Murder Ring (A DI Geraldine Steel Mystery)

by Leigh Russell

  He sat up and leaned on one elbow. ‘Gina, baby, what the fuck are you talking about?’

  Carefully, she explained. At last he understood what she was telling him. He swore aloud and thrashed the bed in his anger.

  ‘Why the fuck can’t they leave me alone? I done my time. Those bastards. Once they got you, they think they can pin anything and everything on you. Some prick’s gone and robbed a house and now they want me to go down for it, so they can meet their bleeding target. No matter it wasn’t me. Someone got robbed. Let’s do Lenny for this one. He’s just out. We can send him back and hit a target. Bastards. Well, I ain’t going down for nothing, just so’s they can talk shit about how they done a good job and got one more piece of scum off the streets. No way. They ain’t going to pin this on me. I’ll fight it, Gina. I won’t go down without a fight.’

  Watching him work himself up in to a temper, she waited for him to calm down enough to listen to her.

  ‘Don’t be a mug, Lenny. What you going to do? Call the whole police force a liar? If they say you done it, who’s going to believe you?’

  ‘Bastards!’

  He knew she was right. Now he had form, he was a sitting duck. They could accuse him of burglary and any judge or jury would convict him without even listening to a word in his defence. He was a marked man.

  ‘You ain’t done nothing since you come out, have you?’ she asked.

  ‘Only robbed that stiff. Oh shit. You know what? The bastards are going to want to pin that on me, aren’t they? Call me a bloody murderer. Well, they got to find me first.’

  ‘That’s what I been saying. We got to get away. It’s not safe here.’

  ‘If I gotta run, I ain’t taking you. Where the fuck am I supposed to go? I ain’t got no money. How much you got, baby?’

  Without a word she climbed out of bed and fetched her purse. There was just over thirty quid in it.

  ‘Give it here.’

  ‘What? All of it? What am I supposed to live on for the rest of the week?’

  ‘You’ll get more. Come on, give it here.’

  Reluctantly she handed over the cash. ‘It’s all I got. We’ll find somewhere, won’t we?’

  ‘We? What you on about, you daft cow. I told you, I gotta go alone. You’ll slow me down.’

  ‘But you’ll send for me, won’t you? When you got somewhere to live?’

  ‘Send for you? What you talking about? You got any idea how stupid you sound? How am I supposed to find somewhere to live? I ain’t got no money. I got no job.’

  She climbed back into bed. ‘You got friends?’

  There was no point pretending he would be able to find somewhere for them to live, not without fear of the law catching up with them. He would be on the run.

  ‘Maybe you should just stay here. Tell them it weren’t you. Whenever it happened, I’ll say you were with me.’

  ‘Like those bastards are going to listen. No, I got to get away. It won’t be forever,’ he promised her, putting one arm round her and pulling her close. ‘One last night together, before I’m off.’

  ‘You will send for me won’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’

  ‘And before you go, I want my ring back.’

  ‘Oh shit. I forgot about that.’

  ‘Where is it, Lenny? You promised.’

  He explained that he had taken the ring to be resized, as they had discussed.

  ‘Where? Where did you take it?’

  ‘Just leave it out will you? I’ll sort it when this is all over.’

  ‘No, I want it, Lenny. I want it back now.’

  She didn’t tell him that she had a plan. She would sell the ring for whatever she could get for it, and they could use the money to move away. They could go up North, maybe to Scotland. That was as good as another country. No one there would be after him. They could find somewhere to live and start out again, without his bloody mother breathing down their necks every five minutes. It might even turn out for the best in the long run.

  ‘Where is it, Lenny? Where did you take it?’

  ‘Shut up will you? I said I’d sort it. Now lie down for fuck’s sake. I ain’t got all night.’

  In the early hours he climbed out of bed. Forlornly, she followed him into the kitchen and watched him stuff what little food she had into his rucksack, before he slipped out of the flat, leaving her sobbing in the narrow hallway. It was worse than him being in the nick. At least then she had known where he was, and he hadn’t been able to drift in and take all her money, leaving her with nothing to eat and an empty purse.

  19

  GETTING AWAY WAS always the hardest part. Tonight was particularly tricky because if what Gina told him was true, the police would be outside, keeping an eye on the flat. It was lucky he had not simply marched up to the front door where he could easily have been seen. It was almost like he had a sixth sense, and knew they were looking for him. Still, slipping in and out of properties unseen was his special talent. It made a change effecting an escape from his own home. At least he knew the territory better than anyone else. The most obvious escape route was out the back but he noticed that was under surveillance from a second-floor window overlooking the yard. Lenny was expecting that. He spotted the watcher first. Keeping close to the fence, he edged his way to the end of the yard an inch at a time, his progress masked by the tangled bushes that no one ever pruned. Reaching the back fence he pressed himself against the wooden slats, and waited patiently. At last the opportunity came. The watcher in the window turned as a second figure appeared, probably his replacement. As they faced one another, Lenny made his move. It was the work of a second to slip through the gate and press himself up against the far fence, out of the watcher’s line of vision. Unable to see up to the window where they had set up their surveillance, he waited. There was no sound of pursuit.

  The passageway that ran between the blocks of flats was unlit. Ignoring sharp stones that pierced the skin on the palms of his hands, he slithered along the ground in the darkness. It wasn’t far to the end of the path, but he seemed to be crawling for hours. At last he reached the road. Straightening up, he brushed the dirt from his jeans and jacket and set off towards anonymity and freedom. He had to restrain himself from running. He couldn’t afford to draw attention to himself. Reaching the main road, he paused. Finsbury Park station wasn’t far away. It was tempting to head straight there, nip down the stairs and jump on a train. On the other hand he wasn’t wearing a hood, and the underground network was riddled with CCTV cameras. On balance he decided it wasn’t worth the risk of being picked up on a security camera. Reluctantly, he walked past the station and carried on, collar up, head down, eyes fixed on his scuffed shoes, listening for any sound of pursuit.

  As he strode along, he formulated a plan. Any one of his contacts could be an informer. Even if they didn’t grass regularly, they might buckle under police threats or inducements. He couldn’t think of a single person he could rely on to face police hostility rather than betray him. Not even his own mother was trustworthy. He worked himself up into a fury as he marched along, ducking his head whenever a car went by. Gina would give him up for cash. She was always out for what she could get. He would screw what money he could out of her and then disappear. Admittedly she had stuck by him all the time he was inside, but she was becoming a drag, harping on and on about getting married. As if he didn’t have enough problems. It was time he moved on.

  Before it grew light he needed to be out of sight. The only place he could think of to hide at such short notice was in one of the lock-up garages at Alfie’s place. Most of them were used for storage so there wasn’t much risk of being spotted. Alfie was usually out visiting scrapyards on Fridays so, with luck, he wouldn’t be around much. By Saturday Lenny would be gone. He just needed to get some cash in his pocket first. As he drew near Alfie’s motor repair yard, he pulled out his phone.

  ‘What you doing, calling me on the mobile? Didn’t you listen to what I said? The police was here
. They can track you –’

  ‘Shut the fuck up, Gina. All you got to do is listen. And don’t worry, I’m using a mate’s phone.’ It was one he’d nicked just after he got out of prison. Not that it was any of her business. ‘I need to get my hands on some readies. What you got?’

  ‘You know I ain’t got nothing. You took it all last night.’ She began to cry. ‘Where are you, Lenny? Where you hiding?’

  ‘I’m at Alfie’s, round the back, in one of the lock-ups. Only I can’t stay long. Alfie don’t know I’m here. No one knows. Only you. So you get some cash together and bring it round, like a good girl. Anyone asks, you’re going to the shops. Go and see a few other people first, and some more after, as many as you can, so it looks like you’re trying everywhere, in case they’re following you.’

  ‘What you mean, following me? Who’s following me?’

  ‘I mean in case the pigs is following you.’

  ‘Why would they do that? I ain’t done nothing.’

  ‘Course you ain’t but they’re looking for me, ain’t they? Jesus, Gina, don’t be so bloody thick.’

  ‘Oh fuck off.’

  ‘Don’t let anyone suspect I’m here. You got to be clever about it, Gina. Use your head for Christ’s sake. But you bring me some dosh soon. Maybe you can get some off me mum. I’ll be banged up again if I don’t get out of here soon. And don’t call me back. I’m going to chuck the phone somewhere no one’s going to find it so you won’t get me on it. Now get going, will you?’

  ‘Where the hell am I supposed to get any money?’ she whined.

  He rang off. There was no point trying his mother. She never answered his calls. There was no one else. He glanced around before slipping the phone down a drain. He hoped Gina would come good for him.

  20

  GERALDINE AND SAM set off early to visit Gina. They were almost certain Lenny wouldn’t be there. He would have had to steal past two officers sitting in a patrol car a few doors away, watching the property.

  ‘He’s a house burglar,’ Sam had pointed out that morning. ‘He knows how to creep in and out of houses without being spotted.’

  ‘Not under our noses,’ Adam had replied. ‘We’ve got officers watching the house, front and back.’

  Although she tended to agree with the detective chief inspector, Geraldine had to admit it was possible Lenny had slipped home undetected. He had been caught only after successfully entering hundreds of properties undetected. Men like him knew how to move around unseen. She shared her views with Sam who grinned with excitement at the suggestion that they might find Lenny at home.

  ‘Just imagine if he’s there!’ she crowed. ‘All these alerts and messages flying around, all the surveillance teams, and even an announcement on Crimewatch. Jesus, everyone in the whole of the Met, the entire force, the whole country, must know about the fatal mugging and the killer who got away. He vanished into thin air, and now we’re going to march into his house and arrest him, just like that. It’s awesome! Think how good it’s going to look on our CVs. I can just picture it. There might be promotion in it. And as for my mum, always banging on about how I should give up the job, and how I’m risking my life for nothing, this’ll shut her up, won’t it? You and me, simply walking in and arresting a dangerous killer. He could be armed. Shit, I love this job!’

  ‘He probably won’t be there,’ Geraldine said, but Sam refused to be deflated.

  As they drove, Geraldine thought about what Sam had said. There had certainly been a fuss about David Lester’s death in the media, especially since Laura had been persuaded to grant an interview to one of the news channels. Young, blonde and tearful, she had been a reporter’s dream accompaniment to a dramatic account of a violent death on the streets of London. It was only one of several accounts criticising the police for failing to catch the perpetrator immediately.

  ‘The victim did not belong to a gang, or associate with criminals. He was simply a law-abiding member of society who was shot dead in Central London for the contents of his wallet. What,’ the reporter had concluded, ‘are the police actually doing to protect our citizens from such violence on our streets?’

  To begin with, Gina tried to refuse to allow them in the house.

  ‘Don’t do this, Gina. You know we’re here with a search warrant and a full team. If you resist, we’ll only end up having to break the door down. Let us in. We just want to take a look around. Then we can call the search teams off and leave you alone.’

  ‘Why the hell would you want to search my flat? What you looking for anyway?’

  ‘We need to find Lenny.’

  Finally, with much grumbling, Gina opened the door to let them in. If anything, she looked even more gaunt than the first time Geraldine had seen her. She was visibly agitated. Her legs trembled as she leaned against the wall in the narrow hallway for support.

  ‘You won’t find him,’ she muttered. ‘There ain’t no one here. I ain’t seen him since he was in the nick.’

  Geraldine spoke gently to the terrified woman, as though she was speaking to a nervous child.

  ‘Gina, I need to talk to you about Lenny. Let’s go and sit down, shall we?’

  Taking Gina’s elbow, she steered her into the cramped living room where they had spoken before. While an armed team searched the flat, Geraldine kept an eye on Gina to make sure she couldn’t warn Lenny they were there. Gina perched on the edge of a worn upright chair, biting her lip and squinting askance at her uninvited guest. Geraldine glanced around the room. Small and sparsely furnished, it was ugly and uncomfortable. Apart from the two matching chairs she and Gina were seated on, there was an armchair of worn tan leather that looked as though it belonged in a different room. A low table was covered in stained tea cups. Around a dozen gin bottles, mostly empty, were lined up against the wall. Above a grotty gas fire fixed to the wall, empty beer bottles stood in a row on a narrow shelf. There was nothing else in the room, apart from worn grey carpet and threadbare orange curtains.

  ‘You can look all you like, you won’t find him,’ Gina snarled. ‘You think I don’t see your game? Well, you won’t find nothing. And they better not nick my purse neither. I know what’s in it.’

  Geraldine chose her words carefully. ‘Gina, you may see this on the television, so I’m going to tell you now to your face. You need to listen to me. Lenny’s in trouble.’

  ‘Oh fuck off. He ain’t done nothing. You’ll never make this stick, whatever it is you’re trying to fit him up with. It’s all a set up. I weren’t born yesterday.’

  ‘We think he killed someone.’

  ‘Who did?’

  ‘Lenny.’

  Gina threw her head back. Her scrawny neck juddered as she gave a bark of laughter.

  ‘Well I don’t believe you, not for one minute, and you won’t get no jury to convict him because you won’t have no proof. You can’t just bang a man up any time you feel like it, even if you are the police.’

  Her bravado was pathetically transparent. She was terrified.

  ‘We have reason to suspect he mugged a man on the street and shot him dead.’

  ‘Shot him?’

  ‘Yes, with a pistol –’

  ‘Oh bugger off. Now I know it’s all a pack of lies. Lenny never had no time for guns.’

  ‘He’s armed, and he’s dangerous. If you know where he is, or if he comes to see you, you need to call us straight away. We can protect you –’

  ‘I don’t need protecting. Only from you. You’re a fucking liar, and you know it. Lenny ain’t done nothing. You better leave him alone.’

  Geraldine stared at her. ‘Gina, if it turns out you know where he is, there’s every chance you’ll go down as an accessory to murder. At the very least you’ll be done for withholding information from the police and obstructing our enquiry. These are serious offences, Gina. We’re conducting a murder investigation.’

  ‘Fuck off out of it. I told you, he ain’t here.’

  ‘I put the wind up her,’ Geraldine
told Sam as they walked back to the car together. ‘She was nervous all right. But she stuck to her story.’

  The search team had found nothing incriminating in the flat.

  ‘You wouldn’t know he lives with her,’ one of them said. ‘There were no men’s clothes in the wardrobe, hardly any clothes at all in there, just a huge pile of soiled women’s clothing in the bathroom, not even in a laundry basket, just lying on the floor.’ He screwed up his nose. ‘And there wasn’t a single photo of him to be seen anywhere.’

  ‘She might have pictures of him, just not out on display.’

  ‘It must have been concealed beneath other things then. Who keeps photographs hidden away?’

  Geraldine thought about the one precious photograph she had of her birth mother. It was an old picture, probably taken before Geraldine was born. Her mother looked about twelve in it, but she had only been sixteen when Geraldine was born, and probably not very different to the thin, wide-eyed child in the photograph Geraldine kept hidden away in the drawer beside her bed. Until now, it had never struck her as strange that her mother had asked the social worker to give the picture to the daughter she had abandoned at birth and now refused to see. For the first time she wondered if that was significant.

  ‘Geraldine? Are you listening?’ Sam asked. ‘They couldn’t find anything.’

  Geraldine shook her head. What they were looking for wasn’t going to be hidden away in a drawer or a tin in the kitchen.

  ‘Where is he?’ she muttered.

  ‘We’ll find him,’ Sam replied. ‘He can’t have gone far. Sooner or later he’ll stick his nose up out of whatever sewer he’s hiding in, and then we’ll have him.’

  21

  GINA COULD HAVE laughed when the police turned up to search the flat, because there really was nothing there. Not even a loaf of bread. Luckily the inspector believed her when she said she didn’t know where Lenny was. If they had suspected she was lying, they might have treated her differently. Everyone knew the police put themselves above the law. If they’d bothered to check her phone, they would have seen she had received a call only about an hour earlier. Not that it would have helped them, because he was using a stolen phone. Still, they might have been able to trace where he was when he made the call. You couldn’t be too careful with the police. They were up to all sorts of crafty tricks, always trying to catch people out. No wonder everyone hated them. That was what Lenny said, anyway.