by S FEATES
Grace and Howard were sitting drinking tea when I walked in.
''What did you make of our Jenny?'' Grace asked smiling. ''She can be very candid can't she.''
''Yes, she is certainly direct and to the point. I like her, I like her very much and I am sure we will get on very well. She has a great talent and it can only be to our benefit that we get on.''
Grace and Howard burst out laughing and Howard said, ''I hope you didn't ask her for a date Steve?''
''As it happens we are having dinner one night but it is purely business.'' I replied trying to regain my dignity.
''I'll get another cup and you can have tea before we close up. You look like you could use a cuppa with extra sugar.'' Grace rose and headed for the kitchen still chuckling to herself.
18
I was in early the next day and found Howard sitting in his office reading a local newspaper, the bold headline read RICHMOND RAPIST STRIKES AGAIN. Howard was shaking his head as he read the details.
''This maniac has attacked three women, the latest one is in hospital fighting for her life.'' He looked up as I walked in.
''Have the police got any ideas who it is?'' I asked looking over his shoulder at the front page.
''There is an e-fit of the attacker and the case has been highlighted on TV. I have been investigating it and I think I have found the man responsible, I am waiting to hear from Derek Williams with more information. If it is who I think it is he is as good as dead.'' There was a grim determination in his voice. ''He probably drives a black cab and witnesses say they've seen one in the area consistent with the timings of the attacks, it has an unusual bumper sticker on the back. It's an odd shape and yellow with a logo of some sort on it. The police won't release details but I think I know what it is. The logo is from a fishing club in Richmond, they have fishing rights to a stretch of the Thames down by the Teddington Obelisk. I reckon our man could be a member of that fishing club and if I get a name we can check their membership.''
''Let's hope you are right. I will be delighted to give you a hand.'' I shared Howard's revulsion of the crime. ''Keep me posted.''
It turned out that I heard from Derek before Howard did. He rang me on my mobile asking if I had heard from Tony Nolan recently. He had some vital information for him and he was concerned that he had not been able to contact him.
''Not heard a thing since I left Essex. Sylvie said she had a call from him asking where I was and apparently he sounded angry. I haven't been able to get him either. I just thought he was away.'' I lied.
Derek sounded concerned. ''No he was not away, he asked me to get him some information on a Sergei Kinsky who is a diplomat at the Russian Embassy. Tony had been arranging a deal with him and wanted to make sure he was kosher. It turns out that this Sergei is mixed up with Russian gangsters and from the information I have they are not the kind of people to do business with if you love life. Tony had last minute concerns about some merchandise he was selling and I am fearful that he may now be dead. As soon as I found who I was investigating I dropped it. I don't mess with those fuckers they will kill you, your friends and your family if you cross them.''
I wasn't about to reveal the truth about Tony's fate to Derek and the call to me that Sylvie told me about now made sense, Tony was angry with me because of the cats. He had either found out the tom cat was a dud, or at the very least he suspected it, but by then it was too late to back out of the sale. Tony must have hoped that he would get away with the deception long enough to get away. How wrong was he.
''I hope you're wrong, I like Tony. Is there no other explanation? Perhaps he got wind and legged it to foreign shores.'' I tried to play down Derek's theory.
''No, he has just disappeared. The casino staff have not seen or heard from him and he wouldn't have done a bunk without leaving instructions on running the place. No he's dead I can feel it in my water.'' Derek sounded scared.
I never thought I would see the day when Derek Williams would be frightened of anything but having had dealings with the Nevsky brothers he had every reason to be. One thing screamed out at me though and that was the fact that Derek didn't know that the Russian gangsters in question were the same heavy people that he told me Howard was involved with. My luck was holding even if Derek's wasn't.
''Perhaps these Russians don't know you have been investigating them and you are worrying for nothing.'' I tried to sound hopeful.
''Maybe you're right, I try to cover my tracks as best I can when carrying out my investigations so I could be in the clear. I just hope that Tony turns up safe and well.''
Good luck with that I thought. ''Well take care Derek, stay safe mate.''
Derek sounded more relaxed. ''I will. How's it going with Howard are you settled in ok? Tell him I will contact him later with the information he requested, I think he will be pleased with what I've got.''
''Yes it's going really well, I'm enjoying it and the regular wages are a bonus. I will pass on your message. Thanks, speak soon Derek.'' I was eager to get off the line.
I was not lying about the wages, I was getting ten grand a month as a retainer from the Nevsky's which was paid directly into my offshore account, plus there was the legitimate wages of five hundred a week that went through the business. Kerching!
Howard's Nokia rang as I was browsing through a new catalogue from a coffin manufacturers. I heard him say hello Derek and guessed it was the call he had been eagerly waiting for. Information about the Richmond Rapist. I had decided that if Howard had indeed found the culprit then I would offer my services to remove him from society, either by assisting Howard or doing it on my own. I had ideas about how to do it and I was keen to get involved.
Howard hung up and rubbed his hands together as he confirmed that the call was Derek and he now had cast iron proof that the cab driver was the rapist. Derek had told him that the man's name was Brendon Price and he was a black cab driver based in Richmond. He was in his early fifties and married with two grown up children, he had been a cabbie for over twenty years. Price had a couple of historical, minor convictions for exposing himself to schoolgirls and inappropriate touching of two women when he was younger, he had never been to prison and was not currently on the sex offenders register. The police were aware of his activities and he had been questioned without charge over the first rape. Price always had an alibi for the rapes and the police were finding it hard to pin anything on him. There was little evidence left after each attack and the assaults were becoming more vicious each time hence the last woman needing hospitalisation. Witnesses and the victims all remembered a black cab with the yellow bumper sticker being in the area. Some women in the vicinity of the attacks claimed that a black cab had pulled up beside them asking if they needed a lift, they had all declined. The first victim had taken up the offer but she had been dropped off at home and there had been no problem. She was attacked in Richmond Park the next day. She described the cab driver and said that they had made small talk when he took her home, she was not sure if she had told him that she was a frequent user of Richmond Park where she went jogging nearly every day. Police interviewed Price but he had a decent alibi for that crime. Derek though had found out that Price had lied and he wasn't where he said he was. The same applied to all his alibis it turned out. Descriptions of the attacker from all three victims were vague but similar in detail and the e-fit could easily be Brendon Price. The net was closing in on him but without solid evidence the police would not arrest him.
''Sounds like our man,'' I said, ''what are you going to do?''
Howard drummed his fingers on the desk, ''I need to be a hundred percent positive that he is the rapist. I won't kill an innocent man. Derek said he was still waiting for a few other details to come through and he would let me know as soon as he gets the information.''
''Sounds pretty certain to me.'' I was convinced.
''Yes but it's not enough, I want him to confess and that means getting him alone.''
An idea came to me. ''Why don
't we get him to pick us up and then we could have him drive us somewhere fairly remote but not too suspicious and there we could question him about the alibis he fabricated.''
Howard thought about it briefly. ''What if it's not him and he reports us to the police.''
''We are just concerned citizens doing our duty, I mean it's not like we are going to beat a confession out of him are we. Are we?'' I wondered now whether that was what Howard was planning.
''No of course not but he's not just going to roll over and admit to it is he. If we are so certain he is our man then we would have to be prepared to apply a little pressure to get him to talk.''
''Maybe I could follow him for a few days and see where he goes and who he takes an interest in, we have time the rapes are usually a couple of months in the planning judging by the timing of each offence. If he is going to strike again I would say we have about four weeks to play with.'' I made it sound easy despite the obvious flaws.
''Ok we will do that for a week, we can take it in turns and see where it leads us. We know the area he works in and it's not that big so it should be easy to keep tabs on him, all three victims were in or around Richmond Park when attacked. Just make sure we don't draw attention to ourselves either from Price or the police.''
We decided to start the surveillance the next morning, Howard would watch Price during the day and I would watch him at night.
Howard was giving me more and more responsibility with the running of the funeral parlour so that when the time came it would be a seamless transition when he retired. Grace more or less handled all the clerical side of the business so there was little really to worry about, I was hands on with the clients and made decisions about new suppliers and arranging bookings at the crematorium. Howard had previously decided not to let Grace get involved with the bookings as it could impact on his other career should he need to arrange a hasty cremation slot. The less she knew about it the better.
Howard was out following Price and I was busy embalming the body of a seventy year old male. He had relatives coming over from Australia for the funeral and so the family opted for embalming so the visitors could view the body beforehand.
The body of Albert Johnson had already been washed in disinfectant and his facial hair shaved off. His eyes had been glued shut, using superglue the morticians friend. The mouth had been sutured by threading string through the lower jaw below the gum line and then up through the gum above the top teeth and finally up through the inside of the left nostril through the septum and down the right nostril into the mouth where the string was pulled tight and tied off. It was left to me to carry out the process of arterial embalming. The solution, a mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, methanol, ethanol, phenol and water was already mixed all I had to do was add a dye that gave the skin a more natural tone. I next inserted a needle into the right carotid artery so that I could pump the embalming fluid into the body. This action would expel the blood and interstitial fluids from the body via the right jugular vein. During the process I would be massaging the body to break up any circulatory clots to ensure a good distribution of the fluid. The embalming process can take many hours depending on the condition of the deceased so I would be busy for most of the day attending to Mr Johnson.
Howard was sitting in the Viano watching Price who was parked up outside a burger van. Price had bought a burger and was eating it as he leaned against his black cab, an old 1999 TX1 Hackney cab. Price was a stocky man with sallow features and thinning hair, the diet of fast food was taking its toll on him by the looks of it. Nothing much had happened while Howard had been observing him, there had been a few fares that Price had taken to local destinations but nothing out of the ordinary. It would turn out to be the same for the rest of that day.
It was late afternoon by the time I had finished embalming Mr Johnson, he was back in the cold store and I was enjoying a cup of tea when Howard walked in.
''Hi Howard, how was your day?'' I asked over the rim of my cup.
''Bloody boring if you must know. Price had a good day, he must be on a decent wage if that was a sample of his regular working week. I hope you have better luck when you follow him later.'' Howard was looking tired and bored.
''I hope so. There is tea in the pot, it should still be drinkable. Grace has gone so it's just you, me and the few customers out back if you want to talk in greater detail.''
''Not much to discuss, he seems to be just a normal cabby going about his business. Unless he selects his victims by day and operates by night he is doing nothing that warrants suspicion. See what you come up with. I am going home now for a long hot bath so hopefully tomorrow, or tonight, maybe be more fruitful.''
An hour later it was me in the Viano watching Price.
19
I had been outside the house watching and waiting for the black cab to leave for about an hour. The waiting was tedious and I soon sympathised with Howard when he had said it was boring. To pass the time I got my Galaxy 8 out and browsed the internet, I wanted to buy a stun gun and it appeared there were many to choose from although they were not sold in the UK. I finally selected one from an American website and ordered it, the Vipertek VTS-989 heavy duty stun gun. It was one of the three best sellers and allegedly delivered a high voltage charge, the reviews were sound and I was happy. The voltage quoted seemed high to me but I knew nothing about these stun guns and so I had to put my trust in the site. I had decided to buy one to use it to disable Price when I eventually got him alone, it would give me an advantage by incapacitating him so I could kill him easier. The last thing I wanted was a fight. The site assured me the unit would be with me later the next day as I had paid a high premium for fast delivery.
Movement. Price was walking down the road carrying a small holdall, he turned into the driveway of the house I had been watching and unlocked the cab. Funny I thought I never saw him go out earlier. Still things were finally moving and I was ready to follow. The cab pulled out and I slipped in a car behind. Price spent the next few hours cruising around Richmond trying to attract a fare. Once or twice he pulled up alongside young women and engaged in conversation with them. It always ended with them shaking their head and walking away. During the evening he did pick up a few fares, male and female, and from what I observed he delivered them to their destinations safely. Around midnight Price drove towards Richmond Park and once there he parked up and got out of his vehicle. I parked some way away and followed him on foot. Unbeknown to me the area we were in was popular with courting couples and there were a couple of cars parked up out of sight of the main road. From the steamed up windows and the movement of the cars it was obvious what was happening inside. Price crept up to one of the cars and peered through the side window trying to glimpse the activity inside. He must have been able to find a clear spot on the steamy window to see because as he stood there he slipped his hand inside his trousers. From his hand movement I gathered that he was enjoying what he was seeing.
Half an hour later Price got back in his cab and returned home. I waited for an hour in case he went out again but he didn't. By two o'clock I was back home in bed myself.
The next morning I related the previous nights activity to Howard. I was even more convinced that Price was our man but Howard still wanted more.
''Just because he gets his rocks off doing a bit of dogging doesn't make him a rapist. Agreed it helps but it is still not sufficient to condemn a man to death.'' Howard was adamant. ''We need more evidence. I will see what happens today.''
I on the other hand had made my mind up and I was determined to dispense justice as soon as my new stun gun arrived.
Howard left to resume his surveillance and as it wasn't a particularly busy day I decided to give Jenny a ring to see if she was available for lunch, I wasn't going to have an evening free for a while and so dinner was off. As it happened she too was at a loose end and she suggested that we meet at the Slug and Lettuce for lunch at around one. The Slug and Lettuce was the place I had earmarked to avoid
on my first trip to Richmond but Jenny assured me the food was excellent and as I was paying quite reasonable, so I agreed.
I was sitting in the restaurant at the table I had reserved nursing a glass of Rioja when Jenny breezed in all braids and smiles. She still looked amazing. I got up to greet her and we kissed continental style, both cheeks. Jenny ordered a white wine and sat down.
''How are you?'' I asked pleased to see her. She had lit up the room as soon as she entered.
''Very well thanks. I was supposed to be working over in Dartford today but the procedure was delayed so here I am. What about you?'' She sipped her Pinot Grigio between sentences.
''Working hard as usual. That's why I invited you to lunch I will be busy most evenings for the foreseeable future.''
''Wow, you must be busy if you're working nights. Has there been a plague that I missed hearing about?'' She said smiling.
''No this is personal stuff.''
''Ah, you've found a girlfriend.''
''No, not so lucky. It is family business and it needs my attention for a while.'' I hoped it would stop her probing too deeply.
''Good for you, not enough people are family orientated these days. I have two sisters and we rarely speak let alone see each other and we all live in the same town.''
''I like to keep in touch with my parents,'' I lied, ''I hope you get to spend more time with your sisters, someone needs to make an effort.''
''It's mainly me I'm always too busy, but you're right I must try harder. She stared at the half empty wine glass reflecting on her lack of commitment. Changing the subject she said, ''have you read about this rapist? I am a frequent visitor to the park, I take my dog Sherbet there mostly late afternoons and early evenings. Makes you shudder to think he's out there selecting his next victim.'' She shivered at the thought.