Det Annie Macpherson 02 - Programmed To Kill

by Speake, Barbara Fagan

  The three detectives waited in the kitchen while the body was taken from the house for its transfer to the morgue. Then they returned to the bedroom. The room was crowded with crime scene technicians. One of them was holding a suit jacket, which had been left straddling the back of the armchair in the room. As they walked into the room, the technician was taking something out of the breast pocket.

  Bronski walked over to him. ‘What’ve you got there?’ Heaviley instructed the technician to pass the paper over. Bronski unfolded the sheet and skimmed its contents. Ellison was looking around the private bathroom situated off the bedroom. Annie was making her own sketch of the bedroom. ‘Everybody, listen up,’ Bronski said as he began to read out loud:

  ‘Dear Mayor,

  Shame about Father Bannister, wouldn’t you say? Who could do something like that to a priest? But he wasn’t always a priest, was he? Maybe he had something to hide. Sometimes death purges people, wouldn’t you agree? Do you have anything to hide, Mr Mayor? After all, most of us do.’

  ‘It’s date stamped last Tuesday, the day after Bannister’s murder. His secretary must have opened it and passed it to him. He never mentioned it when we interviewed him about Mearns, did he Macpherson?’

  ‘No sir. Interesting that he kept it though, and that he was carrying it around with him for days,’ Annie answered.

  Bronski agreed. ‘Heaviley, we need this bagged as evidence.’

  An hour later, the three detectives headed back to the squad room. They’d had a message that Franconi was waiting to be briefed. Heaviley’s team remained at the Lansdowne residence and expected to be there most of the night.

  Chapter 52

  Franconi motioned them into his office and they each took a seat. ‘You’ll need to expect all hell to break loose. The first thing the chief asked me was whether I knew who Mrs Lansdowne’s father is. I didn’t think it was such a big deal until he went on about him. Let’s hope Jordan Prentice has mellowed since he retired. Anyway, we’ll work like we always do, thoroughly and painstakingly and not worry about noise in the system. I’ll handle any flack, but you’ll need to keep me informed. The chief can keep the political guys in the loop, if need be.’

  ‘Good,’ Bronski replied for the three of them.

  ‘I’ve spoken to Lansdowne’s family. The father, Jeff Lansdowne, is doing the formal identification in the morning. One of you, at least, needs to be there. Then you’ll need to interview him, depending on the state he’s in.’

  Bronski and Ellison looked at each other. ‘I’ll do it,’ Bronski said. ‘Ellison has other things to follow up in the morning. When Jeff Lansdowne is ready to be interviewed, Macpherson can join me. If Monica Lansdowne turns up in the morning with her father, then Ellison can see them.’

  ‘OK,’ the captain confirmed. ‘One more thing, there’s going to be extensive coverage on the news tonight and the chief is fronting the live news conference at seven o’clock. I’ll be with him and he’s asked for one of you to be there to deflect questions. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to keep the main points out of the press.’

  This gave the three detectives some pause. Bronski and Ellison were developing an unspoken language between them. ‘OK, me again,’ Bronski offered.

  Franconi leaned back in his seat. ‘Right, we can travel together. We’ll leave here in an hour. Get your paperwork sorted, then Ellison and Macpherson, you might as well go home. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. There are still threads from the other two murders and new leads with this one. Anything could break these cases now, so you three need to plan out the joint investigations.’

  The three detectives filed out of the captain’s office. ‘I’ll make us some coffee,’ Annie offered. While she was in the kitchen, Bronski and Ellison looked at their messages. Annie was back a couple of minutes later. ‘Someone left some biscuits. Sorry, I mean cookies. I think we deserve them.’

  ‘OK,’ said Bronski grabbing a drink and a chocolate chip cookie. ‘Let’s go back to the whiteboard and add another column. We’re assuming the three murders are linked. We need to focus on loose ends and the reports we’re still waiting to get. We have to be missing something.’

  Firstly, they reviewed where they were up to with the other two cases. Bronski started to summarise for the first murder. ‘So, the loose ends for Bannister are: the full autopsy report, a final report from Dan Parker on his laptop, any further information from Detective Baxter and the full crime scene report. Is that it?’

  ‘There’s still the interview with Amato and Merton about the burial stunt. We can’t rule those two out, in my view,’ Ellison replied. The others showed their agreement. ‘As far as the autopsy report is concerned, I have a pink slip saying that it’ll be on our desks tomorrow. Then again, Fogarty left it before he was called out to Lansdowne’s, so I guess we can’t count on that now,’ Ellison finished.

  ‘I still wonder about the connection between Frances Amato and Brother Jonathan.’ Annie commented. ‘I know it’s not crucial with everything else we need to look at. I just don’t want it forgotten.’

  ‘OK,’ Bronski replied, while making a few more notes on the board. ‘All that’s down. Let’s look at Mearns. Again there are the full autopsy and crime scene reports outstanding as well as the forensics on his computer.’ Bronski continued jotting more notes on the whiteboard as he was speaking.

  ‘We’re still waiting for a call from Detective Baxter to see if Mearns was acting for any other priests or clergy. I can also ask Detective Baxter if the mayor’s name has ever come up,’ Annie suggested. ‘We also don’t know Mearns’ movements between the time he left work and the time he was murdered. He may have gone straight home from work, or gone somewhere else. We also know Lansdowne said he and Mearns were in discussion about a new business venture. We need to ask his secretary more about that when we see her tomorrow.’ Annie turned to a fresh page in her notebook and wrote a reminder to herself while Bronski made a note on the whiteboard.

  Bronski started on the new column. ‘So to Lansdowne. We can start with the same points as the others: autopsy and report, full crime scene report and his computer. I’ve also made a note already re: checking his name with Baxter. I’m going to list the letter we found in his jacket pocket as a separate point. When we catch the perpetrator and if we can link the letter, it will go towards premeditation. Macpherson, that’s another thing we need to ask his secretary about. We also need his last twenty-four hours, and whether anyone other than the family has been in the house recently.’

  Ellison came in, ‘I’ll contact BCConn Alarms.’

  ‘Great, let’s see if there’s anything to that or if it’s only a coincidence.’ Bronski made a note and then turned back to his colleagues. ‘We’ll need to interview Monica Lansdowne, Jeff Lansdowne and Jordan Prentice. He glanced at his watch. ‘OK, only ten minutes before I have to get off to the press conference. Anything else?’ Ellison and Annie shook their heads. ‘OK, so looking at all of this, there are more questions than answers. At the news conference I’ll say that we have a lot of evidence to sort through and believe that we are searching for one or two perpetrators who are common to all three murders. However, we can’t disclose crucial details known only to the murderer or murderers and we would welcome help from members of the public, especially in establishing the final hours of all three of our victims.’

  ‘Can you add, no crank calls?’ Ellison’s comment provided some light relief.

  ‘One more thing,’ Annie said. ‘We still haven’t established if all three of these men knew each other. Bannister knew Mearns and Lansdowne sort of knew Bannister and he knew Mearns. What we need to know is whether there’s a more fundamental link between them?’

  Bronski made a final note on the board. ‘OK. I’m off. Anything else, list it and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.’

  Annie and El
lison remained in the squad room catching up. A new crime file had been opened and they were putting notes in it. Annie stopped and looked at her watch, ‘We’d better turn on the TV in the kitchen and catch the news conference.’

  They both watched intently. ‘Bronski’s pretty good at this,’ Annie commented when it was over. ‘Do you think we should wait and see if he comes back?’

  ‘No, you heard the captain. We’ve got a long day tomorrow. I need some food and a beer. You joining me and then I’ll drop you home?’ Ellison asked.

  ‘If I can have a gin and tonic,’ Annie replied.

  Chapter 53

  Grace Marks opened her apartment door and put her case down by the hall table. It struck her that there wasn’t any mail to sort through at home. When she’d left Dubai two weeks previously, the only forwarding address was the firm’s. For her this package was excellent: the firm was paying the apartment rental and all the bills. It was a relief not to have the day-to-day hassle of bills for electricity, rent and phone. Obviously that would change if she ended up transferring back to New York permanently. She didn’t want to get her hopes up this early, although so far, it was going exceedingly well.

  The morning had been taken up with meeting with her team and launching the project. In the afternoon she’d had a meeting with one of the other partners, responsible for the banking section, the largest section in the firm. For Grace’s future career prospects, it was critical to make a good impression on him. As she kicked off her shoes in the bedroom and put her suit on a hanger, she mused that the discussion had gone well. Slipping into some jeans and a T-shirt, she strolled into the kitchen looking for some inspiration from the contents of her fridge. Fortunately, her mother had packed up food left over from the buffet on Sunday, and there were plenty of cold cuts, salads and rolls. She opened a bottle of red wine and poured herself a glass, which she took over to the coffee table. She turned on the TV to catch the news. The scene behind the anchorwoman showed three men sitting at a conference table. The woman’s words were spoken over the scene.

  ‘Our story at the top of the headlines tonight: there was a news conference earlier this evening about the three recent murders in Westford. The first victim was Father Brian Bannister from Sacred Heart Church. Within thirty-six hours, Patrick Mearns, an attorney from Westford was also found dead in his apartment. The latest and most prominent victim is Westford’s mayor, Matthew Lansdowne, who was murdered, the police believe, in the early hours of this morning. The police have confirmed that the three murders are linked although at the news conference, Detective Victor Bronski would not disclose any details. All he was prepared to say is that there are too many similarities in the manner of the deaths for them not to be the work of the same murderer or murderers.’

  The scene shifted to that of the mayor’s residence, with police cars and forensics vans parked outside. A cop was standing by the front door.

  ‘The mayor was found dead at his home early this afternoon after police broke into the residence. His wife and his office had been unable to contact him all morning and this was reported to the police. Captain Marco Franconi took the decision to break into the house, where patrol officers made the grim discovery. It has been confirmed that the mayor was on his own in the house when his body was found. The mayor’s wife, Monica and their baby daughter have been staying with her parents at Cape Cod since last Thursday evening. The mayor’s body has yet to be formally identified. However, the chief of police has said that there is no doubt that the body found at the property is that of Matthew Lansdowne. Our reporter is at the scene of the latest murder and we can go over to her now …’

  The sound of her cellphone interrupted the news report. Grace popped her plate on to the coffee table and retrieved the phone from her handbag, checking the caller ID. ‘Hi Mom, how are you?’

  ‘Fine dear, have you been listening to the news?’

  ‘I caught the headline story. Three murders in Westford, that’s unheard of, isn’t it?’ Grace sat back down on the couch, using the remote to turn the sound down.

  ‘I can’t remember anything like it in over thirty years of living here. Quite frightening. I’ve been checking and double checking the doors and have slept with all the windows closed when I’ve been on my own. If they can access the mayor’s house, there’s no hope for the rest of us. People in his position must have good security.’

  ‘Mom, why didn’t you tell me you were getting yourself so worried when I was there at the weekend?’ Grace took a sip of wine.

  ‘We had other things on our minds, sweetheart. I don’t think we even talked about the first two murders, did we? Anyway, it was so lovely to have you here, sleeping in your old room. I wasn’t so frightened with you here. That’s probably why I didn’t say anything.’

  Grace laughed. ‘Not sure I could fight off an intruder, Mom. Anyway, did you know any of the three victims?’

  ‘No, I don’t go to Sacred Heart for Mass. Your aunt does occasionally when she doesn’t come with me to Saint Teresa’s. The only lawyer I know is James Lawrenson, who did our Wills and handled everything when Ed died. The mayor, of course, is on the news a lot and in the papers. I’ve never seen him in person.’

  ‘I wonder how they’re connected.’

  ‘Well, they’re all professional people, so they probably came across each other in some way. I understand that the mayor attended Father Bannister’s funeral. I think I read that in the papers. Anyway, enough of bad news. How’s the job going?’

  Grace leaned back into the couch and folded her legs underneath her. ‘Good. I definitely picked the right team. They’re all ambitious and highly motivated, which is half the battle. They simply get on with it. Today I met with Gerald Tomlinson, the banking partner for the firm. He’s a pretty important guy, right up there with Bill Williamson.’

  ‘The man who lent you the VW?’

  ‘Yes, he’s one of the founding partners, along with Gerald Tomlinson. So I needed to impress Gerald, and through him, Bill.’

  ‘He’s already a fan of yours, isn’t he?’

  Grace knew she was blushing, even though there was no one to see it. ‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that, Mom. I was one of his students, so we go back a long way. So anyway, the meeting with Gerald Tomlinson went very well. He’s keeping an eye on my project because, if we are successful with it, he believes that word will get around and it’ll open the firm up to more work like this.’

  ‘Grace, that’s wonderful. Will that put a lot of pressure on you, though?’

  ‘Mom, my job is always pressured. If I don’t want that, I’ll have to change careers.’

  ‘Sweetheart, I wish so much that you could come back permanently.’

  ‘I know, Mom: let’s be patient and see how this goes.’ Grace was debating whether to mention the phone call from Barry Ainscough, deciding to wait and see if her mother brought it up.

  ‘Did you enjoy meeting Barry on Sunday?’ Lillian Marks asked.

  Grace had to stifle a laugh. She knew her mom would mention it eventually. It was probably the main purpose of the phone call. ‘He seemed very nice, yet I wonder if it’s a bit strange, him getting in touch with you after all this time.’

  ‘Grace, you have a lawyer’s suspicious mind. Sometimes people never get over someone they loved. I liked the way he talked about Jen, as if she was very precious to him. Like she was to us. He did write to her for a year or so after Jen came home. She never wrote back. It broke my heart seeing his letters in the mail, knowing she wouldn’t answer them. I was tempted to reply myself, but it seemed too much of an invasion of her privacy and I would’ve had to open one of the letters to get an address. I could never have done that. Ed and I never knew what to do for the best with Jennifer. I’m glad Ed didn’t live to see what happened to her. It would’ve broken his heart.’

  Grace felt a pan
g of guilt at having taken Jennifer’s diaries from her room. Still, the privacy between mother and daughter was different from that between sisters. Sisters shared more. She hadn’t thought to look for the letters, because she hadn’t appreciated that they were there. Maybe they would reveal more. As it was, she hadn’t even started to look at the diaries yet. ‘Mom, you have to stop blaming yourself.’

  ‘I know. By the way, Barry telephoned me and said he wanted to contact you. I gave him your phone number.’

  ‘I know, Mom. He got in touch last night. He wanted to know if I would have a drink with him, if I’m home at the weekend. He even offered to come here to the city.’

  ‘What did you say?’ Lillian Marks’ voice sounded concerned.

  ‘I said I wasn’t sure about my plans. To tell you the truth Mom, I’m not sure I want to go out with him on my own. I don’t know what he wants from me.’

  ‘I’m sure he simply wants to talk about Jennifer. Maybe he thinks it would be easier to talk with her sister, rather than her mother. Probably doesn’t want to upset me. He saw the notice of Jennifer’s death in the papers and that’s why he came to the funeral.’

  ‘You’re probably right, Mom. Even so, I’m still not sure I want to do it. So if he calls you again, could you be noncommittal, please.’

  ‘Of course, dear, but I really don’t see the harm in it.’

  The conversation ended a few minutes later. Grace finished off her meal and thought back to what her mother had said. She hoped that the message had got through to her about Barry, although she couldn’t be sure. Her mother seemed to be quite taken with him. There was something about him, though, that made her slightly cautious. Maybe it was because she didn’t really know what he wanted from her. She liked to know what people’s expectations were. She believed in having contracts, even if implied, and fulfilling them, so there was never any doubt. Maybe that too often translated into her private life and was one of the reasons why she was still single at nearly forty. Her mother, though, was far too trusting of people.