by Alan Fisher
“Jesus, I’m wetter than the inside of an otter’s pocket” he announced as he entered the room.
“Erm morning sir, shall I get you a hot drink?” asked Debbie, struggling to stop an explosion of laughter at Jack’s comment.
“That would be great” said Jack, thumping his cloth cap on his leg. “And you’d best all get something if you feel the need. Briefing in ten minutes”.
Jack disappeared into his office to remove his wet coat and the rest of the team all shouted at Debbie almost in unison.
“I’ll have one if you’re going to get a coffee for the Chief”.
The gesture from Debbie was unladylike, but she managed to get the message across that she intended. Reluctantly, Robbie and Paul went to get their own drink whilst Oliver took advantage of the opportunity to have a fresh look at the incident board.
A few minutes later the three arrived back in the office.
“Solved it then?” asked Robbie as he passed Oliver standing at the board.
“Not you as well Robbie” said Oliver, remembering his chat with Debbie and Paul on Friday. “I was just having a fresh look before the briefing, that’s all”.
Before Robbie could reply, Jack came out of his office, took the cup of coffee from a smiling Debbie, and moved to the incident board. Oliver moved back to the chair by his desk and sat down, waiting.
Jack pinned the pictures of the faces from Robertson’s photograph up on the board and turned to face the team
“Ok, we’ve made a lot of progress over the first week, but we’re still no nearer being even able to name a prime suspect. We’ve two major avenues to explore and we need to up the pace. DS Glover with DC Cuthbert are investigating possible fraud activities in the 90’s. They spent all day at Durham Council offices on Friday and ascertained that a company called Tudor Enterprises was buying up derelict and vacant land in Durham, obtaining planning permission for either domestic or commercial use, and selling the land on for seemingly huge profit. They also established that the Planning officer responsible for these approvals was Andrew McMillan. It also seems that the names of the Councillors who passed the applications are the same in each case and that Tudor Enterprises never had an application turned down. All in all, it looks highly suspect, but is it the motive behind the murders? We don’t even know yet if Justice Robertson was involved; so although it may turn out to be a crime, it may not be the one we’re trying to solve. DS Glover and Cuthbert will continue with the investigation until it either shows a connection or we can rule it out. Now the second avenue comes from a photograph that was on display at the home of Justice Robertson” said Jack as he pointed to an enlarged image of the photo on the incident board. “Unless you’ve got eyes like a hawk, you wouldn’t spot this tiny white blemish on the photo. It could have been just a speck on the lens of the camera, but one of us thought there might be something in it. And if you look really closely, it looks like something has fell on the floor from the table in the back of the shot. When you magnify that up a few times, this is what you see” Jack continued, pointing to the next picture. “It’s a playing card, the two of clubs. This could suggest that this photo was taken at some gathering of people to play cards and we cannot ignore the fact that both of our victims had playing cards left in their mouths. It could be the connection. It is vital therefore that we identify and talk to these six people”.
Again Jack was pointing to the six pictures he’s placed on the board, four men, one woman, and one which was simply a silhouette.
“This first man here I’ve managed to identify already. His name is Juste Van der Klerk, a South African by birth, but owner of a string of night clubs in the North East back in to 80’s and 90’s. I haven’t been able to trace his whereabouts yet, it’s possible he could be back in South Africa. The others I have no idea about, but none of these three men look like Andrew McMillan”.
“What about the blank one sir?” asked Robbie, who was making notes as he spoke.
“That one, Robbie, represents the photographer. We won’t know who that is until we can speak to one of the others. If we are to believe that this card game has something to do with the murders, then I would suggest that the photographer may well be Andrew McMillan. Our focus today therefore will be to find these people. Debbie, you focus on Van der Klerk, at least we have a name. Robbie, Paul and Kevin, I want you to take copies of these pictures around everywhere you can think of, see if you can find someone who can identify them. Start with casinos and gaming establishments etc. then try known contacts of the two murdered men. If these guys liked a game of cards, maybe some of their other contacts did too. Now, does anyone have any updates for me from last week, anything we can rule in or out?”
“I’ve confirmed all of the alibis for the team from Labour headquarters in North Shields sir for the time of McMillan’s death” said Paul.
“Ok, I thought as much, it was a long shot anyway. Debbie?”
“Financials have been interesting sir. Justice Robertson had at least £15 million that we can account for and it looks like a huge part of that came in 2001 from the sale of shares in a company called York Holdings. I could dig deeper if you need me to”.
“No, that’s great work but could you pass that on to DS Glover please, there may be some connection with Tudor Enterprises, maybe the connection he’s looking for. What about Donna Yates?”
“False name and address sir, as you suspected. There are hundreds of people with the name Donna Yeats, but I doubt any one of them is the woman involved and she looks too young to be the woman in the photo of the card school sir. From the look of Robertson, that photo is twenty to thirty years old and the woman in the photo will probably be around 60 now I would think”.
“Ok, that’s a valid point which confirms Oliver’s notion that the killer isn’t in the picture but that someone who is in the picture will know something about who it might be. “Want to expand on that Oliver?”
“Sir?” said Oliver slightly confused.
“What’s your thoughts on the killer, Oliver? We all know you’ll have been thinking about nothing else all week-end and I’m sure we’d all like to hear if you’ve drawn any conclusions, even Kevin” said Jack as he noticed Kevin closing his eyes at the back of the room.
“Erm, right, well. I was thinking about it over the week-end, as it happens” said Oliver searching for words.
But before he could continue, Jack’s phone sounded, and he automatically answered causing Oliver to stop in his tracks.
“Yes sir” said Jack, “I’ll come right up”.
Jack closed his phone and moved towards the door.
“I’ll catch up with you all in a bit, I’m afraid another body has been discovered and the Superintendent wants to see me right away. Come to the board Oliver and fill everyone in on your thinking, you can tell me later”.
And he disappeared quickly through the doorway.
Chapter 41
Oliver stepped nervously towards the incident board as Jack left the office, wondering how best to explain what was uppermost in his mind. Debbie seemed to sense his reluctance and spoke before he could gather his thoughts.
“Would it be ok if you took us slowly through this Oliver, like you did with me on the text messages, give us all a chance to get our heads around it and follow your line of logic. Maybe if I pull up the wipe board?”
“Erm yeah, good idea” said Oliver, stalling a bit for time.
Debbie pulled the wipe board from the corner of the room and positioned it next to him before returning to her seat. Oliver took out his notebook and picked up a marker pen from a nearby table. As he started to write on the board, his mind flashed back to a few months previously when he’d performed similar tasks with his class of graduates.
Carefully he copied onto the board the lists of things that he’d written in his notepad, the things that bugged him;
McMillan
2 mobile phones, 1 for exclusive use of coded texts, the other missing **
/> Jack of Diamonds in mouth of dead body **
Moved from original place of stabbing ***
Wrapped in plastic AND rug ***
Dumped IN a bin ***
No financial issues
Ring on finger *
Late clandestine meetings not unusual
Who invited him to meeting – lover?
Campbell sensitive info on him?
Media has sensitive info before team briefings
McMillan killed Sunday night, found Monday morning. Media report Wednesday morning.
Robertson killed Tuesday night, found Wednesday morning, media report Thursday morning everything except his identity?
Justice Robertson
Wrapped in plastic AND rug ***
Dumped IN a bin ***
Lives with housekeeper
Kind and generous man *
Photo of card school, McMillan not evident
Phone missing **
Murdered at Lumley Castle Hotel ***
Moved from original place of stabbing ***
Jack of Hearts in mouth of dead body **
When he’d finished writing, he turned to face the team, surprised a little that they’d all remained quiet whilst he was writing.
“These are the notes that I’ve made so far about the case, the things that bothered me. As you know, I try to make connections, to see patterns, or try to ask the question why as often as I can. I try to see things from the killers perspective if I can. You’ll have noticed that I’ve marked some of these things with Asterix’s”.
“Looks like you’ve graded them, one star, two star, three star. What’s all that about Oliver?” asked Robbie.
“Patience Robbie” said Debbie, “this takes a bit of time” said Debbie.
“It’s a fair question. I had so many things to think about, as you can see, that I started to mark them three star if they were identical in both cases, two star if they were broadly similar, and one star if they could be connected, even loosely”.
“Gotcha” said Robbie, “makes sense”.
“So what’s identical about the cases is that they were both murdered in a hotel, both bodies were moved from that hotel, both bodies were wrapped in a plastic sheet and then a rug, and both bodies were dumped in a bin. And I’m sure you’ve noticed the word IN, is in capitals. Then the similar things about the murders, both bodies had a playing card in their mouths, although a different card each time, and both had a phone missing, although McMillan was known to have more than one. The loose connections are a ring on McMillan’s finger, and Robertson was kind and generous, I can explain why I think they might be connected in a bit. So I started to look at the three star issues first, those that were identical and asked why. Why were the bodies wrapped in a plastic sheet, then in a rug, then removed from the hotel, and finally dumped, not nearby, but miles away? And not beside a bin, but actually wedged into one”
The room was silent. Oliver noticed that Paul, Robbie and Debbie were still making notes, Kevin was looking at the heavy rain on the window.
“Erm, this is where you guys come in and start to answer the question” said Oliver.
“I thought you’d just tell us” said Paul.
“No” said Debbie, “we have to think our way through this as Oliver did. He may have drawn the wrong conclusions”.
“Unlikely” said Robbie.
“Probable” said Oliver. “and I’d appreciate any input. I’ve been wrong before you know”.
“I suppose,” said Debbie, keen to get the ball rolling, “that the bodies were moved to avoid early detection”.
“Great” said Oliver, “But carry on with the process. If that’s true, why would they want to avoid early detection?”
“So they could make a clean getaway?”
“But they stayed to commit a second, and it looks like a third murder. So probably not” said Oliver.
“Erm, to stop us finding forensics. That would certainly tie in with the plastic sheet routine” offered Robbie.
“Excellent, now you’re getting into it. But we found no forensics anyway, they were careful. So wrapping up in plastic seems unnecessary to me from that perspective. Any other ideas?”
The three looked vacant and Oliver thought that it would take an eternity to get them to where he was, unless he spelled it out.
“I know it’s not easy and it takes me a while to get my head around things as well. But when you look at an individual piece of the jigsaw it can be hard to find a reason without opening your eyes to the rest of the evidence. You have to have half an eye on the phones, the reporting by the media, the playing card left in their mouths, the second and third murders. It all forms part of the picture. Here’s what I think may have happened, you can ask questions or shout out any ideas as we go along and then maybe tell me at the end if you think it might be a reasonable hypotheses”.
“Good plan” said Paul, relaxing into his chair.
“Ok then. We know that McMillan received a text message on one of his phones, the one he used for arranging meetings with Tanya Golding, that lured him to the Radisson Blu Hotel on the evening he was murdered. We also know that two suspects were seen on CCTV footage entering the room before he arrived, neither of which was in fact Tanya Golding. We also know Tanya was mugged and her phone stolen before that text message was sent. I think that Tanya was targeted for her phone because the killer knew that McMillan was bound to respond to a message from his lover and turn up at the hotel. If we assume, and the other evidence points to it, that the luring of the victim to a hotel room is the method on ensuring attendance, then I think that McMillan’s other phone was taken from him so they could use it to lure Robertson to Lumley Castle. There must be a connection between McMillan and Robertson which necessitated Robertson’s mobile number being on McMillan’s phone. There’s also a strong possibility that Robertson’s phone, which we know is missing, was kept to lure the next victim somewhere”.
“Ok, I can see that” said Debbie. “But why move the bodies?”
“That’s where we need to look at the situation with the media reports. Look at the timeline; at when the information was released. McMillan’s death wasn’t reported until after Robertson had been killed. I think the media weren’t given the information until the killer had made sure that Robertson was dead. The killer used the time to send a text to Robertson, from McMillan’s phone, obviously pretending to be him, a text requires no voice or physical disguise. Perhaps the message suggested an urgent meeting to discuss something of mutual importance. It’s safe to assume that Robertson would never have gone to meet with McMillan if the report of McMillan’s murder was already public knowledge”.
“But the media reported Robertson’s death the next morning, so that wouldn’t fit the theory” said Robbie.
“Actually, if you listen to the reporting on the finding of the second body, Robertson’s name is not mentioned. The media didn’t mention the identity of the victim, only the circumstances of his death”.
“So why would they not mention Robertson by name?” asked Paul.
“I don’t think they knew the identity. They only knew what they were being told”.
“By whom?” asked Debbie.
“By the killer of course”.
“You’re joking” said Robbie, staggered by the revelation. “So no leak from us, the killer has been feeding the media?”
“I think so, yes”.
“But why?”
“Good, that’s exactly how I like to think, why? What’s the purpose? If we follow the line of logic, the killer controls the flow of information so they have time to lure the next victim, who will happily respond not knowing that who they think they are about to meet is already dead”.
“Do you think the media know?”
“That the source of their information is the killer? I think they neither know nor care”.
“So it’s all about keeping the identity of the victim secret until they kill the next one. How many will
there be?” said Robbie.
“Unknown, but could be at least five or six if we think it’s all connected to this photo. But I think there might be another reason the killer is feeding the media, a reason that suggests this photo is somehow linked”.
“Go on” said Paul, enthralled.
“I think the second reason the killer is feeding the media is to make sure that their message goes public” said Oliver.
“What message?” asked Debbie.
“The playing cards. I think they are a message. Saying what, or to whom, I don’t know yet. But I’m convinced that those playing cards mean something to somebody”.
“But why are they different? Different messages? asked Debbie.
“Ah. That’s where the one star loose connection comes in. McMillan was wearing a diamond ring when he was murdered, and Robertson was known to be a kind and generous man. Perhaps the two victims were given nicknames, Jack of Diamonds? Jack of Hearts? I said it was a bit loose” said Oliver, as he noticed the unconvinced expressions on their faces.
“And wrapping the bodies in plastic sheets and a rug? What was the purpose of that?” asked Paul.
“The rug was simply used so they could remove the body from the hotel room without the possibility of being challenged, hence the maintenance outfits as well. The plastic sheet was needed to make sure that the blood didn’t seep onto the rug. Two members of the maintenance crew carrying out an old rug might look a matter of routine. Carrying out a rug that was blood stained might have drawn looks or questions. I suspect the plastic sheets and the maintenance outfits were in the backpacks carried in by the man or the woman, the rugs were already there in the hotel rooms and suggests that they had planned the location well, probably surveyed beforehand”.
“So we’re looking for two suspects, a man and a woman” asked Paul, who seemed well tuned in now.
“True, but I think one of them is simply helping the other. The stabbing was singular which suggests one killer. So I think only one might have the motive. Where the stab wound is on each of the victims would indicate the shorter of the two people on the CCTV footage, that is the woman. But it’s by no means certain”.