Broken Dreams

by Nick Quantrill

  ‘Working from home.’

  ‘Since when?’

  ‘Since today.’

  The Internet filled the blanks in. Murdoch’s company, FutureVision Limited had a temporary exhibition space on The Boulevard, the former jewel of Hessle Road. The houses which lined the street were once home to the city’s rich and influential. Now, the area was dilapidated, packed with self-contained flats and shared houses. If any part of the city needed a shot in the arm, this was it.

  After my visit from the police, I wanted to know more about the work Murdoch was doing here and take something back to Don. I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t walk away. Murdoch had involved me in something, and I was going to get to the bottom of it. Looking around, the exhibition was impressive; large blow-ups of artist’s impressions lined the walls. The thrust of the project was the building of new, eco-friendly housing, complimented by the refurbishment of the older houses in the immediate area.

  ‘Help you, love?’

  I turned to face the woman asking me the question. She wasn’t wearing a name-badge. ‘Just looking, really’ I said.

  ‘It’s very impressive, isn’t it’ she said, pointing to the plans for new housing. ‘The area has been crying out for this kind of thing for years.’

  I nodded my agreement. ‘It all looks very interesting.’

  ‘Live round her?’

  ‘Not really. I know people in the area. Thought I’d have a look.’ It wasn’t really a lie.

  She stood next to me. ‘It’ll certainly change for them.’

  ‘Do you work here?’ I asked. We both laughed at the how stupid the question sounded.

  ‘Volunteer’ she said. ‘We get the locals come in to see what’s going on and I think they prefer a familiar face.’

  ‘It’s a private project, right?’

  ‘The council are involved, but they contract a lot of the work out to specialists, especially the design and management kind of stuff.’ She pointed across the office to more exhibition boards. ‘It’s not only housing we’re working on. There’s going to be programmes to cut anti-social behaviour from the youngsters. We’re consulting with them to see what facilities they’d like in the area. There’s plans in place with the heritage team to restore some of the fountains you’ll have probably walked past to get here back to their former glory. This area has had its share of bad luck over the years and it’s still tough going for a lot of people but it’s going to be a much nicer place to live when it’s finished.’

  I smiled back at her. ‘I’m sure it will be.’

  ‘It’s a start. Give people some hope and maybe it’ll kick-start getting some jobs back into the area. We’re even hoping to get an education resource, which will focus on the area’s fishing history. If it comes off, it’ll be great for the kids and provide a real link to the past for them. It’ll bring the community together.’

  ‘Is all this definitely going to happen?’ I asked.

  ‘This is the consultation stage. Nothing’s set in stone yet, so you need to have a look around and see what you like and don’t like about the suggestions. That way, we can put suggestions forward to the powers that be.’

  ‘The council?’

  ‘And their partners.’

  I nodded. The plans were certainly impressive.

  ‘How much money are we talking about?’ I asked the woman, wondering how much the work was worth to Murdoch.

  ‘We’re talking tens of millions over the long-term. We’re not messing around here, love.’

  I was hungry, but I wanted to see Murdoch before I called it a day. His house was situated at the bottom of a quiet suburb in North Ferriby, a small village hidden away on the outskirts of Hull. I parked at the top of the street and paused for a moment to admire the view of the Humber Bridge. As evening was starting to draw in, the bridge lit up like a beacon. As you approached the city you drove underneath the bridge and you knew you were almost home. I loved the feeling it gave me. Murdoch’s house was an imposing detached building, set well apart from its neighbouring properties, the well-tended garden suggesting the services of a gardener were used. I walked down the side of the property, to get a closer look at where the police thought Jennifer Murdoch’s killer had accessed the house. A couple more steps and the security light burst into action and flooded the front of the house. I quickly retraced my steps and rang the front door bell. Christopher Murdoch opened the door.

  I nodded a greeting. ‘Can I come in, please?’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘We need to talk.’

  From the television and the hi-fi to the furnishing and decor, everything was top of the range. Murdoch offered me a drink, so I settled on water. I was driving and didn’t want to spend the night on the sofa, like he’d done at my flat.

  ‘I thought we’d reached the end of the road’ he said to me.

  I shook my head. ‘Unfinished business.’

  ‘Good. I’m glad you came.’

  ‘Have you spoken to the police?’ I asked him, wanting to side-step the matey chat.

  Murdoch swallowed his Jack Daniels and nodded. ‘I spoke to DS Coleman.’

  ‘Pleased to see you?’

  ‘Delighted, I’d say. He was that happy to see me, he wanted to record our chat and everything.’

  ‘Don’t worry. Standard procedure.’

  ‘Didn’t feel like it.’

  I leant forward. ‘I can only help you if I know the truth, so I’m only going to ask once more. All I want is the truth. Did you kill your wife?’

  Murdoch stared at me. I’d given him an out. I’d offered to help, whatever the situation. I held his stare. We were going to do this eye to eye. He shook his head and eventually said he hadn’t murdered his wife.

  I nodded. ‘Good. So what did the police have to say?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The police.’

  ‘You accuse me of killing my wife and then change the subject?’

  ‘That’s pretty much how it works.’

  Murdoch stood up and paced the room. ‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this.’

  ‘Believe it.’

  ‘I didn’t kill her. I loved her.’

  ‘You loved her so much you were having an affair?’

  ‘What affair?’

  ‘I’ve spoken to Jane.’

  Murdoch sat back down in his chair and poured himself another drink. ‘It’s not important.’

  ‘You’re having an affair, your alibi is worthless and you’re financially better off with your wife dead. I’d say it was important.’ It sounded worse than I’d meant it to.

  ‘My wife is better off dead?’

  ‘I believe you’ I said. He looked shaken and lost for words. Something in the way he’d looked at me, totally stripped of everything, convinced me. I asked him again about Coleman.

  ‘He wanted to know where I’d been’ he explained. ‘Why I’d run away, as he put it.’

  ‘What did you tell him?’

  ‘Same as I told you; I needed to get away for a few days, clear my head.’

  ‘Did he believe you?’

  ‘He said it made me look guilty and told me to confess, that I’d feel a lot better for it if I told him what’d happened. The usual rubbish but I’m ready for him now.’

  ‘I hear you’re corrupt.’

  ‘Corrupt?’

  ‘You’re under investigation.’

  Murdoch finished his drink and poured himself another. ‘I know.’

  ‘Want to tell me about it?’

  ‘It’s not what you think.’

  I drank a mouthful of water and put the glass on the table which separated us. ‘Tell me about it.’

  ‘My wife had a gambling problem and it got us into a financial hole. You know how it is, debts start to mount and we were in trouble. Jennifer’s job wasn’t particularly secure and my line of work isn’t what it was a couple of years ago. Things started to get on top of us.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘N
othing at first. Jennifer was out of control, gambling more and more, and I couldn’t reach her. She didn’t want my help to start with.’

  ‘What did you offer to do?’

  ‘I offered to help. I wanted to support her but she made it very difficult for me. There was nobody to ask for help, so I had to let her decide what to do. She’d met someone in the casino she went to; they knew who I was and what I did. It was suggested her debts could be taken care of if I worked certain things into my regeneration plans.’

  ‘For the Hessle Road area?’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘About a year ago.’

  ‘How did it make you feel?’

  ‘I felt fucking angry. I wanted to help Jennifer but she’d put me in a difficult position. She was asking an awful lot from me. She was asking me to jeopardise everything I’d worked for.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I stalled the matter and held some meetings with these people; see if there was a way forward I could work out, but it wasn’t so simple.’

  That explained the mysterious meetings, I thought. ‘We’re talking about the compulsory purchases?’

  ‘For the scheme to work, they wanted the houses they owned knocking down, but it didn’t fit the scheme I’d designed. I had no choice, I had to go back to the drawing board and make changes. I can’t even begin to tell you how it’s destroyed me. I’ve worked for years to get a shot at a project this big and important. I believe in what I do. It’s important and this was my chance to make a real difference.’

  The woman I’d spoken to earlier in the day was so full of enthusiasm and belief in the project. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t particularly like the man but I thought he had some integrity.

  ‘Everybody knew it was wrong’ he continued. ‘The plans I’d redrawn were wrong, but it seemed like the only option at the time. They’re undergoing a consultation process at the moment, but they’ll pass. They always do.’

  ‘Change the plans back.’

  He laughed. ‘I’m too far in. As well as settling Jennifer’s debts, they sorted us out financially.’

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. ‘How much are these compulsory purchases we’re talking about worth?’

  ‘Hundreds of thousands.’ Murdoch shrugged. ‘I’m not keeping score.’

  ‘And you went along with this?’

  Murdoch nodded.

  ‘Fuck’s sake. And now the police know about it?’

  ‘Evidently.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘No idea.’

  The amendments to the plans would have drawn attention. The fact they knew was what was important.

  ‘Maybe Taylor blabbed?’

  It was getting worse. ‘Why would he have blabbed?’

  ‘He’s involved.’

  ‘And he was having an affair with your wife?’

  ‘She said we could count on him. She didn’t enjoy it, but it was the only way.’

  ‘And this is what Jennifer wanted you to do? This was your part of the deal?’ He eventually nodded. ‘Who did she owe the money to?’ I wanted to hear him say the name.

  Murdoch composed himself. ‘Frank Salford.’

  ‘Can I come in?’ I gave Sarah my best smile. ‘I’m starving.’

  She shook her head, smiled and let me in.

  ‘I’ve got some Bolognese left if you’re interested?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  I sat at the table and waited. I watched her, stood at the hob, warming the food up.

  ‘Wine?’ she asked.

  ‘Twist my arm.’

  I was so hungry I could have eaten a horse, but it was genuinely fantastic. The alcohol was also helping me to calm down. ‘Lauren with her dad?’

  Sarah nodded. ‘Back tomorrow.’

  ‘Are they doing anything good?’

  ‘I hope not on a school night.’

  Not unreasonable. ‘What do you know?’

  ‘I spoke to Donna Platt’s landlord today.’

  ‘Anything?’

  ‘He’s not heard from her, but she’s paid up for another month.’

  ‘I bet she can’t afford to lose the money, either.’

  ‘That’s what I thought, so I rang the club, see if they’ve heard from her.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘They’ve got word through a friend that’s she coming back next week. Told them she had to get away for a few days, get this, for family reasons.’

  I laughed. Donna had a sense of humour. ‘At least we don’t have to go chasing around looking for her.’

  ‘I’d still like to speak to her.’

  After all this work, I didn’t blame her. We couldn’t make her speak to her mother, but I felt we had a right to know the full story now.

  ‘What have you been up to?’ Sarah asked.

  I smiled. ‘We need a proper drink. It’s a long story.’

  Zest was a ten minute walk from Sarah’s house and her favourite bar. In the corner, a literature event was underway, with a guest speaker holding court. We ordered our drinks and found a quiet table away from the crowd.

  ‘Spill the beans’ she said.

  I sat back and smiled.

  She playfully hit me on the arm. ‘Spill.’

  ‘I’m acting for Murdoch again.’

  ‘Dad said you’d given him up.’

  ‘I got a visit from the Fraud Squad today, wanting to know all about him. Let’s say it aroused my curiosity again.’

  She shook her head. ‘Doesn’t sound great.’

  ‘You know about the Hessle Road regeneration stuff he’s working on?’

  ‘The house building and stuff?’

  ‘Right. It turns out he’s got his hand in the till.’

  ‘Why are we acting for him, then?’

  It was a good point and I thought about it for a moment before eventually answering. ‘Because it’s not important at the moment. The police are on to him.’

  ‘What good is our involvement going to do? What’s the point?’

  ‘The point is he’s got what you might call an unwanted sleeping partner in the project. It’s a lucrative business, lots of money swilling about.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Someone’s blackmailing him.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘A property developer. There’s a lot of compulsory purchases going on in the area and this property dealer wants it to be his properties which get bought.’

  ‘And receives compensation well above their market value?’

  ‘Spot on.’

  ‘Anybody we know?’

  I nodded. ‘Frank Salford.’

  ‘Salford?’ Sarah put our refilled drinks on the table. ‘That’s why he’s doesn’t like you sticking your nose into his business?’

  ‘Sounds about right.’

  ‘This is serious, Joe. We’re talking about a lot of money. He isn’t going to back down.’

  I nodded and agreed. I was more worried than I was letting on.

  ‘This links back to Murdoch’s wife at the casino, doesn’t it?’

  ‘She’d been allowed to run up large debts’ I explained. ‘In exchange, she’d applied pressure to her husband. If he cut Salford into the plan, the debts would go away and there’d be a bit extra for his trouble.’

  ‘And he went along with it?’

  ‘Said he had no choice. The debts were mounting and it was the only way out. Once you even dabble a toe in that kind of business, you can’t back away. You’re not allowed to do that.’

  ‘He’s got no one to blame but himself, Joe. You shouldn’t be acting for him out of pity. It’s a dangerous game he’s sucking you into.’

  ‘I know.’ I tried to explain how the project had been Murdoch’s big chance; the opportunity to leave a legacy. Not many people had the vision or the ability to deliver it in this city. It made me sad and angry that he probably wouldn’t get the chance to finish it now.

  ‘That’s not your
problem, though. He’s got to face the consequences of what he’s done. And he was having an affair. Not a very nice man, is he?’

  ‘There’s more.’

  ‘More?’

  Murdoch had broken down and told me the full story before I’d left his house. ‘He didn’t want to play with Salford anymore and told him he was going to go to the police.’

  ‘He should do.’

  I shook my head. ‘He can’t.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Salford threatened to kill his wife if he did.’

  We finished our drinks and headed back towards Sarah’s house. It’d started to rain whilst we were in the bar, so I huddled next to her underneath the umbrella. She was a little tipsy, so I steadied her with a hand around the waist. We dodged the groups of students heading home and turned into her street. As we approached her door, she fumbled in her bag for the house keys.

  ‘Are we alright?’ I asked her.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘This working from home business.’

  She sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Joe. I didn’t feel like coming into the office today.’

  ‘Because it’d be embarrassing?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘Yes. I was embarrassed about the kiss. It was stupid of me. I was feeling a bit emotional, like I’d let you down over Lisa Day.’

  I smiled. ‘It wasn’t stupid. Not at all. And you didn’t let me down.’

  We both stood there, in the rain, saying nothing, before she stepped into the house. ‘Goodnight, Joe.’

  I threw my wet clothes in the washer and put on an old tracksuit. I found a single bottle of beer in my fridge and took it through to the front-room. Flicking through my CDs, I wanted something loud and raucous. Inserting The Hold Steady into the player, the vocals beat down on me like vicious jabs. I smiled at the irony of the album’s title, ‘Stay Positive.’ I now knew for certain Frank Salford was a major threat and I’d stuck my nose into his lucrative business plan. He’d also issued threats to kill Murdoch’s wife if he refused to play ball, which had to make him a prime suspect in her death. I drained the bottle and put it down on the floor. If I was to prove Murdoch’s innocence, I was going to have to go looking for Salford.