by S FEATES
Dmitry regularly went back to Russia, the brothers interests there had to be protected and by personally appearing it kept any would be rivals at bay, there were plenty of envious eyes on their assets. Alexi Kominsky was a trusted associate and he kept things in order while Dmitry was in England. Viktor hated him and the feeling was mutual. Viktor was jealous that Alexi was given more respect by his brother than he was.
Dmitry made a call instructing the man at the other end to have his car brought round in half an hour. He was packed and ready to leave by the time Ivanka came out of the bathroom. She had showered and dressed and was also ready to leave. Dmitry pulled a wad of notes out of his jacket pocket and handed them to the girl.
''Here, buy yourself something nice. I will see you when I return and if you are a good girl maybe I will bring you a gift from home.'' Dmitry leaned in for a kiss as he handed her the cash.
Ivanka kissed him lightly on the cheek, she had one eye on the money mentally working out how much there was and what she would buy with it.
''Have a safe trip my love and hurry back to me.'' Ivanka fluttered her eyelashes at him, ''I miss you already Dimmy.'' She then kissed him full on the lips, picked up her white fox fur coat and flounced out of the room.
Dmitry breathed a sigh of relief, his wife would be here soon and she was not a woman to cross. He had been married for fifteen years and during that time he'd had many affairs, only twice had his wife caught him and on both occasions she had beaten the poor girls half to death. He himself still bore the scars on his body where Maria Nevsky had cut him with a kitchen knife in a jealous fit of rage. Maria was going to Russia with him and she had spent the night prior to their departure with her mother in Kensington. As soon as she arrived home they would leave for Farnborough Airport where the brothers kept their Gulfstream GIV private jet.
22
''Price has an identical twin brother!'' I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I had read the messages and immediately rang Howard.
''Derek called me with the extra information that he had found and he told me about the twin, David Price. They are identical in every detail even Brendon's wife has trouble telling them apart and in fact they used to play tricks on her and other people by pretending to be each other. We have a dilemma now as to which brother you killed today, Brendon or David.'' Howard was unable to hide his disappointment.
''How was I to know there were two of them. For all we know they were committing the crimes together.'' I had to defend and justify my position.
''How are we going to find out which one died, wait for the news bulletin or read the papers tomorrow?'' Howard questioned.
''Maybe I should kill the other brother and make sure.'' I was being sarcastic and unrealistic, Howard wasn't amused.
''You can't go round murdering people at random on a gut feeling, it's not what we are about. I was against this in the first place until I let you convince me otherwise.'' He was getting annoyed.
''Let's just calm down and assess the situation later when the body is discovered, it won't be long before someone finds it I'm sure. We can't do anything about it now, maybe I got the right brother after all and we are worrying about nothing.''
Howard calmed down and agreed that waiting was the best policy. He said that he would come and pick me up at Sawyer's Hill in about half an hour.
I had time while I was waiting to mull things over. I had wondered how Price had managed to work such long hours and now it was obvious. One brother was working days and the other nights that's why I always saw one of them walking down the road to collect the cab. Devious bastards. It also explains why there was always a genuine alibi for the rapes, one Price brother was always in the right place at the right time while the other was committing the crimes. They may well have been working together, even taking it in turns to do it. I would find out one way or another.
Howard arrived and I jumped in beside him. We drove back to the funeral parlour in silence.
The body of a man was found by a rambler sometime during the morning police reported. The dead man was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area off Queen's Road. A black cab was parked nearby. The identity of the man would not be released until his family were contacted. The media were claiming it was a suicide but police would not be drawn on it. The speculation was rife, rumours abounded that the dead man was the Richmond Rapist because of the cab. Others said it was just a tragic suicide by a depressed man who had been pushed to his limit after being hounded by the gutter press. Like everyone else we had to wait to get the answers.
Two days later two things happened that threatened to bring my world crashing down around my ears.
SIX LIVES DOWN AND ONE MISTAKE
23
I was sitting in reception talking to Grace when the mobile in my pocket started ringing. The sound wasn't coming from my own phone but the one that I had been given by Dmitry Nevsky at the face to face we had when Viktor killed the cat. I was taken by surprise as it was the first time it had rung since I had received it. The phone in question was a Nokia 3310 identical to the one Howard had been given. There was a good reason why these were the phones of choice for criminals. Although like new models the Nokia connects via mobile phone masts the phone provides no other means of connectivity; no Bluetooth, no WiFi, no LAN and no GPS. Because of their basic nature they cannot be tracked. They were a boon to drug dealers and the old phones would fetch a high price.
''Sorry Grace, I need to take this.'' I excused myself and went outside.
''Mr Black, it's Viktor speaking. How are you doing my friend?''
My blood ran cold, what the fuck was Viktor calling me for. ''Hello Mr Nevsky, I am well. Business is good, and what about you are you ok?'' We exchanged small talk until Viktor came to the point.
''I want you to come by the office tomorrow at ten in the morning, do not be late. I have an urgent job for you and it is imperative that it is carried out before my brother returns from his business trip in Russia. You have just under a two week window to complete it.''
I didn't realise that Dmitry had gone away but then again why should I, the less I knew about the Nevsky brothers the better I liked it.
''I will be there of course.'' How could I refuse.
''Come alone Mr Black, Howard need not be concerned about our business so say nothing. You understand?.''
''Absolutely Mr Nevsky I will see you tomorrow, goodbye'' I couldn't wait to hang up he made my flesh crawl.
All morning I wondered what business could be so urgent, why Viktor wanted to involve me in it and why was it a secret from Howard. I kept my word and mentioned nothing when he arrived.
Later that day we had an unexpected visitor. The front door opened and in walked a ghost and the ghost was accompanied by a woman in black. I happened to be out front while Grace was out on an errand so I was their first contact. We stared at each other, I stood still with my mouth wide open whilst the two of them stood wondering if I was an embalmed corpse put there for display purposes.
The ghost was none other than Brendon Price the man I had last seen swinging from the branch of a tree by his neck. The man before me was identical in every detail even down to the stale smoke and body odour with one exception, he was very much alive. The woman accompanying Price broke the silence, her words faltered as she choked back tears..
''Good afternoon....my name is Janet Price and this is my brother-in-law....David.'' David nodded. ''I need to arrange a funeral for my husband....he was unfortunately....taken from us a few days ago.'' She sniffed back a tear as she spoke of her departed husband. ''I can't set a date as the police still have his body....but I want to start the arrangements immediately if I can.''
''I am sorry for your loss Mrs Price and we would be honoured to help with any arrangements you have in mind. Grace will be back any minute, she will take down your requirements and run through your options but in the meantime may I offer you some tea.'' I had recovered my poise and tried my best to act nor
mal.
''That would be nice thank you.'' David Price said as he put his arm around his sister-in-law to comfort her.
I showed the two of them to a seat and rushed off to the kitchen.
By the time I returned Grace was back and she had taken Janet Price into the Chapel to talk with her and to calm her down. Grace would know what to say, she had the necessary experience and that way I could have a chat with David Price although I had no idea of what to say. I gave Grace the cup of tea and excused myself.
''Here's your tea Mr Price.'' I handed the other cup to the seated man. ''It must be a terrible time for you and Mrs Price, I'm sorry.''
''It is thank you. Brendon was my twin brother, it's like losing a limb we were so close. The papers all say he topped himself but I know he wouldn't do that he was a devout Christian and suicide would be a sin to him. The police are not so sure they said there was something suspicious about it but we have to wait for them to release the details of the autopsy.'' Price sipped his tea and wiped away a tear.
The police are suspicious. It was a bolt from the blue, I made sure I had been careful so what was this suspicion based on, what had I missed. If Brendon wasn't the rapist and David was then he was a very good actor, I would have thought that he would welcome the chance to dodge a bullet and pass the blame onto his brother. But then again if Brendon was the offender and David genuinely didn't know about it then that would explain his actions perfectly. I was confused and concerned. I noticed that David wore a wedding ring.
''Do you have a wife Mr Price?'' I asked matter of factly.
''No, not anymore we were divorced several years ago. June had issues, we couldn't get past so we split. Can you believe she made me get a tattoo so she could tell me and Brendon apart, paranoid we would swop wives.'' He rolled his sleeve up to show me the tattoo of a heart with June written through it at an angle. The tattoo was on his forearm. ''She tried to take me for everything when we divorced but I wasn't having it. She still got half me money and the house though, the cow.'' He was getting angry at the memory.
I changed the subject. ''What do you do for a living?''
''Clean windows, houses and industrial stuff mainly. Business ain't the same since all that health and safety bollocks came in. You can't even climb a ladder no more you have to have bloody scaffolding, I mean wass that all about.'' Changing the subject hadn't changed his mood.
''Was your brother in the business too.'' I asked knowing already that the answer was no.
''No he was cleverer than me, he passed the knowledge and became a cab driver. Great memory our Brendon, you need it to learn all that stuff. I tried but couldn't remember me way home let alone all them routes.'' He laughed at the mention of his failure. At least his mood had lightened. ''Janet is in bits she loved him more than life.''
''Understandable, how long have they been married?''
''Twenty five years ago last August they married. Been together a few years before that though. We had some great times together when I was still with my June, we all used to go away on holiday, Spain and Greece usually. We had some right laughs with the locals cos they couldn't tell us apart and we were always larking about.''
''Must have been tricky for your wives as well.'' I was interested in finding out how they were different and how the women told them apart other than by the tattoo.
''Oh believe me they were caught out a few times I can tell you. No funny business though, we didn't try and sleep with each other's wives if that's what you was thinking.'' The smile had gone again. ''It was that kind of thinking that made June divorce me.''
''No, no forgive me that's not what I meant. I just wondered how they could tell the difference between identical twins when nobody else could.''
''Who said we were identical?'' Price looked at me with surprise.
''Nobody I just assumed as you said you were twins and I took it for granted I don't know why, I'm sorry.'' Shit! I had made a stupid mistake and the attempt to cover it was clumsy. Fortunately Price was not that sharp and moved on without further comment.
''We are, were identical but not in all areas if you know what I mean.'' He nudged me and winked. ''I was luckier than Bren in that department although he would have said different.'' Thankfully he was smiling again. ''Even our old mum couldn't ever tell us apart, used to drive her mad it did.''
It was my turn to dodge the bullet this time. I was wasting my time trying to get information from Price and I let it go. Grace returned with Mrs Price in tow and she looked a bit happier. No doubt Grace had given her a shoulder to cry on.
''Mrs Price will be coming in next week to look at a few coffin designs and to discuss an order of service and hopefully by then we will have a release date from the police.'' Grace spoke as she made a note in the desk diary.
The Price's thanked us for our sensitivity and professional service and said they would see us next week. When they had gone Grace said.
''Poor woman, she is so distressed. It must be heartbreaking especially when you have an identical twin for a brother-in-law and he's a constant reminder of your loss.''
I agreed and thought that it would be even worse if she knew one of them was a rapist. Then again maybe she did. Now I needed to speak with Howard and quickly.
24
Howard was sitting behind his desk rubbing his temples trying to relieve a headache brought on by the stress.
''Have the Price's gone?'' He didn't look up.
''Yes they are coming back next week, Grace has it all in hand.'' I eased into the seat opposite him.
''Did David Price say anything useful?'' Howard finally looked at me.
''He said that the police were suspicious about something and wouldn't release the body until after the autopsy results. I don't get what they are suspicious about though, there was nothing on that body apart from the rope mark around the neck.''
Howard thought about it and said, ''what about the stun gun would that not leave any marks or burns?'' he rubbed his neck subconsciously, ''did you even think about that possibility before using it?''
''I read up about it on the internet and the general opinion is that stun guns don't leave any marks unlike Tasers which puncture the skin. I did look into it I ain't stupid.'' I was getting annoyed now.
''Well there is only one way to find out, get the stun gun out of the safe and we will conduct an experiment.'' Howard instructed.
I had locked the stun gun in the safe after burning the rest of the disguise as I thought it may be useful for another time. I assumed that Howard was going to use the stun gun on one of our deceased clients to see if it left a tell tale mark but I was wrong.
''Right what was Price wearing when you stunned him?'' He was checking out the stun gun as he spoke.
''As I recall he was wearing just his shirt as his jacket was in the foot well beside him.''
''Right take off your jacket and sit in the chair.''
''Why, what are you thinking of doing?'' I was worried about what Howard was intending.
''I will use it on you and we can then see the results.'' There was a hint of a smile as he broke the news. 'It probably doesn't hurt, don't worry.''
I thought to myself you sit in the chair then and I will stun you. I didn't like the idea at all but I had no choice. I took off my jacket and sat down. Howard pulled up a chair behind me and sat down in it.
''How long did you apply the gun?''
''About five seconds I reckon, that was the recommendation to disable someone.'' I began shivering in anticipation of receiving a large dose of electricity.
''Ok I will do the......'' Howard pressed the stun gun against my shoulder while he was mid sentence. The distraction caught me unawares.
The shock felt like millions of tiny needles penetrating my entire body and the pain I felt was similar to hitting your funny bone only multiplied by thousands of times. I fell from the chair and lay on the floor gasping for breath, trying to keep a grip on reality but the mental confusion along with a feeling
of helplessness and an inability to function had disorientated me.
Howard assisted me back into the chair and I sat there trembling. He made a cup of strong sweet tea and insisted I drink it. Gradually I felt better and my senses returned to near normal, I just hoped there was no permanent damage.
When I had finished the tea Howard made me slip off my shirt.
''There are no burn marks or holes in the garment and I must say I can't see anything on your skin to suggest you have just been stunned. Perhaps there is tissue damage below the surface or maybe bruising comes out later.''
I leapt out of the chair and turned to face Howard. ''There is no way you are slicing me open to inspect my underlying tissue, damaged or not!'' I was indignant.
''I was never even giving it a thought,'' Howard was laughing at my distress, ''we will have to wait and see if any bruising appears. Other than that we will just have to wait for the autopsy report.''
I finished dressing and sat down rubbing my shoulder to ease the after effects. It was an experience I wished never to repeat. I remembered my conversation with Viktor and decided now was a good time to tell Howard I needed a few hours off tomorrow.
''Is it alright if I have some time off tomorrow I have to go to Brentwood, Sylvie has some paperwork that I need to sign and it can't wait apparently. I'll be as quick as I can.''
''Sure, no problem Steve, in fact take the whole day it's the least I can do after what I just did. Just check that shoulder in the morning for bruising before you go. Oh and give my regards to Sylvie. In the meantime I will give some thought to our little dilemma and we can discuss it when you return.''