by Gwyn GB
'We could have chicken kievs with baked potatoes, I like those.’
'OK,' her mum conceded, 'I'll get some tomorrow.'
Claire listened to their conversation, the pretend give and take from her father that always ended up with him getting his own way, making all the decisions, and her mother agreeing to whatever it was he wanted.
'Did I tell you about Janice's friends' daughter?' she asked Claire.
'Yes you did mum. You met her at the funeral.'
'Yes but did I tell you she came round to look at the photographs? Unfortunately she didn't spot her mum. She's a nice girl, you'd like her.'
'I'm sure she is mum.'
'She's coming back in a couple of days for afternoon tea. Perhaps you'll have finished the case by then and can meet her.'
'Maybe. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying.'
Her mother looked a little disappointed.
'That's a shame, would have been nice for you to meet her. I've told her all about you.' She sighed, 'Now, did you make a decision about dinner tomorrow Philip?'
Her dad rolled his eyes.
'Yes Susan, I've already told you. Chicken Kievs and baked potatoes.'
'Oh did you? I'd better write that down so I don't forget.'
Claire watched her mother and the confusion that washed across her face. She really didn't seem to remember the conversation they'd just had. Now wasn't the time to discuss it, but she needed to speak to them both, find out if her mother really did have a problem besides a bit of old age forgetfulness.
18
Rachel, Tuesday 7th November 2017, Jersey
Rachel lay back on the double bed of her hotel room and stared at the ceiling. Someone had squashed a mosquito just above her head, its black remains stark against the white paint. She wondered how long it had been there, whether it would eventually dry out and drop off. Would it drop off onto her as she slept?
She felt tired after today. Perhaps it was the concentration, the effort to keep up the story and pretence she had devised. It had been a bit of a shock to discover that Claire was now in Jersey. She hoped she hadn't given anything away when Susan Falle told her - but maybe it was fate. She realised she was now playing a dangerous game and that at any moment she might be discovered. She hadn't expected Claire to come back, she thought she'd have all the time she needed to find out who she was and where she'd come from. Family life had never been easy for Rachel and she got the feeling it wasn't straightforward for Claire either, but she'd always been pretty cagey about it - typical copper.
Claire's mother was lovely, a kind trusting woman. Rachel had been surprised to find out just how lonely she was. Here in Jersey, where she'd lived most of her adult life, she had expected to find her surrounded by friends and family. Instead what she found was isolation. It was when she went round the house and saw the photographs of a young boy, Christopher, Mrs Falle had explained - forever 12 - that's when she understood.
As they'd looked through the family photograph albums, supposedly looking for her own dead mother, she could clearly see the demarcation line. The point at which one life ended and another began. There were smiling beach photographs, tipsy cabaret show audiences, glasses raised round someone's house. Then those photos stopped, the crowds thinned and gatherings became rare. Traumatic grief does that to people, tears them apart, twists families into grotesque shapes instead of the smooth, homogenous unity of understanding. You could see that transformation in the photographs. Claire's family became a triangle - three points. Jagged, angular and sharp.
Rachel only had a few days, her flight was booked. It wasn't right that she should have to feel like a fugitive but staying in London, being stalked and feeling like a frightened victim, hadn't been an option. She had done nothing wrong and one day Claire would realise that, understand what kind of a person she is. For now though, she needed to stay focused. Luckily Claire was busy on whatever case had brought her over here, so it meant Rachel was able to still carry out her plan. She was determined to do what she had set out to do and so far things were going well.
Claire had tried to change the history of Rachel's family, she only had a short while to determine the history of Claire's.
19
Angela, Tuesday 7th November 2017, Jersey
Angela Wyatt had been cleaning herself up in the bathroom, Terry was always a prolific lover. She told the police that it must have been the shower which prevented her from hearing anything. The neighbours certainly heard her when she came out the bathroom and found herself face to face with two Cobras and the grotesque visage of her newly deceased lover. The really annoying thing was that he was laid out prone on the new quilt cover she'd just bought from Voisins. It had cost her £85 and now she was going to have to chuck it and the duvet out.
Luckily for Angela, her mobile phone was close enough to the bathroom and far enough from the snakes, for her to dial 999. She was surprised when a police officer banged on the door within a minute of making the call. It turned out the surveillance team weren't as observant as they'd hoped.
By the time Claire arrived, a reptile expert from Durrell zoo was up in the bedroom helping retrieve the somewhat tired and angry Cobras. Terry's naked corpse had been covered over. He was well and truly dead, the paramedics couldn't find a pulse when they’d arrived. They had been planning to blue-light him to the hospital just in case, but when it became obvious that it was going to be pointless, they chose instead to leave him where he was to help preserve the crime scene and avoid a confrontation with a cobra.
Angela seemed to be in her element, surrounded by emergency services and the centre of attention. It didn't take the investigating team long to work out that the assailant had come via the back garden and in through the unlocked patio doors. Some footprints over a short wall showed his entry and exit point. Officers were dispatched to see if anyone in the neighbourhood had noticed a man carrying a bag of snakes and Terry's white Porsche was impounded, his house and office sealed for forensics.
Gold Command was instigated, Customs and the ports called in to assist. The Computer forensics officers were sent to Terry's office, and Jersey went into lock down as Claire got on the phone to Bob to tell him their worst fears had just come true and Terry couldn't have been their murderer.
It was at this point the Joint Financial Crimes Unit showed its hand.
20
Unknown, Wednesday 8th November 2017, Jersey
She knew that with Terry dead, the police would soon start putting together the jigsaw puzzle. She'd been less upset about his demise. The man was a lech and a leech. His death was necessary, not just because she couldn't be sure just how much David Lyle had told him, but because his death was a key part of her plan. She needed him silenced. Terry would have sung like a canary if the going had got hot and he thought he was in the firing line.
She kicked at the football lodged underneath the hall table and it skipped across the black and white tiles as though telling her to shush. The boys knew they shouldn't leave it there. They were at school and the house was quiet without their constant shouting and banter. She liked it that way, gave her time to think. What happens next is going to be down to the police. She'd have to wait for them to catch up and cotton on.
Her employee was already gone. He'd reached France before they'd even had the chance to search the boats at the harbour. She had to admire his organisation and professionalism. He'd timed it just right for the tides, around half eight last night and under cover of darkness. Terry's decision to not stay at home and instead go round to Angela's for some entertainment, had nearly scuppered things. Thankfully for Angela's sake, she'd left Terry alone long enough for the deed to be done - she had been a snake's lick away from joining him.
Shame she couldn't recommend her employee to anyone else, because she would. If only somebody asked her for her suggestions of a good hit man. The thought of the post on Facebook in one of those help groups like Good or Bad Jersey Businesses, or Jersey Who, When, What, Why or
How? kept her amused for the next hour.
21
Claire, Wednesday 8th November 2017, Jersey
One good thing to come out of Terry's death (although admittedly, not for him) was that Claire could now look forward to seeing Mark Rodgers a little sooner than she'd expected. He'd caught the red eye over and was en-route to becoming acquainted with Mr Morgan, at the same time as Claire was exiting the St Helier tunnel and arriving at work. Although Terry's murder looked straight forward, they'd brought Mark over to double check as he'd been Forensic Pathologist for David Lyle. As they weren't sure how long the post mortem and examination would take, Mark had been booked into one of the local hotels. Claire was looking forward to catching up with him at the Royal Yacht later.
For now, Claire was on her way to a meeting with the team from Operation Grey Wolf. She hoped this was going to start providing the links they needed to put David and Terry together with whoever it was that arranged their deaths.
Operation Grey Wolf started around six months ago, after the team became aware of what looked like insider dealing. It was large scale and sophisticated and they'd tracked the source to one of the Island's most prestigious accountancy firms, Ludder and White. There were a series of trades which were timed just right for mergers and acquisitions and other key company news relating to their clients. Those trades went through Terry Morgan. The numbers involved were big. They were placed by various clients, but those clients appeared to be bogus names. The profits were certainly worth enough for someone to entertain spending a packet on a professional hit man in order to protect them.
Terry's murder changed the state of play. Now the Grey Wolf team were aware they needed to share all relevant information with Claire and the others investigating the murders.
Two of the Jersey team had worked overnight, trawling through computers and records taken from Terry's office. It wasn't easy, he'd encrypted a lot of it, but thanks to the six months of leg work put in by Grey Wolf, they were able to make some headway. From phone records, bank records and some of Terry's own - less than hi-tech, scribbled notes, they were able to determine that a large purchase of Mabel Wick shares had been made just last week. Two days later, Mabel Wick was the subject of a surprise takeover bid, which sent their shares soaring. Their advisors were Ludder and White. Terry had sold those shares on the day he died, netting himself a tidy commission and the buyer a very large profit indeed.
Terry was clearly worried about being hacked or having online communications intercepted, but he obviously had faith in Jersey's low crime rate, because his notebook was full of the random thoughts and conversations he'd had throughout the day. The man had entertained a serious doodling habit. He wrote names, presumably of clients as they spoke on the phone, and then jotted various notes to himself, some kind of a To Do list or aide memoire. It didn't take the team long to find an entry that looked like it had been made a few days ago, 'Dave L - Melusine - one of many. 7th, 1pm. Toad.' This was the entry that could have sealed Terry's fate. The moment he agreed to meet up with David Lyle.
Mid way through the morning, Claire's mobile phone rang. She was engrossed in reading the information provided by Operation Grey Wolf and so she absentmindedly pressed to answer the call without checking first. It was her mother.
'Hello love, I hope I'm not disturbing you.'
Claire silently cursed herself for not being more observant. She loved her mum, but she could do without the distraction right now.
'Hi mum, everything OK?'
'Oh yes. I just wanted to see if you might be able to pop home for lunch today?'
Claire shook her head at the phone.
'Mum I'm right in the middle of a double murder investigation, I really can't pop home.'
'Oh no, of course. I'm sorry.'
Her mum's deflated voice made Claire feel guilty for being so sarcastic.
'Look sorry mum, I hope that once things have calmed down here I'll have a bit more time, maybe take a few days off when the case is sorted.'
'OK love. I just wanted to see if you wanted to meet Theresa, I'm sure you two would get on.'
'I'm sure we would mum, but maybe another time, sorry.'
When she finished the phone call to her mother, Claire was unable to focus. A few years ago her mother would never have just rung her up at work like that, she would have understood she was busy and it was awkward to talk, let alone 'pop' home for lunch. It was another sign of something not being quite right with her, this lack of awareness outside of her own reality. When this case was sorted she would definitely spend some time with her parents, take a few days out and find out what's going on with her mum.
Claire returned her focus to the job and the face of James Parkin, who looked out at her from the computer screen. He was one of the main suspects under surveillance. As the Chairman of Ludder and White he had access to all the information that related to the insider trades they'd tracked. Terry Morgan had been the man who placed those trades. What they hadn't yet found was a direct link between the two. James Parkin was wealthy, wealthy enough to have the money to be able to buy the shares, and he had stated his intention to take early retirement in just a year's time. Perhaps it was one last attempt to make some money for a nest egg.
It was about 3pm when one of the many mobile phones they'd found at Terry's office, secured them a hit. The number which had called him, just before he placed the buy order for Mabel Wick, had come from a landline in the Rozel area. It was ex-directory, but it didn't take long to find out it was James Parkin's house. It was their first big hint they were on the right tracks. Now the games could begin.
The problem now for Claire was that there was nothing coming up as a link between David Lyle and James Parkin, other than their mutual broker, Terry. David had worked for a small accountancy firm in the island. Their clients were sole traders and other small businesses. There was no indication their paths had ever crossed. Of course this was Jersey, a small island where just walking down the high street could take an age because you bumped into so many people you knew. Or, they could have met outside of work. Claire had already set the London team to work cross-referencing everything they knew about the two men.
They certainly found records of small share trades with Terry, placed by David Lyle, some worth a fair bit but not so lucrative that he would have amassed over one million pounds without his wife's knowledge.
There seemed to be one obvious explanation, as she told Bob later.
'David did Terry's accounts. If he spotted that James Parkin was insider dealing somehow, then he could have been blackmailing him. That was until he decided to silence him. What I don't get, is why would an intelligent man like James Parkin, who already had money, do something as stupid as that?'
'Greed. Turns some people blind and stupid. Or maybe he's not as wealthy as we all think he is. Perhaps he's got a gambling addiction or wants the money for something specific. It wouldn't be unheard of you know.' Bob replied.
'I know, but it just doesn't feel right to me. It looks like it makes sense, but if you really think about it...'
'Don't you go off on one of your hunches again DI Falle. The team in Jersey has already put in six months of investigative work, they're not going to want to waste their own time, let alone yours. If they think there's something in it, then maybe there is.'
He'd pressed the right button to make her shut up. Would Rachel and the SoulMates agency haunt her forever?
Claire carried on the conversation as though she hadn't just received a ticking off.
'The snakes are definitely the other stolen pair. They're going to spend a couple of weeks recuperating at Durrell Zoo before we send them back. They said they're in reasonable condition, so they must have been kept in the right sort of environment, but it looks like they hadn't eaten. Apparently if they're upset they often don't eat.'
An 'ugh' from the other end of the telephone line sent her the mental picture of Bob with his lip curled in disgust. She realised that the welfare
of the snakes was fairly low on his priority list.
'Any ideas yet on how they got to Jersey?' Bob asked.
'Not yet. They've been checking all the ferry passenger lists and looking at what boats have gone in and out of the harbour as well as light aircraft visits. Nothing obvious so far. The money is on either a boat or a small plane.'
'OK. I'll speak to the Police Chief tomorrow and see if we need to send anyone else over. I take it you're OK to stay there for the foreseeable. You haven't recently bought a cat or something that I don't know about and it’s now at home starving?'
The thought of Bob or one of her colleagues going into her flat and seeing the board with Rachel on it, made her stomach flip.
'No, I'm fine. No cat. It's not a problem. I'm staying at my parents still and it's nice to see them.'
'Do you think they'll mind putting up another couple of officers in the spare room?' Bob was joking now. She sensed he was trying to lighten the mood after his earlier telling off. Claire was keen to ensure he knew she's playing it by the book.
'I'm going to go and visit David Lyle's former employer tomorrow, see if that gives us any clues. Plus I thought I'd pop in to their old neighbours, just in case they were bosom buddies.'
'Good, well keep me informed,' the tiredness crept into Bob’s voice. 'I suppose this is small fry for the Jersey team seeing as the island's looking after Apple's $252 billion dollars.'
Claire realised Bob was talking about the Paradise papers and the Appleby scandal which still dominated all the news.
'Actually I don't think it ever came. Not according to the local authorities anyway. Our local paper today said there was no evidence the cash was ever moved here,' she told him. She always found herself getting a bit defensive about her island when its integrity was questioned. 'Jersey's finance industry has worked really hard to be transparent and above board, it's probably why they managed to pick up on this insider trading.'