Errand of Mercy: How far do you run, and where do you hide?

by William Walker

  “I’m at a loss,” he said. “No. Wait. We left our flight bags in the corridor. Remember? My God, it points them right to us. That was stupid.”

  “You didn’t know anyone was going to be murdered.”

  Lucy stumbled barefoot into the sitting room dressed in her blouse and nicely creased pants. Somewhere she’d found an iron.

  “What’s going on?” she mumbled. “Why is that frigging phone so loud?”

  “Daniel, you still there?” Gina asked anxiously.

  “Yeah.” He touched a front tooth with a thumb and index finger, pushed it back and forth a little as though he expected it to move. “I bet Starr and his cronies did this. They were probably right behind us all the time, even closer than we thought and we didn’t know it.”

  The telephone went silent. “Gina?”

  “I bet you’re right,” she said.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Lucy interrupted.

  O’Brien held up a finger. “There’s a quick way to solve this problem,” he said into the phone. “I’ll just call the police and set them straight.

  “Daniel, we’ve got...” Gina’s voice faded out and O’Brien could hear Charlie in the background. “We’re leaving the house right now. Charlie and Jenny are going to drop me off at the apartment with you guys and they’re going on to the hospital. Hold on.” Her voice went away and came back. “Charlie wants to get there right away, before the police arrive. He says he’s got the name of his solicitor—his lawyer—in case you need one.”

  “I’ll give you guys a head start before I make the call,” O’Brien replied. “But I am calling.”

  “See you in a few minutes, Daniel.” She rang off.

  O’Brien looked at Lucy as he replaced the receiver.

  “Okay, Daniel. What the hell was that all about?” She was chewing on a corner of a fingernail. “I heard enough to scare the shit out of me.”

  He screwed his eyes and shook his head. “Sit down, Lucy. You won’t believe this.”

  Murdock blinked awake and sat upright in the car. The gray shroud of a typical English morning was giving way to sunshine instead of clouds. He’d slept too long.

  They were in the neighboring town of Hove, parked on a quiet street. A major intersection was nearby, but this was a Saturday morning.

  He ran a hand over his bare scalp, slowly swiveled his head, and let his focus travel up and down the sidewalks on both sides of the street. This block of houses along with several others nearby were all becoming gentrified, and the neighborhood had an upscale feel to it, as though the area might be a stopping point for the upwardly mobile. The residences were all built in the 1950’s, solidly constructed with stone and brick on the outside, oak floors on the inside. He knew this because he remodeled homes when he wasn’t working for the Conductor.

  He took a sip of cold tea from a cardboard cup left over from the previous evening. He was remodeling less and less these days and working for the Conductor more and more. The pay was better.

  A ragged snore rumbled from the rear seat as the German awakened. The car bucked back and forth as he maneuvered himself into a sitting position. The man ran a large, dirty hand over his face and croaked, “Ich muss eine Pause.”

  “Ja, okay,” the Briton responded and almost laughed. The German was asking permission to take a leak, as if he were in kindergarten. He released the door locks with a switch on his side panel.

  Starr sat up, stretched and looked around. Murdock studied him with a thought. It was possible that the doctor had never been asleep at all. He did not have the vacant, puzzled look that came with normal awakening.

  “Remember, we wait for the bar owner when he comes out of his house,” Murdock reminded him. “He’ll know for sure where your friends went off to.”

  An instant later the vehicle sagged on its rear shocks as Udo sank back into the rear seat and exclaimed. “Mein Gott, they come out now!”

  A ponytailed man and two women were exiting onto the front stoop of the house. The man fiddled with the keys in one hand while holding the screen door with the other. The women stood with weight on their toes, tapping out nervous energy like children playing hide-and-seek. Their gaze skipped up and down the street, but seemed to focus on nothing.

  “It’s going to be a nice day.” Murdock heard one of the women remark.

  “What the hell.” Starr squeezed his eyebrows together and sat forward. “That’s Gina. What’s she doing here?”

  “Who?’ Murdock asked.

  “She was a colleague of mine. She came with us from Liberia.”

  “Ah yes, the one the train with the nice tits.”

  “Which one we take?” Udo asked. He pulled on the door handle.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Murdock ordered. He focused on the group. “It’s better if we follow them. We’ll see where they take us. After all, we don’t know where the other two are, or who’s got the diamonds.”

  22

  Chief Inspector Ramsey Sudbury slowly poured full-cream milk from a cardboard container into his extra-stout Yorkshire tea. He used skim milk only when his wife was watching. She was more concerned about his weight than he was, but at fifty-four he was only carrying an extra twenty pounds or so. His mid-section had grown quite soft over the years, and that did trouble him. He added two brown sugar packets to his tea, stirred the strong brew four rotations with a plastic spoon and took a noisy sip. Lovely.

  He looked at his watch: eight-thirty on a Saturday morning and the squad room was empty. Detective Inspector Emma Townsend was on holiday, gone until next week, and the other four police inspectors were either a tad late this morning or next door at the sandwich shop having breakfast. He shrugged. A few minutes either side of the half hour was okay on a Saturday morning. He liked to keep things relaxed on weekends, especially in light of his retirement coming up next month.

  His wife had packed a fried egg and ham sandwich between two pieces of buttered toast, the same way she’d done for the past twenty-five years. It saved him a quid here and there, plus she prepared it just the way he liked. He took another sip of his tea and reached into the paper bag.

  Two inspectors walked in just as the telephone rang. Sudbury had a mouthful of ham and egg and motioned to the taller and more senior of the inspectors as he wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

  The tall policeman picked up the phone with an attentive expression, as though trying hard not to appear too bored this early in the morning. Weekend shifts were not popular, but that was the way of police work.

  Sudbury chewed through his breakfast while he kept an ear to the inspector’s side of the conversation.

  “Jesus Christ, hold on now!” The tall inspector cupped a hand over the receiver and froze in place. He gaped at Sudbury with a face gone tight.

  Sudbury swallowed quickly and picked up the extension. “Inspector Sudbury here, go ahead.”

  “Inspector, this is in regard to the murder of that poor lady in Gatwick yesterday evening.” It was the voice of an American, and the man was speaking calmly.

  Sudbury moved his tea away from the telephone and said, “Who is this? Do you have some information about the crime?” He swallowed once again.

  “According to the TV reports, I believe that I’m the person you’re looking for. I’m innocent, of course, or I wouldn’t be calling. But I’d like to clear this up.”

  The Chief Inspector put a hand over the receiver and motioned to his officers. “Get the Chief Constable in North Downs or his assistants, and anybody else up there you can raise. Tell’um we’re bringing in this American.” He put his ear back to the phone. “Where exactly are you, Mr.?”

  “O’Brien.”

  “That’s right, Mr. O’Brien. Well, the whole episode is causing quite a tragic stir, I can tell you that straight off. What’s your location?”

  “Before I give you that information, let me again emphasize the obvious.”

  “And what’s that?” Sudbury dabbed the corner of his mouth again wi
th the napkin.

  “If I was guilty of the crime, I wouldn’t be calling in, now would I?”

  “That’s entirely possible, Mr. O’Brien, but we’ll need to know a lot more before we can clear up this mess.” He paused for a moment, heard nothing on the other end. “So,” he said with an air of closure. “What’s your present address?”

  He scribbled rapidly on a pad with a newly sharpened pencil from a desktop holder. A moment later he put the telephone firmly back in its cradle and sat back. He had several calls to make, all of them urgent. But before he picked up the phone again he twirled the pencil between his fingers and thumped the eraser on the desk several times to pick up a beat. It was an old habit, and the rhythmic motion allowed his mind to ramble here and there. He had actually played the drums for a band in his much younger days, but the group could only come up with one original song. That’s what did them in, he was convinced.

  When Sudbury again looked up all of his officers had returned to the station house. As usual, they were looking at him as if he’d already solved the crime.

  O’Brien hung up the telephone and stood. He stepped into the kitchen and began opening cabinets.

  Lucy followed him. “What are you looking for?”

  “Something. I don’t know, coffee, tea, booze.”

  “We don’t have any, Daniel.”

  He folded his arms and backed against the counter. “Shit.”

  She leaned against the opposite side and looked at him squarely. “Calm down. You did the right thing. We’re innocent, Daniel. Just remember that.”

  “I just hope to hell this works out. We’ll probably be in some type of detention tonight.”

  “So? I was in the Girl Scouts. I’ve been camping. Can it be any worse? And besides, we can tell them who actually killed the lady.”

  “We’d better not mention the diamonds.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why? Because we smuggled them in?”

  “We didn’t know we were smuggling them in, and they won’t buy that excuse. We would be guilty just like we’d brought them in on purpose. I can just see them laughing at us.”

  Lucy padded over to the sofa. She slumped into the corner seat. “I’m going to try my brother one more time.” She opened her cell phone. “Then I’m going to do my toenails.” She studied her feet and gave her toes a wiggle. “I’ve still got my polish with me and it’ll make me feel better, especially if I end up in some dyke’s cell tonight.”

  O’Brien looked out the window and focused on nothing. He just stared.

  A hard knock at the door sounded at the same moment Lucy yelled her brother’s name into the phone. “Coming,” he shouted. If these guys were the cops, they were mighty damn prompt.

  He opened the door to Gina. She gave him a hug that took his breath away. She kissed his cheeks and caught a corner of his lips. Charlie edged past with a look of concern and surprise.

  “Danny, my wife Jenny,” he said over Gina’s shoulder. “As first cousins and all I should have taken Jenny over to the States for a visit a while back, I guess.”

  “Christ, Charlie, you’ve only had eight years,” his wife said with a light laugh. “Nice to finally meet you, Danny.”

  “We’re all catching up now.” O’Brien smiled and squeezed Jenney’s hands. She was a cute diminutive blond with a fuzz of light facial hair. She looked the same as she had in their wedding photos, except her hair was shorter nowadays, and Charlie’s was longer.

  “That doctor you’re holding onto saved our daughter’s life. I’m convinced a’ that,” Charlie said to O’Brien. He laid an arm on Gina.

  “She took charge right off,” his wife said. “Knew exactly what to do. Thank God. And those other young docs...they didn’t have a clue.” She put her hand on Gina’s shoulder beside her husband’s.

  O’Brien gave them some room with the attractive and talented pediatrician. The greetings had developed into a group hug.

  “Hey, I want in.” Lucy skated over with an open cell phone in her hand. “Daniel’s been getting all the emotional reinforcement lately,” she said. “And it’s not fair.” She covered Gina and O’Brien with one arm and Charlie and Jenny with the other.

  “Now this is nice,” Lucy said.

  “Jenny, this is Lucy,” O’Brien said from the mix. “Are we all introduced?”

  “Except for my brother, Eric.” Lucy unfolded. “He’s in London right now.” She spoke into the phone, “Say ‘Hi’ to everyone, Eric.”

  A thin, metallic voice squawked from the tiny speaker of the small device. Lucy rang off with a couple of words and snapped the cover closed. “So now, Daniel, now that we’ve all got family here, I think we’re ready for the police.”

  Gary Starr fixed his gaze on the door of the brick building. Only moments before, Gina, the ponytailed man, and the other woman had entered, and now the man and woman were returning to their car minus Gina. Daniel and Lucy had to be inside, and that meant the diamonds were in there, too. He sighed quietly. There would finally be an end to all of this. All he had to do now was make off in the confusion when the two assholes minding him tried to take on O’Brien. That would be almost entertaining enough to stick around for.

  Murdock tapped the steering wheel with a thumb. “What do you think, doctor?”

  “About what?”

  “Do we take’um all now, or wait for nightfall?”

  “We should wait—”

  “Die Polizei!” Udo blurted from the rear seat.

  Flashing blue lights from a convoy of three cars accompanied by the warble of sirens drowned out the other noises on the street. Starr slid down in his seat along with the German and the Briton, the natural instinct of felons in the population, he reflected.

  A white van with the logo ‘Sky News’ emblazoned in primary red and orange colors pulled up from a side street and double parked in front of the apartment building. The top of the vehicle bristled with antennas surrounding a satellite dish. A cameraman dressed in scruffy jeans and a sweatshirt jumped out and began filming as an armed trio of police in flak vests escorted a middle-aged man into the building. A crowd began to gather.

  “Daniel O’Brien?” The voice was as heavy and authoritative as the rap on the door.

  “Just a minute!” he spoke loudly from the sitting area. He came to his feet as Gina folded herself into his arms. He drew her in and lightly touched his lips to hers in an uncertain goodbye. She responded with a stronger press and parted her lips for an unrestrained kiss. He melded into her sweet, soft embrace. “God, Gina.” He took a breath. “I’ll be all right,” he whispered as he backed away. “But I’m worried about you.”

  “I’ll be okay. Jenny and Charlie are dropping by to look in on me tonight. They’ve given me another sleepover invite, but I might just stay here.” She drew her hand along the side of his face and let her fingers linger. “Which bed was yours?”

  “First one down the hall.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t have pajamas or anything last night, so I slept—”

  “Good.” She kissed him lightly again.

  “Daniel O’Brien and Lucy Amudsen!” A sledge-hammer voice came through the closed door.

  “Coming!” Lucy shouted, and then announced, “Okay, lovebirds, I’m opening the door.”

  “We’ll get through this,” O’Brien said to Gina as they moved to the small entry foyer.

  Lucy gave the door a rapid pull and the entryway opened inward leaving a policeman’s hand high in the air ready for a final, evidently savage knock. A trio of storm troopers outfitted like extras in a science fiction movie surrounded a rather stodgy, comfortable-looking man dressed in a brown coat, brown pants, and brown shoes.

  “You must be Miss Amudsen?” the rumpled man stated. “And Mr. O’Brien, I see.”

  O’Brien gave a slow nod. “That’s me.”

  The man extended his hand to both. “I’m Chief Inspector Sudbury with the Brighton-Hove office. We talked on the telephone.”

  O’Brien took
the handshake, an odd way to arrest someone, he thought. The inspector was a middle-aged individual with a fatherly demeanor, a man who might have missed a calling as a parish priest. A worn, brown tweed coat loosely draped his frame, as if he’d lost some weight but kept a weather eye to the price of new clothes. His shirt was white, and his tie was a full of autumn colors with tiny red and brown leaves, which meant he’d gone at least two full seasons off track. His hair was almost gone, but at least he didn’t try to comb over his bare spots.

  “I’m afraid we’ll have to take you and a Ms. Amudsen into custody,” Sudbury informed him, with the somber voice of a priest delivering the final sacraments.

  “Luthy.” Udo exclaimed from the backseat.

  Starr could hardly believe what he was seeing. Daniel and Lucy were being escorted to one of the waiting cars in handcuffs. Blue lights took up their insane flashing once again as bystanders and camera crews angled closer.

  Murdock showed a coarse grin and sat upright in the seat. “You figured it out yet, doctor? You’re a smart man.”

  Starr measured each word. “They must think the pilots had something to do with that old lady that we killed.”

  The Briton seemed amused. “We? If I remember correctly, you killed her. You suffocated the old hag.” He pounded him on the shoulder.

  Udo grunted from the rear seat. He picked up on the theme and swatted Starr on the back of his head.

  “Think you can do it again?” Murdock asked.

  “What?”

  The Briton slapped the steering wheel. “You idiot. What do you think I’m talking about?” He turned in the seat and punched a finger into Starr’s chest. “Who do you think is still in the apartment? Eh? It’s got to be the other doctor, the woman you call Gina. She went in but she didn’t come out. And who do you think still has the diamonds, you stupid Yank?”

  “I get your point,” Starr said.