by Adele Abbott
“Sorry. No.”
***
I took a taxi back to the flat, and en-route, gave Zero a call.
“Hey, Kat.”
“Where are you?”
“At the office. How was the funeral?”
“Depressing, but I may have got a lead on Westy. Can you see if you can track down someone called Tommy Hargreaves? He lives in Barking, apparently.”
“Will do.”
“I didn’t hear from you this morning, so I take it nothing happened at Premax?”
“Nada. What’s happening with the Dale case?”
“I’m going home to get changed, and then I’ll come to the office. I’ll update you then.”
“Okay.”
Back at my flat, I swapped the skirt and sensible shoes for jeans and trainers. By now, I was starving, so I grabbed a sausage roll from Greggs, and then headed for the tube station. I was just about to go underground when my phone rang; it was Zero.
“Got him,” he yelled. “I’ve found Tommy Hargreaves.”
“Already? That was quick. How did you manage it? More hacking?”
“He’s in the phone book.”
“Oh? Right.”
Zero gave me the address in Barking.
“I might as well go there first before I come to the office.”
“What do you want me to do in the meantime?”
“Sit tight until I get in.”
“I could be setting up the accounts.”
“I thought you couldn’t do that without the books?”
“It’s not ideal, but if the books have gone for good, then I may as well do the best I can. If they do turn up later, I can always make the necessary adjustments.”
“Okay, go for it. I’ll see you later.”
***
The man who answered the door had a small head in his hand.
“Mr Hargreaves?”
“Yeah?” He must have seen my confused look. “This is Jerry’s head.”
“Right.” Like that explained it.
“Jerry’s my puppet. I’m a ventriloquist.”
“I see. I was told that Ray West lived here.”
“Oh dear. Are you a relative of his? Or a friend? I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but he’s dead.”
“No, yeah, I know. I’m not a relative. We worked together. Sarah, his ex, gave me your address. She said that West—err—Ray had been living here.”
“He said he only wanted to stay for a couple of weeks, but he was here for almost three months. I was going to have a word with him about moving out, but then he went and got himself murdered. I’ve still got a roomful of his rubbish.”
“Oh? I don’t suppose I could take a look at it, could I? He did some work for my company, and I think he still has some of my files.”
“I don’t see why not. There’s nothing of any value as far as I can make out.” He hesitated, suddenly a little self-conscious about what he’d just said. “I was only looking through it. I haven’t taken anything.”
“I understand. So, if I could maybe take a look?”
“Come in.” He led the way upstairs to a small bedroom at the rear of the property. “It’s a bit of a mess, but that’s just how he left it.”
“That’s okay. You can leave me to it if you have stuff you need to do.”
“I was just about to oil Jerry’s head.”
“Okay, then. I’ll come down when I’ve finished.”
If I’d known what I was letting myself in for, I’d have worn coveralls and a face mask. The smelly room was a disgusting mess with piles of unwashed clothes scattered all around. The drawers in the bedside cabinet were full of cigarette packets, some full, some empty. I found three pairs of glasses, an electric razor and a mobile phone the size of a brick.
But so far, no files.
Half an hour later, and I’d drawn a blank. The only place I hadn’t checked was underneath the bed, and that was because I was worried about what I might find there. If the smell was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be good. But I had no choice, so I took a deep breath and crouched down to get a good look. The source of the smell soon became apparent: there was all manner of half-eaten takeaways under there.
Gross!
I was about to beat a hasty retreat when I spotted a small pile of folders at the far side of the bed, next to the wall. If I wanted them, and I did, I had no choice but to crawl under there.
Being ultra-careful to steer well clear of rotting food, I edged my way under the bed. Once I’d managed to grab the files, I reversed out of there as quickly as I could.
Bingo! A quick flick through revealed them to be related to cases that Westy had been working on for Roy.
Hargreaves now had a small leg in his hand. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes, thanks.” I held up the files. “Is it okay if I take these?”
“No problem. Less for me to throw away.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you like ventriloquists?”
“I—err—”
“I could give you a sample of my act if you like. It’ll only take me a minute to put Jerry back together.”
“Thanks, but I really do have to get going. Maybe another time.”
***
When I eventually made it back to the office, Zero had company.
“I hope you aren’t corrupting my staff, Sonya,” I said.
“Who? Me?” She grinned. “I was just showing him our latest catalogue. Wasn’t I, Z?”
“Err, yeah.” Zero’s face was beetroot red.
“Sorry, Sonya.” I thought I’d better come to his rescue. “We’ve got a ton of stuff we have to get through.”
“It’s okay. I should have been back from my ciggy break ten minutes ago. This young man of yours just wouldn’t let me go.” She blew him a kiss, and then made her exit.
“That woman’s crazy,” Zero said, once he was sure she’d gone.
“Are you going to take Sonya’s catalogue home to show Toyah?”
“She’d kill me if I did.” He threw it into the bin, and then gestured to the pile of files I had under my arm. “I take it you found Hargreaves?”
“Yeah. Westy had left these at his place for safekeeping. I’ve only had a quick glance through them while I was on the tube, but it looks like he worked on at least a dozen cases last year.”
“Do you reckon you’ll find whoever killed Roy and Westy in one of those?”
“I’d bet my life on it.”
“I’ve set up the accounts as far as I can. If and when the books turn up, I’ll have to add those details.”
“What if they never turn up?”
“We’ll just have to improvise.”
“Right. Make us both a coffee, and I’ll bring you up to speed on the Mike Dale case.”
Chapter 21
I took a sip of the coffee. “You’re getting better at making this, Zero.”
“Thanks. Did you see Dale at the hotel?”
“I did more than that. I spoke to him, and Lisa. They’re both very scared.”
“Of what?”
“Ted Fulton. It seems that our client wasn’t satisfied with the money he was making from the more conventional financial services, so he moved into what you might call greyer areas.”
“Doing what?”
“If Dale is to be believed, money laundering. For some very nasty people.”
“And you believe him?”
“I think so. If he’s a liar, he’s an incredibly good one. And besides, I don’t believe Dale and Lisa could have faked the fear they showed when they thought I was going to give them up.”
“But if Dale is a partner in the business, he must have known what was going on.”
“He insists that he had no idea until he happened across some accounts he’d never seen before. When he confronted his partner, Fulton denied it at first, but when Dale wouldn’t let it go, Fulton suggested he’d better drop it if he valued his health. That was the day that Dal
e made the decision to disappear.”
“Why did Fulton come to you? He must have known there was a possibility you could find out about the money laundering.”
“His own efforts to find Dale had drawn a blank. He needed to find him, and just as importantly, he had to get his hands on that laptop. I’m convinced Fulton was behind the break-in at Dale’s house. He must have paid someone to try and recover the computer. When that failed, he contacted our agency. Fulton simply couldn’t afford to leave Dale out there because he was a loose cannon who could have brought his business crashing down at any moment—sending him to jail in the process. He no doubt gave instructions that Roy should simply find Dale, but not make contact with him. And, to be honest, if Roy had still been here, he would have done precisely that. He’d have pulled me off the case the moment I’d located the target. Roy was only interested in getting paid. He would have had absolutely no interest in why Dale had chosen to disappear.”
“What do you think would have happened once Fulton knew where Dale was?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Nothing good, I’m betting.”
“What happens now?”
“I’m going to pay our Mr Fulton a visit. I’ll give him enough rope, and see if he hangs himself.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to go back to the hotel. Dale is expecting you.”
“I’m not sure I’ll make much of a bodyguard.”
Zero was right; he would have struggled to fight his way out of a wet paper bag.
“That’s not why I want you there. When Dale left work on that Friday evening, he intended to take what he knew to the police. That’s why he took the laptop home with him. The problem is that the files are all password-protected, and Fulton must have changed it. That’s what Dale has been doing since he went missing—trying to crack the password. Without any success, needless to say.”
“And you want me to try to crack the password?”
“That’s kind of what you do, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but what happens when I do crack it?”
“Dale will take what he knows to the police.”
“But if you turn on Fulton, doesn’t that mean we won’t get paid?”
“Not by Fulton that’s for sure. But Dale has said that if we help to put Fulton behind bars, he’ll pick up our bill.”
“Great. What are we going to do about Westy’s files?”
“Once we’ve put the Dale case to bed, we’ll need to work our way through those. I’m convinced our killer is somewhere in there.”
***
After Zero had left, and before I set off for my little chat with Fulton, I gave Sheila a call, but it wasn’t Sheila who answered the phone.
“Is Sheila there, please?”
“Who’s calling?”
“Kat Royle. We used to work together.”
“I’m afraid she isn’t able to come to the phone at the moment.”
“Is it Don? How is he?”
“I’m afraid Donald died in the early hours of this morning. I’m his sister, Flora.”
“I’m so very sorry. Would you pass on my condolences to Sheila, and tell her I’m here if she needs anything?”
“Of course. Thank you for calling.”
***
When I called Ted Fulton he demanded to know if I’d traced Dale. I told him I hadn’t, but that I had some promising leads, and would need a little more information from him before I could pursue them further. He agreed I could go over to see him straight away.
I’d just left my flat when my phone rang.
“Kat, it’s Christine.”
“Hey. How are things?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
“That’s good to hear. What happened with Ralph?”
“I decided to tell him everything.”
“When you say everything?”
“I mean everything. I figured if we’re going to make this relationship work, we both had to start being completely honest with one another. I told him that I’d thought he was having an affair, that I’d hired you to follow him, and that I knew about Fiona.”
“Wow! I wasn’t expecting you to do that. How did he react?”
“He broke down and cried. I think he was relieved that he didn’t have to lie to me any longer. He tried to apologise for going to see Fiona, but I told him there was no need. And that I wished he’d felt he could discuss it with me before now.”
“What did he say about my involvement?”
“That he’d always known you were a spiteful bitch.” She laughed. “No, seriously, he was grateful that you’d told me everything because he wasn’t sure he would ever have had the courage to do it himself.”
“I’m so pleased for you. Both of you.”
“Now that I don’t have to hide any of this from him, I’ve put a cheque in the post to you rather than paying by cash. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s fine. Thanks.”
“Can we get together for a coffee from time to time, Kat? I’d hate for us to lose touch again.”
“Sure, I’d like that.”
***
I was shown straight to Fulton’s office.
“What’s going on, Kat?” he demanded. “I was hoping for a result by now.”
“Like I said on the phone, there are a couple of things I need you to clear up for me.”
“What do you want to know?”
“When I took a look around Mike Dale’s office, his laptop was missing.”
“What about it?” he snapped. “It’s in for repair.”
“There’s the strange thing. Your I.T. department have no record of taking it in for repair.”
“Those geeks don’t know what day it is most of the time.”
“Maybe, but I managed to get a look at CCTV footage of this building taken on the day that Mike Dale disappeared.”
“We don’t have CCTV.”
“True, but the bar across the road does. Fortunately, it caught Mike Dale as he left the building.”
“So? How does that help?”
“He had his laptop with him.”
“Oh?” Fulton seemed momentarily caught off guard, but quickly recovered. “What does that matter? I just need you to find him.”
“I find it strange, that’s all. Tasmin said that he never took his laptop home with him. Don’t you find it curious that he should choose to do so on that day? It’s almost as though he knew he wouldn’t be coming back.”
“I think you’re reading far too much into it.”
“Maybe. Tell me again, Ted, what exactly is it you do here?”
“We’re financial consultants.”
“Hmm? That could cover a multitude of sins, I’m guessing.”
“I’ve heard enough.” Red-faced, he stood up. “It’s obvious to me that you’re no nearer to finding Mike than last time you were in these offices.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found? Have you ever considered that?”
“You’re off the case. I’d like you to leave now or I’ll have security show you out.”
“No need. I’m going.”
Once I was out of the building, I made a call.
“How’s it going, Zero?”
“I’m working on it. It might take a while. How did you get on with Fulton?”
“He’s kicked us off the case.”
“That wasn’t very nice of him.”
“When I suggested he might be involved in some dodgy dealing, he turned a bright shade of red. A bit like you when Sonya’s around.”
“Don’t remind me of that woman.”
“Are they treating you alright over there?”
“Yeah, brilliantly. They’ve said I can order whatever I like from room service.”
“That was nice of them. Look, I’m going to go back to the office and start working through Westy’s files. Give me a call if you crack the password.”
“Will do.”
***
When
I arrived at the Sidings, there was someone waiting for me outside my office. The man had sideburns. Very bushy sideburns.
As I approached him, he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket. If he had a knife, I was confident I’d be able to kick it from his grip before he had the chance to move towards me. But what if it was a gun?
It was neither.
“Kat Royle?” He produced a small brown paper packet.
“Who are you? And why have you been asking about me?”
“I’m Wesley Armitage.”
“What do you want?”
“Just to give you this.” He held out the package.
“What is it?” I took it from him, and to my surprise, found it was full of cash.
“It’s all there. You can count it if you like.”
“I think we should go into the office.” I unlocked the door and led the way inside. “Take a seat, Mr Armitage. I think you’d better start by telling me what this money is for.”
“It’s for the work you did for me.”
“I don’t know you.”
“Not you personally. Your agency.”
“I’ve never seen you in the office.”
“This is the first time I’ve been here. I was put in contact with Roy King through a friend of a friend. I always met with him in a pub.”
“What was the case Roy worked on for you?”
“Actually, it wasn’t Roy who worked on it. Someone called Westy handled it. My wife had been cheating on me with a man she worked with. Westy got photos of them together.”
“When was this?”
“A couple of weeks ago. Roy said the payment had to be in cash, and that if I was late, Westy would pay me a visit. I tried to get hold of Roy to make the payment, but I couldn’t reach him. Then, I heard that he’d been murdered, and found out that you’d taken over the business. I’ve been trying to find you since then to give you the cash. I don’t want any trouble from Westy. He scares me.”
“I can assure you that you have nothing to fear from him.”
“That’s a relief. Do you want to check that the cash is all there?”
“You have an honest face, Mr Armitage. I don’t think that will be necessary.”