Murder at Seething Wells (The Ralph Chalmers Mysteries Book 5)

by P. J. Thurbin

  “Certainly not. But we are talking here about getting this relationship established and building a reputation as a leading Law Faculty. The VC is determined that it should go well. It’s an opportunity to push the University up the world ranking lists. If we can get this one right we will be able to attract students from Singapore and China. They are the ones with the big bank accounts now.”

  “I don’t want to seem negative, Dean but your two objectives seem to be in conflict,” David said with a hint of tetchiness in his voice.

  Granger swept on, determined to avoid any further discussion.

  “And Ralph, I have a got a job for you. As you know, Peter Cavendish is using his sabbatical year to teach at the Music Faculty at the NUS.”

  Ralph had come to Peter’s aid on more than one occasion when he was in danger of overstepping the line with his long suffering wife, Marcia, although now he was a

  reformed character Ralph enjoyed his company even more. Recently they had spent a

  holiday languishing in the ambience of the Devon cottage that Ralph owned with Katie. Peter had been a bit burned out from his work as Professor of Music at Kingston and had taken the opportunity to ‘recharge his batteries’ as he had put it, with a complete change of environment. Mentioning Peter reminded Ralph how much he had missed his old friend. Margaret interrupted his reverie as she brought in the tea, and Ralph tried to focus on what Granger was saying.

  “Look Ralph, I know how you like to moonlight at the University’s expense, so I want you to go to the NUS and set up the details of how we would handle the student exchanges. You know, the accommodation, travel etcetera. Give Peter a call and see if he can find some cheap accommodation for you. It would be best if you try to arrange it over Christmas break so we don’t need to get cover for your classes,” he added. “I don’t expect the people at NUS make a big fuss over our Christian holiday, but you’d better check that the admin staff will be there and set up some appointments.” He grinned at Ralph, looking every bit like the Cheshire cat at the cream bowl.

  Being given what was in effect a job for an administrator was not lost on Ralph, but he had been thinking of taking advantage of the Christmas break to escape from a grey and cold English winter anyhow and this might be just the thing. It would be a chance to meet up with Peter and Marcia, and maybe, if Katie was free, a much needed opportunity to get some quality time together in an exotic setting. He agreed to set the trip up and get Margaret to make the arrangements with his counterpart at the NUS. But he had another reason for wanting to visit Singapore. He had been struck by how uncaring everyone seemed to be about Stephen Chen’s girlfriend as well as his family in Singapore. If he could find an address for Chen’s parents, then at least he could convey some sympathy. It might help them with what was popularly known as closure. As he and David went to leave the office, Granger asked Ralph to stay behind for a moment.

  “Look Ralph, I know you have a tendency to worry about lame dogs and waifs. Well I heard from Dean Warner that you had been enquiring about Stephen Chen sacking Richard Windham. Well just for the record and your ears only, Windham was a troublemaker and most likely a fool. He is now threatening to take the University to the Tribunal Courts over his dismissal. The man called Chen the ‘yellow peril”. If that is not a racist comment then you tell me what is.”

  “So do you think he has a case against the University? I heard there was no warning letter or offers of counseling,” said Ralph.

  “It’s an open and shut case. He refused to apologize. Now Chen’s dead and we want to wrap the whole thing up. We don’t need further enquiries and we certainly don’t need more publicity.”

  “But surely Windham has a right to go through due process and no doubt the Staff Union will want to push his case.”

  “Look Ralph, you’ve always been a bit naïve when it comes to these things. We’ll offer Windham a deal he can’t refuse. We’ll give him a generous pay-off on the understanding that he will never work at the University again, and we’ll promise to give him a good reference on the undertaking that he won’t discuss either the nature of the dispute or the terms of settlement. It’s standard practice.” Ralph was a bit staggered at what he saw as a blatant cover-up. But Granger wasn’t finished.

  “So in a nutshell, Ralph, we don’t want the media sniffing around trying to link Windham’s leaving the University to Stephen Chen’s death. I hear that the police have already interviewed Windham as a possible suspect, and if they want to pursue it that’s

  out of our control. But I don’t need to emphasize to you of all people, Ralph, that the University must distance itself as far as possible from this unpleasant turn of events. I know in the past you have had a tendency to play the amateur detective, but you need to concentrate on this NUS business, and if all goes well we might need to discuss an enlargement of your role in the Faculty.” Ralph was under no illusions as to what Rupert Granger’s veiled threat suggested. Either he forgot any notions of carrying out his own behind the scenes investigation into Chen’s death, or else he might find himself joining Jack White in early retirement. This was not the time to argue.

  “Naturally I would be delighted to help the University and any way I can.” Ralph winced inwardly, realizing that he had capitulated to avoid confrontation.

  “Good man, Ralph. I knew I could count on you. Ask Margaret to liaise with Janice about sorting out the trip to Singapore.”

  Ralph thanked the Dean for entrusting the NUS programme to his care and returned to his office. Inwardly he was furious with the way Granger had effectively threatened him and finished up offering a bribe for his promised good behavior. He was even more annoyed with himself for taking the bait. Far from putting him off, however, he was even more determined than before to get to the bottom of the events surrounding Chen’s death. He decided that his next step was to talk with Inspector Linham even if it meant going against Granger’s wishes.

  Inspector Linham was not surprised when he received Ralph’s call and suggested that they could meet later that afternoon. The investigation was not progressing as fast as the Inspector had hoped and pressure from the Coroner’s office and his Chief Superintendent was not helping.

  ***

  “Thanks for agreeing to see me, Inspector.” Linham was always drinking hot tea and Ralph was handed a steaming china mug.

  “What can we do for you Professor? I assume it’s about the Stephen Chen case?”

  “It is, but it’s a bit awkward. I’m not here representing the University but, well as a private individual. If you see what I mean.” Ralph knew that it all sounded a bit clumsy, but Linham soon put him at ease.

  “Look Professor, we know how the University closes ranks when it comes to any whiff of publicity that might impact on their public image and I can understand that. They’re running a big business. What is it now over 25,000 students, and fees through the roof? And it’s all, or almost all, public money. The poor old tax payer’s like us, we’re footing the bill for all those students, academics and administrators, and the competition from other Universities to attract overseas students must be intense. I can see why they’re so uptight. But we are investigating a possible murder case, and we won’t take kindly to anyone who attempts to withhold information or hamper our enquiries. Having said that, anything you want to share with me is strictly confidential.”

  Ralph hated having to approach things in this way, but with Granger’s recent admonitions still ringing in his ears the last thing he wanted was a confrontation with the powers at the University. He just nodded at Linham and the two men sipped their tea to cover what was an awkward moment. He told the Inspector about the break-in and how he saw it as being linked to Chen’s death.

  “Whoever broke in must have been looking for information about Chen’s research, Inspector. They had to have a pass key and the code to get into the office. They could have gotten both from Dr. Chen in any number of ways either by force or permission. As you know, Chen’s work was being fun
ded by Kramer Pharma, and Chen’s deputy, Dr. Jack White overheard Chen threatening to take the results to a Chinese competitor unless they stopped pressing him. I know that firms engage in industrial espionage.”

  “Whoa. Hang on a minute there, Professor. Are you suggesting that a well respected company like Kramer may have been mixed up in Chen’s death?”

  “No. I didn’t say that. But anything is possible with the money stakes so high.”

  “Okay, go on.” The Inspector sat back and clasped his hands together as Ralph continued.

  “Then there are the Animal Rights people. Although I don’t really believe they had anything to do with Chen’s death, they could have been responsible for the break-in at the University.”

  “But why? And if you think there was a link between the break-in and Chen’s death, how do you reconcile the two?”

  “I’m not sure. But if they were the culprits in the break-in, it may have been to search for evidence about experiments being carried out on animals; you know, something tangible that they could take to the media.”

  “Your idea of a link between the break-in and Stephen Chen’s death is plausible. Our investigation suggests that the attack on Chen was not random. The fact that his office was the target of a break-in so soon after his death is just too much of a coincidence. And I don’t like coincidences, Professor.” The Inspector told Ralph about finding blood on the skiff outside Chen’s apartment at Charter Quay, and that it looked as though he had been entertaining someone shortly before he was killed.

  “So he must have known his killer,” said Ralph. “If he was killed in his apartment it

  would be possible for someone to carry the body down the back stairs without being seen by the night porter. Then it would be a simple matter to get across to the skiff and row upstream in order to dump the body onto the slipway at Seething Wells. It must have been soon after the event I hosted there.” The Inspector had already worked most of this out but there were still a lot of gaps that needed filling in. He let Ralph continue.

  “Most of us left the event at around 10. If Dr. Chen walked to Kingston along the river road it would take about 20 minutes; pretty late to meet someone he didn’t know well. My guess is that it was someone who was at the event and walked back with him.”

  The Inspector leant forward.

  “If you are right, Professor, then it puts a block on your theory about industrial espionage. There was no one at the event from Kramer Pharma; we’ve checked.” Ralph hesitated as he took in the remark. The Inspector continued.

  “You realize that this is all supposition and strictly off the record, but there are quite a few people who might have wanted Chen dead. He was well known in the Chinese and South Korean business communities around here and it’s just possible that he could have been blackmailing someone there to fund his lavish lifestyle. Maybe whoever it was decided to put a stop to it and either killed him or had him killed.” Inspector Linham thought about the large deposits that had been paid into Chen’s account from a Chinese bank. He was working on a theory that Chen may have been blackmailing an important Chinese figure and overstepped the mark. It would not be the first time he had come across blackmailers who got greedy. The Inspector frowned and leant forward.

  “What puzzles me is why the killer didn’t just leave the body in the apartment, if that’s

  where he died. Unless of course they decided to go for a midnight row and had a fight over something,” the Inspector said with an attempt at humor to ease his frustration with the many unknowns the case presented. He realized that he had revealed more than he had intended but decided it was worth the risk to go further.

  “I know that there are a lot of different clubs and things at the University, Professor, but have you heard mention of a group called the Jemaah Islamijah?” he asked, reading from a report on his desk.

  “No. Why? What is it, anyhow?”

  “Well it’s just a long shot, but we have reason to believe that Stephen Chen had taken an interest in their activities. From what we’ve been told, they’re linked to Al Qaeda. We’re looking at all possible leads.”

  “That sounds pretty heavy. The University encourages free representation of ideas and philosophical and religious beliefs, but it doesn’t allow known extremist or terrorist backed groups to have free reign. It’s a sensitive area as we have a very diverse group of students at the University,” Ralph said with conviction as he had strong views about free speech.

  The Inspector leant back in his chair and took a sip of his tea as he mulled over what if anything he had gleaned from their conversation.

  “Well, that’s really all I came in to talk about,” Ralph said as he saw Wilson through the glass door making his way towards the Inspector’s office.

  “We’re always happy to have information that might further our enquiries, Professor. Please let us know if anything else comes to your attention.”

  “Oh, by the way, Inspector, I’m off to Singapore quite soon,” Ralph turned and said just as he was reaching to open the door. “I’d like to offer my sympathy to Dr. Chen’s family, if you have their address.”

  “Your administration people gave us his parent’s address and we have one for his girlfriend, a Miss Li Mei.” He opened up a large file. “She works at the Chinese Embassy in Paris and before you ask, we’ve checked her alibi for the night of the murder.” Inspector Linham copied down the addresses on a yellow post-it and handed them to Ralph just as Wilson tapped on the door.

  “Let me know if you need anyone to carry your bags,” the Inspector retorted as a puzzled Wilson looked on.

  ***

  As Ralph drove home his mind was buzzing. Surely the killer would have been wiser to have left Chen in the apartment. As it was the weekend the body would not have

  been found for at least a few days. Taking the boat up river to dispose of it must have been an act of desperation to make it look like a mugging gone wrong. If Chen and his killer had left the event at Seething Wells together, then the murder could not have been premeditated. Otherwise the murderer would have attacked Chen somewhere along the riverside promenade and avoided the risk of being seen at his apartment. A row must have blown up over something when they were at the apartment. Richard Windham had a motive, but given their acrimonious parting, it seemed unlikely that Chen would have invited him in for a late night drink. And then there was the man himself. By all accounts Chen was a martinet who had made enemies. No doubt others were, as Inspector Linham would put it ‘in the frame’.

  Ralph was convinced that Chen’s research was the key to solving the mystery surrounding his death. After talking with Linham he saw that his ideas about industrial espionage might have been a bit premature, but he still wanted to contact Kramer Pharma to get a closer insight into the true value of the research. If he had been near to a break-through in finding a way of preventing SARS, then a lot of people would have a motive for wanting to know what he had discovered. He was still intrigued by what both his Cambridge pal, James Portwood and Jack White had referred to as a Magic Bullet. He also wondered what connection, if any existed between the terrorist group that Linham had mentioned and Dr. Stephen Chen, and what possible interest his research could be to them?

  He was looking forward to calling Katie and bouncing some of his thoughts off her. He also wanted to ask her about going to Singapore with him over the Christmas break. There was a lot to think about.

  _________________

  Chapter 7

  “It’s the next exit,” Katie said as they passed the half mile sign for junction 8 and the A404. Ralph eased the Jag across from the fast lane on the M4. It was a gorgeous July morning and he and Katie were on their way to Henley. Ralph had been invited to lunch by Claus Stein and told to bring a guest. Sunday was finals day of the Royal Regatta.

  “Third exit at the next roundabout,” Katie directed.

  “It was a spot of luck getting an invite for lunch on Temple Island,” Ralph said as he turned onto th
e A4130.

  “What’s so special about it?” Katie asked as she double checked the directions Ralph had downloaded from Mapquest.

  “You can only get to it by boat.”

  “That can be the case with islands,” Katie said drily.

  “As I was saying,” Ralph continued, “it’s just downstream from the start and it’s where members of the Leander Club used to watch the racing. It was originally a fishing lodge for Fawley Court, the mansion Christopher Wren built on the Henley Reach of the Thames.”

  “Is it still a fishing lodge?”

  “Not quite. In the 18th Century it was popular with the gentry to build a folly on their property to impress their friends.”

  “A folly?” Katie asked.

  “It’s a place that pretends to be something that it isn’t. Usually it’s just a facade,” Ralph explained.

  “Sounds like a typical bit of British pomposity,” Katie retorted. Being Australian, she had little time for the posturing she saw as a peculiarly English affectation.

  “The interior of the building was built in the Etruscan style and based on designs discovered at Pompeii. Of course, eventually the landowners lost their money and everything went to rack and ruin. The Stewards who run the regatta bought the Island back in 1871 and had it completely restored.”

  “Okay, okay. I don’t need a lecture on Etruscan architecture,” Katie chided as she held up her hands in despair. “What I want to know is who pays for all this. Is it sponsored by Coca Cola or Richard Branson or someone?”

  “Amazingly there are no commercial sponsors. Raising money to cover the 3 million it costs to run the regatta is one of the Stewards’ main jobs. A big wodge comes from hospitality events and hiring out Temple Island to organizations like Kramer.”

  “Just remember the old adage, Ralph. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

  ***

  “Wow! That’s quite a view,” Katie exclaimed as the river came into sight with the Island set against a backdrop of rolling hills and meadows. “It’s like something out of a post card or a Constable painting, Ralph. Look. There’s the car-park.” A small discreet notice advised that the parking was for guests only.