Murder Ring (A DI Geraldine Steel Mystery)

by Leigh Russell

  They were all shocked. They saw Jack at the bar every day. Rafe hadn’t been working there for long so he was probably the least affected by Jack’s arrest. All the same, Rafe knew him and liked him well enough. Remembering how Katy had been fond of Jack, he felt a wave of pity for her. She looked so vulnerable. He decided he would see to it that she got home safely. That was the least he could do for her.

  ‘They got it all wrong,’ she told him, as she came and sat down beside him. ‘The police. Idiots. They got it all wrong. Here,’ she handed him another vodka. ‘The bottle was half-empty anyway. We might as well finish it off. Then we can put another one up and start all over again!’ She burst into noisy laughter. ‘Go on, drink up,’ she added, sounding almost aggressive. ‘It’s good for you.’

  She stared at him with glazed eyes as he sipped the drink slowly. He wasn’t sure if she was able to focus on him at all.

  ‘Are you all right?’ He was afraid she might pass out. ‘Do you think it’s time you got off home? I’ll help you. Where do you live?’

  ‘They got it all wrong,’ she repeated angrily. ‘The fucking police. You know they got it wrong. You know Jack didn’t do it. He couldn’t have. Poor Jack. Why didn’t you say something?’

  Tears trickled from her bleary eyes as she reached out and took his shot glass from his hand. ‘Not Jack. It wasn’t Jack. You know it wasn’t.’

  ‘If he’s innocent, the police will get to the bottom of it,’ he faltered.

  ‘Will they? You think?’ She drained his glass. ‘It wasn’t Jack, but they still took him.’

  ‘They have to investigate, and besides, they must have found some evidence. They can’t just accuse someone of murder for no reason. What makes you think you know more than the police who are investigating it? I know you were friends with Jack, but you can’t be sure it wasn’t him.’

  ‘I know it wasn’t him because I was with him when that guy was shot. We heard it. We were in the other toilet together.’

  ‘What were you doing in there?’ he asked, realising too late how stupid his question was.

  ‘We were screwing, you dickhead, what do you think we were doing?’

  Her anger dissolved into laughter which turned to hysterical weeping. Rafe watched, appalled. He had no idea what to do with her.

  ‘I’m calling you a taxi,’ he said at last. ‘Stop crying and try to act sober or they’ll never take you home.’

  ‘I can stay here,’ she replied, her speech barely intelligible, ‘plenty to drink here.’

  ‘I’m getting you a coffee.’

  By the time he came back with two cups of espresso from the machine, she had rolled a joint. She wasn’t that far gone then, just upset. Watching her gulp the hot coffee, he wondered how on earth she could drink so much and still remain upright.

  ‘You have to go to the police,’ he said, when she had calmed down. ‘You have to tell them what you know.’

  ‘I can’t. Jack made me promise never to tell anyone.’

  ‘Don’t be stupid. You have to. This is far more important than him worrying his girlfriend might find out he was screwing around.’

  ‘Screwing around?’

  ‘Well, OK, seeing you as well. You have to tell the police. If you don’t, he’ll be found guilty of murder, and the real murderer won’t be caught.’

  Katy began to cry again. ‘I promised,’ she sobbed, ‘I promised Jack I wouldn’t tell.’

  66

  GERALDINE RECOGNISED THE girl who worked with Jack although she had only met her once, briefly. Her pink hair helped make her memorable.

  ‘Katy, isn’t it? You work with Jack, don’t you? Please, sit down. Now, how can I help you?’

  Aware that she was going through the motions, Geraldine did her best to sound interested. She was almost sure this would be a waste of time. Katy would come up with some desperate plea, or she might try to persuade Geraldine that Jack couldn’t possibly have shot anyone. ‘I know him so well. There’s no way he would ever do something like that. Jack wouldn’t hurt a fly.’ Geraldine had heard similar phrases so many times before. Katy’s conviction that her colleague was innocent was touching, but worthless compared to the weight of evidence stacked against him: the gun, the location of the shootings, and the jacket found in Jack’s wardrobe.

  ‘I know Jack didn’t shoot that guy at the bar,’ she said, staring earnestly at Geraldine.

  ‘I understand you’re concerned about your friend, but we have compelling evidence against him.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter how much proof you say you’ve got, he didn’t do it and I’m going to swear to that in court. Whatever evidence you’ve got against him is false. Someone’s lying, and I don’t know if it’s you or if someone else is lying to you, but it’s physically impossible for him to have shot that guy in the toilets.’

  Geraldine asked her to explain why she was so convinced of Jack’s innocence.

  ‘I don’t know anything about the first bloke he was supposed to have shot, but I know he didn’t shoot the guy who fell out of the window at the bar.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘Because Jack was with me when the guy was shot.’

  Katy explained that she had been having sex with Jack in the toilet next door. He hadn’t wanted his girlfriend to find out, so Jack occasionally went home with her after work, and sometimes they got together at work in the ladies toilet which was bigger than the men’s cubicle. They were in there together when they heard a shot in the toilet next door.

  ‘How did you know it was a gunshot?’

  ‘I didn’t, not at the time. I thought it was a car backfiring, only it sounded like it came from the other side of the wall. To be honest, I didn’t really take much notice of it at the time only I noticed it because it was so loud. Anyway, we finished and I went out first to check the coast was clear, before Jack came out. We couldn’t stay away long without anyone noticing. It was just a bit of fun, you know. Well, no one saw us – that was part of the fun, the risk we might be caught. Only when I got to the corridor I nearly had a heart attack because a woman ran past me.’ She gave a mock shudder. ‘She came out of nowhere and nearly knocked me over. Then Jack came out and we decided to pop into the men’s, to see what the noise was all about, and there was a pool of blood on the floor and a gun in the sink! It was like we walked on to a movie set!’

  This was a lot more interesting than Geraldine had expected.

  ‘What happened to the gun?’

  ‘I wrapped it in paper towels and gave it to Jack.’

  ‘Why?’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. He told me to do it so I did. I was so shocked, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but Jack was cool.’

  And Katy would have done anything he told her to do, Geraldine thought.

  ‘Then we both went back to work. We couldn’t stay away long without anyone noticing.’ She shrugged. ‘It was just a bit of fun, you know.’

  ‘Didn’t you mind that he had a girlfriend?’

  ‘If it didn’t stop him, why would it bother me?’

  ‘But didn’t you mind having to keep your relationship a secret?’

  ‘No. It was part of the fun, really. I mean, it was only sex. It’s not like either of us wanted to get exclusive or anything. It wasn’t serious. We were just having fun. What’s wrong with that?’

  ‘What happened to the gun?’

  ‘I don’t know. Jack took it and we went back to work and then about five minutes later we heard shouting and sirens and it all kicked off.’

  Geraldine asked the witness if she would make a formal statement. If her account was true, Jack was innocent of shooting Luke. While Katy was retelling her statement in greater detail to a constable, Geraldine studied her notes on the interview. As soon as Katy had finished making her statement, Geraldine spoke to her again.

  ‘I’ve told you everything I know,’ Katy protested. ‘There’s nothing more I can tell you. I just want to go home now. I’ve
done what I could and I shouldn’t even have told you anything.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Jack made me promise not to.’

  ‘Because of his girlfriend?’

  Katy nodded. ‘But this seemed like it was serious. I mean, a murder charge. He could go to prison.’

  ‘For a long time,’ Geraldine agreed. ‘Thank you for coming forward with your statement. Jack is going to be very grateful. There’re just a couple of things I need to check with you. First of all, why didn’t Jack tell us he was with you when Luke was shot?’

  Katy shrugged. ‘I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him that.’

  ‘We will. There’s one other thing. You mentioned a woman ran past you. Could she have come out of the other toilet?’

  ‘Well, I didn’t exactly see her come out, but there was nowhere else she could have come from, unless she was lost.’

  ‘Who was she?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Can you describe her?’

  Katy shook her head. ‘She was just a woman. I can’t remember what she looked like. It’s quite dark along there.’

  Gradually, Geraldine managed to wheedle a few details from Katy. She was sure it was a woman who had come out of the toilet. She had shoulder-length hair of indeterminate colour, and was wearing a coat. It could have been a duffel coat or an anorak, Katy wasn’t sure.

  ‘I’m sorry. That’s all I can remember.’

  ‘Would you recognise her if you saw her again?’

  ‘I don’t think so. I didn’t see her face. Sorry. I’m not very good with faces.’

  Geraldine wondered if Katy was making up the presence of a third person in the toilets at the time of the murder to lead the police astray.

  ‘Were you the only one to see a woman in the corridor outside the toilets, or did Jack see her too?’

  ‘He might’ve missed her, only she barged right into me so I knew she was there. As she was pushing past me he came out, and she ran off. I don’t know if he saw her or not. You’ll have to ask him.’

  Geraldine thanked her again and stood up.

  At the door Katy stopped. ‘When you see Jack, tell him I thought it was the best thing to do. I mean, I know I promised, but this is different. I mean, a murder charge. This is serious, isn’t it?’

  Geraldine didn’t answer. Wondering if this new lead was genuine, she hurried away to follow it up.

  67

  ADAM NODDED AT a chair. Geraldine sat down. The detective chief inspector remained silent for a few minutes, reading something on his screen. Geraldine waited. He had summoned her, so she wasn’t going to speak first.

  ‘I wanted to discuss Katy’s statement with you before we talk to everyone else,’ he said at last. ‘How reliable would you say her account is? Do you think she’s telling us the truth or is this simply a fabrication in an attempt to get her boyfriend off?’

  ‘I don’t think we can discount it,’ Geraldine replied slowly. ‘It could be true, although she could just be making it up. It’s impossible to tell really. He wasn’t exactly her boyfriend, but she clearly had a thing going with him.’

  ‘By “having a thing going”, you mean they were fucking?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Let’s be clear what we’re talking about. There’s enough obfuscation and confusion in this case already without our adding to it with ambiguous comments. Basically, Katy’s statement strikes me as a load of bollocks. Why didn’t she mention it at the time?’

  Geraldine had the impression the detective chief inspector was reluctant to take the new witness account seriously. As they talked it over, she struggled against being persuaded to dismiss Katy’s account. It was very difficult to believe that Jack wasn’t involved.

  ‘Are we really to believe that David was shot immediately after Jack stole his leather jacket, and then after shooting Luke the killer left his gun behind for Jack to find?’ Adam asked her. ‘It’s just all a bit too much of a coincidence, isn’t it? And I don’t trust coincidences. One way or another, this new account doesn’t make sense. She promised Jack she wouldn’t tell anyone about their affair. Really? Someone’s trying to pull the wool over our eyes and my money’s on Katy. I still think Jack’s our killer. He was there, for Christ’s sake. And his brother had the gun. What more do we want? It had to be one or the other of them, and my hunch is that it’s Jack. Otherwise, why didn’t he tell us he was with Katy when Luke was shot? We have to get him to confess.’

  They agreed they needed to check out what Katy had told them. To satisfy themselves that she was lying, they explored whether Jack could confirm her statement.

  ‘Tell us about your relationship with Katy.’

  ‘Katy? Katy what works at the bar?’

  It took a while before Jack would admit that he had regular sex with Katy.

  ‘Why you want to know? What’s it to you?’

  ‘Just answer the question.’

  ‘Yeah, we was shagging. So? I get lots of pussy.’ He glanced at Geraldine and made a hissing noise with his tongue. ‘We done it at work mostly, in the ladies. There’s more room there than the men’s, and anyways it stinks in there. And the ladies got a lock on the door.’

  ‘You also went to her flat for sex?’

  ‘Sometimes we done it there. So what? The bitch is well up for it. Ain’t no one’s fucking business.’

  ‘When did you last have sex with her?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Just answer the question. And don’t try pulling anything, because she’s told us everything. Now talk.’

  Jack’s account of the evening matched what Katy had told them, right down to the detail about her wrapping the gun in paper towels to avoid touching it. He took it from her and put it in his pocket.

  ‘Why did you take it?’

  ‘It’s a gun, innit?’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell us all this before?’

  Jack shrugged. ‘I ain’t gonna let you get my bro in no trouble. He ain’t like me. He ain’t like no one else I know. And I know he ain’t done nothing because he was home that night. I don’t never leave the front door unlocked. We take care of him, my ma and me. You ain’t gonna fit him up for this.’

  ‘So you were prepared to go to prison to protect your brother?’

  Geraldine was surprised when Jack laughed at the question.

  ‘I ain’t going down for something I ain’t done. No way. You got no proof. I knew I’d never go down for it. Something would turn up. It always does. I always been lucky. Anyways you don’t scare me. Ain’t no way you gonna get me.’ He clicked his fingers.

  Jack admitted he had given the gun to his brother to hide.

  ‘I give the shooter to my bro, Theo, because his room’s a mess – you seen it? He picks up stuff and hoards it, like a bleeding magpie, innit? So I think, if he hides the shooter in with all his gear, ain’t no one gonna find it in there. Only the stupid asshole takes it out, and he gets picked up with it. He ought never to have got out. My ma and me, we keep the front door locked so he can’t get out.’

  Geraldine leaned forward. ‘We need you to think very carefully now, Jack. Did you see anyone in the corridor outside the toilet when you came out?’

  ‘Only some old tart.’

  ‘A woman?’ Geraldine and Adam exchanged a rapid glance. ‘Who was she?’

  ‘I dunno, do I? Just some old tart. I never seen her before.’ He looked up, his eyes alert with interest as he realised the significance of the woman’s presence in the corridor that night. ‘You think she done it?’

  ‘Can you describe her? This is very important, Jack.’

  ‘Yeah, I get you. You’re just wetting yourself thinking you got a suspect. Well, you’re in luck, because I’m good with faces. Yeah, I remember her. So what you gonna bung me for the info? You asking me to snitch. That’s worth some dosh, innit?’

  The lawyer leaned over and muttered to Jack.

  ‘How about we substitute obstructing the police in a murder enquiry, wi
thholding information, and accessory to murder, for starters, in place of a simple murder charge?’ Adam exploded.

  ‘Fucking hell, hush, man. All right then. This old tart, she was small with hair all over the place so I didn’t get much of a look at her face, not that I was bothered. She was skinny, and her face was bad, what I could see of it, like she’d had acne real bad, innit? And she had this big warty thing on her chin.’

  After speaking to Jack, Geraldine took a break. Seeing Sam in the canteen, she went over to her table. Although she would have preferred to have a quiet coffee by herself, remembering Sam’s last words to her, she felt she ought to join her. Determined to avoid talking about anything other than the case, Geraldine launched into a theory that took account of Katy’s statement.

  ‘Basically, either Jack’s guilty or he confessed to stealing the gun to protect his brother, in which case he must know Theo’s guilty. Assuming that’s the case, perhaps Theo followed Jack and saw him mug David for his jacket. Theo was watching and he shot David, maybe because David resisted Jack. It was probably just a lucky shot. Then after that Theo followed Jack to work. I’m not sure why he shot someone else.’

  ‘Maybe he didn’t do it deliberately. He’s not all there, is he?’

  ‘Possibly.’

  ‘So let me get this straight,’ Sam said. ‘Now that we think it might not be Jack after all, we’re going to try and pin it on Theo again. And he’s an easy target, because we don’t really need a motive with him, do we?’

  Geraldine sighed. They seemed to be casting around in a fog.

  ‘Katy was clear that she was with Jack when Luke was shot, but of course she could be lying to save his skin.’

  ‘What about the woman they saw leaving?’ Sam asked, dunking a biscuit in her tea.

  Geraldine watched the chocolate on Sam’s biscuit melt as she lifted it out of the tea. She craned her neck forward to eat it over the cup so it couldn’t drip in her lap.