Hard Cases (A Ryan Kyd Omnibus)

by Roger Hurn

  I shook my head. ‘Trust me, Del. No way is anyone ever going to report this incident. It’s flying strictly under the radar.’

  He gave me a long cool look. ‘So who’s the girl who got nabbed?’

  I grinned and shook my head. ‘Nobody really. It’s all just a family squabble that’s got a bit out of hand.’

  Derek didn’t look impressed.

  ‘Look, she’s a girl from a family in Rajasthan who’s supposed to be marrying a relative of my client. I think her family’s getting cold feet, is all.’

  Derek looked thoughtful. ‘Rajasthan you say? Hmmm … that’s interesting.’

  I sighed inwardly. The last thing I needed was Derek taking an interest in my case. But I took the bait. ‘OK, Del, what’s so interesting about Rajasthan?’

  He blew out through his lips. ‘Well, I was having a bit of a natter with Jack McPherson over a couple of single malts in the pub the other evening.’ He smiled at me like butter wouldn’t melt. ‘You remember Jack, don’t you?’

  I did remember Jack. He was a lard-arsed Scottish bloke from Special Branch that I’d done a few night ops with back in the day. You’d never mistake him for a ray of sunshine, but he was efficient and got the job done with the minimum fuss or risk and that was all that mattered as far as I was concerned.

  ‘So, why were you having a natter with him?’

  Derek smirked and leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘He’s been seconded over to the UK Border Agency here at Heathrow. I dunno why. It’s all very hush-hush.’

  I didn’t say anything. I knew he’d wormed something out of Jack that he thought I might buy, but basically he was just trying it on to see if he’d got lucky. I wasn’t going to give him any clues. It never pays to be too eager.

  Derek turned his hands palm up. ‘Hey, you know how fond Jack is of his single malts, so when we bumped into each other I treated him to a few in the pub.’

  What I knew was that Derek snuffled up bits and pieces of gossip like a pig hunting truffles. He filed them away until he could trade them for cash or use them to his own advantage so he would have been all over Jack like a cheap suit from Asda. I also knew that Jack liked his whisky and I guess he figured he was close-mouthed enough not to let anything slip, but Derek is a past master at wheedling stuff out of people.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, Del, but what did he have to say that you obviously think is going to be worth me making another donation to the widows and orphans fund?’

  Derek pretended to be hurt. ‘Oh come on Ryan. I’m just passing on something that Jack said ’cos it may be useful to you.’

  I gave him my poker face. ‘So tell me and I’ll decide if it’s useful or not.’

  He gave a little shrug like he couldn’t care less, but his eyes had a calculating glint.

  ‘OK mate. Well he said there had been a big jewellery heist in some shithole called Jaipur.’

  He was watching for my reaction, but I didn’t blink.

  ‘That’s in Rajasthan isn’t it?’ he added.

  Now it was my turn to shrug. ‘If you say so, Del. I’m a private investigator not a flaming geography teacher. But, even if it is, what’s that got to do with me? I’m dealing with a family feud here in England, not a diamond robbery in India.’

  Derek looked a bit crestfallen, but he wasn’t about to let it go as easily as that.

  ‘Jack reckons the thieves will be wanting to smuggle their ill-gotten gains into Europe. Apparently, there’s a big market for them here and no questions asked.’

  I stared at him blankly. He’d planted the seed of an idea in my mind, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. ‘Yeah, whatever, Del. But it doesn’t alter the fact that I’m sorting out a reluctant bride-to-be, not Raffles. And anyway, Antwerp is where those diamonds will end up if they’re coming to Europe – not London.’

  His face fell. ‘Yes, you’re probably right. Still, it was worth a punt.’

  I grinned at him. ‘It was indeed. And anyway my visit has proved a nice little tax free earner for you so don’t look so disappointed. Oh and do me a favour, Del. Lose that CCTV footage.’

  This perked him up. ‘That’ll be another donation I’m afraid, Ryan. That kind of service doesn’t come cheap.’

  I swore, he laughed, and another wad of DK’s money changed hands and then I high-tailed it out of there. I don’t know why, but whenever I spend time in Derek’s company I feel the urgent need to have a shower. But the ablutions were going to have to wait. I had more pressing matters to attend to.

  Chapter Eight

  I headed over to Wembley to Top Cars Rental. It turned out to be a shabby looking operation in a business park near the stadium. Given the sorry excuses for motors that were sitting in the lot, it didn’t look like business was booming, but then I wasn’t exactly swamped for clients either, so who was I to judge?

  I pushed open the door to the office and walked inside. It was deserted apart from a girl sitting behind a counter. She had a slightly pointy chin, a ripe mouth, dirty blonde hair and cheekbones you could use to cut paper. I gave her my best smile, which I always figure is pretty irresistible, but it couldn’t have had less effect on her if I’d had a bit of spinach in my teeth. As I walked over to her she watched me like a cat watches a sparrow. When I got up to the counter I could see she had brown eyes that were heavy with mascara and eye-liner. It hit me that I was spending too much time looking at them.

  ‘Hi,’ I said. ‘I’d like to see your boss.’

  She tilted her head slightly. I felt I was being weighed in the balance and found wanting.

  ‘Why? Have I upset you or something?’

  I grinned at her. ‘No, but I need to talk to him about some business.’

  Her gaze was unwavering and it was beginning to make me nervous. ‘He’s out.’

  My grin was threatening to slide off my face, but I kept it sitting there. ‘OK, so when’s he due back?’

  She shrugged. ‘Dunno. He didn’t say. But he left me in charge, so can I help you?’

  She didn’t sound like she meant it, but I decided I probably had more chance of getting what I wanted from her than her boss so I took the plunge.

  ‘As it happens you can. My name is Ryan Kyd. I’m a private investigator and a client of mine has hired me to find the identity of a man who hired a car from your company on Tuesday. Here’s the number.’ I held it out to her, but she ignored it.

  ‘You’re the guy who phoned up earlier pretending to want to hire that car.’

  I held up my hands in mock surrender. ‘Hey, you’re sharp. Maybe you should come and work for me.’

  I was trying to get her to lighten up, but I failed.

  ‘Piss off.’

  I shook my head. ‘No, look I just need to know the guy’s name and address and then I’m gone.’

  ‘Get lost. My boss would sack me if I did anything like that.’

  I raised my eyebrows. ‘But how’s he going to know? I’m not going to tell him and there’s a few quid in it for you.’ I glanced pointedly round the office. ‘And I’m betting he doesn’t pay you enough to live on as it is. So how about it?’

  She pulled a face, ‘OK, so it’s a shit job, but it’s the only one I’ve got.’

  Then she stared at me with those big brown eyes. ‘And you’re just a wind-up merchant saying I should work for you, so piss off.’

  Before I could stop myself I said, ‘Who says I’m not being serious about the job? You get rubbish money, you’ve got a crap boss and you’re bored out of your mind in a dump like this.’

  She put her hand to her mouth and chewed on her thumbnail while looking at me from under those long, artificially dark lashes. Then she shook her head.

  ‘You’re full of shit and I must have shit for brains but …’

  She tapped on her computer keyboard. The printer next to her clanked into action and she handed me a printout of the details of the guy who had hired the car. When I saw who it was I had to laugh. The girl frowned.

  ‘What
’s so funny?’

  I stuffed the paper into my pocket. ‘Nothing. Nothing at all.’ I pulled out my wallet and handed her twenty quid. ‘That’s for your help.’

  She reached out and took it. ‘That’s it, is it?’ She arched her carefully plucked eyebrows.

  I shrugged. ‘OK, you want another twenty? No problem.’ I pulled out another note.

  She took it quickly enough but said, ‘No, that’s not what I meant.’

  I was baffled. ‘What do you want then?’

  ‘The fucking job you were banging on about.’

  I didn’t know what to say, so I played for time. ‘Ah, right. Err…look I’m kinda busy on a case right now so this isn’t a good time to talk.’

  She narrowed her eyes and that ripe red mouth tightened. ‘Duh, of course it isn’t a good time right now. But what I wanna know is, are you taking the piss or are you serious about me working for you?’

  It suddenly hit me that for all her tough-girl talk, she was just a kid looking for a bit of excitement in a dull world. I didn’t have the heart to disillusion her, so I gave her my card. I’d had them done as a job lot off the internet for about a fiver. They looked OK though and bore the legend:

  Ryan Kyd (Ex Diplomatic Protection Group)

  Security and Investigation Consultant

  I will find the truth for you.

  It also had my mobile number and email address. Alright, so the strapline was a bit on the cheesy side, but I figured that the only reason anybody would use a PI would be because they wanted to find out the truth about something and, cheesy or not, the slogan said it all in a nutshell.

  The girl studied the card like it held the secret of the universe. Then she looked up at me.

  ‘OK Ryan, I’ll call you.’

  I nodded. ‘OK, I’ll look forward to it.’

  ‘Carly. My name’s Carly.’

  ‘Right. Carly it is.’ I gave her the thumbs up and left the office convinced that I’d never hear from her again. How wrong I was.

  Chapter Nine

  I was standing on the stairwell of the mezzanine floor in an office block in Rotherhithe when Danvir Goodah’s PA stepped out of his office and locked the door. I watched as he scurried over to get the lift. He was startled and shocked to see his worst nightmare standing inside it – a huge black guy with tattoos, gold teeth, ruby ear studs and a knife. The little guy’s hands flew up to his mouth like startled pigeons and he took half a step backwards. The black guy powered out of the lift and into the PA’s personal space. It was not a good situation, so I decided to intervene.

  ‘It’s OK, Mikey. I know this gentleman.’

  The black guy grinned and his gold tooth flashed in the harsh neon strip lighting.

  ‘You got it, Ryan.’

  The PA looked like he didn’t know whether to spit in my eye or hug me. In the end, all he did was lean back against the door and hiss“bastard” at me.

  ‘Sorry to bother you again,’ I said. ‘But I’ve got some questions I need you to answer as a matter of urgency.’

  The little fella showed a flash of spirit and snarled, ‘I refuse to speak with you. I know who you are working for, but even though that person is a terrible man, you are an ex-policeman so you won’t hurt me.’

  I gave him my best stone-faced “don’t mess with me” stare. ‘Your faith in the integrity of ex coppers is truly touching.’

  He pulled himself up to his full height of five-foot-six. ‘You bluffed me once, Mr Ryan Kyd, but it won’t work again.’

  I let my shoulders sag and I exhaled deeply. ‘You’re right, mate. I’m just a big old softy at heart. I wouldn’t hurt a fly.’

  The PA nodded. ‘I knew it. Fool Roop Gupta once then shame on you, fool Roop Gupta twice then shame on him!’

  I grinned at him. ‘You got that right, Roop. But here’s the thing. I’m a kindly bloke, but Mikey here isn’t.’ I waved a thumb in the hulking Mikey’s direction. ‘Oh, his mum says he’s a good boy – but only when he’s asleep. And at the moment he looks wide awake to me.’

  Mikey sucked on his teeth and cracked his knuckles. He was scaring me and I knew he was an actor who was every director’s go-to guy if they wanted to cast a seriously heavy gangsta type. He also played football at the All Nations and was a total wimp when it came to getting stuck in, but Roop Gupta didn’t know that, and I wasn’t about to enlighten him.

  ‘So, it’s you choice Roop. Talk to me or talk to Mikey. Which is it going to be?’

  ‘Go to Hell!’ Roop was shaking like a blancmange in a high wind, but I had to hand it to him: he had some guts. I was on the brink of conceding defeat when Mikey earned his corn by emitting a growl guaranteed to turn the most resilient bowels to water. It sounded so ferocious even my bum twitched. Then he thrust his face into Roop’s and stroked Roop’s cheek with his ham-like hand whilst licking his lips. Roop’s nerve snapped.

  ‘No! Please! I’ll talk to you Mr Kyd. Please! Just tell this man to stop!’

  OK, I admit it. Sometimes I’m not the world’s nicest guy and bullying a helpless little chap like Roop Gupta wasn’t exactly my finest hour. If it’s any consolation, I was feeling pretty crappy about it, but I needed answers and I needed them fast.

  ‘Back off, Mikey.’

  Mikey half turned to me and snarled.

  ‘OK,OK. Calm down tiger! If he clams up again you can have him.’

  Roop whimpered and I felt like a total shit, but Mikey stepped away from him.

  ‘Let’s take this inside shall we, Roop?’

  Roop didn’t say anything but he pulled out his keys and tried to open the door. His hands were trembling so badly that Mikey, ever helpful, took them from him. I thought Roop was going to pass out from fright. But when Mikey unlocked the door he stumbled into the office and collapsed into the nearest chair. I went and stood over him while Mikey glowered menacingly.

  ‘Tell me about the diamonds.’

  Roop’s eyes flicked left and right and I could almost hear his brain working flat out to come up with a convincing lie. He failed miserably.

  ‘What are you talking about? I know nothing about diamonds.’

  I laughed dismissively. I had no idea if I was on the right track here, but I was playing a hunch.

  ‘The diamonds from the jewellery heist in Jaipur. You boss is in that up to his neck so don’t give me this “I know nothing about diamonds” crapola.’

  Roop swallowed hard and I knew I’d hit pay dirt. However, he said nothing and I could see I was going to have to play tough again.

  ‘OK, Roop. It seems the cat’s got your tongue so I’m going to take a walk round the block while Mikey here sees if he can loosen it up for you.’

  Mikey pulled his lips back from his teeth in a snarl and made as if to grab the little guy.

  Roop shrank back into his chair.

  ‘No, please. I’ll tell you about the diamonds.’

  I held up my hand and Mikey stepped back looking as sulky as a kid who’s just been told that Christmas is cancelled.

  ‘Go on then, Roop. I’m all ears.’

  Roop hesitated for a fraction of a second and then it was like a dam bursting as a torrent of words flowed out.

  ‘My boss, Mr Goodah, is in big trouble. He played fast and loose with some investments a collection of businessmen gave him to manage, but he got his fingers burned when the markets went haywire and now he desperately needs the protection Mr Kapoor can offer him – which is why he arranged this marriage. You see, it’s not a love match, but an alliance between two families. But Mr Kapoor’s protection comes with a price tag. The girl, Meena, has to bring a dowry of £500,000 with her. But Mr Goodah doesn’t have the half a million pounds. So, when this is revealed to Mr Kapoor he will certainly throw her back into the sea like a too-small fish. And then Mr Goodah will be a drowning man with no more straws to clutch at.’

  He was mixing metaphors, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t an English teacher, I was a Private Eye and I was beginning to see the
bigger picture.

  ‘So Mr Goodah masterminded the diamond heist back in Jaipur to raise the cash did he?’

  Roop nodded. ‘Yes, he used his contacts in Rajasthan to do the job. Men work cheaply in India, as you people never tire of reminding us.’

  ‘Not me, pal. I’m a live and let live kind of guy.’ Roop already thought I was a despicable bully, but I wasn’t having him lump me in with the Daily Mail crowd. I do have some standards. Roop just looked at me as if I’d crawled out from under a stone. I didn’t hold it against him though.

  ‘Yeah, OK, but, to get back to the subject in hand, Goodah needed a mule to bring the jewels into the country and I know for a fact that the UK Border Agency are watching all the usual suspects, so is that where Meena comes in?’

  Roop nodded his head slightly. ‘Yes, Meena is a respectable girl coming to England to be, as far as the authorities are concerned, a student. She has all the correct papers, so Mr Goodah reasoned that no one would suspect her.’

  ‘Yeah, that works. But how did he persuade her to go along with it?’

  ‘Her father is Mr Goodah’s younger brother. He does what Mr Goodah tells him and Meena does what her father tells her to do.’

  He looked at me with contempt. ‘I don’t expect a man like you to understand, but she is a dutiful daughter and not at all like the young girls in this country.’

  ‘Yeah, right. It’s all about old fashioned family values and nothing to do with the handsome payoff I’m sure Meena’s daddy is expecting to trouser when the marriage takes place.’

  Roop went all beetle-browed so I knew I’d scored a hit.

  ‘And how did she smuggle the gems into the country? In her luggage?’

  This made Mr Sulky giggle. ‘No, she was made to swallow condoms stuffed with diamonds.’

  Suddenly, I stopped feeling so sorry for Roop.

  ‘So that’s why he was so panicked when she was kidnapped. He wasn’t bothered about her safety; he just wanted to get the gems.’

  Roop said nothing. He didn’t need to. But I had one last question for him.

  ‘So did anyone else apart from Goodah and his baby bro know Meena was acting as a mule?’