Dan walked over to the car and started talking to one of the men in coveralls.
‘Have you had many instances of people doing this before in this area?’ Mac asked the Inspector.
‘None to my knowledge. I’ve only come across a couple of cases like this in my time and both of those were in their own garages.’
‘Isn’t it harder to do now most cars have catalytic converters?’ Tommy asked.
‘In the cases I mentioned both cars were fitted with converters but they still managed to kill themselves. They were both males in their fifties and had drunk the equivalent of a bottle of spirits so they were probably already unconscious even before the carbon monoxide got to work, just takes a little longer I guess.’
Dan came back.
‘They’ll let us know when they’re finished. Anything else you can tell us while we’re waiting?’
‘Well the car must have been here before eleven last night,’ the Inspector said.
Dan looked impressed.
‘How can you tell that?’
‘It was dry all day yesterday until the rain started around eleven. The road is dry underneath the car.’
‘Bloody well noticed,’ Dan said, complimenting the Inspector. ‘Anything else?’
‘He left what looks like a suicide note but it was on the floor on the driver’s side so I wasn’t able to read it.’
‘Any alcohol?’ Mac asked.
‘Not as far as I could see. Might be something in the boot though, we didn’t look in there. I’ve had my men comb the woods here just in case he threw anything, like an empty bottle perhaps, but we found nothing.’
‘What’s down that end of the road?’ Mac asked.
‘Just some storage buildings that belong to the golf club. It’s a cul-de-sac, the road ends there,’ the Inspector replied.
‘I remember there being a big house somewhere nearby. What’s that used for?’
‘Oh, you must mean the Conference Centre,’ the Inspector replied. ‘It’s no more than ten minutes walk from here. Just walk down the road and turn right down the grass track.’
Mac turned to Dan.
‘We’ll have to check it out.’
‘Let’s wait and see what forensics have found first,’ Dan replied.
They didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later one of the forensics team ambled over.
‘Hi, I’m Andy Smith.’
Dan introduced Mac and Tommy. Like most forensics people Andy didn’t offer to shake hands.
‘Did you find anything we should know about?’ Dan asked.
‘Well there was a note, not signed, but that probably doesn’t mean much in this computer age.’
Andy produced a plastic bag inside which was a single piece of A4 paper.
Dan read the note out loud.
‘So many lives I’ve taken. I’ve been blind but I see clearly now, I see my sins for what they are and I can no longer live with them. I know I will only kill again, it’s in my nature. So just one more death. My own.’
‘How bloody convenient,’ Dan added with more than a hint of sarcasm.
‘I take it that you think he took his own life?’ Mac asked.
‘That’s what it looks like. There were no signs of violence that we could see. The prints on the hose and the piece of gaffer tape that was used to seal the window only seem to have one set of prints on them, the victim’s. ’
Mac looked at the hose. It had once belonged to a vacuum cleaner. The nozzle end had been jammed into the exhaust while the other end was held in place by the driver’s side window. The hose was very taut.
‘What about the hose?’ Mac asked.
‘Yes, it seems to be a little short for the purpose but I guess he could have gotten in via the passenger door and climbed over into the driver’s seat.’
‘Did you find any footprints or car tracks?’ Dan asked.
Andy shook his head.
‘Nothing nearby but then again it had been very dry for quite a few days and it looks like the rain arrived after the suicide, or whatever it was, took place. If there had been any prints they were probably washed away.’
‘Anything in the boot?’ Mac asked hopefully.
‘Absolutely nothing which is interesting in itself I would have thought.’
Mac thought so too.
‘Is it possible that someone could have staged this to look like a suicide?’ Mac asked.
Andy turned to look at the car and said, ‘Yes, that’s always a possibility but we’ve found nothing definite yet that would support that theory. From what I’ve seen so far I’d go for suicide, keep it simple and all that.’
‘Is it okay if we have a quick look?’ Dan asked.
‘No problem, just don’t touch anything.’
He ambled off again.
‘Come on, let’s see if really is Matyas,’ Dan said.
He headed off towards the BMW. The driver’s side door had been left open. A man’s body lay back in the seat, his eyes shut. He could have been asleep.
Dan looked closely.
‘It’s definitely Matyas or Oleksandr or whoever his bloody name was.’
Dan turned to see a very sceptical look on Mac’s face.
‘Somehow I get the impression that you’re not convinced,’ Dan observed.
‘There’s no evidence to the contrary but I can’t shake off the feeling that this has all been staged and that our man here was murdered.’
‘Why do think that?’ Tommy asked.
Mac shook his head slowly.
‘I don’t know exactly. Perhaps it’s all a bit too neat. If our man was working with someone else the timing wouldn’t be a co-incidence would it?’
‘You mean after what my idiot boss said at the press conference his partner might have thought we were getting too close for comfort?’ Dan asked.
‘That’s what I think and what about the hibernation drug? We’ve had no explanation of that yet and, from what we’ve found so far, it seems that it’s almost certainly beyond our friend here. So where did he get it from? Besides that Matyas had to work as a cleaner when he first came over to this country so he obviously wasn’t rich. So where’s he been getting his money from for the last six months? If he was keeping the girls for three to four weeks where did he keep them and why? We’re still no nearer to finding out what all this is really about.’
Mac stopped and looked around.
‘And why here, why pick this particular spot to kill himself in? All in all there are just too many unanswered questions for my liking.’
Dan’s phone rang. He listened for a while and then wrote something down.
‘Thanks Martin. Get Adil and the team over there straight away and, if there’s any substance to the call, tell them to get forensics involved straight away.’
Dan turned to Mac and Tommy.
‘Someone called in who recognised Matyas as his next door neighbour and guess where? Stevenage. Might explain why the car was stolen from there. I’ve sent Adil and the team over to check. Come on, let’s see what we can find out at this conference centre.’
As they turned to walk off Andy Smith said, ‘I’ll let you know if we find anything else.’
They started walking towards the car then Mac stopped and went back and spoke to Andy. Dan noticed him writing something down.
As they drove off Dan asked, ‘What was that all about?’
‘I just asked him if he could pass on an important message to whoever is doing the autopsy. I asked them to send a blood sample to Dr. Tereshkova at Luton Hospital. I’d bet a bucket he’s got traces of the hibernation drug in his system.’
‘Good thinking Mac,’ Dan replied. ‘Of course it still won’t prove it isn’t suicide but it’ll be interesting none the less.’
Although the conference centre was only ten minutes by foot it took the same amount of time to get to it by car as they had to drive half a mile down the main road before turning right to drive even further back on themselves.
&n
bsp; The building was a massive early nineteenth century stately home set in beautiful gardens. Inside the huge lobby Andy asked at the reception desk and they were told to wait.
Dan noticed Mac’s face fall. His normal expression was replaced by a combination of annoyance and exasperation. Before he could ask what had cause this an elegantly besuited man with the name badge ‘Stephen’ approached them.
‘I’m Stephen Harkover, the conference facilitator,’ he said, giving them all a facilitator’s smile. ‘How can I help?’
‘We’re investigating a death that happened not far from here last night. A man has been found dead in his car. We’re just checking in case there might be a connection as you’re quite near to where it happened.’
Dan noticed Mac nodding his head towards something. He looked around to see a poster ‘BIOMED – Europe’s biggest biomedical conference.’ According to the dates displayed the conference lasted three days and it only started yesterday.
Dan pointed towards the poster.
‘How many attendees are there to the conference?’
‘Just over two hundred and fifty,’ Stephen replied.
‘That many!’ Dan exclaimed. ‘Do any of them stay overnight?’
‘Quite a few, most of them have travelled from all over Europe.’
‘Did anything unusual happen yesterday?’
Stephen shook his head.
‘For once everything went smoothly, nothing unusual as far as I can remember.’
Dan wrote down an email address. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mac walking slowly towards the exit.
‘Can you send us the details of all attendees, names, home and company addresses, everything you’ve got.’
‘Of course, but I’ll need a formal data request.’
Dan looked around just as Mac left the building.
‘No problem I’ll arrange it now.’
He rang Martin and gave him Stephen Harkover’s contact details. Dan and Tommy went outside where they saw Mac sitting on a low wall.
‘What’s up?’ Dan asked.
‘Our man, he’s taking the piss,’ Mac stated glumly.
‘Tell me,’ Dan ordered.
‘We’ve had one question answered anyway. Remember I asked why here? Why this particular spot? Well now we know. He’s having a laugh that’s what. First of all he stages the suicide here primarily because it’s far enough away from wherever it is he operates but then, to top it all, and just in case we suspect that there is a partner in crime who works in biomed, he gives us two hundred and fifty suspects on a plate. A needle in a haystack except there’s no bloody needle there, is there?’
‘You don’t think that anyone attending the conference is likely to be our man?’ Tommy asked.
‘I’d bet a year’s wages on it. No as I said he’s taking the piss, giving us a shed load of work to do and probably laughing up his sleeve at us.’
Dan’s expression mirrored Mac’s.
‘I agree. Come on, we’re just wasting our time here. Let’s go to Stevenage and see what Adil’s found.’
As they drove Mac thought of Matyas’ research into pharmaceutical companies and wondered if choosing to live in Stevenage was a co-incidence. He remembered there was a plant belonging to one of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies near one of the motorway exits. He made a mental note to ask Martin to find out if there were any more.
The flat was in a sought after part of the town near the hospital and formed part of a development based around a much older house. Adil met them at the entrance.
‘It’s definitely our man?’ Dan asked. When Adil nodded he continued, ‘Found anything yet?’
‘Forensics have just about finished but they haven’t found much as yet. Only one person’s fingerprints, presumably our man’s, and nothing else out of the ordinary. We’ve had a quick look around too and either this guy was onto extreme minimalism or someone got here before us.’
‘What, not even a passport?’ Dan asked.
‘Nothing,’ Adil replied.
‘I’d have expected to find a stack of them,’ Dan said. ‘Do we have a name yet?’
‘Not yet. The neighbours all agree that it was definitely Matyas who lived here but none of them even knew his first name let alone his surname.’
Mac glanced around.
‘This looks quite an expensive place to live, any CCTV?’
‘No, apparently the people who bought their flats in advance didn’t like the idea,’ Adil said.
‘Makes you wonder what they get up to, doesn’t it?’ Dan surmised. ‘Anything at all from the neighbours?’
‘Again nothing. Apart from saying the occasional ‘Hello’ in the communal areas he never spoke to any of his neighbours. They all said he was quiet and no trouble.’
‘Yes the perfect bloody neighbour. Did he buy this flat or was he renting?’
‘Renting, I’m expecting someone from the letting agency any minute. They said they’d photocopy all the documents they had and bring them over.’
‘I noticed there’s a car park attached to the development. Did our man have a car?’ Dan asked.
‘Yes, a silver BMW according to one of his neighbours. We don’t know the registration but we checked the car park and it’s not there.’
‘We know where it is,’ Dan said. ‘It’s up in Ashridge, it’s the car he died in.’
‘So that’s why it wasn’t reported stolen,’ Tommy said, ‘it was his own car.’
‘Come on, show us around,’ Dan said to Adil.
Adil lead them into the lobby and up a flight of stairs. Mac took it very carefully and was well behind the others as they walked down the end of a hallway. A door opened and a woman’s head popped out looking at the backs of the policemen.
She jumped when Mac said, ‘Police.’
He flashed his warrant card.
‘And you are?’
The woman had a silk dressing gown on which she pulled tightly around her. She was in her late forties and, although it was only noon, there was a strong smell of alcohol on her breath.
‘I’m Mrs. Stella Lewis-Browne,’ she said grandly.
‘I see you pay attention to what goes on around here. Do you know anything about the gentleman who lives down the end of the hall?’
‘The young foreign man? I’ve already been asked and no, I don’t know a thing about him, we were like ships that pass in the night.’
She seemed quite struck by her metaphor and went silent.
Mac had to prompt her.
‘Has anything strange happened here recently? Anything different?’
She thought for a quite a time.
‘Now that’s a question that no-one has asked me yet and yes, there was something strange. Yesterday I saw a stranger in the hallway, tall man, only saw him from the back. We don’t get many strangers normally.’
‘You opened the door just as you did now.’
She nodded.
‘And he was going towards the young man’s apartment?’ Mac asked.
‘Could have been, or Barbara’s or possibly Mr. Abraham’s, they’re all down that end. I didn’t see where he went, my programme came on so I had to pop back inside.’
‘Anything else you can remember about this man apart from the fact he was tall?’
‘He had dark clothes on and a baseball cap. The baseball cap was an odd colour though, didn’t go with the clothes. That’s it really.’
‘What time was this?’
‘It was late, that’s why I looked out. It was eleven o’clock exactly, my programme started at eleven that’s how I know.’
‘Thank you, you’ve been most helpful.’
Mac walked down to the end of the corridor and walked in through the open door. The flat was large and well furnished. A large picture window overlooked a well-kept garden.
‘Bloody hell, this must have cost a bob or two,’ Mac said. ‘And he certainly wasn’t keeping the girls here, was he?’
‘Just what we were sa
ying,’ Dan replied. ‘There’s no evidence of course but it looks like someone’s beat us to it. It’s all too clean and tidy, there’s nothing here that can help us, no laptop, no phone, no personal papers, not even any supermarket receipts. I just don’t buy it. If I’m going to kill myself why would I care what state I left my flat in?’
‘A woman down the hall, Mrs. Lewis-Browne, said she saw a strange man in the corridor around eleven last night, a tall man with a baseball cap. He had to be going to one of the three flats towards the end of the hallway. The other two flats belonged to a Barbara someone and a Mr. Abraham. Okay if I check with them?’
‘Go ahead,’ Dan said.
Mac tried the flat on his left first and soon heard the sound of the door being unlocked. A woman in her thirties opened the door. She had her coat on and was obviously just about to go out.
Mac showed her his warrant card.
‘Police. And your name is?’
‘Barbara Townsend but I’ve already spoken to one of your officers.’
‘Just one further question. Were you here around eleven last night?’
‘No I was out with friends last night until after twelve.’
‘And you live alone?’
‘I do and I thank God every day for it,’ she said with real sincerity.
‘Might someone have tried to visit you last night, a tall man?’
‘No, only my creepy ex might have visited but no-one in their right mind would describe him as tall. Anyway I’ve heard he’s gone abroad for some sun with his latest floozie, hope the bastard drowns in the swimming pool.’
Mac hoped for better luck as he knocked as he rang the door of the other flat but no-one answered.
Barbara Townsend came out of her flat.
‘You won’t have much luck there. Jason’s been away for a few weeks now. He’s in America on business, he won’t be back for another month or so.’
She walked off.
Dan and the team walked towards Mac.
‘Any luck?’ Dan asked.
‘Well, it doesn’t look as if our stranger was visiting Barbara Townsend and Mr. Abraham here is apparently in America. It looks likely that our stranger might have been heading to our man’s flat after all.’
‘Sod them!’ Dan said with feeling.
The Body in the Boot: The first 'Mac' Maguire mystery Page 17