Again there was that shadow of irritation in Elmsley’s eyes.
Marvik said, ‘You enlisted Jemma’s help in getting hold of it – how?’
But Elmsley didn’t answer.
‘Then let me tell you. You spun her some bullshit story about being from British intelligence or GCHQ and said you needed her expertise to test the robustness of the chemical manufacturers’ IT systems and that of the marine salvage industry, who get called out to marine casualties carrying dangerous chemicals.’
Elmsley tried not to react but Marvik, watching him closely, saw the hardening of his mouth. Elmsley didn’t like his plot being so transparent. Marvik continued, ‘You also told her that you needed to source a specially trained crew for the Mary Jo who had expertise in the shipping industry and the marine salvage business but no relatives to come nosing around and kicking up a fuss after they disappeared. She set up a fake recruitment website and posted the jobs, requesting CVs and details to be sent confidentially to a false ID you’d set up, which you then passed on to Bradshaw, who couldn’t care less where they had come from. And after the Mary Jo vanished, when he realized they had no next of kin or relatives, he was only too pleased to keep his mouth shut and take the insurance money, their wages and a share of the memorial fund, which he spilt with Meryl Landguard and Stuart Moorcott.’
Elmsley was frowning hard and Paynton at the helm was increasingly throwing him troubled glances, maybe because he was learning something new about his boss, but more probably because he, like Elmsley, was becoming concerned that if Marvik knew all this then others might also. Good; Marvik wanted them rattled.
Evenly, he persisted. ‘It was the Iraq War, there was a lot of news about the possibility of chemical weapons being used and the increasing danger of bio-terrorism. Jemma was to set up a fictitious laboratory and see if she could get hold of sodium azide because from your experience in transporting cars you knew that car airbags are fitted with the chemical. You knew how toxic it could be and how rapidly it reacted when it came into contact with water or a shock. Had there been an incident at sea with Stapledon, Royden and Landguard on board a container ship?’
‘You tell me – you seem to have all the answers,’ Elmsley snapped. The boat was rocking in the stormy sea but for a man who had spent a career travelling in all kinds of weather and sea states, Marvik knew this was nothing to disturb Elmsley’s equilibrium. He remained firmly rooted and the gun stayed steadily pointing at Marvik.
Marvik continued, ‘Maybe the master was notified that a consignment had faulty airbags and that it had to be contained at all costs. Stapledon finally made the link. He knew it couldn’t be Royden because he was dead – that left you or Landguard. He wasn’t sure which of you had faked his death because in both cases there had been no body to identify and bury. But one of you had been paying generously into his charity and giving him a little on the side with instructions to report back if anyone came asking about the Mary Jo. He thought back to when he had lived and worked at sea for weeks on end with both men. He knew them intimately – their personalities, interests, strengths and weaknesses.’ And Marvik recalled what he’d been told by Stephen Landguard about his father, and by Stapledon and Royden.
He said, ‘Landguard was a planner, methodical, thorough and clever. He loved art and spent his leisure time sketching. He was also ambitious. He’d reached the summit of his career as master but he had a crumbling marriage and a scheming, grasping wife who would take him to the cleaners if he divorced her. He could easily have planned the whole thing and created a new life for himself as a reclusive, eccentric businessman operating a thriving marine business – Drakes – which would eventually acquire Almbridge. It’s what Royden believed.
‘Then there was you. Also clever and ambitious but more outgoing than Landguard. You felt stifled at sea. You liked company so you switched to working on the cruise liners, as did Landguard for a time, but he soon found it wasn’t to his liking. You probably enjoyed it for a while but you were desperate to be your own boss, and when you met up again with Duncan Helmslow and he said he was thinking of setting up his own business, you went in with him. But Duncan was too cautious for you. You, unlike Landguard, are much more of a risk-taker and far more ruthless. Did Stapledon guess correctly before you pushed him off the cliff?’
A wave hit them sideways. Marvik rocked in his seat. Elmsley staggered but rapidly recovered himself, saying, ‘No. He was, shall we say, struck speechless.’
‘By you or your mate there?’ Marvik rejoined sourly. Stapledon must have suspected it to be Timothy Landguard, just as Royden had done.
‘He stepped back and got too close to the edge.’
‘No doubt backed up there by you or Paynton, with the gun you’re now pointing at me.’ Was Strathen at this moment facing a thug with a gun? Had he found Helen?
Without betraying his concern, Marvik pressed on. ‘The sodium azide was planted on the Mary Jo and one of the crew you had especially selected was instructed to ensure it reacted with water to make it highly toxic and deadly. What did you tell the man who thought he was working for you? That he’d be protected when he made sure that the chemical was exposed to water? That he’d be OK because you’d issued him with a gas mask to protect him, only what you didn’t tell the poor sod was that it was faulty. You didn’t want any witnesses to your evil.’ Marvik addressed Paynton. ‘I’d watch out if I were you. When he’s finished with me he’ll arrange a suitable death for you.’
‘Silence,’ Elmsley tersely commanded and the gun came perilously close to Marvik’s forehead. Marvik didn’t move. He held Elmsley’s hot, angry eyes.
‘OK, shoot me and throw me overboard. The blood on the boat will mean I shot myself on board. But I haven’t reached Helen yet, unless you think the authorities will believe that I killed myself on returning from her. But then the timing will be wrong.’ The gun remained pointed at Marvik’s head for a moment longer. Then Elmsley lowered it, only fractionally, though. With relief, which he hid, Marvik knew that meant Helen was still alive.
‘Was it by chance you found the press articles on Elona Kadowski’s paintings in November 2000 and realized the murals on the Celeste were her work?’ he asked. ‘You had to check it out and you found the Celeste was lying at Newfoundland waiting to be scrapped with all the interior, including the murals, intact and no one any the wiser that they were worth a fortune, not even Landguard who had also worked on the Celeste. But you must have made sure of that. Landguard might have read the articles. He had an interest in art. Bradshaw might also have seen the news and knew that murals were mentioned on the ship’s itinerary, the same for Duncan Helmslow and Alec Royden.’
‘They didn’t. Landguard was too concerned about his marriage and his new job with Helmsley’s. Royden only ever read the business and sports news and was far too preoccupied with getting his business off the ground. Bradshaw was ignorant about everything except how he could screw women and make money,’ scoffed Elmsley.
‘And after you realized you could make a fortune if you could get your hands on the murals, you set about tracing any relatives just in case there was some written evidence, a diary or letters, which mentioned them. There wasn’t and Jemma was blithely unaware that her mother had been a famous Russian artist. You began to plan how you could get hold of them and sell them.’
‘I didn’t see why the Norwegian owners should benefit.’
‘Or Jemma. Which meant you had to disappear as Martin Elmsley. A death at sea was arranged. How did you do it?’ Marvik wasn’t sure if Elmsley would answer but he did, maybe just to demonstrate how clever he had been.
‘I planned to be swept overboard from the RIB we owned but when I heard that a fishing vessel was in danger I thought that might be the perfect opportunity to die a hero. I didn’t know how it would pan out but I thought it worth a try. And I wasn’t bothered if it didn’t because, as I said, I had planned another death. I rushed to the call before Duncan even knew of it and before anyone
could stop me. On the way, I rapidly donned a wetsuit under my clothes, leaving off my socks and wearing canvas shoes. I wasn’t sure if I’d reach the vessel on time or before anyone else but I did. I’m a trained diver. I knew exactly what to do and I could react quickly.’
‘But you couldn’t have worn an aqua lung or had one stashed on the sea bed. And you couldn’t have got back to the RIB and put it on without being seen.’
‘No. I planned on going under and then being swept out to sea.’
‘You took a hell of a risk.’
‘Taking risks is my business, always has been, and it’s paid off.’
‘So far,’ muttered Marvik.
‘And it will continue to do so,’ Elmsley said supremely confidently. ‘I attempted to fix the line. I could see assistance heading towards us in the shape of the lifeboat. I slipped and fell into the water. I made to swim and put up a show but let the tide take me inshore and there was also an inshore wind. The fishing vessel was sinking, the lifeboat crew were busy rescuing them and the RIB was drifting. By the time they started looking for me I had reached the shore. All I had to do was get dry clothes and get away. That was easy.’
‘You had already pre-arranged all that ready for the accident you had planned. Where had you kept the clothes and the new ID?’
‘You’ll find out soon.’
It was where Elmsley was taking him.
‘It was hard work getting there but I did it,’ Elmsley said cockily. ‘There was always the chance that someone would see me and report me. If they did, though, then I would just show up as Martin Elmsley, the hero, as long as I could ditch the wet suit, but then I thought why not ditch the clothes and keep the wet suit. If anyone did see me they’d think I was a loony surfer or windsurfer who had lost his board. But nobody saw me or, if they did, they didn’t report it. It all went swimmingly.’ He smiled at the cleverness of his pun.
‘You became Marcus Kiln.’
‘Eventually, but before that I became Terry Keydell, not then the owner of Drakes Marine but an independent marine consultant working abroad.’
‘And you had contacts worldwide from your years of working in the shipping industry who came in very useful for the fake passport and for helping you to build relationships in the art world with collectors who wouldn’t be fussy where the murals had come from. You had two years to set it up, from the time you disappeared as Martin Elmsley in March 2001 to when Bradshaw got the contract for the scrapping of the Mary Jo in March 2003. It must have taken a lot of planning and patience.’ Which was why Stapledon and Royden had thought it was Landguard, whose personality suited the scam better than Elmsley’s.
‘And nerve. Someone could have discovered those murals in the meantime. But they didn’t. As Marcus Kiln, the ship broker, I had to persuade Bradshaw to buy the Celeste, and he had to persuade Duncan that it was a good deal. Bradshaw was easy enough when he realized there could be some money from the scrap value for him, which Duncan and the company didn’t need to know about.’
‘And by then Duncan was ill and the company was going down the pan thanks to Bradshaw’s embezzlement. You were banking on Helmsley taking the Celeste to India to scrap, where you could get the murals offloaded no questions asked, but Bradshaw did his own side deal to bring the Celeste to Britain, which didn’t suit you at all. The only way you could change that was to make sure the Mary Jo never reached Newfoundland. And that was where Jemma came in. Who did you become to her?’
‘It’s not significant.’
‘Her death is, though, and the fact that you used her and then killed her.’
‘I wouldn’t have needed to if that idiot Bradshaw hadn’t been so greedy.’
‘I think that’s a word which fits you more aptly,’ Marvik said acidly. ‘You knew she was a very clever computer programmer and you knew that Bradshaw was crooked.’
‘I discovered Bradshaw fiddling at Helmsley’s, which wasn’t surprising. He always had some deal going on and there was always money, cargo and equipment missing when we were at sea together. He was about to be sacked from the shipping company when I offered him the job at Helmsley’s.’
‘Which was in January 2002, and you’d have a corrupt man in your pocket when the time was right.’
‘I threatened him with the sack if I found him doing it again and said I’d tell Duncan. Knowing Bradshaw as I did, I knew he’d be very relieved when I died. And Meryl Landguard was no saint. She was having an affair with Bradshaw and cooking the books at the brokerage where she worked, siphoning off money, not to mention being involved in false invoicing.’
‘Bradshaw and Meryl Landguard weren’t the only crooks,’ Marvik rejoined.
Elmsley shrugged. The gun was still pointing at Marvik. They couldn’t be far from their destination now, surely.
Marvik said, ‘When you learned that Bradshaw had done one of his side deals to bring the Celeste to Britain you had to think fast. As Marcus Kiln you suggested to Bradshaw that you would oversee recruiting a crew for the job. He accepted and Jemma helped you set up a fake recruitment operation to engage a crew who would disappear with no relatives to keep stirring things up by asking awkward questions and going to the media.’
‘I knew Duncan would jump at it. The last thing he wanted was to be involved in interviewing and that also suited Bradshaw.’
‘And when the Mary Jo never reached Newfoundland, you then, as Marcus Kiln, resold the Celeste to Royden. You knew Royden’s weakness for good living and money and told him that if the Celeste was scrapped in India some of the money for the silver, bronze and aluminium on board could find its way into a private account which you would set up for him offshore. He went along with that. It’s a shame you couldn’t have waited before killing the Mary Jo crew because the bad publicity over the scrapping of the American warships in Britain meant Duncan would have switched the recycling of the Celeste to India.’
‘It was too late for that. I had buyers lined up. How far?’ Elmsley addressed Paynton with a note of irritation in his voice. He was getting jumpy but Marvik didn’t underestimate him. This man was clever and ruthless.
‘We’ll be at Cuckmere Haven in about four minutes.’
Marvik rapidly recalled the locale – the natural wildlife haven with a beach that was at the opposite end of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs to where Gavin’s body had been found. And perched on the eroding clifftop was a row of coastguard cottages in danger of crumbling over the cliff edge just like the ones at the Birling Gap.
‘You’re holding Helen in one of the coastguard cottages.’
‘Yes, but you’ll never reach there.’
‘You’ll force her to walk down to the shore? You’ll have to because if you kill her and move her body the autopsy will discover that and it won’t fit with me murdering her on the beach. She has to reach there alive before you shoot her.’
‘The details don’t concern you.’
Marvik’s mind was racing. He knew he was correct. The police would believe she had gone to meet him, and he, her lover, discovering that she had betrayed him with Bradshaw and Yardly, had shot her. Mentally, Marvik played out the scenario. They would anchor his boat and use the tender on the rear to get to the shore. They’d order him into it. Helen would be brought down to the shore. They’d shoot her, then shoot him in the head to make it look as though he’d shot himself, throw his body into the sea and let the tender drift. They would take off in a car parked somewhere close to the coastguard cottages. The police might see tyre tracks but conclude they had nothing to do with Helen’s murder and his suicide. And clearly Elmsley wasn’t worried about Strathen being there because he believed that Strathen was following one of the tracking devices they’d discovered on Helen to another destination – if they knew about him. Perhaps Helen had said nothing about Strathen.
Paynton throttled down. It was almost time. ‘Was Paynton watching Helen’s flat waiting for her to return, and when she did with me he called the police?’
Elmsley no
dded.
‘And he killed Bradshaw or did you do your own dirty work?’ Neither man answered. Marvik continued as Paynton, at the helm, brought the boat to a halt. ‘I don’t think you’d have got blood on your own hands, Elmsley, but there’s a lot of blood on your conscience, or rather there would be if you had one.’
‘Up,’ Elmsley commanded, waving the gun at Marvik. He slid out of the seat.
‘Killing Meryl Landguard, Stephen and now Helen and me – don’t you think the police are going to become suspicious over the high number of murders followed by suicide?’
‘I’ll be gone by then and so will you, but not to the same place.’
Marvik addressed the man at the helm. With a sneer, he said, ‘I’d watch your back if I were you, Paynton. Loyal you might be, but an accidental fall in the sea could be easily arranged.’
The gun whipped across the right-hand side of Marvik’s face. Marvik’s head reeled but he made no sound and neither did he raise his hand to stem the blood. He held Elmsley’s eyes.
‘Did Gavin tell you he’d found the Mary Jo?’ Marvik said tautly. ‘Obviously not from your expression. So he held out on you even when you tortured him. Oh, yes, she’s been found all right and intact with her crew on board,’ bullshitted Marvik. He didn’t know that for certain. ‘Gavin worked out that the Mary Jo with its dead crew on board could have drifted into the Arctic and that one day the ice might reveal her. The Arctic is a gigantic mortuary and often yields frozen bodies years after the ice has devoured them. Gavin accessed the government’s satellite and found her. He told GCHQ where to look. It’s why I am here. You killed him too late. He’d already sent them a letter by good old-fashioned and efficient snail mail.’
‘That’s bollocks,’ Elmsley scoffed, but Marvik saw with satisfaction that he looked annoyed and uneasy. Elmsley addressed his henchman. ‘Hurry up with that tender.’ The man slipped past them and left the cabin. Marvik could take Elmsley now but the timing wasn’t right.
Lost Voyage Page 24