The Dead Squirrel (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 2)

by Patrick C Walsh

  Andy smiled. ‘Now that makes much more sense. Getting even with your ex-wife, that’s grounds for murder alright.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘So any suggestions as to what should be our next step?’ Andy asked.

  ‘I think we should go and see my contact at the FT,’ Mac suggested. ‘I think a chat with someone like him might shed a bit more light on the case.’

  ‘Good call Mac. Can you ask him if we could speak to him this afternoon?’ Andy asked.

  ‘Sure.’

  Mac got up and walked a few feet away while he made the call. His contact said he’d be free in a couple of hours.

  ‘Do you think this could be the lead we’ve been looking for?’ Andy asked when Mac had finished his call.

  ‘Love and money, they can be a lethal mixture can’t they? I have to admit that it looks promising and anyway if it’s not murder then it’s at least a case of blackmail, isn’t it?’

  ‘Come on then, let’s get going. If there’s traffic it could easily take us two hours to get to Central London. Toni and Leigh, can I ask you to carry on interviewing the Society’s members? I’ll give you a ring when we get back.’

  It being London there was traffic and they arrived with only a minute or two to spare. They were lucky to get a disabled parking space opposite the black glass cube of the Financial Times building. Mac’s contact, a short, fat man with a receding hairline, was waiting for them in the lobby. After signing them in, he led them down a corridor and into a large meeting room. A man was already in the room and he was tucking into a tray of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

  Mac introduced his contact.

  ‘This is Matt Loffkiss who is…what are you now, Matt?’

  ‘Assistant Editor now Mac and this is Denzel Jordan,’ Matt said as he gestured towards the doughnut eater. ‘He did some articles on Alix Stefanovic.’

  Denzel was in his early thirties, wore jeans and a crumpled check shirt, and, like Matt, he had had a receding hairline and wore rimless glasses.

  Mac introduced Andy. They sat down and helped themselves to a coffee each.

  ‘Sorry,’ Denzel apologised in an American accent as he grabbed another doughnut. ‘I haven’t had anything since breakfast and I’m starving.’

  ‘So what has got the police so interested in AMMI and Alix Stefanovic? Is there a story in it for us?’ Matt asked.

  ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to keep this under your hat for now. We’re more interested in his ex-wife at the moment but we’d like to find out more about him too. Tell us what you know,’ Mac asked.

  ‘Classic rags to riches tale,’ Matt replied. ‘He started out as a messenger boy on Wall Street and was found using one of their computers after hours to buy and sell shares. The story is that they were a millimetre away from calling the police when one of the product managers took a look at his trades. He was doing far better than they were so they gave him a job instead. Within six years he was running the business.’

  ‘He’s good at what he does then?’ Andy asked.

  ‘No,’ Denzel said, taking another mouthful of doughnut. ‘He’s bloody magnificent at what he does. Of course there’s some talk about how his trades are now self-fulfilling prophecies, if he buys everyone wants to buy as well. Even so I’d still say that he’s got one of the best financial brains in the world.’

  Matt nodded his agreement.

  ‘You sound as if you admired him,’ Mac stated.

  ‘I suppose I do in a way,’ Denzel confirmed as another doughnut bit the dust. ‘He makes things happen and not always in the way you might think. He’s a very creative guy.’

  ‘What about his ex-wife?’ Andy asked.

  ‘Ah, now that was a story,’ Matt said with a smile. ‘God but it was great copy for a while, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world getting skewered by his ex-wife, a journalist’s dream really.’

  ‘Took him to the bloody cleaners,’ Denzel confirmed.

  ‘How much did she get?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Sixty five point five million dollars,’ Matt replied.

  ‘I suppose in their circles that’s not so much,’ Mac said.

  ‘That’s sixty five point five million dollars a year,’ Denzel pointed out.

  ‘A year!’ Andy said with some disbelief.

  ‘Plus a hundred and ninety million up front, mind you he could afford it,’ Matt said. ‘Like me paying a parking fine I’d guess but that wasn’t the best part. After dragging him through the courts, washing all their dirty laundry in public and getting one of the biggest alimony pay-outs in history what does she do?’

  He paused for effect.

  ‘She had a private hearing after the judgement and made it clear that she wouldn’t soil herself by taking a penny of his money. She turned it all down. Now there’s a woman with balls of steel!’

  ‘Wow, he must have really upset her. How did he react?’ Andy asked.

  ‘You think he’d be happy at not having to part with the money but instead he went totally apeshit for a while,’ Matt said. ‘I heard he was nearly done for assault after going on a massive binge and beating up some guy in a bar who was taking the piss. Of course his people managed to hush it all up by the liberal application of his cheque book.’

  Denzel seamlessly continued, ‘And, in one of those drunken episodes he was heard to say that he’d get even with his wife if it killed him. ‘That limey bitch’ he called her.’

  ‘What’s the story behind the takeover? Sounds like the motive behind it could be more personal than business perhaps?’ Mac asked.

  ‘I’d guess it’s one hundred per cent personal. I mean 3C’s not a bad target for AMMI but they’re paying way above what you’d expect,’ Matt informed them.

  ‘Not only that,’ Denzel continued, ‘Why is Alix here in London running the whole show himself? That’s not his normal style, he usually likes to pull the strings from afar and stay out of the limelight.’

  ‘Alix Stefanovic is here in London?’ Andy said with some surprise. ‘Any idea how we can contact him?’

  ‘Well he wouldn’t hand out his personal phone number to the likes of us now, would he?’ Denzel said. He turned to look at Matt. ‘But there is someone who’d know, isn’t there Matt?’

  ‘His ex-wife would know the number. Alix is staying at the flat he and she used to live in. I think he’s spent more time there over the last month than he ever did when they were married.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  They drove through a part of London that Mac had worked in when he’d first joined the Met. It was right on the river and back then had been a dirty, run-down industrial area at the heart of which an old gin distillery had stood. It was all very different and very up-market now.

  They pulled up outside a tall glittering block of flats overlooking the river. A man immaculately dressed in tails and a top hat gave them a sour look. Andy flashed his warrant card and said he had an appointment with Alix Stefanovic.

  ‘Yes,’ the man said as he looked them up and down with clear disapproval.

  He led them into a plush lobby and into a mirrored lift. He inserted a key and selected the top floor. The lift was so smooth that Mac wasn’t even sure it was moving. The doors opened and he gestured at them to leave the lift.

  ‘Which flat does Mr. Stefanovic live in?’ Andy reasonably asked.

  The man’s face showed his utter disdain.

  ‘There is only one residence on this floor, through the double doors there.’ He pointed. ‘Ask Mr. Stafanovic to ring the lobby when you’re ready to leave.’

  The lift doors silently closed behind them.

  The door opened and a man dressed in a white shirt and jeans appeared. The shirt was silk and the jeans had a designer label on and were obviously made to measure.

  ‘You’re the police?’

  Andy showed him his warrant card.

  ‘Please come in.’

  The man was slim and in his late thirties although his hair w
as already starting to grey at the sides. Mac thought that he was striking rather than good looking but the thing that struck him most was the air of sure authority he emanated.

  ‘Can I get you anything?’ he asked, as he gestured towards a long white leather sofa which stood in the centre of an enormous room.

  Behind him the whole wall was comprised of what looked like one massive sheet of glass. The sun had come out and the view over the Thames was truly magnificent.

  ‘No thanks,’ Andy replied as he sat down. ‘We’re looking into the death of Mrs. Catherine Gascoigne.’

  ‘I figured this had something to do with my wife, well ex-wife, as you contacted me on my personal number but Catherine Gascoigne?’

  He gave it a few seconds thought.

  ‘There’s a Gascoigne on the 3C shareholder list. Is that the same one?’

  ‘Yes it is. She was found dead some days ago and the cause of death was thallium.’

  This really seemed to surprise the billionaire.

  ‘Thallium?’ He leant forward. ‘Do you suspect Diane of having something to do with this murder?’

  Mac thought he was either very quick or the one behind the blackmail attempt.

  ‘She’s a suspect but just one of many at the moment. This is the real reason for our visit.’

  Andy started the video off and passed over his phone. Mac watched Alix Stefanovic intently. His face gave little away.

  ‘This was sent to your ex-wife by someone calling themselves ‘3C or not 3C’ urging her to sell her shares.’

  Alix Stefanovic returned the phone to Andy and stood up. He turned his back and looked out at the view over the river.

  ‘Did this video come from someone in your company?’ Andy asked.

  He turned and said, ‘Almost definitely. Has Diane made a formal complaint?’

  ‘No, she hasn’t.’

  ‘If she does let me know. I’ll make sure that we turn over all the evidence we can lay my hands on.’

  ‘And if she doesn’t?’ Mac asked.

  ‘I’ve got a good idea who it might be but, knowing them, it might be hard to prove even in a court of law. However I don’t need a court. We have interests all over the world that need looking after. This person’, he said the word with real distaste, ‘and anyone else involved will shortly find themselves representing our interests in Siberia and for quite some time to come. I have to ask you gentlemen to believe me when I say that I never meant for this to happen, someone’s really overstepped the mark. She must think…’ he left the sentence dangling.

  For a fleeting second Mac thought he saw a flash of real sadness in Alix’s face and he had an idea.

  ‘Why are you really trying to take over 3C?’ Mac asked. ‘All the world thinks you’re getting even with your ex-wife by attempting to buy and then destroy the company her father built up from nothing. She believes that’s the case too. Is that what this takeover’s about or are you really just trying to get your ex-wife’s attention?’

  The billionaire looked up at Mac with a tinge of admiration.

  ‘You’re quick Mr. Maguire which is what I would only have expected from a former Detective Chief Superintendent with your reputation. When I married Diane I had an ego as big as the world. I was so sure that I could have everything, I could have Diane and I could still have her friend Claudia.

  It was Claudia who introduced us in the first place and I think she was quite jealous when I fell for Diane and we got married. However, she soon seemed to settle quite happily for the role of mistress. I figured that, even if Diane found out, she’d probably just ignore it. After all being married to one of the world’s richest men is something to aspire to and a little thing like an affair can be overlooked in that case, can’t it? I mean you’d have to be mad to give all that money up or so I thought then. So when she found out I’d been cheating on her I made my mind up to go out and buy her something really nice and I figured that would be the end of it.

  Boy was I wrong. When I got home that evening I found the crotches cut out of all my trousers and all my watches had been seen to with the heel of her shoes. The rest of my stuff had disappeared. According to our friendly doorman she got a local homeless charity in to clear the flat. To think that there’s some guy walking out there sleeping rough in a pair of ten thousand dollar shoes.

  Anyway I figured, as everyone has a game plan, that it was the alimony she was after. I was absolutely sure of it when she got the hearing in the States and managed to get the number one divorce attorney on her team. I knew I was screwed but I thought, well that’s the price you pay. In my infinite arrogance I was wrong yet again and, ask anyone, I’m never wrong. She used every bit of her ingenuity to get the maximum pay-out and then threw the money back in my face.

  I realised much too late that there were only two women in the world who I could be sure loved me for myself, my mother and Diane. I’ve tried every way I can think of to contact her, I’ve sent flowers and gifts, all returned. I turned up at events she was supposed to be attending but she somehow always got wind and was gone before I got there. I sat on her doorstep once all night in the freezing cold and she wouldn’t even open the door. I’ve even had one of those planes trailing a message buzz her house. So I figured that she’d have to see me if I staged a takeover of her beloved 3C but no, she’s still successfully dodging me at every turn. I’d give just about anything for ten minutes with her.’

  The room was silent for a moment then Andy asked, ‘Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us with the murder?’

  ‘Just that it wasn’t Diane. If she was the sort of woman who could find it in her heart to murder someone believe me I’d be dead meat right now.’

  Andy stood up and held his hand out.

  ‘Thank you for your time.’

  Alix walked them to the lift. The lift door opened revealing the man in the top hat.

  ‘Can I ask you to do me a big favour?’ he asked.

  ‘If we can,’ Andy replied.

  ‘If you’re going to see Diane can you tell her I’ll be in Tony’s restaurant from eight tomorrow evening? Tell her if she gives me half an hour I’ll drop the takeover.’

  ‘And if she doesn’t?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Tell her I’ll drop the takeover anyway and I’ll stop trying to contact her.’

  Mac nodded. Alix stood there as the lift doors closed. He thought that Alix Stefanovic, for all his money, was probably a bit of a sad case too.

  As they made their way back through the inevitable traffic jams Andy and Mac discussed the next steps the investigation might take. Andy wanted to keep working his way through the membership list so Mac volunteered to see Diane and give her the message. He also said, while he was in the area, he’d drop in at the restaurant and see if he could get a copy of the CCTV images for the evening before Catherine Gascoigne was found dead. It had been another long day and he was starting to feel the strain a bit. He rang Tim and postponed the pub again.

  They were just nearing Stevenage when Andy’s phone rang. He pulled off the motorway and parked as soon as he could. It was a video message.

  ‘Now that’s really interesting, pretty much gets her off that particular hook anyway,’ Andy said.

  ‘What is it?’ Mac asked.

  ‘It’s from Alix Stefanovic. It’s the video of Diane Caversham going to Catherine’s house,’ Andy explained, ‘but this version’s a bit longer. We see Diane knocking at Catherine’s door and waiting. Eventually she gives up and walks back past the pub and into the car park. She then gets into the Ferrari and drives off in the direction of her house.’

  He started the video off again and passed the phone to Mac.

  ‘So, rather than it being evidence proving that she might have carried out the murder, it more supports the case that she’s innocent, doesn’t it?’ Andy stated.

  ‘That’s right,’ Mac replied. ‘Of course she could have always come back later and done the deed but she couldn’t have used the Ferrari, to
o noisy.’

  ‘So we’re back at square one, aren’t we?’ Andy said looking a little dejected.

  ‘Something will turn up,’ Mac predicted cheerily, although he had no idea what that something might be.

  ‘What was he like?’ Leigh asked as she drove him home from the police station. ‘I’ve never met a billionaire.’

  ‘Have you read Pride and Prejudice by any chance?’

  ‘No but I saw the film.’

  ‘Well he’s pretty much Darcy to a tee. Good looking, very rich and very proud. I think there’s a good chance that he still loves his ex-wife too. He’s definitely pissed his Elizabeth off but can he get her back again like in the book?’

  He looked at the clock. It was only seven o’clock.

  ‘Are you doing anything now?’

  ‘No, why?’

  ‘Just wondering if we could visit Diane and the pub this evening?’

  He was also thinking that he might benefit from having a little blue pill and a lie in tomorrow.

  ‘Okay with me. I’ve only got unpacked boxes waiting for me at home.’

  The Ferrari was outside so Mac was fairly sure that Diane must be in. He rang the bell and she opened the door. She looked very elegant in a long black gown and high heels.

  ‘I’m sorry, were you going out?’ Mac asked.

  ‘I’ve been invited somewhere but I’m not sure I want to go to be honest. Please come in.’

  Once they’d sat down she said, ‘I take it you’ve seen him.’

  She emphasised the ‘him’ with a look of distaste.

  ‘Yes, thanks very much for letting us have his number. We had a very interesting conversation.’

  ‘I’ll bet you did. Did he admit to being behind the video?’ she asked.

  ‘No but he said he had an idea who was.’

  ‘Of course, he’d never get his own hands dirty.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s like that. I don’t think he meant that to happen.’