Death Count: A Kat Munro Thriller (The Kat Munro Thrillers Book 1)

by SL Beaumont

  ***

  Kat received an email from DI Greenwood mid-morning containing the written statements from the legal team that Mary McFarlane and Eduardo Diaz had retained. She clicked open the attachment and gasped as she recognised the letterhead.

  “What is it, Kat?” Shamira leaned across.

  “Look who’s representing the remaining CIP partners,” she whispered.

  “Isn’t that Gabe’s father’s firm?” Shamira squinted, trying to read the logo. “Huntly-Tait and Partners.”

  Kat nodded.

  “Why are you whispering?” Shamira asked.

  “Because something strange is going on at CIP, and now Gabe’s father is involved.”

  “Just because his firm is involved, it doesn’t mean that he is.” Shamira’s voice was gentle.

  “I know, but…”

  Shamira looked concerned. “He might be a cold-hearted man, but he gets huge respect in the City. It makes sense that they’d want a top law firm on board.”

  Kat sighed. “I know. I just wish I could remember what happened before we drove away from the house that night. I think he was there, and I was scared and couldn’t wait to leave, but I can’t remember why.”

  “But it wasn’t necessarily him you were afraid of,” Shamira said. “You were never scared of him before that night.”

  “I know, but I just have this feeling about him. He couldn’t wait to pay me off after the accident and get me out of Gabe’s life. And I know it wasn’t that way before that night. I suspect that threatening note I got the other day was from him, although I can’t prove it.” Kat looked back at the screen, staring at the firm’s name.

  “Why would he send you a threatening note? What have you been doing?”

  “Nothing really, just keeping an eye on him.”

  Shamira gave her a gentle smile. “Kat, you have to let it go. You might have to accept that you may never know what happened that night.”

  Chapter 20

  Kat closed the door and leaned against it. In her rush, she’d forgotten her workout gear that morning, so she’d come home to get it on her way to the gym. She dropped her keys on the hall table and carried a single bag of groceries into the kitchen.

  Setting the bag down on the kitchen counter, Kat spun around. Something was off, and where was Zelda? She slipped her feet out of her heels and tiptoed towards the bedroom.

  Her room looked the same as she’d left it that morning. The bed was made, and the previous day’s clothes were either put away or in the washing hamper. She walked into her wardrobe and studied the hangers and drawers. Nothing was obviously out of place, yet something was amiss. She opened the top drawer and gasped. Her neatly arranged underwear was a mess. In the next drawer, Kat usually rolled her gym gear and arranged it in neat rows by colour. Now her black leggings weren’t together, and her blue and green workout tops were scrunched up and pushed to the back. They had been disturbed. The bottom drawer was the same, her pyjamas no longer folded together but instead hastily shoved in. She shivered, feeling a trickle of sweat run down her back. She rushed to her bedside cabinet, pulling open the drawer. The accessories for her prosthesis; anti-chafing cream, socks, and gloves were jumbled. Someone had been in the apartment and had rummaged through her stuff.

  Kat whirled around as she sensed movement behind her. Zelda crept out from the back corner of the wardrobe and looked up at her, giving a plaintive meow.

  “Oh, Zelda.” Kat scooped her up and nuzzled her. Zelda snuggled into Kat’s neck and started purring. “Poor baby, were you frightened? Who was here?”

  A creaking sound followed by a soft click sounded from somewhere in the flat. Kat froze for an instant before placing Zelda onto the bed and tiptoeing to the door. She wrapped her fingers around the handle of her brother’s old cricket bat, leaning against the wall beside the door ready for an instance such as this. She eased herself through the doorway and into the hall, pausing to listen. Silence. She crept towards her study. The door was ajar. Adjusting her grip on the bat, she flung the door wide open, so that it hit the doorstop. Apart from the furnishings, the room was empty. She continued along the hallway to where it widened into the living area.

  Kat’s breathing was shallow, and her heart raced as her eyes scanned the room. Empty also. She peered over the counter into the kitchen; nowhere for anyone to hide. Spinning around, she moved into the entrance hall. The front door was dead-bolted.

  Relaxing her grip on the bat, she returned to the living room. She must have been hearing things. Whoever had been there was gone now. Zelda padded along the hallway and stopped at her feet, looking up expectantly before trotting over to the French doors and pushing through the cat flap. She was halfway through when the door sprang open, tipping her unceremoniously onto the balcony. She righted herself and looked indignant.

  Kat stared, not comprehending what she was seeing. She kept the door to her little balcony locked at all times when she wasn’t home and often when she was. She walked to the door and pushed it open further. The pane of glass beside the door handle lay in jagged broken pieces on the floor at her feet. The hole was enough for a hand to reach through and turn the key. Kat stepped over the broken glass and onto the balcony. She hurried to the edge and looked over. In the street below, two orange-vested workmen were loading a retractable ladder onto the roof of a van with a telecommunications company logo on the side. Kat watched as they climbed in and drove away. The van turned the corner and was away before she thought to take note of the registration plate.

  Kat turned and rushed back inside, leaving the door open. She checked her study. Her laptop was sitting in its usual position, but the screen was illuminated, rather than powered down, which was how she usually left it. She turned to the cupboard and rattled the handle. It was still locked. She retrieved the key from the second drawer of the desk and unlocked it, holding her breath as she opened the doors. A shelf of ring binders containing her personal financial information didn’t appear to have been disturbed, and the panel on the inside of the door looked untouched. She lifted off the false plywood cover and leaned it against the wall, revealing a pinboard underneath covered in photos, newspaper clippings, and yellow post-it notes. It didn’t appear to have been discovered. She breathed a sigh of relief, replaced the door inset, and closed the cupboard.

  She jumped as Zelda curled around her legs. She scooped her up and returned to the kitchen. Before she could second guess herself, she grabbed her phone and searched up Adam’s number. He answered on the third ring, speaking above traffic noise and sounding out of breath, as though he was out running.

  “Kat.”

  “Detective Jackson, I’d like to report a break-in.”

  “Where? At yours? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t touch anything; I’ll be there shortly.”

  ***

  There was a loud knock at the door. Kat peered through the peephole before unlocking the door and letting Adam into her flat. His hair was damp, as though he’d recently showered.

  “Your neighbour let me in the main door,” he said, studying the front door locks. “These don’t look like they were forced.” He followed Kat through into the living room. “What was taken?”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t think it was a burglary. Nothing’s missing, but my belongings have been disturbed,” Kat said.

  Adam looked around. “Have you tidied up? I thought I said not to touch anything.”

  Kat shook her head. “I haven’t. They didn’t leave a mess, but things are not as I left them. I think maybe I interrupted them.”

  Adam studied her for a moment. “Show me.”

  Kat hesitated. “Don’t judge me, okay? I’m fairly, ah, organised.”

  Adam raised his eyebrows. “Okay.”

  “My bookshelf,” she said, pointing behind him. “Colour-coded by spine until I got home today. Now look.”

  Adam perused the neat and tidy four-shelf bookcase containing a mixture of fiction,
business, and history titles. The rainbow pattern Kat usually arranged the book spines into was now just a patchwork of colour. He crouched down and picked up a leaf from the floor. Zelda trotted towards him and rubbed against his legs. Adam gave her a scratch behind the ears and stood.

  “I did notice your rainbow bookshelf the other night,” he said. “What else?”

  “This way.” She led him to her bedroom and into the walk-in wardrobe. “The hangers are in a different position, and the drawers rifled through.”

  “May I?” She nodded. Adam opened each drawer in turn and turned to her with a question in his eyes.

  “I have a certain way of folding my clothes, and that’s not it,” she said. “And they’ve been through my bedside cabinets, where I keep my prosthesis gear.” She let out a big sigh and wrapped her arms across her body. “I feel violated.”

  “And they didn’t take anything?”

  “Not that I can see.”

  “What about your office?”

  “They’ve been through there too. My laptop is on, and I leave it powered down. I think perhaps that’s where someone was hiding when I arrived home, so they didn’t get to go through anything.”

  “You think they were still here?”

  Kat shrugged. “I thought I heard something, but I’m not sure.”

  Adam followed Kat through the bedroom, back into the living room and over to the French doors leading to the balcony.

  “That’s how they got in,” Kat said. “And out, I believe.”

  “What?” Adam asked.

  “They broke the glass and got the key,” she said, indicating towards the broken pane of glass. “Two workmen were loading a ladder onto a van when I realised what had happened and looked over the edge. They drove away before I thought to get the reg.”

  Adam pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “DS Adam Jackson, I’d like to report a break-in.”

  Kat listened as he gave her address and details to the dispatcher.

  “Is there any point? They’ll never find them, and it doesn’t look like they’ve taken anything,” Kat said once he’d ended the call.

  “There will be an officer around first thing tomorrow to get the details. Who do you think would want to break in, go through your things so carefully…”

  “Not all that carefully,” Kat interrupted.

  “Carefully, if they didn’t understand your systems,” Adam said. “Burglars don’t normally take the time to hide their tracks. They want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Everything has been replaced, and nothing was taken. In these situations, the place is usually ransacked. Have you checked the kitchen?”

  Kat shook her head as she walked over the bench and opened the overhead cupboards. “Yeah, things have been moved.”

  “Who else has keys?”

  “Just my parents. I changed the locks when I bought the flat and put on the second deadbolt. They are supposed to be difficult to pick.”

  “You own this flat?” Adam said, surprised. He didn’t think a twenty-something accountant’s salary would afford a Mayfair apartment.

  Kat nodded correctly interpreting his look of surprise. “It’s surprising what a hand will buy you. Now, I don’t know about you, but I could do with a drink.” She reached up into the cupboard above the refrigerator and lifted down a bottle of gin. She waved it at Adam, who nodded.

  “Does the building have security cameras?” he asked.

  Kat paused mixing their drinks and nodded. “Yeah, actually it does. I’ll call the manager.” She added ice and tonic to his drink, handing it to him before walking into the small office. She returned a minute later.

  “He will have the camera footage ready for the police when they come tomorrow, although it just covers the front entrance,” she said.

  “What would someone be looking for, Kat?” Adam asked, passing her drink.

  Kat didn’t meet his eye. “I dunno.” She dropped down onto the sofa and pulled her legs beneath her.

  “You sure?” Adam sat opposite her in the armchair. Zelda leapt up onto his lap and turned a full circle before settling down, neatly tucking her paws beneath her and gazing across at Kat. “Do you bring work home?”

  Kat shook her head. “No, never. Anything confidential has to remain at the office.”

  “What else have you been working on?”

  “I just finished two reviews which are heading to court, and I’m about to look into a suspected embezzlement, but nothing controversial.”

  “Mmm…” Adam frowned.

  “This was a brazen break-in,” Kat said. “Two stories up in broad daylight. Someone must have seen something. I’m going to call on my neighbours.”

  “I’ll fix this up,” Adam said.

  “Don’t we have to leave it for the police?”

  Adam looked at her. “What am I?”

  “Oh yeah, how could I forget?” She shot him a grin as he pulled out his mobile and snapped a few photos.

  When Kat returned fifteen minutes later, Adam had picked up the broken glass and taped a piece of cardboard, from an empty cereal box he’d found in her recycling bin, over the hole. He was sitting back down on the sofa finishing his drink.

  “Thank you. You didn’t have to do all that,” Kat said.

  “It’s no problem. What did your neighbours say?”

  “The old lady across from me didn’t hear a thing. But the guy who lives below had a sick day today. He said that a telecom’s van was parked outside late afternoon, with technicians on ladders on the outside of the building. He said that a telecom’s van was parked outside all afternoon, with technicians on ladders on the roof.”

  “That’s how they got onto your balcony then,” Adam said.

  Kat nodded.

  “This wasn’t random, Kat. Are you sure that you can’t think of anything that you have that someone wants?” Adam watched her expression close down.

  “No.”

  “Do you want me to stay here tonight in case they come back?”

  “No.”

  “Can you call someone? Shamira?”

  “I’ll be fine. Whoever it was could have confronted me earlier, but they didn’t, so I don’t think they’ll come back.”

  Adam frowned and looked thoughtful.

  Chapter 21

  Adam jogged down the front steps of Kat’s building and across the road to his car. But instead of getting in, he kept walking to the end of the block. He took a turn around the square, checking in every parked car. They were all unoccupied. He lifted his gaze to the buildings in the neighbouring streets and shook his head. She could be under surveillance from any window, and he’d have no idea. He kicked at a stone and swore under his breath.

  Stopping at a 7-Eleven, he purchased a bottle of water, several bananas, and a large packet of crisps. He returned to his car, slid in the front passenger side and lowered the seat’s angle. He reached into the back and grabbed a blanket. He was in for a long night, might as well be comfortable.

  Once settled, he checked his watch. Ten p.m. Not too late to update his colleague.

  DI Greenwood sounded tired when he answered.

  “Kat Munro disturbed an intruder at her flat this evening. He was partway through searching for something when she arrived home. It looks professional, they had telco technicians working on her building, and it appears he got in through the balcony doors,” Adam said.

  “Is she okay?”

  “She’s putting on a brave face, but she’s shaken.”

  “What did they take?”

  “Well, that’s just it. Nothing. The intruder went through everything and put it back nicely, just not to her standards.”

  “What were they looking for?”

  “I don’t know, but I think she does, and she’s not letting on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that she was very cagey.”

  “Mmm… to do with CIP?”

  “I don’t know. Her father is involved, so perha
ps.”

  “Where are you now, Adam?” Greenwood asked, suppressing a yawn.

  “In my car, outside her flat.”

  “I guess you’ll ignore me if I tell you to go home?”

  Adam laughed then became serious. “I want to be here if someone returns tonight, and I’m also interested in seeing what she does next.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll also have a unit swing by throughout the night,” Greenwood said.

  “Thanks.”

  ***

  Kat climbed the wide carpeted staircase, the heels of her shoes sinking into the deep pile on the landing. She glanced up at the formal portrait of a man dressed in what she guessed was eighteenth-century clothing and shivered. His stern gaze seemed to follow her. She hurried to the bathroom, bobbing in time to the music pounding through the ceiling from the rooms below. Even in the bathroom, the music was audible. Kat rushed to relieve herself and wash her hands. If she wasn’t quick, Gabe would most likely leave without her, and she felt like a break from the party.

  When she pushed open the door back into the hallway, she heard angry, raised voices coming from a room on the far side of the staircase. Curious, she crept along past the top of the stairs. One voice rose above the others, followed by a loud slap and a groan. Kat froze, knowing that she should go downstairs and through the front door to where Gabe would be waiting with the car, but instead, something propelled her towards the voices.

  She’d never been in this part of the house. It was the domain of Gabe’s father and housed his office and library. The door to the office was ajar, and a shaft of light cut across the hallway.

  “I’ve told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” a muffled voice said.

  “And I don’t believe you.”

  Kat gasped. She knew that voice. She crept towards the opening and peeked inside. A man, his face bruised and bloodied with one eye almost swollen shut, sat tied to a chair. Several fingers on each hand looked to be at odd angles. Two men Kat had never seen before stood either side of him. One had a gun pointed at the ground. Kat slapped a hand across her mouth to stop herself crying out, as Gabe’s father strode into view.