Money, Mishaps and Murder

by David Beard

  Outside, things were not so promising; the weather had deteriorated to a heavy summer rainstorm, which was soon accompanied by loud rumblings of thunder. It was as dark as a miserable November grey day between the intermittent flashes of lightning. Lights were needed for her to continue with the preparations.

  Suddenly, the lights, and more importantly the cooker, ceased to function; lightning had struck the local substation and there was no electricity. If only we had a gas cooker she mused. Unfortunately, there was not a quick resumption; engineers were required and it was hours before the power returned. In the meantime all her culinary efforts were ruined.

  ‘At least I was too disappointed and angry to apply myself to work.’

  ‘We have been together, we have had a great weekend and I enjoyed the Chinese takeaway,’ Hector did his best to console her but his last remark was misplaced and she burst into tears.

  CHAPTER 14

  Emily wandered into Smalacombe’s office on the Monday morning. She did not look her neat and tidy self; Smalacombe assessed her hair was in a bit of a mess. After her cooking fiasco, thoughts of work returned to her late on Sunday evening.

  ‘You OK, Emily?’

  ‘I’ve had a rotten weekend; no bloody electricity for six hours on Saturday.’

  ‘We were lucky at our end; we missed that.’

  ‘I’ve had no sleep, Dexter. I couldn’t get this damned case out of my mind last night. Anyway, I think I have worked some things out. Do you remember very early on, you explained to me that every case had a cock-up?’

  ‘I did and this will be no exception.’

  ‘This case is worse; it’s a monumental balls-up.’

  ‘It’s all getting a bit male genitalia…’

  ‘I can balance that and say that Crossworth was a c…’

  ‘Yea, yea, yea! Let’s move on.’ Smalacombe shook his head and thought, what is my influence doing to this lovely lady?

  The banter relieved her. ‘I have written it down as there are so many asides to this.’ She handed him a folder. ‘Have you got time?’

  ‘Tell me what you have concluded.’

  ‘I have always been unconvinced about the computer wipe and why Crossworth wanted it. There is something much more important. We have checked it out and the small key on the ring is for the gun cupboard. Also, his mobile is now up and running and he sent a short text to Whitecroft late on Friday which simply said, “There’s another side to this but I now know who instigated it.” This is really important.’

  ‘I’ve worked that out. Does it concern Lynley and the corruption thing?’ Smalacombe added.

  ‘Yes! Macine had worked it out for Crossworth. Her bank account shows lots of movement of large quantities of money, which we have discovered was being transferred to a Sable’s account but not his usual one.’ She paused and then began again, ‘This all sets the scene.’

  ‘But, why the delay? Why didn’t she get this info to us?’

  ‘Because she was still gathering it. Look, Sable was into the A Gate files. We can be sure now that he wasn’t just messing it up but looking for indications of corruption as well. You can bet your bottom dollar that he had access to correspondence and everything. It may be that Crossworth wanted to wipe his computer in order to get rid of any corruption evidence.’

  ‘Our team have found nothing yet. But why then?’

  ‘It was all coming to a head that weekend. Crossworth had plans but the bloody keys were stolen, the car remained where it was…’

  ‘Yea, yea, yea, of course. So, in your view, what’s our next move?’

  ‘Whitecroft. He’s not telling us all he knows.’

  ‘We’ll bring him in again a s a p.’

  Superintendent Milner was unusually impressed as a whole clutch of reports had arrived on her desk and her internal email. Smalacombe and Corndon had both spent much time the previous afternoon preparing them. She was also relieved that some progress had been made and Sable had been arrested but it seemed a bit of a side issue. Little progress had been made in discovering who carried out the murders. There was still much speculation and it did not seem to her that any real direction had been achieved. She wasn’t happy with the way the investigation was being organised; it was ad hoc.

  She called them in to explain her misgivings. Smalacombe explained that the nature of the case was such that he couldn’t organise a stringent interviewing list, as each day something new cropped up involving different people. As it was August, there were people who he desperately wished to interview such as the two brothers at A Gate Services but they were on vacation in the Maldives. He was also frustrated because the forensics department was so slow. He could carry on with a certain pathway only to find a week later that a DNA check submitted previously disproved the whole tenet. It was only this morning that the contents of Crossworth’s phone had been recovered and it had already provided some valuable information. He acknowledged there were areas still untouched.

  ‘Have you discovered the daughter yet?’

  ‘We haven’t addressed it, mam. Well, we have checked with the solicitors but they don’t know either.’

  ‘Why have you let it lapse? They can’t complete the probate until they know who she is.’

  ‘That’s not our problem. We have enough of our own as you have just outlined.’

  Emily decided to bring her opinion forward, ‘We are progressing, mam but we acknowledge it is very slow. I must say though, we are coming close to a resolution. I genuinely think we will be there by the middle of next week at the latest.’

  ‘You said you need those people in the Maldives. When are they returning?’

  ‘They came back this weekend. We have already made arrangements with A Gate Services for them to come down tomorrow.’

  ‘Well, this isn’t resolving anything is it. We had better move on.’

  The pair came back into the office and as always Sheldon had more information for them.

  ‘We have been checking out Whitecroft as you asked, sir. One major thing needs explaining. He and Crossworth went to Taunton later that Friday afternoon to pick up a hire car. For insurance purposes, they were both registered to drive it.’

  ‘That’s interesting, Barry but Crossworth needed wheels.’

  ‘Ah, but I have left the best bit until now.’ Smalacombe shook his head, this lad was building the tension once more. ‘Whitecroft booked the car on the Thursday.’

  ‘Waow; that is a ground shaker,’ Emily expounded. ‘We need another hour now to think this through. Me thinks we have yet another cock-up.’

  *

  Smalacombe was wanted on the phone; it was Angela Marriot. He wasn’t sure whether this was a good omen or a distraction. On the other hand she may be providing bad news.

  ‘Do you want the good news or the bad news, Dexter?’

  He was confident that she was only concerned with business. He pressed the speaker button and rested the receiver on his desk so that Emily could overhear the conversation.

  ‘Clear up the rubbish first.’ He decided to be brusque and business like; he couldn’t cope with the distraction of her private life at this time and it would not be wise for Emily to know too much.

  ‘Dexter, as you know, we recently took a DNA sample from Samantha, Heather Lynley’s daughter. We have analysed the DNA on the cups in Lynley’s haversack. Lynley’s DNA is there of course but also there is other DNA on one of the cups, which is from Samantha’s father. The semen in the body is from the same person.’

  ‘It can’t be; he was in Hong Kong. We have checked his movements with the airports and the passport office and,’ he checked his notes on the table, ‘he received an email from his daughter at thirteen twenty three on Monday lunchtime and one from us at fifteen thirty five. He replied to both at sixteen eleven our time but it was sent at eleven minutes past midnight; eight hours ahead. In other words, it got here before it was sent, which shows it came from the Far East. He checked in at Heathrow at eighteen thirty fiv
e on Tuesday evening. We are sure of that. He came to Devon on Wednesday morning to the morgue and then back to Tiverton.’

  ‘I don’t know to whom you are referring but the man with Heather on that Sunday afternoon is Samantha Peckham’s father. And, before the confusion continues it wasn’t Crossworth, as you know.’

  ‘Oh for fuck’s sake…I’m sorry Angela. At every stage we have to do a U turn and start again. So there is some other lover in the frame now.’

  ‘I do have some good news for you though.’

  ‘Just let me compose myself as I haven’t had any of that for so long I don’t know how to receive it.’

  ‘The cartridges. The lab has been on to me for various reasons concerning them. There are fingerprints on them – Crossworth’s. No others by the way. There are various traces of oil, other deposits and the detonator markings which confirm they came from Crossworth’s gun.’

  Emily raised her fists in the air and shook them. She looked at Smalacombe with a broad smile. He pretended not to notice.

  ‘Also, they match a box of cartridges with two missing that was found in Crossworth’s cupboard. They are not bog standard either; they are for hunting large animals and cause severe damage. Hence the traumas we found.’

  ‘Oh, Angela, that is good news, well not for Crossworth or Lynley.’ He looked to his sergeant again and her broad grin of satisfaction persisted. ‘Wait a minute, I’m not sure it is good news for us. Another U turn?’

  ‘In which case you will be going back the way you started.’

  ‘You’re getting worse than my sergeant.’

  Emily, still smiling, shook her head.

  ‘I can pass on some more that will give you a further U turn, which will sort it. More bad news I’m afraid. Lynley’s car was carefully wiped; all door handles, steering wheel, doors and so on. We have no evidence from it that will enable us to pinpoint someone. The lab are checking the upholstery and may be able to find something if you find a suspect; one way or the other. I am sure with a bit of time they will come up with something.’

  ‘Bugger!’

  ‘Keep turning.’

  He replaced the phone. Emily was pleased with these results and she was bubbling with excitement. She hoped she didn’t look smug, as that is how she felt. ‘So, it was Crossworth’s gun that did the damage.’

  ‘How did you work that out?’ The question was rhetorical as he had already concluded it was her second brain that had done the analysis.

  ‘Why else would they want the keys? I could think of no other option. It is bloody weird though. We are looking for a severely bent asshole.’

  ‘I can’t work out the anatomic of that,’ Smalacombe replied, which gave rise to some more amusement.

  ‘I’m not going to provide diagrams.’ Emily was embarrassed by the rudeness of her observation, ‘My apologies, Dexter. The tension gives rise to this filth on occasion. It’s just a release valve.’

  ‘That’s exactly what it is, but not when it’s bent.’ Both of them took time off to guffaw and adjust themselves before returning to business. ‘We need a bit of quiet now as this may alter what we ask of Whitecroft. Good start to the day.’

  They remained in his office for some time facing one another but saying little. Emily leant across his desk and handed him a piece of paper. ‘Some questions, Dexter.’

  He looked through her notes; it was much the same as he had compiled and to their relief, the desk sergeant rang to say that Whitecroft and his solicitor had arrived.

  *

  Soon they were in the interview room and the session was underway. Smalacombe was wary that Whitecroft would shut down so he took time to outline to him why it was in his interests to cooperate as they did not believe he was the murderer and he was not being interviewed as a suspect of it. Smalacombe understood that may not be true but it served his purpose. However, he explained that there were other things that needed clarifying in order to relieve him of other suspicions.

  Emily was now sure of Whitecroft’s role and she was determined to make her mark at this interview. She was aware that she was the subordinate but she had had no time to discuss her theories with Smalacombe and this chance could not be wasted.

  Smalcombe began the questioning. ‘Mr Whitecroft, can you confirm that you were with Henry Crossworth having lunch with him at the Dog and Bone on the Friday lunchtime before his death?’

  ‘I was, as I explained at our last meeting; we had a business lunch and we set out my future at A Gate Services.’

  ‘I think there was more to it than that. What else did you discuss?’

  ‘It was business of the day; where we wanted to take things. As I said the other day, we were considering reporting our knowledge of the hacking to you.’

  ‘What about the hire car at Taunton?’

  ‘Henry needed one after his keys were stolen.’

  Emily felt it was time to take things up, ‘This was all done because of the keys?’

  ‘Well, of course. He couldn’t find his spare ones.’

  ‘Then why did you book the car on the Thursday?’

  For the first time in the interviews they had had with Whitecroft, they noted he was visibly shaken. He looked to his brief who just stared back dispassionately.

  Whitecroft’s solicitor decided to intervene. He was uneasy. He was satisfied that Whitecroft was not involved in the murders but he knew that within the eyes of the law his client could be charged with conspiracy regarding other issues. ‘My client was working for Mr Crossworth at this time and was simply carrying out instructions given to him. It is either that or he lost his job. In our discussions, it is clear to me that he did not know of Mr Crossworth’s intentions, whatever they were and he was not involved in planning them. He still doesn’t know now, I would add.’

  ‘As far as I can see, he may still be an accessory,’ Smalacombe replied.

  ‘How? He was on good terms with Mr Crossworth. From this perspective he will be unable to cooperate fully.’

  ‘I can assure you both of two things. Firstly, like you, sir,’ he addressed the brief, ‘I cannot bend the laws. Secondly, if Mr Whitecroft’s revelations enable us to find the killer, then that will be taken into consideration and I will do what I can to help but I don’t do deals.’

  Whitecroft addressed Smalacombe, ‘Chief Inspector, I need time with my brief before I can move on. Can we adjourn? I will cooperate.’

  Smalacombe agreed on an hour’s adjournment. He was pleased that Emily had caught Whitecroft off guard even though he was undoubtedly well prepared. The delay suited him as there was so much whizzing around in his head he was in danger of missing the central theme. He was also well aware that there was no such confusion with his sergeant and he needed to talk with her.

  When the interview restarted Whitecroft returned with a clear sense of direction and declared it at the outset. ‘I wish to explain my position, Mr Smalacombe. I am prepared to cooperate as I had no connection with the murders and that is not an idle denial. However, I was privy to events leading up to them that most probably have a significant bearing on your investigations.’

  ‘Then, let’s begin with the hire car.’

  ‘I will go back a step further. It was never sensible to cross Henry. It wasn’t enough for Sable to be sued for hacking, for instance. It was necessary to destroy him. He was furious about Sable and Heather and before all of this other stuff began it was Henry who tipped off his wife over the affair with Heather. He had him tailed so that she could be told exactly where they were.’

  ‘Who did the tailing?’

  ‘You have asked me that before. I recall, Gregory someone; funny name.’

  That was enough for Smalacombe and he felt no need to confirm the man’s surname. ‘Do you know where the tryst was?’

  ‘Yes, it was near to where she was found on Dartmoor. Heather had a fixation for a place not far from that car park. It was her favourite place on Dartmoor; indeed her favourite place in the world. She visited it re
gularly, probably every time she went to Dartmoor. Most of her dalliances ended up there at some time or another. I must say quickly, I was never so lucky.’

  ‘So Henry knew of that place?’

  ‘I’m sure of that. He would have been there with her on many occasions. He was riled that he was sharing her with Sable.’

  ‘Where is this taking us?’

  ‘He knew he had created an enemy in Sable but he had insufficient proof that Sable was doing the hacking so he decided to set up clues to prove that he did.’

  Emily was ahead of him. ‘He decided to frame him. That is why he wanted the computer wiped.’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Ah, I am with it now,’ Smalacombe added, ‘and the car keys were not stolen.’

  Whitecroft gave a deep sigh; he was now passing the point of no return. ‘That’s right. The idea was that Sable would be accused of stealing the keys in order to have access to the house and the computer,’ he confirmed.

  ‘So, who planted them in his front room? More to the point, who got him back to the UK at the critical time?’ Smalacombe was elated, things were moving at long last.

  This was the difficult bit for Whitecroft and he looked to his solicitor who leant across and whispered, ‘There’s no going back now, Willie you have to continue.’

  ‘I was instructed to do so on both counts. And, as you have worked out it was left to me to hire the car, which I messed up. For reasons I do not understand, Henry wanted, indeed insisted, all of this had to be done that weekend. I contacted Sable when he was in France and explained to him that I needed a consultant to help with a new IT system. He said he would contact me when he returned. I told him it was urgent and I couldn’t wait. I explained I was talking a great deal of business, probably in excess of twenty K but it had to begin immediately. Exaggeration of course, indeed I confess not true but I knew I had to offer something he couldn’t refuse. I also agreed to pay for the extra travel expenses.’

  ‘But surely, with all the hacking going on, Sable must have known that Rollisade and Sons were Crossworth’s? This doesn’t work, Mr Whitecroft.’