by Ann Bloxwich
Carol looked at Jayne. ‘He seems to have settled in already.’
‘He does,’ Jayne agreed. ‘Let’s just hope he stays that way.’
43
‘You’ve all read Faz’s report, so you know that the victim was wrongly identified,’ Alex said to his team at the morning briefing. ‘Vicky Wilson’s skin was found under the victim’s fingernails, so we need to find out not only who the victim is, but also the whereabouts of Vicky herself. She could be a missing person or the main suspect, we just don’t know yet. Meanwhile, I need you lot to start at the beginning. Comb through everything we have so far, someone must be missing this woman, so find out. It’s the 28th now, and I’d like to tie this one up before New Year’s Day if possible. I want a fresh incident board set up next to the original one, so things can be cross-referenced.’
‘Do you want us to re-interview everyone, boss?’ Craig asked.
Alex shook his head. ‘Not necessarily. Re-read all the interviews and if something doesn’t sit right, then get that person in. If you’re satisfied, move on. Cross-check each other’s work in case something jumps out.
‘Mo, can you do a thorough background check on Ray Diamond? I know you’ve already done one but go back further and spread the net wider. I’ve crossed paths with him before, I know I have, but I’m damned if I can remember where it was.’
A voice from the doorway called to Alex. It was the same young officer as last time. Alex wondered whether they kept sending him because he was the only one fit enough to run up the two flights of stairs.
‘Excuse me, sir, there’s a Mr Sanderson in reception, asking for you. He’s got Mr Diamond with him.’
‘Thank you, Constable. Tell him I’m on my way down,’
Alex looked at his watch. ‘He’s right on time. Dawn, you’re with me. The rest of you crack on.’
***
Geoffrey Sanderson sat patiently in reception, reading a copy of The Metro while Ray Diamond sat next to him, idly thumbing through what looked like a brand-new phone. Ray looked smart and sober, his hair was freshly washed and brushed back into a ponytail, he wore a brown suit, white shirt with the collar open, and black boots. Mr Sanderson was in the same tired-looking grey suit as before, but with a faded yellow shirt and brown tie. His black brogues looked old and hadn’t seen any polish for a while.
Alex soon had them settled in an interview room. He explained he would be taping the interview and both men nodded in acknowledgement. Dawn knocked on the door and entered. She sat next to Alex and opened her notebook expectantly.
‘Thank you both for coming in. Mr Diamond, but it wasn’t necessary for you to bring your solicitor with you, as this is an informal interview,’ Alex said.
Ray shrugged. ‘I wanted to make sure you lot don’t try and stitch me up for something I didn’t do.’
‘I can assure you that wouldn’t happen, but it’s your prerogative. I believe you’ve met my colleague, Detective Sergeant Dawn Redwood. She came out to your house and took a statement, but you seemed a little off-colour that day, so we’d like to get a clearer picture if you don’t mind.’
‘Sorry, I don’t remember you,’ Ray said to Dawn.
He nodded to his solicitor, who produced a book out of his briefcase and placed it on the table. Ray pointed at it.
‘That’s my work diary. Shelley – Michelle – said I should bring it, in case I forgot anything.’
After they had gone through the events of the evening in question, Alex opened the folder he’d brought with him.
‘These are DS Redwood’s notes from your last interview,’ he said. ‘In it, you said that Vicky Wilson had been at your house on the Monday after the show. Is that correct?
‘Yes, she turned up with breakfast for both of us, BLT’s I think. I wasn’t expecting her, I didn’t even know she knew my address, but I wasn’t going to turn away free food. We had sex a couple of times, then she left.’
Ray looked at his hands and picked at a loose cuticle.
‘I see. Was anyone else in the house?’ Alex asked.
‘Shelley had gone to the supermarket; she goes every Monday. She went to the bank as well, to pay some bills I think, or to put some money in. Anyway, she didn’t get home until just before 1 p.m. I was meeting someone, so I barely saw her for five minutes.’
‘Does Vicky Wilson have any unusual markings, like tattoos or birthmarks, that you are aware of?’ Alex asked.
‘I’m not certain about birthmarks, but she has a tattoo of a black rose on her arse – I mean, bottom.’ Ray corrected. ‘She was laughing and saying her old man had gone mad when he found out, he said she may as well go on the game and be done with it.’
‘Do you know when she got the tattoo? Was it recent?’
‘No, she got it when she was on holiday a few years ago. She said she and her mates all had matching ones.’
‘Do you know which friends?’
Ray shrugged. ‘I don’t know their names, but I think they were the same ones that were with Vicky that Friday night. I’ve seen the blonde before, she’s friends with the drag queen, but not the brown-haired one. I don’t think she’d been to a strip show before, she looked terrified when I jumped onto her lap.’
The grin slipped from his face when he realised that no-one else was smiling.
‘What happened when Vicky went backstage with you?’
Ray appeared to think hard for a moment, but Alex was sure it was a delaying tactic. He was beginning to lose his patience already. He cleared his throat and looked hard at the solicitor, who nudged his client.
‘Sorry, I was lost in thought there. Vicky was all over me like a rash, and I got very turned on. The drag queen was getting fed up with it and told her to pack it in. Vicky told her to go and fuck herself, if you’ll pardon my French. In the end I took Vicky outside and we had a quickie. I told her I’d see her after the show, and I went back inside.’
‘So, you left her outside in the dark on her own?’
‘Yeah. She was fine, she said she couldn’t wait to see me later, she promised me all kinds of kinky stuff and I nearly gave her another one because it made me horny again.’
‘Did you see her again later?’
‘No. To be honest, I don’t remember leaving. I was very drunk by then.’
‘Did you receive any phone calls or texts messages from Vicky Wilson after that?’ Alex asked.
Ray shook his head. ‘I didn’t hear anything from her until she showed up at my house on the Monday, wearing nothing but a long coat and a smile.’
Dawn and Alex exchanged glances.
‘Thank you, I think that’s all for now, but we may need to come back to you at some point. Do you mind if we hang on to this for a while?’ Alex asked as he picked up the diary. ‘We’ll get it back to you as soon as we can.’
‘No problem. Shelley has another copy in case I lose it.’ Ray said. ‘I’m always losing things.’ He stood up and started to walk towards the door.
‘Oh, before you go, would you mind providing us with a sample of your DNA? Just for elimination purposes?’ Alex asked.
Ray looked at his solicitor. ‘Do I have to?’ he asked him.
‘Not at all, but . . .’
‘In that case, no I won’t.’
Ray turned on his heel and walked out of the room, with his solicitor following behind him.
Dawn let out a breath she’d been holding. ‘Wow, talk about being sensitive! I think we need to talk to Vicky’s friends again.’
Alex followed Dawn out of the interview room. ‘I’m interested in why they said Vicky had no identifying marks. If they knew about the tattoo, why not mention it?’
Dawn shrugged. ‘I guess we’ll find out later. I’ll ring them and get them to come in. I’ll ask them to bring an outfit for Vicky to wear. That way their suspicions won’t be aroused.’
‘Good idea. I would say just bring Helen Whittaker in, she saw the body so would have known it wasn’t her
. The question is why would she falsely identify someone?’
‘What are we missing here? And where do I know that squirrelly bastard from?’
Alex looked exasperated and Dawn shared his frustration. ‘I don’t know. If there was anything to find, Mo would have found it by now. Maybe you’re confusing him with someone else.’
‘No, I’m not, that’s just it. His mannerisms are so familiar, but I know I’ve never come across the name Ray Diamond before.’
‘Maybe that’s his stage name.’ Dawn suggested. ‘His mates all have them, perhaps Ray Diamond is his.’
‘It’s a possibility,’ Alex said. ‘But his face isn’t ringing any bells at all.’
‘Maybe he dyed his hair or grew it long since you saw him last.’
A memory gnawed at the back of Alex’s brain, urging him to recall it and it was driving him mad.
Dawn’s phone beeped. She looked at Alex. ‘That was Les. Forget about Ray for now, the security man has just walked in.’
44
Arjan Bakshi sat in reception staring straight ahead, hands in his jacket pockets, clenching his teeth. He was tall and muscly, with black crew-cut hair, a goatee beard and cold dark eyes.
‘Mr Bakshi? Sorry to have kept you waiting,’ Alex held his hand out in greeting and tried not to wince at the man’s firm grip, made more painful by the gold rings he wore.
‘Please come this way. My colleague is on his way down to join us, then we can get started.’
Alex sorted out the tapes while they waited for Craig, who arrived a couple of minutes later. ‘Now, Mr Bakshi,’ Alex began, ‘We’ve had quite a job tracking you down. Can you tell us who hired you to work the door that night?’
‘Sure, it was Ray Diamond.’
He spoke in a thick Black Country accent, which belied his Indian heritage. ‘He said the usual crew had let him down and asked if I’d do it as a one-off. I’m wishing I hadn’t though, the bastard hasn’t paid me yet.’
Alex and Craig exchanged looks. ‘I understand you had an altercation with Miss Vicky Wilson. What happened?’
‘She was a nasty cow. She looked like butter won’t melt, but she was a bitch to everyone. Not just me either. The bar staff were less than impressed with her. She threatened that Ray would get them fired if they didn’t serve her first, and when I wouldn’t let her through to the changing room, she kicked off at me big-time.’
‘That must have been humiliating.’ Alex said.
‘Nah, not really, I’m a bouncer at The Grey Goose, so I’m used to people calling me Paki and stuff like that, even though I’m not Pakistani, I’m Indian. That sort of racist crap is water off a duck’s back to me. What pissed me off was that she made out she was so important. She wasn’t, she was one of many scrubbers that Ray lets backstage. He’s normally got a queue a mile long. Don’t ask me how he does it, but he’s never lonely, know what I mean?’
‘Did you see her after she went through to him?’ Craig asked.
‘Nah, she never came out again, unless she came along the path and back in through the front. I stayed until Ray said I could go, that must have been around 11 p.m. The drag queen was still onstage when I left. I went to The Goose; I was on the door with Benny till 3 a.m. You can ask Cheryl, she’s the manager. There was a fight and we had to call you lot in to break it up.’
‘Thanks,’ Craig said as he wrote down the information. ‘When you left did you notice anything unusual, anyone hanging around or acting suspiciously?’
‘No, I was concentrating on getting to work on time. Speaking of which,’ Arjan said as he looked at his watch. ‘I really need to get going. I’m on the early shift tonight, and I must pop to my Mum’s to pick up a load of food. She still insists on cooking for me, even though I left home ages ago.’
‘No problem, we’ve got your details now, so we’ll be in touch if we need to speak to you again. Have a good night.’
Arjan sauntered out of the room without a backward glance.
‘He’s a big bloke,’ Craig said. ‘Did you see the size of his hands?’
‘I bet he packs a hefty punch,’ Alex replied. ‘He’s built like Jack Reacher.’
‘I take it you mean the book version, because he looks nothing like Tom Cruise,’ Craig laughed.
***
Alex’s phone was ringing when he got back to his office. ‘Hey honey. I’m just leaving now. Okay, order it now and I’ll pick it up on the way. Love you too.’
Alex hung up the phone and grabbed his keys. He was about to leave when Craig called him over.
‘Here you go boss, enjoy your first night in your new home.’ Craig said, taking a bottle of champagne out from his desk drawer and passing it across to him. Gary handed Alex a card, signed from them all and Mo presented him with a bunch of flowers.
Alex felt himself getting emotional, they were a great bunch of people and he knew how lucky he was.
‘Thanks guys, that means a lot. You’ve all had my back these past couple of years, and I want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of you.’
Alex sniffed back tears, and Dawn hugged him.
‘Bugger off, before Jayne sends out a search party for you,’ she said, pushing him towards the door.
45
Alex walked into the office the next morning feeling brighter than he had in a long time. Last night had been lovely, sitting in the new house with his wife, enjoying a takeaway and drinking the champagne together.
Joel had been thrilled to have all his things unpacked and was enjoying his new office. Jayne and Carol had worked hard, and all the essentials had been unpacked and put away, leaving the boxes containing books and ornaments for a later date. The shower in their bathroom was ten times more powerful than the old one, leaving Alex feeling like a new man, and he’d slept like a baby until Jayne had nudged him to tell him his alarm was going off.
‘Good morning team, I hope you all slept as well as I did, and thank you all again for the champagne. Right, let’s get cracking.’
Alex looked at the list he’d made while he was eating his breakfast. ‘Les, ask uniform to send someone over to Vicky Wilson’s flat and see if she’s been home. She’s devoted to her cat, so I can’t see her just abandoning him. Mo, check her financials and see if she’s used any of her cards recently. Unless someone’s holding her against her will, she’ll be needing money soon. Craig and Gary, can you check on the two friends that Vicky Wilson was out with that night? Excellent, thank you. Can anyone think of anything I’ve not covered? Good, then go and get on with it.’
***
Alex popped along to see his boss and bring him up to speed. DCI Andrew Oliver was a tall, slim man with dark brown eyes and a halo of grey hair. He was firm but fair, and knew Alex was more than capable of running his team without too much interference from him. Alex admired his faith; it made his life so much easier not having a condescending boss. They sat drinking coffee and eating homemade samosas that Andy’s wife had sent in.
‘So, we had a victim, then we didn’t, and we had a suspect but then we didn’t,’ Andrew said over the rim of his mug. ‘I hope you’ve got more to report than that.’
Alex swallowed a bite of samosa before he answered. ‘Yes, we’ve got lots of small threads, we just need to pull them all together. I’m hoping that once Vicky’s friends know of her resurrection, they will be able to shed some light on where she might go. Laura Morrison has been looking after Vicky’s cat, so she might have noticed if someone’s been in the flat.’
‘I agree that Helen Whittaker definitely knows more than she’s letting on,’ Andrew said, ‘But how sure are you that Laura Morrison is not involved as well?’
‘I’m not 100% of anything at the moment but she did seem genuinely upset about Vicky’s death.’
‘As did Helen Whittaker,’ Andrew pointed out. ‘Yet she made a wrongful identification. If she’d had any doubts when she saw the victim’s face, she would have mentioned the
tattoo.’
‘Good point. No-one that close a friend would make that mistake. Something really doesn’t sit right with any of this and it all comes back to Ray Diamond.’
‘Perhaps you should focus on Ray Diamond. Perhaps someone is setting him up.’
Alex thought about it for a moment. ‘Maybe you’re right. Given his attitude, I assumed that Ray had killed Vicky, he’s certainly arrogant enough to make you think he could commit murder and get away with it. He was sleeping with her, that much we know. Vicky’s phone turned up in the woods behind his house and the bracelet that was found in his bag. Michelle Simmons said she had driven him home and he’d gone straight to bed. Do you think someone’s trying to frame him?’
‘It certainly looks that way,’ Andrew agreed, ‘You just need to find out who hates him enough to do it. From what you’ve told me it’s quite a list.’
‘It is. He steals work from fellow strippers on a regular basis, then brags about it when he’s drunk. He viciously assaulted the drag artiste, he treats his assistant like dirt and he’s a serial cheater. Add to that he’s living in a house that will one day belong to his daughter. She may have told her godfather that Ray treats the place like crap.’
‘He sounds delightful. Maybe you could use his oversized ego to your advantage. Get him to come in again and play the sympathy card,’ Andrew suggested. ‘Tell him you think someone’s trying to frame him and that you want to help him find out who it is. He will probably tell you a lot more if he thinks you’re on his side.’
‘I like it,’ Alex grinned. ‘Make him feel like the good guy.’
‘Exactly.’
46
Michelle folded Ray’s freshly pressed costumes and towels and placed them carefully in his bag, along with a new bottle of baby oil, two boxes of tissues, a new pack of hair bobbles and hairbrush, and finally the old battered pornographic magazines. She’d flatly refused to buy him new ones so until he did, he would have to manage with what he already had.