Resident Fear

by Hylton Smith

  The three men were asked to be available if and when further information became available. There was a feeling that they had rehearsed their story, but it did not seem to jar with what was already established, other than their respective views of Baumann. Only Hepworth seemed to consider him a true friend. Price claimed he was more of an acquaintance who ‘hung around’ Banks. Parrish never mentioned him at all. They put it down to the ‘cement between tribal football fans.’

  Chapter 5

  Wednesday November 7th 2018

  Renton’s heart sank as he approached the office car park. Cousins’ appropriately intimidating blacked-out Range Rover was standing in a prominent position. When he arrived at his office floor, there appeared to be a relaxed atmosphere as Cousins was holding court. Renton’s intrusion brought this performance to an end, and he was welcomed by Cousins, who put his arm around his shoulder and indicated he wanted the privacy of the D.C.I.’s office.

  “Just a courtesy call Jack, I have some information for you.” Once they were inside and seated, Cousins revealed why he had really come in person. The forced smile persisted while he delivered the tirade.

  “I don’t want to affect the morale of your team, so we won’t betray the concern I have to pass on. What exactly did you think you were doing by contacting the Cologne police without informing me? Before you reply, what I am about to say will remain strictly between us. I got a call last night from Nigel Bradstock and he was very economical with his words. Basically he told me to avoid any contact with overseas forces in connection with the Banks case. He is already on his way here from Manchester and will discuss the next steps when he arrives.”

  Although Renton didn’t know of Stephanie’s call, he was pretty sure it was her, because she was the only other person to witness Doyle’s palpable fear about the German link. He allowed Cousins to think that he had authorised someone to call Cologne and apologised for the oversight. He didn’t want to be lumbered with him until this Bradstock arrived.

  “Isn’t he overall head of the forces in the Midwest region?” Cousins nodded and almost forgot to keep smiling.

  “Yes, and he won’t be coming up here to boost our morale. We had better be prepared for some change in the game plan Jack, this is highly unusual. I don’t mind telling you that I don’t like it one bit. You had better fill me in on exactly why you contacted Cologne before he arrives, because I hedged with him on the phone to cover your arse.”

  Renton pondered the options and decided to shelve Doyle’s warning. “We found out that Banks had actually booked a flight to Cologne but didn’t show up. We only discovered this information by accident, when investigating his apparent intention to return to Newcastle by sleeper train, for which there was no reservation. He was still in London with one of his employees after the remainder of the party flew back. It was late yesterday afternoon when this came to light and when we tried to check with this employee’s wife, the house was empty and had been put up for rent. It was too much of a coincidence that she and her daughter were booked on the same flight as Banks. The guy’s name is Harry Bowman, and as we can’t locate him we wondered if he had, like Banks intended to fly to Cologne. I can’t really see what the fuss is about Sir, except that I should’ve made you aware of my intention. However, by the time we had the flight manifest it was getting late. So I authorised the call and fully intended to inform you this morning. I didn’t anticipate this furore, and as far as I’m aware we have not had a reply from Germany, but that’s not surprising as they probably treated this as low priority, and as I said the request was late.”

  “I agree with you, it should have been considered as a routine line of enquiry, and as late as your request may have been, it was not treated as low priority, otherwise Bradstock would not know about it. I don’t like it, and on consideration I think it would be prudent for me to meet with him alone at first. I will call him and ask him to come to Durham. Be ready for my signal for you to come to my office this afternoon.” Renton agreed and was both happy that he had got rid of Cousins, and apprehensive about what would be said when he was alone with Bradstock. He was further confused when Stephanie presented him with a scribbled note, headed Cologne. ‘We’ve found Gertrude Bowman and she is going to live with her parents in Bonn. We have no information about a Mr Bowman, but a person by the name of Baumann did pass through passport control. We have yet to locate him.’

  *

  He decided against reprimanding Stephanie because of Cousin’s edict, and he turned to Ben Adams.

  “Can you get in touch with Vivienne Banks again? She must know more about this new will which is supposed to make her feel relaxed, but on the face of it Banks has shafted her. This is Doyle’s story so you should get her in here alone. I’m going to forensics, so can you also go back to Doyle’s office and tell him we want to read the business transfer documentation again. I’ve cast my layman’s eye over it, so I’m interested to see what you make of it.” He gave the note from Cologne back to Stephanie and observed her body language.

  “Well I guess that’s it for now from the Fatherland. Let’s wait and see if they do catch up with Baumann. Listen, I need more on the blue car and the crane. What’s wrong? I could be forgiven for thinking it’s a public holiday in here. Brief me when I get back from forensics, before I go to see Cousins again.” D.C. Baker was crestfallen because she felt sure he would want to turn up the heat on Cologne.

  Clive Donoghue was swivelling energetically in his chair; the omens were promising.

  “Ah D.C.I. Renton, just the man we wanted to see. As I said, the story would begin to reveal itself. We have some interesting fibres, some blood on the deceased which is not his, a watch which is not completely broken but stopped, extracts from the head wounds which are confusing, but no phone. Please sit.” Renton was not big on melodrama but did not comment.

  “The fibres are many and varied, but the two of most interest were almost exclusively on the back of his jacket, not the front, and not on the trousers. This could explain Watson’s curiosity about the broken neck. He was sure the break was caused after death, and this is consistent with his body having been compressed into a space which was really too small. The fibres are typical of those found in carpets, and we would be interested to see the blue car, because these types of strands are often found in the boot of cars. The two types are different in colour and thickness; one is blue and the other a mixture of black and grey. The stray blood is on the fingers of his left hand, possibly suggesting he did not behave passively toward his assailant. The watch is stopped at 6.53 pm on Saturday evening. It doesn’t necessarily prove that it was broken at precisely that time, but it is something to consider. We had to remove the badly shattered face of the watch carefully, to see the time, and it’s an expensive item so it may be subject to reclaim when you are done with it. The embedded stuff in his head is accompanied by a pattern which suggests he may have been dragged for some distance. It is in fact a mixture of asbestos and glass. If they are from the same location, it may be a site which has been stripped out for refurbishment, an old warehouse perhaps, something like that. We will work on it again if that becomes relevant in your enquiries. Now, although there was no phone, he must have had some suspicion things were going to get nasty, because we found a Sim-card, in of all places, his shoe.”

  Renton thanked Donoghue, and his mind raced to the briefcase. If he had the presence of mind to remove the card from his phone, what would he have done about his precious briefcase? Surely he would have taken care of that first.

  He hurried back to see if there was more information on the car. Stephanie said not, but Fred had been on the phone to say that Jimmy had called in to see their selected plant-hire logos, and was pretty sure that one of them was similar to that which he had seen at the Angel. Renton and D.C. Baker went to check it out. What had triggered Jimmy’s memory was not the name of Briggs, but the motif underneath, which was a series of decreasing diameter concentric circles, culminating in a si
ngle black dot. It reminded him of a target. It was a family-owned business and situated on the nearby Team Valley Trading Estate. This was a very large complex of all kinds of trading companies, and set around a trickle of a river named the Team. Renton wanted to check this himself, but was called by Cousins, so he had to leave it to Stephanie.

  “Take someone from uniform with you; it always helps to unsettle those who have something to keep hidden from prying eyes.”

  *

  On the journey to Durham Renton was still preoccupied with the briefcase. He felt that the entire incident could possibly be explained by what was in there. There was an additional person in the reception committee. He had seen many photos of Nigel Bradstock, but never met him. He had no idea who the third person was. Bradstock got straight to the point.

  “Renton, I have heard your explanation of the call to Cologne from C.C. Cousins, and it does not alter the fact that it was a breach of protocol. There is an aspect to Alistair Banks which has interested higher authority for some time. That may have been compromised. I therefore have to change the leadership of the enquiry with immediate effect. D.C.I. Forster will take care of all aspects of the Banks case, and I am afraid you must undergo a suspension from duty for now. Cousins will return with you to inform your people and see you off the premises. Do not make things worse by resisting this temporary change, and things will soon get back to normal.”

  Renton was understandably shaken by this edict being delivered without any further discussion invited or indeed permitted. His mind wandered. He had always been aware of his own proclivity for choosing the route of highest probability, after everything had been considered. This applied to his private life as well as his professional counterpart. He even thought that this characteristic was actually responsible for his sad domestic relationship with his family, yet he could not rid himself of the compulsion.

  “I see. What you’ve said worries me. The explanation you give to my staff is crucial to how things may unfold. For example, as I’ve not been interviewed in depth about the actual murder case by the person who is suspending me, the Police Union will require chapter and verse on this breach of protocol. It will appear strange then, that the suspension itself is related to a similar breach of protocol. I may have avoided my error if I’d not been so intent on preventing a potential witness disappearing, a point on which C.C. Cousins concurred. However your breach has obviously been well considered even if it is ill-considered.”

  “Your obstructive attitude will ultimately go against you Renton. You cannot be informed of the wider issues at this time. You can take holiday to cover the absence, as I am informed that you have a surfeit of entitlement. Alternatively, if it would be more acceptable, we could consider special paid leave. This would be offered in recognition that it may not be an appealing time of year to take a vacation, but not as any kind of inducement. We really need to do this and want to find the most acceptable path for all concerned. Please think about this carefully, on the basis that the change in command of the murder of Banks has to happen because of your error of judgement, even though it was unintentional. That is all this is about.”

  “I think you should reconsider asking C.C. Cousins to inform my people of your intent. You may want to do that yourself; it could be highly relevant to any union enquiry. I’ve nothing more to say.”

  Bradstock did take note of this and all four of them drove back to Newcastle. The assembled personnel were in shock, and it took a couple of minutes for a vocal reaction to gather momentum. Stephanie looked at Renton and seemed about to own up that her boss did not know about her call to Cologne, but when their eyes met, he simply shook his head. That would have complicated things even more. Bradstock was bombarded with questions which he declined to answer. It took some time for the introduction of Forster to occur, and it inflamed the situation considerably. Forster was going to have an uphill task in getting cooperation; a work to rule was about all he could expect. It suddenly dawned on Renton that this was what Bradstock wanted. As Ben Adams had always classified Cousins as evil, he wanted to know how the chain of command would now operate. He was told what he expected, that it would be through Foster to Cousins, but he knew that this conflicted with Bradstock’s intervention. In reality, it would be a case of Forster reporting to Bradstock and Cousins being told on a need to know basis. This made Adams a little happier. Renton was escorted off the premises and he immediately contacted Adams.

  “I’m asking a lot. Can we meet tonight?” There was not even a hint of reservation.

  “Sure, where do you suggest?” They discussed options and did not rule out Renton being followed. They decided on a remote, small country restaurant.

  *

  Stephanie decided that Renton’s eye contact was to leave all things German fallow, and did not burden Ben Adams with her part in Renton’s suspension. She did discuss the boss’s last instruction to her.

  “I was asked by D.C.I. Renton to check out Briggs Plant Hire & Recovery. It took some time to shake the truth out of them, but when we bluffed a little about wanting to check samples of the flaked paint we had from the scene, against all of their vehicles, they cracked. In a nutshell, they got an urgent request from a client to provide the vehicle for recovery of the car which had got stuck on prohibited parking ground next to the Angel. It wasn’t a real crane as Jimmy had said; it was a salvage and recovery truck with ramps and a winch. This was in the early hours of Monday morning. The truck didn’t have a working tachograph, so we said this was an offence, and they suddenly remembered the call was at about 1.30 in the morning, and the arrival of the truck at the scene was about three hours later. They were at pains to point out that they first refused the job, but when the man pleaded with them and they suggested an extortionate price, their interest perked up as he reluctantly agreed. The cash sum was for barely thirty minutes work and they agreed to the job without the company owner being informed. It was too much of a temptation to turn down. It took some time to get the truck driver out of bed and agree to his cut. When the car was recovered the man who they thought was the owner handed over the money and drove off. Having shared their haul, the Briggs men began to realise how illogical this appeared to be. The car itself wasn’t worth anywhere near what he paid them, and of course when the news broke of Banks’ death they pretended the recovery operation had never happened. Now they know they are in the shit, and expect to be fired.” Adams rolled his eyes while he digested this.

  “Yeah, it’s been a surreal day altogether, but how does this help us Steph? I mean this doesn’t explain how the bloody car got there in the first place, and more importantly where it is now.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave. She was halted by Adams.

  “Well you’d better find out hadn’t you? Your brief was to run the car and the ‘crane’ to ground, so you’re only halfway there.” He left to meet the man who he still considered to be his boss.

  *

  They met in the Anchor at Whittonstall. It was on a long country road between Corbridge and Ebchester. The road was always quiet and it would be easy to see anyone following, and invite them to overtake. They had a beer before repairing to a cosy corner table. It was Adams who began in earnest.

  “What the hell‘s going on boss? This pompous arse Bradstock didn’t really tell us what justification there is for bringing in Forster, and if that was so important, why didn’t he just bring him in to help you?”

  “Ben, it’s obvious that my minor departure from protocol was their opportunity, a gift from the gods. You may be right. They might have been preparing to bring in Forster when I gave them a chance they couldn’t turn down. Cousins had already sounded me out about help from Sunderland or Middlesbrough, which I never declined nor accepted. Anyway it has happened, and Bradstock is prepared to take on the union, with a reasonable chance of losing, so that price must be worth paying to close ranks on this case. You and Steph need to be careful to avoid forcing their hand. How do you feel about giving me a
ccess to what comes up and see where that takes us? My initial suspension’s for two weeks. I intend to take a flight to Nice and allow them to think I’m on the Riviera to chill, during Bradstock’s concession for my paid leave. As soon as I know I’m clear I’ll fly to Cologne and see what I can find there. I’m convinced that Banks’ briefcase will explain a hell of a lot if we can find it intact.” Adams stopped chewing his prawns to respond.

  “I know there’s a risk to both D.C. Baker and me, but I think this Forster will just direct us to work off the radar. I’m more than happy to share whatever we can find out, and you may get to more than we will be allowed to in Cologne. For example, when you asked me to speak with Vivienne Banks again, I decided to go to her house rather than bring her in, because I was sure she would inform Doyle. She tried hard to convince me that she knew little about the technicalities of the business transfer deed. She said Alistair wasn’t stupid, and although they’d been through a rough patch, she still trusted him implicitly. I eventually got around to asking about the briefcase and she coolly asked, ‘Which one?’ He had two, and one was still upstairs in the wardrobe. It wasn’t locked - but it was empty. She said Bowman had used the other one on some odd occasions. When I asked her who manufactured them, she laughed. Apparently he designed the concept together with his pal Hepworth, and they sourced the components without letting their suppliers in on the purpose. She said Alistair would never talk about the design to anyone else but Hepworth.” Renton was fascinated by this and wanted to interrupt, but Adams pressed on.

  “When I got Doyle to show me the copy of the business transfer deed, he seemed to want to hang around, until I said I could take it back to the office. Like you, I felt something didn’t seem quite right. If we’re to accept the logic of the deed it suggests strong synergy between the two companies and all conclusions point to a merger. There’s nothing to say there is a ‘sale’ as such, and although Banks’ company is much bigger, he’s not compensated for this by a cash adjustment. The proposed shareholding in the new company seems at odds with a straight translation of asset contribution by both, so unless there is a side document, Banks on the face of it, would’ve lost out.”