The Murder Game

by The Murder Game (retail) (epub)

  Danilov roared and took two steps towards Allen.

  Allen jumped back to the wall, shouting ‘Han Kew!’.

  The Chinese man pulled on the lever. Danilov could see the wire led to a trapdoor beneath the feet of his wife. He stopped and held his hands up in submission.

  ‘Good, I knew you would see sense.’ He waved a hand at the Chinese man. Instantly the tension on the wire eased as the lever was released.

  Danilov could hear his wife sobbing. He moved towards her. The Chinese thug began to pull the lever again.

  ‘Not yet, Inspector; your wife isn’t going anywhere… yet.’

  ‘How did you find her?’

  ‘Oh, you mean, how did I find her when the great detective had been looking for six years, with nothing to show for it?’

  Danilov nodded slowly. He had to keep Allen talking, play for time. Something would come up. Something had to come up.

  ‘Simple, I did what you should have done a long time ago; I went to Siberia and searched for her. It only took me a month. Of course, the resources of the newspaper helped enormously. You’d be amazed how far the contacts of the Morriss family and the paper reach, into even the most remote parts of Russia and China. Your wife was working as a cook in a logging camp in the middle of the Siberian wilds, Danilov. Shame you never made the effort to find her.’

  Danilov’s wife began to sob again, her head dropping until the rope went taut, forcing her back on to her tiptoes again.

  ‘It’s quite painful, standing on tiptoe. I know, I tried. Only lasted seven minutes before I had to let my body take the weight.’

  ‘What do you want, Allen?’

  ‘Allen is dead. You killed him on Garden Bridge, don’t you remember? I’m the Judge of Souls now. So much more elegant than my former name, don’t you agree?’

  Danilov stayed silent, staring at his wife, trying to give her strength.

  ‘What happened to my son?’

  ‘The big, strapping lad?’ Allen pointed downwards with his index finger. ‘He’s below in the cellar. We gave him an extra dose of morphia. To help him sleep. A growing boy needs his beauty sleep.’

  ‘Let him go, Allen. He has nothing to do with this.’

  ‘I might, Inspector, but first you have to do something for me.’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘It’s quite simple. You have to make a choice.’

  90

  ‘You have to think, David. What else did he say?’

  Strachan was conscious she had used his Christian name. She was standing right next to him. He could smell her perfume, something sweet and intoxicating. She leant over the map and her hair fell forward. She pushed it behind her ear with a simple curl of her hand.

  ‘Come on, think, David. He must have said something?’

  Strachan forced himself to focus. ‘He said the map was more than useful, it was vital.’

  She stared at the map of the city of Shanghai. It looked like a normal map; the streets named in English, and the borders between the Chinese areas, the French Concession, the International Settlement and the Old City sharply delineated with dotted red lines.

  The doorbell rang.

  ‘Father,’ Elina shouted. She ran to the door and wrenched it open. A tall Chinese man with a wispy moustache stood in the doorway holding a cardboard box. ‘Delivery for Danilov.’

  Strachan joined Elina at the door. ‘So late?’

  ‘Papers from Doctor Fang. He say they for Inspector Danilov. Please sign.’

  The young man held out an invoice to Strachan. Elina sighed and went back inside the apartment.

  Strachan took the box and closed the door. ‘Where shall I put this?’

  Elina waved her hand, not looking up from the map. Strachan placed the box near the new couch. Danilov could look at the reports from Dr Fang when he returned.

  If he returned.

  Strachan joined Elina in staring at the map.

  ‘The map is divided into sixty-four squares. Those at the top numbered one to eight, and those along the side lettered A to H. Did he talk about map references like F6 or C4?’ She traced the numbers from the top and the side, covering two of the murder locations.

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I would have remembered if he’d mentioned those numbers.’

  She sat once again and exhaled. ‘There must be something about the map. Are you sure this is exactly the same one as in the Investigation Room?’

  ‘It’s the same one, I told you. It’s the one we all have.’

  Her fingers started to tap on the map, ‘What did you see, Father? What made you so excited?’

  Strachan scratched his head. ‘I remember when we were in the detectives’ room, before he ran to the Investigation Room, he said he’d had his eureka moment.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘His eureka moment; it comes from Archimedes in his bath…’

  ‘I do know what a eureka moment is, Detective Sergeant Strachan.’

  He was conscious she was no longer using his Christian name.

  ‘He must have told you something? What did you talk about?’

  Strachan thought hard, trying to remember the conversation with the inspector. The clock on the sitting-room wall was approaching eleven o’clock. He was tired; he had been working since seven that day. His brain refused to function.

  As if reading his mind, Elina touched the back of his hand. ‘I know you’re tired but you must try to remember. It’s important.’

  He racked his brains. ‘We were talking about the case and I said something and he jumped up and ran down the corridor.’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘It was nothing important. I was gabbling on as usual. I just said this case was like a chess game where your opponent is five moves ahead.’

  ‘After you said this, he ran to the Investigation Room?’

  ‘Exactly. I didn’t know what was going on.’

  Elina stared at the map. Then she switched her gaze to the half-finished game of chess sitting in the corner of the room. Her eyes lit up. ‘The map, it has sixty-four squares…’

  ‘So?’

  ‘Exactly the same as the chess board. Quickly, what were the pieces found with each of the murder victims?’

  Strachan thought for a moment. ‘Sally Chen had nothing. The American man had a pawn.’

  She placed a pawn on the map next to the Shanghai Country Club.

  ‘Lieutenant Deschamps and his girlfriend had a queen.’

  She placed the piece at the War Memorial.

  ‘The next one we found was a bishop at the cold store. But there was no body there.’

  Elina took a bishop and put it on the map next to the Burlington Hotel.

  ‘The final two pieces were both queens again. One with Miss Cavendish at the Canidrome, and the other nearby, at the Cercle Sportif, with the body of the Princess.’

  You didn’t find a chess piece at the undertaker’s?’

  Strachan thought for moment and then shook his head.

  She quickly placed two queens on the last two locations. She stepped back and stared at the map. Then, she leant in closer. ‘Oh my God.’

  Strachan looked at the map. He couldn’t see what she was talking about. Just names and numbers and chess pieces scattered randomly.

  ‘The killer has already played his move for checkmate.’

  91

  ‘Why do you want to give me a choice?’

  ‘It’s quite simple; because I was given none. I was ordered out into no man’s land on my own. They never expected me to come back, though. It was a death sentence without any chance of reprieve. They killed many of us that way, saved all the trouble of a court martial.’

  ‘But you survived.’

  ‘I always survive, as you well know.’ Allen moved towards the wooden platform.

  Danilov could hear his wife sobbing. He longed to hold her, hold her tight, to say sorry for the six years apart, to hold her and never let her go again.

  ‘Here’s y
our choice, Danilov. You or your wife. Which of you is to die?’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ stammered Danilov. Allen was standing in front of him now. If only he would come a few feet closer, he could attack. The assistant was over in the corner, the revolver still pointing straight at his wife. Perhaps he could use Allen’s body as a shield. He would have to move quickly, though, before the man released the trapdoor.

  As if reading his mind, Allen took a step back. ‘You don’t understand? You disappoint me, Inspector. It’s quite simple; one of you will die today. Which is it to be, yourself or your wife?’ Allen’s hands opened wide. ‘It’s your choice.’

  He had to play for time. Find an answer. His wife was crying now, sobbing uncontrollably, the noose tightening around her throat. ‘How do I know you won’t kill her too?’

  Allen laughed. ‘You don’t. That’s the beauty of this choice. You have to trust I will deliver on my promise.’

  ‘Not much of a choice.’

  ‘Not much of a detective. Couldn’t even find your own family. I had to find them for you.’ Allen’s finger came up to his mouth and he sucked in air. ‘I’m feeling in a generous mood. I will sweeten the choice. You will be allowed one last hug with your wife. Afterwards, you can make your choice. Is it you or she who will die?’

  His wife began to sob hysterically; her body shook and trembled. Danilov leapt on to the wooden platform and stopped in front of her. He felt the platform shake beneath his feet. The noose trailed up from around her neck to a hook on the ceiling. The knot, expertly tied, pushing her head forward and down.

  He placed his arms around his wife’s trembling body, hugging it closer to him, wrapping her body in his strength. ‘There, there, Masha, don’t worry,’ he said in Russian.

  She whispered in his ear. ‘Our son, downstairs, in a cell. Save him.’

  His wife lifted her head upwards, pushing against the knot of the rope. Her eyes were red-rimmed and fearful. He wrapped her tighter, hugging her so close, never wanting to let her go.

  ‘It’s touching, isn’t it, Han Kew? A husband and wife who haven’t seen each other for six years and now have only seconds left together. What’s your choice, Danilov? You or your wife?’

  ‘One last question, Allen. What about my son?’

  Allen glanced towards the corner, where steps led down to a cellar. ‘He’s safe, Danilov. Yama hasn’t decided what to do with him yet. Such a pleasant young man. Unspoiled, an innocent. What’s your decision, Danilov?’

  As he loosened the knot, he leant in as if to kiss Masha on the side of the head, instead whispering in Russian into her ear, ‘Trust me.’

  ‘Isn’t it charming, a last kiss from a man who abandoned his wife and children six years ago.’

  ‘I didn’t abandon them, Allen; we were separated by the Revolution.’

  ‘You left them behind to look after themselves.’ He gestured for Danilov to take the noose from around his wife’s neck.

  Danilov lifted his head from his wife’s hair. ‘You promise you won’t kill her?’

  Allen made a cross over his heart. ‘Hope to die and all that tosh.’

  ‘No,’ his wife screamed in Russian.’No… no… no… no…’

  ‘Masha, somebody has to look after Elina and Ivan. You were always better than me. It’s the right choice to make.’

  He began to loosen the knot of the noose around her neck. She struggled against his arms, trying to stop him removing it.

  ‘Good. A good choice. Now place the noose around your own neck and move next to the trapdoor.’

  ‘It’s for the best, Masha,’ Danilov said softly

  She had stopped struggling now and stood there as he removed the noose.

  ‘Place it around your own neck.’

  Danilov put his head through the noose and stood there.

  ‘Now, you may join me Mrs Danilov.’

  ‘No… no… no,’ she screamed.

  The thug gave the gun to Allen and leapt on to the platform, seized Danilov’s wife by the waist, throwing her to the ground where she landed at Allen’s feet.

  Danilov jumped forward to attack the thug, but felt the noose tighten round his neck. The thug stepped back in shock, then smiled as he realised Danilov could go no further, like a dog on a tether.

  ‘Tie his hands.’

  Danilov felt his hands forced up his back and the tight cords of rope wound around his wrists. The thug dropped to his knees to tie Danilov’s feet.

  Danilov could just reach the man with his heel. A sharp kick and it would be over. But Allen was still standing there, pointing the gun right at him, Maria sobbing at his feet.

  ‘Don’t tie the feet. I want to watch this one dance. Take the woman back to the cell. Bring the son up.’

  ‘But you said you wouldn’t kill her.’

  ‘I’m not going to, Danilov. But it might be educational for your son to watch his father die.’

  Danilov lunged towards Allen but the rope around his neck held him back. ‘You said he was an innocent…’

  ‘Then it’s time to make him more worldly, isn’t it? You are more of a fool than I thought you were, Danilov.’

  ‘You gave me your word.’

  ‘My word? So English, so honourable,’ he sneered. ‘You have an old-fashioned sense of honour, Danilov. Me, I’m above all those petty middle-class restrictions. I’m the Judge of Souls.’

  The thug lifted his wife and threw her over his shoulder. She struggled, trying to bite him. But he slapped her across the face. Blood seeped from her mouth,

  Danilov leapt forward once more. Again, the noose tightened around his neck.

  ‘Be careful, Danilov, we wouldn’t want you to die before your time.’

  The thug stumbled out of the room, carrying the inert body of Danilov’s wife over his shoulder.

  ‘When Han Kew returns, your time will be up, Danilov. The end is nigh, as they say on the posters. Your son will have the pleasure of watching you commit suicide.’

  ‘And if I don’t do it?’

  ‘Then you will have the pleasure of watching your son die.’

  The clock on the wall ticked over to ten minutes to midnight.

  ‘Any last words?’

  92

  ‘I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about,’ said Strachan.

  ‘It’s simple. Scholar’s Mate. One of the easiest and quickest ways to mate in chess.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  Elina pointed to the map. The number of squares gave it away. You see, if you take Soochow Creek as the baseline and move the pieces found at each of the murders, they correspond to the moves in Scholar’s Mate.’

  Strachan stared at the map, a frown appearing between his eyebrows.

  Elina grabbed the white chess pieces and lined them up along Soochow Creek. ‘Look, the first move is the pawn advance two squares.’ She slid the pawn forward until it rested next to the Shanghai Country Club. Then she advanced the queen to the War Memorial. ‘The queen comes out diagonally, and the other bishop pins the defending pawn.’ She moved the bishop to the square on the map where they had found the ice store. ‘To finish the check, the queen advances for checkmate.’ She banged the queens down right on the square with the Canidrome, and next to it the Cercle Sportif. ‘He even repeated the checkmate after you rescued Miss Cavendish. It’s very clever… too clever.’

  ‘But it doesn’t tell us where your father is now.’

  Elina pulled her lips into a pout with her index finger and thumb. ‘No, it doesn’t… unless…’

  ‘What?’

  She picked up the white king from its place on the map next to Soochow Creek. ‘Unless, this is the killer.’

  ‘The one who wins the game?’

  Elina nodded.

  Strachan stared hard at the map. Where was Danilov? He tried to relax, to remember everything the inspector had said to him. He closed his eyes and the words came back to him. ‘Back to where the game began, Strachan.’

&n
bsp; He opened them and looked at the map. It had to be there. It was the only place. So obvious, he should have realised it long ago.

  He looked around for his hat and coat, grabbing them from their place behind the door. He slung them over his shoulder and rushed out.

  ‘David, where are you going?’ Elina shouted after him.

  A head appeared, framed in the door. ‘Call Chief Inspector Rock; we need the Rapid Action Force at the Sinza Water Tower.’

  She jumped forward. ‘I’m coming with you.’

  ‘No,’ he shouted, ‘we need help.’

  She kept coming, stepping out of the door.

  ‘Elina, you need to call him. Otherwise, your father will die.’

  ‘I want to come…’

  ‘You can’t, you need to leave this to me…’

  She stepped forward again, only to find his arm coming down in front of her. ‘It’s my mother and father…’

  ‘And to save them, we need help. Make the call, Elina.’ With that last shout, he leapt down the stairs, leaving her standing in the doorway.

  She hesitated for a moment, her mind a jumble of fear and duty and ideas. What to do? Follow David? Ring for help? Must save my father. Must save him.

  She rushed back into the apartment and picked up the telephone, dialling the number as quickly as she could. Get help first and then follow David.

  She knew exactly where he was going: the Sinza Water Tower.

  93

  ‘You know, I promised myself I would watch you commit suicide. It was to be my treat after more than a year of torture, pain and surgery. This new face didn’t come easily and the bullets they took out of my body, I had made into something ornate.’ He held up his hand where two lead rings circled his little finger. ‘I do think it is amusing to wear something that nearly caused me to die, don’t you?’

  Danilov had to keep him talking. ‘One thing troubles me. If I was the target…’

  ‘Oh, you were, Danilov, you always were.’

  ‘Why did you kill the American? I didn’t know him and he never helped me.’

  Allen chuckled to himself. ‘I knew you would be looking for your famous patterns, so I chose someone who wasn’t linked to anybody or anything. An American sailor chosen at random. The idea amused me. You would spend so much time looking for a connection, the lack of one playing with your mind.’