A Grave Death

by Wendy Cartmell

  Anyway, back to his current situation. With Paul out of the way, that left the two children, Maggie and Reece. His cousins. They now held all the aces. But that was okay. If he got a third of the company with them, well that was fine. After all he wasn’t a greedy man. And it would be lovely to have a family, a brother and sister as it were. Well, okay, they were cousins, but he was sure they’d be as close knit with him as their parents had been with their siblings. It was only fitting that he should come out of all of this with a family who cared about him and who would make sure he had enough money for the rest of his life. Maybe he’d even get a job at Dean Engineering? Wouldn’t that be something. An outlet for his successful sales side. With other people to do the administration and paperwork, he’d excel. He knew it. He could feel it in his bones. He already had plans and ideas for future products that Dean Engineering could invest in. His dreams of his own office, staff and as much money as he needed were within his grasp. Then he would be able to realise his full potential. No longer would anyone refer to Brian as, ‘that loser’. He’d be, ‘that rich bloke from Dean Engineering’ instead.

  And he could move. Buy a big house! Provide Judith and the kids with a house they deserved to live in, not their crummy ex-local authority house, which was all they’d been able to afford to buy. And anyway, he was close to losing the house as he hadn’t made a mortgage payment for three months and there was no money in their bank account and the credit cards were maxed out. He idly wondered what would happen to Paul Dean’s house once he was in prison. Perhaps they could move in there? What a good idea! No sense in leaving a perfectly good house to rot while Dean was in prison, potentially for the rest of his life.

  Pushing his current financial difficulties to one side, he needed to plan his next steps. Once Paul was found guilty, all he had to do was to initiate a meeting with Maggie and Reece Dean. He’d introduce himself, show them his birth certificate and that of his mother and then they wouldn’t be able to cheat him out of his inheritance any longer.

  It was kismet. Fate. Call it what you will. It was his destiny. His time had come.

  ‘Judith!’ he shouted to his wife who was in the kitchen. ‘Any chance of a cup of tea?’ He would have preferred a cold beer to celebrate with, but there were no cans in the fridge and no money to buy any with. So a cup of tea would have to do, but he promised himself a bottle of good champagne once everything was resolved.

  The doorbell rang, interrupting his happy introspection.

  ‘Oh, and answer that, will you?’ he shouted as he relaxed back in his chair and put his feet up on the pouffe. ‘I’m a bit busy in here.’

  60

  Brian

  ‘Brian?’ Judith’s head appeared around the door to the lounge. ‘Um, there’s someone here to see you.’

  Brian sighed. She sounded like a little grey mouse and looked like one as well. She’d have to do something with her appearance when he was welcomed into Dean Engineering. He couldn’t have a timid little thing like her on his arm, now could he?

  ‘What’s the matter now, Judith? Who’s here?’

  ‘It’s,’ Judith turned her head, presumably to look at who ever was behind her. Then turning back she hissed at him, ‘It’s the police, Brian!’

  ‘Police? What on earth do they want?’

  ‘They won’t tell me, they want to speak to you. I told them you were busy, but they insisted.’

  Brian had to quickly decide what to do. His eyes flicked to the windows, but they were locked, and he wouldn’t have time to unlock them and still get away. He clearly couldn’t go out of the lounge door and there weren’t any other doors or windows in the room. Escape was out of the question, so he’d just have to brazen it out.

  ‘Well show them in, silly,’ he said.

  He wasn’t sure whether to stand and greet them but decided on the laid back approach so stayed in his armchair.

  Two men strode into the room, once Judith was out of their way. As they loomed over him and introduced themselves, Brian wished he’d been standing, as immediately he felt at a disadvantage. Still there was nothing to do about it now.

  ‘Hello,’ he said, trying for a disinterested voice. ‘Please, take a seat,’ and he indicated the settee.

  The older one sat, but the younger one stayed standing near the door, as if covering Brian’s escape route. A bit like a footballer defending his goal, Brian thought, then giggled at the picture that formed in his mind of the policeman with large goalie gloves on.

  ‘I’m DI Anderson and my colleague here is Sgt Major Crane. Is there something amusing you, sir? Because I can assure you that our business here is deadly serious,’ the older one said.

  Brian realised he’d laughed out loud. He’d have to be careful. He didn’t want to give the wrong impression. Whatever that might be. He sighed, this time inwardly. ‘No, of course not. What can I do for you?’

  ‘We’re investigating the deaths of two local business persons and your name came up.’

  ‘Really?’ Brian tried for feigned surprise. ‘How can that be possible? I assure you I don’t move in those exalted circles.’

  ‘Exalted circles?’ questioned the younger one. Already Brian had forgotten their names. ‘What exalted circles are those? I’ve not told you who we’re talking about yet, sir.’

  ‘What? Well, I just presumed, you know…’

  ‘I’m not sure I do,’ said the older one. ‘We’re talking about the deaths of two directors of Dean Engineering.’

  Brian’s stomach sank. Bloody hell. What did these two know?

  ‘Dean Engineering?’ Brian tried for puzzlement.

  ‘Yes, Kevin Dean and his sister Jill Dean.’

  ‘No, sorry, it’s not ringing any bells.’

  ‘Really? Not even any professional ones?’

  ‘Professional? I’m not sure I follow.’

  Brian glanced at the door, but found Crane wasn’t there. When did that happen? Where had he gone? He’d been concentrating on the older one and the awkward questions he was asking. He’d have to be quicker, more focused, less frightened.

  ‘I understand you have an employment agency?’

  Shit! How on earth had they found that out. ‘Where’s your colleague gone?’

  ‘Never mind that now. I was asking about your company. You know, the one that dealt with Dean Engineering.’

  ‘Really? Did I? I really can’t remember. Shouldn’t your partner be in here. I hope he’s not performing an illegal search.’ Brian wasn’t at all sure what constituted an illegal search, but it had sounded good on the US crime dramas he watched occasionally.

  ‘No, of course not. He’s helping your wife with the tea.’

  ‘Tea?’ Brian felt faint. How long were these two planning on staying?

  ‘Yes, she said she was just making you one and wondered if we wanted one as well.’

  Bloody hell, he’d have to stop Judith doing such stupid things in future.

  ‘Anyway, as I was saying, you dealt with Dean Engineering.’

  ‘I’m afraid it doesn’t ring any bells. Anyway, the company is in the process of folding. Closing its doors. Not really profitable.’

  ‘That’s as may be. But I understand that Dean Engineering had you on their books as an approved supplier.’

  Fuck! One of those idiots he’d employed must have done that. He cleared his throat. ‘That must have been done by one of my employees. Dean Engineering must have been one of their clients or something I expect.’ Brian waved his hand to show it was of no consequence, a bit like Oscar Wilde, all sardonic and slightly foppish.

  ‘So you’ve never had any contact with them?’

  ‘Um, maybe, but a long time ago. As I said the business isn’t doing that well at the moment.’

  ‘So if we examine your telephone records and the telephone records of Dean Engineering, we wouldn’t see any recent calls between the two of you?’

  Brian swallowed then casually shook his head. ‘No, I don’t suppose you would.�
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  ‘Well, that clears that up, then.’ Anderson stood. ‘Thanks for your time, sir.’

  ‘What? Sorry? Is that it?’ Jesus, the bloody policeman had wrong footed him again.

  ‘Yes. Thanks for your time.’

  The man moved towards the door and Brian sprang out of his chair. ‘I’ll just get Judith to show you out.’ He immediately realised how stupid that sounded, but he wanted to see what the hell was going on in the kitchen.

  He dodged around Anderson to find the younger policeman standing in the hallway. On his own. Maybe the damage had already been done. Brian wasn’t sure what damage but was convinced there must be some.

  ‘See us out, sir? I’m sure we can find our own way out,’ the younger one smiled. That lazy smile, the sort that comes from a self-satisfied human being. Brian hated him, intensely, as he realised the policeman had been listening at the door. Two against one – the odds weren’t fair as far as Brian was concerned.

  As they left, and the front door closed behind them, Brian slid down the wall to sit on the hall carpet. Had he passed the test – or blown it? He wasn’t at all sure which.

  61

  Crane took a deep breath as they stepped outside of the house and the front door closed behind them. ‘Well, that was an experience, wouldn’t you say? There is definitely something off about him.’

  ‘Absolutely. He’s very strange, it’s as though he has some sort of personality disorder. Seems full of himself, but doesn’t have regular employment, looks down on others, thinks he’s better than he is. And he giggled.’

  ‘Yeah, that one was a new one on me.’

  ‘Me too, it was manic, if you know what I mean. What did you think of the house?’

  ‘Very run down. The kitchen was desperately in need of renewing. The appliances looked old, with the enamel chipping off them and the fridge was making a horrendous noise. I talked to his wife in there. She seems downtrodden and dowdy and doesn’t understand her husband any more than we do, but she clearly has nothing and no one else. The neighbours ignore them because they find Brian strange. She said he’d been closeted in his bedroom office for long periods lately. She’s heard him through the door talking to himself and mumbling. He’s started locking the door, so she can’t get in, which he never used to do.

  ‘She also thought they were short of money because he keeps shouting at her about spending too much and that she needs to manage the household budget better, but he hardly gives her anything as it is. If this goes on she said she’s going have to beg at the food bank to feed the children. They have two boys who were upstairs playing.’

  ‘Really, it’s that bad?’

  ‘It seems so. She doesn’t have access to the bank account, Brian gives her the housekeeping each week. Once she started talking I couldn’t shut her up. She mustn’t have any friends. She seemed desperate to talk to someone. Clearly anyone would do, as it’s strange for a wife to give up so much information on a first visit, don’t you think?’

  ‘Yes, it definitely is. Did you ask her where Brian was on the nights in question?’

  ‘Yes. But she says she doesn’t know where he was.’

  ‘He wasn’t at home?’

  ‘No, she remembers those nights. He went out before 7pm, because Channel 4 news hadn’t started and he normally watches that every night without fail.’

  ‘How long was he gone?’

  ‘A couple of hours maybe? She said she was so exhausted she went to bed early. Took the opportunity while she could to grab a little time to herself, apparently.’

  ‘What makes her say that?’

  ‘Because Brian likes her on hand for cups of tea and stuff you know? It seems to make him feel better knowing she’s around. Calmer. She also said he likes routine. Can’t cope with the unexpected.’

  ‘So,’ Anderson said, ‘do we like him for the murders?’

  ‘Not sure,’ said Crane. ‘But on a personal level, I don’t like him at all.’

  62

  Anderson sat in his office, his ‘goodie’ drawer open, which was crammed with biscuits, cakes and various chocolate products, his hand half way towards it. In the other hand he held the papers Holly had just given him. She’d gone above and beyond as usual and found calls from Brian Monaghan to Dean Engineering, via his recruitment company telephone line. It showed that he called Dean Engineering the day of Kevin’s death and again on the day of Jill’s death.

  Of course, Monaghan would claim it was just standard business practice. That he calls all his clients on a regular basis. And that the calls to Dean Engineering were nothing more than that. That had been his excuse when they interviewed him for a second time. He admitted that Dean engineering was a client of his recruitment company but had pointed out that that was the case with every other factory in the Aldershot area. And what’s more, every recruitment company dealt with Dean Engineering. After all they were the biggest employer by far.

  They hadn’t been able to get him to confess to anything. Not even to the appalling way he treated his wife. He’d said she was exaggerating and not to take any notice of her. He’d claimed he was a good husband and father, who was just in transit from one business to another. However, he wouldn’t say what his next business venture was, just that it was work in progress.

  So even though Holly had just handed him evidence that Brian had called Dean Engineering he knew that he wouldn’t be able to prove Brian met Kevin or Jill and even more killed them both. Anderson had no witnesses, no forensic evidence. He hadn’t DNA from Brian to compare with the evidence. He didn’t even have a good enough reason for requesting a search warrant. Whichever way he turned he was running into road blocks. He felt like a marathon runner, who couldn’t get to the finishing line, no matter how far he ran. He was exhausted, worried, confused and yes, far too close to the case.

  The thought of another interview with Brian Monaghan and getting nowhere, wasn’t his idea of fun. What they needed to do was to coax Brian into revealing his involvement in the murders. Getting him to confess. That was the only thing that would save Paul now. And he felt powerless to help.

  Unless…

  And that was the thought that stopped Anderson getting a comforting tasty snack out of his drawer. If they needed a confession out of Brian, who would be the best person for the job? Someone who was clever enough with words to manipulate Brian Monaghan, instead of Monaghan manipulating them? He needed to see Walker. Immediately. There was no time to waste.

  63

  Brian

  The knock on the door took Judith by surprise. No one ever knocked. Because no one ever called. Not even for the boys. That was sad, she realised, that her children were paying the price of their father’s strange behaviour. The knock came again. She supposed she’d have to answer it. She was sure Brian wouldn’t come down. She wiped her hands on the threadbare tea-towel that she couldn’t afford to replace.

  Money was even tighter these days. She’d asked Brian about the work situation. He told her he was setting up an online business, hence the many hours he spent in his ‘office’ upstairs. He was slaving away to provide for them, he claimed. And then told her to leave him alone, if she knew what was good for her.

  Occasionally he’d give her money so she could buy fresh milk and bread. She thought he was selling things from the house to give her the money to pay for food. She couldn’t find her mother’s fine bone china teapot, nor her silver serving spoons. But she daren’t confront Brian about it. He was too unstable these days, liable to fly into a fury at anything he deemed a slight on his character or his abilities as a husband and father.

  She trudged out of the kitchen and opened the door, to find a man in a dark suit and tie stood there. She’d never seen him before in her life. She wondered if he was a bailiff. She’d seen lots of those ‘red letter pay your bills now’ type envelopes lately.

  ‘Does Brian Monaghan live here?’

  ‘Um, yes.’

  ‘I need to see him. Is he in?’

&nbs
p; Judith answered, ‘Yes,’ before she could stop herself. Oh God, what have I done, she thought? I should have said no.

  ‘Get him please.’

  ‘What now?’ Judith tried to stall for time, glancing up the empty stairwell. ‘He’s very busy.’

  ‘Now.’

  Judith noticed an envelope in the man’s hand. It was bound to be a court summons or some such. Whatever it was, it probably wouldn’t be good news.

  ‘Um, right, just a minute.’

  She ran up the stairs and knocked on Brian’s door.

  ‘Go away,’ he shouted.

  ‘Brian, I can’t. There’s someone at the door.’

  ‘For God’s sake, Judith, deal with it can’t you? Do I have to do everything?’

  ‘Brian, he wants you not me.’

  Judith glanced down the stairs to see the man was still stood at the door, his bulk filling it, making him look seriously intimidating.

  ‘He won’t go away. You have to come now!’

  Brian flung open the door, catching Judith by surprise, who really hadn’t expected him to do that. She thought he’d just do his usual stubborn act and stay where he was.

  ‘Do you think it’s the police?’ he hissed in her face.

  ‘I, I, I don’t know. But you have to go down.’

  ‘Oh, very well. I still don’t know why you couldn’t have dealt with it. I tell you it’s exhausting having to do everything myself,’ Brian grumbled as he stomped down the stairs, with Judith close behind.

  ‘Brian Monaghan?’ the man asked holding out an envelope.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’ve been served,’ he said and he thrust the envelope at Brian who automatically grabbed it, then he turned and walked away without another word.

  ‘What is it, Brian?’