“You mean that this one killed himself, right babe?” Dimitri said.
Why he thought he could call her 'babe' was beyond her. Dimitri was a pig, why she had been partnered with him was anybody's guess, probably because no one else could stand him.
“Yes, although we are still waiting on forensics for their assessment, babe,” Alex said.
She paused on the last word, staring into his almost black eyes with a threat that suggested another word from him and Alex would send him flying back to mother Prussia.
“We have been unable to determine the identity of the victim,” Drew said.
“Dimitri, did the house-to-house calls bring anything up?” Alex said.
“Nobody saw nothing, which isn't surprising as there is mostly offices around there,” Dimitri said.
“Nobody saw anything,” Alex corrected him.
“Whatever.”
“What about the business card we found on the body? Minerva, any ideas?”
“The card with the two gates on it? I have tons of forensics to wade through this morning, Dimitri, do you have time to follow it up?” Minerva said.
Dimitri nodded and Minerva handed him an evidence bag with the card in, the polythene container just poking out of her overly sized woollen jumper that gave her the look of a bedraggled sheep.
“I'll get the Holmes action updated,” Drew said.
Holmes was the Met's IT system for keeping track of any major investigation, recording all evidence, interviews, potential leads and suspect information. It was a system that, although efficient, felt a million miles away from the police dramas you see on the television. Its only bonus was that absolutely everything was stored in one place.
“I heard that the other unit is going back over all the victim's friends and family interviews. What does that leave us doing?” Alex said.
“Superintendent Stroud wants us to handle the new case,” Drew said.
The phone rang on Alex's desk and she answered it.
“Alex, is that you? I tried ringing Nick, but there was no answer.”
“Hey Chris, yeah, he's seeing the commissioner about the new murder. Surely you can't have finished the autopsy already? It's only ten,” Alex said.
“Alex, I don't know how it happened, we can't explain it,” Chris said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Alex, it's the body. It’s… well, it’s gone.”
Five minutes later Dimitri was driving them to the morgue. The journey was made in silence, Dimitri not stupid enough to offer up any 'funny' comments. Arriving at the Westminster Public Mortuary, Dimitri parked in one of the designated spaces by the entrance, no doubt deciding it was better to receive a parking fine than to further upset her.
Alex barged through security, showing her warrant card to the guards as she shouted at them to get out of the way. Dimitri had to adopt a slight jog to keep up, as she sent doors flying open along her path. Chris stood at the door to the mortuary suite, his face as pale as the bodies he examined.
“What happened?” Alex said, still striding toward him.
“We don't know, the victim’s body was transported here last night and was then processed as normal. Alex, it just disappeared,” Chris said.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“We booked it in and then did the initial checks. The body was kept in freezer overnight, but this morning, when my technician went to collect the body for autopsy... it was gone.”
“Gone? Did you get the records mixed up, have you looked for Christ's sake?” Alex said.
“Of course we bloody looked. What the hell, Alex? Do you think we make a habit of misplacing bodies? Our CCTV was tampered with last night, which suggests one thing: someone broke in and stole the body.”
“How the hell could they get in? We passed a dozen security doors just to get here, let alone trying to get a corpse out of the building. Were there any signs of forced entry?”
“We don't know how they got in. I have people looking at the possibility that our security system was hacked, but so far there are no signs of that. Alex, things get worse,” Chris said.
“Worse? How the hell could this get worse?”
“A group of government types appeared right after I phoned you. They have taken possession of all the evidence we collected last night: the photos, samples, notes - everything. Head of Pathology called in to confirm it, they were in and out in ten minutes.”
Alex was shaking, not with fear, but with rage. She didn't need this, the case didn't need this. The Greys Inn murder was their first lead in weeks, the killer had made mistakes and, if they found out why, they’d have him.
“Did the government take the body?” Alex said.
“That's what I thought when they turned up, but they were furious when they heard about it, accused me of disrupting an investigation relating to a matter of national security. Detective Superintendent Stroud called me after my boss did, he said the case has been dropped in relation to your serial killer. It's over Alex,” Chris said.
“Did you find anything else out, anything you didn't tell me last night? What are we missing here Chris?”
“I didn't get a chance to examine any of the evidence we collected. Everything I know, you know.”
“You believe it's the same killer?”
“Of course, but Superintendent Stroud said-”
“And you definitely think it was a suicide? I mean, he killed himself before the killer made their move?”
“That I am not sure of, given the amount of blood over the victim, the two events were very close in time. Alex, we need to drop this.”
“Ask around, I want to know what we found that brought the spooks in. They're not taking this case from us, we need it.”
They were back at the station in a flash. Alex climbed the stairs to the eighth floor at such a speed, Dimitri was out of breath by the time they reached the landing. Standing in front of Detective Superintendent Stroud's secretary, a plump ginger haired woman with appalling taste in blouses, Alex loomed over her, leaning on the desk.
“I need to see him, is he alone?” Alex said.
“Yes, but-”
She didn't wait for her to finish. Alex barged into the office and slammed the door behind her before Dimitri could follow.
Detective Superintendent Nick Stroud was a balding man whose remaining jet black hair was cut short on the sides of his head. With his raven like features and deep set eyes, Nick had a stare that was able to break suspects fake alibis without a word being said. He was also Alex's father, but she convinced herself that he had nothing to do with her latest promotion to DI. Just his name carried weight around here and, until she got married, she shared that name. Married. She didn't have time to think of that now.
“Alexandra,” Nick said, looking up from some papers on his desk.
“The homicide case from last night is apparently no longer our concern?” Alex said.
“And good morning to you, do come in. The Greys Inn murder is a matter of national security and therefore no longer in our jurisdiction.”
“Our jurisdiction? You've got to be kidding me. This is the first lead we get and you are giving it away? It's the same killer.”
“We don't know that and even if that is so, the decision has been made. All the details have been removed from the incident room, if you have anything else pertaining to the case you are to turn it in immediately.”
“Do you not care about us solving this case or the fact that you are flushing my career down the toilet?”
“Watch what you say Detective Inspector. I, of all people, want us to bring this case to a close, it is my name that rests upon our success.”
“But how can we solve it when they have taken away our strongest lead?”
“Alex, as your father, trust me when I say you have got to let this go. Fight it and you'll be done for, I won't be able to protect you. I am having us go over all of the evidence again, there will be some clue that was m
issed.”
There was a knock at the door and Alex turned to meet a tall woman in a dark suit standing in the doorway, a large leather portfolio under her arm. She was pretty and slim. Alex immediately didn't like her. Her jet black hair was cut in such a way as to frame her face perfectly, a straight fringe accentuating her exquisite bone structure.
“I hope I'm not interrupting anything?” the woman said, her voice had a weight to it that made Alex feel uneasy.
“Not at all,” Nick said, as he rose from his desk. “We had just finished.”
Alex turned and started to leave when the woman sidestepped to intercept her.
“Alex, isn't it?” she asked.
“Detective Inspector Alexandra Stroud. And you are?” Alex said.
“Alice Harvey-Smith, QC. You have a look of your father you know?” Alice said.
Well thank you. No greater compliment that looking like her dad. Was that a power play, a quick put-down that said she knew that her father was behind any career success Alex had? She had to stop thinking like that, paranoia did nobody any good.
“I do hope not,” Alex said.
She moved to the other side of Alice and left the room, closing the door behind her to the sound of laughter. Dimitri was standing next the secretary who flashed a nervous glance toward her.
“What?” Alex said.
The woman found some paperwork to busy herself with on her desk.
“We are off the case,” Alex said.
“What did he say?” Dimitri said.
“Bloody secret squirrels will pick it up. We get left with the rest.”
“Did you fight him? I know he is your father, but-”
“Of course I bloody did, you idiot. Damn it. We need to get back to the bullring.”
When they reached the incident room, it had already been stripped of anything to do with last night's murder.
“Christ,” Alex said looking through the photos on her mobile. “They've wiped the pictures I took.”
“They are the government, guess that's the sort of thing they can do,” Drew said.
“You heard?” Alex said.
“Of course, we have been put on crime scene duty. We are to go over them all again, look for anything we could have missed.”
“Well, that's just perfect.”
“The plan is to scan though CCTV from further out, see if we spot anything odd,” Drew said.
“How dull is that? It's not like we will find anything,” Minerva said, her grey haired face popping above a monitor on the other side of the desk.
“Damn,” Dimitri said. “They forgot the stupid business card we found on the victim, they left it on my desk.”
“Not surprising given how messy you keep it,” Minerva said.
“Alright, alright,” Dimitri said, smiling. “Stupid thing is, I think I recognise it. Guess I should pass this on and the information. Drew, who do we contact?”
“You know where the card is from?” Alex said.
“Yeah, at least I think so. It's a club, see, an old girlfriend of mine took me there once. It's some kind of trendy Goth one, anyway that's their logo,” Dimitri said.
“What's it called?”
“The Two Gates Club.”
“Dimitri, get your coat. We are paying this club of yours a visit.”
“Alex, we were not just told to drop the case?” Dimitri said.
“We are following up on potential leads, exactly what Superintendent Stroud asked us to do. Are you okay with that Dimitri?”
Dimitri looked Alex and chuckled.
He was in.
“I guess I'll cover this as General Enquiries then?” Drew said.
“I hope you know what you are doing,” Minerva said.
“So do I,” Alex thought and grabbed her coat.
- Chapter 18 -
Fire and Brimstone
It was a brazen move to make, some would have said even foolish. She had been given a direct order to leave the Greys Inn murder well alone, but something told her it was the key to everything. Alex and Dimitri left the station and crossed the car park towards Alex's car. She didn't feel inclined to endure Dimitri's devil may care driving style, so, bringing up directions to the Two Gates Club on her Satnav, Alex drove them to central Soho. The roads were remarkably packed for a Thursday, but eventually they found a space around the corner from the club's address.
“So what do you know about this place?” Alex said as she parallel parked the car, her head constantly swivelling to ensure she fitted in the tight spot first time.
“Not much, did a quick lookup on the place. No incidents ever reported, which is weird for a nightclub, you expect always to find something. In fact, there was really no information on the place, at all. Not on any review site, which again, is odd for a club, isn't it? Advertising is how make a living. Supposed to be very exclusive, but I can't say I remember anything special about it. That said, it was a little while ago I was last here,” Dimitri said.
“And I imagine you were probably topped up to your eyeballs?”
“Maybe,” Dimitri said with a smile.
They walked around the street to where the club was supposed to be, but Alex would be damned if she could find it. She trooped along Angel Road, Dimitri a few steps behind her, searching for number 66b. There was number 62 and 64, but then the numbers jumped up to 68. Where on earth was 66, let alone 66b? She had continued down the street when Dimitri called out to her,
“Alex, where are you going?”
“I'm trying to find 66, what is up with the street numbers?”
“What? It's here Alex.”
He was standing halfway along the street, past number 64, but not as far as 68.
“There isn't a number 66.”
“Then what's this?”
Dimitri was pointing towards a strip of brick between 64 and 68. Alex walked up to him and stared at the space he was pointing at.
“Have you been drinking? Where is number 66 supposed to be then?” Alex said.
“It's here,” Dimitri said.
He looked confused and was now walking towards the wall, waving his arms about as if illustrating something with his hands.
“Dimitri, you on some sort of medication? There is no-”
Alex stopped mid sentence. Dimitri was pointing to a pair of large red doors with circular handles, she was sure hadn't been there a moment ago. Above the doors, the number '66b' was etched into a gold plague.
“How the hell did I miss that?” Alex said.
“You going mad babe?” Dimitri said.
Alex scowled at him and banged on the door, shouting the usual rhetoric of 'Police, open up.' A moment later, the door opened. Standing in the entrance was a broad man with a distant face, his eyes a deep brown that merged into the blackness of his pupils.
“What do you want?” he said curtly.
Alex showed her warrant card and stuck her foot in the crack of the door.
“We need to ask your boss a few questions. May we come in?” Alex said.
This was always posed as a question, 'may we come in?', but it was infrequently meant as one. They were coming in, whether you liked it or not.
The man stood like a stone giant before them, his finger to his ear while he waited for his next command. He was big by any standard and Alex prayed they would never have to try and arrest him, because if he resisted, they would probably need to the entire station to try and pin him down. A few moments later, not speaking a word, the stone giant stood back, leaving enough room for Dimitri and Alex to squeeze past him.
Inside the club it was dark, the only light coming from involuted pieces of sculpture on the walls that shone out shards of red light. It was a place of shadows, where secrets remained hidden and the truth remained tucked away out of sight. They walked down the entrance corridor which opened to a dance floor with glowing scarlet floor tiles, pulsating in jellyfish-like movements. To the side stood a bar, lit in such a way that it managed to remain, for the best pa
rt, completely in darkness. Sat at at the bar was a man in a red suit who turned to face them as they approached, a cocktail in hand.
“Detective Inspectors Alexandra Stroud and Dimitri Teplov, how nice of you to visit me,” the man said.
“You are expecting us?” Alex said.
How had this man known their names? She had flashed her ID at the doorman, maybe they had some fancy camera equipment that had seen it, but what about Dimitri? How did he know who he was?
“Now why would I expect you?” the man said.
“Are you the owner?” Dimitri said.
“My name is Byron and you have been here before Inspector, have you not?”
So that was how he knew Dimitri's name, perhaps he had left more of an impression on this place than he remembered.
“You have a surname, Byron?” Alex said.
“Byron is my surname, detective. My first name is Lorde,” Byron said.
“Lord Byron?” Dimitri said dismissively.
“But everyone calls me Byron,” Byron said.
“Do you have something you want to tell us, Lorde?” Alex said.
“I can't think that I do detective,” Byron said.
“You haven't asked why we are here, why is that?”
“Because I don't need to ask. Can I get you both a drink?”
“Are you saying you have knowledge about the murder that took place last night in Greys Inn Gardens?”
“Now detective, poor show,” Byron said, pausing to let a grin spread across his face with decided slowness. “Jumping the gun is never a good interview technique and I believe you could call that leading the witness. I did not ask, simply because I know you will tell me, when you decide the time is right of course.”
“So you don't know anything about the murder last night?” Dimitri said.
“I didn't say I didn't,” Byron said. “But then I didn't say I did either.”
“Do you know anything about the murder that occurred last night, because we found a card for your club on the victim,” Dimitri said.
Idiot, he shouldn't give away the only trump card they had, so early on. Dimitri had a tendency to blunder through interviews, like he staggered through life, without any element of grace and even the slightest amount of thought. Alex shot him a look, but God knows if he understood what it meant.
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