The Ballad Of Sean And Wilko (The Christy Kennedy Mysteries Book 4)

by Paul Charles

  ‘Possible,’ Taylor acknowledged.

  ‘So, she informs Ranjesus about their baby, but only when it’s too late to do anything about it. Tell me,’ Kennedy paused, ‘at what point in a pregnancy would it be impossible to have an abortion?’

  ‘If the mother’s health was at risk, then possibly as late as twenty-four weeks, but the patient or child would have to be at risk,’ Taylor said.

  Kennedy paced his office.

  ‘The doctor worries, but decides to bide his time. He monitors her, discovers the placenta pree…’

  ‘Praevia.’

  ‘Praevia, right, and he lets nature take its course. It rids him of two problems,’ Kennedy replied excitedly.

  ‘Yes, old chap. It works. But, again, you are never, ever, going to be able to prove it,’ Taylor sympathised with his friend.

  ‘Perhaps not, doctor, perhaps not. But in the meantime, I intend to carry out a high-profile investigation into our Dr Ranjee Shareef. Somewhere, someone on the hospital staff, must know something.’

  Kennedy closed Taylor’s autopsy report and placed it in his top right-hand drawer.

  ‘Well, just be careful. That’s all I ask you, Christy, just be careful. He’s got some influential friends, our Dr Shareef,’ Taylor said, rising.

  ‘I hear you, Leonard. I hear you. But I can’t just sit around and ignore what’s happened.’

  ‘What you think has happened,’ Taylor corrected.

  ‘No. What I’m convinced happened.’

  CHAPTER TWENTTY-FOUR

  ‘Hey man, what’s the vibe?’ KP announced, recognising Kennedy’s voice.

  ‘Oh, it’s a fresh-week a.m. vibe, man.’ Kennedy tried to imitate KP-speak. First thing Monday morning, before most of his team had arrived, Kennedy had Kevin Paul on the phone.

  ‘You mean it’s a “I don’t like Mondays” scene, man. Hey, I’ve been on the old Philip Marlowe trip myself over the weekend,’ KP jived back.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah man, I’ve been trying to figure out why Sean brought Wilko back into the band.’

  ‘Any progress?’ Kennedy enquired. This same question had been burning a hole in the detective’s brain the previous afternoon.

  ‘Hey, it’s kind of complicated, but I think there might be…’

  ‘You’ve got my attention, KP.’

  ‘At this stage, I’ve got but one piece of information for you, man.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘I think Colette Green may be involved in this somewhere. I’ve been up all night tracking down a few leads. I like all the darkness and shadows vibe, man. Makes me more of a Camden Dick Noir than the employees of North Bridge House.’

  ‘Or a vampire,’ Kennedy said, recalling KP’s slight frame, white skin and dark clothes.

  ‘Very dry. My contract says I get all the funny lines. Please remember that, detective, if we’re going to get a team vibe going. Paul and Kennedy, doesn’t really roll off the tongue like Watson and Holmes, bangers and mash—’

  ‘Nah, you’re right. There’s no natural connection between the two names. Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be,’ Kennedy cut in. ‘But I hear Lewis has left Morse; perhaps there’s an opening for you there?’

  ‘I’m not into the swan-song vibe man. Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted, I’ve been up all night. I’m wrecked. I’m going to bed for a couple of hours and then I’m meeting someone at twelve. Why don’t we hook up at two o’clock for a late lunch?’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  ‘Let’s meet in the back room at Trattoria Lucca. Cool vibe man, see you later.’ KP disappeared off the line, leaving Kennedy with a rather large grin on his face.

  A grin which disappeared twenty seconds later when WPC Anne Coles and DS Irvine marched into his office, ready, willing and able for the week ahead.

  ‘Okay, we’ve a busy day ahead of us. Let’s get stuck straight in. We need to talk to Leslie Russell, Sean Green, the McSisters, Wilko’s lawyer Slattery, Simon Peddington, Kevin Paul, James MacDonald and Robert Clarke. And that’s just before lunchtime,’ Kennedy joked.

  ‘No problem,’ Irvine came back, quick as a flash ‘And what are you two going to be doing while I’m looking after that lot?’

  ‘Seriously though, there is something taking shape here. I’m just not quite sure what it is yet. At this point I think we’re doing okay. Right, let’s divide up and get on with it,’ Kennedy suggested.

  They spent a few minutes working out who was going to see who and with whom. Irvine took Allaway with him, leaving PC Tony West to work with Coles. A decision that had Allaway turning up his nose and West trying hard to contain himself.

  The McSisters, as Irvine had christened them, were first on Kennedy’s list of people to be interviewed. If they had been upset about the previous day’s visit from Coles and Irvine, they certainly weren’t showing it. Susan seemed in high spirits, all things considered, and even Tracey had managed to doll herself up in her Sunday best.

  Kennedy chose, for the time being, to ignore the alleged infidelities of Wilko. He accepted their kind offer of tea and, while Susan was out preparing it, enquired as to her well-being.

  ‘Oh, as well as can be expected under the circumstances. As she mentioned to you last time, they were no longer emotionally close, so perhaps it’s not as bad as it might have been for her. There’s probably still a little bit of anger there that Susan’s using to fight off the sense of loss,’ Tracey replied.

  Kennedy was a little taken aback at how comfortable she appeared to be with him, as a policeman, in light of her recent confrontation with the Camden CID.

  ‘But at the same time, from her last conversation with me, I got the feeling she still had a soft spot for him,’ he said. ‘You know, respected the fact that he still felt it important to look after her and all that.’

  ‘Oh yes, definitely. We both respected him for that quality. He knew his responsibilities, did our Wilko. But at the same time, our Susan, you know, she’d never have divorced him. She wouldn’t have thought it correct. Now with Wilko gone though, I suppose she feels, to some degree, she can make a new start. I think that’s why she’s feeling all right. I think—’

  ‘You two seem to be quite cosy,’ Susan interrupted, as she entered the room carrying a tray laden with cups, saucers, biscuits, milk and sugar.

  ‘Well, he’s not your average peeler, is he now Susan?’ Tracey laughed.

  The two women enjoyed a sisterly giggle, while Susan played mother with the tea.

  ‘I was just wondering how you were getting on really,’ Kennedy offered gently.

  ‘Oh, you know. So-so,’ Susan replied immediately. ‘But I have to tell you, perhaps I’m having a delayed reaction, but I feel better than I think I should feel. Is it crude to say that?’

  ‘Certainly not,’ Kennedy comforted. ‘It’s an unknown area for you. We’re all a lot more resilient than we expect – we have to be. We have to deal with this loss, and I think we always prepare ourselves for it being worse than it actually is.’

  Kennedy wasn’t altogether sure he believed himself. He’d been to houses to announce the death of a husband, wife, brother, sister, mother, child, and he had witnessed the bottom completely fall out of people’s worlds. He’d seen people lose, completely, their will to live. But he felt it was important that Susan didn’t feel guilty over the ‘easiness’ at dealing with her loss. For all he knew there may be another reason for it. Relief perhaps. This relief would make it easier to keep the conversation on an up and the more up the conversation the easier it was going to be to collect vital information.

  ‘Are you okay to answer a few questions about Wilko? Kennedy enquired.

  ‘Sure,’ Susan answered, as she stole a look at her sister.

  ‘It’s just, I’m trying to work out why Sean would have Wilko back in the group?’

  ‘Shouldn’t you ask Sean that question?’ Tracey asked.

  ‘Well, I have. He says it was because he w
anted to have another go at Circles breaking America and he thought they’d have a better chance with the original singer,’ Kennedy replied.

  ‘You don’t believe him?’ Susan asked.

  ‘Well, not exactly. Everyone says that the replacement singer, although he was no Wilko, worked well in the group. Some say Circles would have had as good a chance in America with Robert Clarke.’

  ‘Maybe even better. He was a lot younger than Wilko and well, you know, Wilko wasn’t exactly ageing well,’ Susan offered, making Kennedy’s job all the easier.

  ‘Yes, Robert is a bit of a looker,’ Tracey agreed.

  ‘So my point would be, with all you’ve just said and the added financial attraction – I’m assuming here that Robert wasn’t receiving as much money as Wilko – why did Sean want Wilko back in the group? I can see all the advantages for Wilko, but I don’t see any upside from Sean’s point of view, at all,’ Kennedy said.

  Neither Susan nor Tracey spoke.

  ‘Would there be any other reason you could think of?’ Kennedy pushed.

  ‘I think you have to realise how long Wilko and Sean were together,’ Susan answered. ‘You have to realise how much they depended on each other, how much they needed each other at the beginning. They covered each other’s weaknesses. They lived in each other’s pockets in the early days, when they were penniless. Sharing a tin of cold baked beans can bring you very close together. That’s a bond that goes way beyond money. Goes way beyond the fights and squabbles. They were closer than brothers, hell, closer than husbands and wives. Poor Colette and me were always the rock widows.’

  ‘Poor Colette nothing,’ Tracey cut in. ‘She got what she wanted, always.’

  ‘Ah, she’s not as bad as you think. She’s been great in all of this,’ Susan continued, addressing first her sister and then the detective. ‘She’s been around here twice a day, offering support; saying she and Sean will do whatever we need. Saying that Sean has said I’ll won’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life. They don’t need to be like that. They could get away with just sending flowers and cards. But there’s Colette, raising a family and she’s coming around here all the time making sure everything is okay. That’s the bond I’m talking about. Yes, Wilko dumped on Sean when he left the group, but Sean didn’t feel bitter about it. He always said it was the break that got him off his arse and got Circles going again. Perhaps he would have felt different if Wilko had gone on to greater success as a solo artist. Maybe it was easy for Sean to be so generous, generous enough to offer Wilko his gig back again.’

  ‘Maybe he felt it would be good for his profile, you know, “look what a great chap I am, bringing Wilko back into my group”.’ Tracey cut in. ‘He was always the master of PR, our Sean.’

  ‘Aye, that’s correct and we can all thank God he was,’ Susan shot back. ‘Without his drive I’d hate to think where the band would have gone. Let’s not forget that. A good number of people – musicians, crew, wives and girlfriends and Kevin Paul – all enjoyed a good life out of Sean and his ability to drive the group.’

  Kennedy noticed the emphasis Susan put on KP’s name. It was more dismissive than vicious. He decided to leave the subject lurking somewhere beneath the surface, for now anyway.

  ‘So, you think it’s as simple as that? Sean brought Wilko back into the group because of all their history together?’ Kennedy asked.

  ‘Well, it certainly could be one explanation. I’m not sure I can think of any others. Can you, Tracey?’

  ‘Not really, no. But what about you, inspector? Surely you must have a few theories at this stage.’

  ‘We’re still gathering our information.’

  ‘Is that police-speak for, “we have our suspicions but nothing we wish to divulge at this moment”?’ Tracey pushed.

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Well I suppose it is better than, “someone is helping us with our enquiries”. That always means a suspect is in custody, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Ah, come on, give him a break. I’m forever telling you that you watch too much telly,’ Susan cut back in.

  ‘Tell me, what were you were both doing on the Thursday evening last?’ Kennedy asked suddenly.

  ‘I have a confession to make,’ Tracey offered, breaking the seven-second silence since Kennedy’s question.

  ‘Oh?’ Kennedy had noticed that Susan was doing everything possible to avoid eye contact with both himself and her sister.

  ‘Mmm, yes. The other evening when I said we were together, I’m afraid that I lied to you. It was really a spur of the moment thing. I don’t know what I was thinking, really. Probably felt I was protecting her.’

  ‘So where were you on Thursday?’ Kennedy repeated, looking at Susan.

  ‘I was here, all evening,’ Susan said quietly, looking directly at her sister. ‘By myself.’

  ‘Did anyone drop in?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Did anyone call you?’

  ‘Not a dicky bird.’

  ‘Did you ring anyone?’

  ‘Not a soul. I’m sorry, detective. I don’t exactly have a large circle of friends or a heavy social life. I suppose that leaves me without an alibi?’

  ‘Oh, I’m not sure alibis are all they’re cracked up to be,’ Kennedy admitted.

  Susan Robertson appeared to take little comfort in Kennedy’s generous remark.

  ‘And yourself?’ Kennedy turned his head to the other sister. ‘Miss McGee, what were you doing on Thursday evening?’

  ‘Well,’ Tracey began nervously, ‘I was at the Circles gig at Dingwalls Dancehall.’

  ‘I couldn’t swear to it but I don’t think your name was on the list of people we interviewed after the gig,’ Kennedy stated, after a lengthy pause.

  ‘Ah, no,’ Tracey began, appearing somewhat more confident now. ‘That would be because I wasn’t there at the end, you see. I always thought that instrumental they do was one big ego trip, all the musicians getting a chance to show off their musical legs, as it were. It’s all very well for the band and their egos but boring as watching paint dry for the audience. I suppose Wilko and Sean needed a bit of a breather at that point in the show.’

  ‘Actually,’ Susan began, ‘Wilko needed the break to change out of his sweaty clothes. At that point he was always soaked through to the skin.’

  ‘Yes, whatever. I’m sure they could have done something without him anyway. An instrumental version of one of the songs. But there was no need for Sean to leave the stage as well. He didn’t have to prance around it all night, working up a sweat. He just sat behind his keyboards like Lord Muck. Anyway, as I was saying, I left just as they took the break,’ Tracey said.

  ‘Did you often go to their gigs?’ was Kennedy’s next question.

  ‘All the time, they’re a great band and they play so rarely these days you have to take every opportunity you can.’

  ‘What about you, Mrs Robertson. Did you not go to all the concerts?’

  ‘No. Wilko preferred me not to. Said he was always more nervous when he knew I was out there. He said I knew who he really was and there’d always be one person out there who knew it was all an act. I’d sometimes slip in to the bigger shows, when he wouldn’t know I was there, but Dingwalls was too small for that—’

  ‘Yes,’ her sister interrupted, ‘I don’t really know why they were playing such a small place at all. It was so packed, you couldn’t move in there. I mean, I’ve been to Dingwalls lots. It’s an okay place, but it’s mostly for comedy these days. Circles could have easily sold out the Albert Hall. They still had an audience and they hadn’t played in town for ages.’

  ‘Tell me, Mrs Robertson,’ Kennedy began, ‘did you know that your sister was going to see Circles?’

  ‘Mmm, well, I’m not her keeper you know, only the little sister,’ Susan replied, forcing a laugh.

  ‘So, you didn’t know that she was going to see your husband perform on Thursday evening last?’

  ‘No, inspector, I
did not know she was going to see Circles that evening.’

  ‘Did you see Sean in the crowd walking around during the break, Miss McGee?’

  ‘No, inspector. As I have already told you, I left before the jam session.’

  ‘Yes, sorry. So you did. I was wondering did Wilko know you were going to be attending the concert?’ Kennedy continued, directing his question once more at Tracey McGee.

  ‘Well he would, wouldn’t he? He gave me a lift down to the show.’

  ‘But I thought your sister didn’t know you were going to the concert?’

  ‘She didn’t,’ Tracey replied abruptly. ‘We didn’t leave from here, you see. The band had a long soundcheck to do.’

  ‘Soundcheck?’

  ‘You know, all that “testing, one, two” routine that they go through to make sure the sound is perfect. They hadn’t played for a good time, so Sean was putting them all through their paces. A bit of rehearsing as well as soundchecking. Anyway, I met Wilko at The Engineer. It’s not far, a quick walk down the canal path from Dingwalls.’

  ‘And you went to the gig together?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But I thought you said he gave you a lift.’

  ‘He did.’

  ‘But you just said that you walked along the canal path.’

  ‘No, I was just telling you how to get there from Dingwalls. With all the fans and that, Wilko wasn’t going to walk along the canal path and straight in the front door, now was he?’ Tracey replied calmly.

  ‘No, I suppose not. It’s just that it would seem, by car, to be quite a long and complicated journey, because of the railway track and such. Perhaps as much as ten minutes, whereas it would only be a couple of minutes’ walk,’ Kennedy persisted. Something there was niggling him, he wasn’t exactly sure what.

  ‘The price, and inconvenience, of fame, detective inspector. What can I tell you?’ Tracey replied.

  Kennedy tried a new approach. ‘Tell me, Miss McGee, what time did the soundcheck finish?’

  ‘About five thirty.’

  ‘So you were there. You were at the soundcheck?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve just told you I was.’