DCI Isaac Cook Box Set 2

by Phillip Strang

  Yolanda had raised objections when Ralph had insisted that the 6 p.m. get-together at his sister’s house was necessary and she wasn’t invited. The police were to be there, and there was to be an update on his father’s murderer. If his father was proven to be insane, then the man’s will could be challenged, and if Leonard Dundas had been involved in the murder, it would be another plus for his and Caroline’s case.

  Chapter 24

  At Caroline’s, the front door was open. Inside, the assembled cast. On one chair, Molly Dempster sat. Wendy had brought her along and was seated nearby. Isaac could see that Wendy was the mother duck and she wasn’t going to let anyone upset her duckling. Isaac preferred raw emotions to be the order of the night, and his sergeant close to one of those assembled could be a problem.

  Caroline sat with her husband, Desmond. On the table in the centre of the room, a bottle of red wine, sandwiches, sausage rolls. Larry was hungry. He had had a busy day with Inspector Matson out at Greenwich, going through the case against Gary Frost, checking CCTV to see if Ralph had been in the area, also the man with only one functional kneecap, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Too many people in the area, too many cars, and no clear idea of dates and times. Emily Matson had been interested when told about the gambling club owner, and she was making enquiries overseas. Larry had been more interested in recent cases pertaining to Ralph Lawrence, possibly Gilbert, but drawing blanks.

  Ralph sat on another chair. Isaac could see that his condition had improved. Apart from slight bruising on his face, and the fact that he was squirming to get comfortable, he looked almost back to normal.

  ‘Thanks for coming tonight,’ Isaac said.

  ‘It wasn’t far for us,’ Desmond said.

  ‘It was either here or at Challis Street,’ Isaac reminded him.

  Isaac felt trepidation about what he was doing, realising that the emotions of those in the room would be challenged, but it was a murder enquiry, and those closest to the dead man had skeletons, and skeletons cause conflict, subterfuge, concealment. Someone in the room may know something hitherto unrevealed. He needed the raised and raw emotions, he needed people to open up.

  ‘This is what we have,’ Isaac said. ‘Ralph is involved with a villain by the name of Gary Frost. Neither will admit to it, but it was Frost who put Ralph in hospital. He would have used two thugs named Ainsley Caxton and Hector O’Grady. We’ve been to see Frost, and we and the local police where Frost lives are following up on a few cases of violence meted out to those who get on the man’s wrong side. We’ve found no connection between Frost and Gilbert Lawrence’s death, and we don’t think we will. Lawrence was killed with a degree of finesse. Frost’s thugs are slash and burn, and none too subtle. Ralph has got off lightly, just a savage beating, although the marks on his wrist indicated that he was bound, and we don’t believe his story that he fell off a roof.’ Ralph sat quietly and said nothing, not even making eye contact with Isaac.

  ***

  Molly Dempster sat in her chair; she was not looking up, not drinking from the cup of tea placed in front of her. Wendy could only imagine what was going through her mind, the reality of what she was about to tell the people in the room. Isaac and Wendy knew, had checked DNA with Forensics. What Molly had said was true, she was Ralph’s mother, and now her son was sitting on one side of the room, she on the other. The young boy that she had raised with Dorothy, spent more time with than the woman who had disappeared all those years ago – tonight the grown man would find out the truth.

  ‘Caroline is in contact with Jill Dundas, a woman she doesn’t trust, neither do we totally,’ Isaac said. ‘Now, we’re not accusing her of murder, but the bequeathment by Gilbert is not usual. Whatever Jill Dundas and her father came up with, they’ve certainly done best out of the man’s death. It may be what Gilbert wanted, it may not, but neither Caroline nor Ralph has the full picture. We’ve had people checking, and it’s not that easy to know exactly what Gilbert Lawrence’s wealth is, only that it is appreciable. We’ve also called on our overseas colleagues to do some checking. Caroline’s received five million, her two children a million each. Not bad for most people, but Caroline and Ralph were expecting hundreds of millions. Am I correct?’ Ralph and Caroline nodded in the affirmative.

  ‘I’d have stayed in Spain if I’d known that I was going to be cheated,’ Ralph said, the first words of any consequence he had uttered since entering his sister’s house.

  ‘Not likely,’ Isaac said. ‘You were deported, lucky that we were in contact with the authorities down there.’

  ‘I would have come to an arrangement. A few pesetas here and there, problems disappear quickly.’

  ‘It’s euros now,’ Isaac said. Wendy was keeping quiet, so was Larry. Their DCI was on a roll, he wouldn’t appreciate their chipping in with a few comments, not that they had any. Wendy felt sorry for Molly, knowing that Ralph, her son, was a man of little worth, but then the old woman had admitted that Ralph’s behaviour was only like her father and her grandfather, decent men but dreamers, always taking a chance when the odds were against them.

  ‘Euros, pesetas, I’d still be back there.’

  ‘You would still have had Frost to deal with.’

  ‘I could have paid him off.’

  ‘You’ve heard about Samuels and Dubai, the two Russian women?’

  ‘Who hasn’t? It’s folklore out on the street. And besides, it was Belgium, a couple of streetwalkers, and it wasn’t a Mercedes, it was an old Peugeot. Doesn’t sound so romantic, though, that’s why Frost embellished the truth, made him sound more important, more dangerous.’

  ‘Are you admitting to your involvement with Frost?’

  ‘Okay, I borrowed some money, but it was a roof that I fell off. With my father’s money, I was hoping to buy somewhere in England, settle down with Yolanda, even find a place for Michael.’

  Isaac had an admission that Ralph had borrowed money from Frost, the first time the man had spoken the truth. ‘We’ll bring Frost in at some stage. We’ll not linger on your denials for now. Caroline, you met with Jill Dundas in the West End, correct?’

  ‘There’s no harm in that,’ Caroline, on the defensive, said.

  ‘Unusual, considering that you’ve been disparaging of her in the past.’

  ‘You’ve not heard me say anything, have you?’

  ‘We keep our ears to the ground. Jill Dundas controls all of your fortunes. She’s one woman, what if anything happens to her?’

  ‘We’re lost. We need her alive, even if we don’t trust her. Nobody in her office knows where everything is.’

  ‘You’ve tried bribing some of them?’

  ‘No. One of them came to us, offered to help for a cost.’

  ‘And what did you do?’

  ‘Nothing at this time, and besides, what would a junior know? Leonard Dundas was a smart man, the same as our father. He’d not leave loose pieces of paper around. Even if this junior could help, it would be limited. Jill Dundas is the key. That’s why I was at the Savoy, afternoon tea, very expensive, but she was paying.’

  ‘What was said?’

  ‘She’s frightened, interested in making a deal.’

  ‘Frightened?’

  ‘You’d better talk to her.’

  ‘We’re here talking to you. What’s she frightened of?’

  ‘What do you think? Ralph’s half-killed, and he only owes a million and a bit. Jill’s controlling hundreds of millions, and she can lay her hands on twenty, maybe thirty without any difficulty, and she’s not a brave woman. She admitted to me that she’s scared, and I don’t blame her. If Ralph weren’t such a fool, we’d all feel a lot safer, even Desmond and I.’

  ‘You’re right to be scared,’ Isaac said.

  ‘Can’t you arrest them?’ Desmond said.

  ‘No proof. No one’s talking, not even Ralph, not even the man they kneecapped. Caroline, you’ve fared well enough with your father’s death. Could you have killed your fathe
r?’

  ‘Not me. I still loved him, even though we hadn’t spoken for many years, and I didn’t need the money.’

  ‘But what if you had known about your mother?’

  ‘I don’t think I would have done anything, other to have taken down that door that was always bolted with a sledgehammer, and to make my father tell me the truth. Did he kill her? It could have been one of her episodes. She could have slipped, fallen down the stairs. He could have been frightened of what would be said, confidence could have fallen in his empire, his line of credit could have dried up. Even if it was an accident, mud sticks, you must know that.’

  Isaac knew, but he wasn’t about to elaborate on his involvement with a Swedish au pair when he was younger who turned out to be a serial killer, or how, when DCI Caddick had temporarily occupied Isaac’s seat in Homicide, the man had laid all the department’s ills on the previous incumbent. It took the best part of a year after the man had left for Isaac to overcome the negativity and the aspersions made by Caddick. Even now there were still some who believed that Caddick was a competent police officer, and Isaac was just smoke and mirrors, a good-looking charmer with a mild Jamaican lilt in his voice.

  ‘Let’s recap,’ Isaac said. ‘Ralph was beaten half to death by Caxton and O’Grady on Frost’s orders, a warning to pay up, deal us in on your father’s fortune, or else. Caroline’s talking to Jill Dundas, finds her more willing, probably willing to deal Ralph out. And that’s because she’s scared that those who beat Ralph may come for her, string her up, apply lighted cigarettes to her, and God knows what else until she opens the safe, hands over the account numbers, gives the passwords. Frost would only need a laptop and an internet connection, and he could bleed her for millions, maybe even arrange an accident in the River Thames afterwards, swimming lessons with weights. Caroline, Desmond, he could even go for you. If I were you two, and Jill Dundas, I’d be working on Ralph, get him to talk. He’s scared enough, and if we go near Frost, bring him into the station and charge him, we can’t make it stick, and he’ll grab Ralph wherever he is. Quite frankly, I don’t have much hope for him. He’s a weak specimen of manhood, and I can’t blame his father for being critical.’

  ‘You can’t talk to me like that,’ Ralph said.

  ‘Why not? You’ve not got long to live. How are you with swimming? Or maybe they’ll string you up, take your manhood with a sharp knife. Not a pretty sight, and we’ve seen it before. What will Yolanda say, how about Michael? I’m not sure your sister will care much.’

  Wendy could see that Isaac was pushing, probably harder than he should. The line between police questioning and harassment was clouded in grey, and Isaac was feeding the man, wanting him to agree, rather than let him volunteer it.

  ‘Stop,’ Molly said. The first word that she had said all evening. ‘I need to tell the truth.’

  Caroline looked over at Molly, expecting her to say that she had killed her father, not wanting to believe it was possible. After all, this was Molly, the one constant in her and her brother’s lives, the one person they could always turn to, never to receive an admonishment, only a willing ear and sound advice. It had been Molly she had gone to when her first boyfriend had dumped her, on her birthday even, and the first person she had told when she had met Desmond, and how they had made love on their first date, and now the woman was on her feet and wanting to confess. Caroline couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to.

  ‘Are you sure, Miss Dempster? I could do it for you,’ Isaac said.

  ‘It’s my responsibility. It’s been a secret for too long, but with Gilbert’s death and Ralph’s condition, I must speak now. It is not something I want to take to the grave. I want to go with a clear conscience and to be judged with respect, not derision. Caroline,’ Molly said, looking over at the woman, ‘I have loved you as if you were my daughter, you must know that.’

  ‘I do, and we have always loved you,’ Caroline replied, not sure what was coming next.

  ‘When you were young, your father and mother were desperate for a son. Of course, you were too young to realise this. Your mother had had a difficult birth with you. She couldn’t have any more children.’

  ‘But she had Ralph.’

  ‘She did not. Her name is on his birth certificate, as is his father’s, but Dorothy, your mother, did not carry him for nine months and give birth to him in a private hospital in the north of England. Your mother was there, she was the first to see him.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ Ralph said. He was no longer looking down, attempting to sit comfortably and not exacerbate the pain he still felt in his chest. ‘Caroline is not my sister, I’m not a Lawrence?’

  ‘Ralph, dear Ralph, you can’t remember suckling at my breast, can you? You are a Lawrence, Gilbert was your father.’

  ‘That’s proven,’ Isaac said.

  Molly shifted on her feet, her knees buckling as she spoke. Wendy stood up and put an arm around her, only to have it pushed away. ‘Sorry, I must do this now, and on my own.’

  ‘Who is the mother?’ Caroline said. She was not sure what to think. Ralph, troublesome as a child, disreputable as an adult, had always been there. They had a bond, a bond that couldn’t be broken, and now Molly was on her feet and telling them that she and Ralph were not related.

  Molly calmed herself, took hold of the arm of the chair where she had been sitting. ‘I loved your parents, both equally. Dorothy was like a sister to me, and Gilbert was the kindest, most gentle man that anyone could imagine. They were so much in love, and I was happy for them. They were my life, as you and Ralph were. I would do anything for them, even bear the son that they so desperately wanted. It was my gift, my honour.’

  ‘It can’t be,’ Ralph said. He looked over at Caroline, could see the horror on her face, the bewilderment, as if it were a movie, not real life.

  ‘I loved Gilbert as much as I loved Dorothy. Dorothy told me if she wasn’t around, that I was to be with Gilbert, but we never had an affair, although Ralph thought we might have had when he was younger. But then he was young and pubescent. His mind was not in his head but somewhere else. Ralph, do you remember me looking the other way when you brought a young girl home with you, telling you to be careful?’

  ‘But how? If you’re my mother, can it be proven?’

  ‘It has been,’ Isaac said. ‘We’ve taken a blood sample from you, saliva from Miss Dempster, and we already had Gilbert Lawrence’s DNA. There is no doubt that you are the son of Gilbert Lawrence and Molly Dempster.’

  ‘Don’t you see? I did it out of love.’

  ‘But how?’ Caroline said.

  ‘It was a natural conception. I only slept with your father to become pregnant. Apart from that, we never slept together before or after. If Dorothy hadn’t been there, then maybe, but my act of love, our lovemaking, was for the purest intent. Surely you must understand. You and Ralph are brother and sister, and Gilbert is the father of both of you. It was Dorothy who was Ralph’s mother.’

  Caroline went over and placed her arms around Molly, tears streaming down her face. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  Ralph did not move. ‘It makes sense now, doesn’t it? I always sensed something, I never knew what.’ He then raised himself from his chair and went and hugged his mother. Wendy was in tears, Isaac wasn’t sure what to feel, Larry was mute, and Desmond Dickson sat in his chair, shaking his head.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Isaac said when everyone had calmed down. ‘To solve the murder of Gilbert Lawrence, we need openness. The secret you’ve just heard had to be told, either now or later. Emotions are frayed, and no doubt you will need to discuss what has been said here tonight. It still doesn’t bring us any closer to solving the crime, though.’

  ‘I’m not sure what to think,’ Ralph said. ‘On the one hand, I’m pleased to know the truth, on the other I’m confused. Molly, or should it be Mother, has always been special to all of us, but what she has said brings in another dimension.’

  ‘Your mother’s a target if
this gets out,’ Caroline said.

  ‘Very well, I will give DCI Cook a full and open statement as to who and what Gary Frost is. The police, in turn, must ensure the safety of my mother and Caroline and her family, also Michael and Yolanda.’

  ‘We will,’ Isaac said, although he knew they were dealing with a man who gave little credence to the police and the law.

  Chapter 25

  Bridget Halloran, an inveterate computer junkie, was pleased with herself. She loved nothing better than surfing the internet, both in her spare time, although there wasn’t much of that at present, and at work in Homicide, diving deep into police databases, or scouring for information about places and people and procedures. Now she had hit the jackpot.

  ‘It’s your show,’ Isaac said in his office. It was late afternoon. Larry had been hoping for an early night; there was a school play, his eldest had two lines to say, and his wife was adamant that he had to be there to show support for the family.

  ‘I’ve passed on the information to Larry’s contact out at Greenwich,’ Bridget said. It was not usual for her to be so excited.

  ‘Belgium?’ Larry said, the primary area of interest for Inspector Emily Matson at the police station in Greenwich, as well as his. If Frost could be linked to an actual crime, something that could be proved with a chance of a conviction, then so much the better.

  Ralph Lawrence had given a full account of Gary Frost, his two henchmen, and how he had been trussed up like a Christmas turkey while Caxton and O’Grady had worked him over. Also, how the money was sent to his account overseas, the interest payments, what would happen if payment was not received on time or if he tried to cheat. He had recounted how Frost had bragged that the police were irritants, no more annoying than a mosquito of a summer’s night, and how he had contacts in the right places.