Broken Dreams

by Nick Quantrill

  ‘What about the police? Didn’t they investigate?’

  She laughed. ‘I doubt there would have been much in the way of forensics, and that’s assuming anybody wanted to investigate Frank. He had all kinds of people on the payroll.’

  ‘Didn’t the police have a bite at Johnson, as a way to get to the main man?’ I couldn’t bring myself to refer to Salford by his first name.

  ‘He was too important, so Frank had to protect him, which made him untouchable. It gave him licence to do as he wanted.’

  I heard the door open and watched Don walk in. He headed towards his office, but seeing my face, stopped.

  ‘It’s a long story’ I said, cutting him short. I thanked Richardson for her time. Johnson was the violent element of Salford’s empire and although it wasn’t good news, at least I knew more about the man and the danger he posed to me.

  Don was surprisingly calm as I told him about Dave Johnson and what had happened the previous night. He thought I should tell Coleman about it but I wasn’t prepared to look like an idiot in front of him. If I needed help, I’d ask. Sarah was chasing leads down on Donna Platt’s disappearance and we needed a breakthrough, or something I could rattle Salford with. Christopher Murdoch was still very much in my thoughts. There was plenty he wasn’t telling me. I tried his office again and got nowhere, so I decided to pay him a personal visit. His office was situated in the World Trade Centre, close to the marina. The receptionist pointed me in the direction of some chairs and asked me to wait. I glanced at the literature in the reception area, which grandly claimed the complex was the focal point for local and international business within the Hull and Humber area. Told I could go through, I put the leaflets down and thanked the receptionist. The walls in Murdoch’s unit contained framed photographs of projects the company had worked on. The city was changing, but being in the centre of it, I didn’t always notice. I glanced at the free-standing boards in the corner, detailing plans for regeneration work in the Newington Ward of the city, including the Hessle Road area. I pushed aside the memories I had of the area and hoped they had the nerve to create something really special.

  ‘Can I help you?’

  I turned around to look at the young woman who’d appeared in the room.

  ‘I’d like to speak to Mr Murdoch, please.’ She didn’t look impressed with the state of my face. ‘My name is Joe Geraghty, he knows who I am.’ I smiled, hoping to relax her.

  She walked over to the phone and mentioned my name. ‘Mr Murdoch’s not available all day.’

  ‘All day?’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  ‘It’s very important I speak to him. He’s asked me to do some work for him.’

  She looked embarrassed. ‘There’s really nothing I can do, I’m afraid.’

  I smiled at her. It wasn’t her fault. I was pretty certain Murdoch wasn’t in the office but I didn’t know where to look for him. His house was the next logical step. The phone rang again. I listened in, as she looked at me. She told the caller I was still here.

  ‘Jane will see you’ she said.

  We sat down in the boardroom. On three walls there were more framed photographs and artists impressions of the company’s ongoing projects. The centrepiece of the office was directly in front of me, with patio-doors opening onto to a balcony which gave a fantastic view of the moored yachts. Reluctantly, I turned away and sat down at the boardroom table opposite Jane.

  ‘What happened to you?’ she asked me.

  ‘Long story.’ I touched my face. ‘You should see the other guy.’ I got down to business. ‘I need to speak to him.’

  ‘I haven’t seen him’ she said. She looked upset.

  ‘Since when?’

  ‘Since he left the office the night before last. He said he was going home but I’ve not been able to get hold of him. I’ve been constantly trying his phone at home and his mobile. I’ve been round to the house and there’s no sign of him, or his car. I don’t know what to do for the best. I’m trying to hold it together here, so the clients and the staff don’t know, but it’s so hard. A lot of people depend on him for work and jobs and I can’t handle it all by myself. I really need your help here, Joe. I’ve rung the police because I’ve no idea what to do.’

  I was genuinely concerned for her. Murdoch had a lot on his plate. ‘Have you tried anywhere else?’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Friends, family, favourite places.’ I shrugged. ‘That kind of thing.’

  ‘I’ve told the police everything I know this morning. His parents are dead and I don’t know how to contact his brother. He’s never really mentioned him, so I can’t imagine he’d go there.’

  I’d not heard from Coleman. I wondered if he was aware Murdoch knew yet. ‘I’ll keep trying his phone as well’ was the best I had to offer.

  ‘I’m worried about him, Joe.’ She wiped her nose and walked over to the window. I watched her compose herself and turn to me. ‘I’m worried he’s got involved with some bad people.’

  ‘Any in particular?’ I had at least one name I could suggest.

  ‘No, just a feeling I’ve got. He’s forever disappearing to meet people, but he won’t say where he’s going. It’s like he’s changed, acting differently. He’s much more agitated and on edge. He’s snappy at people here all the time, and that’s not him at all. Before I’d help him to co-ordinate his diary, but I’ve been frozen out. He’s not behaving how he normally does.’

  I understood. ‘Were you having an affair?’

  She eventually nodded. ‘It’s not like you think.’

  I waited for her to continue.

  ‘I love him, Joe.’

  ‘I’m sorry I have to ask you these questions, but did his wife know about you?’

  She shook her head. ‘Certainly not from me.’ She turned to face me. ‘I’m not stupid, Joe. I never asked him to leave his wife for me. I wouldn’t have done that to him; I enjoyed what we had together. We had so much in common. I often wondered why he wouldn’t leave her, but I wasn't going to force the issue. He’ll do it when the time’s right.’

  ‘Did he ever say his marriage was unhappy?’

  ‘Not in so many words, no. I think it suited them to stay together, it was easier for them. He has a reputation to maintain and he didn’t want to rock the boat unnecessarily.’

  ‘What about his alibi?’

  ‘He said he was parked up in a lay-by on the M62, working.’

  ‘Sounds about right. He’s very dedicated to his work, and with laptops, you can work anywhere.’

  ‘Are you sure he wasn’t with you?’

  ‘Fuck off, Joe.’

  Seeing as I’d angered her and unsettled her, I asked anyway. ‘What about you, Jane? Where were you?’ Having an affair with Christopher Murdoch gave her more motive than most when it came to his wife’s death.

  For a moment, I thought she was going to attack me, but she sat back down and stared straight ahead. Eventually she sat up straight and nodded. ‘You’ve got to ask. You’re only doing your job.’

  I smiled. ‘Just doing my job.’

  ‘I was out with a girlfriend. We had something to eat and then went to see a film.’

  I believed her. Why lie when it can so easily be checked?

  She showed me into Murdoch’s office. It was pretty much like any other office. There were yet more framed photographs on the walls and although it looked tidy enough, when you looked closely it was obvious it had been done in a hurry. The only thing which differentiated it from other offices in the building was the executive sized chair.

  ‘Have you got his diary?’ I asked.

  Jane disappeared to find it. I walked around the desk and opened his drawer. There was nothing unusual, just a collection of stationery and computer print-outs.

  She passed me his diary. I flicked through the last couple of months. His volume of recorded meetings decreased steadily, with the gaps in the diary marked with a cross. I pointed this out to Jane. ‘Any idea what i
t means?’

  She shook her head. ‘I can’t say I’ve noticed any change in the number of meetings he’s attended. He’s always out of the office a lot.’

  As an example, I turned to the previous week. ‘Tuesday morning he had a meeting with a guy from the council, but there’s nothing for the afternoon, just a cross at the top of the page.’

  ‘I don’t know. He doesn’t always answer his phone, however much I ask him to.’

  ‘You’ve no idea what he was doing that day?’

  She sighed and shook her head. ‘I was in the office trying to tie some meetings up but I couldn’t find him. He wouldn’t tell me where he’d been.’

  I passed her the diary back. I suspected the crosses in the diary stood for meetings he didn’t want others knowing about. ‘I really need to know about his enemies, Jane’ I said.

  ‘He didn’t have any, I’ve already told you.’

  ‘Now’s the time to have a hard think about it. It’ll be a great help to us all if you can think of any names. Any at all.’

  She sat down in Murdoch’s chair. She looked completely drained. ‘There’s nothing. I can’t think of any one he’s upset or doesn’t get along with.’ She stood up and walked back towards me. ‘He didn’t kill his wife, Joe. I know he didn’t.’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Our office was only a ten minute walk from Murdoch’s base, but my plans to use the walk as a chance to think over events so far were shattered by the vibration of my mobile in my pocket.

  I looked at the caller ID. ‘Detective Sergeant Coleman’ I said, answering the call.

  ‘How’s it going, Joe?’

  I said something about being better.

  ‘Good news. The Murdochs’ little group meet tonight and you’re invited. I pretended to be you, so we’re all set.’

  I listened as he told me the address and the time Sarah and I were expected.

  ‘I’ve given them your proper first names but said your surname is Smith and you run your own engineering company which you’ve recently set up. Our geeks have set a holding page up on the Internet for the company with a coming soon banner and a dead telephone number. It’ll be enough to make you legitimate at first glance, and I can’t imagine they’d look any deeper. If they do, you’ll have to improvise. Tell them you’ve just moved back to the area and set the business up, something like that. Nobody’s going to be bothered so long as you’re well presented and behave yourselves.’

  Coleman told me the plan. Or at least what he thought was the plan. He wanted to know who the Murdoch’s were friendly with. I wasn’t sure what I would share with him, assuming I learnt anything.

  ‘At least we won’t have to worry about your friend, Christopher Murdoch turning up’ he said.

  I pressed the button on the pedestrian crossing and waited for both the traffic on the busy dual carriage way to stop and for Coleman to continue.

  ‘He’s been reported missing.’

  I said nothing.

  ‘You’d best find him, Joe. The longer he’s missing, the guiltier he looks.’

  As I walked down Castle Street, several lorries thundered past me, so I told him I couldn’t hear him very clearly and terminated the call, knowing he was right.

  ‘Any word from Sarah?’ Don asked, as I hung my coat behind the door. ‘We’ve got a lead on Donna Platt.’

  I sat down and started my laptop. ‘A lead?’

  Don pulled up a chair at my desk. ‘An old friend of mine in Scarborough is into the club scene. He retired to the seaside but likes his club stuff. I had him ask around to see if anyone knew Donna and we got a hit. There’s a woman singing in a club in Whitby who might fit the bill. She goes by the name of Donna Marie and she’s apparently from Hull.’ Don shrugged. ‘I’ve had my friend check her out and apparently her back-story is somewhat vague. It might be something or nothing, but it’s worth taking a look at.’

  I agreed and Don said he’d set a meeting up. ‘What’s Sarah doing?’ I asked.

  ‘She’s speaking to Lisa Day, trying to find out if the family had any links to Whitby. I didn’t think it was a good idea to be speaking to Donna’s mother in case it got her hopes up for nothing.’ Don pointed at my face. ‘Sarah said Dave Johnson did that to you?’

  ‘No doubt under the orders of Salford. It seems Johnson is the enforcer but Salford is the brains behind the operation.’

  ‘It’s getting serious, Joe.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘We should think about talking to the police.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Salford’s not the kind of guy we want to mess with. We need to be careful.’

  ‘We will be.’

  ‘I mean it.’

  ‘I know.’

  I flicked through the day’s post, trying to ignore Don staring at me.

  He got the point. ‘How’s the guy from the casino you spoke to?’ he asked.

  ‘I went to see him earlier. His parents were there.’ I looked away. ‘I bottled it. I couldn’t make myself go in and see him, not while they were there.’

  Don shook his head. ‘Poor bastard.’

  I said nothing.

  ‘It won’t do any good beating yourself up over it.’ Don said.

  ‘Bottom-line is the kid knew what he was doing, didn’t he?’

  I nodded. Carver knew as well as I did that he worked for some unpleasant people. The knowledge didn’t make me feel any better, though. ‘Still makes me feel like shit, though.’

  ‘Actions always have consequences. You’ve got to deal with it.’

  I nodded and explained what Julie Richardson had told me about Johnson. I’d think about Sam Carver later.

  ‘I know all about him’ he told me. ‘We crossed swords a few times when I was in the force. He was certainly known to us, as were his methods. The freshly dug grave was a regular tactic Salford used to scare people.’

  ‘It worked for me.’

  ‘I dare say. What was the message?’

  ‘Take my nose out of their business.’ It hung there until I continued. ‘Jennifer Murdoch was a regular in the casino and she got special treatment. I don’t know why yet, but it’s obviously important and might be relevant in relation to her death.’

  Don stood up and walked over to his desk. ‘We’re in this thing, aren’t we?’

  He was right. Things had turned much more sinister and dangerous.

  ‘What does Mr Murdoch have to say for himself?’

  ‘No idea.’

  ‘No idea?’

  ‘He’s AWOL.’

  Don sat back down. ‘The police’s main suspect is missing? And he’s our client.’

  I nodded. ‘That’s about the size of it.’

  ‘Do the police know?’

  ‘Coleman rang me earlier. We’re all set for the Murdochs’ club tonight. He mentioned it then; could barely contain his glee.’

  ‘You’ll be needing me to babysit tonight?’

  I nodded. ‘I’m sure Sarah would ask you nicely.’

  ‘I’d love to.’

  ‘Good.’ That reminded me of last night. ‘What happened to you last night? I had to look after Lauren. Sarah said you cancelled at the last minute?’

  ‘I had some work to do. I had to speak to that friend about Donna Platt.’

  I was sure it could have waited. I watched Don stare out of the window

  ‘You shouldn’t miss out on it.’ I’d had fun reading stories with her. ‘It’s a granddad’s privilege.’

  He turned back to me. ‘I might not be able to tell her what to do any more, but I can let her know when she’s making a mistake.’

  I wasn’t needed for a couple of hours, so I headed for Salford’s massage parlour. Johnson had warned me off Anastazja but I needed to make sure she was alright. I’d parked my car in the exact same place as I had on my last visit and walked straight into the reception.

  ‘Nice to see you, Margaret. Who’s working today?’

  She was speechless. ‘I kn
ow who you are’ I said to her, ‘and I know what you are.’

  She took a step backwards and struggled to compose herself. I’d given it some thought on the drive across. There was no point beating about the bush. Salford and his team knew who I was, and what I was doing. They also knew I’d spoken to Anastazja.

  ‘We’ve got Sky and Summer working at the moment.’ She leered at me. ‘Which of them would you like to fuck today?’

  ‘I’d like to see Anastazja.’

  ‘Anastazja?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘There’s nobody of that name working here, I’m afraid.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘Don’t piss me about.’

  ‘Get to the point or I’ll have you kicked out again.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘Anastazja?’

  ‘That’s right.’ I was starting to lose patience.

  ‘She left our employment last night.’

  I turned away. I’d have to find her. I knew which area she lived in. It wouldn’t be too difficult.

  She called me back. ‘She’s taken up a new position in London. When I say position, it’ll be largely the same position she had here, lying on her back. One of our associates offered her the job and we were only too pleased to allow her the opportunity to further her career in our beautiful capital city.’ She leant in closer to me. ‘Of course, the work is much more demanding down there. Their overheads are that much higher, you see. They’ll have her working much harder. She’ll have her normal work, the bread and butter, but she’ll have to entertain private parties. I understand some of the, shall we say, newcomers to the city go in for that kind of thing. The good news is though, if the work is too demanding, her new employers will be only too willing to help. Some drugs offer the user total oblivion. She probably won’t even know what’s happening to her.’

  She enjoyed telling me this. I wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t want to hear it. She’d keep for another time. I took a deep breath and left.