Brooks shrugged. ‘What your dad told us was very useful. But we have the same account of corrupt officers from both Bannerman and Craig Sullivan. There’s nothing to connect those two. It’s something we’ve got to look into Tim.’
Gaughran didn’t look happy. Ruth knew that because he came from a long line of coppers, he found it difficult to believe that there had ever been any corruption, bribery or criminal behaviour by officers of the Met. It was admirably supportive, but very naïve.
Lucy put down the phone and caught Brooks’ eye. ‘That was our financial unit, guv. We pulled all our prime suspects’ bank accounts. Trevor Walsh’s account shows a regular payment of £500 a month from a company called Stanmore Holdings PLC. They thought it looked strange and did some digging. Turns out that Stanmore Holdings PLC is owned by Sir Charles Wise.’
Brooks had a bewildered look on his face. ‘Sir Charles Wise is paying Trevor Walsh £500 pounds a month? What for?’
Lucy shrugged. ‘No idea. But according to the financial search, Stanmore Holdings has been paying him for years.’
PULLING INTO THE DRIVE of Charlie Wise’s home, Ruth and Lucy parked up and sat for a moment. Both cars were on the drive, which might indicate that Charlie was home.
Ruth was feeling apprehensive. They had discovered so much about his past since the last time they had met. It was going to make for a very uncomfortable conversation and she didn’t know how he was going to react.
Lucy glanced over. ‘Ready?’
Ruth rolled her eyes as she opened the car door and heard a dog barking inside the house. ‘Not really. I hope he doesn’t set the dog on us.’
They walked up the gravel drive, their shoes crunching noisily on the stones. Lucy pressed the buzzer.
‘Hello?’ said a female voice.
‘It’s DC Henry and DC Hunter to see Sir Charles Wise,’ Lucy said, leaning forward to speak into the entry phone.
‘Hang on a sec,’ said the voice as the dog barked again at the front door.
Then everything went quiet.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. ‘What do we do if she says he’s not in?’
Ruth gestured to the main road. ‘Park up somewhere and wait and watch.’
They need not have worried. There was the sound of keys turning in locks and then the heavy front door swung open. Charlie looked out at them and gave a half smile. ‘Good afternoon, ladies. Come in, come in.’
Following him through the house, they came into the huge designer kitchen and living area where they had been a few days earlier.
Charlie motioned for them to sit down. ‘Do you want something to drink? I’m going to get some sparkling mineral water?’
Ruth and Lucy nodded. The glass ceiling above them meant that the room was hot.
‘Thanks,’ Ruth said as she moved her chair closer to the table.
A few seconds later, Charlie returned with a bottle of Perrier and three glasses and sat down. ‘Here we go.’
‘Thank you,’ Lucy said.
Ruth took a DNA sample kit from her pocket. ‘Okay if we take a DNA swab from you today, Charlie? So we can formally identify Alfie?’
‘Yeah, of course.’ Pouring out the water, Charlie looked at them. ‘Is that it, or was there something you need to talk to me about?’
‘There’s a few things we need to clarify with you, Charlie,’ Ruth said. ‘We came to your office yesterday but I think you were in Belfast?’
Charlie furrowed his brow. ‘Belfast? No, I wasn’t. I wouldn’t be going to Belfast with all this hanging over me.’
‘Your PA came out to talk to us,’ Lucy said. ‘She said you were in Belfast.’
‘Oh right. She’s a temp. Only just started. I’m sorry if you wasted your time.’ He took a swig of his water. ‘Are you any closer to finding out what happened to Alfie?’
Ruth exchanged a look with Lucy. ‘There have been some developments in the investigation which is why we wanted to talk to you.’
Charlie pulled a face. ‘Okay. For some reason, I sense this isn’t going to be a straightforward conversation?’
‘No,’ Ruth said quietly.
Taking out her notepad, Lucy looked over at him. ‘I think the first thing we’d like to establish is where you were working and what you were doing around the time of Alfie’s disappearance?’
Charlie sipped his water and sat back in his chair. His reading glasses hung on the pocket of his navy Armani shirt. ‘I think it’s well documented that I was working at a club in Balham called the 211 Club. But I’m guessing you knew that already?’
Lucy nodded. ‘Yeah, we did.’
Charlie gave a wry smile. ‘Yeah, I’m not particularly fond of looking back to that time. But I was young and headstrong. And I guess we all make mistakes when we’re young, eh?’
Ruth looked at Charlie. For the first time since they had met he looked a little rattled. ‘The picture we’re getting Charlie is that Alfie’s disappearance was linked to your life and what was going on at the club.’
Charlie took a few seconds to think. ‘Yeah, well that’s always been in the back of my mind. But I have no way of knowing, do I?’
Lucy gave him a quizzical look. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Until three days ago, all I knew was that my brother Alfie had gone missing forty years ago. No one ever came to me and said that his disappearance was some kind of warning or revenge. I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t knocking about with some pretty unsavoury characters in those days. But I was a young man, and it was a long, long time ago.’
Ruth sipped her water and then said, ‘What can you tell us about Declan Fisher?’
Charlie nodded sadly. ‘Yeah, that was terrible. Declan was a lovely bloke. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.’
‘Do you know who attacked him?’ Lucy asked.
‘No ... I’ve no idea. Happened outside the club. As I said, there were plenty of shady blokes around at the time. Could have been any one of them.’
‘And you didn’t hear any rumours about what had happened?’ Ruth asked.
Charlie shrugged. ‘A few. But nothing that I can really remember.’
‘What was the nature of your relationship with Declan Fisher?’ Ruth continued.
‘Declan used to come into the club. We drank together. Me and him had been looking at doing some business together. We were just a couple of Jack the lads.’
Ruth pressed him further. ‘What kind of business?’
‘Buying, renovating properties in the area. Converting houses into flats, that kind of thing.’ Charlie sat forward. ‘Declan had nothing to do with what happened to Alfie, I can tell you that for nothing. He thought the world of Alfie.
Ruth turned the page of her notebook. ‘When we spoke the other day, you didn’t tell us that Trevor Walsh has been a paid employee of yours for many years.’
‘Why would I?’ Charlie asked. ‘Does it matter?’
‘What does he do?’ Lucy asked.
Charlie rubbed his chin and gave an ironic laugh. ‘Not a lot these days. Look, I liked Walshy. Still do. He never got over what happened to Alfie, and blamed himself for starting a fight that night. He kept in touch to see if I’d heard anything and to see if I was all right. I used him to do a bit of driving for me. Pick people up from the airport, take packages. Over the years, he ran errands for me and I bunged him a few quid every month.’
‘Five hundred pounds,’ Ruth said.
‘It’s nothing sinister. I liked having him around because he had been Alfie’s best mate. And then he just became part of the furniture wherever I worked. He’s a decent bloke these days and I trust him. And I don’t trust many people.’
‘He mentioned a letter that he had got from Alfie between the evening he killed Frank Weller and when Alfie went missing?’ Lucy said.
Charlie frowned and leant forward. It looked like it was news to him. ‘No. He never mentioned it to me.’
‘Alfie wrote to him to say he was going away somewhere and wo
uldn’t be in touch again,’ Lucy explained.
A reflective frown crossed his face. ‘I didn’t think Alfie and Walshy had any contact after the night of the murder.’
Lucy turned over a page of her notebook. ‘What can you tell us about officers from the South London Murder Squad at that time?
Charlie sighed and his eyes widened. ‘Bloody hell. You really have been doing your homework, haven’t you? What do you want to know?’
‘We have several accounts that claim police officers were demanding bribes from the club or were being paid off?’ Ruth said.
Charlie shook his head. ‘Not really. There were a couple of young detectives from the Murder Squad. Fancied themselves. They used to come into the club, drink too much and go upstairs to the casino. One night they said they were looking for a handout. I told them to piss off. The lanky one managed to fall down the stairs and break his leg, he was so hammered. We had to call a bloody ambulance.’
‘And after that?’ Lucy asked.
‘Never saw them again ... You think they had something to do with what happened to Alfie?’
Lucy shrugged. ‘It’s something that keeps cropping up in our investigation. You’re sure that was the only time you had that kind of conversation with police officers?’
Charlie nodded. ‘Yeah. I just thought they were drunk and trying their luck.’ Then he thought of something. ‘Tell a lie. I did see the lanky one again. He came in. His leg was still in plaster and he had crutches. He tried to say that I’d pushed him down the stairs that night and his leg was permanently damaged. He wanted me to pay him compensation.’
Ruth exchanged a quick look with Lucy. Was she thinking the same thing?
‘What did you say to him?’
‘Same thing I told him the first time. I told him to piss off!’ Charlie said in an indignant tone.
‘I don’t suppose you remember his name, do you?’ Ruth asked.
Charlie squinted as he tried to recall the officer’s name. ‘Irish. I’m pretty sure it was an Irish name. I remember thinking how many Paddies there were everywhere.’
Ruth looked at him. ‘Gaughran?’
Charlie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Could have been.’
CHAPTER 21
By the time Lucy had showered, grabbed some food and slumped down in front of the telly, it was growing dark. She was watching a BBC drama called Ballykissangel about an English priest who had been sent to a small parish in Ireland. It made her think about Charlie’s comment about a young DC with a damaged leg and an Irish name. Arthur Gaughran had told them he was still in uniform in 1956, but that could easily be checked with records. Arthur was adamant that there was no police corruption in South London. Maybe he had good reason to say that?
Glancing at her watch, Lucy saw that it was after eight and that Brooks should be home any second now. They had hardly talked since the incident the other night when she had chased someone that had been in her garden. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but he was becoming a little distant.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Lucy spotted something move in the garden.
What the bloody hell was that?
She wasn’t sure if it had been a figure, but it had startled her. Her heart was thumping.
Running to the windows, she cupped her hands and peered into the garden. No fucker is going to make me scared in my own home! She couldn’t see anything. It might have been a cat.
Pulling across the curtains angrily, Lucy took a deep breath. She marched around the ground floor, pulling all the curtains and blinds, and checking and locking the doors.
This can’t go on, she thought to herself.
A minute later, she heard the sound of a key in the front door. It must be Brooks. The metallic sound continued.
Then a male voice shouted, ‘Luce! I can’t get in!’
She remembered she had dropped the latch, so she went to the door to let him in.
He looked concerned. ‘Everything all right?’
Feeling on the verge of tears, Lucy shook her head. ‘No. I thought I saw someone in the garden.’
Brooks shook his head. ‘Bloody hell! Are you sure?’
‘No, I’m not sure, Harry. But I’ve had enough. I can’t live like this - worrying that someone’s watching me or in my garden,’ Lucy said, fighting the tremor in her voice. She wiped a tear from her eye. She was so frustrated and upset.
Brooks took her in his arms, but she could feel herself tense up. ‘It’s all right. I’ll sort it out.’
Lucy moved away from him. ‘You keep saying that, Harry. But what does that mean?’
‘I spoke to a solicitor but we don’t have enough evidence to apply for a restraining order.’
‘Have you told her to stay the fuck away from here?’ Lucy asked.
‘Of course.’
Lucy shook her head in frustration. ‘What’s next? Am I going to come home and get attacked on my own doorstep?’
‘What do you want me to do? Throw her under a bus?’
‘That wouldn’t be a bad idea,’ Lucy replied with sarcasm.
Brooks looked at her. ‘Come on.’
‘No, not “Come on”. I will not feel scared in my own home. And if that means you can’t be in it, then that’s what needs to happen.’
RUTH’S PHONE BUZZED. It was a text from Dan. It was the third one in as many hours. Having missed picking up Ella the previous day, he wanted to rearrange a time to see her. As far as she was concerned, he could go and fuck himself. In fact, she didn’t want Ella to see Dan at all because when he sodded off to Australia in a few weeks it would hurt her even more.
Sitting back on the sofa, Ruth drained a large glass of wine and let out a sigh. She poured herself another glass and looked around the room. Is this it now? she wondered. As she looked for her cigarettes on the table, the doorbell rang. She wasn’t expecting anyone.
She went to the door, put on the chain, and opened it. Shiori gave her an embarrassed smile and waved a bottle of wine at her.
‘I’ve come to apologise,’ she said with an awkward shrug.
Ruth didn’t know if it was because of the wine she’d drunk, but she was glad to see Shiori. With all the resentment of recent weeks, she had forgotten quite how beautiful and sexy she was.
‘Are you trying to bribe me?’ she asked, opening the door.
‘I miss staying up, getting drunk and smoking in the evenings, and putting the world to rights,’ Shiori said. Her eyes looked a little glazed.
Ruth raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you drunk?’
‘No. Well, a little bit.’
Ruth could smell smoke on her clothes. ‘And you’ve been smoking?’
Shiori laughed and put her hands up. ‘Busted. Life’s too short not to smoke.’
Ruth gave her a playful hit on the arm. ‘You tosser. After all the crap you gave me when you quit.’
‘Hey, I’m a sanctimonious control freak, but I’m trying to change.’
They looked at each other in the half light of the hallway.
‘This is weird,’ Ruth said in a virtual whisper after a few seconds.
Shiori pointed to the bottle of wine she was carrying. ‘Shall we go and open this?’
Ruth shook her head. ‘No’. She then moved forward and took Shiori’s face in her hands and kissed her. Softly at first, and then more passionately. Shiori tasted of booze and cigarettes. As Ruth nuzzled and bit her neck, she could smell her sweet, musky perfume.
Taking her by the hand, Ruth led her down the hallway towards the bedroom. Putting down the bottle of wine, Shiori pulled off Ruth’s t-shirt, and they tumbled onto the bed.
For the next thirty minutes, they kissed, caressed and made love.
Afterwards, Shiori placed her head on Ruth’s shoulder and looked at her as she ran her fingers through her hair. ‘I wasn’t expecting to do that today.’
Ruth smiled with a post-coital glow. ‘Neither was I.’
‘What do we do now?’ Shiori said quietly as s
he interlocked her fingers with Ruth’s.
‘No offence, but you can be bloody hard work,’ Ruth said.
Shiori gave a self-effacing smile. ‘Yeah. Unfortunately, I’m well aware of that.’
‘I’m a single mum with a very challenging job. I don’t have the time, energy or patience to be with someone who is bloody hard work.’
Shiori raised her eyebrows. ‘I know. I’m sorry. Can we try us again if I promise not to be such a bitch?’
Ruth puffed out her cheeks. ‘I guess. I don’t know.’ She indicated that she was heading for the kitchen. ‘Do you want a drink?’
Shiori nodded. ‘Please.’
Grabbing her thin Japanese-style kimono, Ruth went into the hallway and turned to head down to the kitchen.
There was a bang on the door.
Who the hell is that?
She put on the safety chain before opening the door six inches. Dan was standing on the doorstep.
‘You’re not answering my texts,’ Dan said reproachfully.
‘Are you fucking kidding me!’ Ruth snapped as she took the chain off and opened the door aggressively.
‘How am I meant to see Ella if you don’t get back to me?’
Ruth exploded. ‘How about you turn up to pick her up when you say you’re going to, you dickhead!’
Shiori appeared in a long shirt from the bedroom and looked down at them. ‘Everything all right, Ruth?’
With a confused look, Dan looked at Shiori and then back at Ruth. ‘Bloody hell. Now I’ve seen it all.’
Ruth took a deep breath in an attempt not to punch Dan in the face. ‘Don’t you dare judge me! You had at least one affair. You’re a pathetic excuse for a father and come to think of it, for a human being. You’re a spineless, selfish wanker, Dan. And I’m going to do everything in my power to stop you seeing Ella before you run away to Australia. So, you’d better get yourself a solicitor!’
Ruth slammed the door in his face, closed her eyes and felt tears well up. Shiori came over and took her in her arms.
CHAPTER 22
The Razor Gang Murder Page 12