“How did the killer manage to get around the security here?” Violet asked, and DCI Kilmer glowered.
“Believe me, I’ve asked the same question of the head of security.”
“I would like to speak with him myself,” Violet said, and DCI Kilmer nodded before speaking quickly into his radio.
“He’ll be here in a moment.”
Violet was definitely getting the VIP treatment here today; the police must have wanted this case solved fast. Usually, whenever members of the Metropolitan Police had to interact with Violet – and I say ‘had’ because only DCI Williams ever seemed to do it willingly – they were indifferent at best, insulting at worst. The vast, vast majority of the members of the force were not appreciative of Violet, and to be totally honest, I could see why. She didn’t exactly hide her feelings when it came to cops: namely, that most of them were completely incompetent and that they managed to solve any crimes at all was more a matter of luck than good detective work.
So the fact that DCI Kilmer was being so gracious to Violet told me one thing: they definitely wanted this case solved, and fast.
I couldn’t blame them. This was already a media gong show.
Chapter 3
The head of security at King’s Cross station was brought over a few moments later. He was tall, burly, with a smattering of red hair on top of his equally red face.
“You are the head of security?” Violet asked him, and he nodded a little bit too enthusiastically. I had a sneaking suspicion he had a feeling it was one of the last times he was going to be able to give that as his job title.
“Yes, that’s me. John Montgomery’s my name. I know, we’ve made a mess of things.”
“Tell me, how was a mess made? Was there security footage on the roof of the station?”
The man shook his head. “We never thought we’d need it there, to be quite honest. A bit of a stuff up, in retrospect.”
“Yes, I would agree,” Violet muttered. “Do you know how the man was able to gain access to the roof without any witnesses? It would not have been simple, dragging a dead body up there.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, we haven’t the slightest.”
Violet raised her eyebrows. “Really? You do not have any idea how the man could have got up onto the roof?"
Montgomery shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve never had any sort of incident like this before. Look, I can take you to our control station, where you can see all of the CCTV footage we’ve got, but that’s all I can offer you I’m afraid. There’s no footage on the roofs at all.”
Violet nodded. “I would like to see that, please.”
I waved a goodbye to Jake, who grinned at me in return as Violet and I made our way to the main security office, followed closely by DCI Kilmer, who obviously wanted to glean any bits of insight Violet might have to offer.
I had to admit, as soon as we entered the clinical-looking room, I was fairly surprised by the sheer volume of cameras. I didn’t know why; I knew King’s Cross, being such a hotbed of people in a city famed for the spying it does on its citizens, would be filled with security cameras. Sure enough, dozens of monitors lined the far wall, showing every single inch of every single tunnel and platform inside this extensive network of rail lines.
I spotted three monitors showing the spot where Jake was still busily looking over the body, though he was only in the center frame of one of them. In front of the monitors were three rows of desks, each of which were manned by at least four people, all of them wearing headsets into which they mumbled every so often.
No one even looked up when the four of us entered. Montgomery led us to an empty desk at the far end of the room, where he turned on the black monitor.
“This will give you access to all of the videos from the past thirty days, which we keep on the servers. Anything from earlier than that is accessible, but is in cold storage and would require twenty-four hours’ notice to bring online.”
“This should be fine, thank you,” Violet replied with a curt nod as she seated herself down in the chair in front of the monitor.
“I can show you how it wor-” Montgomery started, then stopped as Violet had already begun tapping away at the keys and bringing up various views. “Never mind, you seem to have the hang of it.”
“I have done this before here, once or twice, but not for quite a few years,” Violet explained without looking up from the screen. I watched as she brought up a number of different views of the station earlier that day. I didn’t know if Violet could see anything I didn’t – she almost always did, after all – but as far as I could tell, nothing suspicious was happening on any of the screens. No one looked like they were dragging a body through the halls or anything like that.
In fact, up until the moment when the body came plunging through the ceiling and everyone scrambled to get away, there was absolutely no indication as far as I could tell that anything was wrong.
“Do you see anything?” I asked Violet, and she shook her head.
“No. I do not, as of yet. However, I would like to have the previous seven days’ worth of video from all cameras downloaded onto a hard drive for me to look at from home later.”
“Consider it done,” Montgomery replied, striding over to one of the security personnel and whispering into their ear.
Violet leaned back in her chair.
“It really would interest me to know how the man got onto the roof.”
“Why?” DCI Kilmer replied. “We’ve got teams up there now, checking for fingerprints. What does it matter how he got up there? All we need to know is that he did.”
If Violet had planned on hiding her contempt, she failed completely. “It is important because it is crucial to the case. Someone who manages to get a human body on the roof of King’s Cross Station without being caught on CCTV footage is not an amateur. Also, I would like copies of the footage from all CCTV cameras in a one hundred meter radius from this station for the previous week sent to me as well.”
“Right, I’ll have an officer bring it by to you later.”
“Good,” Violet nodded, getting up from her chair. “Well, thank you gentlemen, that will be all for today.”
I followed after Violet and we made our way out of the station.
“So you really didn’t see anything on that camera?”
“No,” Violet said. “Although, to be honest, I did not expect to. Someone who managed to commit this crime without getting caught is someone who knew what they were doing. As much as the television and popular culture enjoys the portrayal of the accidental perfect crime, in reality, it does not happen. I would be surprised if it was the first crime this person had committed.”
“I’m guessing you’re thinking the cops aren’t going to find any fingerprints on the roof, then,” I offered, and Violet shook her head.
“No, they will not. However, I do want to know how the man got onto the roof.”
The two of us made our way out, and I looked around. “There?” I suggested, pointing to a white-and-brown brick building next to the station. The sign above it read ‘Great Northern Hotel’. The windows on the eastern side of the building led directly onto the roof of the train station.
“Perfect,” Violet said quietly with a nod, and the two of us made our way towards the entrance. “Very good deduction,” she added as we passed back under the police line and out of the restricted area. A small blush crept up my face; I was definitely not a detective, but it was nice when I noticed things and Violet recognized them.
The two of us made our way towards the ledge, and looked up.
“I mean, it wouldn’t have been super discreet,” I said, suddenly thinking my idea might not have been the best. While a handful of windows seemed to look directly over the roof, they were also in plain view of anyone walking or driving past.
“That is true,” Violet said slowly. “Can you text Jake and ask him if he has a time of death, yet?”
“Sure,�
� I said, pulling out my phone and typing a text as we made our way to the hotel’s front door. By the time we reached the entrance, I had gotten a reply.
“He says either late last night or early this morning, but he won’t have a more precise time of death until he gets back to the lab.”
“Good,” Violet nodded, and we made our way through the hotel’s front doors.
The lobby was small, with a narrow hallway leading to the main reception desk, but tastefully decorated. I imagined the rooms were tiny, but in a location like this, I imagined it was still at least hundreds of pounds a night to stay here.
A friendly-looking woman with her hair tied smartly back smiled at us as we reached reception.
“Good morning, how can I help you?”
“Hello, I am wondering if I could have access to a list of your guests who have occupied the suites that overlook the roof of the train station for the previous week,” Violet asked.
The friendly-but-indifferent smile on the woman’s face turned into a falsely sympathetic smile.
“I’m sorry, but that goes against our hotel policy.”
“Have you seen all of the police officers outside? They are currently attempting to solve a murder, one which may have taken place in this very hotel.”
The woman’s face paled slightly, but she wasn’t moved. “I’m afraid without a warrant from the police, I cannot give you that information.”
“Fine,” Violet said, pulling out her phone. “I will call and have a warrant issued. However, I am certain that in press releases the police would much prefer talking about the co-operative Great Northern Hotel rather than bemoaning the lack of co-operation received during one of the most high-profile murders England has ever seen.”
At this, the woman paused. “Hold on. Let me get my manager.”
She darted out from behind the desk and made her way into a back office. Violet smiled at me.
“Judging by that look, I’m guessing that there’s not nearly enough proof to actually get a warrant for that information?”
“You are really starting to get to know me well,” Violet replied. “The fact that there is a possibility that the killer got onto the roof via the hotel is absolutely not enough for a warrant. And to be completely honest, it absolutely should not be.”
“That’s probably true,” I laughed, just as the woman came back with another woman, this time older, short and slim.
“Are you ladies with the police?” the woman asked, looking us up and down.
“I am working with the police on this case,” Violet replied.
“You are Violet Despuis.” The woman said it as much more statement than question.
“I am, yes.”
“Right. Well, while it is highly unusual to hand over such information without a warrant, I think in this case we can make an exception, especially for someone of your reputation. I know there are data protection laws, but protection of the public I think is more important.”
“Thank you,” Violet replied.
“Cara, please get these ladies the information they’re after,” the woman said, before turning and making her way back into her office. It turned out the name Violet Despuis still opened doors.
Or, in this case, records.
“Just one second, and let me get the information you requested,” Cara said to us as she strode back over to her computer and typed away efficiently. “You don’t really think the person was killed in this hotel, were they?”
“At this point, I do not know for certain, but it cannot be ruled out. I believe it likely that if nothing else, the body has passed through these doors.”
Cara shook her head while making a bit of a tusk-tusk noise. I wasn’t sure if she thought it was a shame for the victim, or for the hotel.
“Do you have cameras in the hotel as well?” Violet asked, looking around.
“Of course.”
“Would I be able to get a copy of the previous week’s cameras from this lobby?”
“I can do that,” Cara said. “We have one angle here that covers the entire hallway. Anyone entering or leaving the hotel will be caught by that camera, except for those leaving through the service entrance.”
“That would be excellent, thank you,” Violet said.
“Here is the list of names you wanted,” Cara said, grabbing a piece of paper from the printer and handing it over to Violet. “If the two of you want to wait around here, either in the lobby or in the bar, I’ll have security make you a copy of the tapes and bring it over to you.”
“Thank you, you have been very helpful,” Violet said. “I will make sure your co-operation will be duly noted.”
Chapter 4
The two of us made our way towards a couple of white leather chairs in front of a small table. Violet moved her chair to be next to mine, and put the sheet on the table so we could look over it.
The leftmost column had a list of dates, sorted from oldest to newest, and so my eyes immediately scanned down to the bottom of the page.
There were four names on the list that had stayed in the rooms overlooking the roofs last night: Mr. Walter Knight, Dr. Johann Persson, Mrs. Eloise McMillan, and Mr. Kristoffer Lanucci. There were addresses listed for each of them, as well as phone numbers.
“Well, it probably would have been easier if one of them had checked in as Lee Harvey Oswald or something,” I joked. “None of these names scream ‘murderer’ to me.”
“I did not realize you wanted the murderer handed to you on a platter,” Violet said, raising her eyebrows slightly. “Unfortunately for you, that is rarely how the world works. Come. Let us go and see if any of these four people are currently in their rooms.”
The first door we knocked on, that belonging to Mr. Kristoffer Lanucci, led to no response. Violet shrugged, and we went to the next door over. Mrs. Eloise McMillan was a heavyset woman in her fifties, with a jolly face, the type that I half-expected to invite us in for cookies and a cup of tea as soon as she saw us.
“Why, hello there,” she said to us when she answered the door. “What can I do for you?”
“Hello, Mrs. McMillan. I am Violet Despuis, and this is my co-worker, Cassie Coburn. We are assisting the police with their investigation of the murder at the train station, and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions?”
Eloise McMillan’s face fell as soon as Violet said the word ‘murder’.
“A murder? Here? You’re joking!”
“Unfortunately, I am not.”
“Well, I know your face from the telly, Violet. If you’re on the case, then obviously the police are going to find out who did it. Please, come in, both of you. I’ll help in any way I can.”
She led us into the small suite and motioned for Violet and I to take the two chairs next to a small desk while she sat on the bed. Half the bed was now covered with bags bearing the Harrods of London logo on them. “Sorry, I haven’t even got a cup of tea, or biscuits to offer you.”
“That is alright, Mrs. McMillan,” Violet said, while I hid a small smile.
“Please, call me Eloise. Now, what’s this about a murder?”
“A man has been killed, and his body dropped into the main part of King’s Cross station.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s just awful,” Eloise said, a hand rising to her mouth. “Who would do such a thing?”
“That is what we are trying to figure out. Now, I would like to start by asking you why it is you are staying here, at this hotel in particular?”
“Well, it’s just such a good location, isn’t it? I’m visiting from Birmingham, as I found I don’t get to London as much as I’d like to. So, I thought with it being December and all, I’d take the opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done, and King’s Cross on the tube gets you anywhere you want to go in town, so it’s quite convenient.”
Violet nodded. “Yes, that it is. Have you left your room at all today?”
“Of course, yes. I went out just this morning and spent most of the
day in Harrods. I found the loveliest Christmas ornaments, and some things for my youngest, who just bought a home with her husband.”
“And when did you get back?” Violet asked.
“Oh, around an hour and a half ago, I’d say. Something like that.”
Looking at my watch, I did some mental math. Ninety minutes ago would have been around fifteen minutes before the body had been found. That certainly was cutting it close.
“Did you hear or see anyone on this floor when you came back to your room?” Violet asked. Eloise thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“No, I can’t say I did.”
“What about last night? Were there any sounds, or anything that struck you as being out of the ordinary?”
Eloise laughed. “My dear, I come from a small suburb outside of Birmingham. To me, every sound in London is out of the ordinary. I’ve heard sirens outside for the last hour, and I thought for sure they were just from normal day-to-day life here, I’d no idea someone had been murdered right outside my window.”
“Alright, thank you, Eloise,” Violet said, and the two of us got up. Just as we made our way back into the hallway, however, Eloise stopped us.
“One moment,” she said. “It may be nothing, but in the middle of the night last night I heard a thud that I thought woke me up. Or at least, I thought I had. I may have simply dreamt it, or something like that.”
“At what time was that?” Violet asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“It was just after two. I remember checking the clock to see the time.”
“I suppose you do not know where the thud came from?”
“Sorry, no. As I said, I was half asleep, and I can’t even be certain that’s what I heard. Sorry I can’t be more help.”
“That’s fine, you have been very helpful,” Violet said, and as soon as Eloise shut the door behind us, Violet turned to me, a smile on her face.
“I believe we are in the right area,” Violet said. “The body must have been taken through the hotel and dropped through the window onto the roof of the train station in the middle of the night.”
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