Текст книги "The Electrician's Code: An Evans and Blackwell Mystery"

Автор книги: Clarissa Draper

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Chapter Forty

Around 10:30, Theo and Dorland finally returned to the incident room. Although it was late, his team was still there, arranging desks, computers, and papers. He went to the board and scanned the photos of the crime scene.

His last murder inquiry didn’t turn out well, and the powers that be insisted he move on. There was no end to the grief he received. Thank God none of Tipring’s family bothered to enquire about the case. It was sad. As far as the world was concerned, Doc left the world and no one paid any attention. Sharon wouldn’t end up that way, would she?

He wouldn’t end up that way, would he?

“Karen,” he yelled to one of the aides, “remind me tomorrow to send flowers to my wife.” Karen nodded. Theo didn’t explain and walked into his office and shut the door. Almost as soon as he was seated, there was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” Theo yelled.

“Gov,” Dorland poked his head in. “Got CCTV footage.”

“Good, get a team started on it.”

“What are we looking for?”

“The killer. Dorland, I don’t know. Someone coming or going about three. Perhaps entering the car park at that time. Do we have other camera angles?”

“Yes, we have a few different ones from the garden around the building. We should find something.”

An hour later, Theo had read through all the case notes and interview statements he had so far. He stepped out of the office and into the main incident room. Most of the staff had left for the night, Dorland sat watching footage in the corner, laughing and munching on crisps.

“What’s so funny?” Theo asked. “Have you found anything?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a mess. As you can see, the footage is horrible. All nineteen cameras are stored on this hard disk and as far as I can tell, the footage is separate but we don’t know what camera faces where. The landlord told us that his nephew set up the system for the buildings and to save time, just stored all the data in one place. However, it’s hard to decipher. The landlord said it was the first time anyone asked for the footage.”

“So we have nothing from it at all?”

“Well, not nothing. Can’t really make out anything from this scene. The camera is working but it’s not focused correctly, so the footage is all blurry. The camera pointing to the car park is so high, I can’t even read the registration plates unless they are facing one particular direction and I can barely make out the make or models. It took me a long time to figure out what camera file came from the foyer of which building.”

“So how did you figure it out?”

“I just started watching the first, and fortunately I came across the victim entering her building. The date and time are stamped on the bottom or I would really be lost. So, round three o’clock I counted a hundred and fifty-two coming and going but can’t make out some of their faces. I’m having a look now at the other angles, but really I’m not hopeful they will turn up anything either. So far the cameras face every direction but the right one. One of the cameras was facing a tree. Unless our killer is an out-of-control robin, nothing of use is on it.”

“What about CCTV footage from the street? Perhaps we can see more.”

“We’ve sent for it. There is a camera leading to the block of flats.”

“I’ve read through the house-to-house statements and they’re useless. Most say all they can remember were children coming and going. Noise in the halls. One person remembers a man delivering take-away and another receiving a package but neither could confirm the time or remember what the people looked like.”

“Looks like we could have another Tipring on our hands.”

Theo went over to the board and looked at the photo of Sharon Yoder lying prone in her entranceway. “Dorland, come look at this.”

With an eager hop, Dorland moved to the board.

“What do you notice about this photo?” asked Theo.

Dorland stepped closer and peered at it.

“It reminds me of the last case we worked on, the Tipring case,” Theo said.

“Well,” said Dorland, “I started running information through Holmes and I found something interesting about one of the tenants—a Mr. Frank Mitchell.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, apparently he’s got some suspected ties with organized crime. He’s been arrested three times for running illegal gambling establishments in London. Each time, he’s been let go without charge.”

Theo grabbed the papers and started looking through them. “He’s even been suspected of murder . . . and a stabbing death at that. Shit, I’m never going to hear the end of it. The man didn’t have an alibi and he didn’t even seem to care. Cocky bastard. Have one of the officers bring him in. If he’s still there. Give me a few minutes and we’ll go back to the building. Ugh, and I gave him her bloody fish.” Theo went to his office and slammed the door.

A few minutes later, Dorland knocked on his door.

“What?” Theo asked.

“The officers there say he’s not answering their knocks. You may be right, he stayed until he knew the officers weren’t going to stop him and he snuck away.”

“Shit.” Theo stood up, grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, and walked from his office. “We need to search his flat.” Theo picked up the phone and started dialing.

“Gov,” said Dorland. “Gov—”

“What!”

“Look who just arrived.”

Theo turned around and standing with one of the officers was Frank Mitchell.

Chapter Forty-One

Frank sat across from the two officers at a table in one of the interview rooms.

“I thought I would save you the trip over. In reality, I should have told you about my background when you came to my flat the first time. It’s just I’m trying to put that all behind me, that life. That was another time.” He leaned back in his chair. “Can I smoke in here?”

“No.”

“Hmm,” he replied. He pushed his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out chewing tobacco. He stuffed a few fingers-full in his mouth and then he said between chews, “I know it looks bad on me but I’m not lying. I had absolutely nothing to do with this. That part of my life is over. And Sharon is as far from that life as could be. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

“So you have no idea who could do this to her?”

“No.”

“We have heard that there have been a string of petty thefts in the buildings. And—”

“They also had nothing to do with me.”

“I’m not accusing you, but perhaps you heard something. Maybe you—”

“No.” He leaned forward. “Listen, Detective Inspector—”

“Detective Chief Inspector Blackwell.”

“All right, DCI Blackwell, I know what I’ve done. Also, I know what I’ve been accused of doing. And I’ve never been charged nor convicted of anything. You have nothing on me, so I really wouldn’t waste your time. Now, you may not be interested in my opinion but I don’t think you’re looking for those little punks who are stealing from the flats.”

“What do you know about the break-ins?”

“I think they’re a few stupid kids with too much time on their hands and no parental supervision.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“I don’t know their names. But you’ll find them. Just watch all the footage you received. You did receive the shitty footage, didn’t you?”

Theo put his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes for a moment before replying, “What did you come in for? You didn’t trek through the cold to come and convince me not to take you in.”

Frank laughed and then nodded. “A bloke can’t do a nice thing once and a while? I babysit her damn fish. Perhaps I’m just a super nice guy. And perhaps she was like a bloody daughter to me, did you ever think of that?” He slammed his fist on the table. “She didn’t have family you know.” He waved his arm to silence them. “No, I mean, she didn’t have family to talk to because they shunned her. So she came to talk with me, not so much these days but she did. I want you to find out who did this to her because she didn’t deserve it.”

“Was she seeing anyone? We found a photo in her flat.”

“Yeah. Oh, what was his name?” He scratched his head. “An older bloke. Married, I think. Though he took off the ring when he was around her, you could still see the impression. I don’t know what she saw in him but she was happy.” He shrugged. “And she deserved to be happy.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this when we came to you before?”

“Well, honestly, I didn’t think of him. He wouldn’t have done this.”

“How do you know?”

“Not the sort.”

“What sort was he?”

“Look, I’ve known killers and he wasn’t one of them.”

“Maybe she threatened to tell his wife.”

He waved it off. “Wasn’t him. You’ll find the killer on the tapes, but it wasn’t him.”

“Still can’t think of the name?”

“I want to say Brandon, but that wasn’t it. Only heard the first name once. She never spoke of him to me. I was coming home one afternoon and he stood in the foyer, he spoke into the intercom to her and said whatever his name was.”

“What about Walter?”

“Oh, that does ring a bell. I can’t be sure that’s him, but I do remember a Walter.”

“So you don’t know where we can find him?”

“I don’t know, but if she had any enemies he would be the one to know about it. Perhaps his wife found out about the affair.”

Chapter Forty-Two

The yacht was at least seventy feet long. Theo stared at the address in his hand and back at the boat in front of him. Brian had asked him to meet him here. Theo walked up the plank slowly, looking into the boat for any sign of Brian. The boat just rocked quietly in the waves.

“Brian?”

Still no sound.

Suddenly a man peeked his head out from below. He was wearing a dress shirt and tie, which was loose around his neck.

“Are you the detective?” the man asked. “I’m Brian.” He came forward with his hand out. “Come down, I still have some work to do.”

Theo smiled at him. What a difference in personalities between the father and son. Below deck, the ship was five star. Plush carpets, high-end electronics surrounded him. Theo had never seen luxury like this before, especially in a boat.

Brian led him to an office at the front of the boat and crawled under a large mahogany desk. He yelled to Theo, “Look, can you pull this cord over the top of the desk?” Theo reached behind and when he saw the cord end, grabbed it.

“Thanks so much. I have to get this system installed by the end of the day and I’m running behind.”

“This is not your boat?”

“Oh lord no, don’t I wish. I’ve been working here for the last week installing the security system and various other computer related things.” He screwed the wire into the back of a monitor sitting on the desk. “So, what can I help you with, Inspector?”

Theo motioned him to the brown leather sofa and they sat down. “It’s about your sister, Sharon.”

“Oh?”

“I’m afraid she was found murdered in her flat yesterday.”

He sat there silently. “Who did it?”

“I’m afraid we don’t know yet. I was actually hoping you could help us out in our enquiries. Do you know anyone who would want to kill her? Your parents informed us she had a drinking problem.”

Brian let out a weak laugh and shook his head. “That’s a bloody joke. Drinking problem? No, she didn’t have a drinking problem. She rarely drank. My parents—and I use that term loosely—wouldn’t know.” He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “My sister was the most innocent person that lived and didn’t deserve the parents she was given. Who would want her dead? I don’t think any person that truly knew her could hate her.”

“When your sister moved out of her parent’s home, did she come stay with you?”

“Yes. I was already on my own by then, I left at fifteen. My parents are strict Christians and everything was a rule. Rules abounded in our house, love didn’t. I stayed with friends. Actually, it was more like hiding with friends whose parents didn’t know I lived there, which wasn’t really that difficult. Most parents don’t pay any attention to their children whatsoever. My parents, you couldn’t put anything past them. They were on us about everything. My sister and I lost contact after I left. I was actually surprised when she showed up at my door one day. By then I had a flat of my own and I was working with computers to pay my way through uni.”

“Do you know any of her friends?”

“I didn’t really. My friends were her friends. You see, it was a bit awkward for us in school. Even in uniform, you know how most teenagers are, you can tell the cool ones from the uncool. My parents made sure we stayed uncool. Beyond uncool. Friends were really restricted. My parents thought all kids were from the devil. Well, you can see how that would be. She was really shy. Slowly she began to change. By the time she moved out, she had her confidence back.”

“Her neighbors mentioned they’ve seen her with a man, an older man. Do you know if she has been seeing anyone?”

“Well, she’s dated men in the past so she may be in a relationship. We learned as children to be tight-lipped about our feelings and our personal lives, so she never went on about the men she saw at all.” He sat back. “I wish I could tell you more because she was the closest thing I had to family in the world and I lost contact. I should have spoken with her more often.”

“Do you know what she did for work?”

“Yes, that I know. She worked in insurance for a company called Legal Direct Financial Planning, or LDFP, she called it for short. Try there, they’ll know more. Can I show you something?”

He reached in the back pocket of his trousers and pulled out his wallet. From inside he produced a photo. “This is Sharon and I when we were younger. I believe I was eight and she was three—we had five years between us. Look at the smile on her face.”

“It looked like she loved you a lot. She’s clinging to your left arm.”

“At that age, we worshipped the ground our parents walked on. Now, when raising my little boy I always ask ‘what would my parents do,’ and do the opposite.” Brian stared at the photo. Theo could tell he was trying to hold himself together.

“I know this may seem like a difficult thing to do, but would you be willing to come in and formally identify the body?”

He looked up at Theo. “Yes, I would. This job can wait.” He stood up, ready to go. “What happened to her? How was she murdered?”

“Someone stabbed her.”

“Did she suffer?”

“I don’t think so, death would have been quick.”

Brian stroked the hair of his sister in the photo.

Theo brought Brian back to the medical examiner’s office after assuring the body was available for viewing. Brian kept hesitating, not wanting to see the body. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned to Theo. “She looks like she’s just sleeping right?”

“Many think that. You’ll be okay. A lot of people say it gives them closure.”

When the sheet was finally lifted off her face, he stared at her. Not moving, not blinking. Sharon looked very pale and although she lay there with her eyes closed, Theo didn’t think she looked like she was sleeping. She looked dead. All the bodies he had ever seen looked dead.

“She’s not there anymore,” Brian finally uttered.

Theo turned to him. “What? It’s not your sister?”

“No, it’s the body of my sister, but she’s not there anymore. I suppose she’s gone to heaven.” He chuckled. “My parents might disagree. They probably feel she deserves to go to hell, but she looks so peaceful. Like all the anger has gone, all the stress, the worry. That’s heaven, I guess. No, I’m glad I’ve come.” He turned away from her. “I hope you catch the man that did this.”

“Why do you say a man did this?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Was it a woman?”

“We don’t know.”

“Well, I hope you catch whomever did this.”

Brian followed Theo from the room and Theo asked one of the officers to take him home. As Brian was walking out the door, he turned and said, “She really did look lovely; she looked at peace. I think that helps a lot, when you see them like that, you know.”

“I will work as hard as I can to find your sister’s killer.”

“I know.” He walked away silently.

Theo watched him go.

Chapter Forty-Three

Sophia arrived at Crystal’s flat. The tiny flat had only one room, a kitchen, and a bath. Sophia pressed the bell. She heard nothing but knew the button didn’t release a sound but a blinding light. From inside, she heard a chair scrape across the floor and feet shuffle toward the door.

“You’re early,” she signed as she looked at her watch. She tapped the face of it. “Is this really the hour?”

“You do remember asking me to come?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As Crystal replied, her cat ran between her feet and out of the flat. Sophia made a feeble attempt at catching it, but the gray and white creature scurried down the hall and up the stairs at the end. Just what she needed, to chase something for the next hour.

Crystal tapped her shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s gone to an old lady’s flat upstairs. She has three other cats and lots of catnip toys. The cat will return in about an hour. Hell, if it pees up there, less for me to clean down here. Come in but watch the wires.”

Crystal took the bottle of gin her friend was holding and motioned her inside with it. When Sophia entered the flat, it smelled horrendous: cat litter and moldy bread. The living area held Crystal’s bed, but Sophia couldn’t see it under cables and wires and opened books on programming. Across the length of the room, two cables at knee height connected computers sitting on either side. The cheap framed prints from the local IKEA were actually guides for wires leading to shelves that sat near the ceiling.

While Crystal sat back down at her computer, Sophia entered the kitchen and opened the window. When was the last time she cleaned? A large bin of garbage sat full of paper plates and disposable cups and cutlery. She found the smell of mold sitting on the worktop—what used to be bread could now be turned into penicillin.

Crystal came and stood behind her.

Sophia picked up the bagged bread very carefully and signed garbage.

“Oh yeah,” Crystal signed back.“Sorry, meant to clean before you arrived but got distracted by a new algorithm. I’ll have to show you, it’ll blow your mind.”

Sophia nodded. She threw the bread into the bin and whatever other trash was left on the worktop and tied up the bag. Crystal had reached under the sink for a new bag. “Place it in the bin while I get rid of this.”

While Crystal removed the smell from her flat, Sophia wiped down the rest of the kitchen. Inside the cupboards were only disposable items. The only metal thing Sophia found was a corkscrew and a spatula.

“You alone, my friend, are the reason we have no ozone layer,” Sophia said when her friend had returned.

“But I save water.”

Sophia laughed. “I’m so hungry. What did you have in mind for dinner?”

“Ah, well, I’m not a complete failure as a host. Dinner is almost ready.” She opened the fridge and pulled out cardboard containers from the nearby deli. She lit the oven and threw two pieces of pre-made Chicken Cordon Bleu and a few chips onto a disposable baking dish. Again she went to the fridge and took out a bottle of tonic water. “Gin and tonic to start? Oh, and crisps.”

With drinks in hand, Crystal led her guest into the other room and dropped the cups onto what small space she had available beside a pile of used hard disks. “What did you do today? You didn’t go into work, did you?”

“I did, for about an hour. Then some friends of my father rang me to see a house. I’ve already shown them the same house multiple times. I have never met more indecisive people. I think I’m going to take my business cards away from my father. I swear, if they don’t buy the house, I’m going to . . . the man counted all the lights in the house so that he could estimate the electricity charge. Wait until he receives his council tax bills. Well, the good news is, if they do buy the house, it will be a nice paycheck at just the right time.”

“Why are you still showing houses? Are you short of money?” Sophia didn’t talk about her other line of work much. Mostly because she didn’t sell many houses. It was a cover. A way to keep from her friends and family what she really did for work. She received her qualifications to become an estate agent relatively easily, and only needed to attend a few conferences and meetings a year. Her father’s wealthy friends, with a constant desire to upgrade, provided her with an income higher than her government salary per year.

“No, it’s not that. I was thinking of taking a holiday.”

“Oh, where?”

“To see my mum.”

“Is she still in Canada?”

“Yeah, and recently my aunt wrote me an email and said my mum’s not doing as well as she was. I’ve been neglecting her and I think it’s time I made a trip.” Sophia put her face into her hands. “I don’t want to go, but I suppose I’m obligated in some way. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just drink instead.”

“Is Liam assigning you more cases?”

“No, that’s the odd thing. He’s been staying away, as far as he can. He doesn’t act angry at me, he doesn’t act like I’m a concern of his at all. It sort of hurts.” She leaned forward. “But don’t tell him I said that.”

“Me, tell him? That’s not going to happen.” Suddenly, her head popped up. “I smell burning. Do you smell burning?” She rose and went to the oven. She threw her hands up in the air. Reaching in, she pulled out a disposable plate that had managed to stick itself to the bottom of the metal pan before being placed in the oven. It sagged and dripped down between the grill. With a spatula, Crystal scrapped the black chemical goo from the bottom of the oven. “What a stink. Should I throw the whole thing away?”

“No! Just keep cooking it. You took out most of it, it should be fine.”

The fire alarm went off and the light in the room was blinking and blinding. Sophia grabbed a hand towel and waved it at the alarm in the ceiling. Crystal precariously crossed the wires and opened the living room windows. “It’s so bloody cold today.”

Eventually the lights and noise stopped.

“You have a microwave, perhaps we should use it.”

Fifteen minutes later, dinner was ready and they sat down to eat. Crystal said a quick prayer to herself before she ate. Sophia always felt guilty that she didn’t thank God for the burned, chemically infused food so she hoped that Crystal said that prayer for her too.

Halfway through eating, Sophia looked up her friend and asked, “Have you ever been to an auction before?”

“No, why?”

“Remember the artwork that the one-legged man created? The rest of those pieces are coming up for auction soon and I may go pick one up.”

“Really? They’re hideous to look at.”

“Yeah, but I can’t get them out of my mind. They speak to me. I don’t know how but they do. Whatever it is that Doc found interesting about it, I might see.”

“I think you’re going blind, my friend.”

“Perhaps.” She shrugged. “The offer stands, if you want to attend with me. I’d love it.”