‘Do you have many visitors here, Jackie?’ Lucy asked, hoping to catch her off guard.
‘No, not really. I go out to meet people. I’m a member of the local church, so I do a lot down there,’ Jackie explained. ‘I don’t really have visitors at home.’
Lucy looked at her – she was lying for some reason, which would suggest that she didn’t want them to know that someone had visited her recently.
‘Jackie, you must have been furious at the person who had killed Frank?’ Ruth suggested.
‘Yeah, of course I was.’
‘What did you think when someone told you it was Alfie Wise that had killed him?’
Jackie shrugged. ‘I was upset.’
‘Did you want to take the law into your own hands?’ Ruth asked.
‘No. Of course not.’
‘You didn’t want to get some kind of revenge for Frank then?’
Jackie gave Ruth a daggered look. ‘I’m not like that.’
Lucy sat forward. ‘That’s not strictly true, Jackie. We had a look at your criminal record.’
Jackie gritted her teeth. She was furious. ‘You think that because I served time in prison, that means that I could have shot Alfie Wise?’
Lucy raised her eyebrow as she glanced fleetingly at Ruth – Shot?
‘I’m pretty sure we didn’t mention that Alfie Wise had been shot,’ Ruth said with certainty.
The colour drained from Jackie’s face. ‘It was a guess. You said he had been found dead. I assumed someone must have shot him.’
CHAPTER 25
As Lucy opened the patio doors to the garden, she breathed in a lovely smoky waft from someone barbequing nearby. Having kicked off her work shoes she was now barefoot and, as she stepped onto the patio, she could feel that the paving stones were still warm from the sun. She closed her eyes and took a long breath. It had been a hell of a day. Even though she had worked in CID for a few years now, she would never get used to seeing a dead body. It was far less of a shock these days, but it still stayed with her. Only a couple of days earlier she and Ruth had spoken to Trevor Walsh. To see him sprawled out on his floor with his eyes open, having been violently murdered, was disturbing, even for her.
Lucy remembered seeing her first dead body when she had only been a probationer in Streatham for a matter of weeks. Lucy and another young constable had been called to a report of screaming. As they arrived at the house a frantic Asian woman, who was clearly in shock, tried to speak to them. She was shaking and crying, describing to them how she had come home to find her husband hanging from the bannisters. The woman was being comforted by neighbours out on the street.
At first, all Lucy could see through the open front door were the man’s legs moving in a circular motion. Knowing that she had to go in, she had braced herself. The dead man had soiled himself, so the hallway reeked. For a moment, she thought she was going to vomit, but she didn’t want to lose face in front of the other PC. She knew that if she was sick, word would soon get round the station and there would be jokes at her expense. The sight of the man hanging in his hallway haunted her for weeks and appeared in her nightmares. More experienced officers assured her it was normal and she would get used to it.
The noise of children playing in a nearby garden broke her train of thought. Gazing up at the cloudless sky, the laughter and shouting of the kids reminded her of what she really wanted in life. She yearned to spend evenings like this sitting in her garden with a barbeque smoking, and watching her own children play with the same carefree abandon.
Checking her watch, she expected that Brooks would arrive any minute. They had agreed to have dinner and talk. The most pressing problem was his ex-wife Karen. He had promised to have a conversation with her, or at least deal with her behaviour, but she got the feeling that his guilty conscience was getting the better of him. Lucy wasn’t prepared to put up with it, and it was Brooks’ problem so he needed to sort it out. The other issue was more ambiguous. Brooks was in his 40s and there had never been any meaningful discussion of whether they wanted to have children as a couple. If Brooks was adamant that he didn’t, then that would give Lucy a significant problem. She blamed herself for allowing their relationship to progress too quickly. Having tried the whole ‘keeping it casual’, she soon realised that she had fallen in love with him. He had moved in, but since then they just hadn’t talked about it.
She walked to the kitchen, took a cold beer from the fridge and opened it. As she took a sip, the doorbell rang.
He’s actually on time for once, she thought with a smile.
She strode to the door and opened it.
Standing on the doorstep was a middle-aged woman. She had been crying, and she was visibly shaken. Lucy then noticed that she had a bloody nose and cut lip.
Oh my god, poor woman, Lucy thought.
Opening the door fully, she looked at the woman. ‘Are you all right? What happened?’
As the woman swept her hair back from her face, Lucy recognised her from a photograph she had seen.
It was Karen, Brooks’ ex-wife.
Karen sniffed as she shook her head. ‘He did this to me. Are you happy now, you bitch?’
‘What?’ Lucy asked in shock. ‘Harry did this?’
Karen glared at her. ‘Of course he did. He came around and told me to keep away from this house. We got into an argument and he did this to me.’
Lucy couldn’t believe what Karen was saying to her. She had never known Brooks to be aggressive or violent. Even as a copper, he had a reputation for being calm and considerate.
‘Harry hit you in the face?’ Lucy asked in a tone of disbelief.
‘Oh my God. Who else do you think did all this?’ Karen yelled. She was starting to unravel.
At that precise second, a car drew up outside. It was Brooks.
Turning around, Karen looked at Lucy in horror. ‘Don’t let him attack me again, please. Don’t let him come near me.’
Lucy put her hand up to calm Karen down. ‘Stay there. Let me go and talk to him.’
Marching down the path, Lucy’s head felt in a spin. Had Brooks really gone around to Karen’s home and attacked her? She just didn’t believe that he could do something like that. But Karen had clearly been attacked and injured. How did that happen if it wasn’t Brooks?
‘What the hell is going on?’ Brooks asked, gesturing to Karen and looking anxious. ‘Are you okay?’
Lucy nodded. ‘I’m okay. But Karen has turned up on my doorstep. Her nose and lip are bleeding. She said you attacked her.’
‘Oh my God! Are you joking?’ Brooks’ eyes widened in disbelief. ‘I haven’t seen her. I’ve been nowhere near her!’
Moving to one side, he looked up the path to where Karen was cowering.
‘Don’t come anywhere near me, Harry. I’m going to report you for what you’ve done to me and get you sacked,’ Karen shrieked. ‘You’re a monster!’
Harry shook his head in bewilderment. ‘Karen? What are you talking about? I haven’t seen you!’
As Harry went to go up the path, Lucy put a hand on his chest. ‘You need to stay here, Harry.’
He looked at Lucy in utter shock. ‘You can’t believe that I did this to her?’
‘It doesn’t matter. You need to stay here.’
Lucy watched as Karen darted across the small paved front garden and climbed over the low wall onto the pavement. She was sobbing and looking over at Harry.
‘Karen? What are you doing?’ Brooks said quietly.
‘Stay away from me!’ she screeched as she reached her car.
‘This can’t be happening,’ Brooks said, staring into space.
The car pulled away and sped out of sight down the road.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Lucy asked. The last five minutes felt completely surreal.
‘I really don’t know. Please, you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t attack her.’
‘Then why has she got blood on her face?’
Harry shrugged. �
�I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Unless she ...’
‘You can’t think that she did that to herself, Harry?’
‘What else?’ Brooks said and then moved as if to hug Lucy. She moved away.
‘You need to go back home, Harry. Seriously,’ Lucy said, feeling teary.
‘Can’t I come in so we can talk?’
‘No,’ Lucy shook her head. ‘It’s all too much at the moment.’
Turning on her heels, Lucy went up the path, inside the house and closed the door behind her.
AS RUTH FINISHED THE washing up, her mind turned to the developments in the Alfie Wise case and Trevor Walsh’s murder. She was certain they were linked, but how? Who had a motive to kill Walsh? Why was his flat turned upside down? Did Walsh know something about Alfie Wise’s death that had cost him his life?
Reaching for the tea-towel, she realised that the case was escalating and becoming more complex as the days went by. It was usually the other way around. The further along in an investigation, the simpler it became. Suspects and witnesses would be interviewed and eliminated. Evidence would be examined to rule out more suspects. Eventually they would have a prime suspect. A case would then be built focussing on that suspect so they could be charged and successfully prosecuted.
Alfie Wise had been killed over forty years ago, which created a unique set of complications.
Ruth checked her phone as she reached for a ciggie. Since Shiori had spent the night, they had exchanged a few text messages. Ruth had invited her and Koyuki over at the weekend for a ‘sleepover’.
As Ruth went to grab a lighter, there was a knock at the door. For a second, she hoped it was Shiori with a bottle of wine again. It wasn’t likely, as they had texted each other half an hour ago.
After wandering down the hall, Ruth checked that the security chain was on and opened the door.
It was Dan.
Ruth glared at him. ‘Just fuck off, Dan!’
As she went to slam the door in his face, he put his hand up. ‘Wait! Please. This is important.’
Ruth let out a loud sigh. ‘What do you want?’
‘Can I come in?’
‘No.’
‘It’s about me going to Australia,’ Dan said with an awkward expression.
Ruth shook her head. ‘Brilliant. I’ve had a long, difficult day, so what I really need is to have a conversation with you about when you, and the woman you’re having an affair with, are going to move to the other side of the world while I bring up our daughter on my own.’
Dan said nothing for a few seconds. ‘Angela has flown to Australia without me.’
Ruth assumed that Angela had seen sense, realised that Dan was a feckless prick and dumped him.
Ruth frowned. ‘Why?’
‘Her dad had a stroke last night. They’re not sure if he’s going to make it, so she’s flown home.’
Even though she hated Dan, Ruth felt a little guilty at having been so aggressive towards him. She took the security chain off, opened the door and beckoned him inside. ‘You’d better come in.’
‘Thanks. Sorry ...’
Ruth followed him down the hallway and into the living room.
‘Ella asleep?’ Dan asked.
Ruth rolled her eyes. ‘It’s nearly nine o’clock, Dan. Of course she’s bloody asleep.’
‘Right. Sorry,’ Dan said as he fidgeted.
Ruth wondered what she had ever seen in him.
‘I’m sorry Angela’s dad’s not well but you could have told me that on the phone,’ Ruth grumbled.
‘You haven’t answered any of my last three texts or phone calls,’ he said.
He has a point, Ruth thought.
‘So, what do you want?’ she asked.
‘I want to fly out to be with Angela. Especially if anything does happen to her dad. And if I do that, then I’ll be staying for good,’ Dan explained.
Here we go.
‘When are you going?’ Ruth snapped.
‘I don’t know. End of the week,’ he said. ‘I want to see Ella before I go.’
‘Why?’
Dan looked despondent. ‘She’s my daughter.’
‘You’ve seen her half a dozen times since you moved out in May!’
‘I’ve seen her seven times.’
‘In four months! That’s not okay, Dan.’
‘Can I see her to say goodbye or not?’
‘No.’
‘What?’
‘No. You can’t see her. She’s two years old. She doesn’t understand why you’re not here anymore. And she won’t understand why you’re moving to Australia. But she will be upset ... So, no.’ Ruth glared at him and pointed to the door. ‘I want you to go. Now.’
Dan shook his head, turned and slammed the front door as he left.
CHAPTER 26
Lucy was lost in thought at her desk when Ruth approached. She was trying to clear paperwork, but the events of the previous evening had thrown her.
Ruth handed her a coffee. ‘Here you go.’
Lucy forced a smile as she took it. ‘Thanks.’
Ruth flinched. ‘Christ, I thought I had a shit evening last night. Are you okay?’
Lucy shook her head. ‘Don’t even ask. If I told you what happened last night, you would not believe me.’
Ruth shrugged. ‘Try me.’
The doors to the CID office opened, and Brooks came marching in holding a pile of folders. For a second, he looked over at Lucy and gave her a half smile. She didn’t know how to feel or what to think.
‘Morning everyone. If we can get going that would be great,’ Brooks said as he went over to the scene boards and prepared to take the morning briefing. ‘As you all know, the direction of this investigation has changed quite radically with Trevor Walsh’s murder. This is now a double murder case, which I don’t think we’ve had in this CID for quite a few years.’ He went to the board and pointed to a recent photo of Walsh. ‘Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I believe that Trevor Walsh’s murder is directly linked to our investigation into Alfie Wise’s death. I’ve been a detective long enough to know that coincidences are so rare that they aren’t worth considering.’
Gaughran looked up from his desk. ‘Guv, do we think that whoever killed Trevor Walsh also murdered Alfie Wise?’
‘I think it’s likely, but I’m yet to even see the link,’ Brooks answered. ‘Who has motive to kill Trevor Walsh?’
Ruth sat forward in her chair. ‘We know Walsh was on some kind of paid retainer from Charlie Wise. We also know that he was seen in Charlie Wise’s car, with Charlie and Alfie, on or around the day that Alfie was reported missing.’
Hassan nodded in agreement. ‘We also have Eddie Bannerman’s allegation that Walsh was a police informant.’
Trying to avoid eye contact with Brooks, Lucy said, ‘We also know that Walsh claimed to have received a letter from Alfie, just before he went missing, telling him that he was going away and that he wouldn’t see him ever again.’
Brooks raised an eyebrow. ‘Who knew about that letter?’
‘We asked Charlie Wise about it yesterday. He said that he knew nothing about it or why Alfie would have written that in a letter.’
Brooks took a deep breath as he studied the board for a few seconds. ‘Let’s imagine that Charlie Wise murdered his brother. Why?’
‘Alfie had threatened to go to the police about Charlie’s criminal activities,’ Hassan suggested.
Brooks nodded. ‘That gives us motive. So, he lures Alfie into the car with his best mate, Trevor Walsh. They go for a drive, Charlie murders Alfie and he and Trevor bury the body at Dixon’s Timber Yard. To keep Walsh quiet, Charlie pays him ‘hush money’ for forty years in exchange for his silence. Alfie’s body is found and we turn up to question Charlie. Walsh tries to throw us off the scent by claiming that Alfie was killed by South London gangsters who were trying to get to Charlie. Ruth and Lucy then go and talk to Charlie and tell him we’ve spoken to Walsh again, and he’s told us about some lett
er. Charlie fears Walsh might crack or tell us about what really happened to Alfie that night. He arranges for someone to murder Walsh to keep him quiet.’ Brooks paused briefly and then looked at them all. ‘It’s a decent hypothesis, but it’s not a provable one. And if we’re going after a knight of the realm, then we need a watertight case or we’ll end up directing traffic down by Peckham station.’
‘Doesn’t really explain the letter, guv,’ Ruth added.
‘I know. It’s the best I could do off the top of my head.’ Brooks looked over at Lucy and she felt her pulse quicken. ‘You and Ruth went to speak to Jackie Weller yesterday, didn’t you?’
Lucy felt very uncomfortable as she took out her notebook. ‘Yes, guv. She said something very strange. She said, ‘You think that because I served time in prison, that means that I could have shot Alfie Wise?’ We had made no mention of Alfie being shot, and it hasn’t been reported in the media.’
Brooks tilted his head slightly. ‘Did you confront her about it?’
‘Yes, guv. She claimed it was a lucky guess, but she looked rattled.’
‘What did you think, Ruth?’ he asked.
Ruth cleared her throat before replying. ‘Clearly Jackie Weller had plenty of motive to kill Alfie. She might even have motive to kill Trevor Walsh, as he was the one who instigated the fight that resulted in her brother’s death. But she was sixteen in 1956. I know she served prison time, but do we think a sixteen-year-old girl had the wherewithal to track down Alfie, find him, shoot him in the back of the head and bury him?’
‘Not without help,’ Gaughran said.
Brooks went back to the board. ‘Okay. What about Bannerman and Droy? Are we ruling them out?’
Gaughran shook his head. ‘They lied about their alibis. And we know they were looking for Alfie and probably intended to kill him out of revenge. Again, they also might have motive to kill Walsh, although the question would be why wait until now? We don’t have any evidence linking them to either murder. They both insist they were warned off and that Alfie’s death was linked to Charlie’s criminal activity.’
The Razor Gang Murder Page 14