Chapter 4

The appointment was for nine on Tuesday, so I rang Hassam to book him from eight until twelve. He told me that he had his car back and it was now a lot quieter. Lena wanted to know how my weekend was, so I told her that I had been invited to the dinner on Saturday evening and met Barry Bishop, AKA DI Abbott, and had a frank discussion with him.

“The upshot, I think, is that he’ll report that I found the gems and that my involvement is over. I have an appointment tomorrow at the Yard, to speak to the one in charge of the case. It’s a nice coincidence that I knew him in the force. Or, should I saw, he knew me in a carnal way. It might give me some leverage.”

“You teach me something about womanhood every day, Maxie. I never realised that you could create a circle of lifelong friends by laying on your back. With blokes, you just forget them, and it’s usually a good thing. I bet that you were a witch of some kind in an earlier life, taking the essence of a man’s personality into you, along with his seed.”

“That’s deep thinking for you, Lena. What did you buy with your bonus?”

“I saw a lovely kaftan that was reasonable, but, and don’t laugh at this, I ended up buying a very expensive La Perla nightie that will become a reflection of my own desire to be the woman that my body will never allow me to be. I wore it last night and slept like a baby, even without the usual dreams of being in a gun battle.”

“That’s lovely, I’m glad that it does that for you. I don’t know what it’s like to have someone dropping bombs on me. It’s bad enough with this case, where we have somebody who could wipe me from the world if I step on too many toes. I’ve tried to show them that I’m no problem, so that they’ll leave me alone long enough to catch them.”

“Don’t put yourself down, Maxine. You’re as brave as many of the men I fought with, and you’re cleverer than most. Most soldiers aren’t brave, they just use the equipment they’re given better than the enemy. It doesn’t take bravery to drop bombs or pilot a drone from miles away, it takes a skillset. You have a skillset developed from your police training, but you have more than that. You have an insight and follow your gut feelings.”

“How come you’ve walked in, today, with such deep thoughts?”

“It must be the time of the month.”

We spent the rest of the day on the computers, looking at the newspaper reports of the murder, or, as they put it, the unfortunate accident. There was one article that mentioned a bruise on his face, with the reporter thinking that he had fallen over and knocked himself out before rolling into the pool. That’s when I realised that my client had told me that James had ‘gone swimming’ and I hadn’t asked if he was wearing swimming trunks or was just skinny-dipping. I would have to ask if he had been found fully clothed, as none of the reports mentioned it.

On Tuesday morning I had my breakfast and was waiting outside the kinky shop when Hassam pulled up. He had taken the opportunity to have the car detailed and, for once, it didn’t smell of old kebabs. We arrived outside New Scotland Yard in plenty of time, as I knew that it would take a while to be processed if I was to be allowed inside. I told Hassam to go and earn some money and that I would ring him when I came out.

He went off and I walked into the reception and told the sergeant on the desk that I was here to see CI Hounslowe. He made the call and then asked me if I knew the way to the murder squad offices. I said that I had been at the Yard some years ago, so he took my picture and produced a tag that would allow me to open the right doors.

As I navigated my way into the labyrinth, I smiled as I remembered the last, and only time I had been here. It was a very short visit, when I had been drummed out of the force and called a slut by one of the men on that list that James had, one of those with a tick. I guess that if he hadn’t been in the company of other high-ranking officers, I might have been invited to a ‘party’.

George Hounslowe greeted me with a handshake and an invitation to sit.

“Good morning, Miss Fawcett, you really haven’t changed a bit; just as lovely as ever.”

“Thank you, Chief Inspector, you’re looking pretty good yourself, although all the desk time seems to be creeping up on you.”

“You’re right about that. Company car and deskwork are the bane of an upper ranks. Now, call me George like old times and I’ll call you Maxie, and we can see what we can do to help you.”

“Right, George. I have been asked to check the state of play with the death of the James Harding. There are some who think it may have been murder. I’ve been told that the case is now closed and ready for the coroner. What can you tell me?”

“Look, Maxie. Officially all I can say is that the death has been classed as accidental.”

“And unofficially?”

He stood and went to the door, making sure that nobody was close. Then he came back and sat in a chair beside me and lowered his voice.

“Maxie, as a murder squad officer, I would have fully investigated the death, with an eye to it being a murder. Unfortunately, before I was sent to the crime scene, I was called into the office of one of my superiors and told to treat the case as an accident. It really wasn’t the right thing to do, but this officer is crucial in my promotional aspirations.”

“I suppose that’s the same man that drummed me out of the force?”

“I couldn’t possibly confirm that, Maxie.”

“Did he say where the pressure came from?”

“He did mention the House.”

“The House? Not the Government?”

“Is there a difference?”

“If the pressure was bipartisan, it points to a certain group who get together for fun and games.”

“I know who you mean, but that doesn’t change my orders. If my boss is a member, then I’m as much in danger as the victim if I don’t follow orders. Now, on my desk is the file, I feel a need to go to the toilet. Can you wait until I get back?”

“Certainly, George. Have a stroke for me.”

He left the room, and I got my phone out and looked at the file, taking pictures of every page as quickly as I could. I was sitting, as demurely as I could when he came back.

“That’s better. Now, where were we?”

“You were going to tell me about the crime scene. Was he clothed, in trunks, or naked?”

“He was fully dressed. Why?”

“Because nobody goes swimming fully dressed unless it’s a drunken party.”

“He did have enough alcohol in his system to knock out a horse.”

“Did you check whether there had been a party the evening before?”

“Yes, and no, there wasn’t. He did have a visitor, though.”

“Someone he knew?”

“Yes, his old friend Algernon Clifton-Crabbe. I interviewed him and he told me that Jackson had let him out around ten-thirty and the victim was still in his office.”

“Did you talk to Jackson?”

“I didn’t have to, he’s there almost twenty-four-seven.”

“Not that night, he wasn’t. He was in London having a sleep test in a clinic.”

His mouth dropped open.

“Oh shit!”

“Look, George. I’ll keep looking into this, but I’ll try to stay under the radar. If your boss asks, and he will, you’ve convinced me that it was an accident and that I’ll be reporting that to my client.”

“Your client is?”

“I shouldn’t tell you, George, but it’s Algernon. I’m beginning to believe that it’s a double bluff to make sure he’s not put into the frame. He told me that the Home Secretary had it organised.”

“Is there enough to let you believe that?”

“There certainly is, more than enough.”

“Be careful, Maxie. You were given the short end of the stick, but I was too blinded by the attention I got to back you up. The boss thinks that I’m in his pocket, but he’d toss me out like an old bit of lint if I don’t follow orders.”

We stood and I kissed him on the cheek.

“Keep your head down, Georgie, and we may both come out of this covered in glory. Are you man enough to take things to a head if I get the evidence.”

“For you, Maxie, I’m man enough for anything. If it’s watertight, I’ll take it further up the ladder.”

“If I do get it, I’ll tell you which rung. Some are populated with the same gang as your boss.”

“That bad, is it? It looks like I’m in it up to my neck, already. I’ll just have to take a big breath when the time comes.”

“Thanks, George, I’ll keep in touch.”

I made my way back to the front desk and handed my badge to the sergeant. He bade me good morning and I went out into fresh air, knowing that I had put a lot of faith in George, hoping that he was still the basically good copper he had been when we worked together.

Instead of calling Hassam, I flagged a taxi and told the driver to take me to Harrods. There, I made my way to the toilets and locked myself in a cubicle, sitting to do my business while looking through the pages of the file on my phone.

I saw the forensic report and the crime scene pictures. He did have a bruise on his jaw that could have been made by a fist. If I had wanted to knock him out, I would have used the heel of my hand, rather than the knuckles. There had been an open bottle of whiskey in his study, with two glasses, one having Algernon’s fingerprints on. If he had done it, he was supremely confident that the Sect would make sure he got off. That made me wonder why he came to me in the first place.

I was touching up my make-up when a thought came to me. What if it was all a test of George, to make sure that he was a fit member of the Sect? I doubt that I was considered able to locate any findings that James could have amassed. The jewels were a sidebar to the main game. I wondered if I was expected to head for the Yard as soon as I took the case and see what I was told.

My being at the Yard today would have been noted, and I expect that I would get a call from Algernon soon, to check on my progress. He only asked about the death, not the jewels, so I’ll just tell him that I’ve reached a dead end.

I called Hassam to meet me at Harrods and waited for him. When I got to the office, I blue-toothed Lenas’ phone and sent her the pictures of the file.

“Download these tonight when you get home and add them to the USB. These are the contents of the case file. I was told that it was considered by upper management that it was an accident. The upper manager is a Sect member, and he told my contact that he had been told to bury the case by the House. I take that as from the Sect.”

“What now?”

“Now I finish the report to our client as he wanted it in the first place. Then we wait for him to call, I would think that it would be sometime later in the week. In the meantime, we carry on and be prepared. Let’s close up and get some lunch. Your choice.”

I know that I should never let her choose. We ended up at Little Italy where she ordered the Tagliata Di Manzo, while I had the Baked Aubergine Parmigiana. We took our time and had a couple of glasses of vino. It was a good job I still had some of that roll of cash.

“We may be close to the end of this case. If my female intuition is right, I think that there will be an ending inside ten days,”

That afternoon, I was looking up Algernon. He had been a boxing champion at Oxford but hadn’t gone on with it. His rise to the Shadow Cabinet was interesting. He had worked in a legal office for a while, and then had stood for a backwater constituency, which he won with a very slim margin. He had worked hard for the people and won the next election with a big margin. The party had shifted him to a better area for the election after that, with a good chance of taking it.

After winning that one, he became a secretary for a minister, with his next step being a low-level minister for a couple of years, after a shakeup. With many of his colleagues he had never been in power, and with the way his party was going, would be unlikely to see what it’s like for some years to come. Of course, if we cracked open the Sect, there would be a lot of by-elections to hold, unless the PM took the plunge and went with a full election.

Late, that afternoon, I had a call on my mobile. All the caller asked was for me to call Allan. I went up to my flat and used the burner to call him. He was terse.

“Maxie, take some time out and go for a jog in Soho Square tomorrow. Get there about one. Take your copy of the evidence. Best of luck.”

I went back down to the office and pulled another USB from my drawer.

“Lena, put that file on the USB and hang on to it. Take this one, put everything on it and bring it in tomorrow. Things are moving with the good guys,”

I had a quiet night and was in the office when Lena came in and put the USB on my desk. When it got towards midday, I called down to the pizza place to order two specials to be delivered. While we waited, I went up to the flat and changed into jogging gear, putting the USB in my bum bag.

After the pizza, I brushed my teeth and then left Lena in charge, walking towards the Square. I took it easy and had done two laps before I stopped to take a sip from my water bottle. As I had it to my lips, a guy in running gear appeared beside me, like magic.

“Isn’t that a Condor over there?”

“I believe it’s a sparrow, Condors live a long way away. You going to join me in a jog?”

We ran, side by side, and spoke whenever there was no others around.

“Do you have the evidence?”

“USB in my bag.”

“Will it bury the Sect?”

“If everything leads to what it looks like. It will take some digging at various houses to see if there’s bodies.”

“Did you find who killed James Harding?”

“I think it was his pal, Algernon Clifton-Crabbe. The police file is on the stick and the evidence in that points his way. He lied when questioned about his visit on the night of the killing. He said that the butler let him out, but the butler was in a London clinic that night.”

“When we stop at the bench, sit down, and take out a tissue, palming the stick. Then pass it to me. I will give you a little something in return. It’s a tracker that you press together to turn on and then swallow. Use it if you think that you’re going to be taken off the street. If you get a chance, call Allan, and let him know if you get an invitation out of the blue. The tracker lasts for twelve hours and is not reusable, seeing where it had spent that time.”

I did as he asked, and we exchanged small items as covertly as we could. We then ran another lap or two before he told me it was good to run with me and peeled off near where I had first seen him. I continued for another slow lap and then made my way back to the office. I went upstairs and had a shower, then dressed and went down to see what had happened. Lena had a note for me.

“Some copper called George rang to tell you that he was invited to a party on Saturday night. He said that it would advance his career. By the sound of it, he was calling from a public phone in a tube station.”

On Friday morning, we had the visit that I had predicted. Algernon came into the office to ask what I had found out. I told him that I had completed my investigations and gave him the report I had written. Of course, it was a load of old bollocks, but I had been trained by the Met, so knew how to make a three-line report fill two pages. He read it through and smiled.

“Excellent work, Miss Fawcett. I’m sorry to have sent you on a wild goose chase, but I had to know, for sure, that the police were actually doing their job. Would you allow me to take you to dinner on Saturday evening. I’ll send a car for you at seven. Please say yes, it’s a little party that a few friends and their wives are having. You’ll be home before midnight.”

“I would love to, sir. Is it formal or more casual?”

“I think that you would have something stunning, so surprise me. It’s in a private house, so don’t go over the top.”

When he had gone, I went up to the flat and called Allan on the burner. I was as terse as him.

“Saturday night dinner party, private house. He’s sending a car. CI Hounslowe has been invited to a party as well. Could be his final test.”

“Don’t forget to take your pill.”

I wished Lena a good weekend and she gave me a hug.

“Be careful and don’t forget your lessons. I hope to see you on Monday morning.”

I took it slow on Saturday, a long bath and sitting around in a set of PJs for most of the day. I took a long while getting ready. The dress, shoes and G-string were the same as last Saturday evening. It was calculated to show that I wasn’t wearing a wire. For the same reason, I chose earrings that were thin wire, unable to include anything electric.

I took a long while on my hair. I put it up in almost a beehive, held together with two very sharp hair pins and a clip that doubled as a disguised handcuff key. I had a clutch but only put my ID, phone that I had made sure was fully charged, and door key in it, along with things expected a woman to be carrying.

Just before seven, I pressed the two sides of the transmitter and felt it click. I hoped that it was working as I swallowed it with a glass of water. I put on my coat and went down to stand on the pavement after locking everything up. The car arrived on the dot of seven and the driver got out and opened the back door for me, making sure I was belted up before he closed it and got back in the front, driving off and heading west.

We got to Grosvenor Square, and he pulled up at a place on the opposite side of the square to the victims’ home. He got out and went to knock on the door. I went to release my seat belt as it was a little tight and found that there was no lifter. I was effectively held in the seat. I reached into my clutch and turned the phone on to record, putting the clutch on the seat beside me.

When Algernon came out, the driver held the other back door open and he sat himself beside me, a big smile on his face.

“I’m glad you could come, Miss Fawcett. Knowing your history, I think you’ll enjoy some of the events planned for tonight. There will be several guests that you will know when we arrive. It’s going to be a bit ceremonial later on. Your old back-seat buddy will be there, it’s his initiation night.”

“Initiation? Is he joining the masons, or something?”

“Something more powerful than the masons of today. We have a select group who basically run the country. He will be a junior member, soon to be promoted in the police and destined to be an Assistant Commissioner.”

“That seems too certain to be real, Algernon. Surely nobody could predict that number of promotions.”

“When he’s a member, there comes a certainty that you wouldn’t believe.”

Why is it that when the bad guy knows that you can’t get away, he has the need to boast. I suppose that he was telling me something he could never tell his wife. I relaxed, not letting him know that I was fully aware of the situation.

“How can you run the country, Algernon? That’s not possible when you’re in opposition?”

“I am a member of the group that is bipartisan. No matter what party is in power, it’s the same group that run things from the background. We do have our Prime Ministers who we put up front as figureheads, but all they do is maintain a smokescreen for the real power. As you’ll find out, tonight.”

“So, why me. How do you know I won’t go to the papers with this? The tabloids would love it, even if it wasn’t true.”

“Because your silence will be obtained tonight.”

“I’m not for buying off, you know.”

“You’ll lay low after tonight. When you see who’s at the party, you’ll stay quiet, of that, I’m sure!”

“Should I have packed an overnight bag? This evening sounds like it might be an all-nighter. I hate going home the next morning, dressed to kill. It’s so demeaning when people on the street see you, all having their lewd thoughts of what you’ve been up to.”

“Never fear, Maxie. No-one will have lewd thoughts about you. In fact, I think that there will be several there, tonight, who will only think about you with a sense of satisfaction.”

I sat quietly for a while, thinking about my predicament. He had said that there would be ceremony. That would mean that my death would be the great finale. Time enough, I hoped, for the cavalry to arrive. At this point I had no idea if there would be any cavalry. If I ended up in a grave in the garden, they would be able to find me if the tracker was still sending. I had to remain looking stupid.

“Any idea what’s on the menu? I only ate light at lunch, so that I didn’t spoil my appetite.”

“I haven’t seen the menu, but I expect that there will be something good. We use staffers who have cooking skills to cater at these events. They are very good at what they do and a few of them are wives of the members, so nothing gets into the public eye.”

Marianne Gregory © 2024