Broken Dreams

by Nick Quantrill

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I woke with a renewed sense of purpose. First thing, I called Murdoch, but his mobile was switched off. No sooner had I put the phone down, Don had called to make sure I wasn’t going to do anything stupid. He’d obviously spoken to Sarah. I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, but I was mindful of his advice. Just because Salford had established himself as a credible suspect, it didn’t mean I could discount all others. With this in mind, I’d telephoned Steve Taylor’s estate agency in an attempt to set up a meeting with him. His receptionist told me he’d called in sick, so fingering the business card he’d given me, I’d decided to pay him a visit. I’m sure the address he’d scribbled on it wasn’t intended for me, but I wasn’t going to turn away the opportunity.

  I pressed the buzzer to his flat in the BBC building, where he occupied a penthouse suite. The intercom crackled into life and I told him I needed a word. Reluctantly, he’d allowed me access. Stepping out of the lift and seeing him stood at his door, I could see why. ‘Probably walked into the same door as me’ I said, as I walked past him and into the room. His face was almost as bad as mine, covered in cuts and bruises. The view of the city centre was spectacular. Below me Queens Gardens sprawled out, the people passing through looking like ants as they went about their business. Extending the view, I could see past the Princes Quay shopping centre and out towards the Humber. ‘Nice view.’ Taylor said nothing. I assumed it suited his image. This was the kind of place that screamed money, or at least a veneer of it. I pointed to his face. ‘Want to talk about it?’

  Taylor was drinking a generous measure of whiskey. It was a bit early for me.

  ‘Murdoch’s told me you have a business arrangement.’

  He was shaking his head. ‘I haven’t spoken to him since Jennifer’s death.’

  ‘I doubt you’re on his Christmas card list. You were sleeping with his wife.’

  ‘I’m scared.’

  I reluctantly turned away from the view and sat down opposite him. ‘And so you should be.’

  He laughed. ‘You’re telling me.’

  ‘Frank Salford?’

  Taylor nodded.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I told his sidekick I was thinking of getting out.’

  ‘Dave Johnson?’

  ‘That’s the one. I’ve had enough. I didn’t want to get involved in the first place, but Jennifer was very persuasive.’

  I asked him about Jennifer Murdoch. ‘What did she do?’

  ‘She introduced me to her husband, told me what they were doing.’

  ‘Did she tell you why they were doing it?’

  ‘No. Just that it was easy money. I didn’t ask, and I suppose I didn’t want to know.’

  ‘And you went along with it?’

  ‘I need the money. Business is tough at the moment.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  He put his drink down and looked at me. ‘Didn’t Murdoch tell you?’

  ‘I want to hear it from you.’

  ‘He needed valuations for the properties Salford owned. He told me how much I needed to make them worth.’

  ‘And you got some sort of kick-back on that?’

  Taylor nodded. ‘Based on the valuations I gave the houses. He also promised I’d be the chosen party to market the new properties once they were built.’

  ‘What changed?’

  ‘I know the police have been asking around and Johnson wanted the valuations increasing to levels I couldn’t justify. I told Murdoch I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. I told him he had to get me out of it, because it was his wife’s fault I was in this mess in the first place.’

  I shook my head. The man was naive in the extreme. You don’t walk away from people like Salford. ‘What did he say?’

  ‘That it’d gone too far.’

  ‘He’s probably right.’ You roll the dice, you take your chances.

  ‘I tried to reason with Johnson’ he continued. ‘I went to the casino last night to discuss it. I told him I didn’t want to be involved, he could even have the money I’d made, but I wanted to be left alone.’

  ‘He didn’t take it well?’

  ‘You could say that.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I thought he was at least going to have a think about it. It was a business proposition. I was jumped outside the casino. I don’t know who they were, I’d never seen them before, but they said Johnson would be in touch.’

  ‘Why did you use the casino with Jennifer?’

  ‘They pretty much let us have free reign, so long as we were discrete.’

  ‘Didn’t you find it strange?’

  Taylor shrugged. ‘I didn’t think about it.’

  ‘What about her debts?’

  ‘I didn’t know about them. I assumed her husband was taking care of them, maybe as part of the deal with Salford.’ He put his empty glass down. ‘Did you know they were after sleeping with her?’

  I shook my head. ‘They?’ It was news to me.

  ‘Salford and Johnson. They were desperate, behaving like teenagers. They were pressurising her. It wasn’t nice to watch.’

  ‘Didn’t you say anything to them?’

  ‘To them?’ He laughed.

  ‘I think we know they won’t listen to me. I told Jennifer to be careful.’

  ‘Did you tell her husband about their interest?’

  ‘No.’

  I wasn’t really surprised. She was probably off-limits, as topics go.

  ‘Can you help me?’ he asked.

  ‘With what?’

  ‘Salford.’ I watched him pour another drink.

  ‘Why would I want to help you?’

  ‘Because Jennifer meant everything to me. I really wanted to make a go of things with her and told her how we’d set up home together. I know she didn’t love her husband; not like she loved me. I’ll pay you.’

  I stood up and headed towards the door. His actions hadn’t matched his words - not by a long distance. I didn’t like the man and remembered the information Don had given me about his liking for using his fists. ‘I can’t help you.’

  Taylor followed me. ‘Should I go to the police, then?’

  I stared at him, wondering how much trouble he’d got himself into already. I wasn’t going to validate a decision he’d already made. ‘That’s up to you.’

  ‘DS Coleman, please.’ I smiled to the officer manning the reception desk of the station. I’d called Murdoch as I’d walked to the station, but his mobile was switched off. I needed to speak to him about Steve Taylor.

  The officer turned away from me and picked up a telephone. ‘Take a seat’ he told me.

  I paced the room. The uniformly grey walls were decorated with crime prevention posters. The only other person waiting was a teenager, dressed in the standard issue tracksuit and baseball cap. He stared at me, so I smiled back. ‘DS Coleman is unavailable’ the officer shouted across to me.

  I walked across to the desk. ‘Try him again. Tell him if he’s unavailable, I’m sure a journalist at the paper will be able to help me with my questions.’

  He picked up the phone again but never took his eyes off me. I’d made another friend.

  Five minutes later, I was sat with Coleman in an interview room. It was even less welcoming than the reception area, but I suppose that was the point.

  ‘What’s so important you had to drag me out of my meeting, Joe?’

  ‘I thought you’d be happy to escape a meeting.’

  ‘Get to the point.’

  I sighed. ‘I thought we had a relationship. Any chance of a coffee?’

  He sat down opposite me. ‘No.’

  I was enjoying getting under his skin. ‘I received a visit from a couple of your friends yesterday.’

  ‘Which friends?’

  ‘Fraud Squad or whatever you call it nowadays.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘It’d have been nice to have known they were coming.’

  Coleman shrugged. �
�Nothing to do with me.’

  I nodded and let it go. ‘You didn’t tell me Murdoch was in Frank Salford’s pocket.’

  ‘There’s lots of things I don’t tell you.’

  I understood. There was plenty I wasn’t telling him. ‘It throws a different light on things, though.’

  ‘Not for us. We’re continuing to investigate his wife’s murder and we’ll consider all the avenues open to us.’

  ‘Checked Salford out?’

  ‘None of your business.’

  ‘My client is under suspicion for a crime he didn’t commit, and you’re telling me you’re not interested in another potential suspect?’

  ‘Why would we be interested in Salford?’

  ‘Because he controls Murdoch.’

  ‘It doesn’t mean anything, does it? Murdoch’ll be punished for what he's done in due course. That’s not my concern.’

  I didn’t want to mention Salford’s threats to kill Jennifer Murdoch yet. ‘Have you asked Salford for an alibi?’

  ‘He has one.’

  I nodded. Of course he’d have an alibi. ‘What about his staff?’

  ‘Nothing doing there.’

  ‘It’s your client who has the motive for his wife’s death as well the opportunity’ Coleman continued. ‘She was battered to death. He was more than capable.’

  ‘Bullshit’ I said. It was the best I could do. ‘He gave you an alibi. He was sat in a motorway lay-by, working on his laptop before he went to the casino.’

  Coleman sighed, looked like he was bored by our conversation. ‘The casino is irrelevant. Time of death makes it so, and that’s being generous to him. We’ve plotted out the routes he could have taken from the house and it fits.’

  ‘What about CCTV in the lay-by?’

  ‘Nothing on it. He wasn’t there, Joe.’

  I held his stare, not wanting to look surprised. I felt sick. Murdoch still wasn’t giving me the whole story. ‘Maybe he parked off camera?’

  ‘We couldn’t pick him up on the motorway, either.’

  ‘There’s some mistake, then. Why would he give you an alibi which doesn’t check out?’ I knew it sounded weak.

  ‘People do strange things when they’re under pressure.’

  ‘Have you spoken to Steve Taylor?’ I asked, changing the subject.

  ‘The guy Jennifer Murdoch was sleeping with?’

  I nodded. ‘He wanted her to leave her husband.’

  Coleman shrugged. ‘So why would he kill her?’

  I didn’t want to reveal what I knew - not without some return. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a crime of passion.’

  Coleman laughed. ‘That’s not the impression I got from talking to Mr Murdoch.’

  He glanced at his watch. Hardly subtle. ‘Look, Salford’s alibi has been checked out; it’s rock-solid. He didn’t kill her. You’re barking up the wrong tree, Joe. You need to be taking a closer look at your client.’

  I shook my head. ‘Don’t forget we went into the swingers club for you. I’ve tried to help you. Don’t treat me like an idiot.’ I thought about the state Steve Taylor had been left in and stood up, ready to leave. ‘You might not want to leave it too long before you talk to Taylor again.’

  ‘Yes, please’ I said to Sarah, seeing her cup of coffee. I picked up the small pile of letters on the corner of my desk and glanced through them.

  ‘Make your own.’

  Putting the letters back, I threw my coat into the corner and sat down. ‘Please?’

  ‘What’s up with you?’

  ‘I’ve been talking to Coleman.’

  She nodded and made me a coffee.

  ‘What did he want?’ she shouted to me from the kitchen.

  ‘It was more what I wanted from him.’

  She wheeled her chair around to my desk. ‘I don’t follow.’

  ‘I went to see him about Murdoch.’ I put my mug down. I checked my mobile. He hadn’t returned my call. ‘He didn’t kill his wife.’

  Sarah shook her head.

  ‘What? I can’t just let things drift. It’s not right.’

  ‘Why didn’t he kill his wife?’

  The directness of the question took me by surprise. ‘I just know he didn’t.’ It was the best I could manage, even though the evidence against him was mounting.

  ‘He had the motive, didn’t he? And he needed the money?’

  I shrugged. ‘Everybody has life insurance. It’s not a motive by itself.’ I hadn’t taken any life insurance on Debbie, but decided not to mention it.

  ‘They were both having affairs. He was being blackmailed by Salford. He’s a desperate man’ said Sarah. ‘And his alibi isn’t standing up, is it? He’s not the kind of man you should be trying to help.’

  I thought about how we’d both lost our wives, but kept it to myself, deciding not to mention what Coleman had told me. Instead I told her she was worse than Coleman. ‘He didn’t do it, Sarah.’

  ‘Fine.’ She picked up a writing pad. ‘Who did kill her, then?’

  I told her about Steve Taylor.

  ‘And why would he have killed her?’

  ‘He wanted her to leave Murdoch, but she wasn’t keen.’

  ‘Says who?’

  ‘Murdoch.’

  She pulled a face.

  ‘He said it was a convenience thing’ I continued, ignoring her protests. ‘He needed to keep Taylor sweet as part of the regeneration deal. It was his wife’s way of helping.’

  ‘And you believe that?’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You’ve got a lot to learn, Joe. Maybe she did want to leave her husband? Maybe he killed her because she wanted to leave?’

  ‘Maybe Taylor killed her because she wouldn’t leave Murdoch?’ I countered.

  Sarah sighed. ‘What about an alibi?’

  ‘Coleman reckons he has one. He wasn’t telling me the truth but he was bored just listening to me. He’d have told me anything to get me out of the station.’

  ‘Can we check it out?’

  ‘We can try.’ I scribbled a note to follow it up. ‘He was beaten up outside Salford’s casino last night.’

  ‘Don’t go there, Joe.’

  ‘He was told to keep his mouth shut.’

  ‘About what’s going on with Murdoch?’

  I nodded. ‘He’s vulnerable. Salford doesn’t want him talking to the police about it.’

  ‘And Salford had threatened to kill Jennifer Murdoch.’

  I nodded again, pleased Sarah was starting to take my concerns more seriously. She wrote his name on the pad.

  ‘Why would Salford kill her?’

  ‘Murdoch wanted out of the whole thing. This project is what he’s been working towards his entire career; his chance to leave a legacy behind. Salford’s come along and hijacked it.’

  ‘I’d hardly say hijacked.’

  I waved away her words. ‘Either way, Murdoch’s in over his head and he hasn’t got an out.’

  ‘So why would Salford kill her?’

  ‘Take your pick. He wanted to control Murdoch and keep him in line. He couldn’t afford him pulling the plug on the deal.’

  ‘But killing his wife?’

  ‘Taylor said Salford and Johnson wanted to sleep with her.’

  ‘Maybe she didn’t fall for their charms?’

  ‘It’s not cut and dried, is it? I can’t believe Coleman is only looking at Murdoch for this.’

  ‘It won’t be Coleman’s decision, though, will it? Whatever he’s doing will be done on orders from higher up.’

  ‘It’s still wrong, though. We went out of our way to help him at the swingers club. He was the one giving it all the co-operation bullshit.’

  ‘He’s not going to help us.’

  I knew she was right; it’s his job but it didn’t make the way he’d dealt with me taste any less bitter. I finished my drink and switched on my laptop.

  ‘Where’s your dad?’ I asked.

  ‘Don’t know. Said he had a few jobs
to do before he came in.’

  I nodded. I’d speak to him later.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about Donna Platt’ Sarah said. ‘Do you think we should tell her mother we’ve found her?’

  ‘We haven’t really found her yet.’

  ‘We know she’s alive. She’ll want to know.’

  Sarah was right. We probably should let the family know we’d made some progress. ‘I’ll give Derek a call, see what he thinks.’ He also knew Salford. It’d be a chance to find out more.

  ‘Leave it with me. If she’s not well, we don’t want to charge straight in. Do you think we should mention Lisa Day has been in contact with her?’

  ‘It’ll cause more harm than good.’

  Sarah cleared away our mugs and busied herself at her desk. I logged into my email account and quickly scanned through them. ‘Any plans for tonight?’ I asked, starting to formulate a plan.

  ‘I’ve got a date.’

  ‘A date?’

  ‘With the guy from the other night.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t particularly like him?’

  ‘A girl can change her mind, can’t she?’

  I clicked on my unopened messages and started to read them.

  I didn’t want to know the details of Sarah’s date, so I set off to find Derek. Choosing the pub, I struck lucky first time.

  ‘Now then’ I said, placing the drinks in front of us.

  ‘Now then.’ He picked his glass up. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers.’

  ‘You’re taking a chance, aren’t you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘This is a black and white pub.’

  Rugby. I smiled. ‘You’ve been checking me out.’

  ‘Do you blame me?’

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘How’s the knee?’

  ‘Painful.’ The cold weather today didn’t help.

  ‘I did my knee at sea. Bloody painful.’

  ‘Tell me about it.’

  He folded his newspaper up. ‘What can I do for you? I assume we’re not going to talk rugby?’

  ‘I need to know about Frank Salford.’

  ‘What makes you think I can help?’

  I sighed and shrugged. Derek was my best bet. ‘I just thought you might be able to.’