Bridge of Doom (21 page)

'So how many flats are you building on the site?' said Annie. 

'There will be nearly two hundred and fifty mainly two-bedroom flats which, as you probably know, are in great demand by the young professional types as well as buy-to-let investors. That's a lot of units for a site of this size, but we're putting in underground parking, which is very expensive to do but frees up more building space.' 

'Okay, just to go back to the money side of things, was it a knock down price you paid for the site?'
 

'Not really, Jack. The price was below market value certainly but, given the circumstances, not ridiculously so. I mean people want to sell things quickly all the time, for their own reasons. Cars, houses you name it. Sometimes an asset simply has to be sold for whatever price you can get for it.'
 

'I once bought a pretty decent bike for ten pounds on Gumtree,' said Annie. 'I felt bad about it at the time, because the guy looked as if he was on his uppers and I felt I was somehow taking advantage. But just a little bit, and I soon got over it.'
 

'It's exactly the same principle, Annie. One person's apparent bad luck is another's good fortune. That's life and remember, if you hadn't bought the bike, then the person selling would be in an even worse position. So it's a kind of win, half-win situation.' 

'Yes, but did you stop and think to yourself at that point, why me?' asked Jack.
 

'What do you mean?'
 

'Why did they offer to sell the site to you and only you when, if they'd waited just a little bit longer, presumably they would have got a much better price by putting it on the open market.'
 

'Yes, of course, I did consider that but I had no way of knowing what lay behind their decision. But I did extremely thorough due diligence with my lawyers and we could not come up with a single good reason for turning away from the project. So, of course, I went ahead.' 

'Did you have to pay all of the cash up front?' said Jack.
 

'Thankfully, no. First of all, I purchased an option to buy the site which gave me time to put together a consortium of backers.' 

'How does that work?'
 

'An option to buy is a just way of hedging your bet, Jack. It usually entails paying a fairly hefty deposit up front, but that buys you time to come up with a plan which is acceptable to the council and also to secure the necessary funding. Of course, if things don't go according to plan, at the end of the six- month window the option to buy lapses. At that point, of course, I forfeit my deposit and ownership remains with the family trust, who are then free to sell to someone else.' 

'Okay, so after you secured the option to buy, I suppose then the hard work really began.'

'Correct. First I had to work out with my architect the best way to develop the site and then I approached the City Council with my first proposal. That resulted in protracted negotiations over the composition of the development, but that's normal. It's always the same dance we do, because the developer wants as many housing units as possible on the site and the Council wants to knock the number down, to make room for a free children's nursery, or a drop-in centre for refugees. Whatever’s flavour of the month with them at the time.'

'I hope they don't want you to pay for the trams as well,' said Jack with a grin. 

'Please don't get me started about the trams, Jack. My blood pressure is high enough at the moment as it is. For as long as I can remember, the councillors here in Edinburgh have been coming up with crazy schemes, instead of just getting on with the bread and butter stuff that the voters elect them to do. Most residents just want their schools and libraries to be well run and our old folks looked after. Obviously the streets need to be kept clean as well, potholes repaired and the grass cut in public parks. That's what local councils are supposed to do, but all of that boring routine stuff just isn't sexy enough for the great thinkers on Edinburgh council. Oh no, big expensive,
world-class
projects are what really turns them on.'
 

'But, to be fair, Guy, it can't have been easy trying to provide a huge range of local services with a Council Tax freeze in place,' said Jack.
 

'Yes, you're absolutely right. So that's even more reason not to commit to a huge project that you can't afford, like the trams. As far as I can tell, the city has almost been bankrupted to pay for this ludicrous vanity project. And the way things are going, with endless budget cuts being announced, there will hardly be any staff left working at the Council in a couple of years' time. But our councillors keep sailing on regardless with their mad, grandiose plans. These bloody idiots couldn't run a raffle as far as I'm concerned. Sorry I've wandered off topic, but I can't help it.' 

Jack smiled and said, 'I can see how you might have had one or two problems trying to secure planning permission from the council, if they're aware of your low opinion of them.'
 

'Look I have to deal with these people on a regular basis so, whenever we meet, I just smile sweetly, bite my lip and keep my opinions to myself.'
 

'I have to do a lot of that as well,' added Annie, nodding sympathetically. 

'Look, this has been very useful, Guy. Obviously you're going flat out to try and close the deal, but we're being paid to think about your safety and how to neutralise any further threats.' 

'So where do we go from here on that side of things?' said Guy.
 

'In my experience the catalogue of harassment and aggravation you've been subjected to usually comes under the heading of revenge, with money or sex providing the motive. So if you've been cheating on a partner or messing around with someone else's wife recently, it would be helpful if we knew about it at this point.' 

'No, absolutely not, Jack. I just wish I had the time, or the energy.'
 

'Good. So that leaves money. I think that there's probably some kind of a direct link between the
Westlink
project and what's been happening to you over the last few weeks. My working theory at the moment is that someone feels they've got the short end of the stick in connection with this big property deal.' 

'But why would anyone feel aggrieved about that? I've paid everyone in full and on time. No monies are outstanding to anyone on this deal, apart from me, of course. So I don't follow your reasoning.'
 

'Look, it doesn't have to be logical or fair, or make any kind of rational sense. But, off the top of my head, I can think of several parties who might be that way inclined. First off, there's the person who controls the family trust. He, or she, is maybe having second thoughts about selling, now that they can see the potential value of the brewery site. Then there are the owners of the four smaller plots adjoining the main site. I take it you didn't make them fully aware of the bigger picture, when you made them an offer?' 

'I had no legal obligation to do so. It was up to them, or their legal representatives, to carry out any necessary checks. I offered them a fair price and they all accepted. End of story.' 

'Yes, it's the end of story for you. But maybe not for them. Or it could be someone you have history with. As in someone you've bested in a previous unrelated business deal. Someone who has harboured a grudge ever since and has been waiting for the right moment to take their revenge. Does that make sense?' 

'When you put it like that, yes I suppose it does make sense, Jack. But I'm still no closer to guessing who might be behind it. I really have difficulty getting my head round this and it seems almost surreal to be sitting here in the New Town, discussing conspiracy theories.'
 

'Well I don't know much about property development, but I do know quite a lot about human nature. I think the kind of threat you're facing here is from someone who is determined, ruthless and quite capable of using extreme violence to get what they want, which is money. Lots of it.'
 

'So are you saying that my recent paranoia regarding security is justified?' 

'That's
exactly
what I'm saying, Guy. I think you're quite safe here in the house, but outside is another story. With this deadline approaching, I'd say the threat level is high and I think you should only consider leaving the house with the two of us riding shotgun. I meant to ask earlier, how long do you have before the option to buy runs out?’

'The deadline's a week to-day, Jack. It's crunch time or, as Henry so eloquently puts it, time to piss or get off the pot.'
 

Annie had been taking notes throughout the conversation with Guy Brodie. She suddenly looked up and smiled at Guy. 'I've just been flicking through one of your publicity fliers for
Westlink
and I've done a quick calculation, based on the advertised selling prices of the flats. Off the top of my head, would the projected profit on this project be somewhere in the ten to twenty million pounds range?'
 

Jack gave his partner a disapproving look and said, 'You'll have noticed that Annie's not exactly backward about coming forward, Guy. But your profit margin is none of our business, so you don't have to answer that question.'
 

However, clearly not embarrassed to be discussing money, Guy smiled and said, 'no that's all right. I'm actually impressed, Annie, because that was an excellent guess. If I manage to get everything right and the whole development is a great success and sells out in, say, eighteen months, which isn't impossible, then yes … the figure you mentioned is certainly in the right ball park. But that's if interest rates don't suddenly start to go crazy and every last detail goes to plan. But that rarely ever happens, believe me.'
 

'Funnily enough, it's exactly the same with most of
our
plans,' said Annie. 'But my point is that the prospect of scoring ten million pounds, or more, is quite an incentive for someone to try to derail your project and take it over. And here's another random thought for you. What if it's not one of your direct competitors who's been causing all of the mischief? It could be someone completely unknown to you, who knows nothing about property development. Someone who is simply attracted by the smell of big money.'

Guy and Jack both looked sceptically at Annie.
 

'Okay, humour me for a minute. What if somebody has just been waiting to see if you could make this whole project fly? You know, by coming up with an imaginative concept that generates a lot of public interest. Then after you’ve gone through the horse trading bit with the local council and, finally, pulled all the other strands together in terms of finance etc. At that point, once you'd done all of the heavy lifting for them, maybe they thought they could just pull the plug on your plans, step in and take over. Does any of that make any sense?'
 

Guy looked completely bemused by this latest potential twist in the tale and Jack decided that there was little more to be gained by indulging in further speculation.  

'Look, we've covered a lot of ground this morning, Guy, and I think we've now both got a much better handle on your situation here. Let's meet up again in a day or two. I don't want to say much too more at the moment but, as the cops always say, we're following a particular line of enquiry and we might have a bit more information for you then.’
 

'Okay, I'll pencil you in for the same time on Thursday morning,' said Guy as he got up to show Jack and Annie out. 'Oh and, by the way, I must thank Henry for bringing you both on board. I'm starting to feel better about things already.' 

As they left the penthouse office and started to make their way back downstairs, Annie said, 'I was expecting to find him a nervous wreck up there. You know, maybe hiding behind the curtains, after everything Henry has been telling us about his erratic behaviour and paranoia. But it wasn't like that at all, was it? Obviously he's under a lot of pressure, but I thought he's handling it remarkably well.' 

'My thoughts exactly, Annie. He seems to be a pretty decent guy, all things considered, for a posh boy property developer. It makes you wonder what on earth Henry's been wittering on about.' 

'Unless, of course, Guy is prone to violent mood swings, but he didn't look that type of man to me.' 

'Very interesting, I think we need to watch this space.' 

‘By the way, did you find out from Henry if Guy is married?’ enquired Annie. 

‘There's been no mention of a Mrs Brodie so far. Why?’ 

‘Oh, no particular reason. I was just wondering, you know.’

'Okay, what's the word on Henry's emails?’ said Jack, as he walked a lap of Moray Place with Annie, while enjoying an after dinner cigarette. ‘Anything of interest so far?' 

'Yes, absolutely. I've just finished trawling through hundreds of his emails going back almost three months. And although we're hacking the email account for his office, there are hardly any messages in his inbox to do with work. But there are loads of emails from crazy women looking to try and hook up with him.' 

'Any fit looking ones?' enquired Jack, hopefully.
 

'Look I've been working like a dog on this for three hours solid and I'm afraid I didn't actually have time to check out their pictures,' snapped Annie. 

'Sorry, just wondered. Please continue.'
 

'Anyway, leaving aside Henry's convoluted love life, the rest of his emails are all about money, or more accurately the lack of it. Where to begin? Well he seems to be an equal opportunity loser, because he owes money to everybody. So far I've counted three bookies, one casino, four credit card companies and a family member who are all chasing him for money they're owed, going back well over a year in some cases. I've not come across a demand from the International Monetary Fund yet, but maybe he deleted that one.'
 

‘Do you have any idea what he owes in total?’

‘Difficult to be certain at this stage but, based on the emails, it could be north of two hundred thousand pounds.’ 

Jack whistled and said, 'that's really good work, Annie. So, as we suspected, the wolves have been circling around poor old Henry.'

'Well they were, until maybe four weeks ago. But that's the really weird thing, boss, because around then all the demands and harassing emails suddenly stopped dead. After that, nothing'
 

'Mm … very interesting.'
 

'Wait, there's more. Around the same time as the pack of creditors suddenly went silent, he starts getting cryptic emails from somebody who signs his messages
M
. And every couple of days since then Henry receives another one. I've copied a few of them onto my phone. What do you think?' 

Jack took a look at Annie's iPhone and said, 'it's impossible to say, but they're presumably coded messages, or pre-arranged instructions of some kind.’ 

'So since Henry's new best friend,
M
, appeared on the scene, all of his creditors suddenly leave him alone. How do you explain that one?' 

'I think there are only two possibilities, Annie. Either, Henry's luck has changed dramatically and he's been on a fantastic winning streak, winning absolute shed loads of money, which has allowed him to pay off all of his creditors.'  

'I wouldn't bet on it,' said Annie. 

'Ah yes, very good. Or, alternatively, his mysterious new buddy has managed to buy up all of his debt and come to some arrangement with the creditors. That might be a mixture of good and bad news for Henry, because, although the hounds have been called off, the bad news is that
M
now owns one hundred per cent of Henry's arse.’

‘Surely I’ve read somewhere that gambling debts aren’t legally recoverable.’

‘That’s true, Annie, but that doesn’t stop creditors trying. First comes a barrage of letters, phone calls and emails, demanding payment of the debt, which is all perfectly legal. However, if that doesn't work, things usually progress to a slightly greyer area where large unsympathetic gentlemen pay late night visits to bang on the door of your home. And if you don’t answer, they shout through the letter box, or wait menacingly outside your place of work on a daily basis. It's amazing what ten minutes spent in the company of a couple of heartless thugs will do for a person’s will power.’

‘I’m starting to feel sorry for Henry. Almost.’

‘Okay, how about Henry's internet searches over the last few weeks? Anything of interest there, any recurring themes?’

‘No prizes for guessing that his single main obsession is gambling and he seems to check out betting web sites every hour or two, to get the latest odds on football and horse racing. His other interests vary, depending on the time of day and probably how pissed he is at the time.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well late at night, if he’s half-cut and feeling lonely, he starts thinking about women and goes between dating sites and porn, with a particular interest in the larger female form. And first thing in the morning, when he’s probably not feeling too fresh, it’s still mainly gambling but with an occasional look at quick-fix hangover cures.’

'Okay, what about around lunchtime or in the early afternoon? What kind of searches does he do then?’

‘That’s more of an odd mixture. Yesterday he was looking at how a person goes about changing his identity and then he went on to long-haul flights, specifically to countries with no extradition links to the UK. Oh, and then he spent half-an hour researching painless methods of committing suicide. A kind of odd combo, don’t you think?’

'Not really, Annie, I've probably been round all of them myself at one time or another. Okay, maybe not all in the same day, fair enough. You’re right, that
is
unusual.'
 

'Okay, boss, I think at last we're starting to get somewhere but, if we're right, that still leaves two unanswered questions. Who is the mysterious
M
and what does he want from Henry?' 

'I think we can probably rule out a hot tip for the two-thirty at Kempton and, since he's probably already sold his house and car to fund his gambling habit, my guess is he doesn't have any possessions left that are of any value.' 

'I think we can also completely discount the possibility of Henry being kept chained up in a cupboard, as a sex-slave,' added Annie. 'So what does that leave?'
 

'He has only one thing left that has any value … information. If our working theory is correct, the mystery man has laid out a ton of money to buy up all of Henry’s gambling debts. He must be assuming that Henry has the absolute inside track on this mega property deal and can, therefore, pass on some extremely valuable inside information. Of course, whether that's still true or not is anybody's guess.’

‘Guy seems pretty smart, so why hasn’t he suspected Henry?’

‘Good question, Annie. Probably because the two of them go so far back together. Guy still seems to trusts him implicitly and, of course, because of this familiarity, Henry knows exactly which buttons to press to ramp up the sense of threat and paranoia surrounding Murieston Properties. My guess is that Guy has everything riding on this one. He's probably mortgaged up to the hilt and completely over-extended on a short term basis. Favours have probably been called in from friends and threats made to enemies to back off, where necessary, all to deliver the desired result.’

‘But, if Henry is on the inside of the deal feeding him information,
M
would know exactly how serious the financial position is at Murieston properties. The clock is ticking, contracts have been signed and penalty clauses are probably due to kick in, if agreed deadlines are not met. So any delay beyond a few days might be enough to bring the whole house of cards crashing down. Does that make sense?' 

'Yes, sort of.  What we need now is some way to corroborate all of this guesswork.’