Murder in Room 346

by Phillip Strang

  ‘More questions,’ Wendy said. ‘I’ll stay here for now, and we’ll meet in two hours.’

  Chapter 16

  Larry’s wife freaked out when he returned home. ‘Not again. It’s too dangerous,’ she said. He tried to offer an explanation, but she wasn’t listening. Isaac had no such person to complain. He was still on his own. The romance with the woman he had met in Brighton, a one-hour thirty minutes’ drive to the south of London, had bloomed for a while, but then it had cooled down within a couple of months.

  As he stood under the shower, lathering soap over and over again to remove the blood, the scent of death, he wondered if it was normal that the death of a solicitor and his young receptionist did not affect him.

  He left the shower, dried himself, and put on a clean set of clothes. He put his old clothes in a large evidence bag, rather than dropping them off at the dry cleaner’s. Caddick would have to sign expenses for their cost.

  Two hours after leaving the solicitor’s office, the team assembled at Challis Street. Bridget, as usual, was concerned and fussing. ‘It must have been terrible,’ she said.

  ‘I could do with a pizza,’ Isaac said.

  ‘I’ll order one,’ Bridget said.

  ‘Make that two.’ Larry added his order.

  ‘Three,’ Wendy said.

  Isaac could see Larry was suffering delayed shock. He made a phone call to the first aid officer in the building. She came down, gave Larry a tranquilliser and told him to take it easy, to go home and rest.

  Larry thanked her, did not respond to her suggestion.

  ‘You’d better not drive,’ Isaac said.

  Chief Superintendent Goddard phoned. ‘I’ve requested a new date for your disciplinary hearing,’ he said. ‘With the recent developments, they’ve agreed. Also, Wendy Gladstone’s medical, that’s on hold.’

  ‘Caddick? Isaac said.

  ‘Forget about him for now. You and Larry could have been shot. He’ll keep out of your way for now, or if he’s smart enough, he will.’

  ‘Caddick and smart? Oxymoron, sir.’

  ‘He’s struggling to get his budget approved. Questions are being asked as to his effectiveness. There’s an internal audit of all the senior officers. He’s one of them.’

  ‘Did Davies put that forward?’

  ‘A government watchdog has made the recommendations. Davies will play it smart and put his full weight behind it.’

  ‘Lord Shaw, DCS Goddard?’

  ‘Don’t go fishing, Isaac. Just be thankful that someone’s still got the gumption to stand up and be counted.’

  ‘How’s Davies’s position?’

  ‘Don’t expect him to depart soon. Worry about solving the current murders and try to make sure no one else dies.’

  ‘We’ll try our best, sir.’

  Goddard ended the phone call. Isaac turned to the team. ‘Wendy, your medical’s been put on hold. Also, my disciplinary is off for now.’

  ‘Caddick?’ Larry said.

  ‘He’s got his own problems.’

  ‘I’ll go and see Mrs Hawthorne again,’ Wendy said.

  ‘Slater said he knew her, and she had seen him the day he visited Aberman’s house. Mrs Hawthorne may well have enjoyed the spectacle of the parties, but she’s nosey. Aberman was tortured, there must have been some noise.’

  ‘I’ll check out Slater’s other clients,’ Bridget said.

  ‘Larry and I will revisit the Dixey Club,’ Isaac said. ‘Knox and Gus will be nervous now. If Slater can be killed, so can they, and they know who the villains are.’

  ***

  Barry Knox was not pleased to see Isaac and Larry. It was late in the day when they arrived at the club. On the stage were two women, one upside down on the pole, the other teasing the patrons in the front row, tempting them to part with their money.

  ‘You’re here about Slater?’ Knox said as Isaac and Larry entered his office. On the screens in one corner were the women out front, the audience, and the bed at the back of the establishment.

  ‘Are you still looking at that bed?’ Isaac said.

  ‘First aid requires constant vigilance.’

  ‘Did you know Slater?’

  ‘He used to come along to Aberman’s parties. Couldn’t get enough of what was on offer.’

  ‘What else can you tell us about him?’

  ‘Not a lot. I never knew he was a solicitor until I saw a photo of him on the television.’

  ‘We were there when he was shot,’ Larry said.

  ‘So much for the protection of the law,’ Knox said. ‘Don’t bother offering me protection if I turn Queen’s evidence.’

  ‘Are you considering it?’

  ‘I’ve nothing to tell you. I’m clean.’

  ‘Twenty-four hours down at the police station may do you some good.’

  ‘You can’t hold me. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

  ‘In this club? I’m sure if the vice squad come through here, they’ll find something.’

  ‘Okay, what do you want?’

  ‘The truth.’

  ‘Aberman, he was borrowing money.’

  ‘We know this. And then he was in trouble.’

  ‘That’s it.’

  ‘Who brought you in here to run this club?’

  ‘The new owners.’

  ‘Who are they?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘It’s the honest truth. Apart from Ugly Pete, the heavy I told you about before, I’ve met no one. Our communication is by email and messaging.’

  ‘An unusual relationship.’

  ‘It suits me. I’m left to run the club, give them an agreed percentage of the takings, and I keep the rest after expenses.’

  ‘Good money for you?’

  ‘It’s good. The women aren’t complaining either. I expect the best, I pay the best.’

  ‘They weren’t bad-looking, the two out front,’ Larry said.

  ‘They’re not. I’ve brought in some new women.’

  ‘Slater was shot just as he was about to give us names,’ Isaac said. ‘Names you know. There’s no window here, so nobody’s going to take you out. It’s either here or Challis Street.’

  ‘These people don’t mess around. If I tell you any more, I’m dead.’

  ‘And if you don’t, you’re in jail.’

  ‘Okay, Slater’s death has got us all jumpy. Gus, he’s taken off, trying to get some distance. I told him he’s wasting his time, but then, he’s not very bright.’

  ‘What are you going to tell us?’

  ‘Ugly Pete frequents a pub in Kensington, the Finborough Arms.’

  ‘What does he look like?’

  ‘I told you before. He’s ugly, like a mongrel dog. And don’t ask me any more. I still value my life, worthless as it may be to you.’

  Chapter 17

  Isaac realised that the murder enquiry had taken a turn for the worse. Before they had been looking for the murderer of two people in a hotel room, one a moral crusader, the other a former prisoner. Since then, a prostitute had been murdered, as well as a solicitor and his receptionist. And now there was the complication of the discovery of another body, Ben Aberman.

  Isaac met his former senior not far from Scotland Yard.

  ‘Public Relations isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,’ Richard Goddard confessed.

  ‘Davies didn’t put you there to enjoy it,’ Isaac said. ‘He wanted you out of the way. It looks as though he’s succeeded.’

  ‘His time’s coming, but that’s not why we’re meeting, is it?’

  ‘I need to run the case past you.’

  ‘Caddick?’

  ‘The man’s a fool. His advice is worthless.’

  ‘What have you got?’

  ‘Helen Langdon, four years in prison for killing her husband, subsequently acquitted. James Holden, moral crusader, member of parliament. The two of them are found naked in a hotel room, a bullet in the head each. Another prostitute,
Daisy, a former work colleague of Helen’s when they were both stripping, also murdered. Daisy was also meeting with Holden for the purpose of prostitution. We’ve assumed that Helen did not know about this.’

  ‘That’s three.’

  ‘We discover the body of Ben Aberman, the owner of the club where the two women had worked. He was also Helen’s lover during that period. Aberman’s house has been empty for a long time. Helen’s had been looking after it, along with a solicitor who was paid by Aberman. We were with the solicitor when he was killed. His receptionist, young and new at the firm, walked in the door and was shot too.’

  ‘What’s the common thread?’

  ‘Helen Langdon, but she’s dead. We’ve been looking for a murderer amongst Helen’s circle of acquaintances, but now we’re dealing with organised crime.’

  ‘Is there any possibility James Holden was the primary target, and the subsequent deaths have been an unfortunate consequence?’ Goddard said.

  ‘It was a consideration initially. Holden was critical of the amount of dubious material that could be downloaded from the internet. He was a vocal supporter of tightening censorship guidelines, applying restrictions.’

  ‘Are you suggesting a rethink?’

  ‘Not totally. The discovery of Aberman’s body has brought in an added complication. The earlier murders were the work of an individual, the later murders, as well as Aberman’s, have the hallmarks of a crime syndicate.’

  ‘The crime syndicate is more immediate. They don’t mess around, could even take you out if you get too close,’ Goddard said.

  ‘What can be done about Caddick? He’s a liability to Homicide and the ongoing investigation.’

  ‘Davies will play his hand at some stage. The man knows Caddick is not up to the task. His strategy now is to bring back those who are. He’ll make the normal platitudes about staff rotation, multitasking, and so on, but we’ll know what it is.’

  ‘A stalling tactic?’

  ‘Davies may outlast us all.’

  ‘A dreadful thought,’ Isaac said.

  ***

  Nobody expected Gus, the Dixey Club’s bouncer and doorman, to walk into Challis Street Police Station. It was nine in the evening, and the team in Homicide were wrapping up for the day.

  For three days, Caddick had not been seen: a training course for senior police officers. Larry had offered a comment when he’d heard about Caddick and training. Isaac had told him to be careful what he said and to whom.

  ‘I’ve come to give myself up,’ Gus said as he sat in the interview room.

  ‘Do you need legal representation?’ Isaac asked.

  ‘Not this time.’

  ‘What are you confessing to?’

  ‘I was there the night Aberman died.’

  ‘We’ve no one who can identify you. Why are you here?’

  ‘They killed Slater. They’ll kill me.’

  ‘Did you kill Aberman?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you bury him?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What crime did you commit?’

  ‘I helped bury the body, didn’t tell you the truth. I was at Ben Aberman’s house that night. They were upstairs with Aberman, working him over, trying to get him to sign over the clubs.’

  ‘And you were downstairs watching the television.’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Gus, you may fool others, but you don’t fool us. Roughing a man up is one thing, shooting him in the head is another.’

  ‘It was more than roughing him up.’

  ‘The full story. We’ll be recording this,’ Isaac said.

  ‘As long as you protect me.’

  ‘Your full name?’

  ‘Guthrie Boswell.’

  Once Gus had been cautioned and advised of his rights, Isaac addressed him.

  ‘In your own words.’

  ‘Ben wasn’t a bad man. He’d been running Dixey’s for a few years. He treated the women well, especially Helen.’

  ‘Were they lovers?’

  ‘Yes. Ben was an ambitious man, wanted to do more. He borrowed money, gets into trouble.’

  ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘I was in the club. I’m the dumb muscle man, that’s what everyone thinks, but I watch and listen.’

  ‘And check out Aberman’s office when he’s not there.’

  ‘Maybe there’s some of that.’

  ‘The night of Aberman’s disappearance, what can you tell us?’ Larry said.

  ‘It’s late, two in the morning. Ben in his office totalling up the money. I’m out front closing up.’

  ‘Anyone else in the building?’

  ‘The women have all left. Daisy’s gone off with one of the customers. Helen went home on her own.’

  ‘Aberman’s home?’

  ‘He had a flat not far from the club. She’d probably gone there, but I can’t be certain. There’s a knock on the door, I open it, and a gun is shoved in my face.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘What anyone would do. I let the gun in.’

  ‘How many men?’

  ‘Three, and they’re all armed. They demand to see Ben. I take them to his office. We’ve had problems with men demanding protection money before.’

  ‘What has happened in the past?’

  ‘Ben pays those who come in, and then afterwards, he finds out who they are. After that, they never return. The three guns, they’re in Ben’s office. One of the men is after the money owing. Ben, a stubborn man, is refusing. In the end, the men come out of the office with Ben held firmly between two of them. One of the men points a gun at me.’

  ‘Did he speak?’

  ‘He said either I’m with them, or I’m dead on the spot. Now, I’m not too smart to figure out what’s going on most of the time, but this time, I know.’

  ‘You went with them.’

  ‘I figured Ben needed help, although I couldn’t do anything in the club.’

  ‘Ben was a friend?’

  ‘He treated me well. I wasn’t about to have my head blown off for him, but I owed him something.’

  ‘Did you drive to Aberman’s house in Bray?’

  ‘That’s it. Slater’s already there. He’s got some papers he wants Ben to sign.’

  ‘And Ben refuses?’

  ‘That’s Ben.’

  ‘Slater, what does he say?’

  ‘I’m not that close, and they’ve handcuffed me. What I can make out is that Slater’s trying to explain the situation.’

  ‘Aberman’s still not signing?’

  ‘No. They take Ben into another room and start working on him. I can hear them from where I am, but I can’t do anything.’

  ‘No one in the area heard them?’

  ‘These men, they’re professionals. Ben had a gag so he couldn’t scream, and the men, they’re not talking, just hitting. They tell me he’s going to sign or else they’ll kill me first, then him. I’m panicking.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  ‘They gave me the option. Either I help them, or I’m dead.’

  ‘You chose to help.’

  ‘Whatever happened, I figured that Ben would still be alive, so would I, if I helped.’

  ‘You trusted these men?’

  ‘What option did I have? Ben looks at me, I say sorry, but he either signs or we’re dead.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘They offered him the chance once again to sign, but he refused. They kept hitting him, and then one of them started on him with a lighted cigarette. Ben was in agony. I pleaded with him to sign, but he won’t. In the end, they hooked him up to a handheld generator. He signed then.’

  ‘Did they release him after he signed?’

  ‘No. I go into the other room to figure out what to do next. I wanted Ben and me out of there, but the men with Slater, they don’t look to be the forgiving kind. One of them came up to me.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He told me again, that I’m eithe
r with them or I’m not. I’m dragged into the other room, and there’s Ben, his head covered in blood. The gun must have had a silencer as I never heard any sound.’

  ‘You’re freaking out, you’re next. What do you do?’

  ‘I’ve no option.’

  ‘You were one of those who buried Ben in the back garden?’

  ‘I helped to dig the grave.’

  ‘And who was the other man?’

  ‘Pete, that’s all I know.’

  ‘Ugly Pete?’

  ‘Don’t say that to his face. He’s an angry man. He was the one who shot Ben.’

  ***

  ‘You’ve charged the man with accessory to murder, is that it?’ Superintendent Caddick said on his return from the course.

  ‘It won’t be long,’ Isaac said. ‘We’ve a lead on the murderer.’

  ‘It’s Holden that Commissioner Davies is interested in, not the owner of a strip club.’

  ‘Murder’s equal in the eyes of the law, the penalty is the same.’

  ‘You’ve been meeting with Goddard from what I hear.’

  ‘Is there a problem?’

  ‘Suit yourself, but I’m in charge of this place, not him.’

  ‘He’s a personal friend,’ Isaac said.

  ‘Soon to be out on his ear.’

  ‘Is he?’

  ‘Goddard, he's playing politics. One wins, another loses.’

  ‘Are you, Superintendent Caddick, intending to be one of the winners?’

  ‘That I am.’

  ‘For myself, I intend to succeed by good policing.’

  ‘That’s the problem, Cook. You’re an idealist. The world is not what you believe. You’ve seen into the gutter on enough occasions. You know that people such as yourself are doomed to lose.’

  ‘That’s your view, not mine.’

  ‘Very well. How long before you bring in Holden’s killer?’

  ‘Soon.’

  ‘We’ll see. You’re off the disciplinary for now after the shooting in the solicitor’s office. Made yourself some sort of hero, but how did they know you were there and what was being said?’

  Several minutes after Caddick had left, Larry came into Isaac’s office. ‘He’s right,’ he said.

  ‘Caddick, I don’t think so.’