“You could be right. Come on; let’s hope we have more joy with Isuf Xhepa.”
They climbed out and entered the school. As they walked in, a group of students were congregating in the entrance hall. In the melee, Paolo recognised the helpful student from their last visit, but couldn’t recall the young man’s name when he came over to greet them.
“You come second time. Is problem? We go on trip to field for castle in Lest…Lest…is hard to say.”
“A field trip to Leicester to see the castle?” Paolo asked.
He and Dave moved to one side as the students filed out.
“Yes. Bus is wait for me. I need take you to Mr Xhepa?”
Paolo smiled. “No, that’s not necessary. We can find our own way up to his office. You go with the others and enjoy your day out.”
The young man bowed and again Paolo felt an urge to copy him. Seeing Dave’s grin out of the corner of his eye, he knew his detective sergeant had seen his slight movement. They waited until the students had left and then walked along the corridor to the staircase. Walking up to the first floor, they found their way to the principal’s office, but made no attempt to go in. The man was clearly on the phone and not at all happy with the person on the other end.
“Judging by the yelling going on in there, we’d have found this room even if we hadn’t known where to come,” Dave said.
Paolo nodded. Isuf Xhepa was giving someone hell. Given that they couldn’t hear the other side of the argument, Paolo guessed the school principal wasn’t getting his own way. It was a pity he couldn’t understand Albanian. He’d have loved to know what had angered the man so much, but they could only wait until the flow of incomprehensible words came to an end. One thing was for sure, regardless of language, it was obvious Isuf Xhepa was far from pleased by what he was hearing.
“Not a happy bunny by the sound of things,” he said to Dave.
“Nope. Glad I’m not on the end of that tongue lashing.”
They waited another couple of minutes and then heard the unmistakeable sound of a receiver being slammed back onto the phone.
“I think that’s our cue,” Paolo said and tapped on the door. Without waiting for an answer, he went in with Dave right behind him.
“Good morning, Mr Xhepa. Sorry to trouble you, but I wonder if you could help us. Would you mind if we asked you a couple of questions?”
“What about? I’m very busy. How did you get in? The door is supposed to be locked when the students aren’t here.”
Paolo moved towards the desk. “Do you mind if we sit down?” he asked, settling himself on one chair as Dave took the other.
“Yes, I do mind. I told you. I’m very busy. And you didn’t tell me how you got in here. I think I should speak to my solicitor about this harassment.”
Interesting, thought Paolo. This is a completely different reaction to when we were here last. Again he wished he’d been able to understand whatever had been said on the phone.
“The students were on their way out when we arrived, so the door was open. I’m sorry if you feel we’re harassing you, but I can assure you that isn’t our intention, but please feel free to call your solicitor.”
He watched as the school owner made a concerted effort to bring his temper under control.
“No, I see. I’m sorry if I was a little agitated. Business doesn’t always go according to plan and I’m afraid I took my irritation out on you. What can I help you with? I’ve already told you I have seen those two men around town, but don’t know them. What more can I say about that?”
Paolo smiled. “No, that’s not why we’re here. I don’t know if you recall, but a few weeks back, we shared the lift in Bradchester Central.”
“If I did, I don’t remember it. Why are you asking about that?”
“Are you sure you don’t remember? I was in the lift with a woman. She had vivid green hair. I would have thought that might stand out in your mind.”
Isuf closed his eyes in thought. “Yes, now you come to mention it, I do recall the woman, but I’m afraid I don’t remember seeing you. Is it important? Is that why you’re here?”
Paolo nodded. “In a way, yes, it is. Would you mind telling us why you were at the hospital that day?”
The colour drained from Isuf’s face. “What business is it of yours? Why should I tell you about my private affairs?”
“You don’t have to tell us anything, of course, but it would be very helpful to our enquiries if we knew why you were there.”
“How? In what way? This is ridiculous. Get out.”
“Do you read the papers?” Paolo asked.
Isuf looked bewildered at the change of direction. “Of course I do.”
“Then you might recall that later that same day a child was murdered in the hospital. We are interviewing everyone who was there. In order to remove you from our list of potential suspects – not that I’m saying you are on it – but to take away any possibility of you being involved, we’d simply like to know why you were in the hospital that day.”
Isuf looked down at his hands and moved them under the desk, but not before Paolo had seen how much they were shaking.
“I would like you to leave now. I don’t have to tell you anything unless you are going to charge me with something. Are you?”
Paolo could feel his temper rising. If the man had nothing to hide, why not say why he was at the hospital that day?
“If I find you’re in any way involved in what happened to the child, I swear…” He took a deep breath. There was no point in losing his temper. “If you aren’t involved, I give my word whatever information you give today will remain between us.”
Isuf kept his eyes down, almost as if he couldn’t bear to look at Paolo as he spoke. “I have nothing to say.”
“You do realise I cannot leave it at that? We are investigating a murder.”
Isuf looked up. “Do whatever you want, but if my reason for being at the hospital gets out, I will know it came from you. If that happens, I’ll sue you and destroy your career. Now leave and don’t bother coming back. I had nothing to do with any murder.”
Paolo stood up. Dave followed him from the office and closed the door behind them.
“Phew!” he said. “How are we going to find out? There’s no point in asking at the hospital and we don’t have enough to request a warrant.”
“No, but that doesn’t stop us from keeping a very close eye on him.”
They went downstairs with Paolo thinking about Isuf’s reaction when they first arrived. Why had he been so defensive before he even knew why they were there?
Paolo opened the front door for Dave to go through and made sure it closed behind him to activate the locking mechanism.
“Did you get the feeling Mr Xhepa has something to hide?” Paolo asked as they reached the car.
“Yes. You think it’s to do with our case?”
“I’m not sure, but I definitely think he’s up to something. He really didn’t like us being there today. Even if his reason for being at the hospital that day is innocent, I think we should still keep an eye on his activities. His reaction was completely over the top and there must have been a reason for it.”
They got in the car. Dave fastened his seat belt and turned to Paolo.
“Where to next, sir?”
“Let’s go out to the import business on the industrial estate and see if there’s any news of Jeton. He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. If they’re telling the truth, not even his family have seen him since the day we spoke to him about Bekim and Edar. As you know, I’ve had people watching his wife, just in case she leads us to him, but so far the most exciting thing she’s done is go shopping twice in one day in Tesco’s. The officer on duty says it’s like watching paint dry.”
Dave laughed. “Yeah, I’ve done some of those stints. The boredom is deadly. Staying awake is the hardest part.”
“You can say that again. Hang on; you’ve reminded me of something.”
He pulled out his phone and called George. “Any news on that warehouse where surveillance lost Bekim and Edar? Dave and I are on our way to the industrial estate. We could take a look round while we’re over there.”
“It’s a bank repossession and they haven’t been able to offload it. It was previously owned by a small construction company that went out of business. It’s one of those complicated set ups where the parent company is registered offshore, but the insolvent part had its roots in Leicester. I’m still digging to try to find out who really owned it.”
“What’s the address?”
As George gave it to him, he keyed it in to the Satnav.
“Thanks for that, George. See you later,” Paolo said, but the line had already gone dead.
“What made you think of that?” Dave asked.
“You talking about surveillance reminded me how we’d lost Bekim and Edar. That wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. They deliberately went to that warehouse because they knew it was empty, but more importantly, they had to have had transport of some sort waiting for them out the back. Someone knew about that warehouse and set it up. Either that was someone who was connected with the failed business, or it was someone who worked nearby and had seen it go under. Let’s go there first. We can check in on the import business afterwards. A few minutes won’t make any difference to see whether Jeton is there or he isn’t.”
But as it turned out, they didn’t have to make a detour. Dave pulled up outside the empty warehouse, which was only two buildings along from the import company.
Climbing out of the car, Paolo pointed at the warehouse and back to the place where Jeton worked.
“Nice and convenient, isn’t it? I’m beginning to think Jeton knows more than he told us. Let’s hope he’s back in work.”
But they were out of luck. No one had seen Jeton since the day of their first visit.
“You know, Dave,” Paolo said when they were on their way back to the station, “it’s looking more and more likely Jeton is involved somehow. Whether or not he’s the one bringing the kids in, I don’t know, but there must be a connection between Jeton’s disappearance and us asking about Bekim and Edar. I wonder where he went.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
28th October (morning)
Dave pulled the car into the drive outside Pete Carson’s mansion.
Paolo nodded in the direction of the intercom. It seemed incredible to him that three weeks, all but a day, had passed since the child had been murdered. Ten days had fled since they’d last been to this house. He was getting nowhere fast, but maybe he’d get a bit closer to the truth this time. He glanced at his watch. Nice and early, less chance of the singer being up and about.
“Let’s hope we can speak to the housekeeper without Pete Carson interfering.”
Dave nodded, then reached out and pressed the button on the intercom.
“Hello, can I help you?” Mrs Baxter answered.
Pete flashed his badge at the camera.
“Oh dear, Mr Carson is upstairs sound asleep. Should I go and wake him?”
“That’s not necessary, Mrs Baxter,” Paolo called across Dave. “We’ve just come to get some more information on the intruder. We can ask you all the questions we have and don’t need to disturb Mr Carson.”
“Oh, that is kind of you,” she said. “I’ll put some coffee on for you.”
The gates opened and Dave drove through. Paolo gave a sigh of relief. This was working out exactly as he’d hoped. The car came to a stop in front of the garages and they got out.
“I wonder how many cars he has,” Dave said. “I bet every garage is full.”
“Unless one of them is a black car used to ferry the girls to and from Zephyr Road, I don’t really care. Let’s keep our minds on the job.”
They walked up to the front door where Mrs Baxter greeted them with a massive smile.
“I knew you’d be back. Mr Carson said not to bother you, but it isn’t right, is it? People just take advantage all the time. Come in. I hope you don’t mind if we go through to the kitchen. We’re less likely to disturb Mr Carson if we talk in there. Would you like some cake with your coffee?”
By now they’d reached the kitchen, right at the back of the house. Paolo sat down at the polished oak table.
“No cake for me, thank you. Just the coffee will be great.”
“And you, young man? Have you got room for a piece of homemade cake?”
Dave’s eyes lit up and he nodded. Judging by Dave’s reaction, Paolo guessed whatever Rebecca’s charms were, they didn’t include home baking.
He waited for Mrs Baxter to sit down.
“When we were here before you were very concerned about an incident. You said someone had broken into the grounds, but not into the house, is that right?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have known anything about it if it hadn’t been for the gardener’s assistant. Tony spotted the blood.”
“Blood?”
“Yes,” Mrs Baxter said, nodding vigorously. “That’s how we knew someone had been in the grounds. If I’d known you were coming I’d have asked him to come in today, but Tony only works three days a week here.”
“Never mind, Mrs Baxter,” Paolo said. “We can always have a chat to Tony at another time. Why don’t you tell us what happened and when.”
She screwed up her face. “It’s the when that’s a problem to work out. I can’t quite remember when it was, you see.”
“Okay, don’t worry, we can come back to that. Let’s concentrate on what Tony found.”
Paolo was pleased to see the frown disappear. “Oh, that’s easy. Tony came to me and said there was blood on the drive near the side gates. The ones closest to the studio where Mr Carson does all his recording. So I went with him to see and there wasn’t much, but it was enough, you know? Anyway, so I told Tony to power hose…oh, no, sorry, I’ve got that wrong. First, Tony said to me, ‘where do you think the blood’s come from?’ and, of course, I had no idea, so we had a good look round and found there was blood on the gates as well.” She smiled. “And that’s when I told him to power hose everywhere.”
Paolo and Dave exchanged a glance. That sounded like the death knell to any evidence they might have been able to find. But maybe not. There might still be traces.
“Did you discuss this with Mr Carson?”
She nodded. “Yes, but we decided not to bother you as whoever had broken in had gone and not really caused any damage, apart from the blood, of course. He or she, we get all sorts hanging around, must have cut themselves climbing over. Blood’s a nasty thing these days. Aids and such like. That’s why I told Tony to clean it up straightaway.”
The kitchen door opened and Pete Carson came in. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in at least a week.
“What’s going on? Why are you here again?”
Mrs Baxter jumped up. “Oh, Mr Carson, if I’d known you were awake, I’d have brought you up some coffee.”
“Never mind that now,” he said. “Why did you call the police back without telling me?”
“She didn’t,” Paolo said. “We’re simply following up on our last visit when we heard about your intruder.”
“I told you, we didn’t want to make a fuss about it.”
Paolo smiled. “Yes, sir, I know, but now we’ve been told about the blood on the gates, well, that puts a different light on things.”
Pete sat down heavily. “Does it. Why? I haven’t asked you to come back here.”
“No, but it’s our civic duty to investigate when we know a crime has been committed.”
Pete glared at him. “You don’t know any crime has been committed here. It could have been–”
“We are fairly certain a crime has been committed here, Mr Carson, and we intend to investigate it fully, starting with getting forensics out to take samples from the gates and the drive. Don’t worry,” Paolo said, leaning towards Pete, “whatever happened to cause that blood to appear on your gates, we’ll
find out about it.”
“Well now,” said Mrs Baxter, smiling broadly, “isn’t it great to know the police can find time to look into all crimes, not just the ones that make the headlines!”
Pete looked down, avoiding Paolo’s eyes. “Yes, it’s just great.”
Leaving Pete Carson in the kitchen, Mrs Baxter led them back to the front door.
“You must excuse Mr Carson, he’s never at his best early in the morning. We must have woken him when you arrived. You will look into the blood on the gates, won’t you?”
Paolo nodded. “Mrs Baxter, I give you my word, the blood on your gates will get my full attention.”
They walked back to the car, Paolo’s mind running on speed. As soon as the car doors were closed, he pulled out his phone to arrange for forensics to come over to do the tests.
“You think there’s anything to find, sir?”
“I don’t know, Dave. The power hose wouldn’t have cleaned away everything, but we don’t know how much blood there was to start with. By the look on Pete Carson’s face, he seemed to think there might be something to find. I was pretty sure before today that he was involved. Now I’m convinced of it. I think we’ve now got enough reasons to justify a chat with his former band mates. There must be something in his past that will trip him up if he was interested in kids.”
“If he is, I hope to God we can put him away. You know what the other prisoners will do to him – give him the justice we can’t. I hope they rip the bastard into shreds.”
Dave accelerated away from the garages, wheels spinning.
“You sound as if it’s personal.”
Dave nodded, tight-lipped. “It is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
28th October (morning)
Pete watched Mrs Baxter as she bustled around the kitchen clearing away the coffee cups and wanted to smash her face in. Stupid, stupid, stupid fucking bitch had no idea what she’d done to him. How the fuck was he going to get out of this one?
She turned and smiled at him. “Aren’t they kind? I never dreamed they would go to so much trouble for us. We should have called them in sooner. I feel so safe now, don’t you, knowing they are going to be watching out for us all the time. I don’t suppose anyone will get in or out now without them knowing about it.”
Someday Never Comes (#2 - D.I. Paolo Storey Crime Series) Page 17