The Judge raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his brandy ‘no one important?’ he asked.
Howcroft shook his head ‘No’ and continued ‘I need to ask you some questions, some personal. Do you mind?’
The Judge changed his seating position and crossed over the other leg. He took his left hand and rubbed his temple, showing a sign of discomfort,
‘why?I thought you were going to update me on the
investigation, now you want to ask me some personal questions’. The Judge’s voice had a hint of anger building and there was a sudden change in his eyes.
Howcroft stood up and walked over to the fire, he placed his empty glass on the mantle piece next to the photograph of the Judge and his wife. He turned around and looked directly at the Judge ‘Did you know your wife was having an affair with Stephen Tarling?’.
The Judge uncrossed his legs and straightened up his back. He was aghast at what Howcroft had just told him. ‘What…Susan and’ he couldn’t bring him sel to say it.
‘Yes, Tarling, your business partner even friend?’ Howcroft said trying to provoke a reaction of guilt and confession.
Judge Francis Lloyd also stood up, but he didn’t respond. He calmly walked to the drink’s cabinet, and poured another drink while slowly calculating his response through his mind. ‘Would you like another one George?’
Howcroft noticed that the hailstones had stopped and the rumble of thunder was well and truly in the distance. He frowned with confusion at the Judge’s reaction and politely refused another brandy. But Howcroft did sense a response forth coming and waited.
The Judge poured the brandy into his empty glass and turned around to face Chief Inspector Howcroft. He had a smile on his face, ‘Yes I did know, not straight away mind’ he said while pointing his index finger in the air. The Judge settled back down into his armchair, ‘pease George sit down’ and gestured with his outstretched hand to the chair.
The Judge made himself comfortable, as if he was going to read a good book. Howcroft strolled back to his chair and awaited the revelations.
For the first time the Judge showed vulnerability, he tilted his head back slightly as to try to hold back any emotion. ‘I first met Stephen Tarling on a money laundering trial, which I’m sure you’ve done your homework on, and know all about. We got taking and I won’t bore you with detail, but over the following months we met at social events and he came to me with a proposition’.
Howcroft was excited by what the Judge was opening up with and his eyes were transfixed on the Judge.
‘Stephen and I met here on some evenings’ the Judge continued ‘and he met Susan and they hit it off instantly. I thought as time went on the friendly banter, touches meant more than just acquaintances. I then noticed the way they glanced at each other, there was a sexual undertone. So one day I followed them…and’ the Judge paused for a moment, remembering the day that it became true. They were lovers. It hurt, it hurt so badly, still does. ‘And…yes they came back here, in my house can you believe’. The hurt was now turning to anger.
The Judge put his hand to his mouth and bit down hard on one of his fingers trying to erase some of his mental torment. He then downed all of his brandy.
Howcroft knew if he prodded some more, he could get the Judge to tell the whole story. He fell slightly tense and shook his arms as though limbering up for weight lifting. He let out a heavy puff of air and plucked up the courage to ask the ultimate question ‘did you kill your wifl’
A wry smile spread across the face of the Judge ‘you just want a yes or no?. He laughed. ‘You don’t want to know why’
Howcroft fell uneasy the last sentence had real venom in the tone and the eyes danced with sudden
madness. ‘I will have that drink now,may I?’ Howcroft
got up and helped himself. He looked back at the Judge ‘okay why?’
The Judge just looked into space as he delivered his
reason. ‘I wasn’t going toI was going to break off the
partnership, take early retirement and take Susan abroad with me. Just a couple of days before I was going to confront her she found out about what Stephen and I had been doing’.
‘You mean the money laundering’ Howcroft interrupted.
The Judge nodded and raised his eyebrows, not realising that they had made that connection. ‘So the noose is tightening ..but she made a demand on me that tore me apart. She said I won’t tell anybody as long as you give me a divorce’. The Judge shook his head, ‘can you believe that?’ he implored. ‘The woman I adored, would
do anything forloved so much wanted to leave me. I
got angry and told her I knew about the affair with Tarling’ he bowed his head as though he had been inadequate in some way.
‘So what did you do?’ Howcroft questioned, careful not to ignite the Judge’s unstable emotions.
‘I pleaded with her, offered anything she wanted, but all she could say in a nonchalant manner was, I will not say anything as long as you let me deep with Stephen’. He tried to laugh, but it just came out in spurts as though he was choking. ‘Fucking whore!’ he shouted and hurled his glass into the fireplace.
Howcroft was still standing by the drink’s cabinet, which rattled as he fell onto it with the unexpected smashing of the glass. Howcroft fell jittery, but wanted to know more. ‘Go on’ he said.
‘I tossed and turned and didn’t know what to do? But I decided if I couldn’t have her, there was no way Tarling could! I disguised myself coming out of my apartment in London and drove down to the house. I waited, I knew they were in there. I thought about killing them both, but you would have been onto me in a flash. I
waited for Stephen to leave and then‘. He stopped as
he relived the moment in his mind. ‘But Stephen came back, so I knocked him out’, the intensity shown on his face paled for a split second and a smile broke out. ‘Then, well you know already’.
Howcroft was in stunned silence as the Judge confessed to the murder. ‘Just tell me a couple of things, Jack Lyonyou killed him as welll’.
‘Oh yes, Jack, poor sod. He saw me coming back into the apartment, I didn’t know what to do. But in the end he was a loose end I could do without. We knew each other quite well, so it wasn’t a problem getting into his flat. Caught him at the wrong time he said. Was selecting some female company. Made up an excuse for him to let me in, it was a bit unnerving as he was only wearing his underpants. He went off to the bedroom, pointed me into the kitchen. Opportunity was to find a knife, followed him down, walked in. Which one he said and threw a contact magazine at me. I pulled the knife out and told him to get on the bed. You should have seen his face, he was shaking, whimpering and when he got onto the bed I saw that he had pissed himself. The Judge chuckled to himself, ‘so am I a serial killer?’ he said reverting his gaze back to Howcroft.
Chief Inspector Howcroft tried to remain calm, although his heart was pounding faster and faster. He fell his stomach churning as though he had just eaten a dodgy oyster. Many thoughts ran through his head, call for backup, arrest him and even get the hell out of there. But he didn’t, no loose ends he conceded.
He banked on the Judge coming quietly after confessing to two murders. This was a man that used to uphold the law, he wouldn’t do anything stupid now. ‘Tell me one more thing I’m intrigued with the note you left in the safety deposit boxwhat did it mean?’.
The Judge laughed out loud, ‘I knew that would get you thinking’.
‘Let us make peace, was the turmoil I felt, I was even going to turn mysel in. I went to see Priest O’Donahue one morning, I went to confession, he was very understanding. He understood why I took retribution, but told me it would be better to tell the police. But I couldn’t, ,ust couldn’t so decided to follow my dream and bought a place in Barbados to get away from everything’.
>
‘Let the dead be, I am a Judge, I have passed sentence on Susan. She was punished by death for her sins. An investigation was futile and would mean nothing’.
‘And the last one?’ Howcroft wanted to know.
‘Ah the last one’ the Judge walked over to the wall cabinet and pulled open the long drawer. ‘God pardon you for your anger towards me, I was hoping to avoid this one’. He turned and faced Howcroft holding a gun in his right hand.
Howcroft nearly fell over backwards, he looked at the Judge. Those eyes. His eyes were frenzied with hate, and Howcroft sensed the trigger would be pulled.
The pain seared through his kneecap and shot right up to his brain. Howcroft screamed in agony as the bullet splintered his bone and the blood gushed out of the wound.
‘Sorry George, not going to kill you, enough deaths already, don’t you agree?’ the Judge smiled. ‘Just giving
myself a bit of time to get awayyou don’t mind, do
you?’.
Howcroft lay on the floor cutching his knee, the dark red liquid oozed through his fingers. ‘You fucking psycho!’ Howcroft raged as the sickness he fell began to rise through his body, and he vomited violently as his body jerked it out.
‘You’ll be alright’ the Judge said wandering off out of the room for a few seconds, before returning with a towel which he lobbed at Howcroft.
Howcroft eagerly grabbed at the towel and wrapped it around his knee desperately trying to stop the
flow of blood. ‘You won’t get away with thisyou know
that!’.
The Judge gave the Chief Inspector a look of contempt. ‘When you hear me leave, phone for an ambulance and then phone who you have to?’
Howcroft heard the front door bang shut and the sound of gravel being scrunched under screeching car wheels as the Judge made a bid for freedom.
Howcroft began to feel drowsy as he made the 999 call for help. He would pass out in minutes.
EPILOGUE
Rafael cosed his eyes as he immersed himsel into the soothing sounds of the Panpipe music he was listening to. The telephone on his desk burst into life drowning his music and he swung around hastily in his chair to answer the telephone. Rafael snatched at it in his annoyance of being interrupted ‘yes’ he answered sternly.
‘Rafael, it is Jose’.
‘Sorry Jose, a lot of things on my mind at the moment. There seems to be an air of apprehension here, but I don’t why We still haven’t found Freddy, but I tell you one thing Jose, when I do find him and I will, he will wish he’d never been born!’
‘Stephen Tarling has been taken care of Jose stated with hatred running through his veins. ‘Do you want the Judge terminated as welll’ Jose asked relishing the thought.
Rafael paused as he contemplated his brother’s request. A ruthless smile spread across his face as he gave Jose the order to assassinate the Judge.’ Kill him Jose’.
Rafael put the telephone down. But he was confused. His money laundering empire that spread across many major cities in the world seemed to be coming undone at the seams. London was unfortunate, but now New York. A lawyer he had on the payroll was being investigated for tax fraud. Another was a Bank Manager in Tokyo who had supposedly committed suicide in a hotel room. Two couriers had recently been arrested one entering Prague another leaving Miami? Coincidence? Rafael didn’t believe in coincidences’, and the quicker he could track down Freddy Morales the better.
Freddy had just finished his quick telephone call to Chief Superintendent Hothi and hoped he wasn’t too late in saving Stephen Tarling and Francis Lloyd. He had found out both men were on the Chess Player’s hit list and would do well to survive. He had faxed a picture of Jose Rooas to Scotland Yard, as the would-be assassin. But deep down Freddy realised if Jose didn’t succeed someone else would.
Freddy Morales had been given the green light by
his bossC.I.A Director Jim A. Styes to start
Operation Chess Player.
Freddy had gathered enough information and evidence on the Rooas Cartel to blow it wide open. He had spent the last seven years of his life gaining the trust and eventual friendship of Rafael and Jose. Seven years, where he knew each day he had to dig deep to find the courage he needed. I anything had gone wrong then the C.I.A would have denied anything to do with him. He also trained to be like them, cold hearted, develop a ruthless streak and most importantly kill without reason or remorse. In that respect he was put to the test many times in the first few years. Innocent labourers who had fallen foul of Rafael’s wrath killed with a singe bullet through the back of the head or opposing Cartel members, a knife across the throat.
Freddy wiped a solitary tear from his eye after his brief reflection on the last seven years, it had even eroded his true emotion.
As Freddy was the only C.I.A field operative, it was ajoint operation with the F.B.I and they were to return to Rafael’s lair and smash the cartel with as many arrests as possible. Especially their number one target, Rafael Rooas.
Freddy knew that it was far from over, in fact it had only just begun
Lisa and Williams walked along the hospital corridor as they made their way to ‘Rosemary Ward’. Williams always fell uneasy in Hospitals and already could feel himself getting hotter. I in the next twenty minutes he hadn’t taken a glass of water he would have the normal routine of fainting on the patient.
As they entered the ward they caught Howcroft laughing and joking with one of the nurses. Williams diverted to the drink’s machine after saying hello. This Christmas George Howcroft would be spending the festivities with his leg up in the air.
As Williams walked back over to Howcroft, he fell an instant relief through his body after drinking the cold cup of water. He nodded and smiled at other patients in the ward, before standing to a halt next to Lisa.
‘Don’t worry dad Ill cook you a nice roast turkey dinner and smuggle it in, better than the food you’ll get in here. Anyway it looks like you will be spending Christmas with me after all’. Lisa said with a beaming smile.
They all laughed.
‘Any similarities to persons living or dead contained here-in is purely co-incidental’
Cover design by Sarah-Jane Waller (email addr: [email protected])
The Chess Player Page 16