by Alan Fisher
Oliver arrived early at headquarters the following morning to be met by a barrage of press and TV cameras outside the main gate. Although he’d seen similar scenes on previous investigations, he’d always been forewarned by DS Davis of what to expect, so the melee took him something by surprise.
The lack of warning did nothing to improve the feeling of frustration at being left out of the investigation either, but he managed to ignore the feeling and sweep past the crowds and into the car park. He noticed instantly that Jack Collier was already in, his car being parked in its normal slot. He imagined DS Glover would also be in, presumably discussing events so far and planning the next stage of the investigation.
He sighed with temporary exasperation as he looked up to Jack’s window whilst locking his car door before heading indoors.
The door to Jack’s office was, unsurprisingly, closed when Oliver arrived at his desk. He threw his coat on the back of his chair and went to find a coffee. He had little to tidy up at his desk, having completed his only assignment since his return, and he knew he would have to wait to be given his new assignment for the day.
In the canteen he spotted Paul Moore sat in the corner reading a newspaper and finishing what looked like a couple of slices of brown toast.
“Morning Paul, do you mind?” said Oliver hovering beside the table and pulling out one of the empty chairs.
“Course not Oliver, good to see you. I haven’t seen much of you since you got back from the exams, everything ok?”
“Fine, bit of a change with the DS being off sick and Glover coming in. Before I could get settled, I had my appraisal and then all hell broke loose. Assignments changed and I was sent off to investigate a mugging”.
“How’d that go?”
“Easy I suppose. Not that we can do much mind, nothing to go on really”.
“And you missed the briefing on the murder case. Odd that you’re not involved yet”.
“Not really, new DS, new arrangements I suppose. I expect I’ll be given some new assignment today, maybe looking into finances or telephone records or something. Hopefully something connected to the case. Judging by the media scrum outside, I think it’ll be urgent, all hands to the pump and all that”.
“Well it won’t be the phone records; I was told to look into those yesterday at the briefing. I’m expecting some details in this morning, so I think I’ll be pretty occupied going through that lot. Being a politician, I’m guessing there’ll be more than handful of calls to track down”.
“Hundreds I should imagine”.
“The chief was interviewing the widow yesterday, and the autopsy report will probably be in, so I’ve no doubt there will be lines of enquiry to follow, you’re bound to be given something”.
“You’re probably right, soon find out”, said Oliver.
But his mind had drifted. Paul’s comments about the interview with the victim’s widow and the arrival of the autopsy report reminded him of just how much outside the investigation he was.
He was about to say as much when a pretty young head appeared at the doorway.
“Finish your breakfasts guys, another briefing will be starting any minute” said a smiling Debbie Swan.
The pair immediately drained their cups and stood up to follow Debbie back into the main office, arriving just in time to see Jason Glover emerge from Jack’s office and stride quickly across the office to the incident board. Oliver noticed Jack leaning against the wall by his office door, his expression giving nothing away.
“Ok everyone, listen up” said Jason confidently, turning his back to the incident board and facing the team. “Great work yesterday but things are moving at pace now, so we need to crack on. You’ll all have noticed from the crowd outside the attention this murder case is starting to receive, understandably I suppose, but that means that everyone will be giving this priority from hereon in, whatever else you might have going on. Now, updates; DCI Collier and I visited the victim’s widow yesterday and got some initial background information. As far as we understand it, Andrew McMillan left his home in Wynyard Estate at around 9 on the morning of his death and went to work in his office in Durham. Before any of you ask about jurisdiction, it’s our case because the body was found in Shields Road, our colleagues in Durham are happy with that. His wife did not see him after he left home, but she says that she spoke to him on the telephone at around 6pm when he said he was going to a late meeting and he would be home late. Moore, where are we with the phone records?”
“Arriving this morning sir” said Paul.
“Great, first priority will be to confirm that call, then establish who else he spoke with that day. Also, see if you can find out about any mobile phone accounts he may have had, we didn’t find a phone with the body which is unusual. It could have been left at the office or possibly left at the original crime scene; I doubt he could exist without at least one mobile phone, so we need to know what we’re looking for. Wainwright, where are we with the financial records?”
“I’m visiting his main bank today sir, although it’s possible that he may have had accounts in other places and possibly access to office accounts through his political party” said Robbie.
“Excellent, we’re looking to see if there have been any large deposits or withdrawals on any accounts, or any suspicious activity. The DCI wants us to look at the possibility that McMillan may have had a gambling problem and got into debt with a club or casino or something like that. See if you can find out if he was a member of anywhere like that will you? I know it’s a big ask, but we’re all going to have heavy workloads. The DCI and I are visiting McMillan’s offices in Durham this morning to interview staff there. We’ll check about the party funds and see what access he may have had, and we’ll request statements. We’re going to try to draw up a timeline for the day of his death and, in particular, try to trace his movements in the final hours. You’ll all have seen the photographs here and read what we have so far, I’ll update the board as we go along so make sure you all keep up to speed. Now it’s clear that McMillan wasn’t killed at the site where his body was found. The autopsy has confirmed that he died from a single stab wound but he didn’t die at the scene of the attack. He was rolled up in the plastic sheet and rug and his body was taken to Shields Road and dumped in the bin where he was left to bleed to death. We need to know how the body was transported from the scene of the attack to Shields Road, but more importantly, we need to know where he was attacked and stabbed. Cole and Swan, your assignment is to find that out. Any questions?”
Oliver had never heard the room so quiet,
“Ok then, you all know what’s required so let’s get on with it”.
And with that final remark, Jason headed straight back into Jack’s office.
Chapter 12
No sooner had the door to Jack’s office closed, the scraping of chairs and the sound of urgent chatter started within the main office.
“Told you” shouted Paul Moore across to Oliver.
“Told you what?” asked Debbie as she suddenly appeared at Oliver’s side.
“Told me that I would be involved in the investigation at some point” sighed Oliver.
“You don’t seem too pleased at the prospect, I thought you’d be smiling all over your face. Wow, what an assignment”.
“It’s just about the worst assignment possible, we’ve two chances of finding the original crime scene. Slim and none” replied Oliver, grumpily.
“Well I’m up for it. What’s the problem Oliver, it’s not like you to be so negative. You’re usually all fired up for this sort of thing”.
“Pull a chair over Debbie, we need to have a think and a chat about this”.
She did as requested and pulled a chair from the next desk and sat next to him.
“Right” she said, sitting down. “Explain”.
“Look, I get your enthusiasm. But in reality, although this assignment sounds like a golden opportunity to make a real contribution, it’s actually a bit of a
poison chalice”.
“Why?”
“Think about it” he whispered. “Paul and Robbie were already into their assignments with hours and hours of work ahead of them. The DCI and Glover are still gathering the basic information. They’re off to McMillan’s office first, no doubt they’ll be visiting known opponents after that and possibly clubs and casinos after that”.
“Yeah, what was that all about? Where did that come from?”
“From the Jack of Diamonds left in McMillan’s mouth. They think it might be a message left by some organisation because of potential unpaid debts. A message that spells out what happens to people who don’t honour their debts”.
“I see, makes sense I suppose”.
Oliver sent her a look of frustration as he switched on his computer.
“Doesn’t make sense then” she said.
“Make sense? Not really. Obvious, certainly. And I’m not surprised that they feel the need to check it out. It was the first thought that came into my head, but it’s extremely unlikely that it’ll come to anything, not for me anyway”.
“Why’s that? Do you know something already? I thought you said you’d never heard of McMillan”.
“I hadn’t, but think about it. If Mc Millan had been stupid enough to get himself into so much trouble with that level of debt, these type of people wouldn’t kill him. He was a politician and a potential future MP, maybe even a minister. Think of the leverage they could have had over him. He’d have been far more useful to them alive rather than dead. That’s why I doubt if anything will come from that line of enquiry, although, as I said, I understand the need to rule it out”.
“But you do agree that the Jack of Diamonds was a message?”
“I do, but that’s not the mystery. The mystery is what is the message meant to say and who is it intended for”.
“And you have a theory on that?”
“I’ve a couple of ideas but we shouldn’t be looking at that right now Debbie, that’s not our assignment. We have to find where McMillan was stabbed and how he ended up in the bin behind Shields Road”.
“Have you told the DCI about the ideas you’ve had?”
“Of course not. Up until five minutes ago I wasn’t even on the case”.
“Didn’t stop you having a look at all the evidence though, surely you should let him know if you’ve any ideas” she smiled.
“I haven’t been asked. He’ll know I would have a look at it. You knew, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah” she acknowledged.
“So will he. Anyway, he knows where I am if he wants my input. My guess is he doesn’t need it, he’s probably thought of everything I have, and probably quicker too. Now, where do you think we should start in trying to find the original crime scene?”
“Hang on, you didn’t say why you think this is a poison chalice”.
“Because I can only think of three ways to find out where McMillan was stabbed. First, CCTV. If we get really lucky we might find some CCTV in the Shields Road area that can identify the vehicle that carried the body to Shields Road”.
“Great, let’s start there then”.
“We will have a look at some point, but it’s a long shot. It’s unlikely there will be any cameras on the rear of the buildings. And we have no idea if we’re looking for a van or a lorry or even a car. Even if we can identify it, tracking it back to where it came from is almost impossible. It’s a needle in a haystack job”.
“Ok, and the second option?” asked Debbie, beginning to understand Oliver’s pessimism.
“The rug. It’s possible the rug was taken from the scene of the stabbing. If that’s the case the stabbing was committed indoors, and the scene may still be intact for forensics. If they took the rug with them to wrap the body in, we’ve no chance. Even if the rug is from a house or something, the odds of finding it are slim. If we get really lucky the rug will still have the manufacturers label on the back of it and we can see where it was made. I don’t know about that yet because I wasn’t at the scene where the body was dumped”.
“And of course you would have looked for it then”.
“Probably, I don’t know, I only really started to think about this last night. But even if we find out where the rug was manufactured, it won’t tell us where it ended up. The outlets could run into the hundreds or thousands”.
“And the third option”.
“Means talking to the staff at Conservative headquarters, looking through his diary, and trying to trace his steps forward from there. The DCI and Glover will be doing that I would think”.
“So, why ask us to find the crime scene, if they are looking for it as well?” she asked uncertainly.
“I don’t know about you, but I can only think of one reason”.
“Which is?”
“That DCI Collier and DS Glover will follow the leads from McMillan’s office and find the crime scene first, making me look like a complete idiot”.
“Us you mean. Us look like complete idiots” said Debbie as the penny dropped with a heavy clang.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful Debbie, but I rather have a feeling that the idiot target is painted on my back rather than yours”.
“By DCI Collier? No, you’ve misread that Oliver”.
“Not the DCI Debbie, I think it’s Glover. He doesn’t seem to like me too much. And we haven’t even spoken yet. Odd, don’t you think? Anyway, enough of this. I can’t change what is. Let’s do the best we can and see what comes from it, maybe we’ll get lucky. Let’s start by popping down to the evidence rooms and see if we can get a look at that rug”.
Chapter 13
“Close the door behind you will you please Jason” said Jack as he returned to his executive chair behind his desk.
Jason did as he was asked and moved across to stand in front of Jack’s desk.
“Pull up a chair for a few minutes” said Jack, “there’ll be a hive of activity for a short while whilst they sort themselves out and we’ve got time before we need to head down to Durham”.
“Yes sir” said Jason, dragging a hard-backed chair from near the door.
“Do you want to walk me through your thinking on the assignments for today”.
“Of course sir, something wrong with them?” said Jason a little nervously.
“I didn’t say that, I’m just curious to know your thinking, to follow your train of logic so to speak”.
“Well sir, it sort of made sense really. Moore and Wainwright were both in the middle of their enquiries and it seemed sensible to let them continue to their conclusion. Cole and Swan were both free, excellent report from Cole yesterday sir by the way, although he did miss the briefing, that’s why he was free. Anyway I thought I’d pair them up to see if they could make any progress on finding the original crime scene whilst we follow the lines of enquiry we’ve started”.
“How do you think they’ll do that, what have they got to go on?”
“Not a lot sir it’s true. But, you never know, could surprise us”.
“I see” said Jack, rubbing his chin. “And the theory about gambling debts and nightclubs or casinos?”
“I had a thought last night that the playing card could be a symbol, like a warning or something. Maybe someone was sending a message about what would happen to anyone who didn’t pay their debts. Seemed like a possibility sir and it can’t do any harm just to check out the possibility”.
“I see” said Jack without any hint of agreement or otherwise. “Any news on McMillan’s car yet?”
“Yes sir, I spoke with Tim Southern this morning, McMillan’s PA at Durham. He says McMillan’s car is still parked in the nearby multi-storey car park. Apparently the manager there got in touch late yesterday to say the car was still parked there. I’ve asked forensics to get down there and have a look, hope that’s ok”.
“It is, but I would prefer to be told about these things rather than have to ask. And you’d better get the keys from the evidence room, don’t want fo
rensics having to break in do we?”
“Of course sir, sorry. I’ll get right on it”.
“Ok then, we’d best get down to Conservative Party Offices in Durham and talk to his staff, see if we can start to piece together his movements on the night he died. I’ll meet you in the car park in ten minutes”.
”Yes sir” said Jason as he stood up.”.
He placed the hard-backed chair back in the corner of Jack’s office and left without another word.
Jack leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Was Jason just trying too hard to impress? Was he simply forgetful? Or was it something more than that? he thought to himself. “Oliver often went off on his own, out on a limb, chasing a lead. But he always kept Jack informed. Oliver never had any hidden agenda. It was always about solving the puzzle, not chasing the glory. I wonder if the same can be said about Jason Glover”.
Chapter 14
When Jason reached the evidence room he was slightly taken aback to find both Oliver and Debbie on their knees looking inch by inch over the back of the rug that McMillan’s body had been wrapped in.
“Shouldn’t you be looking on the other side of the rug” he suggested.
“We have sir” said Debbie, “just making sure we’ve got everything, that’s all”.
Oliver remained silent; his eyes focused on the label on the reverse side of the rug.
Jason signed the register showing he’d taken custody of McMillan’s car keys and turned to leave the room.
“Good report yesterday Cole, we’ll talk later about possible further enquiries. Best of luck today both of you, let me know if you find anything and I’ll let you know if anything breaks down at Durham”.
“Yes sir” said Debbie from her kneeling position. Oliver said nothing.
“Was that deliberate?” she asked after Jason had left the room.
“Was what deliberate?” answered Oliver, still looking at the label on the back of the rug.