They left Jake alone to get on with his work and walked back into the main part of the pub, exchanging the smell of bleach for stale booze and cigarettes. Parker lit a cigarette himself and stood in silence, surveying the scene. Saxon inhaled deeply and toyed with the idea of joining him. He had quit smoking some time ago, mostly because Emma didn’t like the smell or the taste. He enjoyed the habit and right now, it seemed like more than a good idea. Parker seemed to read his mind and offered the pack without speaking. Smokers like to share their habit.
Saxon caved in without hesitation. He felt the rush of nicotine and that taste that you never forget. Why don’t they all taste like this?
As they stood in the dim lighting, Parker filled in Saxon with all the details of the evening.
‘We’ve got three witnesses as of now,’ he said. ‘Although we’ll get plenty more tomorrow, I know.’
Saxon was surprised. ‘What happened to everyone else?’ he asked. ‘This place must’ve been packed last night.’
Parker laughed quietly. ‘Well, boss, it seems that everyone disappeared as soon as they heard that there was the wrong kind of stiffy in the bogs,’ he said.
Saxon frowned. ‘Yes, I can imagine that one went through here like wildfire,’ he agreed. ‘So where are they, our three witnesses?’
‘Upstairs, boss. In the landlord’s flat, drinking coffee,’ Parker answered. ‘He lives on the premises and he suggested that we use his place.’
‘We’ll need a word with him too,’ Saxon said.
‘Name of Billy Singleton, boss,’ Parker answered. ‘He seems okay. Very concerned, of course. Anxious to help, he says. At least he’s sober, as far as I can see.’
‘Okay, let’s make a start,’ Saxon started, but stopped as Parker interrupted him suddenly.
‘Boss, I forgot to tell you. The STI guys are outside. You won’t believe this, but Dr Marks was in here.’
‘You what?’ Saxon was astounded. ‘Any more vital news that you’ve omitted to tell me?’
‘I’m sorry, boss, I forgot for a minute in all the excitement.’
‘Well, Dr Marks,’ Saxon said through gritted teeth. ‘Looks like you did have more to tell me, after all.’ He smiled at Parker.
‘There’s a turn up for the books.’
‘Sorry, sir,’ Parker went on. ‘We don’t have anything very useful yet. All we know from the STI guys is that he was in the pub. The landlord says that Lucas went past the bar on his way to the bog and never returned. He’s not sure of what time, but he’s trying to fix that in his mind. We’ll have to talk to him.
‘One of the witnesses says he was at the next table to Lucas, and he noticed him particularly because both Lucas and whoever he was sitting with looked to be having a difficult time. You know, not much rapport or whatever.’ Parker paused for a moment. ‘Our witness fancies himself as a bit of an amateur psychologist, I think.
‘Anyway, whoever Lucas was talking to – and we don’t know yet if it was Marks – stayed for a while then, when Lucas didn’t come back, this man scarpered, according to this chap.’
‘Maybe he thought his date had had a better offer,’ Saxon mused. ‘Or maybe he followed him out to the toilets?’
‘According to the witness, boss, it was some time after Lucas went off that this man suddenly jumped to his feet and left in a bit of a huff.’
‘So we need him to have a look at a photo of Marks to see if he’s the man Lucas was talking to.’
‘Yes, boss. I’m on it. Not sure how worthwhile it’ll be though, because our witness had sunk a fair few vodkas during the evening, by the look of him.’ Parker shook his head again, his despondency showing.
Saxon was sympathetic but they had no time for sentiment right now. This was the biggest breakthrough – potentially – that they’d had on the case. He’d had a feeling that Marks was being evasive when they spoke to him at the health centre. His helpfulness could well have been intended to throw them off the scent entirely. Now here he was at a murder scene.
‘They found Lucas at chucking-out time, right? And when did Marks leave?’ asked Saxon.
‘Marks had left slightly before then and the STI guys followed him the moment he left the pub.’ Parker looked across at Saxon, his eyebrows raised. ‘He went straight home to his wife, sir. Poor cow.’
‘Christ, Parker,’ Saxon muttered, stubbing out his cigarette in an overflowing ashtray. ‘A cop is murdered in pub and STI are sitting in a car outside all the time, probably unaware that Lucas was even in here. And why, for Christ’s sake didn’t they go inside and watch Marks? Doesn’t make us look too clever does it?’ Saxon paused despairingly.
He continued slowly. ‘So if he’s not our man, maybe he has no idea that there has even been a murder committed.’
‘Right, boss,’ agreed Parker. ‘He certainly left before it was public knowledge.’
Saxon recognised an opportunity when he saw one. ‘Then we want to see Dr Marks first thing in the morning, don’t we, Parker.’
‘We’ll go round to the health centre when it opens then?’ Parker asked.
‘No, I think we’ll call in at the house before he even leaves for work,’ said Saxon.
‘See him in front of his wife, you mean, boss? Up the ante a bit?’ Parker saw the way Saxon’s mind was working.
‘Exactly.’
‘Maybe his missus deserves to know where she stands, boss,’ Parker agreed. ‘She might catch something she doesn’t want…’ he finished, the thought just having occurred to him. ‘What a bastard! How about we go and have a word with him now?’
Saxon declined. ‘No, Parker, tempting though it is. Mrs Marks certainly doesn’t deserve to hear this sort of thing from a couple of cops in the middle of the night – bad enough in the daytime.’
He thought about it a moment, anticipating the interview to come with some pleasure. ‘Parker, believe me, Marks will be begging us to hear any information we want. The bastard knows a lot more than he would have us believe. We’ll have a word with him just after he’s heard about it in the press or on the morning news.’
They didn’t have an opportunity to continue their rehearsal of the interview with Marks because Dr Clarke arrived. They heard him before they saw him.
‘Sorry, everyone, I know you’ve been waiting for me. Many apologies – I’m deeply embarrassed, if that helps. I’ve been unwell,’ he announced.
Saxon and Parker walked towards him. Clarke lowered his voice slightly, but not much, at their approach. ‘I heard my phone ringing,’ he went on. ‘I was throwing up and couldn’t answer – must have been the mussels, nothing worse than a bad mussel. Okay now though. Right, where’s the body? I trust nobody has touched anything,’ he said as if they didn’t know any better.
Jake backed out of the cubicle to allow Clarke to have access. Saxon and Parker climbed the stairs behind the bar. The smell of stale cigarette smoke and beer followed them as they went to interview the witnesses. It turned out that the only person sober enough to be interviewed was the landlord.
Parker escorted the three others back downstairs so that they could be taken to their various homes. He emphasised that they would be expected to make statements in the morning. At least the coffee had sobered them up enough for him to be reasonably confident that they would remember.
As he came back into the bar, Dr Clarke finished his examination. He disappeared quickly, saying that he still felt a bit under the weather, but as usual he would only speculate on the cause of death until the post mortem.
SOCO stayed at the crime scene to finish their examination and Parker went back upstairs.
Tuesday, May 21, Billy Singleton’s Flat, 1.45AM
They knew the landlord was forty-five, but he didn’t look it. He had an average build, but was well-toned. He wore his hair in a small plaited ponytail, but that was it as far as body adornment went. As far as Saxon could see, Mr Singleton didn’t go in for body piercing. Or at least, not anywhere that showed.
Saxon
introduced himself and Parker.
Saxon winced slightly at the strength of the handshake and withdrew his hand as quickly as possible. They both sat down on the leather sofa, at their host’s invitation.
‘Thanks for helping out with the witnesses earlier,’ he started.
‘So, for the record, your full name is?’ Parker took out his notebook.
‘Bill Singleton, but everyone calls me Billy. You can call me Billy.’ He walked over to the sideboard and picked up a bottle of Scotch and some glasses. He offered Saxon and Parker a drink. They declined for the usual reasons.
‘Yes, I understand,’ he said. ‘I never drink on duty either.’ He was sympathetic. ‘But I hope you don’t mind if I do now,’ he said, as he took a mouthful. ‘It’s the first one of the day.’ He put his head on one side. ‘Er, yesterday, I mean.’
Billy sat himself down in a comfortable armchair facing them. He looked from one to the other. ‘I’m glad this sort of thing doesn’t happen every day,’ he sighed. He looked at his watch and then took another sip of his drink.
‘Okay, Billy,’ Saxon said. ‘Tell me what you saw. Take your time.’
‘Well, it was busy,’ he said. ‘Thursdays always are. I come down again at around six o’clock and I’m here till closing time. It was quiet to start with tonight, I mean last night,’ he corrected himself. ‘There were a few office groups, a couple of people left over from lunchtime too. But it always perks up later. To tell the truth, it just seemed like another normal night.’
‘Yes, go on.’ Saxon really just wanted to listen.
‘Anyway, I saw the young man come in – Lucas, right?’ he queried. ‘Poor bloke. So sad.’
He paused for a minute but nobody spoke. Billy went on. ‘It must’ve been sometime around eight o’clock or maybe a bit later. I noticed him because there weren’t too many other people around them and also – I hope this doesn’t sound ridiculous – I noticed him because I thought he looked a bit lost.’
He leant forward slightly. ‘You have to understand, Commander, that a lot of the people who come in here are a bit full of themselves. You know, they swagger a bit. So that’s what made him stand out a bit.’
Saxon just nodded.
‘Well, he sat down all alone with his drink. Looked a bit nervy to me, took no notice of anyone else. Not what people usually do here. I wish more people came to drink instead of just looking.’
Parker interrupted. ‘Did you notice anyone talking to him for any length of time?’
Billy thought for a second. ‘Well, it got quite busy around nine o’clock so I didn’t pay any particular attention. For a while he was chatting to someone else though. Older man, quite conservative-looking. Dark hair, if I remember rightly. But I couldn’t be sure; it’s a big pub and with people milling about all the time, coming and going, he may have just been sitting at the same table. Are you sure I can’t tempt you to a drink?’
Saxon smiled. ‘No thanks, Billy. Personally I’d love one but, knowing my luck at the moment, I’d probably get stopped and breathalysed on the way home.’
Billy laughed good-humouredly. He continued at some length about the regular clientele, their drinking habits, and their social groups. Most of his information was of no interest to Saxon, until Billy mentioned the man who seemed out of place.
Saxon felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to move.
‘Man, what man?’ he queried. ‘And why did he look out of place?
‘It was just a glimpse; I didn’t really get a good look at him. I have got a very busy pub to run you know. Everybody wants to be served at the same time. But there was just something about this man. You see, I’m used to some of the people who come in here being a bit, well, furtive. Especially if they’re here for the first time. It can be a bit intimidating, you know. You want something, so you want to be here, and yet you don’t really know what to expect when you come here for the first time, maybe.’
‘Right,’ agreed Saxon. He thought he understood. ‘So this man you’re talking about was furtive?’ he asked. ‘Why did that seem out of place then?’
‘Well, that’s just it,’ answered Billy without hesitation. ‘He wasn’t furtive, not really. He was more, well, secretive, if you see what I mean. It’s hard to say, hard to describe exactly.’
‘No, go on,’ said Saxon encouragingly. ‘You’re doing a great job. I just want to be sure we really understand what you’re getting at.’
‘Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed him normally, but I looked across at the door just as he came in. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t look around to see who was here. Well, that’s odd for a start. Everybody does that. Either so that they can go straight up to someone they know and say hi, or so that they can avoid someone they don’t want to see. Anyway, this man just came in and went straight through to the toilets. But he looked straight ahead and didn’t meet anyone’s eye as he went.’ He paused. ‘I can tell you, that’s not normal in here. Maybe if that poor boy hadn’t been murdered, and in our toilets, I wouldn’t have given Mr Mystery Toilet Man a second thought, but as it was, I thought I’d better mention him. I don’t suppose it’s any help at all, is it?’ he added apologetically.
‘Billy, you never know,’ answered Saxon. ‘It could be just the break we’re looking for. We can check it out with the other people we interview. Maybe something will come of it.’ Saxon was telling the truth. ‘Anything else you can tell us about him?’
Billy didn’t hesitate this time. ‘The only thing I can say for sure was that he wore a hat and glasses. I think the glasses were tinted, but I couldn’t be sure.’
‘Hat colour and type?’ asked Parker.
‘God knows, grey I think. It looked like a trilby,’ said Billy. ‘The kind of thing my father used to wear.’
‘How tall was he?’ Parker asked.
‘Not small, definitely not small. Quite big, I think, and strong-looking. I didn’t have much time to study him because, as I said, he was in through the door and then into the toilets. Besides, he was the other side of the dance floor and there was a lot of writhing bodies between him and me, not to mention the smoke.’
‘And it definitely wasn’t the same chap that young Lucas was talking to?’
‘No, definitely not.’ Billy was firm.
‘Billy, did this man enter the toilets before or after the young man who died?’ Saxon was almost holding his breath.
Again, Billy didn’t hesitate. ‘Oh, definitely before – I think, but I couldn’t say exactly how long, maybe ten to fifteen minutes.’ He shook his head and shrugged slightly. ‘Christ knows.’
‘Okay, Billy, did you see the man come out again?’
‘No. No, I didn’t. Unless I missed him, of course. But if he was avoiding anyone seeing him, he would probably have used the fire escape. You can get to it from the toilets, you know. They’re one-way doors, so you can only exit through them.’
Parker confirmed that. ‘The SOCO boys checked the fire escape while they were waiting for Dr Clarke to arrive, boss. They didn’t find anything out there.’
Saxon leant forward. ‘Billy, this is so important, I can’t begin to explain how important. If I tell you that this might be a very significant lead, maybe the first lead we’ve had on this weirdo…’ He looked at Billy intently. ‘…What you’ve told us is very helpful. Very helpful indeed. But anything else you can remember – even if you think it means nothing or sounds stupid, I want to hear it.’
‘Well, I’m sorry; if I could tell you any more, don’t you think I would?’ Billy was defensive. ‘I really don’t like the idea of some crank killing off my customers. Bad for business, you know. The only other thing I think – but I’m not sure, he was so far away – is that he had a crew cut or was bald. He was moving quite fast.’
Saxon’s full attention was fixed on Singleton. This was the best bit of evidence so far in a list of almost nothing. Saxon and Parker exchanged quick glances. Too soon to celebrate, but they both had a strong gut feeling t
hat they might have something to go on.
Parker was puzzled though. ‘If he was wearing a hat, how do you know he was bald or had a crew cut?’ he asked. ‘Was his hat tipped right forward?’
‘No,’ said Billy. ‘It’s just that from where I was standing at the bar, I could see right into the toilets. Just as he went through the door, he took his hat off and just for a split second I saw that he was either bald or cropped.’
‘If you saw him again, would you know him?’ Saxon said, already knowing the reply.
‘Sorry, gents, I have to say no.’ Billy was apologetic. ‘To be honest, he looked like a bit of everyone who doesn’t come into pubs like mine. He was too ordinary and boring.’
Parker resorted to an alternative approach. ‘Did he look like anyone you might’ve seen on television or in a film, maybe. In a magazine? Did he remind you of anyone famous?’
Billy looked at Parker and inclined his head. ‘Hmmm, good question.’ He thought for a moment, picking up a packet of cigarettes from the low table in front of him. He offered them round and lit one up for himself. ‘No, not really, I couldn’t say he did. He didn’t make that much of an impression on me for the way he looked. It was more the way he was behaving. But I’ll tell you what…’ he began, standing up and walking over to the window. He opened it and they were aware that it was raining softly. ‘…This is going to sound funny. His clothes were too old for his body – I notice things like that you know. One other thing did strike me though, I did think it strange that he should be wearing such heavy, tweedy sort of clothes – especially in these temperatures and in a place like this.’
Saxon and Parker took this in.
‘How about CCTV? Do you have security cameras in the bar?’ Saxon knew that he was clutching at straws, but decided to give it a shot.
‘Good heavens, no.’ Billy was amused and affronted at the same time. ‘Do you think I’m made of money? But I have been meaning to talk to the bank about a loan for some refurbishments. I suppose that might be one thing we should consider. But then you never expect something like this to happen, do you. Sorry, that isn’t much help to you is it?’
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