“With respect sir, you did not answer my question.”
Stoker lifted his hand to object, but Krishen continued.
“No we did not.”
“Is it true that he was killed because of he was gay?” Yet another tabloid reporter this time. Krishen did not answer straight away.
“We still don’t know the motive for the killing. Speculation will not get us anywhere.” Stoker replied. “The information that we have got is that he had a lot of men friends he used to meet. He socialised in the gay scene and in gay clubs of Leicester.”
“Our teachings tell us not to reject people regardless of their faith, lifestyle or anything else. My advice to people who are saying things like this is to go back and take another look at the religion. I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want to hurt him.” Krishen said with a voice full of emotion and tremor. “Everyone we have spoken to has nothing but good things to say about my brother. There is nothing to suggest why he was murdered, especially like this. My parents feel like lightning has struck. We are all devastated. We have no idea at all what could have happened. He was such a warm, caring person. He honestly wouldn’t hurt a fly. Even his tone of voice was soft. He had no aggression.”
There were tears in his eyes as he paused. There was a deathly silence in the audience. He did not wipe his tears but continued.
“That’s what makes it so shocking. How could he have enemies? His popularity was so great among the community as a whole, not just the Hindus. He fought for equal opportunities, for people with learning disabilities and for widows, who are often left behind in the Asian community. He brought them forward, saying they have the same rights to live life to the full. He fought for everyone who was weak and couldn’t have their say. He used his power to help them achieve their rights. He was there for anyone who had problems, not just Hindus. He was the community in himself.”
Jai who was quiet all this time, added: “All we can do now is have stone hearts and pray for justice. We know his time has finished here. Probably God needs him somewhere else, to look after humans in other parts of the world.”
There was quiet after that emotional outburst until another reporter piped up.
“Do you think it was racially motivated then?”
“We just don’t know anything about that yet.” Stoker replied.
“Does the police believe that the victim was a bisexual then?”
“I have not ruled anything out. It is one line of inquiry we are investigating. We know that he led a double life. He had a happy domestic home life but also had a separate social lifestyle. We need help from associates in both these facets of his life and I can assure people that we treat any information sensitively.”
“Is it true you are looking for some Asian men?”
That threw Stoker off balance a bit. He had only found out about the three Asian guys the night before from Sean.
“Three young men were seen near Harrison Road around the time of the incident. We would like to speak to them to rule them out of the investigation.”
“Are they suspects in this case?”
“No one is a suspect at this stage. We just want to talk to them at present.”
“Is it true that you found lots of drugs in the house?”
Just then there was commotion at the back of the hall. Sheena had entered the room in a flourish with a young guy in a smart suit with lawyer written all over his face. Flash bulbs went off and TV cameras were swinging rapidly to get her pictures. Almost everyone on the floor were poking their microphones at her shooting questions all at once. She marched towards the podium without flinching and saying a word. She knew she had everyone’s attention on her, not just because she was the wife of the deceased. She looked stunning in a black trouser suit, figure hugging jacket and high heels. She walked in as if she owned the place. It was not a grieving widow at first sight. She marched up on to the podium staring at Stoker. Sheila put her hand out to welcome her on to the stage. A limp and brief handshake and she was next to Stoker.
“Thank you so much for coming Mrs Sharma. You don’t have to speak to the press if you don’t want. We can field the questions and his brothers are doing extremely well.”
“I want to make a statement if you don’t mind.”
Stoker looked at Sheila Blacklok, who nodded. Stoker turned to the press and said, “Mrs Achar will be making a statement. I will not allow any questions at present.”
Sheena stood up and walked to the front of the desk and spoke without referring to any notes.
“Dev was a loving and caring husband. He made us happy. He was a truly godly person. He took away the darkness and brought in the light wherever he was. We were very happily married and deeply in love. When you love someone that love is unconditional.” She paused and looked around to see the response as it were. “I miss him. I miss him very much. We were planning to have a family soon.”
At this her voice broke and she nearly collapsed. Stoker rushed forward to stop her from falling. He guided her to the nearest chair as Sheila took over the conference and ended the reporters’ questions. The police were completely taken aback by the sudden appearance and the outburst of the grieving widow. The media exposure managed to generate some more calls to the switchboard but nothing of consequence.
Everyone, including Stoker, was taken aback by the previous day’s news conference. The commissioner had decided to scrap all the initiatives on new traffic and burglary and even the long running drugs investigation programme to concentrate on the case. At the last count, there were more than a hundred officers working on it.
Stoker had called the entire homicide squad as well as the drug and burglary squad to be present for the meeting that morning. There was hardly anywhere to sit inside the room. Sean had slid in through the side door and sitting quietly at the back trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He had not had any more luck after the first day. Stoker walked in with a sheaf of papers under his arms. He stood on the little platform at the top end and tapped on the desk in front to get everyone’s attention. The room became instantly quiet.
“Thank you guys. I am sure you must have heard quite a bit of rumours about the murder on Harrison road by now. There is a lot of media attention already and I have a suspicion it is only going to get worse. We need to get some answers quickly. Both Sean O’Connor and Mick Mills have been working hard since the discovery of the body.” Turning to Sean sitting at the back he continued. “Sean will brief us about what he found at the scene and Mick here will fill you in on more details. Sean why don’t you come up here and give a brief account of what you saw yesterday?”
Sean hated this part of the briefing. He did not fancy standing in front of these idiots knowing that they would be laughing behind his back. This had gone since the Internals investigation five years ago, which still had not concluded. His name was still under a thick cloud and his every movement was being watched. The Police Union were supporting him and the rep, Johnny Walker, kept telling him that the Internals don’t have a case against him every time there was a ‘conference.’ All his reports were scrutinised and he was not allowed to go on a watch on his own.
He stood up and walked to the front reluctantly. Mick was already there at the front waiting to say his piece. Philip Stoker nodded at him encouragingly as he faced the crowd of officers sitting in the room. Sean went over the murder scene and talked about the drug and cash find. He left out his interview with Mrs Maddison and others.
Mick Mills took over once Sean had finished. He was his usual eloquent self and embellished the scene of the murder. He had interviewed the “entire neighbourhood” over the previous three days with his officers with no substantial information. When he finished, Philip stood up and said, “I want you guys to talk to your contacts and dig up anything about this man Dev Sharma and his links to the drugs. I want you to look into your contacts in the Asian and Gay communities and get as much information as possible. It won’t be long before the big chie
fs from London start jumping up and down. It is going to get hotter as the news hits the TV tonight. I would bet my bottom dollar that this will hit the main national news tonight.”
He had winced at the news report on the local TV the night before when the reporter had dug up the numbers of unsolved murders within their precinct area over the previous twelve months. The national channels were represented during the last night’s conference and there was no reason why it would not form the main news tonight. He looked at both Sean and Mick and said,
“Both of you in my office now.”
The three of them walked back to Stoker’s office as the conference room burst into jumbled conversation.
“We have to get this case sorted ASAP. I am getting a lot of flack from upstairs on this one. Have you got anything for me before I go and see the commissioner?”
Stoker said as he sat down at his desk. Mick started off with, “My men have spent the last three days interviewing people around the neighbourhood. I am still going through their reports chief. But I got a report from the Forensics.”
“And what do the Forensic guys tell you?” A gentle hint of sarcasm did not go unnoticed by Sean.
“The cause of death is due to stab injury to the neck. They think he died between two and four o clock in the morning. They are still checking his blood to see if there was any drugs or alcohol in the system. I was on my way to the lab to get the rest of the report.”
“You do that Mick and let me know what they find.” He waited till Mick had left the office before turning to Sean and raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
“Yes chief, I have been busy too. It looks like you were right. This guy Dev is bisexual. He is married to this solicitor, Sheena Achar and he also has a boyfriend. He is a regular customer at the Quebec and probably also at the Abbey Park. There is still nothing about drug use or drug dealing. The underground has gone quiet on this one. I can’t get anyone to say anything about this guy. I know that he used poppers while at the clubs.” Sean took out his little notebook from his worn out jacket. “The milkman says that he saw three Asian men coming out of the alley behind Harrison road around the time of the murder. But he could not identify any of them if any of the guys were shown to him. Too dark, he says. I also know that he was beaten up a few years ago by someone outside the Quebec. Well, you know that already.”
“So, what do you think?”
“It could be either a homophobic hate murder or a jealous boyfriend? You know what I think about a professional hit.”
“You don’t think it is racially motivated?”
“There is nothing to suggest it is.”
“What about your contact, the druggie?”
“Strange, chief. He has gone quiet too. Says he does not know anything about this man. The clients in both the Quebec and the Abbey Park shut up as soon as they see me coming.” Sean paused for a moment.
“What is it Sean? You are holding on to something.”
“I am not sure if it is important. But this reporter guy came looking for me at the pub last night. He says he knows something that we don’t.”
“What do you mean? Did he say what it was? Can you trust him?”
“That is it. I can’t trust the bugger. So I did not encourage him.”
“Hmmmmm. It may be something you may want to pursue. We seem to be going up a blind alley with every lead.” Stoker said and pulled out a folder from the pile of pares on his desk. “This came from the hospital this morning.”
It was a thick folder with photocopied pages neatly stapled together.
“I can’t believe it!” Sean exclaimed. “It has been only a couple of days since I put in a request.”
“Looks like the commissioner has been speaking to his mate, the chief exec at the hospital.” Stoker smiled.
“Let me go through this. Might get some leads to his enemies if he had any.” Sean said picking up the folder and leafing through it. “Do you think those three Asian guys have anything to do with the murder?”
“At the moment we can’t rule anything out. See if you can find anything in those records.”
A Little Red Notebook
Sean’s mobile phone rang for the third time in ten minutes. He could not recognise the number that was calling and no one spoke when he picked the phone up. The first time he thought it must have been a wrong number. The second time he knew there was definitely someone on the other end of the line. The third time, someone cleared her throat.
“Hello, this is Sean O’Connor. Who is this? Don’t be afraid. You can speak to me in confidence whoever you are.”
There was silence and the line went dead. Must be a crack caller, Sean thought. He thought nothing of it as the phone went quiet for rest of the morning. Just as he was about to get into the car an hour later, the phone rang again. This time the caller spoke before he has a chance to say hello.
“Is this Officer O’Connor? Are you alone now?”
A husky female voice, very subdued and barely audible.
“Yes, I am. I am in my car and there is no one about. Who is this?
“I want to show you something which might help you in solving the murder of Dev Sharma.” The voice of a female, but could not recognise as it was muffled.
“I am listening.” Sean’s heart skipped a beat as he replied.
“As I said, I have something to show you.”
“What is it?” Sean was trying to rack his brain. He thought he had heard the voice before somewhere, but could not place it. “We could meet up somewhere.”
“No. I don’t really want to meet you. It is not safe.”
Sean paused for a minute not sure how to respond.
“We can meet wherever you want. Somewhere discrete and I promise to keep it confidential.”
There was a long pause at the other end. He thought the line was disconnected and said “Hello. Are you still there?”
“Yes, I am. I will have to think and call you back.” And the line went dead. Sean scratched his head and did not know what to make of it. He was busy through the rest of the afternoon sifting through the papers that were piling up on his desk over the previous few days. There was a lot of rubbish information with several crank callers blaming anyone and everyone for the murder. There were calls from right wing activists claiming it to be the hand of foreign terrorists to Gay activists claiming it to be an anti-gay murder. There was the usual number of calls from people claiming it to be race motivated murder and there was one claiming it to be an “act of God reprimanding the soiled priest.”
Sean had been trying to get some more information out of his contact, Johnny. He had become elusive and had not returned any of his calls. He had finally got a message through and arranged to meet him at the usual place near the Canal. He had not met Jonny for a few years now. There was no need to, since he had left the Drug squad under a cloud all those years ago. It was getting quite dark by the time he reached the canal bank. He sat in the car thinking about the telephone conversation waiting for the battered red car, he was so familiar with, to come around. He was nodding off when there was a knock on the car window. Sean wound the window down and said looking at his watch,
“Where the hell have you been? I have been waiting for ages.”
“I have to be careful.”
“Anyway, get in the bloody car then.”
Johnny opened the door and slid in to the front seat.
“This is a blast from the past. I thought were not working with the drug squad anymore?”
“I don’t. I am with the Homicide team now.”
“I don’t have anything to tell you. Everyone seems to be stressed out. Cops nosing around too much.”
“I am in the middle of a murder case now. It looks like there is a strong link to drugs.”
“What murder are you talking about?”
“Have you not seen the news or read the newspapers?”
“The priest who was killed on Harrison road?”
“Yes, it is the priest
killed on Harrison Road. Have you heard anything?”
“Was he involved in drugs?”
“We don’t know yet. He might have been.”
“I have not heard anything about a hit.” Johnny said looking out of the car window.
“You would tell me if there was a contract out, wouldn’t you?”
Johnny turned back in his seat.
“You know I would boss.”
“I know you too well, Johnny. I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. Getting anything out of you is like getting blood out of a stone.”
“No boss. I promise you. I have not heard anything. I will make some calls and see what is happening.” Jonny said trying to sound convincing. “Can I go now?”
“Yeah, get lost. But remember if I find out if you have been holding out on me what will happen.”
“I would not do that boss.” Jonny said as he slid out of the car. Sean gunned the car as soon as the door was shut. He was driving into the pub car park when the phone rang. He looked at the number to see if he wanted to pick it up. It was the same caller from this morning. He stayed inside the car and answered the call.
“Hi, Sean O’Connor here.”
“Mr O’Connor, will you meet me near Indigo Restaurant on Melton Road in an hour?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yeah, I have been there before.”
“Good. I will be waiting for you in the car park outside the restaurant. One hour. Don’t be late.” And the line went dead. He looked at the phone slightly annoyed. ‘How the hell does she think I can recognise her?’ He called the number back to ask. There was no answer and the call was “declined.” That irritated him even more. He looked at his watch to see if he has time for a quick drink before driving. ‘At this time of the night it shouldn’t take more than half an hour to get there. Time for a drink.’
The pub was already full and Daisy was busy with customers. She came over to him as soon as he managed to get to the front of the bar.
The Retribution Page 19