DCI Isaac Cook Box Set 2

by Phillip Strang

  ‘It’s been dry cleaned, returned to you,’ Isaac said.

  ‘I know, but it’s not the same. The blood of two dead people has been on it.’

  ‘You’re becoming squeamish.’

  ‘Maybe, but we were there when they were shot. If we’d been in the line of fire, it would have been us that day.’

  ‘Now’s not the time to indulge in retrospection. We’ve got a man out there that we need to find, and fast. Discount Howard Adamant for now, and besides, he’s a young man about town, he’ll have no trouble finding female companionship.’

  ‘No need of Gwendoline,’ Wendy said.

  ‘Focus on the more likely candidates.’

  ‘I’ve always found Mrs Aberman’s second husband to be a little strange.’

  ‘Is it possible?’ Isaac said.

  ‘Everyone seems to tie into everyone else. Aberman and Adamant were interconnected. Maybe her second husband is as well.’

  ‘What about Slater?’

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘It was a difficult shot. Could there be more than one murderer?’

  ‘We’ve got Ugly Pete and Gus for Aberman’s death. Nobody for Slater’s but neither Ugly Pete nor Gus has any history with guns,’ Larry said.

  ‘We’ve always said the murders of Helen Langdon and James Holden were professional. What do we have on Archie Adamant? Any history of military training, any experience with weapons?’ Isaac said.

  The team dispersed. Isaac and Larry left to go and visit Archie Adamant, Wendy to check on Gwendoline, to see if she remembered anything more.

  Adamant was not pleased to see the two police officers. He was in his office at the house. He was a sombre man, devoid of any humour. His half-brother took life as it came, made plenty of money and enjoyed himself. Archie looked as if enjoyment was alien to him.

  ‘Is this important?’ Archie said. He was sitting down, aiming to look relaxed, not achieving it.

  Isaac sniffed the air – nothing. He liked to splash on aftershave, especially if he had a date, but it had been a few weeks since his last one. The woman had seemed pleasant, but on the night of the date she found out that he appreciated a good steak and a glass of wine, whereas she was vegetarian and drank a glass of water. The evening had ended badly, although she had phoned up afterwards to apologise, agreeing that maybe she had been a little sensitive. Isaac knew there would not be a next time.

  ‘Mr Adamant, are you in the habit of visiting prostitutes?’ Isaac said.

  ‘How dare you come in here and accuse me of such a thing.’

  ‘We’ll need to conduct a search of your house. A warrant is being prepared.’

  Larry sat quietly and watched his DCI bait the man. A search warrant for the man’s house was not in preparation, and even if it were, it would be up to Homicide to show just reason for it to be issued.

  ‘Yesterday a man paid for the services of a prostitute. That man was also with her in the room opposite to Helen Langdon and James Holden when they were murdered. You, Mr Adamant, fit the description of that man. How are you with weapons? Have you had any training? Will we find any firearms at your house?’

  ‘I’m proficient with firearms. However, I’ve not visited a prostitute.’

  ‘You’re not married,’ Larry said.

  ‘What’s that got to do with it? Adamant took stock of what he was saying. He did not want the police searching his house with a warrant, concerned that a closer inspection into his business dealings would be detrimental. ‘Okay, bring a team to the house. Check what you want and do it now.’

  Larry did not need to call for a team. He was more than capable of conducting a detailed search. He checked the bathrooms of the house, the bedrooms, even Howard’s. After thirty minutes he returned. ‘All clear,’ he said.

  Isaac was in the other room talking to Howard, Archie’s younger brother. ‘I’ll let Archie know,’ Howard said.

  Larry noticed that Howard had smartened himself up and he had shaved. ‘I’ve an appointment with a bank,’ Howard said. ‘I’ve already told DCI Cook. I’ve been offered a contract to write an anti-hacking program for them.’

  ‘Your expertise?’

  ‘If you can hack as well as I can, you can also put in place the safeguards. It’s big money for me. I may even move out of here, buy my own place.’

  ‘This house is magnificent,’ Isaac said.

  ‘It’s time to go. Archie can be a pain in the rear end, and Abigail, she turns her nose up when I bring a woman back with me.’

  ‘She seems broadminded.’

  ‘She is, but she disapproves that it’s always a different one.’

  ‘What’s the problem with Archie?’ Isaac asked.

  ‘He had a touch of the prostate, can’t get it up.’

  ‘Incapable of maintaining an erection?’

  ‘That’s why he’s grumpy. The man’s in his forties, at his peak, and he’s finished. All he’s got is his work and a miserable attitude. Me, I’m at my best. Plenty of money, plenty of women.’

  Isaac and Larry knew that if Archie could not consummate a sexual relationship, then he was not guilty of murdering Helen Langdon and James Holden. Gwendoline had made it clear that the man she had been with had had sexual intercourse with her.

  ***

  Barry Knox sat in the office at Dixey’s. It was two in the afternoon, and the place was quiet, apart from a cleaner out the front sweeping the floor and another polishing the pole in the centre of the stage. Behind the bar, the barman checked everything was ready, placing last-minute orders to the alcohol supplier. Around the back, in the dressing room, none of the women were present; most wouldn’t be in the club until after seven in the evening.

  Isaac and Larry walked through the club. The new doorman did not need to check their identification; he knew them on sight. They knew him, as well, having already checked him out back at the police station. Doug Maybury had served two years for the violent beating of a man, and for extortion.

  ‘Not again,’ Knox said when Isaac and Larry entered his office. ‘I’m innocent of any crime. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was victimisation.’

  ‘It’s not. Mr Knox, how are you with weapons?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Can you fire a gun?’

  ‘I was in the army, corporal. I know how to shoot. Does that make me a murderer? If it does, there are plenty of others with weapons training.’

  ‘We’re not interested in any others, only you. Did you visit a prostitute by the name of Gwendoline last night?’

  ‘Why would I? This place is awash with willing females.’

  ‘You told us last time that you’d upgraded the women, and they weren’t available, not even to you.’

  ‘Even so, a prostitute. Look at me, a man in the prime of life. Why would I go paying a woman for something I can get for free?’

  ‘Can you?’ Isaac said. ‘There’s not many women who’d like the manager of a strip club, let alone a murderer.’

  ‘Are you accusing me?’

  ‘Slater and his receptionist.’

  ‘What about them?’ Knox said. Both of the police officers looked for signs of nervousness in the man.

  ‘Can I use your toilet?’ Larry said.

  ‘There’s one out in the club.’

  ‘There’s one in here.’

  ‘It’s not working, doesn’t flush properly.’

  Larry ignored the man and opened the door to Knox’s private bathroom. Inside he found a shower, a sink, and a toilet. He opened the cabinet above the sink. He then returned to where Isaac and Knox were. ‘How long have you been using aftershave?’ he said.

  ‘Not often. Supposedly the one you saw in there is full of pheromones, drives the women wild.’

  ‘Does it?’

  ‘It’s just advertising.’

  ‘The man who used the services of a prostitute last night – the woman was a friend of Daisy, a flatmate of another murdered woman, and she remembers the
smell of your aftershave. You were also with her on the night Helen Langdon and James Holden were murdered. Mr Knox, I put it to you that you are the murderer of Helen Langdon, James Holden, Daisy and another prostitute.’

  ‘I’ve killed no one. I’m innocent,’ Knox protested.

  ‘Who paid you? Was it Archie Adamant? We know his father was involved with this club. We know that Aberman was killed on his instruction. Are you willing to go to jail without telling us the truth? Adamant, we can’t pin anything on him. We need your testimony.’

  Isaac knew that Homicide had enough to arrest Knox, not enough to ensure a conviction. Geraldine would prove to be an unreliable witness, and the smell of an aftershave that was not difficult to purchase would not convict the man.

  ‘Mr Knox, with your testimony, we will arrest Archie Adamant.’

  ‘He’s not the father.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Gerald Adamant, there was a real bastard, fooled everyone, even me.’

  ‘Was he the person who gave the instruction for Aberman to be killed by Ugly Pete?’

  ‘Gus told me. Adamant was a secretive man. Aberman, he’s got the dirt on him, using it as leverage against the money owing. I didn’t know, not for a long time, and then Gus, he’s in a strange mood, wants to talk.’

  ‘He told you?’

  ‘He told me about that night. He and Ugly Pete had worked Ben Aberman over, Ugly Pete cranking the handle of the generator. Gus, he can be soft sometimes. He goes into the other room, disturbed by the smell of the burning flesh, Aberman arching off the chair. Five minutes later, Ugly Pete comes out and tells him it’s all over.’

  ‘What’s all over?’

  ‘Aberman, he’s signed all the documents. Gus checks on the man. He’s tied to the chair, his head flopped forward. Gus walks around to the front, sees the bullet hole.’

  ‘A gun would have made a noise.’

  ‘It had a silencer.’

  ‘He would have heard something.’

  ‘Gus’s hearing is not great. He may not have heard.’

  ‘Gus has admitted to burying Aberman. Why are you telling us?’ Isaac said.

  ‘I’m protecting myself. Gerald Adamant was the man behind the scenes. He was more dangerous than anyone else. A man devoid of any emotion, other than self-aggrandisement. What people thought of him was all-important.’

  ‘And his son, Archie?’

  ‘I’ll not testify against him.’

  ‘In that case, you’ll go to jail for the murders of six people.’

  ‘You can’t prove it,’ Knox said. Isaac and Larry could see that the man was rattled. Isaac knew that if he played Knox off against Adamant, one of them would break.

  ‘Mr Knox, I’m arresting you for the murders of Helen Langdon and James Holden.’

  ‘I’ve got a club to run. I don’t have time for this.’

  ‘Your doorman, he can deal with it. Larry, get the crime scene examiners over here and at Knox’s home. You can check as well, see if you can find any weapons. Mr Knox shot Slater and his receptionist, also Daisy and Gwendoline’s flatmate. We need the weapon.’

  Chapter 27

  Barry Knox lived better than Larry had expected. He had a three-bedroom flat on the other side of the River Thames, in Greenwich, not far from the Greenwich Meridian, the line of zero degrees longitude.

  Gordon Windsor’s crime scene examiners were already on the site. The CSEs focussed on any evidence that would tie in Knox to any of the murder sites. Difficult, considering that very little had been found at any of them, bar the occasional hair, the lint from a piece of fabric. With the CSEs in one room, Larry moved carefully around the flat. There was no sign of a woman being resident, although the place was tidy. Realising that the CSEs would focus on the more obvious, Larry looked for hidden areas, loose tiles, a floorboard that creaked. After thirty minutes he hadn’t found anything. He was preparing to leave when above him, just close to the front door, he saw an area of fresh paint. He called over Grant Meston, Windsor’s deputy. ‘What do you reckon to this?’ Larry said.

  Meston took a step ladder the team had brought with them. He climbed the three steps and tapped on the area. ‘It sounds hollow,’ he said.

  Larry phoned Isaac. ‘Keep Knox on ice. We need fifteen minutes.’

  Meston took photos of the area before carefully using a sharp knife to find a crack. ‘Here it is,’ he said. Gingerly, he continued until he had removed a small square of plasterboard. Inside, a cavity with a package wedged in tight.

  More photos and then the package was removed. It was placed on the table in the kitchen and slowly unwrapped. Inside was a gun with a silencer. ‘It’s the correct calibre, Glock 17, 9 mm,’ Meston said.

  ‘Can you confirm it’s the murder weapon?’

  ‘Not here. It’ll need Forensics.’

  Larry phoned Isaac once again. ‘We’ve found a weapon. Forensics will check it out.’

  Isaac turned to Knox who was waiting for his lawyer to arrive. ‘Detective Inspector Hill has found a gun at your flat.’

  ‘It’s for protection.’

  ‘Hidden behind a painted area in your flat? It’ll be a couple of hours before Forensics confirms it as a murder weapon, long enough for your lawyer to try and save your arse.’

  ***

  Archie Adamant was panicking. The doorman he had installed at Dixey’s after Gus’s arrest had phoned him: Barry Knox was in police custody, charged with murder.

  Archie knew he did not have his father’s natural ways with people and most had found him to be rude and boorish. However, he did have an innate ability to survive. He visited his sister in her part of the substantial home. ‘Helen murdered our father. I found out some months ago.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘She had told Holden. He told me.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I knew the man. He thought I was the same as my father, full of magnanimity.’

  ‘But why would she tell Holden? She had convinced everyone of her innocence.’

  ‘According to Holden, she was in love. She did not want her present jeopardised by lying to the man.’

  ‘But why did he tell you?’

  ‘He thought he could trust me. He had trusted our father.’

  ‘Holden was a naïve man. Did you kill him?’ Abigail asked.

  ‘Do you think I’m capable?’

  ‘Capable enough to find someone to do it for you.’

  ‘She murdered our father,’ Archie said.

  ‘Our father was becoming old and irrational. He could have written us out of his will at any time. Does Howard know about Helen?’

  ‘What does he matter? He’s only the spawn of that gold-digging woman that our father married.’

  ‘And Slater, what about him? What did he know?’

  ‘He knew too much for too long.’

  ‘Did you kill him? You’re a good shot.’

  ‘You know the Adamant motto,’ Archie said.

  ‘Unwritten, but our father taught us well: get others to do your dirty work, and for you, an Adamant, to bask in the glory of piety.’

  ‘They’ve arrested Barry Knox, the manager at Dixey’s.’

  ‘Did he kill Helen?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘On your authority?’

  ‘I had no option. If Holden knew the truth, so would others. Helen was committed to telling all, and with it would come the checking, and questions about why she had killed our father. I had to do what was necessary.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘I’m leaving the country. Knox knows too much, and he’ll talk. I’ve arranged a private plane. Do you want to come?’

  ‘I’ve not done anything wrong.’

  Ten minutes later, Archie Adamant attempted to pull out of the driveway, only to find it blocked by two police cars. Quickly, he was bundled into one of the vehicles, his hands cuffed.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Adamant said.

  ‘Challis Street Police Station. Dete
ctive Chief Inspector Isaac Cook has some questions for you.’

  A plane waited at a nearby airport for a passenger who would never come.

  ***

  Archie Adamant did not enjoy the trip to Challis Street Police Station, that was plain to see on his arrival. ‘You’ll regret this,’ he said to Isaac when they met.

  ‘Mr Adamant, we needed to act with urgency. Certain information has come into our possession which identifies you as a person of interest.’ Isaac felt no need to say any more. Adamant had a Queen’s Counsel coming to the office to represent him. Barry Knox, without the financial resources of the other man, had only a local lawyer.

  In the first interview room sat Barry Knox; in the second, Archie Adamant. Outside, in the police station’s reception area, were Abigail and Howard Adamant. ‘You can’t believe our brother is guilty of such crimes,’ Abigail said.

  ‘The proof is there. We can prove who killed Helen and James Holden, also the flatmate of one of the prostitutes. They link back to your brother. It’s up to him to convince us otherwise.’

  Barry Knox waited impatiently. He regretted hiding the gun in his flat, realising that he should have dumped it in the river not far from where he lived. He had always been reluctant to throw anything away, including old magazines and old newspapers, and now it was going to haunt him.

  Isaac and Larry entered Interview Room 1. Across from them, Barry Knox and his lawyer. Isaac informed Knox of his rights, the procedure that would be followed during the interview. Knox nodded his head weakly; his lawyer too. Neither of the two police officers believed the lawyer would be able to achieve much.

  ‘Mr Knox, the weapon discovered hidden in your flat has been positively identified as being used to kill Helen Langdon and James Holden. It has also been used to kill another woman.’

  ‘I didn’t kill anyone,’ Knox said.

  ‘The weapon’s in your flat. It’s hidden in a cavity in the wall, and the area concealed and painted over.’