by Lee Wood
“Okay. I’m terminating this interview.”
The recording machine was turned off.
The DI walked back to the incident room and spoke to his DCI who had been listening in.
"Well done, Eden. That was a good interview. I think we have a strong motive and the fact the victim appears to have let the murderer into his room and turned his back. You don’t normally do that with a stranger. I think we have our man. Now we just need to prove it. We'll see what the forensics team come up with but I think we can build a solid case the CPS will be happy with.”
Eden cut in. “Sorry, boss, I'm just thinking of another possibility here. If what Norman said is true, there's a chance this young lad could be in danger. He may have had a lover who was jealous and followed them here and murdered Winston-Moore and kidnapped the young man with a view to harming or torturing him in some way. I'd like to see if anyone at the hotel knows who he is or heard his name. And also go through the victim’s phone and see if we can find anything. I think we need to find him urgently. Or the young man could end up as our next murder victim."
"Okay. I'll leave that to you Eden, but my money's on Norman. Personally I think he’s our man and we got a lucky break when the antique dealer recognised him.”
Chapter Twenty-One
SEARCH FOR OLIVER VARNEY
At 2.45 pm. Eden Gold phoned DS Tracy Archer who was still interviewing people at the hotel.
Tracy had joined the police after university and was following in the footsteps of her father who had been a detective until he disappeared while investigating a fraud case when she was fifteen. One day he just went missing and there had been no trace of him since.
"Hi, Tracy. Eden said. “It appears the victim and Norman were in a long-term relationship and he says he stayed at the hotel because he thought the victim was cheating on him and he wanted to find out what was going on. He’s mentioned a young man staying with Peter. Norman says he went to the room, and he and Peter had a heated argument at around 10 am yesterday morning. We need to ask around if anyone heard it and if they managed to hear anything that was said? We're going to be looking at the victim’s phone records but check if anyone knows his name so we can narrow it down. There’s a chance this could bring up another possibility. A jealous lover of the young man who might have killed Winston-Moore and has taken the young man or harmed him. I'm waiting on the report from fingerprints just in case we have him on file. So if you can get back to me as soon as you have anything.”
“Actually, Eden, I’m about to interview the main housekeeper, Dawn Waterman, and the house maids. According to the hotel assistant manager they would have been cleaning the rooms around that time. Maybe she or one of her colleagues heard or saw something. As soon as I’ve spoken to them I’ll get back to you.
“Thanks, Tracy." The DI hung up the phone and turned to his boss. "Andy. I've spoken to technical and there's one of their guys in the building looking at some items from that recent pornography raid. The SOCO team have just finished at the hotel so I've asked if one of them can bring the victim’s phone over to us straight away. Then we can get the techie to have a look and see if we can come up with a name for the young man.”
Tracy started her interview with Dawn Waterman the main housekeeper.
As the pair shook hands Tracy could feel the roughness, the result from years of cleaning and a firmness that comes from manual work. Dawn stood five feet three with brown hair and little in the way of make-up. As Tracy said hello and smiled Dawn didn’t smile back.
Here tone was matter of fact. “I’ve worked here for eight years now… apart from a short period off for personal reasons last year. I’m the main housekeeper. There’s myself and three house maids. We clean the rooms plus the bars and restaurants. And I also work on the reception desk three afternoons and evenings to supplement my income.”
“So were you on reception earlier this week?”
“Yes. This week as I usually do I worked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from two thirty until eight-thirty.”
“So you would have booked in Mr Winston-Moore?”
“Yes. I did. Along with the young man.”
“Did you get a name for the young man?”
“No. As I recall when I took the initial booking about two weeks ago it was for one person but when he booked in I noticed it was for two. So he must have phoned and spoken to someone in between and upgraded it.”
“Can you describe the young man?”
“Probably in his mid-twenties. Medium height. Quite thin with light brown hair and smartly dressed. I only saw him briefly when they booked in and a couple of times when they passed us in the hallway when Zoe and I were cleaning the rooms. The last time I recall seeing him was just after the argument on Thursday morning.”
Tracy looked up from her note-taking. “Argument. What argument?”
“Zoe and I both heard it when we were cleaning room 106. Just after ten o’clock. We heard raised voices but we couldn’t hear everything. Something about him, the man who died, being a cheat and a liar. We thought it strange because when it was over the person who came out of the room was another guest, Mr Green from room 113. Then a little later we saw the young man leave with a suitcase. I didn’t see him again after that.”
“Thank you, Dawn, that was very helpful. If you think of anything else, no matter how trivial it may seem please let us know.”
After a brief interview with Zoe Keltman, one of the house maids who confirmed everything Dawn had said, Tracy wrote up her notes, and made a quick call to Eden before she went off to interview members of the kitchen staff.
Eden’s phone rang.
"Hi, Tracy. Have you got something?"
"Hi, Eden. Yes, a couple of things. I've spoken to the housekeeper, Dawn Waterman, and one of the house maids, a young girl called Zoe, and they both overheard an argument yesterday morning. They reckon it was a few minutes after ten. They heard something like ‘Why would you cheat on me like this?’ but that's all they can recall. I've also spoken to one of the bar staff and she thinks the young man with the victim was called Oliver. She only remembers because it's the same name as her boyfriend. I checked the booking and it was for two people but the only name given is Peter Winston-Moore. He signed the registration card. I also had SOCO take a look inside the Bentley in the car park but there’s nothing in there either."
"Hey, that's a great job. Thanks, Tracy. See you later."
Five minutes later, the victim’s phone was delivered to the police station by one of the SOCO team who had placed it in the evidence bag in the hotel room. It had already been checked for blood splatters but none were found. SOCO had also dusted it for fingerprints and sent the findings to the fingerprint division.
Eden asked for the techie to come to the incident room.
Using latex gloves he went through the phone. "I've got a number stored with a name you mentioned. There's only one with the name Oliver. Oliver Varney is stored as a business contact.”
"Okay, let's give the number a go and see what happens."
Eden dialled the number. After four rings a man answered.
"Hello."
"Hello, is that Oliver Varney?"
"Yes it is."
"Mr Varney this call is extremely important. I'm Detective Inspector Eden Gold with the police in Trentbridge. I understand you stayed at the Albion Hotel recently with a Mr Winston-Moore."
"Er… yes I did. Until his partner turned up. Have I done something wrong? Am I in trouble?"
"Let me assure you that you are not in any trouble with us. I'm checking to see if you are okay. Are you alone?"
"Yes I'm alone."
"Mr Varney. There’s been a serious incident at the hotel. We need you to give a witness statement. I’d like to come and visit you. Can you tell me exactly where you are now?"
“I'm at my bedsit in London.”
"Please can I have your address? I’ll need to come and get a statement from you.”
"Sure. Room 6, 49 Harvey Goodwin Road, Earls Court. It's the top floor, the blue button on the entry buzzer. Can you tell me what this is all about?"
"As I said, you are not in trouble with us. It's purely routine. We just need a statement from you regarding something that has happened at the hotel. I'd like to come and see you tomorrow if that is okay.
"Yes. That's fine. I'll see you then.”
“One last thing. You say you left the hotel?”
“Yes, that's right. I had no idea Peter was involved with someone else. So after his partner turned up and made a scene I packed a bag and left. I took a taxi to the station and got on the first train to London.”
Eden walked into his boss's office, the door was open.
"Andy. I'm going to interview Oliver Varney tomorrow. We found him at his bedsit in London. It appears he's fine. He says after the argument between the victim and Norman he packed his things and got a taxi to the railway station and went home. He says he wasn't in a relationship when he met Winston-Moore. So the possibility of some jealous lover being involved seems unlikely."
The DCI spoke. "Which brings us right back to Norman as the main suspect."
"I'm not sure, boss. Maybe, maybe not. Let's see what turns up in the next few hours.”
“Time is running out, Eden. You know as well as I do that unless we get something pretty fast, I’ve either got to charge him or apply for an extension.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was just after 6 pm. when DI Eden Gold stood in front of the team in the Major Incident Room, ready to bring everyone up to date on the daily review. The DCI stood by his side.
“Okay, gang. Day one of 'Operation Riverdance'. Don't blame me. That's the name the computer pulled out. Let’s go over what we’ve got so far. Today at 6.13 a 999 call was received from the Albion Hotel reporting a body found in the Trinity Suite. The discovery was made by the hotel assistant manager, Diane Dempsey. The first officer on the scene was PC Howard Mitchell. Following attendance by the police doctor, it was confirmed as a murder inquiry.
“We know the victim is Peter Winston-Moore, age fifty-one. An art dealer from London who was here to attend the Evesham Art and Antiques Fair that's due to start tomorrow. The time of death is put at between 11 pm. and 1 am and according to the report I’ve just received he was stabbed in the back ten times. So it's likely he knew his killer as he let him or her into the room and turned his back. Not something you'd normally do with a stranger.
“The hotel is locked from 11 pm. After that time you need to be let in or out by the night porter. However, the night porter was off ill and the hotel was locked and alarmed. The only method of entrance for guests after that time is via a guest front door key and none had been given out for that night. There are no signs of forced entry and getting out of the hotel from anywhere above the ground floor would be extremely difficult. So we think the chances are the killer is someone who was in the hotel overnight.
“The victim had stayed at the hotel before. From what we understand this was his third visit. Each time it was to coincide with the Evesham Arts and Antiques Fair in Market Drayton. We believe the victim had a highly valuable painting in his possession. One he had purchased locally in the past couple of days. Apparently it was sitting on an easel stand in the corner of the hotel room. That painting is missing.
“It seems when he purchased the painting he got the lady to sign a receipt so we’ve got a name and address. We are hoping the seller has a photo of the painting so we can get photos out to the antiques trade in case someone tries to sell it. Whoever took it left behind the victim’s wallet, his gold Rolex watch and a gold bracelet he was wearing, so we don’t believe this was a random theft gone wrong.
“According to one of the other guests we interviewed, an antiques dealer who knew the victim, he’s confirmed the painting could be worth a fortune. Apparently, it's not the first time the victim found a valuable painting while staying here. From what we understand, two years ago he discovered a genuine Picasso, possibly in a local junk shop and later sold it in New York for over five million dollars.
“We've got one figure in the frame at this time: Norman Gentle. He was booked into the hotel under a false name. He was the victim’s live-in lover and says he was here to spy on his partner, whom he believes was having an affair. He says he confronted the victim about this on Thursday morning and they argued.
“We know the victim was staying at the hotel with a young man believed to be in his mid-twenties called Oliver Varney. We’ll be interviewing him tomorrow morning.
“We've got three antiques dealers who all knew Peter Winston-Moore. All of them admit they came here to try to discover where he finds his stock. Apparently, since he found the Picasso he's found lots of other valuable items. They wanted to know how he was doing it. We’re still waiting on anything helpful from forensics at this time. That's about the size of it. Anyone got any questions?”
No one said a word.
The DCI stepped forward to address the team.
“Okay. I know tomorrow is Saturday but I need you all in at eight. The superintendent has obtained two search warrants from the magistrate. Tracy and Will, I will need you to go down and check out the apartment in Pimlico in south London that Norman shared with the victim. See what you can find. One of the main things we'll be looking for is a will or details of his solicitor.” Eden and Carla, I want you to go down to London to Winston-Moore’s art gallery. Then go and interview Oliver Varney. He could have some vital information, especially if he was there when the argument took place between Winston-Moore and Norman. Let’s see what he has to say. One lucky break that’s all we need.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was 8 am. on Saturday and the incident room at Trentbridge Police Station was already busy, with people sifting through all the paperwork an operation of this type generates.
By 8.05 am., four of the team had left to travel down to London. In one car, heading for the apartment in Pimlico in south London were DS Tracy Archer and DS Will Redgrave. In the other unmarked police vehicle were DI Eden Gold and DS Carla Parsons who were heading for Winston-Moore’s art gallery.
The satnav in the police Vauxhall Insignia led DI Gold and his colleague to number 22 Phillips Street in the London area of Shoreditch. What greeted them was a modern looking glass fronted antiques and art gallery with the name 'Shoreditch Gallery' which appeared to be etched into a grey stone panel above the entrance and stretching across the length of the building with tilted spotlights above to make the name stand out.
The four paintings in the window were all bathed in bright lights blazing down from the white ceiling that made up the window display.
DI Gold opened the envelope he had been given that marked the address and opened the twin locks of the door. Using the information supplied by Norman Gentle, he located the alarm system pad and entered the digits 47829. The alarm stopped buzzing and the wording on the alarm pad changed from 'Armed' to 'Ready'.
Once both officers were inside, DI Gold locked the door and checked the notice facing outwards read 'Closed'.
The two detectives walked round studying the paintings on the walls and the antiques tastefully displayed on either white plinths or in the two locked glass fronted display cabinets. Carla switched on the camera she had brought and took photos of each part of the gallery.
As they looked round, they counted six cameras located in various locations and all pointing down onto the displays.
Set half way back on the right was a shop counter about eight feet in length. It had a telephone, a small till and a credit card machine next to a TV monitor that showed all six of the camera views at once, with a control pad so that any one of the images could be made full screen at the touch of a button.
Located behind the counter was a door marked 'Private'. Norman had drawn them a rough layout that showed this was the office. The drawing also showed a small kitchenette area with a tiny storage cupboard where it appeared the hoover an
d cleaning materials were kept and at the rear was a door leading to the customer toilets.
The office door was locked but the second key the DI tried turned the lock.
The office was small, about ten feet square with a single desk which had nothing on it except a red landline phone. There was no computer they could see. Against the back wall in the left corner was a three-drawer filing cabinet with a photocopy machine on the top. Right in the centre of the back wall at eye height was a picture of a landscape. They had been informed it covered the company safe. Eden looked at the details on the envelope. It read 'Safe combination 61095002'.
He pressed the combination into the pad and the safe opened. Eden pulled out the contents and laid them on the bare desk, moving the phone onto the floor under the desk.
As Eden laid out the contents Carla photographed and then documented them one by one. The first item was a cheque book in the business name of ‘Shoreditch Gallery’, issued from Coutts & Co. The next item was a photocopy of the agreement for the freehold purchase of the property at 22 Philips Street. Finally, there was a photocopy showing the purchase of the leasehold of the apartment at 14A St. George's Way, London SW1.
That was all the items the safe contained.
The desk drawers had items of stationery and a pack of sweeteners.
They moved on to the filing cabinet.
The bottom drawer was empty. The top drawer contained invoices and receipts and accounts details of items sold.
The middle drawer contained three A4-size black hard back notebooks, each one covering a different year since 2016. Inside each notebook they found detailed receipts and corresponding notes.