Looking For A Reason (#4 - D.I. Paolo Storey Crime Series)

by Frances di Plino

  He glanced down. “No one stands out as a possible suspect for the vandalism.” He handed the paper back to CC. “Give this to Andrea and ask her to work her way through the names. She might come up with someone who bears Montague Mason a grudge.”

  CC laughed. “I would have thought she could do that without even trying.”

  Paolo grinned back. “What I meant was, someone with a stronger than usual grudge against him. I know the man isn’t exactly likeable, but someone went to the trouble of humiliating him publicly. Either that person loathes him, or feels the need to highlight a genuine concern. We have a duty to find out which it is.”

  As CC went to close the door, Paolo called her back. “Send Dave in to me, would you? I haven’t seen a copy of his notes from last night.”

  CC frowned. “He’s not in yet. He told me yesterday he might struggle to get in on time.”

  Paolo looked at his watch. This was the third time this month Dave had been late. “Okay, when he shows up, tell him I’d like a word.”

  She nodded and closed the door.

  Half an hour later, it opened again and Dave came in.

  “Sorry I was late, sir. It won’t happen again.”

  “Problems?”

  Dave shrugged. “Not really. Well, yes, in a way, but nothing to do with work.”

  Paolo waited. If Dave wanted to unload, he would.

  Dave moved across the room and pulled out a chair. As he sat down, a massive sigh escaped.

  “It’s the wedding, sir. It’s taking over my life. Who’d have thought getting married would involve so much planning and preparation!”

  Paolo grinned. “I had a feeling that’s what the problem was. I’ve been through it myself. Don’t worry; it does come to an end eventually.”

  Dave looked haggard rather than relieved at Paolo’s words. “Really, sir? But when? The wedding is still four months away, but it’s all Rebecca and her mother talk about. Catering, flowers, clothes, cakes, venue for the reception and I don’t know what more. It’s driving me nuts.” He took a breath. “Shall I tell you why I was late today? Apparently it was urgent that we made a decision on the type of buttonholes our guests would have. I got away as soon as I could, but if this is a taste of married life, I’m not sure I’ve made the right decision.”

  “As I said, Dave, it will pass, but you need to explain to Rebecca that getting in on time takes precedence over wedding discussions.”

  Dave looked up as if he’d been stung. “I did apologise for coming in late, sir.”

  “Yes, I know you did and, to be honest, I wouldn’t normally have said anything, but after all that rubbish in the papers earlier this year about you getting preferential treatment because you’re the Chief Constable’s nephew, I want to make sure you don’t get any further accusations thrown your way.”

  “Has someone complained?”

  “Not yet,” Paolo said, “but you can bet your life it will happen. Now that word is out about your relationship to the man upstairs, anyone with even the smallest grudge will be looking to see if you get away with things that they don’t. I’m sorry, but that’s the way life is. You know that as well as I do.”

  “I’m not stupid, sir. I’ve heard the whispers and seen the nudges. I just didn’t expect you to join forces with the small-minded masses.”

  “For Christ’s sake, Dave, why the hell do you think I’ve spoken to you today? It’s to stop the gossip, not join in with it!”

  Dave looked as if he wanted to say something, thought better of it, and swallowed whatever words were trying to escape.

  “You wanted to see my notes from last night,” he said, appearing to Paolo as if he was having to force each word out. “Let’s hope they are professional enough to stop accusations of my being on the team just because my uncle is top dog.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The light tap on his office door had never sounded more welcoming to Paolo. Dave looked as though he wanted to explode and Paolo didn’t blame him, but facts were facts. Whatever Dave did was looked on by others to see if he was using his family connection as an unfair advantage.

  “Come in,” he called out, not caring who was outside, just grateful for the interruption.

  CC stuck her head round the door. “Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but Andrea has whittled the list of those with access to the plaque down to more manageable proportions. Do you want to go through it now, or shall I come back?”

  Paolo waved at the seat next to Dave. “Come in. We’ll go through it together and decide which names to follow up first.”

  He waited while CC had got herself settled, pleased to notice there was no constraint between the two team members.

  “Right, what have you got for us?”

  CC laid the paper on the desk and angled it so that all three could read the names.

  “First up is, of course, Montague Mason. I realise he’s the one under fire, but we can’t ignore the fact that he might have done it himself for some reason as yet unknown.”

  Paolo nodded, even though he was pretty sure after the previous night’s discussion that Montague was genuinely distraught at what had happened.

  “I think we can rule him out,” he said. “Who’s next?”

  “His secretary, April Greychurch. She has more access than most, as she’s spent much of the time on her own during the last few days. As you know, sir, Montague has been out and about a lot, meeting and greeting the centre’s sponsors.”

  She tapped the page with her pen. “The next one is interesting. George Baron was in a couple of times. He’s the owner of that newish businessmen’s club on the other side of town.”

  “Triple B?” Dave asked. “Was he one of the sponsors?”

  “Not as far as I know,” Paolo said.

  “Then why would he be at the youth centre?”

  “Good question, Dave. I think you and I should go and find out the answer to that one. Who’s next?”

  CC grinned. “You’ll love this one, sir. It’s our very own Miss Clementine Towers.”

  “Not the woman who was here warning about books being subversive?”

  “The very same,” she said. “Apparently, she’s there every day sticking her nose into what’s going on. She’s worried about the town’s morals.”

  Paolo laughed. “I know she is. She told me I was supposed to be guardian of them but didn’t think I was up to the job. To be honest, I agree with her.”

  CC dropped her pen. “You think books are subversive?”

  “No, I meant I agree with her that I’m not up to the task of being guardian of the town’s morals. I don’t think anyone would be. Anyway, she is definitely one to watch. Let’s move on. Who else do we have?”

  “The new swimming coach, Derrick Walden. He’s there at all hours, according to the information we received from the centre. The next one is my personal favourite, Fletcher Simpson. We all know how much he was opposed to money being diverted towards the centre’s renovation project. It would suit him down to the ground to cast suspicion on the rival project.”

  Paolo glanced up. “Yes, it’s common knowledge where he thought the money should have gone. I wonder what took him to the youth centre. Another one for us to visit, Dave.”

  “The only other person of note is the caretaker, Arbnor Bajrami. I believe you know him, sir?” CC said.

  Paolo nodded. “I arranged the position for him last year after many of the Albanian businesses closed down. I can’t see him putting his job in jeopardy when he was so grateful to find work, but I’ll have a word the next time I’m at the centre.”

  “That just leaves William Coburn,” CC said. “He’s the electrical contractor. I don’t know why he was there after the plaque had been put in place. Maybe the spotlight shining down onto it needed moving or something.”

  “Okay, CC, you go with Andrea to interview Coburn the electrician and the delightful Miss Towers. Dave and I will go to the centre. We’ll speak to Arbnor and Derrick Walden, then we’ll drop in
on Montague’s secretary to see what she knows about the visit from George Baron, then we’ll call on the man himself and finish off with Fletcher Simpson. Busy day ahead for us, Dave.” Then he noticed the look on CC’s face. “What?” he said.

  “You palmed Miss Towers off onto me when you know she only likes to speak to those at the top.”

  Paolo laughed. “Tell her you’re planning a coup to replace me. That should put her firmly on your side.”

  CC grinned. “How do you know I’m not doing exactly that?”

  Before Paolo could answer, Dave shoved his chair back and rose.

  “If we’re down to banter, I’d better go and catch up on the work I should have been doing this morning instead of choosing bloody flowers. I’ll be at my desk when you need me.”

  CC’s grin faded as Dave left the room. “What’s eating him?”

  Paolo sighed. “Wedding planning blues, back biting gossip and some malicious whispers about nepotism. You’ve got your ear closer to the ground than I have. What’ve you heard?”

  “Not very much, sir. I think everyone knows better than to slag Dave off in front of me. It’s not fair. He probably works harder than any of us. I know I didn’t like him when he first arrived, but he’s kinda grown on me.”

  Paolo nodded. “Me too. The problem is this wedding of his coming up. He’s been in late a few times and people get antsy about it.”

  CC picked up the list and rose. “Well, maybe they should consider the number of times he’s first in and last out. I think he more than makes up for the odd hour he’s late, don’t you?”

  Paolo stared at the door for a while after CC had left. She’d made a valid point. Who’d have believed a year or so ago that CC would be Dave’s champion. He smiled. Funny how life turned out. Looking at his watch, he decided he just had time to call Jessica before going out on the interviews.

  As he touched the screen to make the call, he found himself willing her to answer it, but his wish wasn’t granted. It went immediately to voicemail.

  “Jessica Carter’s phone. Leave a message. I’ll get back to you.”

  “Um, hi, Jess. Just wondered how you were doing. Miss you. Call me.”

  He clicked off the call and tried, unsuccessfully, not to dwell on the fact that his last four calls had gone straight to voicemail.

  CC’s words played on a loop through Paolo’s mind while Dave was negotiating traffic across Bradchester. Dave was, without a doubt, the hardest working member of his team, but sadly that wouldn’t stop the backbiters from making their snide comments.

  As they pulled up outside the youth centre, Paolo turned to his DS.

  “Look, about this morning. I wasn’t having a go at you, I hope you realise that.”

  Dave shrugged. “I know. I’m sorry I snapped in your office, but all this crap since the press found out about my uncle is doing my head in.”

  Paolo climbed out of the car and leant on the roof. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” he said when Dave’s head appeared on the other side of the car, “but would you like me to put you in for a transfer?”

  “You want to get rid of me?” Dave said, slamming his door with more force than Paolo felt was necessary. “I thought you said–”

  Paolo sighed. “I knew you’d take it the wrong way. I’m offering you a chance to move away from here. To transfer to a branch where no one knows your background. If you don’t want to take it, that suits me just fine. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Dave said. “If some back at the station don’t like it, they can stick it.”

  Paolo smiled. “Okay, that’s that sorted. Shall we get started? Walden, Bajrami and then Greychurch. April has only been Montague’s secretary for a few months, so I don’t know her as well as his previous secretary.”

  “What happened to the one he had before?” Dave asked as they walked across to the youth centre’s main door.

  “She retired. April is also on the team of sports instructors here. She’ll be giving lessons in the evenings after she finishes work. I believe she has a black belt in one of the martial arts CC is so terrifyingly good at.”

  Dave held the door open for Paolo to pass into the centre. “Which one, sir? CC has belts in three, I believe.”

  Paolo shook his head. “No idea. All I know is that there is no way I would ever mess with either woman. I’ve seen them both bodily pick up men and throw them to the ground. I’d look like a right idiot being tossed about as if I weighed no more than a bag of sugar.”

  Dave laughed. “I can just imagine it. CC terrifies most of our bad boys. I’m quite sure they would far rather see you or me bearing down on them than CC determined to make an arrest.”

  They made their way to the pool area, but there was no sign of Derrick Walden. Paolo walked over to the lifeguard to see if she knew where to find the swimming coach.

  She shrugged. “He was here just now. Have you looked in his office? His next lesson’s not for another hour, so maybe he’s gone to grab something to eat. Police, hey? Is he in trouble?”

  “No, not at all. We’re talking to everyone who was here in the couple of days leading up to the opening ceremony to see if anyone spotted anything suspicious. Were you around then?”

  She laughed. “Nope, I only started here today. I read all about it, though. Stuffing up the plaque really put Mason’s nose out of joint.”

  Paolo raised his eyebrows. “Nasty thing to do though, don’t you think?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes, I mean, no, I… Sorry, it seemed funny to me when I saw the headlines, but I suppose it wasn’t really.”

  “No, it wasn’t, especially as people seem to have decided the allegation is true without any proof. You wouldn’t like it if it happened you, would you?” He watched her face change as that thought settled in. “We’ll check out his office, but if he isn’t there we’ve got a couple of other people to speak to, so we’ll drop in again on our way out. If Derrick comes back, ask him to wait for us, would you?”

  As they left the pool area, Dave held the door open for Paolo to pass through.

  “Bit hard on her, weren’t you, sir?”

  Paolo shrugged. “I don’t particularly like Mason, as you know, but it gets on my bloody nerves when people read crap in the papers and decide whatever’s been printed must be true. Whatever happens now, innocent or guilty, Mason will always have people thinking he must have done something dodgy. Anyway, if Derrick isn’t around, we can chat to Arbnor Bajrami and see if he saw anything. His room is next door to Derrick’s.”

  They made their way to the swimming coach’s office just off from the changing rooms and lockers, but it was empty. As was the caretaker’s room next door.

  “Not our day today. Another one to come back to after we’ve spoken to April,” Paolo said, leading the way to the staircase.

  On the first floor, he and Dave were heading for the offices at the end of the corridor when Arbnor came out of one of the side doors and careered straight into Paolo. He looked ill-at-ease, as if Paolo was the last person he’d expected, or wanted, to see.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  Paolo straightened his jacket and shrugged. “Don’t worry, no damage done. We were coming to talk to you, anyway. Shall we go in there and chat?” he said, pointing to the door Arbnor had closed behind him.

  “No!” Arbnor said. “Sorry, I have such a lot to do and need to get on. We’ll talk later, yes?”

  “Well, no. I’d like a quick word with you now, if that’s okay.”

  Arbnor made no move to open the door. He reminded Paolo of a guard dog.

  “We can talk here,” he said. “What do you want to know?”

  “You’re at the centre most days. Did you notice anyone acting suspicious after the plaque was covered? Any idea who might have decided to cause an upset?”

  Visibly relaxing, Arbnor smiled. “No, I didn’t see anyone, but I wasn’t surprised. There are many people who
dislike Mr Mason.”

  “Would you care to name some names?”

  Arbnor shook his head. “I’m like two of the three monkeys. I see nothing. I hear nothing. But if I had, I would tell you.”

  He turned towards the stairs, but Paolo put his hand out to stop him.

  “If you think of anything, no matter how small, that might point us in the right direction, you call me, okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll call if I remember anything, but there is nothing. Sorry, I must go. Very busy.”

  As Arbnor fled down the stairs, Paolo turned to Dave. “What did you make of that?”

  “I get the distinct impression he has something to hide, but whether it’s to do with the plaque, I haven’t a clue.”

  Paolo shook his head. “Me neither, but that was very odd. I think I’ll keep a watchful eye on Arbnor Bajrami. When the crime syndicate blew up last year I thought he was a victim, but maybe I was wrong.”

  “He speaks very good English,” Dave said.

  “Many Albanians do. Those that came here as children went to school in Bradchester. If they’re going to have an accent, it would be a local one.”

  They walked along the corridor and knocked on April Greychurch’s door. She looked over the top of her computer screen and smiled when she saw Paolo. Sitting opposite her and sipping from a bottle emblazoned with a distinctive sports logo was the swimming coach. As usual, Derrick Walden’s long hair was pulled taut off his face and tied back with a black band, giving the coach a permanent look of surprise.

  “The long arm of the law. Come in,” April said. “Mr Walden was just leaving.”

  Derrick stood up, still clutching his designer bottle. Paolo was surprised at how tall the man was. He’d seen him around the place before, but this was the first time he’d stood next to him. Derrick towered over him by a good few inches.

  “I was downstairs looking for you just now,” Paolo said. “I’ll be down after I’ve had a quick word with April. Okay with you?”

  Derrick nodded. “Sure thing.” He turned to April. “Chat again later?”

  She nodded, but Paolo got the impression she’d rather have said no. He waited until Derrick had closed the door behind him before turning to April.