Brian Isherwood thought for moment and then shook his head. “No, let’s just get on with it. I’ve got things to do, as I’m sure you have.”
“You’re here, Brian, because we’ve examined the CCTV from the night Dean was killed.” He gave the man a few moments to consider this and explain, but he offered nothing. “Minutes before Dean met his death you met him on the park and the pair of you spoke. That conversation got heated. At one point you were both arguing, you grabbed him, tried to pull him away.” Harry watched him closely. Isherwood didn’t seem particularly bothered by this revelation — not the reaction Harry’d been expecting.
Eventually, Brian Isherwood gave a sigh. “Okay. I haven’t been altogether honest with you, Inspector. I knew what Dean was up to and I wanted to stop him. He confided in me a month back, said he was on the trail of a killer.” He smiled at Harry. “But that was Dean. I’d seen his wall. Whatever he thought he was doing, I doubted very much that the man he was after was really a murderer. Even so, what he was planning was far too dangerous. He’d identified someone and had been following him. I have no idea who this man is, but if he took exception to Dean’s fairy-tales, it could well get him into more trouble than he could handle. Dean was clever but his mind worked in strange ways. He got fixated on things, was guileless, he believed all he had to do was face the man with the so-called evidence he’d gathered and this stranger would hand over a small fortune.”
“Why didn’t you contact the police, tell us what you knew?”
Brian Isherwood spread out his hands. “Dean tried that. Check the records if you don’t believe me. He had a conversation with one of you lot a couple of weeks back. He told the officer he was chasing a killer and they needed to act fast to save lives.”
“What happened?” Harry asked.
“Nothing,” Brian said. “Well, the lad had no name, no proof that would stand up. He had a lot of press cuttings and notes but nothing that wasn’t already out there in the public domain. I reckon your colleague thought Dean had a screw loose.”
Fair comment. “You spoke to Dean that night, then what?” Harry asked.
“I left him to it. Wrong I know, and I’ve regretted it every waking minute since. We argued and I lost it. I told him how stupid he was and stormed off. To be truthful, I thought it might do the lad some good if this man he was following gave him a pasting and knocked some sense into him.”
“But it wasn’t a fantasy, was it? Dean was right, he had discovered a killer and planned to meet him that night. I’ve been told that Dean had set up the meeting to blackmail the killer, which you just confirmed. He, however, had other ideas and now Dean’s dead.”
“If I’d known what was going to happen, I’d have stayed with him, tried to help.”
“Did you see anyone else in the park when you were there?” Harry asked.
“Not a soul. The weather was foul, and I couldn’t wait to get home.”
“Weren’t you concerned when Dean didn’t come back?” Harry asked.
“I had no idea he hadn’t returned. Maggie didn’t come banging on the door until gone four in the morning. She’d been waiting for Dean but had fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs. When she woke up, she presumed he’d come home and gone straight to his room.”
“If you thought Dean could be in danger, you should have contacted us at once, and told us what you’re telling me now. At the very least, you should have come clean when he was found dead.”
“But I didn’t. I thought it was all in his head. I’m not proud of keeping quiet, but I didn’t think anything I had to say would help. Besides, I didn’t want Maggie to know I was there. If she found out, she wouldn’t trust me or June anymore, and right now she needs us both.”
Brian Isherwood’s explanation sounded plausible, but Harry was still uneasy about him. There’d been no hesitation, he’d recited his tale as if he’d rehearsed it. At least Harry could check the records and see if Dean really had been in and reported his findings.
“You were also in Galashiels when the two murders happened there,” Harry said. “Bit of a coincidence that.”
Now Brian Isherwood looked angry. “Yes, it is, but I’m no killer, Inspector. This is getting silly now. Me being in Scotland at that time is because I was on holiday with Dean and his mum.”
“Nevertheless, I want a list of your whereabouts over the last six months. All the places you stayed in and the people you met.”
“You’re asking me to provide alibis for the other killings?” Isherwood sounded shocked. “You can’t really believe those murders were down to me!”
“You travel for a living, go all over the country. You knew Dean. You have access to his home and his laptops — one is missing by the way. I’m afraid you are very much in the frame, Mr Isherwood. You will be staying with us for a little while longer. You’ll sit here with my colleague and do that list, after which we’ll speak again.”
Chapter Sixteen
Harry left Isherwood and returned to the main office, where Colin and Jess were studying the images of Lana and Nadia Nasir.
“Explain himself, did he?” Jess asked.
“Yes, but I’m not convinced. He’s doing us a list of the places he’s been and where he’s stayed during the last few months. We’ll have to check the lot,” Harry said. “You two got anything?”
“You can’t really think Lana Midani is here illegally?” Jess asked Colin. “Unlikely, given how well known she is.”
“But if she is, and Nadia is too, then that could be why there’s a bounty on their heads,” Harry said.
“Lana is a wealthy woman. Perhaps she was being blackmailed and didn’t pay, so Nadia was killed and she was next,” Colin suggested.
“We have no proof of that,” Harry said. “But whatever the reason, we need Lana to talk to us.”
“But if Lana is afraid of something, or someone, she’ll refuse, won’t she?” Jess said.
“Want me to try, boss?” Colin asked.
“Okay. You and Jess go and see her while I talk to Sasha Steele. Be careful, don’t let her play you. Lana Midani craves publicity and you’re about to hand her a shed load on a plate.” Harry picked up the office phone. “Now, let’s hope Ms Steele’s got something useful from Dean’s laptops . . . DI Harry Lennox. You wanted a word?”
“I’m working late at the Reid,” Sasha said. “Can you come over?”
“Fine, give me half an hour.” Harry turned to Jess. “I’ll pay her a visit. You and Col see what Lana has to say, and then you can call it a day.”
* * *
“I’ll ring, tell her we’re coming,” Colin said.
“No, let’s just turn up,” Jess said. “If the lovely Lana is hiding something, we don’t want her disappearing or taking to her bed before we get there. We’ll take the photos of Nadia. They might shock her into talking to us.”
“You think she knows who’s behind this?” Colin asked.
“I think Lana knows more than she’s told us, Col. People have a nasty habit of hiding stuff when they deal with the police.”
“Want me to drive?” he asked.
“It’s only the other side of town,” Jess said. “Get your jacket. It’s not a bad day, we’ll walk.”
“We will get him, won’t we?” Colin asked as they left the building. “He’s been active for a while and so far, no one’s come close.”
Jess wanted to reassure him that it was only a matter of time, but she really wasn’t sure. This one was no ordinary murderer. He planned before he struck, researched each victim. His were no spur of the moment, in-a-fit-of-anger killings and, despite what Harry might say, that made him unlikely to slip up.
She shrugged. “We can only do our best.”
* * *
For her own safety, Lana had been moved into a safe house outside Ryebridge, but she wasn’t happy about it. Not having a suite in a hotel with people to wait on her hand and foot didn’t suit her.
As the family liaison officer let them in,
Jess and Colin could hear Lana shouting the odds.
“What’s upset her now?” Jess whispered to the FLO.
“The food isn’t to her liking, and I’m afraid I’m no cook.”
Lana strode towards them down the hallway. “This place hasn’t been cleaned properly,” she said. “There was a spider in the bathroom this morning. I can’t stay here any longer. You have to complete your enquiries. I must go home.”
Colin was surprised at how quickly she appeared to have got over the murder of Julia Burton. Spider in the bathroom indeed. What about her safety? All that filled the young woman’s head was her own comfort.
“I deserve the best,” Lana complained. “I’ve worked for it. This house . . . Her.” She nodded at the FLO. “She doesn’t understand me. If any of this gets out, the bad publicity will do serious damage to my image.”
“Your PA was murdered,” Jess said. “You seem to have forgotten that you, not Julia, were the intended target.”
Lana looked sceptical. “You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I think I do, and I have good reason for it,” Jess said. Colin thought of Dean Greenwood’s bedroom wall. “So, it’s time to be candid with us. Who’ve you upset, Ms Midani? Why would someone want you dead?”
Lana gave Jess a filthy look and tossed her head. “No one! I am loved the world over. Haven’t you seen my social media profiles? I’m telling you, you’ve got this horribly wrong.”
“Where were you born?” Colin asked.
“London.” She looked surprised at this sudden question.
“Have you ever changed your surname?”
She scowled at him. “No. Why would I?”
“Then you weren’t born in London, or even in this country. I know because I’ve checked. You have no past, Lana. Why is that?”
She glared at him. “You’re talking rubbish. Of course I have a past. I come from a perfectly normal family. You need to look at your records again.”
“Do you know a young woman called Nadia Nasir?” Colin asked.
Lana turned pale. “How do you know that name?”
“More to the point, how do you? And don’t lie to me. I can see from your face that you’re hiding something.”
“Where is Nadia?” she whispered. In complete contrast to the Lana of a few minutes ago, her tone now was almost pleading. “Contact her for me, tell her where I am, and get her to ring me. I need to speak to her.”
“Sorry, Lana, I can’t do that.” Colin saw the look of disappointment on her face. “I’m afraid Nadia was murdered a month ago.”
The killing had been reported in the local press but living in the South, Lana wouldn’t have seen it. For a few moments Lana was silent as she took in the significance of Colin’s words. Then she closed her eyes and began to wail.
“She can’t be. It’s not possible. I would have known. How come I didn’t feel it?” She gave Colin a long, sad look. “Nadia was my sister.”
He’d spotted the resemblance in the photos, but he hadn’t expected Lana to admit it so readily.
“I’ve been looking for her, we’d lost touch lately,” Lana said. “I am everywhere on social media. She must have seen me, so when she didn’t try to make contact, I thought perhaps she was ill, and I got worried.”
“Why did you lose touch?” Jess asked.
“We just did. Sometimes life is like that. I was working hard and I didn’t have time to think about what she might be doing.” She paused. “How did she die?”
“The same way as Julia Burton, and we think she was killed by the same man,” Jess said. “First your sister and now your PA. So you see, you have to take this seriously, Lana. Your life is in danger. You must trust us to do what’s best for you.”
“Do you know why this man killed them?”
“No, but like we said before, Julia wasn’t meant to die. After Nadia was killed you were the next target,” Jess said.
“Perhaps Nadia wasn’t meant to die either. He made one mistake — he can make others,” Lana said.
“We have certain evidence to prove he intended to kill Nadia. He wanted to kill both of you, both sisters. Why, Lana? There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there? What is it?” Jess asked.
Lana Midani stuck her nose in the air. “Nothing! There’s no reason why anyone would want me or Nadia dead.”
“You’re lying, Lana,” Jess said. “We can’t help you if you’re not straight with us. Tell us about your past, where you were born and how you got to this country.”
“I cannot do that.”
“Are you here illegally, Lana?” Colin asked.
“You think that’s why Nadia is dead and why I’m on some hit list? Because we’re illegals? God, you’re a pair of fools!” she shouted.
The scorn on her face seemed to be genuine. Okay, so she wasn’t here illegally. “Tell us then, help us to understand,” Colin said. “Two years ago you appeared out of nowhere. You became successful, and now you’re a wealthy woman. Is someone blackmailing you, Lana? Did they demand money, you didn’t pay and that’s why your sister is dead?”
“That’s a load of nonsense,” she said, sounding less certain.
“I don’t think so. You can talk to us. You’re quite safe here, no one will find you.” Jess waited. “Okay, we’ll give you a little more time. But you will tell us the truth, Lana, about you and Nadia, where you came from, the lot.”
The young woman looked beaten. The news of her sister’s death had hit home and all her fight had evaporated. Lana sighed.
“I don’t have a choice, do I? I don’t want to die like the others. I will cooperate, but I haven’t done anything wrong.” She seemed to brighten a little. “And while I’m here, I want to stay in touch with my followers.”
“Out of the question,” Jess said. “You must not phone anyone, send a text or go online. That’s all it would take for the killer to find you. Do you understand?”
Lana gave a reluctant nod.
“We’ll talk again, and if you need to know anything, speak to the officer who’s living with you.”
On their way out, Colin had a word with the FLO. “I’m going to put a watch on the house. It’s vital that no one apart from us gets in or out. Do you understand? That young woman is in danger and while she’s here, she’s our responsibility.”
Chapter Seventeen
Harry was right. Sasha Steele was related to Hector. She was his daughter.
“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I don’t tell tales. I’m temporary, here on loan, so make the most of my knowledge and my time.”
Harry chuckled. “You’re good then.”
Flashing him a smile, she came back immediately. “The best you’re going to get in this little backwater.”
“Fair enough. Better lay it on the line then. The laptops belonging to Dean Greenwood, the murder victim from the park. We’re hoping they’ll tell us how he found out so much about a killer we’re after.”
“Well, he didn’t find him online,” she said, disappointing Harry. “And believe me, I’ve looked damned hard. There are any number of dubious sites on the dark web where you can find such people, but Dean didn’t go near. As far as I can make out, he never used the Tor browser or interacted with anyone through a dodgy forum or chat room. This laptop,” she tapped it, “is full of arcade games, but the one on my desk is what Dean used for his research. He was a clever lad, careful about deleting his history, but I’ve managed to recover most of it. When I first saw the websites he’d visited, I admit I was confused. His favourite was a site for selling second-hand goods. He spent hours there but, as far as I can see, he never bought or sold anything,”
That wasn’t what Harry had expected to hear. The dark web, yes, but second-hand goods on the normal web? It made no sense. “Well, I’m stumped. I was convinced the killer was touting his wares on the dark web and that’s where Dean found him.”
“There are any number of sites at the dodgy end of cyberspace that the lad might visi
t to find such people, but like I say, there’s no history of him going there.”
“We know there’s a third laptop which is missing. According to a friend of his, that one has his notes on it.”
“Then I suggest you make finding it a priority,” she said. “The answer to why he visited the buying-and-selling site could well be in his research notes.”
Harry was looking at an example Sasha had brought up on screen for him. “I don’t understand. This is an advert for toys. How was that supposed to help Dean find out who the killer’s next victim is?”
“Not just toys, Harry, miniature cars, the type serious collectors look for. Who knows, perhaps the lad wanted to start a collection. Anyway, he stumbled across your killer somehow, but not on the dark web.” Sasha sounded dismissive. “I’ll email you the web addresses of everything he spent time looking at over the last couple of months, but there’s a lot of it, I warn you.”
“Thanks, Sasha, though I don’t know how it’ll help us. Dean got his information from somewhere and I doubt the killer told him. So what was he up to? How does a teenage lad find an experienced killer if he doesn’t find him in cyberspace?”
“Well, failing the dark web, perhaps they used some sort of code. I’ll look again at that selling site, see if I can spot something. Who knows?”
“I’ll check over what you’ve found, see if it makes any sense.” Harry smiled at her. “You worked hard, found some possibly useful stuff. I’m grateful.” He liked that Sasha was friendly and that she didn’t look at all like her father. She was easy on the eye and he’d noticed that there was no ring on her finger. Her one irritating habit was the fact that she couldn’t keep still. She stood at her desk rather than sit, and was constantly pacing the lab, drinking coffee while she talked.
“Your lad was clever,” she said, “but he gave himself away, or the killer laid a trap for him. Shame. If things had been different, Dean would have gone far.”
“He was studying IT at college,” Harry said.
“There you are then.”
Sasha made for the kettle and flicked the switch. “My next job is finding out if Dean knew how the killer was paid. I’m presuming it would be in bitcoin. I’ll let you know if I get anything on that score from his laptop.”
THE FACELESS MAN an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detectives Lennox & Wilde Thrillers Book 2) Page 7