Hunter's Revenge

by Val Penny

  Max Merkel and I got on well when I met him in the bar of my hotel. I discovered he is an art dealer, and knew of George Reinbold because of his interest in collecting antiquarian books. Mr Merkel did not disguise his dislike of George Reinbold. He did not tell me why he felt so strongly about him, just that he had known him many years ago in Germany.

  Arjun Mansoor’s lawyer, Donald Blair, had telephoned me at Arjun’s request. Blair advised me to have the Volvo collected by a third party, as I would be recognised by Jamie Thomson because of my relationship with his mother. I thought this was a good idea so I asked Mr Merkel for his help.

  It transpired that Mr Merkel and I are mutually acquainted with Arjun Mansoor. Both Arjun and Mr Merkel blamed George Reinbold for suffering in their lives. Mr Merkel agreed to do me a favour when he learned I had a car to collect in payment for a piece of business I had been asked to take care of for Arjun, relating to George Reinbold. I told him to get the Volvo that had been left for me at Thomson’s Top Cars, perhaps by asking to test drive it, as if he were going to buy it. He agreed and was going to leave it for me at a place we arranged in Comely Bank, so that I could retrieve it.

  The girl from the garage messed everything up. She insisted on going for the test drive with him. Merkel could not let her see where he was leaving the car. She could not witness anything. So he decided to bundle her up into the boot. That was when he found the cocaine. He tried to cut me out. He did not leave the car where we arranged, but it was found near the airport and had been set alight.

  I put out word that I wanted that car. But when I was told where it was, that the car was burned out with a corpse in the boot, I was furious and went to Thomson’s to get what I was owed. There was not any chance of that, so Squires punished the boy.

  I am innocent of all crimes. I intended to commit a crime, but was denied the opportunity to do so.

  Hunter looked at Tim and smiled.

  “I don’t think keeping an illegal pistol, inciting Squires to injure Jamie Thomson, and conspiracy to receive a Class A drug leaves you, as you put it, ‘innocent of all crimes’. Do you, Lizard? And neat as your story is, it doesn't explain why Merkel had your gun cleaned for you when he was in London. I doubt this story is complete. Do you have anything you want to add?”

  “I have advised my client to make no further comment,” Andrew Barley said.

  Hunter got up and left the room with Tim.

  “I am not convinced that The Lizard is giving us the whole truth, Tim. His story just doesn't make sense. Let’s go and have a last quick chat with Heinrich and Max, young Myerscough. I think that will allow us to put the rest of the pieces together. Then we can call it a day.

  “That sounds the way forward to me.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Hunter sat down in front of Max Merkel and Andrew Barley and sighed.

  “Mr Merkel, tell me the truth. Start at the beginning.”

  “DI Wilson, I have hated George Reinbold and his family all my life. I was robbed of my father as a child. I like the ladies. I have had many women. June Dormer is just one. I like beautiful women, fabulous cars and expensive art, but I am not a criminal. When The Lizard told me of his problem, I agreed to collect the Volvo for him. I did that under the pretext of going for a test drive. I led the girl at the garage to believe that I had made an arrangement to buy the car. That is not a crime, but the young woman in the showroom said she had to come with me. That was a complication. I also arranged to have The Lizard’s gun cleaned by my gunsmith, so that he could not be wrongly implicated in George Reinbold’s death. That is all.”

  “That was extremely unwise, Mr Merkel.”

  “Yes, but not illegal.”

  “Yes, illegal. You have no licence to carry that gun. And neither does The Lizard.”

  “I never carried it as a gun. I carried it as several bits of metal.”

  “You also had your own .38 pistol with you, which you did not have permission to bring into this country at any time. It is strictly illegal for you to own that at all here. And let’s not forget that you tampered with evidence, and you were the last person known to have seen Jenny Kozlowski alive. I have enough to put to the Crown.”

  “Perhaps you do,” Merkel said, “but don’t be too hasty, Inspector. I can help you.”

  “You think so? You agreed to remove the old Volvo from Thomson’s Top Cars as an accommodation to The Lizard, but the young assistant said she had to come with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You killed her.”

  “No. I did not. I put her in the boot of the car. I tied her up, but I did not kill her.”

  “When you opened the boot, what did you find?”

  “Packages. Lots of packages that looked all the same.”

  “How many?”

  “Ten, but I could only get at nine. A spare tyre was fixed over the tenth one.”

  “What was in the packages? What did you do with them?”

  “I did not know, at first, but I knew they must be important, valuable. So I took them and hid them in my room. Later, I dispersed them throughout my luggage.”

  “Would you be surprised to know we have found them?”

  “No.” The man wore an angry expression. He looked steadily down at the table.

  “Do you know now what was in the packages?”

  “Yes. I opened one and it was white powder inside. I rubbed it on my gums and found out it was cocaine.”

  “But you didn’t think to phone the police?” Tim commented.

  Merkel shot him a furious glance. “No.”

  Tim shrugged. “What did you do with the car?”

  “I hid it. I agreed with The Lizard that I would hide it in Comely Bank. There are so many cars there, nobody will notice one more.”

  “But you didn’t put it in the agreed place in Comely Bank?”

  “No, that is true. Not at the agreed place,” Merkel blushed.

  “And the girl?”

  “I left her in the boot of the car.”

  “You left her there to die.”

  “She was still alive the next morning. I gave her some water and I was going to give her chocolate, but she bit me, so I bound her back up and shut the boot.”

  “Then what did you do?”

  “I drove over to George’s house. I had my gun with me. I meant to kill him.”

  “What were you wearing?”

  “My suit; one of the ones I wear for business. My grey suit. White shirt. Blue tie.”

  “What then?”

  “What do you mean, what then? He was dead already, so I turned around, got back into the car and left. I left the car at Edinburgh Airport and came back on the tram.”

  “And Jenny?”

  “She was alive when I opened the boot. So I when took the car to the airport and dumped it, I didn’t set it on fire. I learned later it had been set alight. I don’t know who set it on fire. Honestly.”

  “Honestly? That’s rich! Did The Lizard not realise you had taken his cocaine?” Hunter asked.

  “No, I told him that the car must have been stolen, and when it turned up burnt out, he believed it. That’s why I agreed to take his gun to be cleaned in London, so he would think I was still on his side. He was pleased with the job. I put a lot of business with Country and Hound for my clients.”

  “And why order the flowers for George?”

  “My way of saying ‘Good riddance’, I suppose. I would have got June to help me buy those books at knock-down prices, you know. But they never came to the saleroom. You don’t know where they are, by chance?”

  ***

  “Thank you for allowing us to continue your interview, Mr Reinbold,” Hunter said.

  “I don’t have any choice in the matter.”

  “You went to Thomson’s Top Cars because Lenny The Lizard Pratt asked you to help him.”

  “Yes.”

  “You took the Bentley for a test drive.”

  “Yes, Mr Pratt asked me to do that to
help him out. It is not illegal.”

  “I am so sick of being told what is illegal. Book him, Tim. Book each of them with something, anything. I'm going home to bed.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  DCI Mackay looked very pleased with himself, and beamed beatifically across the team at the briefing.

  “I understand you have been busy, and we have results.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Everybody nodded.

  Bear grinned. “Most importantly, Mel didn’t need surgery. She is pretty sore because her wound needed staples, but she should be out of hospital later today.”

  “I am delighted, DC Zewedu,” Mackay said. “Send flowers from us all, will you, Hunter?”

  “Done, Sir. They will be waiting for her when she gets home,” Tim said.

  “Bear, I would like an opportunity to see Mel and speak to her parents,” Hunter said.

  “Of course, Sir. You are welcome anytime. But I have to warn you, we only have instant coffee.”

  Nadia walked around collecting the cartons from the Chinese takeaway of the previous night. The room smelled of fried food and garlic. She opened a window just as Mackay called for attention.

  “DI Wilson, can you bring me up to speed?”

  Hunter stood up. “We have charged Brian Squires with assault on Jamie Thomson. But it’s a first offence, so I wouldn’t hold out for a long sentence.”

  “We can't have everything, I suppose,” Mackay said.

  “June Dormer, otherwise known as Mrs Saleh, will be reprimanded by her professional body, and also, I suspect, by her husband. But she has committed no crime.”

  “I still wouldn’t like to be in her shoes,” Tim volunteered.

  “Hadi Akram and Kasim Saleh have both been charged with drug smuggling and trafficking,” Hunter said. “Saleh has also been charged with assault on a police officer in course of their duty.”

  “What about Reinbold?” Mackay asked.

  Hunter sighed. “Nothing, really. He did send George postcards, which frightened him. He also agreed to facilitate Lenny’s intended crime by causing a diversion, but apart from that, and hating George, he’s off the hook. He’s been charged with conspiracy and on bail at the moment, but I can’t see the Crown taking this one forward. There are bigger fish to fry.”

  “What will happen to George’s books?” Tim asked.

  “I don't know for sure, but if George hadn’t made a will, Heinrich will inherit them by default,” Hunter said.

  “That’s galling, isn't it?” Tim sighed.

  “Hunter, what I want to know is who killed George and who did in that poor wee girl. Do we know?” Mackay asked.

  “Yes, we do, Sir. Well, I do.”

  “Go on, Hunter, my patience is wearing thin.”

  “Merkel and The Lizard were both economical with the truth. They were honest up to the point when they both told us that The Lizard got Merkel to pick up the Volvo for him because Jamie would recognise him.”

  “That makes sense,” Mackay said.

  “Merkel is going to face drug charges because we found him in possession of such a huge quantity of cocaine. We have charged him with Jenny’s murder.”

  “But she died after the car was set on fire, didn’t she, Boss?” Nadia asked.

  “Yes; Doctor Sharma found evidence of burning in her lungs. That proves she was breathing during the fire, although we don’t know if she was conscious.”

  “God, I hope she wasn’t, poor kid. What a horrible way to die,” Colin said.

  “The positioning of the car means we are unable to see who started the fire, but my guess is it was Merkel,” Hunter added.

  “Guesses don’t provide us with evidence to convict, Hunter,” Mackay said.

  “Even if Merkel didn’t set the car alight, surely, as he left her bound and gagged in the boot, we can charge him with murder – or at least culpable homicide?” Tim asked.

  “Yes,” Hunter said. “We can and we have. I will be glad if we can get justice for the girl, but I’m still not looking forward to telling Mrs Kozlowski.”

  “Can I tell Jamie, Boss?” Tim asked.

  Hunter nodded.

  Mackay banged the desk. “What I really want to know is: who killed George?”

  “That was Merkel too. He went to check out the house, didn’t he, Boss?” Colin asked.

  “He did check out the house, and he intended to kill George,” Hunter said. “But no, it wasn’t him. He told the truth when he said that he went to George’s house intending to kill him, but George was already dead when he got there.”

  “Really? The Lizard said it wasn’t him.” Tim looked confused.

  “He did say that, Tim, but he lied,” Hunter said. “I couldn’t understand why The Lizard needed both Heinrich Reinbold and Max Merkel to use cars from Thomson’s at the same time. Then it clicked. The Lizard was in this up to his neck. He needed money to finance the lifestyle demanded by the lovely Janice, and came over here precisely to do the job for Mansoor, receive the cocaine hidden in the Volvo as payment, and sell it to keep Janice. It was just his bad luck – or maybe good luck – that he was delayed by his mother’s illness. That delay meant he never collected the cocaine, even though he’d kept his side of the bargain. That’s why he was so bloody furious.”

  “Of course; that’s why he thought of the car, and its contents, as being his,” Tim said.

  “Do you remember when we saw him at breakfast in the hotel, Tim?”

  “Oh, yes, the waiter made a comment about how smart The Lizard looked that day in his suit rather than his tracksuit, and asked whether he hadn’t gone for a run. It was around the time that I hurt myself whilst I was running,” Tim agreed.

  “That’s right. The morning George was killed, The Lizard went early to do the deed and claimed he had been for a jog. We had no witnesses to this earlier visit to George’s home, only the later one when Merkel tried to kill a dead man, just before the Winnie the Pooh book was delivered.”

  Tim nodded. “Now it all makes sense, Boss. That’s why The Lizard was so angry when he found he had been cheated out of the cocaine, his payment. Why did he send Squires round to collect the car when he had made an arrangement with Merkel to pick it up from Comely Bank?”

  “Because Merkel didn’t leave the car in the agreed place, so The Lizard couldn’t find it. He supposed, wrongly, that Merkel had returned the Volvo to Thomson’s Top Cars by mistake, and Lizard sent his muscle, Squires, to Thomson’s to get the car.”

  “Why not just get it himself?” Tim asked.

  “Because The Lizard knew Jamie would recognise him. And he also needed time to get rid of his bloody tracksuit. Our uniform guys found it in the hotel bins. “

  “Ugh! That must have been a dirty job,” Nadia said.

  “It was. If they get hold of The Lizard after that job, we may have another murder on our hands.”

  “I don’t blame them. Nasty!” Tim said.

  “So how do we know Lenny killed George, and that Max Merkel and Heinrich Reinbold are telling the truth about that, Hunter?” Mackay asked.

  “Jane’s witness saw the blue car and the man in the grey suit. Heinrich wears a grey suit to work. Surely Heinrich killed his Uncle?” Nadia asked.

  “No, Nadia. Heinrich was certainly angry enough to kill George, but he didn’t do it. He terrified George with the menacing postcards, but he didn’t murder him.”

  “So what happened, DI Wilson?” Mackay asked.

  “Merkel saw Heinrich take the Bentley for its test drive, and that was when he forged his plan. He knew this distraction bought him time that evening. He also knew the book George had purchased from him was being delivered the following morning, because he tracked it. It was an opportunistic plan. He went to shoot George about an hour before the book was due to arrive.”

  “I can see that,” Tim said.

  “But Merkel's plot was foiled because The Lizard had already killed George before he arrived. Merkel was telling the truth about that. He felt c
heated about evening the score with George as he had killed his father, so he ordered the meaningful wreath as a final ‘Fuck you’ to George.

  “The Lizard felt cheated because he did the job for Mansoor but didn’t get paid,” Mackay said.

  “Ian Thomson told us early on that The Lizard was a gun for hire. We should have listened,” Hunter said.

  “You’re right, Boss, we should,” Tim said.

  “So it was Merkel that Mrs Roberts saw?” Bear asked.

  “Yes, Bear. Jane’s witness saw Merkel in his grey suit and blue Volvo pull up outside George’s home, but neither she, nor any of the other witnesses, heard a shot, because Merkel didn’t fire one. George was dead when he got there. Merkel simply drove the Volvo out to the airport and got a tram back to the hotel, where he had breakfast, as if nothing had happened. It was early. Nobody thought about it because he was there for breakfast as usual.”

  “So the car the witness saw was the one Merkel was in,” Tim said.

  “Yes. The witness confirmed Merkel’s version of events. The blue car pulled up, the man got out, walked up the path, paused at the door and walked back. We saw the Volvo on the CCTV, but couldn’t identify the driver. We weren’t looking for another earlier car.” Hunter paused.

  Nadia and Colin looked disappointed.

  “Nadia and Colin, you did good work,” Hunter continued, “but The Lizard slipped through the net. Merkel did take The Lizard’s gun away and got it professionally cleaned. He must have cleaned his finger prints off his own gun himself, to avoid having to explain two revolvers to the gunsmith.”

  “With German precision, Boss,” Colin said. “There’s not a mark on it.”

  “Unlike my poor Mel,” Bear sighed. “She’s all bruised, and they had to shave the back of her head to put in the staples. I can’t wait to get her home.”

  “Then go, Bear,” Hunter said quietly, “and do just that.”

  Epilogue

  George’s funeral took place shortly after Jane and Rachael got back from their honeymoon. The whole team turned out, along with every CSI in Lothian & Borders and any others who could get the day off. The Main Chapel at Mortonhall Crematorium was full; standing room only.