Read SECRET CRIMES a gripping crime thriller full of suspense Online
Authors: MICHAEL HAMBLING
How did you get on, Barry? Any progress?’ Sophie had brought back a selection of sandwiches and snacks, and the team were huddled around the central table in the incident room for a working lunch.
‘I’ve double-checked, and there’s no doubt someone else has been doing some digging, but it all stopped two weeks ago,’ he said.
‘Just before the murders,’ Rae added.
‘Exactly. And it was a man, sounding confident, who was convincing as a police officer. He gave the impression of being middle-aged.’
‘Could it have been Shapiro?’ Jimmy suggested.
‘I had another talk with him and he denies it. He’s still happy to be here, by the way. Well, maybe not exactly happy, but he told me that at least he feels safe here. He’s not pushing to get out, and I can understand that. Maybe I’d feel the same if I was him and I thought there was someone out there wanting me dead.’
‘Did you believe him?’ Sophie asked.
‘Yes, I did.’ Barry shrugged. ‘I think he’s genuinely scared. I didn’t mention anything about Lily Dalton by the way. Several times he looked as though he was on the verge of telling me something, but then held back. How did you get on with Lily, ma’am?’
Sophie thought for a moment. ‘She’s not as innocent as she makes out. I don’t mean that she had anything to do with the murders, just in her attitudes and opinions, particularly where Shapiro’s concerned. She kept making out that he isn’t as bad as we think and that he went back into the flats on Saturday to see how Rae was. But that doesn’t square with what the squad car crew said about the way he behaved. I think she sees people through the proverbial rose-tinted glasses.’
Sophie finished her sandwich. ‘We’ll put him out of his misery this afternoon. Maybe once he knows that we know about Lily, he’ll open up a bit more. Eat up, everybody and let’s get back to work.’
* * *
Sophie could see exactly what Barry meant. Even though he was safely in custody, Brian Shapiro had a hunted look about him. His eyes were rimmed with dark shadows and he looked around as if demons were lurking in shadowy corners, waiting to jump out at him.
‘Good afternoon, Mr Shapiro.’ Sophie tried to sound breezier than she felt. ‘How are you? Sergeant Marsh here still thinks that you’re holding back on a great deal of information that might be important to us. Is he right?’
Shapiro grunted.
‘We know about Lily Dalton, by the way. So would you like to expand on your account of last weekend?’
‘How did you find out about her?’
‘We’ll have an exchange of information, shall we? You tell me something and I’ll tell you something back. How does that sound?’
Shapiro stared at her and then nodded.
‘She phoned, worried about you and about her own safety. Once we had her number it didn’t take us long to find her address. Now it’s your turn.’
‘Is she safe? Is she alright?’ Shapiro sounded anxious.
‘Yes. We saw her this morning and she was moved to a safe house an hour ago. Now tell me something.’
‘Lily was with us on that Friday night. She picked me up and we joined Derek and Sarah in the hotel room.’
‘Yes but what I meant was, tell me something I don’t already know. We’ve had a full account of Friday night from Lily. I’m trying to solve two murders here, Mr Shapiro. Tell me something I can use, for God’s sake.’
He shook his head. ‘That’s just it. I don’t know anything. I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know who it was. If I knew anything I’d tell you.’
Sophie leant across the table and stared into his eyes. ‘Now let me tell you something, you miserable little toad. You refused to tell us about Lily when we gave you every opportunity on Saturday. You could have said that she was in danger, you could have given us her address, but you didn’t. We only just got to her in time this morning. Someone came calling while we were there. If she hadn’t called us, if the person on the phone here hadn't been so concerned, if I hadn’t decided to follow up on it, if we’d have been delayed getting to her, she’d probably be lying sprawled and bloody on her kitchen floor right now. And all because of you. I need information. I need to know two things. Was Sarah secretly married again? And was there someone watching you and Derek on Friday evening?’
‘What? Married again? If she did, she never told me, and Derek never mentioned it, so he didn’t know.’ He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. ‘Watching us? You mean, apart from that creep Ed something or other?’
‘Yes, I do mean apart from him. Earlier, before you met the two women. Just after you had the argument with the roadie who was trying to bring kit in to the pub.’
Shapiro shut his eyes. ‘There was a guy near the bar. He was scanning every bloke in the place. Derek reckoned he was gay.’
‘We know about him. Anyone else?’
Shapiro shook his head. ‘No. I didn’t see anyone else, but Derek muttered something about someone in the corner, well away from us. He said the guy looked our way a couple of times. I couldn’t see because of a fat woman in front of me. By the time she moved, he’d gone. I just forgot about it.’
‘Did Derek say anything about what he looked like?’
‘I don’t remember him saying anything.’
‘Did he say anything at any other time? About spotting someone looking at you both, I mean?’
‘No, never. Except for gay blokes, like the one that evening.’
‘So the fact that he mentioned it might have meant something. This man wasn’t just someone looking around him vaguely, like people do in pubs. Don’t you agree?’
Shapiro shrugged.
‘Come on, Mr Shapiro, you know how this works. You’re an ex-cop. Am I on the right track here?’
‘Okay, you might be right. It had never happened before, so I guess there must have been a reason for Derek to mention him. But the guy didn’t stick around. One minute he was there, the next he was gone.’ He paused, scratching at a hand. ‘Do you think it might have been him? But why?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine. But there must have been a reason for it. It was too carefully planned to be otherwise. But I really don’t think I want to share any more of my thoughts with you, Mr Shapiro, not if you’ve got nothing else for me. I’ve been doing some digging into your past, and I don’t like what I’ve found. Maybe Lily thinks you’re a changed character but I doubt it. Manipulating lonely and vulnerable women into drinking too much and then forcing them into group sex is multiple rape in my book, so don’t think you’re getting out of here scot free. I despise men like you. Women need the criminal justice system to protect them from the likes of you, and I intend to ensure they get that protection. Do you understand me? So don’t get your hopes up that I’ve seen some kind of light as far as your possible guilt or innocence is concerned. When this murder inquiry is over, I’ll be throwing the book at you for the other stuff, all the things that have messed up other women’s lives. You’re an ex-cop so you should know the difference between right and wrong.’ She rose from her seat. ‘You did know, of course. You just chose to manipulate them anyway, for your own sick ends. And that’s despicable.’
Sophie walked out of the room.
Monday afternoon
So who was the man who’d been masquerading as George Smith from Portsmouth’s police force? Whoever he was, he had used a pay-as-you-go mobile phone with an unregistered SIM card. All of the calls had been made from the Portsmouth area. The GPS data from the signals showed them to have originated in the town centre. Whoever it was might have used a café or bar as a base while he made his calls. They were almost impossible to trace. It had all been planned very carefully indeed.
Marsh sat back in his chair, his hands behind his head, and pondered. Could it have been Shapiro? He had insider knowledge of police procedures, after all. But Shapiro just didn’t seem bright enough. And why would he have needed to ask these questions anyway? He was a close friend of Sarah’s lover. He would have known about the other weekend festivals from Derek. He might even have been present at them. No, there would have been no real need for him to have checked the bookings in this way. So it had been someone else, possibly someone with an intense hatred of the murdered couple. Either that or someone looking to gain from their deaths.
He suddenly stood up and tapped on the door of Sophie’s office. She’d been reading through another set of forensic reports, looking for any clue they might have missed. She looked up.
‘What if we’ve been going about this the wrong way, ma’am? What if we’ve made the wrong assumption?’
She leant back in her chair. ‘Explain please, Barry.’
‘We’ve assumed Sarah was the main target and that Paul Derek was only killed because he knew too much, or saw something that might have identified her killer. But what if it was the other way round? What if he was the intended victim and Sarah was killed to silence her?’
Sophie thought for a while. ‘Is there a motive, though? I can’t think why he would have been the prime target. Any ideas?’
‘It could be his work, ma’am. He was the senior IT manager. What if he’d spotted something going on? Serious fraud or something like that. And he wasn’t careful enough with his suspicions. Wouldn’t that be a good enough motive? And killing his girlfriend would naturally shift our focus onto her rather than him. The thing that made me wonder is the sheer amount of effort that’s gone in to cover the killer’s tracks. It isn’t just a crime of passion, is it? It’s got to be something else, surely?’
Sophie frowned. ‘The problem is, technical forensics have gone through all the data on the company system with a fine tooth comb and haven’t found anything. There’s no indication that Derek had any enemies, other than his wife. Everyone else has always said what a nice guy he was. I don’t see his wife being capable of killing two people and then covering it up so neatly. Other than Pamela Derek and her family, we’re the only ones who know about his other, darker activities. Oh, and possibly some of his group-sex victims. But none have turned up other than Brenda Plant, and I don’t for a moment think it was her. A wronged husband? It would have to have been someone with a deep resentment combined with top-notch planning abilities. But if Derek was the main target, why kill Sarah as well? Few people knew about their relationship, not even their closest workmates. We’re looking for the same kind of individual whichever of the pair we think was the main victim. Someone out to avenge a perceived injustice or personal insult. It’s a revenge killing, Barry. That’s what I think. And that makes it more likely to be a man. It has to be a man who feels deeply wronged, enraged and insulted by something Sarah did to them. But I do take your point. It’s conceivable that a husband of one of Derek’s willing or unwilling sex partners found out and took revenge. Maybe we should double-check everything we have on Paul Derek in case we’ve missed something.’
Jimmy Melsom, in the main incident room, gave a sudden whoop. They hurried to his desk.
* * *
‘Say that again, Jimmy. Maybe I didn’t hear you right.’
Sophie dropped into the nearest chair. Melsom swallowed hard and repeated his words, reading from notes scribbled on his pad.
‘The Barbados authorities have been on the phone. They confirm that Sarah Sheldon arranged a civil wedding two and a half years ago, while she was on a cruise. The ceremony took place because there are records of the wedding and a party afterwards in one of the beachside hotels. But the relevant page from the civil records has been torn out. They had a break-in last month, but hadn’t noticed anything stolen or damaged. It means they can’t tell us who she married.’ He looked up sheepishly. ‘Sorry, ma’am.’
‘For pity’s sake. What in God’s name is going on here?’ She looked at Marsh. He shook his head. Sophie took a deep breath. ‘Okay, let’s assume there really was a break-in and that the record was taken. It must have been planned. Which means someone probably flew out from Britain. Barry, you check all flights from around that date, looking for the name of anyone on our list. Jimmy, get back to the cruise company and get a list of the other passengers. Someone on that boat must remember who she married, surely? I want them all contacted, and I want their memories prodded so you can get me that name . . . And the crew, the ones who might have mixed with the passengers socially. You know, bar staff, stewards, even the captain. One thing about this news, Barry. It confirms that Sarah’s murder was no sudden crime of passion. Someone had been planning it for a long time.’
Marsh spoke quietly. ‘I can’t see it being Shapiro, ma’am. He hasn’t been out of the country for years. There’s no evidence that he has the money to fly off to Barbados, and I just feel that this level of planning would be beyond him.’
Sophie nodded. ‘We’ll keep him in, though. He’s happier downstairs in the cells than out on the streets. He’s convinced he’ll be next on the list. And maybe the food’s better here.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘Rae. Time to contact our Bath colleagues, I think. They ought to be told that we have one of the men who probably raped Brenda Plant in custody. Can I leave that with you? Once you’ve done that, give these two a hand. Help whoever’s looking most under pressure — Jimmy, I expect.’ She looked quickly at Marsh.
* * *
Was that a sly wink? Marsh asked himself. She’s managed to calm herself pretty fast, quicker than me. She got herself organised in a few seconds. Could I do that? I’ve got a lot of learning to do if I’m going to cope full-time with the way she works. He walked across to his desk and began. Airports and airlines — he hated them. Why couldn’t people slow down a bit, enjoy their travel and go by train and ship? But at least it made his job easier. Thank goodness for flight records. He drew up a list of organisations and started to phone. An hour later, there it was. John Renton had taken a weekend return flight to Barbados early in September. And how had the ticket been paid for? That very same credit card. Jimmy had been looking into it. Why hadn’t he mentioned it an hour earlier when they’d been talking about Barbados? He’d gone through all of the credit card statements earlier in the week, matching them up against dates. Hadn’t he checked the most recent transactions? It hadn’t been in the file. Barry was more certain than ever. The boss was right. Jimmy was a competent enough detective for routine work, but didn’t have the extra insight for a complex murder investigation like this. She’d spotted it the previous winter during the Charlie Duff case, when Jimmy had needed so much supervision. There had been a huge difference between him and Lydia, and the same was now true where Rae was concerned. She got on and did things, used her initiative and found things out. Jimmy? He always had to double-check with a superior, seek approval. He didn’t have the drive of the two young women. He hadn’t spotted the fact that the most recent purchases on that credit card could be key to their investigation, and he hadn’t asked the bank to send them.
Marsh put his mind to his task. If there was a flight booking as the ticket system had shown, then there should also be a record of passport use. Maybe that would be the next logical item to check. He looked up to see Rae standing beside his desk.
‘I’ve been doing a search on the blue Ford we saw at Lily’s place this morning, Sarge. I know we only got part of the registration, but I thought it was worth a try. And guess what? One of the Portsmouth rental companies hired a Ford out to a John Renton early today, and its registration matches what the boss saw.’
Barry only just restrained himself from hugging her. The thoughts he’d been having about Melsom were completely justified. Rae had jumped ahead of the game and had come up trumps. They hurried in together to see the DCI.
‘John Renton? In both cases? The flight to Barbados and the car hire? That’s wonderful news. But how did he manage it if he was in Afghanistan, as the MoD tell us? The murders were so carefully planned, you’d think he’d put a similar effort into covering his tracks.’
‘It was the same with the hotel booking, ma’am,’ Marsh added. ‘He didn’t try to hide that under a false name either.’
‘No. Maybe we’re just overestimating him. It puzzles me, all the same. Why would he fly out to Barbados, break into the registrar’s office in order to remove an incriminating page from a log of marriages, but leave his name for us to find on a flight passenger list? What kind of incompetent planning is that?’ She paused. ‘I wonder if he inherits something from Sarah’s death? You know, considering that they’re half-siblings. There’s got to be a motive, after all. We need to go into the family background, Barry. Find out if they inherited something. It could be property, money, shares. Anything that could have caused a dispute between them. He told us yesterday that there was never any love lost between him and Sarah while they were growing up. Maybe that animosity lasted through into their adult lives and her murder is a result. We won’t move on him just yet, though. I want a clear motive before we bring him in. He didn’t seem particularly unnerved when we turned up at Brize Norton yesterday, so he must be feeling confident. Let’s get our facts right before we confront him.’