyway, he’s already got a girlfriend.’

‘That’s not what I heard,’ Geraldine said quickly, hoping to draw her out.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course I’m sure.’

‘What’s her name?’

‘Sophia,’ Katy responded promptly.

Geraldine really didn’t want to sound as though she was interested, but she had to know. ‘Sophia what?’

‘I don’t know.’ Katy shrugged. ‘What does it matter, anyway?’

‘Oh, it’s nothing. We’re just trying to build a picture of what happened that evening.’

‘Well, Jack’s girlfriend wasn’t here. He never brought her here. But he talked about her. She was doing his head in, poor bloke.’

Geraldine wondered if Katy was hanging on, hoping Jack’s relationship with Sophia would come to an end. She wouldn’t be the first girl to live in hope like that. Asking the manager to let her know as soon as Jack turned up at work, Geraldine left.

52

B
ACK AT THE
police station, Geraldine went straight to the borough intelligence unit where she spoke to Tom, a burly, good-natured sergeant she had worked with on a previous case. With a large, bald head and finely freckled face, he looked like a speckled brown egg.

‘I need you to find a woman for me.’

Tom pulled a face, pushing the corners of his mouth downwards. ‘Batting for the other team, are you? So much for my chances then.’

Smiling at his banter, Geraldine continued. ‘Her name’s Sophia.’

‘Sophia? I don’t suppose you can tell me her surname?’

‘Afraid not.’

‘I suspected as much. How about where she lives?’

‘If I knew that, I wouldn’t be asking you to find her, would I? All I know is that she’s called Sophia and she’s the girlfriend of our elusive suspect, Jack Bates.’

‘Aha.’

‘So she’s likely to be young as he’s only twenty, and probably good looking – and she probably lives somewhere in or around Camden, near him, although that’s a guess.’

The borough intelligence officer shook his head. ‘You don’t give much away, do you? What d’you think we use here? A crystal ball? Oh well, leave it with me, but it might take some time.’

‘Thanks.’

‘No promises, mind.’

‘As quick as you can. We need to find her boyfriend.’

Leaving Tom to look for young women called Sophia, Geraldine returned to her own office. Neil was sitting at his desk, doodling.

‘Busy?’ she asked him.

He looked up with a grin. ‘I hear you’ve already got the case all but done. That’s pretty good going.’

Geraldine was momentarily surprised by his comment. It felt as though the investigation had been dragging on for months. In fact, only just over two weeks had passed since David had been found, shot dead in the mews. She shrugged.

‘We haven’t actually found our suspect yet, and it’s been quite costly so far, getting an armed response unit out to arrest the wrong man.’

Neil laughed. ‘All in a day’s work. But from the sound of things you’ve got it pretty well wrapped up.’

Geraldine nodded. She hoped his optimism would prove justified. Apart from questions about the expenses she had sanctioned, the media were whipping up a furore about the unsolved murders in Central London. There had been some flak from restaurants and bars in the area claiming in the news that their takings were down. Even the government was apparently taking notice. At a briefing, Adam had mentioned pressure on the commissioner to resolve the case before tourists were discouraged from visiting London.

‘That’s ridiculous,’ Geraldine had burst out. ‘As if we’re not already doing everything we can.’

‘What the hell do they think we do here?’ someone else agreed. ‘We’re not a PR office for London’s tourist trade.’

Geraldine smiled ruefully at Neil. ‘I hope you’re right about that. Anyway, how’s things with you?’

‘Oh, nothing much going on today,’ he replied. ‘Paperwork for the last case is done, and now I’m on call. I dare say something will come in soon. This is London.’

He sounded cheerful but Geraldine sensed his frustration. It was one of the most difficult aspects of the job, flipping between hanging around waiting and full-on adrenaline-charged activity, often with more than a spice of danger thrown in. But Neil was right. Life in London was rarely dull for long.

‘Apart from your investigation there doesn’t seem to be much going on,’ he added. ‘I should be pleased it’s all quiet out there.’

‘You’re in the wrong job if you want a quiet life.’

‘True. But it won’t last.’ He paused. ‘What are you doing for lunch?’

They went to the nearby pub for a sandwich. Neil had a beer.

‘There has to be some consolation for not being on a job,’ he said.

‘Bearing in mind you could be called at any time.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

It made a pleasant break, popping out for a relaxed lunch with a colleague. They exchanged a few yarns about previous cases they had each worked. After a pleasant half-hour, Geraldine thanked Neil.

‘It’s been nice to get away for a bit, but I need to get back.’

He nodded. ‘Well, I think I’m going to push off. Best of luck with finding your suspect. I’m sure the guys will come up with an address for his girlfriend soon.’

‘We haven’t given them much to go on, have we?’

‘Leave it to the borough intelligence officers. They can find anyone.’

Geraldine hoped he was right, although she doubted they would be able to get anywhere on the strength of a first name. She was sitting at her desk, staring idly at paperwork, when Tom called. With a rush of excitement, she hurried along the corridor to see what he had come up with.

‘So far, we’ve got five women who fit your profile.’

‘How the hell did you find them?’

He grinned and tapped the side of his nose. ‘Call it genius.’

‘Or he could tell you we’ve all been flat-out, tracing school records and following up anyone called Sophia to see where they’re now living,’ another VIIDO office said.

‘We ruled out a couple because they’re mingers,’ another constable added.

Tom looked anxious. ‘You did say she was pretty, didn’t you?’

‘Well, we don’t know anything about her other than her first name, so we can’t rule anyone out, but let’s start with the girls who might attract a good-looking young man, yes.’

‘So far we’ve found five who are tolerably attractive, two of them living within a mile of George Berkeley House. One of them lives right there on the estate, on the ground floor.’