The Body in the Boot: The first 'Mac' Maguire mystery

by Patrick C Walsh

  ‘Thanks Dan, that’s really appreciated.’

  Mac was really struggling by the time he reached the medical room. His gait had started rolling from side to side and the tiredness was beginning to overwhelm him. With deep gratitude he slid between the sheets and into the blackness of a deep sleep.

  Mac had a strong sense of déjà vu. He was being gently shaken and he could hear Tommy’s voice asking him to wake up.

  ‘What, what?’ was all he could say.

  For a few seconds he had no clear idea of where he was or what time it was. Suddenly it all came back to him.

  ‘Is it time for the briefing?’

  ‘In ten minutes,’ Tommy replied. ‘Just enough time for a quick wash.’

  When they walked into the incident room Dan came over and asked how he was. His pain was still bad but the tiredness had backed off a little. However Mac assured Dan he was okay, hoping that, in a couple of hours, he’d be tucked up safely in his own bed.

  ‘Okay team here’s what we found out today,’ Dan said as he wiped a whiteboard clean. ‘It’s likely that our man may actually be Ukrainian rather than Hungarian.’

  He wrote it down on the whiteboard as he said it.

  ‘He appears to be a big fan of BMWs so that might help narrow things down a bit for you Martin. Also at one point he was actively researching pharmaceutical companies, possibly ones thinking of siting themselves in Hungary, and his real name may be Oleksander Shevchenko. Mr. Andreou received a letter addressed to the flat our man was renting with that name on it. Martin is checking the name now with his contact in Hungary. Just so we don’t get confused can you all still use the name Matyas to refer to our suspect. We have also just received some information from a money order company. Some time ago money was sent to a Mr. Leonid Shevchenko in Budapest by someone who only called themselves ‘O’. The money was picked up at a local office so we have no address for the recipient. However this confirms that the name may be right. The Hungarians have also come up with the passport photo for Matyas Toth-Kiss and here it is.’

  Dan stuck an A4 sized photo on the board.

  Again Mac was struck by the ordinariness of the face. He could have been anyone, anywhere. Perhaps that was part of their problem.

  ‘They’ve also confirmed that the real Matyas died at the age of three. We’ve unfortunately not had much from forensics. They’ve got a good shoe cast and some DNA from underneath the professor’s fingernails, however we have nothing to compare them to at the moment. The RTA report also states that the car that hit Stelios was doing around fifty and only started braking after he’d been run over which was pretty much what Tommy said anyway. Adil, tell us what you found,’ Dan said, offering the marker pen as Adil stood up.

  ‘The investigation took place on two fronts today, talking again to the professor’s neighbours and then to her colleagues at the university. We didn’t get much from the neighbours. They all agreed that she was a nice, sociable woman but other than that not a lot. One of the residents near the one of the entry exits said they saw a man in dark clothing get into a BMW and drive off. He noticed the car because no-one owns a BMW like that in that part of the street. He reckoned it must have been someone visiting. Timing is right but of course it might not be our man as there are lots of BMWs around. The university was also something of a blank. We managed to interview the woman who made the complaint about Matyas. Apparently he’d tried to touch her breasts and when she told him where to go he called her a whore and a whole lot more besides. She reported it straight away to Professor Ferguson.’

  ‘Have you arranged for some protection for her? She could be next on his list,’ Dan asked.

  ‘Not necessary. She’s taking some time off work and she’s flying home for a while.’

  ‘Where’s home?’

  ‘Australia.’

  ‘Should be far enough away I suppose. Make sure she gets some protection in the meantime.’

  Dan turned to Martin.

  ‘If Adil gives you the address can you tip off the police there just in case?’

  ‘No problem,’ Martin replied.

  Adil carried on, ‘We also spoke to one of the technicians who worked with Matyas and he remembered the day he left. He said Matyas never said a single word to anyone, just packed his things and walked out. I asked him if they’d been friends but the technician said that when he came to think of it all they ever talked about was football.’

  ‘Matyas was obviously a bit socially deficient and that’s why he being a football buff came in handy, it always gave him something to talk about,’ Mac observed.

  ‘Like most bloody men,’ Mary muttered.

  ‘What was that?’ Dan asked.

  ‘Oh nothing,’ Mary replied. She thought quickly. ‘By the way the ex-husband turned up while we were at the University.’

  ‘Is that right?’ Dan asked Adil.

  ‘Yes I was just getting to that. We’d nearly finished when he came in. He’d heard we were interviewing his ex-wife’s colleagues and wondered why we hadn’t contacted him yet.’

  ‘We were on our way to see him last night when we got the call about Stelios Andreou. What did he say?’ Dan asked.

  ‘Not much. He was obviously still in shock. I asked him if he could shed some more light on the situation around Matyas getting his contract cancelled. I wondered if his ex-wife had perhaps confided in him about it but it was all news to him. I asked him where he was last night. I know we have a suspect but you never know. Anyway he said he was running a seminar at the University the night before, there were drinks afterwards and he stayed at a hotel in Luton. This was confirmed by some of the people we interviewed and by the hotel.’

  ‘Good work team,’ Dan said as he looked at his watch. ‘Okay I have to go and tell the boss what we’ve found so far. He’s planning on holding a press conference in just over half an hour.’

  Mac looked at his watch. It was coming up to twenty to six. The Detective Chief Superintendent was obviously timing the conference so it would get prime coverage on the live news bulletins.

  ‘Tell him not to mention our man’s real name or even that we have a clue about it,’ Mac said. ‘We’re not totally sure of it yet anyway and if our man hasn’t left the country yet he soon will if he thinks we’re getting too close. For all we know he might have a stack of fake passports and with such a forgettable face I’m not sure he’d have much trouble getting away.’

  ‘Don’t worry I’ll make sure he keeps it generic, you know ‘making progress’, ‘solid leads’ and all that. You all might as well all call it a day. We’ll meet up again tomorrow at eight and be on time it’s likely to be an eventful day.’

  None of the team made a move to go.

  ‘Coffee anyone?’ Mary asked.

  They all put their hands up. Buddy volunteered to help her.

  ‘I take it everyone’s staying to see the press conference?’ Mac asked Tommy.

  ‘Yeah, might as well. We’ve all got bits of paperwork to catch up on anyway. So what do you think so far?’

  ‘It’s been a good, solid investigation so far. I think we’ve found out quite a lot about our man and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had him in a few days.’

  ‘A few days? You really think we might be that close?’

  ‘Once you get a few pieces of information they often snowball quite quickly. We know his name, we think, and we have his photo. We can start doing some serious work now.’

  Tommy gave Mac a little smile.

  ‘It would be great to think we could get him off the streets, us, this team.’

  Mary and Buddy returned with the refreshments and they all settled down at their desks for a few minutes. Mac was happy to sit quietly and let the day’s events rattle around his mind. At six Adil turned the TV on to the BBC News. A few minutes later the announcer said that they were going to Luton for a breaking news story. Adil turned the sound up and the team gathered around.

  The Detective Chief Superintendent stood at
the microphone with Dan by his side.

  ‘I know there has been a lot of interest in this case nationally, especially because of the brutal murder of such well known and well liked academic as Professor Ferguson.’

  What about the five girls and the taxi driver? Mac thought. He should at least mention them.

  He didn’t.

  ‘The investigation has been excellently run by DI Dan Carter here,’ the DCS said gesturing towards Dan, ‘and, although it is early days, Dan and his team have uncovered some vital information about a suspect and have identified that he may also be involved in other crimes. In order to secure his capture as soon as possible I can tell you that he goes under the name of Matyas Kiss-Toth but his real name is likely to be Oleksandr Shevchenko and I have a photograph that will shortly be distributed to you all.’

  At this point the photo appeared on the screen and all the team groaned. Mac turned away from the screen in disappointment and didn’t catch the rest of the conference.

  ‘Going Mac?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘Might as well. After that we’ll be bloody lucky if we ever see our man again. Are we in tomorrow?’

  ‘As far as I know. I’m not sure Dan knows what a weekend is anyway.’

  Mac rang Tim from the car park and apologised for not being able to make it to the pub. Tim, being the good friend he was and knowing how up and down Mac could be with his health problems, took it with a good heart. He was just too tired, in too much pain and more than a little disappointed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Saturday 10th January

  The alarm woke him at six thirty. Mac opened his eyes and felt wide awake. He’d had a good night’s sleep. He manoeuvred himself into a sitting up position and then slowly stood up. He smiled at the absence of any severe pain and said a little prayer of thanks.

  He pulled the curtains back and looked out into the garden. It was still dark and rain was spotting the window glass. He showered and shaved and was in a good mood until he remembered the press conference from the evening before. It still left a sour taste in his mouth. He went over it in his head while he made coffee and filled his travel mug. He’d had his run-ins over the years with the ‘lot upstairs’ as his old boss used to call them and it never failed to amaze him how little knowledge of real police work some of them had.

  He wondered how Dan felt about it. No doubt he’d find out soon enough.

  He had to drive fairly slowly and keep the wipers on the fastest setting as the rain pelted hard against the windscreen. He wondered which way the investigation would go now. Of course the cat was out of the bag with regard to their suspect but, trying to look on the bright side, he supposed that it might also get them more information to work with.

  Mac arrived early in the incident room but he wasn’t the first. Dan sat there staring at the white board, hands clasped behind his head, deep in thought.

  ‘You’re in early today. Making sure you beat me to it?’ Mac joshed.

  It raised a slight smile from Dan.

  ‘Couldn’t sleep, things just going around and around in my mind so I thought I might as well come in. Did you see it yesterday?’

  Mac didn’t have to ask what. He nodded.

  ‘Bloody disaster wasn’t it? Christ you tell them one thing and they go and say another. Too much pressure he said, he had to give the press something. I’d have given them, and him, a good kick up the arse if I had my way. Oh well, now it’s out there we might at least learn a bit more about our man, who is probably sunning himself on a beach in Timbuktu, if they have any beaches that is.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking the same,’ Mac replied.

  ‘About the beach in Timbuktu?’

  Mac smiled, ‘No about getting more information. You never know it might all work out for the best.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Dan said without much conviction. ‘Fancy some breakfast?’

  ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

  On the way to the canteen they bumped into Tommy who joined them. Mac took a bite from his sausage and egg sandwich and felt immediately better. Police food could be very comforting Mac had found, he supposed it needed to be considering what they did.

  ‘So what’s the plan of action for today?’ Mac asked.

  ‘As soon as Martin comes in we’ll see if anything’s come in overnight, otherwise, if I’m honest I’m not really sure. We’ll see what ideas the team come up with. To be honest as it’s a Saturday we might knock off at lunch if nothing comes up…’

  At that moment Dan’s phone rang.

  Dan said ‘yes’ three times and then wrote something down.

  He then said, ‘We’ll be right there.’

  Dan ended the call. Mac could see that Dan was both excited and puzzled.

  ‘Looks like they’ve found our man.’

  ‘Where?’ Mac and Tommy asked in unison.

  ‘On the Ashridge Estate, near Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire. He’s dead. Come on,’ Dan ordered.

  Mac still had half a sandwich left. He wrapped it in a paper napkin and took it with him.

  Dan made a call as they returned to the incident room. Martin had just arrived and, when he’d finished on the phone, Dan had a few words with him.

  He then turned to Mac and Tommy, ‘Let’s go, this can’t wait’

  ‘I’ve let the boss know and I’ve asked Martin to give me a ring if he hears anything new. I’ve also asked him to get Adil to find the team something to do while we’re away.’

  Mac and Tommy followed Dan to the car park.

  ‘Anyone know anything about Ashridge?’ Dan asked as they took the road towards Dunstable.

  ‘Yes,’ Mac replied. ‘It’s a big estate, about five thousand acres if I remember right, owned by the National Trust. People go there for the forest walks, really nice in the summer. Kids like it there too.’

  He took his sandwich out of his pocket and gave it a big bite. He suddenly remembered that he used to go there on the odd Sunday with Bridget when the weather was good. It had been one of the few things they did without Nora. Nora stayed at home and worked in the garden and on the Sunday dinner while Mac and Bridget wandered under the leafy canopy of the forest walks they liked the most. It was something Bridget had really liked doing until she reached the age of ten or so when she’d started preferring the company of her friends. Mac had been really sorry about that.

  He realised now that those walks, holding Bridget’s little hand in his while she warbled on about this and that, were some of the happiest moments of his life. What was it Nora had said as Bridget was getting older and more independent?

  ‘We know they need to grow up but isn’t it a pity you can’t keep a small version of them as well.’

  ‘Big place then, funny I’ve never even heard of it before,’ Dan said breaking Mac’s reverie.

  ‘Did they say exactly where they found him?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Yes, a place called Thunderdell Wood. What a name, eh!’

  ‘Actually in the wood?’

  ‘No on the road. They said that some walkers noticed the car parked there at around seven this morning. God, you’d think that at this time of the year and in this weather people would just stay in bed on a Saturday morning. Anyway the car’s engine was running and they saw the driver slumped over the steering wheel but it was the pipe running from the exhaust into the car that gave the game away.’

  ‘He killed himself?’ Tommy exclaimed.

  ‘No-one’s saying that yet but from what they told me it certainly looks like suicide.’

  Even without seeing the circumstances of Matyas’ death Mac had his doubts. He’d pictured Matyas as one of those people who will always blame others before themselves, normally not good candidates for self-immolation. Mac decided to keep such thoughts to himself for now.

  The day was lightening up now and the rain had stopped. Once past Dunstable they were in the countryside and a thin winter sun appeared over the horizon gently lighting up the green fields. They approached Ashridg
e from a direction that was unfamiliar to Mac but soon he got his bearings when he saw the tall monument down the bottom of a side road. That was where the visitor centre and main car park was situated.

  Dan carried on and then turned left past an ancient chequer-board patterned house and up a narrow road. About four hundred yards further on a silver coloured BMW was parked on the side of the road cordoned off by yellow tape bearing the message ‘Crime scene - do not cross’. Mac noticed that the car was parked in a passing place, leaving plenty of room for another car to get by.

  On the far side of the car an ambulance was parked with its back doors open and two paramedics sitting, legs dangling, as they observed the scene. Four uniformed officers were in attendance along with two men in white coveralls, one was examining the car for prints and the other taking photographs from various angles.

  ‘Forensics got here quick,’ Dan observed as he parked the car behind the BMW.

  A uniformed officer came over and Dan introduced himself, then Mac and Tommy.

  ‘I’m Inspector Rigby. All I can tell you at the moment is that two walkers, Ben and Eleanor Travers-Smythe came across the car at around seven-oh-five this morning. They called 999 straight away and we were on the scene at seven eighteen. We turned off the engine and opened the passenger side door allowing the fumes to dissipate. We ascertained that the driver was dead at seven twenty one. He felt cold to the touch so he’d probably been dead for a quite a while. We shut the door again and called in forensics, I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you at the moment.’

  ‘What made you certain that he was the man we were looking for?’ Dan asked.

  ‘One of my officers noticed the resemblance. We were certain when we pulled his photo up on our phones. It’s him alright.’

  ‘Have you checked the car registration yet?’ Mac asked.

  The inspector took out his notebook.

  ‘Yes, it’s registered to a Mr. Mark Brody whose address is in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. We’ve checked and it’s not been reported stolen.’

  ‘It probably will be soon. Thanks, Inspector Reid. I’ll just need a quick word with the forensics boys.’