DEAD UNLUCKY: A Joe Box Story

by Jim Reeves

  ‘What is?’

  ‘Always playing the sad loser.’

  ‘Who’s a sad loser?’ Joe protested.

  ‘Somebody came round asking for you a few days ago.’

  ‘Who was that?’ Joe asked, although he could guess.

  ‘Vince Kent. Boxer turned bouncer,’ said Maggie.

  ‘Boxer?’

  ‘He had a short career. An eye injury put an end to it. Then he went to work for George Bishop.’

  ‘You seem to know a lot,’ Joe said.

  ‘I was a copper on this patch for quite a while. What do you expect?’

  ‘What did he want?’

  ‘You, by the sound of it. Asked if I’d seen you lately.’

  ‘Did he give you a hard time?’

  ‘Nothing I couldn’t handle,’ said Maggie. ‘I’ve met worse than him in my time. What was it all about?’

  ‘I called in Bishop’s club when I was looking for the cat,’ Joe told her. ‘Said I was working for you. Bishop offered me a job delivering a package.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘The money was too good to turn down. I did it.’

  ‘Why the panic?’

  ‘I was late getting back. Maybe he thought I’d done a runner.’

  ‘What was in the package?’ asked Maggie.

  ‘CDs, so he said.’

  ‘And now Bishop and Vince are dead,’ said Maggie. ‘Frozen to death in the freezer in the cellar of the Fat Katz club with another of Bishop’s boys.’

  ‘Everybody’s talking about it,’ Joe nodded.

  ‘Vince had been shot in the leg.’

  ‘So I heard.’

  ‘What’s it all about?’

  ‘Sounds like a bit of gangland stuff. Man like Bishop must have had a lot of enemies.’ Joe shrugged. ‘He had a pretty scary reputation.’

  Maggie stared at Joe for a long moment. ‘Were you one of his enemies?’

  ‘Hardly knew him,’ Joe said.

  ‘I got the impression that Vince Kent wasn’t too fond of you.’

  ‘I don’t think he was too fond of anybody.’

  ‘When did you last see him?’

  ‘What’s this all about?’ asked Joe irritably.

  ‘Sorry, force of habit,’ smiled Maggie ruefully. ‘Didn’t mean to crowd you.’

  ‘I delivered the package. Bishop paid me. End of story,’ Joe told her. ‘It was a one-off.’ More or less true, he’d just glossed over one or two details.

  Joe stared hard at Maggie, suddenly realising.

  ‘You talked to the police?’

  Maggie nodded, almost guiltily.

  ‘Only in passing. A few of us were in the pub for a drink. I mentioned I’d had a visit from Vince Kent the day before he died. It seemed like something I should mention.’

  ‘You gave them my name?’

  ‘I said he was looking for you. Does it matter?’ asked Maggie.

  ‘I had a visit from a DS Dave Austin. Wanted me to account for my movements. Asked a few questions I didn’t want to answer.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Private stuff. Nothing to do with anybody’

  ‘He’s just doing his job,’ said Maggie. ‘Tying up loose ends.’

  Joe ran his fingers over the piano keys. Eager to move on. He could see it would have been perfectly normal for Maggie to mention seeing Vince just before he died. Would have seemed odd if she hadn’t mentioned it. He decided she hadn’t been trying to finger him.

  ‘That’s what he said,’ Joe nodded, ‘but I’ve got to do my job as well. It’s all I’ve got right now.’

  ‘You didn’t come back to see me,’ said Maggie.

  Joe thought for a few seconds. He couldn’t tell her about Tregorran now. He had said he hardly knew Bishop. He wanted all talk of him off the agenda from now on.

  ‘You said not to come back without the cat,’ Joe reminded her.

  ‘That was a bit unfair of me,’ Maggie confessed. ‘I’ve never found him myself. He always came home when he was ready. At least he used to. There’s no sign of him this time.’

  ‘Well there you go,’ smiled Joe. ‘Story of my life. Anyway, I told you I wouldn’t be back.’

  ‘Mrs Roberts called in,’ said Maggie.

  Joe tinkled the piano keys softly again. A nervous reaction.

  ‘She all right?’

  ‘She told me you asked her to take care of a kitten.’

  ‘A friend of mine was looking for homes for a few kittens,’ Joe nodded. ‘I thought of Mrs Roberts.’

  ‘That was kind of you.’

  ‘I was feeling bad about the cat,’ shrugged Joe.

  ‘What’s been happening to you?’ asked Maggie. ‘You look a little frayed around the edges.’

  ‘You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you,’ smiled Joe.

  ‘Try me.’

  ‘Some other time, maybe. I’ve got to sing for my supper first.’ He ran his fingers over the piano keys.

  ‘Are you still interested in the job?’ asked Maggie.

  ‘Is it still available?’ Joe looked a little surprised. ‘Didn’t anybody else apply for it?’

  ‘I got two other applicants, as a matter of fact. But they were both even more unsuitable than you.’

  ‘That makes me feel real good,’ Joe said drily. ‘When do you need a decision?’

  ‘I thought you were keen,’ said Maggie, taken aback.

  ‘I just want to think about it a while,’ Joe said. ‘Like you said, there’s no point rushing things.’

  ‘Are you suddenly playing hard to get?’ asked Maggie.

  ‘I was never hard to get in all my life,’ Joe told her. ‘Too easy, some might say.’ He looked her in the eye for several seconds. Maggie looked a little uncomfortable and averted her gaze.

  ‘I bought some paint for the office,’ she told him, suddenly breaking the spell.

  ‘What colour?’ asked Joe.

  ‘Magnolia.’

  Joe looked thoughtful.

  ‘You don’t approve?’ asked Maggie.

  ‘Magnolia’s good.’ Joe nodded. ‘Did you get brushes?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘We didn’t discuss money.’

  ‘Stop by my office on Monday morning. We can talk about it,’ said Maggie.

  ‘OK. Monday morning. I’ll let you have my decision then,’ he nodded.

  ‘Don’t push it,’ warned Maggie, turning to leave.

  As she walked away, Joe played the first few bars of Rod Stewart’s ‘Do you think I’m Sexy?’

  She looked back and smiled as she reached the exit. He raised his glass before taking a sip. Then she was gone.

  Chapter 45

  It was just after two in the morning when Joe got back to his flat. Normally, he would have gone straight to bed. This time he had things to do first.

  He put on a pair of gloves carried the briefcase down from the gallery where he had left it and placed it open on the coffee table. Then he went back to the gallery and retrieved the cash from under the mattress. He dropped the money on the table alongside the case. Joe hadn’t counted it yet. It comprised of the Euros he had taken from Otto Braun, Bruno and Karl and the English notes from Braun’s safe, Bishop’s safe and wallet, Bruno’s wallet and also from Chinese Pete’s wallet. There were eight hundred and twenty Euros. Joe had expected more. He decided he could safely keep that money. Eileen Pearson wasn’t expecting Euros and if the police ever saw it, he would say it was left over from his last holiday. Let them prove otherwise. It might come in useful if he took a trip sometime. The English notes added up to eight thousand nine hundred and seventy pounds. He’d given Fish a couple of hundred and done some shopping. That was about right. He decided to keep seven hundred and thirty pounds for himself. An odd amount that he was sure he could convince the police was his life savings if he had to. It would help with the rent for a while. Eileen would probably expect him to keep some of the money, no matter what she said about trusting him. He took the Euros and the seve
n hundred and thirty back up to the gallery and pushed them into the drawer containing his underpants and the Magnum gun. He returned downstairs, counted out five hundred pounds in twenties and pushed them into an envelope. He grabbed a handful of notes and stuffed them into his raincoat pocket then he transferred the rest of the money to the briefcase and put the envelope on top. The Webley gun was still in the case. He left it there. He picked up the whisky glass that he had taken from Bishop’s office and put it in the case. He went to the CD tower and pulled out the Rolling Stones CD case. He removed the disc from inside and dropped it into the briefcase. Then he closed the case and went to the bathroom. Time for bed, he decided.

  Chapter 46

  Joe strolled across Brindley Place and bought himself a Costa coffee. It was a few minutes after nine. He was carrying Bishop’s briefcase. There was a slight chill in the air but the sun was shining and Joe sat at an outside table. Time to relax. Let other people do the running for a while.

  He sipped the coffee, tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Enjoying the sun.

  ‘Mind if I join you?’

  Joe opened his eyes and squinted in the direction of the voice. It was DC Dave Austin. He was holding a cup of coffee and a bagel on a plate.

  Joe straightened up. ‘Where did you come from?’ He was very conscious of the briefcase on the floor beside him. Austin didn’t seem to notice it. If he did, he didn’t say anything.

  ‘I was just on my way to your place when I saw you here.’ He indicated a spare chair. ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘Help yourself.’

  Austin sat down and sipped the coffee appreciatively. He turned his head and stared into the distance across the wide plaza.

  ‘What did you want to see me about?’ asked Joe.

  ‘Thought I’d update you,’ Austin said.

  ‘Do you always update the people you talk to?’ asked Joe.

  ‘No.’ Austin shook his head. ‘But you seemed a little twitchy the other day.’

  ‘First time I’ve been questioned by the police,’ Joe told him. ‘Plus, your friend was giving me the creeps.’

  ‘Prior,’ smiled Austin. ‘He gives me the creeps as well, if I’m honest.’ He took a bite of his bagel.

  ‘So what have you got to tell me?’ asked Joe.

  Austin chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds, as he decided on his words. ‘A lot of shit has been hitting a lot of fans this last couple of days.’

  Joe raised his eyebrows. ‘What kind of shit?’

  ‘The usual. Seems there was a lot to George Bishop that we didn’t know about.’

  ‘That right?’

  ‘We’re not stupid. We knew he had a few things on the go,’ Austin said. ‘But not all of it.’

  Joe waited for him to continue.

  ‘Somebody posted a bunch of CDs to a few people. Very influential people. Stuff copied from Bishop’s computer, it seems. That’s when the shit started flying. Plus his computer was left switched on in his office. Our people are crawling all over it as we speak.’

  ‘And?’ Joe felt he should join in the conversation. He tried to look as all of this was news to him.

  ‘The man was filth,’ Austin said with feeling. ‘We knew about the escort agencies, the working girls in the clubs but that was consenting adults. We tend to turn a blind eye to that kind of thing. If he didn’t do it somebody else would. This other stuff with kids is different.’ Austin looked genuinely nauseated. He put the half eaten bagel down.

  ‘Try the coffee,’ suggested Joe. ‘It takes the taste away.’

  Austin sipped his coffee and nodded his agreement. ‘Good coffee.’

  ‘What’s going to happen?’ asked Joe.

  ‘A few people are going to get their collars felt in the very near future,’ Austin told him. ‘This thing goes right across Europe.’ He looked at Joe. ‘Including Austria. I think that package you delivered probably contained CDs or DVDs full of child porn.’

  ‘I didn’t know that,’ Joe said and he was able to look Austin straight in the eye when he said it.

  ‘I believe you,’ Austin said. He sipped his coffee and stared thoughtfully across the plaza again. ‘Funny thing. The man Bishop sent the package to, a bloke named Otto Braun, died a few days ago.’

  ‘Really?’ Joe raised his eyebrows.

  ‘He was found frozen to death in the boot of his Mercedes,’ Austin nodded. ‘Near a place called St Gilgen, not very far from Eichl.’

  Austin looked at Joe, waiting for a reaction. Joe didn’t want to lie, he’d decided he liked Dave Austin, but he didn’t want to tell the truth either. He looked back at Austin and grimaced.

  ‘Nasty way to go.’

  ‘Apparently, he lived on the outskirts of Eichl.’

  ‘Small world,’ Joe said. So far, he was managing not to lie.

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ Austin said. ‘Sure you didn’t meet him?’

  ‘I didn’t get out much,’ Joe said doubtfully.

  ‘The local police are going over his place right now,’ Austin continued. ‘Be interesting to see what they come up with.’

  It occurred to Joe that Elsa might talk to the police. He hoped that she wouldn’t say too much when she heard how her father had made his money.

  They both sipped their coffees.

  ‘It gets funnier,’ Austin said.

  ‘How so?’

  ‘One of Otto Braun’s people was found dead at Stansted Airport two days ago. Took a while to identify him. He didn’t have any papers. Luckily, he had form so they traced him from his prints.’

  ‘What was he doing at Stansted?’ asked Joe. A question, still not a lie.

  ‘Seems he was on the same flight as you,’ Austin said. ‘Did you see him?’

  ‘Would I know him?’ asked Joe, avoiding a direct answer.

  ‘I thought it might have been the guy you handed the package to. What was he like?’

  ‘Big bruiser. Six four at least. Skin head haircut.’

  ‘Sounds a lot like our bloke. You sure you didn’t see him?’

  ‘You ever travelled on a budget airline?’ asked Joe, sidestepping the question.

  Austin shook his head.

  ‘It’s pretty chaotic,’ Joe told him. ‘Your main concern is getting a seat. You don’t get a chance to make friends.’

  ‘Lot of people seem to end up dead when you’re around,’ Austin said.

  Joe nodded, he couldn’t deny that.

  ‘You didn’t ask how he died,’ Austin said.

  ‘How did he die?’ He looked at Austin now, genuinely interested.

  ‘He was found a few hundred yards up the railway track from the airport. He drowned in three inches of water.’

  ‘Not a strong swimmer then,’ Joe said.

  Austin almost smiled. ‘He was hit over the head first. They found a rock nearby with his blood on it.’ There was a long pause. ‘Why do you think he flew to England?’ asked Austin.

  Joe paused, disappointed. He had to lie this time. ‘I wouldn’t know,’ he said.

  ‘Seems he only bought his ticket less than an hour before the flight,’ Austin said.

  ‘Pity he made the trip,’ Joe said. ‘Maybe he was mugged.’

  ‘Bloke that size?’ Austin shook his head doubtfully.

  There was a long silence while they both stared into the distance. Austin finally broke the spell. ‘Bishop and Braun, two cogs in an organization that peddles child porn right across Europe die within days of each other. Both frozen to death, as it happens. Then Bruno Stadler, Braun’s right hand man dies also. All three, apparently murdered.’ He looked at Joe. ‘What does that tell you?’

  ‘Maybe they were just dead unlucky. You think they’re connected?’

  ‘Seems likely.’

  Joe considered his answer. This time he could tell the truth. ‘It tells me they probably upset somebody pretty badly. People like that probably have quite a few enemies.’

  ‘You think maybe that somebody decided to give them a ser
ious smacking?’ Austin looked at Joe and smiled as though enjoying a private joke.

  Joe looked back at Austin. Surprised by his choice of words. Jesus Christ, he knows thought Joe.

  ‘It would seem that way,’ he nodded warily, wondering what was coming next. He felt his complexion change. He needed to take a drink but his hands were trembling too much to hold the cup steady.

  ‘We spoke to your lady friend Sally Beaumont,’ Austin told him. ‘She confirmed you were with her on Tuesday night.’

  ‘She would,’ Joe nodded.

  ‘Puts you in the clear,’ Austin said.

  There was another long pause as Austin slowly sipped his coffee and chewed at his bagel. ‘I don’t think we’ll be going much further with this,’ he said finally. ‘Bishop’s not exactly flavour of the month. Nobody really cares if he got wasted. We’re going to be stretched as it is following up the paedophile leads. The powers that be want answers fast. We’ve put a lot of people on it.’

  Joe tried not to show his relief.

  ‘You ask me, they should pin a medal on the bloke that whacked Bishop and his mates,’ Austin said. Joe didn’t answer. Austin continued. ‘We traced your lady friend.’

  Joe raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Betine Hasler,’ Austin said. ‘We got her name off the airline company.’

  ‘Betine Hasler.’ Joe nodded as he remembered. ‘She did tell me that when we first met. I’d forgotten.’

  ‘We don’t need to bother her,’ Austin said. ‘Your story seems to check out. She was on your flight and she lives in Eichl, like you said.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘I’ve got her address,’ Austin said. ‘Do you want it?’

  Joe considered for a moment then smiled ruefully. ‘Better not.’

  ‘One thing bothers me,’ Austin said thoughtfully.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Somebody shot up Bishop’s place. Even put a bullet in Vince Kent’s leg. Wouldn’t like to think that gun is going to be out on the streets.’

  Joe thought about it. It was his turn to choose his words carefully. ‘If there was a gun, I think it would be dumped somewhere where it will never be found.’ Not true, but DC Austin would rest easy soon enough.

  Austin considered, nodded his acceptance and looked at Joe. ‘You going to be working with Maggie Dancer?’