23 Cold Cases (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 5)

by Patrick C Walsh

  ‘Like Ashley you mean?’ Kate said, her eyes narrowing.

  She stood up to and looked straight into Adeline’s eyes.

  ‘You know who killed Ashley, don’t you?’

  ‘No, no I don’t, not exactly and I’m not saying anything else, you can’t make me. You say you can keep me safe but you can’t, no-one can, they have people everywhere. I’m lost.’

  Adeline became even more agitated and started walking up and down again, clenching and unclenching her fists and muttering to herself.

  Then she suddenly stopped and went very still as she stared intently at something to her left. Kate followed her gaze. It led to an open door. The door led to the balcony.

  ‘Tell daddy,’ Adeline said softly without turning her head.

  ‘No, Adeline , NO!’ Kate shouted.

  Kate dove and tried to grab her. She almost caught her arm but she was a fraction too late. Adeline ran through the door and didn’t stop running. She disappeared over the balcony’s edge.

  ‘Why?’ Kate said to no-one.

  Tommy had already gone. He raced all the way back down the stairs to the ground floor. Kate went out to the balcony and looked down. She saw Tommy bending over Adeline’s broken body. He looked up at Kate and shook his head. She saw him make the call on his phone.

  She sat down on the sofa and thought through what had happened. She was sure it must be her fault somehow. Had she been too hard on her? And why hadn’t she stood in front of the door to the balcony just in case? If only she’d made her come down to the station in the first place, there were no bloody balconies there.

  Her thoughts were still whirling around in circles when Tommy arrived.

  ‘The ambulance and the local police have arrived.’

  Kate shot him a despairing look.

  ‘Be honest Tommy, did I do something wrong?’

  ‘No absolutely not, Kate. I can’t quite believe it myself. I mean I know she was bit strung out and all but I had no idea she was going to do that.’

  Kate nodded. It made her feel better, a very little bit better.

  ‘There’ll be an enquiry of course and, after all, there was just her and two policemen present so you’ll know what they’ll say.’

  ‘Let them, tongues will always wag about something or other as my mum says,’ Tommy replied, ‘Anyway we’ve got our job to do, we can only do it as best we can.’

  ‘Such wisdom in one so young,’ Kate said with a smile as she stood up.

  He was so sweet that she kissed Tommy on the cheek. Tommy’s face went red.

  ‘I have told you that I’ve got a girlfriend, haven’t I?’ he said defensively.

  ‘That was just a sisterly kiss because you remind me so much of my brother. If it was the other sort you’d be in no doubt about it believe me.’

  Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of three uniformed officers. The lead officer introduced himself as Inspector Ken Ahmed.

  ‘I believe you witnessed everything, is that correct?’ he asked as his eyes flicked around the room.

  Kate and Tommy nodded in unison.

  ‘Okay then you’ll need to go back with us to the station and be formally interviewed as you were the only witnesses,’ the Inspector said. ‘Forensics will need the room in any case.’

  Kate stood up and quickly looked around the room before she left. She spotted Adeline’s phone on the sofa near where she’d been sitting.

  Outside they walked by the forensics team who were busy taking pictures of Adeline’s body and making measurements. A little river of blood had run down the pavement from her crushed skull and gathered in a small hollow. Kate looked down at it and saw her face reflected in it. She quickly looked away.

  One of the white suited forensics team ambled over to them, ‘I’m Bob Yeardley the team leader. I believe you were interviewing her when it happened, is that right?’

  Kate nodded sombrely.

  ‘We were just talking to her when she got very agitated, not for the first time while we were there. Then she stood very still and I saw her looking at the door to the balcony. By the time I realised what she was thinking of doing she’d dashed out of the door onto the balcony and over. I tried to stop her but…’ Kate shrugged helplessly.

  The forensics officer looked at Tommy.

  ‘If I’m honest Kate here was well ahead of me. I had absolutely no idea of what she was going to do until she was over the balcony. Bit of a shock really.’

  ‘I’ll bet. Well don’t feel bad about it,’ Bob said. ‘I’ve been doing this for quite some time and I’ve learnt that it’s sometimes impossible to predict if someone will commit suicide or not and that for some it really is a decision of the moment. There’s also a good chance that she was just waiting for an audience, for someone to see her go. That happens too. Perhaps it made her feel a bit less lonely or a bit better that someone was around when she went, I don’t know.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Kate said.

  Bob’s words had cheered her up a little more.

  They followed Inspector Ahmed’s car to the local police station. The interviews took a while as the Inspector questioned them about every detail. He made it very clear that, even though they were police officers, they weren’t above suspicion. They had a break and Kate and Tommy were supplied with tea and sandwiches for which both of them were grateful not having eaten since early that morning. The Inspector eventually seemed satisfied with what he’d been told.

  ‘Would you mind if I tell her family?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Why do you know them?’ Inspector Ahmed asked.

  ‘Well yes I’ve interviewed them before so they know me and it might be better…you know,’ Kate gave him a sympathetic smile.

  ‘Very well but if they say anything that we might be interested in don’t forget to let us know.’

  ‘No problem. Oh by the way Adeline’s phone is still in the flat, is there any chance that we could have first look at it?’ Kate asked hopefully.

  The Inspector looked dubious.

  ‘It might have quite a bearing on our murder case and the sooner we can get it the better,’ Kate explained.

  Inspector Ahmed still looked dubious, ‘Who would we have to send it to?’

  Kate looked at Tommy for help.

  ‘Oh that would be Martin Selby at Letchworth Station. He’s our computer forensics specialist. He’s very good, well the best really and we’ll make sure you get a full report of everything that’s on the phone,’ Tommy said with an innocent expression.

  The Inspector looked at the two of them and shrugged.

  ‘Okay then, I’ll send it over to Letchworth as soon as forensics release it. I’ll tell them that it will be going for a specialist examination and that they’ll receive a full report too.’

  ‘Yes, yes of course,’ Kate said, nodding her head.

  As they walked back to the car Kate said, ‘Thanks Tommy.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘For backing me up in there and being so persuasive about this Martin Selby, we could have been hanging around for a report on the phone for ages otherwise. Is he really that good?’

  ‘Oh yes, I wasn’t lying when I said he was the best.’

  ‘Good, I’m glad as I’m really hoping that the phone might tell us something.’

  ‘So where does Adeline’s father live?’ Tommy asked.

  Kate gave him the address and Tommy fed it into the satnav.

  ‘By the way why were you so keen on being the one to tell the family?’ Tommy asked as they drove.

  ‘Because Adeline asked me to and it was the very last thing she said.’

  Tommy didn’t say anything. He had a feeling that there might be more to it than that.

  ‘Anyway they might know something but, if I’m being honest, I also want to see the look on Mr. Smyth-Stortford’s face when I tell him.’

  They passed by the block of flats again on their way. It took them less than ten minutes to drive from there to Adeline’s former residenc
e. They drove down a street full of ordinary looking, though expensive, Victorian terraced houses and then turned off to the left. A sign informed them that they were entering a private road and more or less instructed the riff-raff to keep their distance. The houses were even bigger than the ones they’d seen previously and each one seemed to have at least one brand new Porsche in the drive.

  ‘It’s this one here,’ Kate said, remembering the house from her last visit.

  Tommy stopped the car outside a house that was set back from the road. It would probably have been seen as futuristic in the thirties. It reminded Tommy of an old cinema he used to go to and it wasn’t far off being as big. It had two front doors and a double garage on the side. The wide drive held a Range Rover, a red McClaren sports car and the inevitable Porsche so he wondered what they kept in the garage.

  Kate went to the right of the two doors and rang the bell. A Filipino maid in her forties answered the door. She didn’t look happy in her work.

  ‘We’re the police and we’d like to speak to Mr. Smyth-Stortford,’ Kate said as she showed her warrant card.

  ‘I’ll see if he’s in,’ the maid replied grumpily and shut the door behind her.

  ‘It might take her a while for her to find him in this place,’ Tommy said.

  It obviously did as she didn’t return for over five minutes.

  ‘Follow me please,’ the maid said flatly once she’d shut the door behind them.

  She scuttled down corridor after corridor turning left and right and then down some stairs. Kate found it quite difficult to keep up with her.

  ‘In there,’ she said with a sour look as she pointed at a door before scuttling away.

  Kate was surprised as space and light and the smell of chlorine hit her. It was a full sized indoor pool. She knew that there was one in the house but this was the first time she’d seen it. A man in his early fifties and a young woman were lying on recliners near the pool. They both had fluffy white dressing gowns on and a large drink to hand. The young woman lay on her side, she had her hand inside the man’s dressing gown. She quickly withdrew it when she saw that she had company.

  ‘Grab a seat,’ the man said waving his hand towards a couple of recliners nearby.

  Kate looked at him. He had an old face and young hair. He had the same smug self-satisfied expression that seemed to be the default amongst a lot of so-called self-made men like him. She knew it all too well.

  ‘If it’s all the same I’ll stand,’ Kate said as she showed him her warrant card.

  ‘So how can I help the police?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll bet it’s Addie up to her tricks again,’ the young woman said with a sneer.

  ‘And you are?’ Kate asked as she turned and stared at her.

  She was around twenty, quite pretty with regulation blonde hair, pneumatic breasts and a pout.

  ‘I’m Jemima,’ she said.

  Kate had taken her for a rich man’s bit of fluff but she was in fact Adeline’s younger sister. From where she’d had her hand Kate could easily guess why she was her father’s favourite.

  ‘Well you’re right, this is about Adeline,’ Kate said.

  The man sat up and audibly groaned.

  ‘Oh God what’s she gone and done now? If she needs money for bail or anything tell her she can go to hell. I don’t want anything to do with her. I told her that when I kicked her out.’

  ‘All she’ll need from you now is the cost of a coffin. She’s dead,’ Kate said flatly.

  She watched the two of them closely. They looked at each other and then shrugged their shoulders.

  ‘Oh well it was bound to happen,’ Jemima said as she refilled her drink. ‘Drug overdose I take it?’

  ‘No it was a severe case of gravity.’

  They both looked at her with a puzzled expression.

  ‘She jumped from the balcony of her flat. It was five floors up,’ Kate explained.

  ‘Really,’ the man said with a slightly sad expression.

  Kate half expected some emotion from him at this point but he very quickly pulled himself together, far too quickly for Kate’s liking.

  ‘Was that it?’ he asked as he glanced at the door.

  As far as he was concerned the audience was over. Kate guessed he was anxious to get back to what he’d been doing before they were so rudely interrupted.

  ‘No, that is not it,’ Kate said.

  Tommy could hear an edge in her voice.

  ‘I‘ll need both of you to come down to the station to answer some questions.’

  ‘Why? What on earth could we tell you about a silly girl chucking herself off the fifth floor that you don’t already know?’ he said as he passed his glass over to his daughter for a refill.

  ‘We were there when Adeline killed herself. The reason we were there was because we’re investigating a murder and we wanted to ask your daughter some questions. Unfortunately we never got the chance but it’s possible that you might know something that could help us in our enquiries.’

  ‘Oh God do we really have to?’ he said with a scowl as Jemima handed him his drink.

  ‘No you don’t have to but we feel that your testimony might be crucial to our case so if you refuse to attend an interview this will be noted and passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service. They’ll provide us with a Witness Summons and you can then tell us what we need to know in court for everyone to hear. It’s your choice.’

  He actually thought about it for a few minutes before saying, ‘Oh, I suppose we must all help the police, no matter how bloody inconvenient it is. Will tomorrow be okay?’

  Kate gave him her card and the address of Letchworth Police Station.

  ‘Will nine thirty be okay?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Ten thirty would be better,’ he said glumly.

  ‘Okay we’ll see you both at ten thirty tomorrow,’ Kate said, glad that she could finally leave.

  The maid was waiting for them outside the door and Kate gratefully followed her to the door that led back out into the real world.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tommy glanced over at Kate as they sat in the car. She looked angry again.

  ‘You know I had the distinct feeling that you didn’t like Mr. Smyth-Stortford much.’

  Kate looked over at Tommy and managed a smile.

  ‘You’re right I didn’t.’

  She glanced over at the dashboard clock. It was just gone four. She suddenly felt very tired.

  ‘Any chance we could call it a day?’ she asked. ‘I’ll ring Mac and tell him we’re on our way.’

  ‘Yes sure,’ Tommy replied. ‘It’s been a bit of a strange day all round, hasn’t it?’

  After Kate had spoken to Mac there was silence in the car for some minutes until they got caught in the inevitable traffic jam on the motorway. Tommy was happy to leave Kate to her thoughts but it was she who spoke first.

  ‘You’re right though I didn’t like Mr. Smyth-Stortford,’ she said.

  ‘Well he didn’t strike me as being the likeable type anyway,’ Tommy replied.

  ‘No it wasn’t that, he reminded me of someone.’

  ‘Who?’ Tommy asked, beginning to get intrigued.

  ‘My father.’

  Tommy could feel the anger emanating from her like a force field. She turned her head to look out of the window on her side and said nothing for the rest of the journey.

  Amrit opened the door and the welcome smell of coffee hit them.

  ‘I’ve just put a pot of coffee on, would you like some?’ she asked brightly.

  They both made it known that they would be more than grateful.

  Mac was deep in thought when they opened the door and seemed a little surprised to see them.

  ‘Oh here already!’ he glanced over at his clock. ‘God is it really gone five? Sorry I was miles away, Martin sent me something and it’s given me some food for thought. Anyway had an exciting day?’ Mac asked with a smile.

  Mac saw Kate and Tommy give each other a look
. It was quite obvious that something serious had happened.

  ‘What is it?’ Mac asked, his smile suddenly gone.

  Kate told him everything that had happened at Adeline’s flat.

  ‘Poor girl, she must have felt as though there was absolutely no hope to do something like that,’ Mac said with a sad expression.

  Kate couldn’t help noticing that Mac had expressed more emotion about a girl he’d never met than her own father had.

  ‘There was nothing you could have done,’ Mac said looking straight at Kate.

  ‘I know but…’

  ‘No buts. Just ask yourself whether you even had the wildest notion that she might have done something like that before she actually did it. Did you?’

  Kate thought for a moment and shook her head.

  ‘It’s happened to me a few times,’ Mac continued, ‘and it always comes as a total surprise and yet every time you think that you should have known somehow but, of course, there’s no way you could have.’

  Kate slowly nodded, a feeling of relief flooded through her. She was more than grateful for Mac’s words.

  ‘So what happened at the clinic?’

  Kate told him about the interview with Dr. Al-Faran and about the unknown stranger who had visited Ashley while she was at the clinic.

  ‘You think that the doctor’s hiding something, don’t you?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Yes I do, I’m not sure what it is though. I’d like to do a bit more digging if that’s alright,’ Kate replied.

  ‘Kate don’t forget that you’re running this investigation so you can do what you like but if it’s any help I agree. Adeline had a connection to the clinic too, didn’t she? Anyway it certainly won’t hurt to see what else we can find and the CCTV footage might be helpful too if we can identify who it was that visited Ashley. You did well, the both of you.’

  Kate gave Mac a faint smile. He thought she looked quite down.

  ‘Now while you were out and about I’ve received some very interesting emails from Martin and I’ve done a bit of digging. Firstly Trina Derbyshere, he’s managed to trace her through passport control. It looks like she’s done a runner. She left the country just over six months ago, so not long after Ashley was murdered. Before that she was working for a PR company in London, I rang the company and they were still quite annoyed with her as she didn’t tell them she was leaving, she just didn’t turn up one day. I also contacted the company she was leasing her flat from and it was the same story there, so it looks like she left in a hurry. All we know is that she’s in Canada somewhere, probably the east coast as she flew into Toronto. I’ve contacted someone in the Canadian police and asked them if they could help us to find her. However, it might also be worth interviewing any family members in case they have any relations in Canada.’