Blood Bought

by Robin Roughley

  'Morning, Odette, is everything OK?'

  'We have a problem, I…'

  'Is Medea OK?' he interrupted.

  'She's fine, Patrick's due to arrive in the next couple of hours.'

  'Right.'

  'Anyway, that's not the reason I'm ringing.'

  He waited for her to continue, pulling hard on the cigarette.

  'Half an hour ago, a man turned up at the station and claimed to be Frank Viner.'

  Lasser scowled and planted his elbows on the table. 'What are you talking about?'

  'He said he's been away for a few days and he arrived home to find SOCO there, the door smashed, and the window shattered. Of course, they wouldn't let him in, so he went straight to the station demanding to know what the hell had happened and why we were crawling all over his home.'

  Lasser stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, his mind feeling numb. 'What does Bannister have to say about it all?'

  'I'm en route now, about ten minutes away but you can imagine the expletives when he found out.'

  'But what about the guy who fell from the window?'

  'I spoke to Doc Shannon earlier and he's out of theatre and apparently the surgery went well, but obviously he's in no fit state to be questioned yet.'

  Reaching for another cigarette, he slid one out but didn't light it. 'So, who the hell was the guy and why did he try to kill us?'

  'No idea, but hopefully if it is Viner at the station then he can supply some answers.'

  Lasser felt the familiar urge to leap to his feet and grab the car keys but he knew it was hopeless.

  'I just wanted to let you know what was happening,' Odette said in a quiet voice.

  Lasser tried to think of something to say but suddenly he felt awkward as if there were a barrier of some sort between them.

  'I'll ring you as soon as we know more.'

  Lasser cleared his throat. 'Right, thanks, Odette, I'd appreciate that.'

  The phone bleeped and died, and he placed it on the table before lighting the cigarette.

  'You need to eat,' Karen said.

  Lasser glanced at her before placing the cigarette in the ashtray and picking up the rest of the sandwich.

  Karen smiled as he took another bite.

  60

  Stokes hadn't slept a wink, arriving home he had crept up to his bedroom like a teenager who had missed the curfew and was trying not to disturb their mother.

  He had spent the last few hours sitting on his bed, every time he heard a passing car he would dash over to the window to peer between the gap in the curtains, convinced that he would see Lasser striding up the drive, his face blasted with anger.

  Now, he looked down at his feet on the threadbare carpet, his shattered mind trying to come to terms with what he had done. It almost felt as if it had been someone else who had driven out to the barn conversion, an imposter who had smashed the window and chased Medea through the house.

  The irrational voice surfaced, he grimaced but then shook his head, no he had every right to feel aggrieved, it was Medea who had set him on this path of destruction. It was all her fault and it was only right that she should pay for what she had done. Here he was living in virtual squalor while she lived in the lap of luxury, with her flash car and writer boyfriend.

  The voice of reason began to sink back into the mire of hatred and jealousy, like a drowning man going down for the third time.

  Pulling the phone from his pocket, he opened his email account, his eyes scanning the message from the woman who wanted chasing.

  Yeah, well, he'd chase her all right and when he caught her he would take out all his anger on the stupid bitch and then he would find a way to get to Medea.

  This wasn't over, he would get his revenge on the whore, he was owed, she would pay. Simple.

  61

  Frank Viner sat on the opposite side of the desk, arms folded, his wide face set in a frown of anger.

  Bannister and Odette faced him, the DCI loosened his tie before planting his elbows on the desk. 'So, can you tell us what that man was doing at your house and why he decided to open fire with a shotgun owned by you?'

  Viner looked from one to the other before replying. 'How the hell should I know who was in the house, I wasn't even there, I've been away for a few days?'

  'Away where?' Odette asked.

  'Business in London.'

  'Have you any proof?'

  Viner gave Odette a cold, hard stare. 'As a matter of fact, I have. I've got hotel receipts, I went to watch Liverpool play Chelsea and I have that ticket, I had four meals out and I have the bills for those as well. I'm a businessman so I never throw stuff like that away.'

  'And, you claim to have no idea who this man in your house could be?' Bannister enquired, his face unreadable.

  Viner raised an eyebrow. 'Look, I'm a bright guy but my telepathic skills are not what they used to be, so no, I can't tell you who was in my house while I was in London.'

  Odette glanced at Bannister and saw the dark gleam of anger in his eyes at the reply. 'I want to know where you were last week?' he demanded.

  'You'll have to be more specific,' Viner insisted.

  'Wednesday the eleventh,' Odette answered.

  Viner thought for a moment. 'I was at home with my girlfriend.'

  'All night?'

  'Yeah, all night.'

  'Do you have a name for this girlfriend?' Bannister asked.

  The colour started to rise in Viner's face. 'Look, I've told you I have no idea who the tosser was at the house, it must have been some fucker trying to rob the place and…'

  'There's no sign of a break-in,' Odette interrupted, 'other than where we had to gain entry through the front door.'

  Viner scowled and shifted in his seat.

  'What did you and your girlfriend do all night?'

  Viner slid his eyes towards the DCI. 'I want to see my solicitor.'

  Bannister leaned forward slightly. 'And why would that be?'

  'Because I get the feeling you two bastards are trying to stitch me up.'

  'Stitch you up for what?'

  'I don't have a clue, but I still want to see my brief.'

  'Does the name Minnie Burrows mean anything to you?' the DCI kept his gaze fixed on the man, looking for any hint of shock.

  Yet his face seemed to grow completely blank, his eyes narrowed slightly. 'She was the girl who was murdered, I saw it on the news, read it in the paper, but why are you sitting there asking me about her?'

  Bannister eased back in the chair. 'Two days ago, a local man was murdered – he was thrown out of the window of the block of flats he lived in – thankfully we caught those responsible…'

  'Look, I work in the building trade, I'm a businessman, I know nothing about any of this.'

  Bannister twitched a savage smile. 'The thing is, those who did the killing said they were acting on orders from you.'

  'Bollocks.'

  'Had this trip to London been planned or was it a spur of the moment thing?' Odette enquired.

  Viner shook his head. 'No comment.'

  'I want the name and number of this girlfriend of yours?' Bannister demanded.

  'I…'

  'And I want it now, name and number.'

  'I'm saying nothing else, so you can forget it.'

  Bannister tilted his head slightly. 'Given the seriousness of the situation I would have thought you would been willing to clear your name. After all, if you've done nothing wrong then it makes sense to help us see that.'

  Viner shook his head, his lips pressed together.

  Bannister sighed. 'Put yourself in our shoes, how would you react if we refused to say anything that would clear our names? Chances are you would be suspicious, you'd think we were trying to hide something and you'd want to get to the bottom of things.'

  'I've already told you I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm the victim here, some bastard broke into my house and…'

  'Do you have a licence for the shotgun?' Odette
interrupted.

  'Of course, I have a bloody licence,' Viner fired back, his arms still folded, his face starting to sweat.

  'And I assume the weapon was kept in a locked steel cabinet?'

  Viner's tongue darted out and licked his lips. 'Always.'

  'What about keys for this cabinet, where did you keep those?'

  'In a safe on the wall but what the hell…?'

  'The safe was open, Mr Viner, it hadn't been forced, so whoever took the gun from your cabinet knew the combination to your safe.'

  'Impossible,' Viner tried to inject venom into his voice but the mask of derision was starting to slip.

  'Who else apart from yourself knew the combination to that safe?' Bannister asked.

  Viner closed his eyes, Odette could see the muscles in his jaw bulging. 'I want to see my solicitor right now.'

  Bannister stood up slowly. 'It's a simple question, according to you the keys to the cabinet were kept in a locked safe. Now, you're either lying or someone had the combination, which is it?'

  'Perhaps I forgot to lock the bloody safe,' Viner spat out the words, but his face now looked shiny with sweat, his eyes nervous.

  'What else do you keep in the safe?' Odette asked.

  'Paperwork, some cash and…'

  'How much ''cash'' are we talking about?'

  Viner looked at Bannister but then quickly looked away from the DCI.

  'Couple of grand,' he whispered.

  'Actually, it's two thousand five hundred, and call me stupid, but normally when someone breaks into a house and they find a shit load of money in a safe then they take it with them, they don't add to it.'

  'I…'

  'Now, answer the bloody question, who else knew the combination?' Bannister asked again, his eyes flashing with anger.

  'No one, so like I said, I must have forgot to lock the safe.'

  'You're a successful businessman who went away for a few days and you left the safe open. You really expect us to believe that?'

  'And I'm telling you that no one else knows the combination, so I must have left it open.'

  Bannister eased back, his eyes narrowing. 'Even if you did it still doesn't explain why the man left the money and how he knew that the keys in the safe were for the gun cabinet.'

  'Well, why don't you ask him?' Viner barked back, the anger surfacing in his eyes.

  'He's in hospital.' Bannister suddenly broke into a smile. 'I know, why don't we all go and then we can see if you know the man? He's unconscious, so you needn't worry about him clocking you.'

  'Hang on, I…'

  'That wasn't a question, Mr Viner, you're coming whether you like it or not and en route you can tell me all about the night in with your girlfriend, you know what you did, what you had for tea, what you watched on the telly. Oh, and if you've remembered her name?'

  'I…'

  'Move it!' Bannister suddenly bellowed, Viner leapt to his feet, his face flushed with anger and fear.

  The smile on the DCI's face grew wider.

  'Bastard!' Viner raged.

  'Self-made, and proud of it,' Bannister replied. 'Now shift your arse.'

  62

  Lasser sat in the park watching the world go by. Despite the weather, the place was surprisingly busy, people were taking shortcuts to the town centre whilst others walked their dogs on extending leads, most cleaning up after their pets with black plastic bags.

  The sky above was tarnished with dark clouds though he was protected from the wind by the brick-built pavilion, the bench he sat on had recently been painted black, but he could still see the names and dates beneath carved into the thick wood by legions of bored teenagers.

  The bowling green in front was deserted for another year, the tennis courts devoid of nets. Lifting the cigarettes from his pocket, he lit one and let the smoke trail from his mouth.

  He tried to remember the last time his phone had remained silent for more than a few hours. Rubbing at his eyes, he sighed before leaning back against the wall and stretching out his long legs.

  An image of Medea floated into his mind, her eyes wide with fear as she opened the bathroom door, the baby in her arms, the dog dashing around her feet.

  Perhaps he should give her a ring to make sure she was OK? Taking another pull, he dismissed the idea, Odette had said that Patrick would soon be back from London, so no doubt he would be comforting her and making sure she was OK.

  Suddenly, the thought of being obsolete came flooding back, he had been suspended from the job, yet nothing would change, the team would carry on solving crimes. Odette would go to meet her new man and Bannister would go home to his family, while he did bugger all but mope about, waiting to hear if he still had a job to go back to.

  The more the woe is me thoughts entered his head the more he despised himself. Slowly, the realisation seeped into his mind that all he had was the job, without that he was nothing. He had no friends, no hobbies, and the bottom line was he wasn't even happy in his own skin.

  Taking a final drag on the cigarette, he flicked it out into the wind and closed his eyes, but the familiar distressing images flitted around his brain, so he opened them quickly before standing up. When his phone went off, he yanked it from his pocket and checked the number, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as he saw his twin sister's name flashing up at him.

  Hitting the screen, he lifted the phone to his ear. 'Hi, Tasha, is everything OK?'

  'I'm fine, more importantly, how are you?'

  Lasser could hear the concern in her voice, and suddenly he knew that, somehow, she had discovered about his problems. 'OK, who told you?'

  'Odette rang me earlier.'

  Lasser sighed as he started to walk along the path, the wind now gusting into his face. 'Yeah, well I'm fine.'

  'Listen, I was just on my way up to Rivington for a walk, you wanna come?'

  'Thanks for the offer, but…'

  'Where are you now?' she interrupted.

  'I'm in the park.'

  'Right, get back to your place and I'll pick you up in twenty minutes.'

  'Look, sis, I appreciate the offer…'

  'Good, see you soon.'

  The phone beeped, he looked at the screen before dropping it into his pocket and heading for the gates.

  Five minutes later, he made it back to the car, his face blank as he did as he was told.

  63

  'His name's Daz Black,' Viner growled as he looked down at the man in the bed, his face pale against the white pillow.

  Taking hold of Viner's arm, Bannister led him out of the room and into the corridor, Odette followed, closing the door quietly behind her.

  'Tell me about him?' Bannister demanded.

  Viner looked back through the window at the man in the bed. 'Up to a couple of years ago he used to work for me.'

  'In what capacity?' Odette piped up.

  'Labourer on site.'

  'And why did he stop working for you?'

  'Because he was a lazy bastard and I caught him nicking stuff from the store.'

  'Caught him personally, did you?'

  Viner thrust his hands into his pockets. 'No, but I heard about it.'

  'From who?'

  Viner's face started to go red again. 'Look, I keep telling you, I'm the bloody victim here, that bastard broke into my house, if I'd come home when I was meant to then he would have been there waiting with the fucking shotgun and…'

  'Hang on, are you saying you came back home later than you should have?' Bannister asked.

  Viner looked at him and nodded. 'The last meeting I had down there went on longer than anticipated, so I was late setting off. I was driving back, and I was knackered, so I pulled onto Stafford services and booked into the Travelodge to get some sleep.'

  Odette and Bannister exchanged a quick glance as a nurse brushed past and entered the room. The DCI glanced round, watching her go over to the bed and check the monitor before picking up the notes from the foot of the bed.

  'You never sa
id who it was that told you Black had been stealing from you?'

  Odette asked again.

  Viner sighed heavily. 'It was my son, OK? He was the one who told me that Black had been on the rob.'

  'Your son works for you?'

  'Used to.'

  'Why did he finish?' Banister asked.

  Viner was still glaring at Odette. 'He wasn't suited to the building trade.'

  'Hang on, are you saying you had him bricklaying or carrying the hod?'

  Viner swivelled his eyes to the DCI. 'He worked in the office, not on the job.'

  Bannister glanced at his watch. 'Right, Mr Viner, I think it's time we went back to the station while you make a full statement to DI Cooper.'

  'But I've told you I know bugger all, and…'

  'Then you have nothing to worry about, and you can give your solicitor a ring if you like while we're having a chat with your girlfriend.'

  The hint of panic was suddenly back in the man's eyes as Bannister gave him a sly smile.

  'I'm sure she'll tell us exactly what you did on the night Minnie Burrows died – minute by minute,' reaching out he slapped a hand onto Viner's shoulder. 'Then we can check her answers with yours and you can get back to running your empire.'

  'I…'

  'Just say ''no comment'', Mr Viner,' he said as his hand closed on Viner's shoulder and pushed him towards the door.

  64

  Lasser took a sip from the plastic cup, the view through the windscreen revealed the reservoir below, the water choppy as the stiff wind ruffled the surface.

  In the distance, he could see traffic on the motorway, people no doubt heading to and from work, people with jobs and a purpose in life.

  'You need to get your act together,' Tasha said from the passenger seat.

  Lasser held the sigh in check as he glanced at her 'What's that meant to mean?'

  His twin sister pursed her lips before wiping the steam from her side of the window. 'I'm glad they've suspended you to be honest, it'll give you chance to make the changes.'

  'What changes?'

  Buzzards flew high, circling one another, wings spread wide, riding the thermals.