Body In The Tip – a Max Force story.
Chapter 1
I was humming a popular tune as I drove my ‘A’ Class Mercedes towards London. I had just completed a job in Norfolk, my best one so far, and now had a money in the bank, some new clothes on the back seat and was happy to be alive. It had been good to be able to help out a friend. I say friend, but we had been nearly rivals at school. We were now firm friends, and I was happy to have helped her, as well as pulling her out of a depressed state.
My name is Maxine Fawcett and I’m a private investigator, or PI if you watch American TV shows. I had been trained by the police at Hendon and had spent time as a woman constable before I left the force. The less said about that, the better.
That was two years ago, and I had two offices now. My flat in Islington and now my Mercedes. The second office had been Tina, my aging Ford Cortina, but she had been murdered a few weeks ago. I had a phone and a laptop with a dongle that allowed me roaming access anywhere in the country. What more does a budding PI need?
I had enough, at least, to cover my rent for a couple of months, and eat, sometimes. I could continue with my usual business, finding run-aways, following husbands or wives, even a few times where neighbours had asked me to use my powers of deduction to find missing keys. I didn’t charge everyone I helped, but it kept me occupied.
When I got home, I parked on the concrete beside the block of flats. Mine was upstairs and was quite reasonable for the money. I had my own bath and ran one so that I could soak off the efforts of my last job, before nuking a ready meal to sit at the kitchenette table and look at other jobs I had to do.
I had seen messages on my phone while I was in Norfolk and had answered them that I was busy and would get back to them. I looked at the messages again and wrote them all on a notepad, then started calling them back. In the end, I had enough work to see me right for another few weeks. The next day I settled back into the humdrum of the small jobs that kept me afloat. The last job had been more lucrative than I had expected, though not nearly enough for having my life threatened.
I had thought about that side of things. It seemed that the best paying jobs were ones where the criminals played for keeps. I had come back intact, but, some nights, I had a recurring dream of twisting sideways as a bullet sprayed bone and brain over me as the man holding me hostage had been shot by a police sniper.
I buckled down and worked through the backlog of jobs that needed to be solved. The Summer had become late Autumn when I got a phone call. It was from Dee Harrington, one of the girls who had been friends with Susan Cornwell, my client from Norfolk.
“Maxine, I’ve just had a conversation with Suzie, up on the Broads. She told me how fantastic you were with her problem. I have a problem, I think, and would like you to pop over so I can tell you about it. I wonder if you could come to my place. The house is just off the Swinley Road, sort of southwest of Ascot Racecourse. Can you come over on Sunday, for lunch?”
I agreed to see her, and she gave me detailed directions to her house. It sounded as if it wasn’t in any town or village, but well isolated. I decided that I would wear a skirt suit, seeing that she seemed to have married well. I had the skirt and top that Silvana had given me. If Dee travelled, she would appreciate me wearing Erminia. I worked steadily through the week and went to my local salon on Saturday to get worked on. They took special care of my bruised face, now in the process of returning to normal. I still favoured the other side when I slept.
On Sunday morning, I took extra care getting dressed and ready, making sure my new favourite bag was full of all the things I would need. My old favourite was sitting on the mantlepiece, next to the picture of my old Cortina, looking like a colander. I pushed my finger through the bullet hole in the bag and wished myself luck before I went downstairs to the car.
The ride out to Ascot was really a nice trip. I got to the turn-off to the gated community about eleven thirty, parked beside the speaker and pushed her button as directed. I heard her say hello and said my name. There was a click and the gates opened for me. I drove into the estate, all part of a large manor house grounds with individual houses hidden among the trees. When I pulled up outside her home, I was staggered at the sheer luxury of the place. Dee came out to welcome me. I can’t say that she hadn’t changed since I last saw her, it looked as if a salon visit every week or two had kept her looking as young as she was at school. She never looked so rich at school.
We hugged and cheek kissed, told each other how good we looked, and she escorted me through the house to a conservatory, where she beckoned me to sit in a comfy armchair, while she sat opposite. A maid came out to us, and I was asked what I wanted to drink. I sat and sipped the drink and waited for her to unburden herself. At last, she spoke.
“Maxine, I don’t really know how to start. I might be acting like a crazy woman, but I think that one of my friends has disappeared.”
“When was the first moment you thought that?”
“It was earlier in the year. She was a keen racegoer and would be at several tracks during the year. She was – I mean, is – a small-time punter. After the Ascot meeting at the end of last year, I saw her at the track and she was very happy, having won well. She praised a young man who had given her tips. If that man is a strapper or works in a stable, those tips could be based on insider knowledge. I last saw her at the big Epsom meeting and then she was gone.”
“Can you fill me in on why you go to the races so often?”
“Oh, sorry. My husband has a string of racehorses, stabled around various studs to even out our chances of doing well. Our best runner, so far, is a two-year-old filly called Dumluk. We try to attend as many races as we can. I’m still learning the ropes. Being an owner is no walk in the park. You have to look good, impress the big names and mingle with the celebrities. I was looking at that skirt, it looks Italian?”
“It is, I was given it a few weeks ago, after it was decided that my leather jeans were too scuffed to wear. It’s Erminia. The jacket isn’t, of course.”
“You’re wearing Erminia! You really have come up in the world. I only found a shop in Paris during the summer that stocks the label. All very chic and classy. I did pick that the jacket wasn’t, but they do go well together.”
The maid called us for lunch, and we went through to a dining room where the table had bowls of various salad items. We sat and ate, and I had a glass of the best Sauvignon Blanc I had ever tasted. After the meal, we went back to the conservatory where we were served coffee by the maid.
“So, Dee. There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“You’re going to think I’m mad, but when I think back, some other people I used to see regularly haven’t appeared lately. It would only be three or four.”
“If I sit quietly and admire the view of the garden, could you write down as much detail as you can. I’ll look into them and see if they are missing or have just decided to stop going to the races. After that, we can talk about what to do next.”
I sat quietly, with my coffee and looked out on the garden. I say garden, but it had no border, just carrying on as if we were living in a Wendy House in a forest. When she put her pen down, I turned to face her.
“This is a wonderful location, like living in a forest.”
“It’s all right, and there are no fences except the one around the estate. It does mean that the neighbours can wander over at will and borrow a bottle of good wine. My husband has the best wine cellar on the estate, bar the big manor. He was among the first to build when the estate was parcelled off. We lease the land. You can imagine that it’s a very expensive place, the Lodge, down by the gates, was on the market for over three million. I sometimes have to pinch myself to see if I’m not living in a dream.”
“How did you get to be here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“After school, I went to work in a legal office in the city. My husband is one of the partners and he took a shine to me. I’m his third wife; the first one died in childbirth and the second left him for a younger racehorse owner. My husband is twenty years older than me, but still pretty virile. I think that I must have seen him as a father figure, my own having left my mother when I was small. We do love each other but I’m sometimes scared when I think that it's possible that he will die well before me. Suzie was telling me how you helped her get over losing her husband. I would have never thought it when we were at school, but you’re a very good listener.”
“Now, what about your list?”
She passed it over to me. There were four names on it, with a brief description of the women. And they were all women, of varying ages.
“Is there anything that they have in common, that you know?”
“They are all small-time punters, five quid here, ten quid there, nothing like the high rollers who bet thousands.”
“The first thing I can do is see if my contacts in the police will check to see if any of these women are on the computer. The database has all the missing person reports and any details if they’ve had dealings with the law, including any speeding fines. It may take a week before I can get back to you on this. Is that all right?”
“Maxine, just having you take me seriously is more than alright. I know that it’s your livelihood, so I’ll pay you for five days of your time. Suzie has told me that she was repaid tenfold with what she gained while you were with her.”
“You said that you saw your friend at Epsom. Did she attend as a Member?”
“No, none of them were among the members or owners. A couple had entered the Fashion in the Field competitions, but they were all just well-dressed members of the public, who knew people better off than they were. I’ve never had any around for parties, but I did have drinks with them at the tracks, especially the country tracks which are a lot less formal.”
We talked about the other girls we knew from school, and she asked me about my time with the soccer captain.
“I was so jealous of you then, Maxine. He was such a good-looking young man. I was too scared to test my plumbing until I lost my virginity to my husband, the only man I’ve been able to trust with it.”
“No children, yet?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. The doctor has him on testosterone injections to bring his libido up. I think that losing his first wife was too much of a shock to him. Perhaps that’s why the second one left him, I don’t know. There I go again, talking about family secrets.”
“Your secrets are safe with me, Dee.”
When I left, she gave me a cheque for a thousand, and a small fob with a single button on it.
“This will open the gate as you go out. It will also open it if you need to come back to see me. When you don’t need it, just post it back to me.”
On my way home I mentally kicked myself. Dealing with people like her is a whole new level. I was determined that I would never wear the skirt with that jacket ever again. If I have to attend any races in the course of this investigation, I will need to be much more careful with my clothes.
When I got home, I looked up the calendar of racing events, staggered that there were so many. Usually, the only ones that get on the news are the bigger ones, like Royal Ascot or the Grand National. As it was now the end of July, should I need to attend any races I would have to limit myself to only weekend ones, as I couldn’t charge Dee for having a little fun.
On Monday morning, I went to my old station in Islington, hoping that the desk sergeant hadn’t changed. I was in luck.
“Good morning, Maxine, you’re looking good. The private eye stuff must be a healthy life.”
“Sometimes. Did you see the picture of the machine-gunned Cortina in the paper a few weeks ago. Well, that was my pride and joy, my Tina, until that day.”
“You were involved in bringing down that trafficking gang? Well, done! Now, what can I do for you?”
“I have a query from a client. She believes that people she had a passing relationship with have disappeared. She knew them from horse race meetings. She asked me if I could verify that they were all healthy. She didn’t know the addresses, just the names and a short description. Do you think that someone could just run this through the computer and let me know if they’re on it? Is George still around?”
“For you, Maxine, it will be done. Give me the list and I’ll see who is free. You can wait if you want. George was transferred to the Yard a few months after you had been given the shove, I think he went to the murder squad.”
I went and sat, looking at my phone to see if I had any messages. Fifteen minutes passed and then the door to the inner sanctum opened and a detective I had met when I was working here beckoned me to follow him.
He led me to the detectives area and sat me down on a chair next to his, with the computer screen in front of us.
“Maxine, this list that you asked about is very strange. All the names on it are in the system, but nobody had drawn a link between them. What I’ll do is to bring them up, one by one, and then you can tell me what you deduce from them. I won’t say anything, and I’ll leave the screen open if you want to make notes. There are contact addresses that you may want to follow up.”
He brought up the first name and I scanned the entry until I came to the line that gave the cause of death as a fall from a high cliff on the Kent coast. The case was closed as a suicide. I wrote down the next of kin and the address, then nodded to him. The next one was almost a carbon copy, as was the third and fourth.
“These were all considered as suicides. They had happened over a four-year period. If I pull up the notes, in every case the victim was last seen at the Epsom Downs racecourse. If I ask the system about dead people who were found at the bottom of those cliffs and link it to Epsom, there are another three that are almost identical, going back another three years. What do you deduce from that?”
“A serial killer who only kills once a year. What were the dates they had been found?”
“Every one of them was found in June. Which was the one your client wanted to know about?”
I pointed at the name, and he brought that file up again. On the next page of the file, it gave the date when the body had been found. It was about a week after the Epsom meeting where Dee had seen her.
“My client had seen her at the Epsom meeting, about a week before. She is married to a lawyer who owns racehorses and goes to a lot of race meetings.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I had thought that I would start going to the main tracks and see what I can find out. From what I see on the screen, you have nothing to work with other than Epsom. That’s not far from the White Cliffs, an hour at the most. The killer could be any one of tens of thousands of punters, owners, stable hands. and bookies. I can’t see a bookie killing a customer, though.”
“Right. I’ll pull these files into my own case list. If I’m asked, I’ll tell the boss that you brought this to my attention and that you will be following it up. If you discover anything, don’t let a man with a machine gun grab you again.”
“You heard about that, then.”
“After the Lowestoft station got in touch about you, our boss kept tabs on what happened up there. If you look at the notice board in his office, you’ll see the picture of your car pinned there, to remind us that there are some very violent thugs out there.”
“I have my handbag that was in it, on the mantlepiece. I poke my finger through the bullet hole for luck, most mornings. The bullet had shattered my mirror, and the shooter had already received his seven years of bad luck from a sniper.”
“I’m told that you were being held hostage. How did you know to jerk out of the sightline?”
“My companion had a saying which he called out, so priming me for the move at the last word.”
“There was no report about anybody else.”
“That’s something I can’t talk about. The gentleman was a visitor from overseas and linked to the case I had originally gone up there for. It was to find a missing husband for an old school friend.”
“Knowing you, Maxie. Finding other women’s husbands would be an easy job.”
“Not when he was wrapped in plastic inside a van with a bullet in his back. Besides, I don’t date married men.”
He laughed and then escorted me back to the entrance, giving me a hug before I left.
“That’s for being such a good investigator, as well as a wonderful person to know. You look after yourself. Here’s my card. Give me a call whenever you need help and whenever you find something I can work with.”
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to my car. I now had a list of contacts to talk to in case I could find out more details about the victims. I would only work on the latest four that Dee had given me, as memories fade after a few years.
I went about my normal work during the week but made time to make appointments with the names on my list. I would do two on Saturday and the other two on Sunday. All the visits were within twenty miles of Ascot, so the Epsom meetings would have been a special trip. I needed to find out if the victims had a car.
On Saturday, I went to see my first relative. It was the sister of the victim. I found out that there was no car, as her sister had a lift to Ascot from one of the workers in the café. She would take the train to London and a coach to Epsom. The sister said that there was much happiness when the victim had come home after the last Ascot meeting of the year, because a very helpful man had given her good tips on the day.
The second visit was similar, with the son telling me the same story about the windfall at the last Ascot meeting. The woman did have a car, which the police found a mile back from the cliff edge. Sunday was almost a carbon copy, with the pattern firming up. Somehow, the stranger knew a lot about the horses running. When I had asked if there had been descriptions, all that they had reported was that the guy was mid-twenties and very polite. All the victims had been approached near the mounting yard at Ascot. In all cases I asked to see a photo. The women were all late thirties, slim and blonde. If I was going to pose as bait, I was going to have to bleach.
I wasn’t far from Dee when I left my last call on Sunday, so gave her a call to see if I could bring her up to date. She was home and told me to come on over. The button worked the gate and I drove to her house.
We sat in the conservatory, her husband, David, with us this time. Seeing that he was a lawyer, I tried to lay out what I knew in a way he would understand and explain to Dee if she didn’t. Both were shocked when I revealed that all four on her list had gone over the cliffs near Dover. He picked up on the fact that three of the women didn’t have a car so they would have to have been taken there.
He asked what I had planned to do so I told him that the only way to go any further would be to go to the meetings looking like the other women and to see what happened. They told me that there were any number of young men working at the track, from the waiters to the strappers, from the ushers to the bookies runners.
“Bookies runners, what are they?”
“They work for a bookie. It’s their job to make sure he has enough money on hand to make the payouts. The money used to be kept in their cars, or, in the old days, in the carriage with a guard holding a flintlock pistol. It’s too dangerous to be standing on a case full of cash. The runner did just that, run back and forth with money. They are very trustworthy and often work with a bookie for life.”
David was an action man and insisted that we go to the track so I could see the layout. We went in his Mercedes, a bigger one than mine, and he had passes to get us in. I saw where the upper crust would be, where the bars and restaurants were, and the mounting yard with the areas that the general public would be. There was a lot of workers on site, and I asked what was happening.
“It’s the meeting next Saturday, it’s the Racing and Beer event. If you want, we can organise you a ticket so that you can do what you do. We’ll pay you for the day as work, anything you win or lose is down to you.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 2
On the way out, I was shown the entrance to the car park. Dee said she would express courier a ticket and parking pass to me at home on Monday, to be left in my box at the flats. All I needed now was to become like the other women, well dressed and blonde.
During that week I visited my usual salon and discussed hair with Debbie, my stylist. She was adamant that a short-term colouring would not do my hair any good, and that I would look funny as it grew out. She showed me how to layer my own hair under a skull cap and when she put a short wig on me, I looked like a different person. It was curly and exposed my ears and neck. With a good dress and appropriate make-up, I would be just another blonde among blondes.
I was up at a good time on Saturday morning so that I could make the changes. I had a good breakfast and started my transformation. A long bath in scented suds, a careful shaving to make sure I was smooth all over, good underwear with garter belt and stockings, and then I sat to arrange my wig and paint my face.
I wore one of the Erminia dresses that Susan had given me, with heels and a shoulder bag. Before I left, I had an early lunch and then made sure I had everything I needed, especially the ticket and passes, and drove to Ascot.
It was jumping! There were lots of very expensive cars in the car park, even the one I parked in that was just for the general public. I got out and went into the main area of the racecourse, in front of the grandstand, just to soak up the atmosphere. It was like an up-market pop concert without the big band, although there was a string quartet I could hear playing in the Members section.
I walked around and looked at the prices of the food on offer, glad I had eaten earlier. I did get a glass of champagne so that I didn’t look out of place. I was standing there, glass in one hand and looking at the first race field in the other, when a very elegant lady walked up to me and asked me if I was entered in the Fashions in the Field. I told her that I had only arrived a little while ago and that it was my first time here.
“My dear, a fresh face on the catwalk! You’ll be certain to score well, depending on who else is entered. We do get some who go well over the top to try and win, you’re just so simply elegant!”
She led me to a marquee where I added my name to the list. I gave it as Debbie Wigzell, in deference to my stylist. I then wandered around and looked at the area where the bookmakers hung out. I noticed that every one of them had one or two fit young men near them, with a few having a beautiful girl to keep the record of bets. Dee had emailed me some likely winners so that I could start as someone in the know, and I compared the odds being offered. David had given me some grounding on the differences, and I went to the bookie offering the best place odds on the first horse I had been told, spending a tenner.
The horses were starting to be led into the mounting yard and I went to have a look. It was odd, seeing elegantly dressed men and women standing next to a very large horse. I bet they didn’t get so close when it came back sweaty. The horse I had been given looked ready to beat the world and I followed the crowd as they surged towards the rails when the horses went out on the track. The race was over in what seemed like seconds, and my horse had been a close second.
I went back to the bookie and proffered my ticket, with him giving me twenty-five back. Then I heard the loudspeaker call for entrants in the Fashion in the Field to assemble at the marquee. When I got there it was a total chaos of femininity. Every colour in the rainbow, every style known to womanhood, and even a couple that looked as if they weren’t women at all.
It wasn’t a public vote, thank goodness, but there were three judges with notepads. We all were given a number and went up onto a catwalk to strut our stuff. At the end, we were all up there, in our number order when the results were handed down. I didn’t win, but, like my horse, came second. The prize was a voucher to spend at Harrods, worth five hundred pounds, which I put in my bag with thanks to the judges. The winner was wearing an outfit that, even to my untrained eye, looked as if it had cost five times the value of her prize.
The horses were being brought out for the second race and I went off to put my tenner on the one I had been given, only to find that it had been scratched due to a sore fetlock or something. I looked at the runners and then decided not to bother, heading for the tearoom to get a cup of tea and a cake, so wiping out my previous winnings.
I sat at the small table and watched to race progress and wondered how the victims had been chosen, and then how had they been approached. With the third race, I went for broke and put a tenner on the tip that Dee had given me, with it winning at seven to one, so recouping my winnings and a bit more. I was standing near the rails, with a glass in my hand, waiting for the next race, when a lad in a suit stood beside me.
“Hello, Debbie. I’m Stan. This your first time here?”
“It is Stan. Why do you ask?”
“I like to talk to pretty ladies, especially those who do well in that parade. How are you going with your bets?”
“Not bad, I’m a few pounds in front. I might stop at that and not chase unlikely winnings.”
“I’ll give you a tip that you shouldn’t miss in the fifth. Honest Joe should give you the best odds.”
He told me the name of the horse. When he walked away, I realised that I had seen him talking to Honest Joe when I was coming out of the tearoom. I found my way to Honest Joe and put my usual ten on the tip that Dee had given me in the fourth, followed by an early bet of fifty on the nose for the one that Stan had given me at twenty to one.
My horse won in the fourth and I held off collecting my winnings, waiting for the next race, going to line up at the ladies first, which took until the fifth was at the starting gate. The tip I had been given was running in the field until the last moment when it burst to the front to win.
I jumped up and down with the rest, and then was grabbed by a lad in a good three-piece suit, who kissed me. I brought my knee slowly up to his groin and jiggled it. When he pulled back, I smiled.
“Do that again, buddy, without asking nicely, and the knee will be travelling a lot faster.”
He laughed.
“Please my lady, can I kiss you again?”
“That’s better, you may partake of my lips.”
He held me and we kissed again, this time I joined in, and we held the stance for a while.
“I’m Bertie, may I take you to dinner?”
“I’m Debbie, and I think I’d like that. I just have to collect my winnings, first.”
“Me too. I’m a sucker for good looking outsiders, as well as beautiful strangers. Are you from around these parts?”
“No, I live in London, what about you?”
“I have an apartment in Canary Wharf. We’ll have to take a taxi to the hotel; I came with a friend so haven’t a car.”
“That’s all right, mine is in the carpark.”
We went to our bookies, and I came away with over a thousand pounds which went into the bag. I waited for Bertie to collect his. By the size of the wad of notes he was given, he had done very well. He put them in his pocket and walked towards me.
“Shall we exit this den of gambling, my lady Debbie?”
“We can do that, Lord Bertie. My chariot awaits.”
I drove us back to London, where he directed me to a restaurant where he was obviously well known, getting us a table. It was still early, so we had a few drinks and talked about the horses until it was time to order. After the meal, we went to his apartment and his lordship exercised his authority over this poor commoner, with clear evidence of his experience. When we had exhausted ourselves, I went to the ensuite and did my business, taking my bag with me to repair my make-up. He was snoring when I got back, so I dressed quietly and left him a thank you note on his personalised notepaper before I let myself out and drove home, arriving in the early hours. I made sure to take a page of his notepaper with me as I left.
It had been a good day at Ascot. I was well up and knew that it was all down to my new friend Stan. I still didn’t know why he helped like that, and how it became something worth killing for. Sunday morning, I took things easy and put my thousand away in my piggie bank. I rang Dee on the landline to report on my day at the races. When I told her who was calling, she was blunt.
“All that bluster, Maxine, and I didn’t see you there. What are you playing at?”
“Did you watch the Fashions in the Field?”
“Yes, I did. The winner was a regular, her husband is a soccer star, and she spends a fortune on clothes.”
“I was the runner-up in Erminia and a blonde wig.”
“That was you! Good Lord, you were certainly disguised, why?”
“Because all the other victims were blondes and I thought I would have a better chance of catching the attention of the killer. I think it worked.”
“Tell me more!”
“I was given a tip for the winner in the fifth race, but before the fourth so that I could lay on a bet at twenty to one. I took the money and left the races. The guy who gave me the tip is called Stan, and I saw him with Honest Joe, the bookie I made my bet with.”
“I know him. He usually works in the stables. He doesn’t work for any one owner but is employed by a few courses as a casual. He works for Joe once his other duties are over, and then helps with the cleaning up. He doesn’t seem like a serial killer.”
“If there was a description that fitted all serial killers, the police could round them up before they started. I still haven’t worked out why they do it.”
“The bookie can claim a tax break on his losses. Perhaps he had made too much money on the first three races.”
“All right. I’ll go to another meeting and see what happens there. If the history of the other victims is followed, I’m safe until the big meeting at Epsom in the new year. Look, I met a nice guy at the course, and we had dinner. I’ll see if he’ll take me to another meeting.”
“There’s another meeting next Saturday. Do you still have your pass?”
“I do. Look, if you see me to talk to, remember that I’m Debbie Wigzell and we have met because I do secretarial work in Davids’ office. Tell him not to call me Maxine if I’m with anyone.”
“All right, that I can do, we’ll see you on Saturday. Dumluk is getting her first outing at a premier track, so be certain to put a pound or two on it, each way.”
We I put the phone down, I thought for a moment or two and then picked it up again to ring Bertie.
“Bertie, dear. It’s Debbie, just giving you a call to see if you had a good sleep. You were out like a light when I left.”
“Debbie, darling. I had a wonderful sleep, only spoiled by waking up to find that you were still not beside me.”
“I left because I needed my own sleep, and that wasn’t possible with your snoring.”
“Is that why any girls I’ve spent the night with never go out with me again? With all my money, all my charm, and all my good looks, it comes down to my snoring! I’ll have to talk to someone about it.”
“You certainly have the good looks and the charm, Bertie, and there are specialists who can help you.”
“I’ll look into it. When can I see you again? You’re the most grounded girl I’ve met.”
“There is another meeting at Ascot, next Saturday. Would that be soon enough? This girl does have to work, you know.”
“That would be perfect. Can you pick me up in the morning? That meeting isn’t a big one, and you can dress more casually. I’ll buy us lunch; I know a nice little pub.”
“You mean to tell me that with your money and charm, you don’t have a car?”
“Ah! Trapped by my own perfidy. I do have a very nice Aston in the basement garage. What I don’t have is permission to drive it for another four months. I tell you what! You can drive us on Saturday, it needs to get some time on the road. Every time I see it, it looks like it’s sulking.”
“All right, I’ll be there at eleven. I’ll give your bell a press and you can come down and show me where to park.”
When I put the phone down, I was thinking to myself that he didn’t need to be shown where to park, not after last night. For the rest of the week, I did the usual round of sleuthing for a pittance. On Saturday morning, I was up early and made sure that although my outer wear was casual, my underwear was serious. In a nice pair of designer jeans that I had bought in Norwich, with boots; and my Erminia blouse, I looked good enough for Ascot, with a leather jacket made to resemble a biker jacket but useless if on a bike in the rain, I made sure I had the wig firmly secure, five hundred in my bag and went off to Canary Wharf.
It all went well. I parked outside and told the doorman that Bertie would come down, rang his bell and he stepped out of the lift in a similar outfit to me, jeans, boots, and a leather sports coat. He used his fob to open the garage doors, got in the passenger seat and directed me to a visitors bay. When we had got out of the car and I locked it, he smiled.
“May I have a kiss, my lady?”
“You may, my lord. In fact, I am tempted to give you permission for the rest of the day.”
He held me close as we kissed, and then he led me to his car, which he opened with the button and handed me the keys.
“Treat her kindly, Debbie. Too much wellie and she will be doing the ton before you know it. That’s what got me into trouble.”
I was careful as I extracted the magnificent beast from its parking bay and into the sunlight. One of the courses I had done at Hendon was in high-speed driving, so I knew how to handle this beauty. What had stopped me going to the traffic division was the fact that they didn’t think girls would cut it in that job, preferring big, hairy, blokes.
He guided me through the city and into the countryside on the A4, and then through Windsor, before arriving at a pub in Woodside. It was a lovely place, with the bar festooned with signed pictures of some of the clientele. I knew that Elton John lived close by so wasn’t surprised that he had eaten there. I expected that the meal would be more than enough.
It was very pleasant, with me staying off alcohol because I was driving. Over the course of the meal, I learned more about Bertie. He was really a Lord, having inherited it from his father, although, by the time it came to him there were no country estates or money. He made his own living as an entrepreneur, organising smaller music festivals and charity events. I told him that I did secretarial work in a legal office.
He was nice to be with, and the time passed quickly before we needed to get to Ascot. He had the tickets, and I still had the car pass, so it wasn’t long before we were trackside and discussing the runners. Dee had emailed me some tips, so I didn’t look like a bimbo as we looked at the fields and decided which ones were going to be on the receiving end of our generosity.
We did steadily, me making money on the first, him making money on the second. I went off to collect my winnings while Bertie went to find a glass of champagne. I hadn’t gone to Honest Joe this time, but while I was waiting to collect, I looked over and saw Stan in a close conversation with a red-headed lad, about the same age. It was while Bertie was off to collect his winnings after the second race when Stan appeared to my side.
“Hello again, beautiful Debbie. What do you fancy in the fifth?”
I looked at my list and told him.
“That one is very good for a place, but there’s good odds on an outsider to win. If you act soon, Honest Joe can take your bet.”
He told me the horse and went off. That’s when I noticed the red-headed lad talking to a guy who was very nattily dressed. When Bertie got back, I told him that I had an urge to bet on a horse in the fifth. I told him the name of the horse and he smiled.
“I think I told you I was a sucker for a good outsider. Here’s two hundred, put it on the nose for me.”
I took a sip of his drink, gave him back the glass and went off to see Honest Joe. I put twenty each way on my pick for the third, and four hundred on the nose for the tip for the fifth, at fifty to one. On the way back, I saw the natty guy coming out of the gents and tried to decipher what I was seeing.
He was reasonably tall, well built, and carried himself as a man who had seen action. That did not fit the mauve suit and the silk cravat. I looked at his feet and saw the one-inch heels on his shoes. So, he was gay? Maybe, or he could just be different. Either way, he must be the recipient of a good tip from the carrot top as he headed directly to Honest Joe.
If he was being given tips, it went against the whole modus operandi, unless there had been guys in the past who were dumped somewhere else. I needed to observe but stay clear of him for the rest of the day, so went back to Berties’ side. We both had winnings after the third, with his winning and mine coming second.
I had two horses to bet on in the fourth, the one Dee had given me and their horse, Dumluk. I suppose it’s not the thing to tip your own mount, but I was sure that it would do well. When we went to collect, I put a hundred on Dumluk to win. She was at a hundred to one, seeing that she only had some placings at smaller tracks in the past.
We went to the mounting yard so that I could see what I had put my faith in. When she was led in, she looked more like a picture I had seen of horses that had been used in the first war than a thoroughbred. It was a longer race, so that might be helpful. I was starting to regret my extravagance when I saw David and Dee come out. Everyone was standing around and I saw Dee looking around at the crowd. I gave her a wave and she waved back.
“Do you know that person?”
“Yes, she is the wife of David Townley, a lawyer. I went to school with her, and I work in his office.”
“I’ve heard of him; he did some work for a singer I know. What’s the horse?”
“Dumluk, it’s her first outing in a group race, or so Dee told me. She’s a two-year old filly with some placings at smaller tracks. She’s a rank outsider at a hundred to one.”
“Stay here, you’ve been my lucky charm, so far. This one I have to back.”
When he came back, he had a betting slip.
“Somebody must have spooked the bookies, it’s down to fifty to one at the moment.”
The horses were led out and Dee came over to where we stood.
“Debbie, who is this handsome man?”
“Dee, this is Lord Bertie Woodward. We met last week.”
“My word, a Lord. You must both come over to the house after the races, whether we get a result in this race or not. David has organised a party to celebrate us having a horse accepted in a group race. You still have the button?”
“I do. We’ll see you there.”
As she walked to follow David into the Members’ stand, Bertie looked at me.
“Button?”
“Yes, it’s for the gate. They live in a house inside the grounds of a big manor. There are others that have built on the grounds, but nobody can see anyone else for the trees. It’s a really beautiful setting, and the houses would be worth several million each.”
We found a gap at the rail and waited for the race to start. Dumluk was towards the back from the start but moving up at the far turn. As they came onto the straight, she was loping along in fourth and then the jockey must have whispered something in her ear, as she moved up a gear and came first by a head. We had won!
We jumped up and down and kissed. It was like the time we met, but this time we knew each other from top to toe and were kissing because we wanted to. I was almost in a daze when we went to collect. The bookie got me to huddle close as he gave me my ten thousand, which went into my shoulder bag. We went to Berties’ bookie, who gave him five thousand.
“Do you think we should leave, now we are rich?”
“No way, my sweet. We have a substantial bet in the fifth, remember. And then we need to sit somewhere until it’s time to go to a party. Any nookie will have to wait until I take you home.”
“Yes, my lady. Whatever you say, my lady.”
We didn’t go overboard on our luck after that. When the fifth was over and all clear given, we went to collect our twenty thousand and then sat in the stand nibbling cake and drinking champagne until the meeting was over. I didn’t see Dee among the Members after their win, so wondered if they had checked with their trainer and gone home. I had been looking out for Mauve Man and saw him heading for the exit after the fifth.
We went off to get in the Aston and head for a party.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 3
It wasn’t far from the track to the turning, and I stopped at the gate and reached behind me, finding the button in my bag, under a lot of money. I pressed the button and the gate opened. I drove slowly to the house, now surrounded by Rollers, Bentleys, and big Mercedes. I parked the Aston, and we got out.
“Do you think we can put the money in the boot, I feel a bit vulnerable with it in my bag?”
“Sure thing, there’s a button to press.”
When the boot was opened, I took my lippie out of the bag, along with a couple of tissues, and placed the bag inside. He took a big wad of notes from his pockets, pulled up a bit of the carpet and put them under it, patting the carpet down. As he pulled the boot lid down, he looked across it and smiled.
“You really are a lucky charm, you know. What I’ve won will fund a small event, without me needing to outlay anything. I can still claim the amount on expenses. I’m so very glad we met, Debbie.”
We held hands as we went to the house. The door was open and there was the sound of music playing, along with the hubbub of party chatter. We found the source of the sounds in a big room where there must have been fifty people drinking and talking. Dee saw us come in.
“Debbie, darling. What a day. Did you put anything on Dumluk?”
“We both did, thank you. It was a wonderful result. Does this mean that you’ll get more horses accepted for top meetings?
“It certainly does. They’ve already accepted another of ours for the big meeting next week. It’s the British Champions Day and we have a runner in one of the Group Two races. Dumluk is already pencilled in for the Victoria Cup meeting next year. It’s so exciting!”
Just then we heard a man call out “Bertie, my man! Just the person I need to speak to”. It was the lead singer of a band that was in the charts, and he grabbed Bertie and pulled him towards a quieter corner of the room, leaving Dee alone with me.
“Did anything else happen?”
“Yes, it did. Stan gave me another tip for the fifth and it won. The thing is that I saw him with another lad at Honest Joes’ stand, a red-headed lad about the same age. I saw that boy talking to a guy who I later saw heading for Joes’ to lay a bet on. I wonder if he was also being spoken to or if it was because I was there with Bertie. Stan waited until I was alone to talk to me.”
“Red-headed lad, you say. He’s a friend of Stan. They often come as a team if you’re after labouring. Don’t laugh, but his name is Oliver. I’ve seen them do dialogue from the old comedy films. I still can’t see either of them as killers.”
She escorted me around, and I met several pop stars, most of them either having a house in the estate or had a band member with a house here. There was also a magazine editor, a couple of judges, and several partners from Davids’ office, most of them having shares in the racehorses. Bertie caught up with me as the food was being announced.
“Can we leave after we eat? I need to absorb something big. You really have been my lucky charm, today!”
“All right with me. It’s been a big day, so far.”
We stood with the others and grazed on an alarming quantity of very expensive nibbles. I didn’t think I would eat much after our lunch, but these small mouthfuls were to die for. I stayed off the alcohol and just had lemonade or soda water, with Bertie having a couple of drinks.
When the feeding time was over, we found David and Dee to thank them for the invitation and to take our leave. We both got hugs from Dee, while I got one from David. He whispered in my ear that Dee had told him the latest, and to look out for myself. He shook hands with Bertie, and they exchanged business cards, with Bertie saying that he might have some work that needed a good lawyer.
We rescued our winnings from the boot, and I put the gate opener in my pocket. In the car, I started it, and we went quietly to the gate and out onto the road. Having been this way before, I didn’t need any directions to find my way back to London. Bertie was deep in thought until we were in the slower traffic, then he spoke about what was on his mind.
“You saw the guy who grabbed me when we got there. He is the singer in a band that’s in the charts.”
“I knew that. There were a couple of other members of the band there, one of them has a house on the estate.”
“He wants me to be the organiser of a tour that the band is talking about. They have become fed up with their usual promotor charging high prices for the shows and booking them into second rate venues. They want me to organise good places that we can fill at lower prices, but with the bigger numbers to make up the turnover. They have a new album and a killer single that will be released in the new year, with the tour to promote it.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.”
“It will be, and I’ll have to start working on it from Monday, if I have any chance to book the venues. He gave me a list of his preferred locations; it will be up to me to link the venues to the dates that achieves the brief. I’ve done smaller tours, but this will be humungous. He told me the name of the support act and they’re almost as big as they are.”
“So, you have three months to get it off the ground?”
“That’s almost not long enough, but I’m going to give it my best shot. Today has been great, with enough winnings to get things moving on a job that I didn’t have before we got there. I will need to see David to get some paperwork written up. Then we’ll organise a meeting between me and their manager.”
“I wish you the best of luck, Bertie, dear. You deserve it. How much of the country will the tour taking in, I might be able to get to it.”
“It’s countries, my sweet. Countries. The big markets in Europe, and if that goes well, he wants to tour the Southern Hemisphere. I’ll have enough frequent flyer points for a good holiday after that. Unfortunately, what it means that there’ll be no race meetings for me until it’s all wound up. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Bertie, it means that we can stay awake tonight for as long as we can. I brought earplugs if you go to sleep before me, and I’ll make you breakfast in the morning. Who knows when we can get together again, but our time has been memorable.”
When we got to Canary Wharf, we parked the Aston and I transferred my bag to the Mercedes, making sure I had enough make-up in my pockets for the morning. We kissed as we went up in the lift, kissed as we entered his bedroom, kissed as we undressed each other, and kissed as he made passionate love to me. After that, we cuddled and kissed some more before he was good enough for a second go. I think that after that, we both fell asleep at the same time.
In the morning, the sun was well up when we surfaced, did our business, and showered together. I did make him breakfast from the meagre supplies he had in stock, and then we kissed for the last time when I left him, with a code to get out of the garage in my hand.
When I got home, I wrote a report for the police to find, should they need to search my flat. I counted out my winnings. I now had close to twenty-two thousand pounds for my piggie bank. If the other victims had been able to win that amount of money, I was sure that they would trust Stan, or Oliver, with their lives. I still couldn’t figure out the final act.
I rang Dee and gave her a report on what I had discovered, in more detail. She told me that she would courier a ticket and another pass for the following week at Ascot, with it being a big meeting, the British Champions Meet. I would need an outfit to suit, something classy if I was going to enter the Fashions in the Field.
I rang Susan at Oulton Broad and asked her if she had managed to get her stock into any shops. She told me that the original order that Clement had organised was out in twenty stores, with the nearest one to me in Chelmsford. I asked about the newer items, and she said that they were being distributed this week, and if I wanted to pick from them, she would contact the Chelmsford shop to allow me to look at the shipment before it was put on display.
She told me that the new items would be two thousand pounds if I wanted one, but there may be some older stock still there for about a thousand. I thanked her for her help and made a note of the shop. We then spoke for a while as she told me how she was getting on. The old farmhouse was now gone, with a modern shed going up in its place, with one half for storing picked strawberries and the other side for the fashion shipment.
I can’t say that I had ever spent a thousand on an outfit before, let alone two thousand. I had the cash to do it now, so was determined that I would look my best at Ascot on the weekend. I filled a bath with smelly water and soaked in it until nearly midday. When I was dry and dressed in jogging gear, I took the Mercedes into the city, parked on the Embankment, and walked to a restaurant that I knew would be open for the tourists.
After a good meal, I walked it off along the riverside, just taking in the sights and sounds, and the smells, of the river. As I walked, I thought about the case, still wondering how it would pan out. Back in the car, I went to Soho, parking near a small park and strolling around. All my life, Soho had been a draw to me. I would love to live her, among the nightlife, the whores, the restaurants, and the general vibe of the place.
With the money I now had, I nearly had enough to rent somewhere. I looked into real estate windows, not that there are many in Soho, and just enjoyed being able to walk the streets, making note of all the places I would be able to eat in should I be able to find somewhere.
I had a lovely afternoon getting acquainted with all the streets and leaving before the nightlife clientele arrived. I was thinking about Bertie. Many would say that he was a good catch, but, for me, it wouldn’t work. Yes, we had a good time together and he was very good in bed, but I could never play second fiddle to a successful man. If my plans worked, I would have moved and the phone number he had for me would not work by the time he finished with his big tour.
I did the usual sort of work during the week, and took Friday off, heading for Chelmsford early in the morning. When I got to the shop, I was shown through to the back to see the new stock. It took me a half an hour to find a classic dress with a slim skirt that would make it difficult to run in. It was just over the knee, and the bodice was a cross-over that would show off my attributes. When I told them that I was going to wear it at Ascot, the next day, they got me to put it on, then took pictures of me in it.
I allowed them to use the pictures as advertising and they gave me a discount, with a bit extra off for cash when I pulled it out of my bag. I left with a dress that only cost sixteen hundred. Only!
It was a silvery fabric, with sparkles, which would be more than elegant and could be used for good evenings, later on. Back in Islington, I went to my appointment to see Debbie and she gave me a full nail job to suit the dress colour. I bought another blonde wig, not too long to not be something that would be natural compared with the previous one, and she styled it to again match what I was aiming for.
Saturday morning, I was up with the birds and breakfasted. Today, I was going to immerse myself in the wonders of Ascot. In a silver shoulder bag, I had put aside two thousand as my top limit, hoping to bring back more. Today I would look like I’m ripe for the picking, to see if Stan takes the bait.
When I went down to the Mercedes, I got a wolf whistle from the guy who live in the ground floor flat. The silver dress, silver stockings, silver shoes, and the blonde locks were working as required. I arrived at Ascot a bit earlier than my other visits and used the pass and ticket that Dee had sent, along with another list of tips. I was confident as I strode towards the food outlets.
I got a seat in the restaurant and was joined by Dee and David. We had a pleasant lunch, which I insisted that I pay for, and then they went off to the Members, while I went down to the Fashions in the Field marquee, signing myself in, once more, as Debbie Wigzell. This being the third Saturday in a row that I had been here, I was able to pick the best place to look at the bookies section without being obvious, so watch the interaction between Joe, Stan, and Oliver for a while.
My tip didn’t work out for the first, but Joe had given me a smile when he took my money. I was standing near the rails, with a glass of champagne in my hand, and my winning voucher from the Fashions event in my bag, when Stan came up to me.
“You look fabulous, today, Debbie. Do you want a chance to improve your life?”
“That would be nice, Stan, what do you suggest.”
“I suggest that, today, you go and see Honest Joe and ask for his special two race bet. He will put your money on his best pick in the first, then put your winnings on his best pick for the second race. You won’t know the horses he picked until you go back to see if you’ve won. The races he will work on are the third and the fifth.”
“What do you get out of this, Stan?”
“Me? I get to make a pretty woman happy. I get to make Joe happy as he can take what you win off of his taxable earnings. It’s a win all round. Are you up for it?”
“All right, I’ll give it a go.”
“Good girl! You’d better go and see him; the third race is almost ready to be called to the staging yard.”
I went to see Joe, as directed, putting a hundred on the tip that Dee had given me, and another hundred on Joes’ special bet. I went and sat in the stands, watching things unfold. My horse in the second won at seven to one, so I was now seven hundred up. The winning horse in the third was at ten to one, so, if that was the horse I was on, I now had a thousand riding on the fifth.
That’s when I got the light bulb moment. Joe didn’t need to have a bet already written. He was the bookie. He could just write a ticket, back timed, after the fifth, and pretend that I had been lucky. I would go home with a lot of money and trust whatever I was told when we got to Epsom. I guess that I would be told to try his special bet there, this one covering more races in the meet.
With a bet of a hundred, that could end up as tens of thousands by the end of the day. That amount would be worth killing for, with Joe getting the bulk of his money back, in untraceable cash, and the two boys getting a nice bonus. If the other man was being pushed in the same direction, it could be a windfall of up to a quarter of a million pounds.
I made sure to look out for Mauve Man, without seeing him. Carrot Top stayed close to Joe and Stan grabbed him a few times to go off to bring back, or take away, money. By the look of the weight in Carrot Tops’ pocket, he was packing a pistol.
I waited until the fifth had been run and cleared before I went to see Joe. The boys had been off as the race was running, which made me certain that the fix was in. The whole thing rotated around a good knowledge of the horses and their history. The rest was totally dependent on sleight of hand, the old magic trick. When I went to see Joe and give him my betting slips, he took me to one side and counted out seven hundred for my own bet, then counted out fifty thousand for the special bet, the winner in the fifth being at fifty to one.
“There you go, lucky lady. Will we be seeing you again?”
“I might not come here in winter, but I’m told that the big meeting at Epsom Downs at the end of May is worth going to.”
“Wonderful, I look forward to seeing you there. I’ll have a good look at the horses at that meeting. I might be in a position to offer you a special bet with more races than today.”
“Doesn’t that make it very difficult to predict?”
“Not for this man, lady. If I was able to bet, I would be better off than I am now. But then, I wouldn’t get the input from my contacts that I now enjoy.”
I walked out of the meeting with my mind in a whirl. Here I was, nearly fifty-one thousand more in my bag than when I had arrived. I didn’t wait to see Dees’ horse in the last race, and just got in the Mercedes to go home. There, I put the money with the other winnings, deep in my wardrobe, and undressed. Back in jogging gear, I rang the local pizza place and ordered one to be delivered. When it arrived, I gave the boy a note and told him to keep the change.
Monday morning, I rang Dee to see how she got on. Her horse hadn’t won but was a credible fourth in a classy field. I asked if I could come over as I wanted to talk to David. She told me to come over as soon as I liked as they were going to lunch on the leftovers from their party last night. I went and had a shower and dressed in my PI outfit with a straight skirt instead of the leather jeans.
When I got there, I was welcomed in and taken to the big room, where there was a lot of nibbles with gauze over them. We sat at a table, getting up to replenish our plates as needed. Over the meal, I told David what had happened yesterday, and what I had been told by Honest Joe. He sat back and thought for a while.
“It’s damned clever, I give them that. So far, Joe has only crossed the line with back-timed betting slips. The stewards would only tell him that he’s being stupid for giving his money away, and the tax man would fine him for false accounting. What do you think happens next?”
“I think that the mark is told to lay a ‘mystery’ bet on with Joe. It could be any number of races, even the whole card, depending on the likely winners. If they’re all favourites, it would take a big bet to end up with a high enough amount to kill for. There will need to be a few roughies in the mix for it to multiply. Then the two boys cull the mark and subdue her, splitting her winnings before taking her away for disposal.”
“Yes, Epsom is perfect for something like that. They could ask if she wants to see the horses. There are stables across the road where anything can happen. Most of the horses would have gone and it would only be those from the last race being hosed down. I’ve seen Stan driving a white Transit in the past. The body could be stored in that for a few days until they’re clear to go.”
“They only need to cosh the victim and drop her headfirst so that the landing removes all trace of a previous head knock. What is odd, this time, is that they are grooming two of us for the hit. The other guy has been given the original tip, but I haven’t seen him at the bigger races. He may only be able to attend the smaller events. What’s coming up?”
“There’s two events in November, both smaller ones. One early in the month and one near the end. That gives plenty of time to carry on the indoctrination if he attends. In the new year, the big Ascot meeting is the Victoria cup, in May, and the Epsom meeting is the Betfred Stakes, at the end of May.”
“That gives me the November meetings to go as Maxine and see if the other guy is there and is approached.”
“Actually, Maxine, I think that your next thing is to take this to the police. The information that you were given, along with what you have found out, is enough for them to lay on a surveillance operation, to see if they can gather positive evidence before the main event. If they can get a sound recording of the three talking about what they plan to do, it will be enough to take them in and put their vehicles through forensics testing. There may be traces of the previous victims.”
“What about the money that I’ve won?”
“That’s yours, free and clear. Anything you win while helping the police would remain yours as well. If it can be proved that Joe has falsified his records, with recorded evidence, the tax man will have a field day. A lot can be done before May, with their bank records looked at to see if there are regular cash deposits. I expect that Joe will have a second account which he puts the windfalls in.”
“So, you want me to lay it on the line?”
“Yes, that will keep you safe. I will set up a meeting, in my office. I know a few well-placed policemen. This will involve two forces, the one covering Ascot and the Surrey one for Epsom, so it will need someone further up the chain to call the shots. I’ll tell you when it is if you can come and tell your story.”
I thanked them for the delicious lunch and gave him the card from the detective sergeant at Islington. As I drove home, I pondered on the situation. If my winnings were considered legally obtained, there should be no problem in me banking them. I would do that on Monday, so that it’s safe. What happens after that would depend on what David was able to do with his friend on the force.
At home, I counted out seventy thousand and put it in a shopping bag, ready to go to the bank. I put the bulk of the rest into my lucky bag on the mantlepiece, and the remainder in my usual bag. Monday was going to be for me. The bank was to be first, Harrods with my vouchers second, and a rest day after that, looking up real estate in Soho afterwards.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 4
After the big lunch of small bites, I only needed something light on Sunday night. I watched some mindless show on the box and went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a turning point for Max Force.
I dressed in a skirt suit to look businesslike and called a local Uber company to pick me up outside the flats and gave them my mobile number to call when they arrived. I had the cash in a shopping bag inside my shoulder bag, along with the vouchers and my normal bag. It was quite heavy. The mobile rang that the car was outside, so I told him I’d be right down.
It car was tidy but smelt slightly of old kebabs. I got in the back and told the driver to go to where my bank was. When we got there, I gave him a tenner and asked him to wait. In the bank, I deposited all the cash into my business account, telling them that I had made a killing at the races. When I went outside, I was pleasantly surprised that the driver hadn’t done a runner with the ten quid.
I got back in the car and asked him to take me to Harrods. When we got there, he turned in his seat.
“My name is Hassam, Miss. Here’s my card. When you’ve finished shopping give me a call and I’ll pick you up again.”
“Thank you, Hassam. Here’s another twenty, I’ll be a while and I may have something to eat before I’ve finished.”
“Not a problem. I’m told that a woman can walk into that store and come out a princess. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do the same for men.”
“You want to be a princess, do you?”
“Not me, Miss. If they could do that, there would be a line going up the road and around the corner.”
I was smiling as I walked through the doors of the emporium. A doorman asked me how I was and if I needed any help to find a department. I flashed the two vouchers and asked how these worked. He asked me to wait for a few moment as he said something into a two-way radio. Inside a few minutes, a young woman came up to me.
“Good morning, Madam. My name is Amanda and I’m your personal assistant today. I’m told you have some vouchers. May I see them.”
I pulled them out and she had a quick look.
“Congratulations on your win, Madam. You must have looked stunning to beat some of those women that we usually see bringing these to us. Now, do you have any idea of what you want to buy?”
“A good range of cosmetics will be good. It’s a present to me. After that, I would like to see lingerie, a present to the men I might meet after I’ve shopped.”
She giggled and then led me to the cosmetics area, asking me what I was now using and what I had used before and liked. We decided on a brand, and I was sat on a stool while a cheery woman cleansed my face and examined me against a chart. A half an hour later, I was looking fabulous, had a bag of the products and one of the vouchers had been spent.
At the lingerie department, I went for high end luxury, and bra and panty sets, nighties and camisoles later, Amanda told me I was close to the end of the voucher. It worked out that I had enough for a half a dozen packs of very sheer tights. It didn’t take a lot of time to go through the money in a shop like this.
I thanked Amanda, and she left me with my bags, with my vouchers in her hand. I found the café and took a seat at an empty table. I ordered a salmon salad, which was delicious. After I had paid, I wandered around a bit, finding that I could have spent my two vouchers on a dress, and still would have chipped in more.
Back at the doors, I called Hassam and added his number to my speed dial while I waited for him. He wasn’t long and I asked him if he knew Soho.
“Like the back of my hand, Miss. What are you looking for?”
“I’m thinking of setting up a small office for my business.”
“What kind of business, if I may be so bold?”
“I’m a Private Investigator.” And I gave him one of my cards.
“Do you want something flash and storefront, or something that looks like you’ll find Sam Spade when you walk in.”
I had to laugh at that, and then realised that I did need to decide on what I really wanted to convey. It would be just me, so I didn’t need a flash office, which would need a receptionist and more investigators.
“Sam Spade and sleazy.”
He drove me to a small real estate office and parked.
“I will come in with you, Miss. This man is a cousin of mine, from the richer side of the family. He is the slum lord of sleazy offices, but I think he may have something for you.”
We went in and I was introduced to Abdul, who showed me brochures of various offices, all too expensive and flash. In the end, he pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of a door and an address.
“This may be what you’re looking for, Madam. It’s been on my books for some while, as the location is less than a lot of customers can live with. I can do you a very good deal, even better for cash.”
It was in the heart of Soho, and I just had to have a look at it. Before we went to see it, I negotiated a deal which would give me the bond and a year of the lease paid for, with that starting on the first of January.
He gave Hassam the keys and we were off. There wasn’t any parking outside, and Hassam found a space around the corner, outside an Italian Restaurant. This was looking up. When we found the door, I had to laugh. Hassam joined me. The door was between a pub and a sex shop. He opened the door and led me up a flight of stairs to the floor over the sex shop. It was set up like an office and absolutely big enough for me. There was a reception area and a separate back office for me. The window looked out over the street and there was plenty of natural light.
Up another flight of stairs, he unlocked the door, and we went into a living area, probably bigger than the flat I was now living in. The lounge and kitchen area were open plan, with a bedroom with ensuite, a separate bathroom and toilet, and another smaller room which could be whatever you make of it.
The kitchen had been modernised a few years ago, by the look of it, and sported a washer / drier and a dishwasher. The cook top and oven looked like they had never been used. No wonder, with all the food outlets within five minutes. I was loving it, already. I noticed that the heating was a split system with heat and cooling. Hassam saw me looking at it.
“The system is on the roof. I helped my cousin install it for the previous tenant. It was too hard to take away and Abdul added a bit to her bond when she was paid.”
“Her?”
“Well, them. There were two of them working from here. Nice girls but skirting with danger. I used to take them to their clients. It was almost too much to drive away and leave them. They both fell foul of the law too many times, as well as doing too much kinky stuff. What looks like an office was a reception and a room with a massage table. I think they went north.”
“I’ve seen enough. Can you lock up and take me back to Abdul tomorrow. I will sign the paperwork give him the bond money, in cash. The lease will be paid with a cash cheque.”
“He will be happy with that. Will you want some help with moving? I have another cousin with a van.”
“That will be wonderful. Tell me you have another cousin with a car yard. I will need to sell my own car as there’s nowhere to store it here. How would you like to be my speed dial driver?”
“Madam, you are just wonderful. It will be a pleasure to drive you wherever you want. I’ve had this dream where someone dives into my car and tells me to - follow that cab!”
We locked up and I stood outside, soaking up the smell of Soho. Not only did I now have and office here, but I also had living quarters above it. It was a dream come true, and there was more than enough in the bank to cover setting up here.
Back at the car, I looked at the Italian Restaurant and asked Hassam if he was hungry. He gave me a big grin and we went in, sitting at a table and ordering our meal. I told him that the meal was on me, and that we could meet here, or somewhere close by, if I gave him a call, as the parking outside my office was almost non-existent. After he drove me home, I gave him fifty and asked him to pick me up here in the morning, about ten, to go and see Abdul.
I had a good look at what cash I had left in my wardrobe and counted out the bond money we had agreed on. I had found that if someone wanted to up the price when they thought that had you hooked, having the amount agreed on, in cash, was a good ice breaker. That done, I snipped the tags off my new clothes and put them in my drawers. Adding the new cosmetics to my vanity. I had duplicates of the essentials in my bag and pulled out what I had been using, storing it in a drawer rather than tossing it out.
I was sitting on my couch, watching the TV, when my mobile rang. It was David, calling from home, telling me that he had set up a meeting with the police in his office on Wednesday. It was a good job I didn’t have much sleuthing to do this week!
I thought that I could move some of my things on the weekend, if I started very early in the morning, before Soho woke up. Then, the following weekend was the next Ascot meeting. Attending that would depend on the outcome of the meeting on Wednesday. Before I went to bed, I looked on my computer to see what cars like mine were getting in the marketplace. If I achieved that, I would actually make a small profit.
The next day, Hassam picked me up and we went to see Cousin Abdul. Of course, he had to try and up the agreed figures, having realised he ‘had made a mistake with his quote’. Putting the agreed amount on his desk and telling him to take it or I’m on my way, set his memory back to what we had discussed. He gave me to the end of the year to come up with the lease, seeing that I was going to pay it yearly. Probably Hassam knowing where I lived eased that detail.
With the keys in my hand, I got Hassam to take me home and wait for me to bring down my vacuum and cleaning supplies. He dropped me off at the door, and I opened it to put my cleaning equipment inside. He took off and I closed the door and locked it. I took everything to the top of the stairs and started with the living space.
By lunch I had tidied up the living area, cleaned the porcelains, and filled a waste bag with the contents of the vacuum. As I worked, I was planning where I was going to put everything, and the items I wanted to buy to make it mine. I stopped for lunch, going outside, locking the door, and strolling around. I discovered I was around the corner from Ronnie Scott’s and more food outlets in one place that you could work through in a year. That’s when it dawned on me that I had more than a year to try everything. I had a pizza to give me strength and went back to work on the stairs to the office, and then the office itself.
I had the place spic and span with the cleaning gear piled by the door when I rang Hassam. At the flat, I gave him his money and he drove off with a smile and the promise that he would pick me up again in the morning. I carried my stuff up to the flat and put the kettle on. After all that hard work, I had a shower, and relaxed in my nightie and gown, eating a simple tea that I had nuked. Only the best when I cook at home!
Instead of watching TV, I went on the laptop and redesigned my business card, with my new address. I wouldn’t send it off to the printer before I had the new landline number. I realised that a lot of the ‘mom and pop’ jobs that I had been doing would dry up as soon as I moved, so I would have to find more of the well-paying ones. If I got a full week, or more, I would be able to carry on quite easily. What it needed was word of mouth referrals. I would need to email all my old customers with the new details.
Hassam dropped me off at the legal office and I told him that I would give him a call when I’m ready. I went up to Davids’ office and was shown to his board room. There were a few men sitting around the big table, and one girl with a steno pad.
David introduced me around. Two I knew already, the Detective Inspector and his Sergeant from Islington. Then there was a man from the tax office and an Assistant Commissioner. The girl remained anonymous. The discussion began with the sergeant describing me taking him the list of names, and the outcome of the search in the records.
Then I had to describe how I had come by that list, with David letting them know that his wife was my client. Then I had to tell them what I had discovered over the three meetings that I had attended, letting them know that I had been in disguise in a blonde wig. As I got to be given the winning tips, the taxman frowned. When I got to the mystery bet, with its result, he got red-faced. The AC and the DI looked serious when I got to the promise of big money at Epsom in May.
After that, the discussion ebbed and flowed, until the AC decided.
“What we are going to do is set up surveillance of the bookie site at the next two meetings at Ascot with still and film photography and directional microphones. You guys can run that from Islington. Maxine, will you go there to point out the criminals for the team, as well as this other man you said could be being groomed. If we can record the process with him, it would give me the ammunition I will need to set up a surveillance and arrest operation at Epsom. I’ll have to bring in the Surrey boys on that.”
I was booked to join the team on Friday, to fix the microphones and pick the best photography points. There was always a lot of cameras around during the meeting so the police wouldn’t stand out. I asked the tax man about the winnings, and he told me that if it was substantial, I should declare it at tax time, but it would be tax free. He asked how much I had won, and I told him that the mystery bet cleared fifty thousand on just two races.
The tax man and the AC left us to work out the details and I was taken to the Islington station to join a team that the Inspector had ordered to assemble by phone. I gave Hassam a quick call to tell him that I was going to be taken home and wouldn’t need him to pick me up.
In the team meeting I felt as if I was back in the force. I had missed it, but now knew that I didn’t have to take orders from anybody. It allowed me to relax and add my comments without worrying that I would be put down. They had a satellite picture of Ascot, and I pointed out the places where I had been contacted, and the area where the bookies set up. It didn’t take long, and the sergeant dropped me off at home.
In the afternoon, I drove myself to a retail park and looked for office equipment and odd bits of furniture. I made notes of all the things I would need in the office. That would be paid for from my business account. The furnishings that I would buy for the flat upstairs would come out of my private account.
Most of the furniture was easily transportable as it was flat packed. I would need two desks, good chairs for me and any receptionist I might have, a couple of chairs for clients, and carpet for both rooms. I would need to measure the rooms next time I went to Soho.
I tried the meatballs with rice in the café and felt full when I left. There was a service station with cheaper petrol, so I filled up the Mercedes. When I was back in the flat, I sat down and reviewed the jobs I had on board, then ringing a couple to tell them that I couldn’t find their husbands locally, so would need to spend time on databases around the country if I was going to go further, with a quote that made them sigh and tell me to drop it. I doubt that finding the errant spouse was worth the cost, anyway. It just left me a couple which would need time to spend visiting the known haunts that I had not got around to.
I did that on Thursday, able to tell my clients where their spouses were shacked up by the end of the day. It’s amazing what publicans will tell you when you say that you’re looking for the guy because you’re pregnant. I think that it must be a venting of displeasure that another guy is getting something that you aren’t. With the cases closed, and the payments in my bag, I was ready for the big case and the police operation.
Friday, I was picked up by the Inspector with the sergeant driving, and we went to Ascot, to join the team that had gone down with a van to carry the ladders they may need. The course had been told that there was to be a police operation but hadn’t been told the reason. I expect that they thought it may be surveillance of criminals using the place to launder drug money.
I could pinpoint the site where Honest Joe set up, and a camera and microphone was put on the wall, made to look like the normal CCTV unit that was scattered around the place already. I was told that they were radio controlled with a Wi-Fi transmitter. The observer would be in one of the rooms under the stands. The photographers decided where the best spots were, with me going to stand in the places where I had been spoken to, giving them the reasons over a two-way radio. When we had set up, I was taken home.
I called Dee on Sunday, and she invited me over for lunch. It was a low-key affair, for them, just the three of us with a meal served by her maid. We spoke about the operation on the following Saturday, about my friend Bertie, and about the horses that they would have running. Before I left, Dee gave me a list of tips from her extensive range of contacts. She would be able to work as a bookie with those contacts. I did tell them that I had used the money I had won to lease an office with living space in Soho, and David congratulated me on using it to progress my career.
On Monday, I thought that I would use the tube to get around. I went to Soho with a tape measure and noted the room sizes, then contacted Hassam and asked him to hire a van, with me picking up the cost, and coming to get me as early as possible on Tuesday. When he picked me up, he took me to the retail park, and I used my own credit card to buy carpet and the few bits I wanted for my new flat. Then I used the business credit card to get the carpets, desks, and chairs for the office. It was all loaded in the van, and we took it to Soho, parking the van outside the door and transferring the items inside as quickly as we could. He had a sign which said, ‘Removalists at work, be gone in fifteen.’ I would come back the next day and start my moving in.
On Wednesday, I used the tube again, looking quite drab in scrubbed jeans and a sweater. I unrolled the carpet in both rooms to settle and assembled the two bedside cupboards I had bought, and the new bookshelf. Without a mantlepiece, I would need somewhere to keep my photos and the lucky handbag.
Down in the office, I got to work on the carpets for both rooms, and then assembled the desks and the chairs. I stood back and looked at my new office. It just needed some pictures and my detective licence to make it homey. I looked at the pile of Allan keys on the desk and had to smile, there had been a few boys who had told me I was good with tools.
I sat at the desk and made a list. I needed to get the power, water and sewerage put into the company name. I needed to get a proper security system as the one here was woeful. I really needed the telecom people to make sure I had a landline with a plug on both floors, as well as a wi-fi modem so I could run the laptop and computer printer.
Abdul was only a few streets away, so I locked up and walked to his office. There, I paid the lease money with a cash cheque on the business account. I asked him about the services, and he wanted to know what I wanted done. He told me that it would be organised over the next two weeks, he had a set of keys he could use. I told him what I wanted with the security system, and I outlined what it should do. For that, he said, he would get it done and forward the account for me to pay.
I asked him where the closest Post Office was, and he told me it was in Poland Street. I told him that I would be back. At the Post Office I got myself a Post Box, paid for a year, filled in the forms, and received the keys. Back at Abdul, I told him the box number and he added it to his notes in my file.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
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
Chapter 6
As the meeting ended, we went down to the Inspectors’ office and planned for the two Ascot meetings. I would take Lena in before the next one, at the end of the month, with us both getting the comms. Lena said that she would wear something less girly and that a tiepin microphone would be good. I would be in a similar outfit to last Saturday. For the big meeting next year, I would glam up and wear a hat, so something on that would be all right.
We were close to my flat, so I took Lena there, putting the kettle on when we arrived. When I carried the tray out to the lounge, she was looking at my picture of the Cortina and my bag with its holes.
“Maxine, you really have to tell me how your car got to look like that. What was he using?”
“He had an Uzi, with a big magazine on full auto. He wasn’t aiming, as such, but falling to the ground, taking me with him as he was holding me hostage. He had a bullet in the head from a police marksman. I had his brains in my hair.”
Lena came to me and hugged me for a while.
“You poor dear. It was that case up in Yarmouth, wasn’t it. You weren’t named in any of the news reports.”
“Like you, I wasn’t there, officially. I was with a male friend, a man from Naples who is a paid-up member of the Mafia. The police thought that it would open a can of worms if we were known to be at the arrest. That part of it was a spin-off of the case I had gone there to solve, a missing husband of an old school friend.”
“Did you find the husband?”
“In a parked van, wrapped in black plastic, with a bullet in him.”
“What about this bag?”
“On the back seat of the Cortina. I poke my finger in the bullet hole for luck.”
“You realise that you need me, as much I now need you. You will keep me feeling alive, and I need to teach you things to stop you being dead.”
“Will you be OK doing secretarial stuff?”
“It was what I was doing in the army while we waited for the wheels to turn. I’m a pretty good typist. I haven’t got myself any devices in years. What say we head for the retail park this afternoon to see what we can find. I have my credit card, now topped up since I went to the bank this morning. I’ll need a phone and a laptop that I can use in the office and take home. You’ll need a good laptop with plenty of memory, as well as a couple of good screens we can play FreeCell on without messing our eyes up. Then we’ll need a printer that will take Wi-Fi, you are organising a modem, I hope.”
I nodded.
“I made a list and most of what you say is already on it. We’ll need two sets of keyboards and mice, rubbing your finger on a laptop pad is a pain in the arse. Then we’ll need a spare set, in case anything fails. A good supply of batteries would help, as well as a few good power boards with surge protection.”
That decided, we went out again after I had tidied up the mugs. As it was lunch, we went through a fast-food drive-through and ate chips from a bag as I took us to the retail park. We made one electric salesman very happy, and he helped us take our things out and load up the car. Lena had bought an extra screen that she would use at home. I also priced fridges. We took my things back to Islington, to leave in their boxes until the move happened. I managed to park near her place and helped carry her things up.
She had a small flat, enough for a single person with minimal needs. I met the stall holder, who was diffident, at first, but warmed to me when Lena told him that she would be working with me next year. I gave him a few of my cards, telling him that we would be around the corner, with newer cards printed before we opened up.
I got back to my car as the parking inspector was just up the road, and drove home again, feeling that things were turning some sort of corner. Over the next few weeks, I made more preparations, packed a lot of summer clothes, only leaving the things that would take me to the move. I went to a hardware store and bought some bright paint, then spent several days painting the two offices.
Abdul was good as his word and the services were all connected in the business name, as well as the phone and internet connections installed. The last thing was the security system, with a buzzer from the front door in both offices and the living quarters. Lena came around a few times, took some measurements and turned up one day, with a length of aluminium ‘U’ beam, and a couple of bits of bent steel with lots of holes on one flange.
These went by the main door, and a day later she came back with a power drill and a pack of strong screws. While I painted, I could hear her singing while the power drill whirred. When she had finished, there were two steel brackets that the beam sat in, securely fixed to each side of the door, so making sure I could go to bed without any fear of being broken in to. It looked as if it would take a battering ram to get in.
We got to the week before the last Ascot meeting of the year. I took us to Islington, and we were given our comms for the next day. On the Saturday, I picked Lena up from the Berwick Street corner and we went to Ascot. I didn’t do any betting today, and stayed with the car for ten minutes as Lena went in, after us both testing the comms. We were told that both Stan and Oliver were there.
I stayed well away from everyone, sitting up in the stand, listening to the radio talk. I heard Lena place a mystery bet, which was covering the second, third and fourth race. She put a hundred on it. We spoke to each other as she stood at the rail, it being a dry day, if a little cool. We both had heavy coats on, this time, and I had taken her to the shops to buy warmer underwear. As the fourth was being run, I said that I would be in the car.
I sat there with the car warming up, until I saw her leaving the course with a shopping bag in her hand. That’s when the comms came to life.
“Alert! Oliver has left the stall and is following Len. Do not meet at the car. Len, head for the bus stop. If he goes back inside, you pick Len up there, Maxie.”
I waited as it played out. Lena got on a bus, with Oliver going back inside, I followed the bus and told Lena to get off at the next stop. When the bus slowed, I pulled over and waited for it to get some way ahead before I pulled up next to her. She got in a buckled up and we carried on back to London, turning off the comms, seeing that we weren’t hearing anything. Lena took my phone and speed-dialled the Inspector to tell him that we were clear and away. He told her to bring the comms in on Monday. I looked over at her.
“Three races, did you do well?”
“Thirty-six thousand. That’s why it’s in the shopping bag. I really can’t believe that a bookie would just give away money like this. It’s crazy!”
“Think of the result at Epsom. If all the races are won by favourites, at two to one, a hundred becomes twenty-five thousand or more. If one or more are at longer odds, it will be a lot more. I estimated, from the amounts that were banked afterwards, that most of the victims had won between half a million to a million, unless there were two victims each time, then it would be between a quarter of a million to half a million. Remember, Joe will be taking bets from the internet as well, with punters putting thousands on horses that don’t get placed.”
“When I collected, Joe told me to arrive at his stall about twenty minutes before the first and that Oliver will help me carry my winnings, but not to go for them until fifteen minutes after the clear.”
I took Lena home and left her at the corner. We agreed for me to pick her up on Monday morning, after she had been to her bank, then I left to go home, wondering what I might be walking away with in early May. If the police weren’t now involved, we could both stay away from the Epsom meeting. I knew that I had to see it through.
A week or so later, the removalists turned up and put all my big things in their van. Lena had already opened the place up when we got there, now having a set of keys of her own. My things were carried up to the living area, with me there to point out where things went, and Lena down below to watch the van. We had everything in before ten and I paid the guys with cash and a tip. Tonight, I will be sleeping here, so I had better go and get my linen and suitcases.
It took three trips before I was happy to make up the bed. I had filled the wardrobe, with Lena making comments on my things, especially gushing over the Erminia dresses. I told her that once we had given her a make-over, I would take her to the Chelmsford store and buy her one of her own, so she could look good at Ascot.
“Not Ascot, Maxie. When we leave Epsom, I’m done with horse racing. Without Joe, I would have just lost all my money. It’s a mugs’ game, they say, but it helps when the mug is giving you money.”
“I think I’m with you on that one, Lena. I had never even thought of going to a racecourse, and I won’t lose any sleep if I never see one again.”
The next day I went back to the electrical store and paid for a fridge to be delivered an installed the following day. We finalised the office and flat during December. The security guys came, did their thing, and left us to it. I looked around and saw that it was nothing like the empty place that I had first fallen in love with. Lena and I went to see Janine at the Groovy Salon, with Lena walking out with her face made up and a wig on, looking more feminine. She had an appointment in January for laser treatment, something she could now afford.
We bought each other Christmas presents and booked for a Christmas dinner at Balans. The new business cards were printed, with the new landline, business address and post box details. We were ready to open for business on the first Monday in January. We were sitting with our after Christmas dinner drinks, when Lena told me that she wanted to be called Lena Tsarina, from now on. She certainly looked the name, that night, in a long dress, make-up and a cherry-red wig. We toasted each other and wished each other a Happy New Year.
In the first week of January, we spent a fortune on postage stamps, sending out an information letter on letterhead that Lena had designed, along with a few business cards. Then there was the emails to those that I just had the email addresses for. On the first Saturday, we both went to the Berwick Street market, handing out cards and saying that the office was only a few streets away. We gave Janine some cards on our first visit of the year. Oddly enough, it was her that gave us our first local job.
She gave us a call a few days later and asked us to pop into the Groovy Salon for a talk. She was frightened and it took her a while to be able to tell us what was her problem. She said that there were a couple of thugs wanting her to pay protection money. She had done so, before the holiday, but they had come again and told her that they wanted ten thousand or else they would fire-bomb the salon. She said that she had worked hard to build up the business and would lose the lot if she didn’t pay. She would have to lose the lot if she did pay, because she would have to sell to pay off the loan of the ten thousand.
I asked her when they were coming back, and arranged to be in the salon, in a working smock, when they arrived. They certainly looked scary when they walked in. She told them that she would have the money next week, as I had told her, and they seemed happy with that. As they turned to go, I was ‘accidentally’ in their way and stumbled into one. He grabbed me and gave me a wet kiss, before shoving me out of the way. They left the salon, one of them with a tracker I had slipped into the breast pocket of his jacket.
For the rest of that day, Lena and I tracked them from shop to shop, then to a café for lunch, and then to more shops. At some, they came out smiling, from others with frowns. We finally tracked them to a flat in the north-east of the city. At no time did they look like members of a bigger gang. I went to see a friend at the Soho station, showing him the pictures that we had taken and gave a verbal statement of what we had discovered. He made note of the tracker frequency, thanked me for the information. Two days later, the thugs were arrested coming out of a shop with marked money.
Janine and the locals were happy to have the problem removed. Some gave us loyalty cards to use when we shopped. Janine gave me much more. She showed me the rest of her salon. It went a long way back, with a door to another shop on Romily Street. I asked her if I could use the double access if I wanted to throw off a tail, and we put a locker right at the back, which I filled with outfits that I had picked up at the market.
We spent a lot of time in a gym that Lena knew. I was given exercises to do to limber me up and improve my speed. Then she showed me ways to disable an opponent. I learned how to break an arm or a leg, trying it out on pieces of wood until I could find the correct pressure points without thinking.
She then showed me how to get the drop on someone with a gun. The easiest, she drummed into me, is to drop him before he could pull the gun out. I worked with a punching bag, using straight-arm blows with the heel of the hand, and then with a bare fist, until I could do that without breaking my fingers. Then she trained me in overcoming a gunman with his gun in your back or side. All you had to do was lean back on him, spun around to move the gun to the side, and then hit him as hard as you can, hoping that he didn’t shoot you.
“Remember, Maxie. They don’t shoot the victim. They overpower them, probably with chloroform, so it’s likely that they will not take the safety off.”
We started getting the retail equivalent of the jobs I used to do. Instead of finding lost husbands, we were finding failed payers, using temporary cameras to film shoplifters, and sorting out disputes at the market, with Lena being listened to as one of their own. It was steady work and moved us towards May. If I needed to go anywhere, I called Hassam, and, early on, he took me to a friend of his that looked after his car, the guy giving me what I had paid for the Mercedes. It was a good job, as it was costing almost as much as the office to park it.
In the week before Ascot, I had a package from Dee, with an entry ticket and car pass for the meeting. There was also a list of likely horses. Both Lena and I went to Islington with Hassam, and he waited for us while we got the comms. I told them that I had an entry ticket, and that Lena didn’t. The Inspector got Lena to go down to the stores and get kitted out with a WPC outfit, complete with stab vest.
“Wait on the corner of Berwick Street and I’ll get the boys to pick you up on the way through. You can wander around and look like a normal copper.”
I had seen a nice outfit, suitable for early spring. It was a shirtwaister, with a flip skirt. I wore a long cardigan over it as it wasn’t the warmest day. Lower shoes and the blonde wig, combed to hide the earpiece, five hundred in my bag and I was ready to go. I waited by the door until Hassam picked me up. I had an extra undred, which I gave to him to be at the exit gate a half an hour after the last race. He would go for other customers during the day, but listen to the races on the radio, as he could pick up the track commentary within ten miles of the course.
The meeting was a lot more popular than the last one of the previous year. I didn’t enter the fashion stakes, but went directly to Joe, like a sucker that was hooked. Like Lena, he gave me a mystery bet, this time on the second, fourth and fifth. I took the ticket and wandered off, my earpiece telling me it had been recorded. I was standing at the rails as the horses were heading for the start, when a voice behind me gave me a fright,
“Excuse me, madam. You do know that you need a ticket to stand there.”
I looked around to see Lena in the full WPC outfit. I would never have clocked her as Len, of the colourful suits.
“I’ll come quietly, officer. I do bondage but I draw the line at being pummelled with your baton.”
She laughed and we had a short conversation until we were warned that Stan was coming my way. She moved on, and he joined me at the rails.
“Bit chummy with the fuzz, Debbie.”
“Why not, Stan. I have nothing on my conscience, except for a few bad boys that I shouldn’t have allowed to take liberties. What can I do for you?”
“Joe wants me to tell you that when you arrive at Epsom, you will need to see him five minutes before the first and be at his stand to collect your winnings immediately the clear is given on the last. There’s likely to be a crowd so I wants to make sure you’re all right. How are you getting there?”
“I’ll get an Uber there, and call for one on the way home, why?”
“We just like to make sure that you have secure transport, you might be carrying a lot of money when you leave.”
He walked away, and I heard Lena in my ear.
“That will space the two of us. They want you out of the way first, so that there are the two of them to look after me.”
I had a thought.
“Inspector, can you look at any CCTV from last year. It looks as if they will escort us off the course. There may be some vision from last year, within ten minutes of the last race.”
“I’ll look into it, Maxine. Good thinking. I’ll let you know what we find when you join us for a security inspection. I’ll text you with the pick-up times.”
A couple of minutes later, the Inspector spoke again.
“If we weren’t sure before, we now have certainty. Stan and Oliver have just talked about what they would do with you, Maxie, when they have you in the van. Stan said that it will be worth disobeying orders and dumping you in the quarry instead of over the cliff. He thinks that you would be a good lay.”
“There are some, Inspector, who would back him up on that. I don’t fancy him, though. It will be worth looking at the GPS records when we have them in custody. That is, if their van is new enough.”
“They got a new one two years ago, so last year’s trips should be able to be seen. I’ll get the techie boys onto that. There can’t be too many isolated quarries around.”
I wandered back towards the bookies, and saw that Dumluk was running in the third, with reasonable odds. I put a hundred each way, just for fun. I went up to the stands and sat for a while, watching the crowd. I could see the usual cross section of humanity, from the toffs to the have-nots, all wanting to make a few pounds more than they walked in with. Dumluk ran second, so I went down to get my winnings. It was just over seven hundred.
I had lost the need to bet on anything else. I now had a good bank account, the business had enough to pay the lease and outgoings for another couple of years. We weren’t going to invoice anybody for this job, but it will put us in the good books of several policemen, something money can’t buy. I went to the tearoom and got a pot of tea and some cake. Now, this was the one thing I would miss.
I noted that the winner of the second was just off being a favourite, and wondered what I may end up with. My hundred was now only five hundred. The winner of the fourth was at fifteen to one, so my hundred was now seven and a half thousand. I went back to sit in the stand to wait for the fifth. I had a sudden desire to be out of here and back in my office, helping people. I was really enjoying working with Lena. She now had a vitality that was refreshing if a little tiring.
When the fifth was won and the clear given, my hundred was now thirty thousand. I went down to see Joe, gave him my ticket and he gave me a shopping bag, identical to the one Lena had left with. I phoned Hassam to pick me up where he dropped me off, and he replied that he was ten minutes away. I stood by the side of the road.
“Inspector, are you still on the net?”
“Yes, Maxie. What is it?”
“Did you get a good picture of the bag I was given?”
“We did, why?”
“Because it’s identical to the one that Lena was given at her last meeting. It will pay to look for anyone carrying a bag like this, or two, from the end of last year at Epsom.”
“Thanks for that. We will have a good talk when we meet there. Have a nice trip home.”
Hassam arrived and I got in the car, smelling fresh kebabs. He took me back to Soho and dropped me off. I wasn’t in the mood for sit-down eating, tonight. I spent Sunday in a haze, not able to think very much. I had put the money in my wardrobe. I sat on the sofa, watching silly TV shows until I could take it no longer, the put on my exercise outfit and went for a walk to the Soho Square and ran the perimeter until I was tired. Then I went home again, undressed, showered, moisturised, and put on a nightie to get into bed, sleeping the clock around.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 7
I woke with an insistent bladder on Monday morning. I felt a lot better and hummed a bit as I showered and dressed. I ate well and went down to the office to see if we had any new emails. Then went to open up the street door for Lena. When she came in, she put a large bag on my desk.
“That’s your outfit for when we go to Epsom on Thursday. They had your sizes still on file.”
I looked in the bag and saw a WPC uniform, identical to hers, except in one detail. Mine had a sergeants’ stripes.
“The Inspector thought that you deserved to go up in the world, even if it is for one day. He is a lovely man, and we had a good talk in the car coming back. He’ll be playing the recording of Stan and Oliver to the AC, so that the operation can have some armed police on hand now that it’s been confirmed that they’re serial killers and packing weapons.”
I took the bag up to my quarters. Before I came down, she called up to me to bring my coat, as it was a cool morning, and we were going shopping. Intrigued, I put in my fleecy hoodie and went down. We locked up and she let me back towards Berwick Street.
“I noticed the Bangle Man was set up this morning. We need to get you some rings. A good set of rings can double as a knuckle duster, and it looks like we’ll need to take every precaution at Epsom.”
At the market, the stall was weighed down with gold rings and bangles at brass prices. Lena spoke to the man about any he might have that were gold plated steel, and he pointed to a section that were a bit dearer. We tried some on. Lena, who would be going to Epsom as a foppish Len, had four, one for each forefinger and one for each ring finger. I needed six, including the middle finger. We then went to the gym, where I was at the punching bag, hitting it with both hands adorned with the rings. When she was happy with me, we went back to the office.
For the rest of the day, and through to Wednesday afternoon, we worked on a shoplifting problem that had broken out along the Berwick Street market. It looked as if it was random and opportunistic, and we had set up cameras the week before. Lena had changed the chips before she came into the office on Monday, and we spent our time working through the footage. It was tedious work, but we finally tracked the person doing the stealing. It was an old bag-lady, who would shuffle along the street every day, from wherever she had dossed down. We would take it to the stallholders on Friday, to see what they wanted to do.
On Thursday morning, I was standing outside the office in my police uniform when a minibus pulled up and I joined Lena with the rest of the team. On the way to Epsom, the Inspector took the chance to give everyone an up-to-date briefing based on what was heard on Saturday. New to me was that they now had CCTV vision from last year, showing Stan leading a woman, now identified as the last victim, towards the exit gate. He then told us that Oliver had followed, ten minutes later, leading a man. Both punters were carrying shopping bags the same as the ones we had been given.
We met up with a team from the Epsom station and spent most of the day checking out the security to hide our true intent. The sergeant joined Lena and I as we followed the route that the victims had taken. I stood at the roadside and looked around.
“We know that the victims were led by the boys, so they must have had a good reason to come this way. Guns wouldn’t have been pulled, so they must have told them that they had pistols and weren’t afraid to use them and told them what to do.”
“What about those buildings, over the road?’
Lena strode across the road, and we followed her. There was a path which led to the entrance of a stable complex, now empty. The sergeant was puzzled.
“Surely this would be a hive of activity on race day?’
“Not after the last race. The horses are taken away after they’ve finished, and the only ones left would be the ones in the final event. They would still be over the road, being settled and hosed down before coming here. If Stan had his van just inside, the woman could be subdued quickly, and he would wait for Oliver to come around the corner with the man. They would be in the van before the horses were brought in.”
We went back to the rest of them and joined the security inspection. On the way back to London, the sergeant suggested that they have a drone up to watch the inside of the stable area. The van had to be put into position sometime during the afternoon. The Inspector told us that the bookie site the Joe usually used had been identified, and that the system they had used at Ascot was now in place. When I got out, with Lena, at Berwick Street, we were told to keep the uniforms, as they may come in handy for the detective work.
When I walked back towards the office, I smiled at the people now starting to crowd into Soho. It took my mind back to when I was in uniform, full of the desire to help people and right wrongs. I realised that I still had that desire and knew what it was that drove my father to take risks in doing his job. I could now understand my mother, who never had to put her life on the line.
On the Friday, we took our findings to the market management and left it to them. Most of them knew what it had been like scraping for a pound, and we left after they had decided to waylay the bag lady and offer her shared accommodation and a steady job helping on a stall.
We had two weeks before the final act, and spent it, and some money, looking at pant suits. Lena was now wearing long skirts as a matter of course, and we had a nice time looking through racks and trying things on. We both could afford to go high fashion, as I thought that Joe and the boys would expect us to be hooked on spending by now. I chose a pink outfit, with a silk blouse and flowery hat. Lena went for a bright green with a black blouse and scarf to use as a cravat.
She had the shoes that she had worn with the red suit, and I went for low heeled pink boots. On the Thursday before the meeting, we spent a few hours with Janine and her crew, with me getting totally glammed up and silky smooth. Lena was smoothed as well. We didn’t have anything done to our hair as Lena would be natural as Len, while I would have the blonde wig. On Friday, Hassam took us to Islington to get our comms and a final briefing.
On the day of the meeting, Hassam drove us to the track. I gave him his money and told him that we would likely get a lift back home. He knew that something was going on but didn’t know any details.
We got out of the car behind the stands and turned our comms on.
“Testing, testing. The fatted calves have arrived.”
“Welcome to the show. The techies have a camera and microphone on the bookie area and Joe is set up. They have been talking about what they were going to spend their money on, next week. They’ve hung themselves with all the detail they’re giving us. Let us know when you are in front of the stand so we can pick you up.”
I was to front up to Joe first, so Lena stood, fiddling with her phone, while I walked to the entrance, paying for my ticket, and onto the course. With the time we had spent here already, I could find the way around. At the front of the stand, I stopped.
“Maxie in pink, do you see me?”
“We see you, Maxie. Hubba, Hubba.”
“Down boys, we’re here to work.”
I wandered around until it was time for the horses in the first to be brought from the stables, then went to find Joe. He was in a good mood and took my hundred on his mystery accumulator, giving me a gold ticket. I took that and went off to the restaurant, to order a very expensive lunch. I sat there until the third race, when I moved to the stand.
I was giving my locations as I moved, and I heard Lena do the same. I suppose that she had learned all the tricks while on deployment. We stayed well away from each other, but we could have sat together. Stan and Oliver only left the bookie stand to fetch or deliver cash, until the horses in the last race were coming from the stables. Then Stan left them, and I heard the reports from the drone operator that he had gone to his van and driven it to the stable, immediately to the right of the vehicle entrance, and backed it up, leaving it with the back doors ajar.
When he was safely back on track, I heard the report from the armed officers that two of them had gone to the van, found a bottle of chloroform and a rag. They were now hidden in the stable and waiting for me to arrive.
I sat in the stand and started moving as the horses approached the finishing post. I was ten yards from Joe when the clear was called. I went up to him with my gold card.
“You’ll be the death of me, missy. Here’s your winnings.”
He gave me two paper shopping bags, with the weight about equal.
“How are you getting home, luv?”
“I’ll call an Uber when I’m outside.”
“Stan will escort you out. Stan! Help the lady. Bye luv.”
I started towards the door, following Stan. Outside of the course, he came and stood beside me.
“Cross the road, Debbie, and go left along that path. There’s a place where you can picked up without waiting out in the open.”
I crossed the road and when we got close to the stables entry, he spoke roughly.
“All right, bitch! I have a gun in my pocket and I’m not afraid to use it. Go in and turn right, I’ll be right behind you.”
I hesitated and then went as directed. As we turned right, I saw the van and hesitated to let him catch up. I dropped the bags and executed a spin to my left with my right fist aiming for his head. I saw how well the rings worked as his cheek caved in and his eyes rolled up in his head. He dropped like a tree. A low voice behind me spoke.
“Remind me never to make you mad, Maxie. Come on, help us drag him into the stable.”
We pulled him out of sight and the officer called for a paramedic to attend on his call. I retrieved my two bags and then we then stood and waited for Lena to arrive with Oliver in tow. When they turned the corner, Oliver had a big gun in his hand so got tasered, dropping to the ground in agony. The officer spoke into his microphone.
“Two down. Paramedic needed for one.”
Lena and I hugged in relief. She looked at Stan as the paramedic worked on his face.
“Looks like you learned your lessons well, Maxie.”
The inspector told us to sit in one of the police cars that were now crowding this part of the stable complex. We took our money and went and sat in the back seat as the forensic boys brought in a tray top to take away the van. Stan and Oliver were put into separate cars and were taken away.
We had to sit there until Joe had pulled down his stall and then he was arrested. The Inspector came on the radio.
“Operation complete. A good job, lads, and lasses. Maxie, the driver will take you home. There will be a debrief at the Yard on Tuesday afternoon, I’ll text the time. The AC has been advised of the success and wants to waft his praise over the masses. I’ll see you then. You can leave your comms with your driver.”
We were taken into London, our driver keen to talk about the day. We talked but I was just thinking of a long bath. He stopped outside the office, and I gave Lena a hug.
“See you Monday, Lena. I think we deserve a week off.”
“I’ll see you then, Maxie. This has been more than I expected when I first got given that tip. We’ll talk Monday. There’s something I want to ask you, then.”
I opened the door, taking my two shopping bags with me. I locked the door and put the bar across it. Upstairs I undressed completely and poured a bath, into which I submerged my body for nearly an hour. After I dried, I put on a nightie and gown, and went to make myself a pot of tea. As I drank the tea, I counted the money. The first bag yielded two hundred and sixty thousand. My hands were shaking when I worked on the second bag, which had exactly the same amount. I was sitting here with five hundred and twenty thousand pounds!
At no time did anyone take any notice of the bags. As far as the team was concerned, it was just part of the operation, with video taken of Joe handing us the bags. I had been told that whatever we won was ours, but this was well over the top. I got my mobile and rang Lena.
“Lena, it’s Maxie. Have you counted it?”
“Did that after I took off the glad rags, luv. I’m still trying to take it in. It makes what I want to talk to you about more important. What say we meet a Balans for lunch tomorrow, my treat. See you about noon, OK?”
I agreed and put the money in the bags again, going to the wardrobe and adding the bundles I already had there. Then I nuked an easy meal and sat to watch the evening news. There wasn’t a word about anything happening at the Epsom races. It looked like everything went down without anyone noticing.
When I got up on Sunday, I had a light breakfast and dressed neatly. I met Lena at Balans, and we ate well, without mentioning the operation, just agreeing that neither of us were interested in attending another race meeting. We were sitting with coffee and cake when she spoke about what she wanted to ask me.
“Maxie, what do you think the office and living quarters are worth?”
“About eight hundred thousand, I expect. There’s not a lot of square meters, and there’s no parking. Why?”
“Because we have enough to put in half each and own it. I’m happy to stay living where I am now. It will mean that the business won’t have to pay the lease, just the outgoings, rates, and taxes. You’ll feel safer if there’s no sword hanging over you, and it will give me something to live for. We can split the profits after taxes. We don’t need to agree to anything, I’m just asking you to consider it. I don’t want to stomp on your plans, but it’s one way forward.”
“I think it has merit, Lena. It’s just a shock that you want to tie yourself down like that.”
“If the future is as interesting as the last six months, I won’t be tied down. This sleuthing game is fascinating if a bit dangerous. It’s the danger that I miss, as long as I can lie in my own bed at night.”
“We’ll go and talk to Abdul on Monday. He might be happy to do a deal for cash, and cash is what we have. Then I want to go to a proper jeweller and swap those steel rings for real gold. I want to have them on hand should I need to lay a man out again. I can feel a bruise coming up on my knuckles, I didn’t hold back when I hit him.”
“That shows that you took in the lessons. It’s no good being picky when your life is on the line. Tell me, why didn’t you wait for the armed boys to take him?”
I giggled.
“I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to release my tension that has held me for so long. Maybe it was for all the others that they had killed. Maybe I’m just violent, I don’t know.”
We walked up to the Soho Square and back to the office, talking about what we would do to the place if we owned it. Lena thought another split system on the roof, with an outlet in the office area, would be good. I thought a CCTV covering the front door and stairs would improve our security. I asked her about her flat and she said that when we talk to Abdul, she would ask if he had anything nearby that she could move into.
Going back towards the office, we stopped off at Canwood for coffee and cake. Relaxed in each other’s company. I said that if we co-owned the premises, we would need to have a contract written up to become business partners. I asked her what she wanted to be known as.
“I don’t intend to try to be a woman. I’ll keep my bits and still be Leonard Sergeant. I might wear a dress all the time but I’m not out to attract a man. Who knows, there may be a woman out there who will fancy a guy in a dress. With the sorts of things we’ve been involved in, it’s quite likely that one will turn up. I mean to say, if we can find a bookie who gives money away, anything is possible.
On Monday, we met and went to see Abdul. When we asked him what he would want for he office, if we paid cash. He surprised us by asking seven hundred thousand, as long as he could keep the remainder of the bond and lease money. We shook hands on it and promised to bring him the cash when he had the paperwork ready. He did have a property that was empty, the lease being a bit steep for the area at a thousand a month, with a couple of thousand off if paid yearly.
He gave us the address and the keys. It was very much like the office property, two floors above the Lipsync offices along Dean Street, with the lower floor for living and cooking, and the upper floor with two bedrooms, a bathroom, separate toilet, and a laundry / storage room. It already had split systems for both floors and was ready to move into. I loved it, as did Lena.
We went back to Abdul, and she told him she would take it. I asked him about a lawyer to write up partnership papers for Max Force. He said that he would give me a call when everything was ready.
We went to Little Italy for dinner, and hugged when we went our separate ways to find our beds. It was a massive day for both of us.
On Tuesday afternoon, Hassam took us to the Yard. There were smiles all round when we were shown into a conference room. The AC, the Chief Supers from the Islington and the Epsom stations were there, along with the whole team that were in the operation at the course. The AC took the lead, heaping praise on everyone who took part, telling them all that there would be commendations on their service records.
Then, I found out that the GPS on the van had been interrogated, with the trip to the cliffs last year clearly showing, along with another trip which turned out to be a forgotten quarry that everyone used as a tip. They had found three male bodies in the tip, so far, and were continuing to dig. This meant that there was compelling evidence of the pair murdering four women and three men, with who knew how many more men to be found.
The van had DNA traces of the last woman, and one of the men. Work was continuing to identify the new bodies, and the media would be brought in when the cases were watertight. I was told that Oliver refused to talk, and Stan couldn’t, because his jaw was wired. He was, however, happy to write his confession, laying all the blame on Oliver and Joe. Joe would be charged with conspiracy to murder, as well as tax fraud. He wouldn’t be at any races for a very long time.
We were told that we would be noted as members of the public who alerted the police. We wouldn’t be named in the official reports, but that our involvement and support was greatly appreciated, especially as we were both in line for being the next victims, and that we knew that and still carried on. The AC asked us to remain when he ended the meeting. When the others had left, he presented us each with a small case, containing the Police Medal for Bravery.
“This is the least we can give you two. It would never have been possible without you. This is very much on the hush hush. Leonard, you can hide this with the other medals that you weren’t supposed to have earned. Maxine, this is one you can have close, to honour you as well as bringing you closer to your father. It was sad that he had to die to get his.”
On the way out, that was ringing out in my head. I knew that my father had a police funeral, but never knew that he had a bravery medal. Mother had kept that one quiet.
Over the next few weeks, we signed the partnership papers, and each paid our half of the office payment, getting the official paperwork. Not only did I have an office in Soho, but my half, the upstairs, was all mine!
We made the changes to the office that we had spoken about, also going to a proper furniture store, and buying two comfortable office chairs to replace the flatpack ones, which went into the corner of the reception, near the window. It didn’t take long to move Lena into her new home, as she didn’t have a lot, other than clothes, to move. It took a lot longer to browse furniture shops and for her to pick what she wanted.
During that time, we worked when we had work, but didn’t stress on it. When the case hit the papers, it was front page news. They had found five bodies in the tip and had the DNA proof of two confirmed that were in the van. The previous van was traced to a wrecking yard, where it was removed and tested, finding traces of six others that matched DNA from six other bodies. That had the pair charged with eight murders. When the details of their methods were made public, there was many letters to the paper and posts on social media wondering where you can find a bookie who gives money away.
Lena and I stayed quiet. We knew that finding a bookie like that ended in death. Two days after the news broke, I got a call from David to go and see him in his office. He congratulated me on finding the criminals and taking it to the police. He had no idea that I had been in at the final act. He invited me to a small dinner at his place, asking if I still had the gate opener. I said I would be happy and asked if my business partner could come as well, as she had been part of the investigations.
We glammed up for a Sunday evening dinner, hired a Jaguar for the occasion, and attended the dinner. It was just the two of us, the two of them, and the Board of Governors from Ascot. We were feted for removing a cancer from the bookie area, and for it to be done without any mud thrown at both Ascot and Epsom. They gave me a cheque for ten thousand pounds, which I said would be paid into the business as payment for time spent over the six months that the case took. We had a nice meal, where they couldn’t quite get their heads around Lena looking like a fashion plate and talking with the voice of a boxer. At the end of the evening, we all shook hands and Dee asked me to put the gate opener in the box as we left, if I didn’t need it anymore.
On the drive back to London, Lena was behind the wheel and quiet for a while. Then she laughed.
“Don’t know about you, Maxie, luv. We just had a dinner with wall-to-wall toffs, and not one of them would unbend enough to give us a hug. Bloody upper crust. They’re like the Ruperts in the Regiment. All gung-ho and waiting for the battle to be over while they swigged their chardonnay. I can do without them!”
Marianne Gregory © 2024