Risky Business

by W. Soliman

  “You didn’t need to tell me that.”

  “I know how insecure you macho types really are underneath all that posturing.” She grinned at me, apparently in control of herself again. Then she sat up in bed, cross-legged, completely comfortable with her nakedness. Her hair fell in a tangled mess over her shoulders, partially covering her breasts. I moved it aside.

  “It’s blocking my view,” I explained.

  “You’ve had your fun,” she said, shaking her head so her hair fell back again. “Now tell me about this book. I’m intrigued.”

  I briefly gave her a rundown of all I’d learned from Paul, including details of Miller’s murder.

  “Oh no!” Her hand flew to her mouth. “You’re a murder suspect?”

  “Not a viable one and Slater knows it. But still, this little treasure trove might clear up a few mysteries and point me in the direction of the real killer.”

  “Come on then, let’s have a shufty.”

  She scooted over and sat next to me, propping pillows behind our backs until we were more comfortable. I turned to the first page, which was dated several months previously.

  “He uses a kind of shorthand,” I said, discouraged.

  “By the looks of things, it’s just the initials of his clients.”

  “K.P. to sign papers for A.A.” I harrumphed. “Makes him sound like a bloody social worker.”

  “Why don’t we look at the pages that refer to the time period in question and then work backwards if we need to?”

  “I would have thought of that,” I protested, “if you weren’t sitting there deliberately distracting me.” I flicked a finger across her nipple to emphasise my point.

  “Charlie! We only just—”

  “Yeah,” I said, rustling up an innocent expression. “And your point is?”

  “You’re insatiable, and we’re not doing it again until we’ve done what you came here to do.”

  “You’re a hard woman, Kara Webb.”

  With a put-upon sigh I returned my attention to the book, finding the page that related to Reg’s visit to Miller. There were a couple of other notes for that day that meant nothing to me. Next to the initials R.T. was the entry Signed papers to liquidate trust for C.R.

  “C.R.,” I said. “The girl’s name is Carolyn Randall so that bears out what Reg told me.”

  “Hey, you don’t suppose the girl’s mother murdered the bookie, do you?”

  I quirked a brow. “Why would she? She didn’t want Spelling to have anything to do with her daughter until she got ill. But when she did approach him, Spelling did everything he could, and more.”

  “Yes, but we only have Reg’s word for it that she didn’t want him involved. She was a barmaid, remember. It can’t have been easy bringing up a kid alone on what she made pulling pints.”

  “You have a point,” I said. “If necessary I’ll look into her background. But that’s not a priority right now.”

  “I thought you wanted to get your Cleo’s dad out of jail.”

  I shot her a look. “Not by exposing skeletons that have nothing to do with it. I’m ninety-five percent sure who murdered Spelling. Or at least, who ordered that killing.”

  “Your friend Andrea Garnet’s husband, presumably.”

  “The idea had crossed my mind.”

  “And so, when he couldn’t discourage you from poking about in his affairs, he set his wife after you. He must have heard how easily a beautiful woman can distract you.” She shook her head, trying for a disapproving expression that didn’t quite work. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Well,” I said, “if you’re looking for suggestions…” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, who said anything about Andrea being beautiful?”

  “Lucky guess.”

  “You’re wrong, as it happens.”

  “Humph.”

  “Let’s see why she went to see Miller.” I turned to the appropriate page. “Hmm, ‘A.G. signed papers to transfer G.H. to her name.’”

  “G.H.?” Kara wrinkled her brow. “I wonder what that is.”

  “Probably one of Garnet’s companies. If they’re in her name and he gets his collar felt, the funds can’t be confiscated. He’s being cautious.” I thought about it. “It explains why she went to see him on her own though.”

  “But she told you she was there seeking divorce advice?”

  “Yeah.” I feigned surprise. “A woman telling porkies. Who would have thought it?”

  “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?” She played absently with her lower lip as she thought about it. “But why did she feel the need to lie?”

  “Because her husband sent her to the casino deliberately to see if I let anything slip. It means, of course, that they know about my connection to Cleo.”

  “Wouldn’t that be obvious, if he knows you and Cleo are tight? You said you thought she was being followed as well as you.”

  “Yeah, but he obviously doesn’t know if I really do have information from Anne Spelling and has no way of getting to her because she’s left town.”

  “That’s a good thing.” She paused. “But would he really expect you to say anything indiscreet to his wife?” She frowned. “It smacks of desperation, if you ask me.”

  “We’re playing cat and mouse with each other. He thinks I want something from him but doesn’t want to show his hand too openly until he finds out what it is.”

  “Poor Charlie, being played at his own game.”

  I sighed. “Kara, I swear to God, if you keep looking at me like that you’re gonna finish up on your back again.”

  She batted her lashes at me. “Promises, promises.”

  “Just concentrate, woman.” I turned to the page that covered my visit. “‘C.H. kept his appointment. P. said not to see him but if it concerns P.G. then it’s best to know what he wants. Says he has info. regarding J.S. murder. Should I tell P.G.? P. says no but my first duty is still to client until I sever that connection.’” I threw the book aside. “Well, if Garnet didn’t know about me before, he did by then.”

  “If Miller got round to telling him.”

  “Good point. They might have spoken on the phone but I doubt it. Not about something so sensitive.”

  “And Miller was killed two days later, before he had a chance to see his client face-to-face, presumably.” Kara wrinkled her brow. “Do you think there’s a connection? No, that wouldn’t work. There couldn’t be if he didn’t tell Garnet what you told him?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” I stared at the opposite wall, thinking it through. “But Paul says there was a reason in here that explains Miller’s killing.”

  “We haven’t read the entire book yet.”

  “No, and obviously I will but I still think that reason coincides with my visit. Miller was reluctant to tell Garnet that he wanted out. Perhaps he knew how the killing went down, actually did speak to Garnet and implied that I knew more than I did.”

  “Which would get you killed and not him.”

  “It would put us both in the frame if Garnet wasn’t aware that Miller knew about the murder and assumed I told him. That would be clever, but dangerous. He was demonstrating his loyalty to Garnet and also using the opportunity to speak about getting out. I know all this stuff, I’ve always known it but have never said anything…blah, blah.”

  “Hang on, how would he have found out?”

  I shrugged. “Same way as I did. He had occasion to see Reg quite a bit after Spelling was topped. They must have talked about it. And Miller wasn’t stupid. He would have put things together. But when Garnet found out he knew, he didn’t trust him to keep quiet if he no longer worked for him.”

  “But that would be privileged information, surely?”

  “A word here or there in the right ear would b
e enough to get my former colleagues salivating. They’d been after Garnet for years and hadn’t been able to get anywhere near him. And that was before he went all respectable. As things stand, they have no chance.” I settled my shoulders more comfortably against the pillows. “Garnet knows that and would quite like for that state of affairs to continue. He can’t afford to have skeletons falling out of cupboards.”

  Kara grabbed the book from me and turned to the final page. “Look. ‘Lunch with P.G.’ Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “What else does it say?” I asked, peering over her shoulder.

  “‘Told him about visit from C.H.’”

  “No wonder my ears were burning.”

  “‘Didn’t take it well. Cross-questioned me at length. Scared about what he might do. Told him I was planning to resign from the firm. Didn’t take that well either. I rather bungled it. He told me I knew too much about his empire and was too valuable for him to let me go.’” She slammed the book closed. “Well, that seems clear-cut enough.”

  “A little too clear-cut, perhaps.”

  “You don’t like things being too straightforward, do you?”

  “It’s not that. It’s just that I can’t see Garnet offing someone so valuable to him, just on the basis of my fishing expedition to see Miller, which is all that it was.”

  “You said yourself that he’s survived by being cautious.”

  “Even so.” I fell silent, thinking it through. “Whoever did it must have been known to Miller. He didn’t open his door to anyone unless he was expecting them. Or knew who they were. I had an appointment but he wouldn’t let me over the threshold until I proved who I was.”

  “He looked after the affairs of some of Brighton’s foremost criminals so I’d say he had good reason to be cautious.”

  “Talking of skeletons in closets—”

  “Which we weren’t.”

  “I wonder how long Paul and Miller had been an item, and if Paul was Miller’s first male lover. I mean, he was reluctant to come out of said closet, which might suggest that he was only just getting to grips with his sexuality. That sort of thing doesn’t matter too much to most people nowadays, especially here in Brighton, but his partners in the law firm might have taken a different view. It still happens.”

  “I think I see where you’re going with this,” she said speculatively. “If he liked to keep his private life private and didn’t indulge in short-term relationships, then there could be an old lover whom he dumped in favour of Paul with a grudge to bear.”

  “Yeah, but most dumpees don’t resort to murder.” I sighed. “Pity that. I thought I was on to something there for a moment.”

  “But how would he have got in? Everyone on the CCTV has been identified and cleared.”

  “Except yours truly,” I said grimacing.

  “You will be.”

  “I wish I had your faith.” I slipped an arm round her shoulders and gave them an affectionate squeeze. “But as to how he got in, that would have been simple. Just wait until someone opened the garage door and slip in behind them.”

  She frowned. “Wouldn’t he be spotted by the driver who opened the door?”

  “Unlikely. The driver would be concentrating on getting his car into his space and wouldn’t have any reason to check his rearview mirror. Besides, those garage doors stay open for some time after the car’s gone in. He could wait until the car was out of sight and then walk in like he had every reason in the world to be there. One thing I learned on the job, if people look like they belong rather than behaving furtively, no one looks at them twice.”

  “And there’s a door from the garage to the upper floors, presumably.”

  “Yeah, and the lift goes down to the garage as well.” I paused. “If I’m right and the killer got in that way, I doubt whether he used the lift and risked it stopping at the ground floor. Someone else might have got on. But if he took the stairs, the chances are he’d have got in undetected.” I flashed a wry smile. “No one walks nowadays if they can avoid it.”

  “Yes, that makes sense. Have you suggested the possibility of the killer getting in that way to Slater?”

  “What, and do all her work for her?” I pushed my hands away from my torso, palms out, as though warding off the devil. “Not on your life.”

  Kara laughed. “I’m beginning to understand why she doesn’t like you.”

  “I can live with that, just as long as you don’t stop liking me.”

  “That’s not gonna happen. Believe me, I’ve tried to but it doesn’t seem to work.” She blushed, as if she’d said more than she intended to. “I’ll make us some coffee, shall I?”

  Without waiting for a response, she slipped out of bed, pulled on a T-shirt and headed for the kitchen. I heard cupboards opening and the sound of coffee beans being ground. I flipped through the rest of the book whilst she was gone and paused at a page near the front dated a month before the murder. The entry related to someone Miller had bumped into on the street. D.H. is out. Accosted me today, making threats. Thought he had more time to serve. Rather unnerved me.

  Could this be what Paul meant about an obvious suspect? Was I letting my obsession with Garnet obscure my vision?

  Either way, I had a more immediate problem to wrestle with. This book was evidence so I ought to pass it to Slater, even if I did so anonymously. That wasn’t going to happen of course but there was nothing to stop me giving Jimmy a few pointers. I wasn’t ready to let him abandon his check into Katrina Simpson on Paul’s say-so, but he might as well look at this D.H. character. Apart from Garnet, it was the only real lead the book gave. Miller having dinner with Garnet so soon before the solicitor met his end was obviously relevant, but any competent detective could find out about it if they took the time to delve into Miller’s final days. Besides, Garnet would merely say that they’d discussed his legal affairs over dinner and anything they talked about was privileged. To interview him would serve no purpose other than to put him on his guard.

  My conscience salved, I picked up my phone and dialled Jimmy.

  “Jimmy,” I said when he answered. “You didn’t get this from me but someone with the initials D.H. got out of nick recently. Miller unsuccessfully defended him and he held a grudge.”

  Jimmy, to his credit, asked no questions but merely groaned at the prospect of having to track someone through the prison records on initials alone.

  “And you’d know this because…”

  “A friend of a friend,” I said, tapping the side of my nose even though he couldn’t see the gesture.

  “Yeah, right. Well, thanks, mate,” he said. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  Kara returned a while later with a tray laden with coffee and bacon sandwiches.

  “Thanks, sweetheart.” I grabbed a sandwich and wolfed it down.

  “You’ve got grease dripping from your chin,” she said, proceeding to lick it off.

  I sucked in a breath, determined not to let her distract me. “Shameless hussy.”

  “That’s why you love me.”

  “Have I ever denied it?”

  “Nope.” She grinned. “But you’ve never admitted it either.”

  “I can’t help wondering if and how this all fits in with Hal’s problems,” I said speculatively, deliberately changing the subject.

  “Hal? Your friend in Beaulieu?”

  I told her about my visit there.

  “You took Cleo with you?”

  I nodded, realising too late that I should have kept my big mouth shut.

  “So you have slept with her.” She wasn’t going to let this go.

  “Kara,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Don’t do this.”

  “It’s all right, Charlie. I understand.” But the hurt in her eyes was telling a different story.
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br />   “You know how it is with me,” I said, keeping my tone light. “I like my alternative lifestyle and have a phobia toward commitment. But,” I added, meeting her gaze and holding it. “You’re the only one who matters. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I said it’s not important,” she snapped, dropping her eyes from mine.

  Which meant that it was. Our relationship mattered to her a great deal more than I’d realised. She’d seemed so concerned about her nephew and niece when she first took responsibility for them that I hardly figured in her plans. Now that things had settled into a routine, she was obviously rethinking her position. Or rather, thinking more about herself. And I was glad about that.

  Well, I think I am.

  “I could be sitting with Cleo now, discussing all this stuff. The idea of going to her didn’t even cross my mind.” I treated her to one of my rare, full-on smiles. “You’re a great person to brainstorm with.” It was true, we’d done enough of it when we were looking for her missing sister, and she always managed to see things from a different angle. “Besides, you make a great bacon sandwich.”

  She threw a pillow at me, and the moment passed without her castrating me. Or making demands I wasn’t sure I was up to fulfilling.

  “I also make insightful suggestions. Like, if this guy kept notes about all his meetings, where are the rest of the notebooks?”

  “Good question. Jimmy didn’t mention that the police had found them.”

  “Perhaps his partners took them when they removed his computer and files.” She paused. “It was them who took those things and not the killer, I assume.”

  “Yeah, but Jimmy says they can’t get near them. They’re yelling about client confidentiality and saying there’s nothing on them that would help their investigation.”

  “So how come Paul has this latest book but none of the others?” Her eyes flashed with suspicion. “Or does he?”

  “I shall make a point of asking him.” I drained my coffee mug and placed it on the bedside table. “The question now is how do I use what I’ve found out to point Slater toward Garnet without letting her know where the information came from?”