Showstopper, page 24
“He seems to have taken over from Greg. You called him your hero a few minutes ago. I saw the way he lifted you off the mobility scooter.”
She nodded. “He’s been doing everything for me since I was left without Greg’s help. Intimate things I don’t like to speak about.”
“This is going to sound intrusive—”
She cut him off. “I know what you’re going to ask. Will can stay here as long as he likes. He treats me with absolute kindness and he’s a pleasure to be with.”
“You have no concerns about him at all?”
“Haven’t I made myself clear? He doesn’t do drugs, or get drunk, or steal from people. He chose his way of life. He’s a good man. I know it.”
“A gentleman of the road?”
“A gentleman through and through.”
AS THEY MOVED off in the car, Ingeborg said, “That was quite some character reference.”
“Sincere?”
“I thought so. I found her persuasive, didn’t you?”
“Actually, I did,” Diamond said without sounding pleased about it. “He’s worked his charm on her and I doubt whether he’ll be sleeping in the barn much longer—if he hasn’t moved in already.”
“That’s unworthy of you, guv.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cynical.”
“Realistic, Inge.”
“I saw no sign of him when I was upstairs.”
He laughed. “Did you look in the other bedrooms? You’re no better than I am. She was reasonably honest, wasn’t she? I believed most of what she said. I think she’d have told us if they were sharing a bed. None of it sounded rehearsed.”
“Not even when she talked about the evening of the attack?”
“Especially that bit.”
“She said he came in at ten. He’d have needed to be supercharged to do the murder and get there for his cocoa in just over half an hour.”
“Agreed, she’s given him an alibi and it would have been watertight if she’d said she saw him at nine fifteen walking the dog across the yard. She didn’t. She gave this elaborate account of him appearing in the kitchen at his usual time and it came over as spontaneous, as if she was picturing it in her mind.”
“You don’t think she’s lying for him?”
“No. She’s on the level. She’s making a huge mistake letting him into her life, but the poor woman hasn’t much choice. Do we agree on that?”
“You still don’t trust him?”
“No, but I trust her and I’m now in two minds about him killing Greg Deans. I’m not forgetting we have his bloodstained clothes from the stabbing at Charmy Down and I’m keeping a mental note that he was present in Bath when Dave Tudor disappeared.”
“Not enough for a prosecution, guv.”
“More’s the pity, no. What did you make of Greg being Romanian?”
“Amazing. Who would have thought it? I can’t wait to look into his past. What was all the secrecy about? Was he an illegal immigrant?”
“Unlikely if he has a passport,” Diamond said. “Romania is in the European Union. And having worked here so long, he’ll have been given settled status.”
“Why hide it from everyone?”
“I’m willing to believe he wanted to identify with the TV people, and no questions asked, as Natalie told us. Like she said, the past was too painful to speak about. Tough times he wanted to forget. Under that dictator with the unpronounceable name—”
“Ceauşescu.”
“Thanks. The secret police were into every corner of society. People guarded their words. There was suffering, starvation and your neighbours ready to inform on you if you put a foot wrong. Who wouldn’t want to put that nightmare behind them?”
“Is it a red herring, then, his nationality?”
“It’s one more thing to check on. I don’t put it higher than that. However . . .”
Ingeborg waited. Diamond seemed to be lost in thoughts of his own.
He said, “I don’t like these narrow lanes. Slow down a bit.”
She eased her foot on the pedal. “I wasn’t even doing twenty, guv.”
He picked up his thread again. “One of the others who went missing had a foreign inflection in his voice.”
“David Tudor. They thought it was his Welsh accent.”
“But someone—Sabine, I believe—told me there was suspicion at one time that Tudor was here illegally. What if he was originally Romanian as well? What if all three missing men came from Romania? What did Greg’s room look like?”
“Soulless. You wouldn’t think he’s lived there for years. It could have been a hotel room.”
“Ready for the next guest.”
She laughed. “Or resident. Do you think Will Legat is ready to exchange his walking boots for carpet slippers?”
“He can hardly wait.”
“I’m worried for Natalie now.”
“He won’t attack her. He’s happy to play the part of her caretaker and have a roof over his head. We can let her enjoy being looked after until he gets on the road again.”
“I hope you’re right, guv. Too soon to hope for news from the lab, I suppose? Have you checked your phone lately?”
He pulled it out, pressed and waited.
“Not switched on?” she asked.
“It needs charging. I’m conserving the power for emergencies.”
“Got you.” But she didn’t sound impressed.
Nothing from the lab. Instead, he found a voice message from Earnshaw, the dive supervisor, asking him to call back. “I’m not looking forward to this one,” Diamond said. “He’ll tell me they finished at the marina and found nothing but scrap.”
He was wrong.
The words were heavy with recrimination. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour and a half. Early this morning we hooked out an item that may be of interest to you. A large suitcase, strapped and heavy.”
He tensed. “Where was it?”
“Right where Deck the Halls is moored.”
With difficulty, he resisted the impulse to yell, What did I tell you?
Earnshaw added, “We haven’t opened it.”
“Don’t,” he said. “That’s a job for forensics and I need to be there. Where is it right now?”
“Here on the jetty. There’s something bulky inside.”
23
INGEBORG IGNORED THE police officer trying to wave their car into the field where everyone had parked. She drove on to where the action was—if action is not an exaggeration. The searchers were still spread across the field progressing slowly forward and the CSI team in the taped-off area were scarcely moving at all. Diamond got out and shouted to Wolfgang.
The small figure in his forensic suit was stooping in the cordoned area. He looked round, straightened up and ambled over. Diamond gave him the news of the find in the marina and said, “Hop aboard our car and we’ll take you there.”
“Please—it’s not as simple as that. If the suitcase has been underwater for any appreciable time, I’m not going to be of much use to you.”
“You’re a crime scene investigator. What’s the problem?”
“For one thing, we don’t know for certain if a crime was committed. And for another the marina isn’t necessarily the scene.”
“Oh, come on, Wolfgang. Give me a break. I simply want to see what’s inside and I need someone like you to make it official.”
“You’re better off getting a forensic pathologist. If there is, indeed, a body, they’ll want to see the remains in situ and then move them to wherever they do their autopsies.”
“I’ll feel an idiot if I call out a pathologist and the case is full of old saucepans.”
“And you won’t feel an idiot with me. Is that what you’re saying? You’re going to need other people anyway. A photographer for a start and possibly a locksmith. You won’t want to force it open.”
“For God’s sake. It’s got straps round. I don’t suppose it’s locked.”
“If I was disposing of a body in a suitcase, I’d lock it and I’m sure you would do the same. How can I impress on you that there are no short cuts, superintendent? You must definitely find the right experts to help you. I don’t mind being there. I can supply a forensic tent. You’re going to have an audience otherwise.”
“All this will take hours to set up.”
“A pathologist usually gets to the scene quite soon. I can’t come until later anyway. I’m making casts of tyre treads. What time is it?”
So much had already happened this morning that Diamond was surprised it was only a few minutes after eleven.
“Use the time to get your head around what’s happening,” Wolfgang said. “You don’t want to lose your grip.”
Diamond could have felt patronised, but the advice was good. He was in shock. The find in the marina called for a rethink. He’d been ready to pull in Will Legat as soon as his guilt was confirmed by a DNA match. But Legat had no conceivable connection with the marina. It was almost impossible that he would dispose of bodies there. The focus switched to the people who lived there: Fergus and Candida.
Wolfgang raised a hand in farewell. “Let me know what you arrange.”
Back in the car, Diamond told Ingeborg through gritted teeth, “Change of plan. This is going to take longer.”
He phoned the only pathologist he could think of and that was the sarcastic Bertram Sealy, who had made his life a misery on several previous cases. The earliest Sealy could manage was two o’clock and that, he said, would be as a favour for a regular customer.
“You can’t make it any sooner?”
“And ruin my lunch?” Sealy said. “The suitcase won’t walk away.”
“I hope not.”
“I assume the divers are already looking for more evidence. They may bring up another while I’m having my Big Mac.”
The thought of a second suitcase hadn’t crossed Diamond’s mind. Another one hidden under the jetty was a real possibility. He settled for two o’clock and went back to tell Wolfgang the decision.
Next, he phoned the incident room and updated Keith Halliwell on the morning’s developments. “It’s almost certain Candida has seen the suitcase on the jetty by now and alerted Fergus. He’ll be on another day’s filming. The way he reacts will be worth knowing. Find out where they are and get someone out there ASAP. I suggest Paul. Tell him to take someone with him and observe from a distance.”
“Don’t you want to collar Fergus?”
“Not yet. His movements will tell us a lot. And I need back-up at the marina. Who do you have?”
“Leaman and Sharp.”
“You have some civilian staff in the office, right? They can hold the fort. I’ll meet you three as soon as you can get here. There’s a pub called the Riverside Inn.”
After he’d ended the call, Ingeborg asked, “Where to, guv?”
“Didn’t you hear? We’ll grab a pint and some lunch and be ready for them.”
AT THE MARINA he went straight to look at the suitcase. Big enough, for sure. It was the kind you see people struggling with at airports. Faded red and part-covered in slime, it stood broadside down on the jetty close to where Candida’s narrowboat was moored. Two leather straps held it together, and there were telltale bulges in the fabric.
“Was it heavy to lift out?” he asked Earnshaw.
“It took two men and a winch.”
“And where was it found—right below where we’re standing?”
“Near enough. Under the front of the second narrowboat. It had to be dug out from the silt. Been there some time, I’d say.”
He thought of Dave Tudor, missing from four years ago. “Has anyone been by?”
“A couple of the boat owners and the woman from the office.”
“Any press people?”
“Not yet.”
“The Deck the Halls lady?”
“A few minutes ago.”
“Did she say anything?”
“No.”
“Or seem surprised?”
“Not that I noticed.”
“Where is she now—inside?”
“I think so.”
Phoning Fergus with the bad news, no doubt.
Diamond informed Earnshaw that the suitcase would be opened at two, when everyone who needed to be there was present. “We’re going to screen off this part of the jetty. We don’t want an audience. Are you continuing the search?”
“Does it look like it?” Earnshaw said. “I gave them a break after they brought up the booty. They earned it.”
“Get them back in the water as soon as possible. We’re dealing with multiple crimes. There could be more suitcases down there. If you need me, I’ll be in the pub.”
“Oh yeah—while we do all the bloody work?”
The man was far too lippy for Diamond’s liking. He felt more in command now. The dive team couldn’t complain they’d been brought here under false pretences. “Any more of that, Earnshaw, and this is the last job you supervise.”
In the pub, he sat with Ingeborg in a window seat after ordering drinks and food for them both.
“So, another twist,” he said before she did. “This is turning into an Agatha Christie.”
“You’re thinking Fergus is our man now?” she said.
“With the help of Candida. She was the lure in the hi-vis and he was the executioner waiting in the field.”
“An hour ago we were ready to arrest Will for three murders. Does this let him off the hook—or are we dealing with two sets of killers working independently?”
“Spare me that, Inge. No, the MO is basically the same each time: the sudden disappearance of someone connected with the show, a knifing and a method of disposing of the body that we haven’t cracked . . . until now.”
“We hope,” she said.
“It was smart, stuffing them into suitcases and sinking them here where the narrowboat is moored.”
She smiled. “Until you brought in the divers. So you’re assuming Candida was an accessory from the start?”
“She must have known what was going on.”
“How do you plan to play this, guv?”
“Largely off the top of my head. Let’s see how Fergus reacts. That should tell us a lot. Will he leave work and rush back here, or play cool and deny everything, or go on the run? Paul is shadowing him.”
“Shall I make sure Candida stays put?”
“Good thinking, yes.”
Their lunch was served, a salad sandwich for Ingeborg, a beef and ale pie for him, with a double helping of chips.
He said after a few seconds to appreciate the first bite, “What you said about being ready to nick Will Legat, I’d rather you didn’t mention it to Keith or the others. Not good for morale, knowing the boss almost screwed up.”
“Understood,” she said, looking at the ceiling.
“You don’t think I’m losing my touch?”
“Why would I think that, guv? It made sense at the time.”
“Be honest with me. Did you ever believe Will was the killer?”
Ingeborg took time to think about her answer. “Maybe it’s the effect he has on people. I haven’t seen as much of him as you have. I know you were suspicious of him from early on. I rather admire him. He makes me smile and it’s difficult to picture him as the man who stabbed Greg Deans. My head said he must be a killer, but my heart felt differently.”
From the window, they saw Jean Sharp drive into the forecourt in her husband’s Volvo. Keith Halliwell and John Leaman were passengers. Diamond would have stood them drinks, he said when they came in, but he was sure they wouldn’t want his pie to get cold. Halliwell was quick to say he needed to update Diamond on Fergus and couldn’t get the drinks in either. Jean had done the driving, which left Leaman to stump up for the round. “Mine is a real ale, John,” Diamond called after him. “I don’t mind which.”
The news of Fergus was that he was at the new film location on the ribbon of steps known as Jacob’s Ladder that lead up Beechen Cliff to Alexandra Park, one of the best viewpoints in Bath. Nothing was allowed to stop the show, not even the demise of the producer. “Paul should be there by now,” Halliwell said. “I’ll get him for you.” And before Diamond could take another mouthful, he was handed the phone.
“Paul? Where exactly are you?”
“About halfway up, guv.”
“I can hear you breathing.”
“It’s steeper than I thought. Stupidly I didn’t start from the top. It was a slog. We had to hurry. But we’ve found the film unit and they’re shooting a chase scene with Swift on the run from the inspector, riding down the steps on her motorbike.”
“Sabine?”
“She’s here for the close-ups, and the stunt double, Ann Bugg, is doing the dangerous stuff.”
“Is Fergus there?”
“Busy with another guy putting down rails for a tracking shot. They’ve got their work cut out. The ground’s so uneven.”
“He can’t leave?”
“No chance in the next half hour.”
“Where are you—out of sight, I hope?”
“With some people who’ve gathered to watch. He’s not aware who we are, I’m sure. I can take a video if you like.”
“Just keep me informed and don’t let him out of sight. He will have heard what’s going on here from Candida. The first chance he gets, he’ll be off. Are there cars there?”
“It’s too steep for that. Sabine is complaining about sitting on the bike even when it isn’t moving.”
“Don’t get distracted. Follow Fergus if he moves off. And take care. He’ll be carrying the knife.”
After the drinks arrived and the pie and chips were eaten, Diamond brought the team up to speed on what to expect at 2 P.M. “The focus is firmly on Fergus and Candida now. We’ll nick them as soon as the suitcase has been opened.”
“There’s the child, guv,” Jean Sharp reminded him.
“Yes, I’ve asked social services to send someone over. If they don’t get here in time, would you take care of Bart until they come?”
“No problem.”
“That’s a phrase I never use,” he said. “Problems have a way of rearing up, especially with kids. It’s how we deal with them that matters.” He heard his own words echo worryingly in his brain. He was dealing with his own problems by assigning duties. Halliwell was to get aboard the Daisy Belle, the boat moored next to Deck the Halls, force the lock and find out what was inside. “Be prepared for horrors, Keith. I have a hunch this is where they store the bodies.”
