Wrongful Death

by Lynda La Plante

  ‘Thank you for the offer, Marisha, but we are both still on duty,’ she said politely.

  As Marisha lifted the bottle away, Anna noticed a splash of rum fall into Barolli’s cup. Anna frowned at him and he shrugged his shoulders. Not wishing to appear offensive, she told Marisha she was welcome to have some with her own coffee if she wanted, but the woman shook her head, explaining she was teetotal. ‘It’s me brother’s rum anyways, he’s been drinking it since he was a baby, and I’se thought youse may like a tipple with de coffee.’

  Marisha left briefly to put the bottle back in the kitchen and Anna looked at Barolli as he sipped his drink.

  ‘It was only a tiny drop by accident,’ he said, pleading innocence. Anna chuckled and said she’d forgive him this time.

  Marisha shuffled back into the room. ‘So what trouble is me nephew Joshua in?’ she asked casually as she eased herself down into an old wingback chair.

  ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you that he’s dead,’ Anna said.

  There was a look of shock on Marisha’s face as she held her hand to her mouth in disbelief at the news.

  ‘When, what happened to him?’ she asked in a trembling voice and began to cry. Her whole body was shaking so Anna consolingly placed her hand on Marisha’s.

  ‘He passed away last November,’ Anna told her.

  Marisha squeezed Anna’s hand tightly and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her cardigan. ‘November! Oh, my, so soon after Esme. He was such a lovely boy.’ Marisha again wiped her nose on her sleeve.

  Anna looked in her jacket pocket and handbag for a handkerchief but didn’t have one. Barolli asked Marisha if she had any tissues and she said that there was a box in the kitchen. Barolli got up to find it.

  Anna continued, ‘It was believed that Josh was suffering from depression and committed suicide.’

  ‘Suicide, oh, my, he done it hisself, how terrible.’ Marisha burst into more tears.

  Barolli returned with the box of tissues and a glass of water and gave them to Marisha, who wiped the tears from her eyes, blew her nose loudly and gulped down the water.

  As she hadn’t asked how Josh died Anna didn’t go into details but explained that as a result of some new information Josh’s death was being reinvestigated as a murder. This caused Marisha to cry and shake uncontrollably. Anna had to wait for several moments before she could continue, saying that they had come to see her as they wanted to know more about Josh’s family background.

  Marisha, sniffing and blowing her nose, said that she had not seen Josh since she fell out with her sister Esme over fifteen years ago.

  Anna glanced at Barolli, waiting for the tears to stop, before telling Marisha that she didn’t want to pry but wanted to know why she and Esme had fallen out. It transpired that Esme had caught her husband John and Marisha kissing each other and was convinced they were having an affair. Marisha said it was just a drunken one-off incident at a party but Esme banned her from coming anywhere near her family again and poisoned Josh against her.

  ‘It were just a friendly kiss, John was a good faithful husband. It was all in Esme’s mind, but she was so worked up she go and tell my boyfriend Dexter and he left me.’

  She starting sobbing once more and asked for another glass of water, and so Barolli duly went off to the kitchen for a refill.

  ‘Josh didn’t invite me to the funeral and I didn’t dare go for fear he’d turn me away. Now I’ve not paid my respects to him either. I feel so bad, so bad,’ Marisha said, shaking her head and blowing her nose.

  ‘How did you know about Esme’s death?’ Anna asked.

  Marisha hesitated and Anna assumed she was composing herself before answering.

  ‘From ma brother Samuel, he call me after Josh had rung him to say Esme had died.’ Marisha explained that Samuel had always lived in Jamaica, but kept in touch with her and Esme, calling them three or four times a year.

  ‘Did Samuel come over for the funeral?’ Anna asked.

  ‘Yes, he couldn’t afford de flight so Josh paid for his ticket and he stayed with me. It was good to see him after thirty years but so sad it was because of Esme’s passing.’

  Anna was about to ask Marisha more when the woman became very agitated.

  ‘Samuel, oh, my, he don’t know about Josh’s death!’ she exclaimed, visibly distressed.

  Anna said she would be happy to make a call to him on Marisha’s behalf if it would help. Marisha refused as if insulted. She pursed her lips, thanking Anna for her kind offer, but said that it was something she must do herself, as Samuel would take the news badly.

  Anna wondered what Barolli was up to as he was taking so long. When he eventually returned from the kitchen, he claimed that he had let the tap run so the glass of water was a bit cooler this time, but Anna suspected he’d been having a quick snoop around.

  She wanted to ask more about Samuel’s visit, but due to Marisha’s state of shock, knew she’d have to proceed delicately.

  ‘Did Samuel say how Josh was when he met him?’

  ‘He said he was a handsome young man, very successful and owed a big nightclub in da West End. Do ya know where he’s buried as I’d like to visit his grave and lay some flowers?’ Marisha asked, becoming emotional again.

  Anna told her that his body had been cremated but she would try to find out where his ashes were. She pressed on and asked Marisha how long Samuel had stayed with her.

  ‘Only for about four weeks, then he had to go back home to look after his fishing business.’

  Anna calculated that Samuel must have returned to Jamaica in mid-September.

  ‘Do you know if he did any decorating work for Josh?’

  ‘Yes, Samuel say he done some work on Esme’s place for him as Josh was going to sell it. I tink he also done some work at Josh’s flat, you knows – to earn a few pennies as he don’t have much money.’

  ‘I may need to speak with Samuel about Josh so could I have his phone number please?’

  ‘He don’t have a phone, he go to one of them phone cafés to call me.’

  Anna handed Marisha Barolli’s details and asked her to tell Samuel to ring the DI next time he called, before thanking her for her time and wishing her well.

  ‘Are the 3D TVs any good?’ Barolli asked Marisha as he got up to leave.

  ‘They is okay but de glasses give me a bit of a headache.’

  ‘I was thinking of getting one but they’re quite expensive, aren’t they?’

  She proudly folded her arms, standing in front of the huge screen. ‘Samuel bought me it as a present when he was stayin’ as my old TV went on de blink. He had a big win on a horse race, came in at fifty to one.’ Marisha paused and gave Barolli a sly smile, wagging her finger. ‘I know why you’re askin’.’ She went over to the dresser and opened the top drawer.

  ‘This was a legitimate purchase, sir, I’ve got the receipt here somewhere with the price on . . .’

  ‘It’s okay, I can have a look at the price online,’ Barolli said, somewhat embarrassed that Marisha had seen right through his ploy.

  As they made their way back to the station, Anna wondered aloud why on earth he had asked Marisha about the TV.

  ‘I thought it might be nicked,’ Barolli explained.

  ‘Well considering the state of shock Marisha was in over Josh’s death, I thought it was inappropriate.’

  ‘The kitchen was like something out of a cookery programme – new cooker, fridge and a host of other modern appliances. I took down the serial numbers,’ he said, holding up his notebook.

  Anna frowned. ‘She said Samuel had a big win on the horses so she probably had receipts for the lot.’

  Barolli shrugged his shoulders. ‘Well at least we got to the bottom of the decorator problem.’

  ‘That’s if Samuel finished the work himself,’ Anna observed.

  ‘Maybe Dewar’s right about Curtis Bowman – Josh could have got him to finish it.’

  ‘Dewar’s wrong. Bowman is telling the truth,’ An
na said firmly.

  Barolli, realizing he had upset her, changed the subject.

  ‘Fancy stopping off for something to eat?’

  ‘I’m not that hungry and to be honest I just want to get home.’

  ‘Do you mind stopping so I can get a takeaway?’ he asked.

  ‘No,’ Anna said, rather begrudgingly.

  She pulled up outside a shabby-looking chicken joint that Barolli liked the look of and waited for him while he got some fried chicken and chips. The smell stank the car out and made Anna feel queasy for the remainder of the journey to the station. She was heartily glad that they were not in her own car.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next morning, Barolli rang in to say he was running late as he’d been sick in the night.

  ‘Serves him right for eating that disgusting takeaway,’ Anna said, and winced, recalling the horrible smell in the car.

  ‘That’s exactly what he said,’ Joan giggled.

  ‘How did the search of Esme’s flat go?’ Anna asked.

  ‘You didn’t hear?’ Joan said with surprise. ‘Agent Dewar spotted a loose floorboard and they found nearly a hundred and sixty thousand pounds hidden under it! And they’ve got a witness who saw Donna there the night the surveillance team lost her.’

  ‘Good,’ Anna said apathetically, realizing her thoughts about Donna being innocent had just taken a big nosedive. She’d already been informed that officers were preparing to arrest the young woman that morning.

  ‘Oh, I nearly forgot, my mum said that her current issue of Gardeners’ World says that the next one, which is out tomorrow, has an interview with Gloria about her latest flower-show display.’

  ‘Your mother and you don’t have a garden,’ Anna said, bemused.

  ‘No, but we have a lovely collection of pot plants on the balcony of the flat.’

  Shaking her head, Anna went to ring the vice squad, who agreed to come to the station to deal with Marcus Williams.

  Some time later, a subdued Barolli walked into her office and apologized in a croaky voice for being late.

  ‘You look like death warmed up,’ Anna observed, surprised at his dreadful appearance.

  ‘I feel like it. I think it was the fried chicken.’

  ‘You’re lucky it wasn’t full-blown salmonella poisoning.’

  ‘Make me feel better, why don’t you?’ he groaned.

  ‘You’ve only yourself to blame.’

  ‘I’ve had food poisoning before but this was so much worse. Had a rash all over me last night, my heart was palpitating ten to the dozen, temperature hit the roof then the room was spinning round and round in a psychedelic blur. I was hot but not sweating and to top it all I couldn’t pee or sh—’

  ‘Enough! Too much information!’ Anna cut him off.

  ‘I hope I don’t fall asleep when we interview Williams.’

  ‘I’ve rung the vice squad and they’re coming over to deal with him so you can have a lie-down on the sofa there while I go for some breakfast.’

  ‘Oh, thank God.’ He was lying on his back with a cushion over his face within seconds.

  ‘Gold to silver, any eyeball on red yet?’ Mike Lewis asked over the surveillance van radio.

  ‘Negative, negative,’ came the reply from Barbara, who was maintaining observation at Lynne House while Mike Lewis was near the Foundation offices with Dewar.

  ‘We’ll just have to arrest Donna in the house if she doesn’t come out soon,’ Dewar said, folding her arms in a cantankerous manner.

  ‘Be patient,’ Mike said calmly.

  ‘Patient! We’ve been here for two hours.’ Dewar sighed.

  ‘Eyeball on white leaving premises in yellow Mike Victor,’ Barbara said.

  ‘Is that Gloria, is she going out?’ Dewar asked, leaning over Mike to check the coloured code sign names.

  ‘No, white is Aisa. Mike Victor means motor vehicle and yellow is the car colour. Gloria is blue and Donna is red.’

  ‘This colour stuff is driving me nuts,’ Dewar grumbled.

  ‘Correction on last transmission: red is with white and units on tail,’ Barbara said and Dewar came to life.

  ‘Received. They can keep tail and you stay at current location and await instructions to search premises,’ Mike told Barbara, who acknowledged him.

  Dewar asked what he was going to do now and Mike said he’d decided to arrest Donna in her office and search it at the same time.

  Dewar looked surprised. ‘Without a search warrant?’

  ‘Don’t need one. We have a legal power to search after arrest for serious offences like murder.’

  ‘That’s good to know,’ Dewar said, yet again confused by the different laws in the UK.

  As the surveillance team followed Aisa’s car, they kept in continuous radio contact but it was nearly an hour before Mike and Dewar saw the vehicle go into the underground car park at the Foundation offices.

  Five minutes later, Mike Lewis, Dewar, three other members of the team and a uniform officer burst into Donna’s office to find her sitting at her desk. Mike produced his warrant card, introduced himself then told Donna that he was arresting her on suspicion of the murder of Joshua Reynolds, cautioned her and asked if she understood.

  A startled Donna started to cry, saying she didn’t understand as she had done nothing wrong. She repeatedly proclaimed her innocence and childishly begged to speak with her mother.

  Dewar crossed over to Donna’s handbag and went through it for a set of keys to match those in the mortuary photograph, which they suspected to be for Esme’s flat.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ Donna asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Dewar looked up at Mike and shook her head, just as Aisa barged into the room and demanded to know what was happening. On recognizing Dewar, she realized what was going on.

  ‘Don’t worry, Donna, I will call Mummy, she’ll sort this out.’ Aisa then turned to Dewar. ‘People like you just like to humiliate us because we’re wealthy and better off than you are.’

  ‘I suggest you keep your insinuations to yourself, Miss Lynne, or you may find yourself being arrested as well,’ Dewar said coldly.

  ‘Fuck you!’ Aisa pushed Dewar out of the way and stormed out of the room.

  Dewar smiled. ‘Told you she was a bit rough round the edges.’

  Mike radioed Barbara and told her to execute the search warrant at Lynne House and to make sure they looked in Donna’s car for any keys that might fit Esme’s flat. Meanwhile, he and Dewar would take Donna to the station while the other officers searched her office and seized her desktop computer.

  Pleased that events were moving, at least, Barbara spoke on the intercom with the housekeeper, who opened the gates. Pulling up at the front of Lynne House, the DS caught sight of a woman in green gardening overalls standing by the front door. She had never met Lady Gloria Lynne but recognized her from a picture Joan had shown her from a magazine cutting. As Barbara stepped out of the car she could see that Gloria was on the phone and had a face like thunder. Approaching Gloria, the search warrant in one hand and her warrant card in the other, Barbara said who she was and why her team were at the house. As she handed Gloria a copy of the warrant she told her team to start on the house while she searched Donna’s Mini, which was parked by the garages.

  ‘Just one minute!’ Gloria said sternly as she examined the warrant. Barbara stopped and the rest of her team followed suit. Gloria proceeded to read out the details of the warrant over the phone.

  ‘My solicitor would like a word with you,’ Gloria said as she handed Barbara the phone.

  The solicitor suavely informed her he was Mr Charles Leicester and he represented the Lynne family. Barbara recognized his name and was aware that he was a top London solicitor ‘I’m sure your search of Donna’s bedroom and car shouldn’t take you too long.’ He laughed. Barbara was puzzled by his remark, as Lynne House was enormous.

  ‘We will be here for some time, sir, so I need to get on.’


  ‘From what Lady Lynne said was on your warrant, I suggest you look at it again, officer,’ Leicester said in a condescending tone.

  Barbara reread the search warrant and it hit her like a ton of bricks. In her rush to get it authorized, she had inadvertently typed LYNNE HOUSE, WEYBRIDGE, PROPERTY OF MRS DONNA REYNOLDS, making it invalid, as Gloria owned the property. Gloria had a smug smile on her face as Barbara handed back the phone.

  ‘On my solicitor’s advice, and not wishing to be obstructive, I am willing to allow you to search Donna’s bedroom and her car,’ Gloria said, as she screwed up the warrant and tossed it to one side.

  Barbara knew that she should call Mike Lewis there and then but she wanted to search the car first. On looking in the Mini’s glovebox, she was highly relieved to find a set of three keys, which when compared to a close-up photograph of those recovered from Josh’s pocket at the mortuary appeared to match. She was certain they were the important set and that the smallest key was for a garage. Taking a deep breath, Barbara phoned Mike, who was understandably very annoyed, brusquely informing her that he would book Donna into custody and she was to meet him with the recovered keys at Esme’s flat.

  A short while later, DC Ross came down from Donna’s bedroom to report that apart from seizing a laptop and iPad they had found nothing of any interest. Gloria had shown them the evening dress that Donna was wearing on the night of the charity ball and they had packed it in an evidence bag.

  Lady Lynne came back out to the front of the house and approached the two officers.

  ‘You are here as a minion, carrying out the orders of DCI Travis and that objectionable FBI woman. You can tell them that I will not allow my daughter Donna to be their scapegoat and will do everything in my power to make sure their careers are over.’

  ‘I will let her know that your solicitor Mr Leicester will be attending the station to represent Donna,’ Barbara replied.

  ‘He is arranging for Ian Holme QC to attend. No doubt you’ve heard of him, officer,’ Gloria said with a smirk as she turned and walked into the house.