Chapter 5

When I got home and turned on my computer, I had an email from the Islington Inspector. He wanted me to pop in and pick up my communications on Friday. I answered that I would be there. I looked for the Saturday weather on the computer and saw that it would be cold.

Winter was arriving at last. I looked in my wardrobe to see what I had to wear, seeing that I didn’t want to be recognised. I chose a red shirt and a long black winter skirt, which I would wear with leggings and long boots. I had a heavy greatcoat that I could use.

Thursday, I started looking at all I needed to shift from the flat. The biggest items were my bed, wardrobe, and sofa. Other things were smaller, or lighter. I would be best served to book a proper removalist with a couple of fit young men. I made a couple of calls and found one who could make the move first thing in the morning so we could get to Soho before the crowds arrived. We booked a date for the beginning of December; all the changes would have been made by then.

Friday, I went to see the Inspector. I was invited to a final briefing, where I was told that I should go by myself, as the team would be there from early morning to be in place. The earpiece was like a hearing aid, and the microphone was a brooch. I was shown how to turn them on and off, and told that they had a twelve-hour life, so turn on when I arrived.

I took the tube to Soho and just wandered around again, soaking up the vibe and learning about all the places within walking distance. I found a small park with a path around it, ideal for a bit of exercise. It was a nice day, if a little cold. I was overwhelmed by the range of eating places close by. I could do Indian, Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese, pizza, tapas, or just good pub food. No wonder the cooktop in the apartment was pristine.

Saturday morning, I had a good breakfast and the dressed very warmly. I made sure that I had the comms package and drove to Ascot. I had five hundred which I would spend on my bets, not going anywhere near Honest Joe, of course.

At the track, I sat in the car and turned on the equipment and made a sound check.

“Maxie here, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” It came back in my ear. I was in awe of the progress this sort of stuff had made since I was at Hendon. I determined that I would go to a training course, or a techie show to catch up. I could write the cost off as a business expense.

I made my way into the course. There wasn’t a lot of people today, seeing the weather, but, with on-line betting, it hardly needed to have the public there at all. In the bookie area, I saw that Honest Joe was set up, with Oliver in attendance. I walked out towards the rails, like others, to check that the heavy going was just that. It would alter a lot of punters’ betting. The voice in my ear asked me to stroke my hair so that the watchers could pinpoint me. I did so and got the word that they wouldn’t have recognised me in the heavy outfit.

There wasn’t anyone near me, so I asked if everything else was working. My answer was a short link to the sound of Joe and Oliver talking. I went to the bookie area and placed a small bet on Dees’ pick for the first. She had told me that if the going was heavy, there were three horses in the second, third, and fifth, that were worth a punt. While I was placing the bet for the favourite in the first, I saw that they had her pick for the second at twenty to one.

Taking a deep breath, I put fifty on that one in the second. Then I went up and sat in the stands, out of the wind. Before the first, I saw Mauve Man. It was the way he carried himself was how I knew it was him. He must have used his last winnings to give himself a present. Today, he was in bright red. The red trouser suit was quite stunning. It was from a dress shop, but the silk cravat made it his. This was topped with a red overcoat, which he wore open. The fur collar was never found on men’s coats in this day and age, although they had been in use up to the late forties. His boots were now two-inch heel.

I watched as he was approached by Oliver. He smiled as he nodded, and then wandered towards the bookie area.

“Alert! The guy in red is the other mark. He’s about to put on a bet. Can I hear the feed?”

The voice confirmed my sighting, and I heard the chatter at Joes. I heard the mark for the first time as he laid his bet on the first. It was the horse that Dee had given me. His voice was deep, but soft, like any bloke trying to sound like a woman. I wracked my brain to remember when I had heard a similar voice. It had been a boxer, who had come to Hendon to give us pointers on what to do if someone wanted to punch us.

He took his ticket and went off towards the mounting yard. As the horses went out on the track, he went to the rails. When our horse romped home by a couple of lengths, he stayed at the rails. Oliver went over to him and spoke animatedly. I knew what was being said. It was time for the magic bet,

I spoke quietly.

“He has just been told to take the blind bet. Joe will give him a ticket and tell him what races the bet is on, so that he knows when to go back and collect.”

I heard the feed as he went and collected his winnings and put it all on the ‘Mystery Bet’ that Joe offered him on the second and the fourth. I looked at my own list and made my way to the toilets. On the way back I went to my bookie, collected the small win, and put fifty on the horse she had given me in the fourth at fifty to one.

When I got back to the stand, I saw the mark sitting out of the wind. I expect that he hadn’t put enough on, underneath, in the desire to feel female. I went to sit behind him. I could almost feel his excitement when the outsider won the second. I was now a thousand up, even without Stan telling me anything.

I leaned forward so I could speak in his ear.

“Don’t turn around. I’m going to say that you were given the tip on the first by Oliver, who told you to take Joes’ Mystery Bet on the second. You’re hoping that the winner of the second is the one that he has written in, and that the winner of the fourth is the other one.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because that is what I was told last month. I walked away with fifty thousand from that one.”

“Who are you.”

“My name is Maxine Fawcett, and I’m a Private Investigator who was brought in to find four missing friends of a lady who is here today, with her horses.”

“Did you find them?”

“Oh, yes. All four had been found at the base of the White Cliffs of Dover, a week or so after the big meeting at Epsom. All had died leaving a good bank balance. On top of that, there are another three possibles.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Today, you are going to see Joe after the fourth and collect your winnings. If you want to leave after the fifth, I have a car in the car park and will take you home so we can have a good talk. I have to tell you that the police are filming Joe and there is also a directional microphone trained on his stand. Your winnings are yours, not even the tax man will take it from you. I know because a tax man told me so.”

“You’re very convincing. What do you think happens later?”

“They will give you another ‘Mystery bet’ next time you’re here, and then tell you that if you go to the Epsom Meeting at the end of May, there could be a chance to take part in a mystery accumulator on the whole field. You can appreciate that the return would be very big. Once you take the money, they cull you from the crowd, take your money and dump you over the cliff or somewhere else. They share the money between them, and Joe writes his losses off against his tax liabilities.”

“Them?”

“Yes, there’s Oliver and his pal, Stan, the one who spoke to me, and then Joe. What he does is write the betting slips afterwards, back-timing them. He’s basically giving you the money you win, until the big pay-off day. Are you prepared to help us catch them, seeing that we think that they’ve murdered up to seven women that we know of.”

“How do you know that they haven’t seen you today?”

“Because I look a lot different. Do you look at the girls to check out their outfits?”

“You know I do.”

“At the last meeting you were here, you were in mauve. I had jeans and a biker style jacket, and I was blonde.”

“I saw you. You were with a very good-looking man in a leather sports coat.”

“Correct. Now, I’m going to stand up and leave the stand. You can turn your head to look at me if you want. When the pay-outs for the fifth are announced, I’m going to collect any winnings and go to the car park. Follow me out to my car and I’ll buy you dinner. Is it a date?”

“Yes, it is, Maxine. You have me very interested in following this through. I suppose that our conversation has been recorded.”

“If it hasn’t, I would be very worried about the intelligence of our current police force.”

A chuckle in my earpiece told me that it was all on the hard drive.

“One last thing. Can you tell me your name?”

“I suppose that you need to know. I’m Leonard Sergeant. As you can see, I’m transvestite and like to be called Lena. I used to be Sergeant Leonard Sergeant of the SAS, and I’m on the pension since I was discharged.”

“Thank you, Lena. I’ll see you at the car. Stay cool and you’ll be able to get yourself a whole new wardrobe next week. Hell, I might even help you if my own horses come through, and I’m not getting anything from Joe, this time.”

I could almost feel his eyes on me as I got up and left the stand. The voice in my ear told me that I had done well and to see if I could get Leonard to Islington on Monday afternoon, about two. I went and collected my thousand, then put a hundred on the tip I had in the fifth, at fifteen to one.

After that, I made my way into the tearoom and comparative warmth to wait until after the fifth. There was nothing I could do, now. I got a pot of tea and a range of cakes, then sat quietly, nibbling and drinking, until I felt warm inside. I thought about Lena, ex SAS. I know that by Monday, the police would have everything on her service. I wondered what she was doing for a living. Maybe, I would find out on the drive to wherever she lived.

I stayed away from the operation and, when the fifth had been run and won, I went to my bookie and handed in the betting slips for the fourth and fifth, not really knowing what the results had been. I was surprised when he gave me over seven and a half thousand. It went into the big pockets of my coat, and I strolled towards the car park exit. I saw Lena and went to my car, with her behind me.

“You were right, Maxine. I had a hundred on the mystery bet and he gave me fifteen thousand. Then he told me that if I didn’t see him again, to go to Epsom when he might be able to give me a better accumulator. I can see how people would be sucked in. Did you know that Oliver was packing?”

“Yes, I saw the weight in his pocket at the last meeting. I suppose he would need it if he’s carrying Joe’s money around.”

“It has to be something big, the weight of it drags his belt down on that side. It would be difficult to clear the pocket, carried like that, a sitting target for someone trained.”

As I nodded, the voice in my ear thanked me for that information and to turn my comms off, now. It did as asked and took the earpiece out, pressed the button, and then took the brooch off and turned it off, putting both into my coat.

“We are off the air, now, Lena. Whatever we talk about on the drive will be between us, woman to woman. Where do you want to go?”

“I have a small flat in Soho, over the Islamic Centre on Berwick Street.”

“Great, I’ve just leased some space off Dean Street to set up an office. If we can find a car park, at this time of day, we can have something to eat. I expect that you’re hungry.”

“I’m almost too excited to feel hungry. I have more money than I had ever had at any one time, and I have a reason to live through to June, if I’m going to help you catch the killers.”

“Not me, Lena. It will be us. The police want me to get you to Islington on Monday, for a debriefing. Is that all right?”

“You bet. I’ve been bored out of my brain since I left the service. This is almost like living again.”

On the way back to London I asked if the desire to dress as a woman had been with him since he was young.

“It never occurred to me then. I joined the army after school and did well enough to be accepted into the SAS. They don’t like wimps or cross-dressers there. I had various assignments, but the one that showed me the joy of nice clothes was an odd one. We were deployed into an area that we never officially went to. I was with a squad in a city, being shelled. What got to me was the barrel bombs. I’ve seen the results of nasty weapons before, but these were just bunged at the civilian populace, and the results would make you puke. We had to evacuate, and the only way out was to dress as the local women and pretend to be evacuees.”

“If I had to guess, I would say that you were in Syria.”

“I’m not allowed to confirm or deny that. Anyway, we were ten days in Arab dress, with proper underwear to ensure that the outer clothes draped the way they should. We had no arms, so would have been sitting targets if we ran into trouble. I had a good command of the language, and the other women supported us as we had been on their side. When we cleared to a safe place, I found that I didn’t want to put the fatigues on again.”

“That, I can fully understand. Even what I had to wear to school was rough, compared to what I wear now.”

“The other thing was that, while I was dressed, I felt calmer. It made me understand that I had been building towards a full breakdown. I reported to the Company Doctor, and he tested me, as well as having me observed at night, and I was diagnosed with PTSD, and I was honourably discharged. I had made some friends among the Islamic community, and they helped me get a small place over their Centre on Berwick Street. I’ve dressed at home since then, and it’s helped me get through the shakes and nightmares.”

“I know the feeling.”

“So, Maxine, how did you arrive at this place?”

“I left school and joined the police. That’s when my mother threw me out of the house. My father had been a detective and was killed on duty. She hated the idea of me following him to the grave and I haven’t spoken to her since. I was working out of the Islington station as a rookie in uniform. I had done pretty well when a small indiscretion had me thrown out. I went for my PI licence and here I am.”

“You must be doing well if you’ve leased an office in Soho?”

“It’s been my winnings on this case that’s been the catalyst. I have made the bond and a year of the lease on what I picked up off of Joes’ mystery. What I’ve made, today, will pay off my credit card and allow me to buy some electricals for the office. I haven’t actually moved in yet. I’m waiting on all the services to be put into the business name and the security system to be upgraded. It used to house a couple of whores and I guess that they didn’t want to keep the punters out.”

“That sounds like the Soho I’ve grown to love.”

“So, how have you been spending your time?”

“I help out at the street market. It’s busy in summer but quiet at this time of year. The stall that I help out on isn’t open on Saturday afternoon, which is how I get time for the odd race meeting. It’s helped me to believe that I can do something positive again. I don’t dress up for that but do have softer undies.”

“I guess that today was your first real outing dressed?”

“Yes, it is. I know I look silly, without the hair and make-up, but it’s just the feel of the clothes that I love. It was a bit chilly today.”

“Most girls would be in leggings and a thick spencer under that suit. It does look fabulous on you and the silk scarf as a cravat really makes it pop.”

“Thank you for that and thank you for the way you approached me in the stand. Anything harsher and I would have flattened you and asked questions after. That’s how I was trained.”

We got to London, both now warm from the car heater. There was a parking spot in Dean Street, and we left the car there. When we got to the office door, Lena had a giggle at the sex shop next to it, looking at the wares in the window. I led her upstairs and opened the office.

“A bit sparce, at the moment. It needs a lot more stuff to make it look businesslike.”

“There’s space for a receptionist. Have you got one?”

“Not yet. Why, are you applying?”

“If you want someone, yes, I am, should we both clear up this case unscathed.”

“I have enough to pay you a small wage as a casual, and we won’t be full time until we get the place looking right and I have my new cards printed. You would be a godsend in helping me outfit the office. I’ll be living upstairs by then.”

I led the way up to the living quarters and showed her what I had planned. After that, I locked up as we left, and we stood outside.

“Have you eaten often in Soho, Maxine?”

“Not had the time or money, before, Lena. Where do you suggest?”

She led me to Old Compton Street and Balan’s Number 34. We had a wonderful meal and then we walked it off, arm in arm, as we went to Berwick Street, where she pointed out the place where I could pick her up on the corner, Berwick Street being closed during the market time. I told her that she should wear the mauve suit on Monday, as it will be a high-powered meeting, with the AC likely to be there. I went and collected the car and drove home.

In the flat, I added my new stack of notes to my piggie bank and contemplated my new friendship with Lena as I made myself ready for an early night. While I had been on self-defence courses in the police, there would be a lot of other things she could teach me. I didn’t know how long our relationship would last, but I intended to make sure that I treated her well.

On Sunday, I rang Dee and reported that the police operation went well, and that I would be attending a briefing on Monday afternoon. She told me that her horses hadn’t placed, and I could tell her that the tips she had given me had won. We agreed that her part in the case was now over, as the police was well involved. She told me that I was welcome at her house in the future, and to keep the gate opener.

I did say that I planned to attend the Victoria Cup day in early May, so that I would confirm that I would be at Epsom. She said that she would send me an entry and car pass, along with a list of her tips, closer to the event. I wished her and David a Merry Christmas and we finished the conversation. Except for the initial payment for the first week of my time, I hadn’t asked her for any extra, although the tips and my dealings with Joe had outweighed any fee I may have asked.

I had a good sleep, and Sunday I took things easy again. I found time to catch up on my laundry and gave the flat a clean. I nuked something for lunch and dinner, washing it down with half a bottle of dry white that was taking up space in my fridge. Oh! The joy of screw top wine bottles. That reminded me that there hadn’t been a fridge in Soho. I would have to get a new one.

Monday, I went to see Debbie, my stylist, for a quick hairdo. I asked her if she knew of a good stylist in Soho, as I was planning to move there soon. She told me that one of the girls that she had trained was at a place called the Groovy Salon. Her name was Janine. I thanked her for the information. We hugged and she told me that she would miss me as a customer and a friend.

Monday afternoon, at about one, I found the end of Berwick Street to see Lena waiting for me with the mauve suit on, looking dapper in a foppish sort of way. I drove us to Islington, telling her that the Inspector and Sergeant were nice guys that I had worked with in the past.

We were given IDs, and the Sergeant took us up to see the Inspector first, so that he could be certain that Lena was truly on board. He told us that they now had a wealth of evidence on the three suspects. The banking details showed regular deposits, in all three personal accounts, during June each year for the last seven. Joes’ business account showed that he had taken a considerable loss at Epsom.

Before we went to the meeting, Lena saw the picture of my Cortina on the notice board.

“That’s been in a firefight?”

“It has. That’s Maxines’ old car. She still hasn’t told us how it got that way.”

Lena looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Later, Lena, later.”

At the meeting, the tech boys showed the AC and the Islington Chief Superintendent the footage and stills from the operation, the Inspector relayed the information regarding the bank accounts, and the recording of Joe telling Lena about the chance of a full card accumulator was played. I think that the AC was impressed.

“Mister Sergeant, I have seen your service record and there is a lot of it redacted. I take it that you did some undercover work?”

“I did, Sir, it’s covered under the Official Secrets.”

“All right. Inspector, I will organise the operation at Epsom. Your team will work with the Surrey officers on that. What do you have planned between now and then?”

“If Maxine and Leonard are happy to continue, I would like Leonard to attend the Ascot meeting at the end of the month, so we can get more evidence. Then, there is a big meeting there, at the beginning of May, for Maxine to go, in her disguise, so we can get corroborating evidence with her, as we don’t have any interaction between her and Joe. That way, will have plenty to book them on when it comes to Epsom.”

“Very good. You keep working on this and I’ll see Surrey. I’ll probably not see you all again until after Epsom, so I wish you all a merry Christmas and a successful New Year.”

Marianne Gregory © 2024