The Fourth Cart

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lunch for Magee was a hastily grabbed sandwich and a packet of crisps from the staff canteen, eaten in his office. Even after a messy dissection, he wasn’t too sure whether the sandwich contained meat or fish. At least the flavour of the crisps was clear from the label, for the taste certainly gave no clue.

  He poked his head out of his office door, caught Melissa’s attention at the other end of the office, nodded and made a “T” sign with two fingers. He then sat down and tapped a file with a pencil, his mind deep in thought.

  ‘There you go,’ Melissa said, putting a cup of tea down on Magee’s desk. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  Magee gave Melissa a bewildered look. ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Whatever’s bugging you?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say it’s bugging me.’

  Melissa returned a smile. ‘You’re like a dog with a bone at times, sir. You’ve got that look written all over your face.’

  ‘Am I that easy to read?’

  ‘Sometimes. Other times you’re rather enigmatic. It’s one of your sexier qualities.’

  Magee felt his face burning. ‘Flatterer!’

  ‘It’s how we women get on in life, sir.’

  ‘Now that, I don’t believe.’

  ‘So, what’s up?’

  ‘Thailand.’

  ‘Hmm. Lovely country. Fancy a holiday there?’

  ‘That’s not what I meant, Melissa. The subject’s cropped up many times recently. I’m wondering why.’

  Melissa shrugged her shoulders. ‘The subject crops up in my life frequently. I haven’t noticed anything different recently.’

  ‘But you’ve been there, Melissa. You have friends who have been there. You want to go there again. The subject is bound to surface often in your social conversations.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘It’s not the same with me, though. It’s not my cup of tea. It’s too hot, I imagine. Too far away.’ Magee raised an eyebrow, and added, ‘Too many lady-boys as well, so I’m told.’

  ‘You don’t approve of them?’

  ‘Of the lady-boys? I saw a show last year with the family over at the Brighton Pavilion; The Lady-Boys of Bangkok. Highly entertaining, I admit, but it made me feel uncomfortable.’

  ‘A bit like at the museum this morning, with the curator?’

  ‘There is that side to it, I admit. But it was the medical side that really made me squirm. It put me off holidaying there.’

  ‘Shame, you’re missing out on a lot. It's like a different world out there.’

  Magee tapped his pencil a couple more times. ‘We have two murders in which the effigy of a Buddha features prominently. I know Comyns said it was from Tibet, but Buddhism is practiced all over South East Asia and no one else has mentioned anything about Tibet.’

  ‘But we haven’t asked, have we?’

  ‘No. We haven’t. On the other hand, neither have we asked about Thailand, yet it’s surfaced. There’s Comyns with his revenge story. There’s Nittaya, with a Thai name and she obviously has Thai genes in her. Then there’s Nick Price who presumably must have had a Thai wife.’

  ‘Although the wife is no longer around.’

  ‘Quite true. Price said he “lost” her. We must get to the bottom of that in due course,’ Magee said, tapping his pencil harder. ‘Then, of course, you got into a lengthy conversation with Paul Mansell about his travels there.’

  ‘Like I said, sir, it’s a popular place.’

  ‘Indeed it is, Melissa, and I want to know more. From the perspective of this case, that is. Look, I’ll take the Conners case, you take the Harwood case. See if we can’t find a connection with Thailand. Maybe they were both out there together. Maybe they committed a crime out there that could have provoked someone into seeking revenge.’

  ‘Fair enough, there’s nothing else to do, except compile reports.’

  ‘And I’ll be able to tell our beloved Home Secretary that we are, at least, working in a positive direction.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ Melissa said on her way out the door.

  Magee picked up a file containing a host of statements taken from Todd Conners’ family and associates, and spent twenty minutes browsing through them, searching for references to Thailand. Nothing came to light. He lowered the file and put a call through to Susan Conners.

  ‘Mrs Conners? It's Detective Chief Inspector Magee. We met the other night.’

  ‘Oh, yes. How can I help you, Chief Inspector?’

  ‘I just wanted to ask you a question about your husband.’

  ‘More questions?’ Susan Conners uttered a sigh. ‘I’ve given you lot everything I can already. I really don’t think there’s anything left to say.’

  ‘I don’t think you’ve been asked this question.’

  ‘Very well, then, fire away.’

  Magee thought Susan Conners sounded slightly tipsy, even though it was mid-afternoon. No doubt losing a husband, even an abusive one, could have that effect. He decided to tread softly. ‘Does Thailand mean anything to you?’

  ‘It's a country, isn't it? How many points do I score for that?’

  ‘Ten out of ten, Mrs Conners,’ Magee replied. She was certainly a little worse for wear, he could hear her gulping.

  ‘Susan, please. Not Mrs Conners,’ Susan pleaded.

  ‘Very well, Susan. I meant in relation to your husband's affairs. Did he ever have any business connections in Thailand, or did he ever visit the country?’

  ‘Well, yes, now you come to mention it. He was there once for a few months, although I can't see it being of any help to you.’

  ‘Do you mind explaining the circumstances?’

  ‘Todd flew off to Bangkok just after we finished college. He was full of bravado, said he was going to fight in the Vietnam War. He never did, of course. He never even joined an army, and I can’t imagine he thought he’d be recruited just because he was close by, where the Americans were resting. Anyway, by the time he’d heard a few stories of real life action, I think he chickened out.’

  ‘What did he do in Bangkok, then?’

  ‘Well, he settled there for a while and got caught up with various adventures. You know, real Boys Own stuff. So he said anyway, but I was always under the impression he never achieved what he set out to do. He never found himself, if you understand what I mean.’

  ‘I do indeed understand. It’s what many men hope to achieve in life. We suffer an eternal desire to climb Everest, paddle up the Amazon, to explore the world; something to test our mettle. It’s a primitive thing.’

  ‘Yep, that sounds like Todd when he was young. He didn’t fulfill that ambition though. As a result, it left him empty. That’s my guess on why he turned out to be such an uncaring bastard.’

  ‘Do you have any idea why his ambition was unfulfilled?’

  ‘No, but he came back early, rather unexpectedly to be honest. That may well have had something to do with it.’

  ‘Do you know why he came back early?’

  ‘No, I don’t. Todd never talked about his reasons for coming home. He refused to, in fact. He used to get very upset if anyone asked him what he'd done in Thailand. He never allowed the name of the country to be mentioned in his presence again.’

  ‘When did he return?’

  ‘May the sixteenth, nineteen seventy three. Eighteen years ago next Thursday,’ Susan responded without hesitation.

  ‘That was quick! How come you remember so fast?’

  ‘It was the day before my twenty-first birthday. Todd and I had been an item at college. We’d been going out for over six months before he went off to the Far East. He proposed marriage to me the day after his return, at my party. He stopped the music to make a special announcement. How could a girl forget that? He was romantic then. Or so I thought at the time. I must have been mad.’

  ‘And the wedding?’

  ‘Six months later. Todd promised me the wedding of the century. He said that money would be no obje
ct. He promised me he’d be a millionaire before the end of that year.’

  ‘And was he?’

  ‘He certainly was. Well within the year actually.’

  ‘How did he do that? A million was a heck of a lot of money in those days.’

  ‘No idea, Chief Inspector. Todd never really explained it properly. But I do know that he never worked hard for it. That was the curious thing about his money. He spent a whole year “studying the market” as he put it. He said he would be receiving a million pounds before Christmas that year, and he needed to do some research before he decided what to invest in. He chose property but said he would wait a while; he predicted the commercial property slump would continue that year and he was right. He picked up a lot of cheap properties in auctions around that time. That set him up to become even richer.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Magee interrupted, ‘did you just say he knew he was going to receive a million pounds?’

  ‘Correct.’

  Magee’s mind whirled. ‘Let me get this straight, Susan. Are you saying Todd came back from Thailand in full knowledge that he would be receiving a million pounds in the very near future?’

  Magee heard Susan Conners sigh deeply. ‘I don’t suppose it matters now. But yes, you’ve got it in one, Chief Inspector. Todd had it all sewn up before arriving back in England.’

  ‘You didn’t mention any of this in your statement.’

  ‘I wasn’t asked. Anyway, it’s just ancient history; it can’t possibly make any difference now.’

  Magee closed his eyes. A million pounds! That’s precisely what can make a difference, he thought. ‘But you have no inkling of where that money came from?’

  ‘None, I’m afraid. I guessed he'd done something dodgy over there and was just waiting for his payoff. I was in love with the man at the time, Chief Inspector. Todd dressed up the whole story in a way that made it seem romantic.’

  ‘Do you know precisely how much he received?’

  ‘I don't know precisely. He set up a company in advance, though, to use for the purchase of his properties. Those are the only records I ever managed to see. He said he would do something to impress the banks and he certainly did that. His company was set up with a share capital of one million pounds, fully paid up in cash right at the start. I had one share for legal reasons, he held the rest. No other shareholders, no loans, no outside involvement at all. He also bought this house and furnished it extravagantly. He bought his first Rolls Royce at that time too, a brand new one.’

  Magee was stunned at the discovery. Maybe there was a serious Thai connection, after all. ‘So,’ he said, ‘Thailand obviously worked well for Todd. But is there anything else about the country that triggers a memory? Do you know if he had any business associates there? What about friends from his days there?’

  ‘As I mentioned already, Chief Inspector, he never said a word about the place from that day on. Mind you . . .’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Well, there’s Nick Price, of course. He was in Thailand at the same time as Todd.’

  Magee’s jaw dropped. ‘You’re kidding!’

  ‘Not at all, Chief Inspector. That’s where they met. Todd used to hang out at the bar Nick ran in Bangkok.’

  ‘Well, well, what a small world,’ Magee muttered. He began tapping his pencil again.

  ‘But, of course, Thailand is even more of a taboo subject with Nick.’

  ‘It is?’ Magee’s pencil stopped moving. ‘And why is that?’

  ‘Because Nick lost his wife in some tragic accident there, that’s why. It’s affected him badly ever since, that’s obvious to anyone who meets him. He’s never got over her death. He blames himself, of course. At times, you can see the guilt eating away at him.’

  Magee thought back to his recent encounters with the man. ‘That would explain a lot,’ he muttered. ‘Look, is there anything else that springs to mind?’

  ‘Well, it’s just a feeling, but we occasionally went to summer garden parties over at Nick’s house in Cooksbridge. There was a small group who seemed to share a past. I’ve only met them three or four times in all, but when they did meet up, there seemed to be a conspiracy amongst them.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Oh, you know, furtive looks, whispered comments, odd remarks. I got the impression they were talking about a past life in Bangkok.’

  ‘Did you not ask your husband what it all meant?’

  ‘Hah!’ Susan exclaimed loudly. ‘You didn’t know Todd, Chief Inspector. You’ve got no idea of the sulks, the verbal abuse, the threats that I’d receive if I dared go against his wishes.’

  ‘Was Michael Harwood one of that group?’

  ‘There was certainly a Mike amongst them, but I don’t recall any surname.’

  ‘Well, thanks for your help, Susan. If you think of anything else, in connection with Thailand, I’d be grateful for a call.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  Magee put the receiver down, sat back in quiet contemplation and let his mind absorb the extraordinary new information he’d gleaned. He certainly had direction now, he mused, but how to progress it? A firm knock on the door put an end to his thought process. There stood Melissa, a smug look on her face.

  ‘I thought I’d make your day, sir.’

  ‘Oh yes? How so?’

  ‘Guess what I’ve found about Michael Harwood.’

  ‘Surprise me.’

  ‘I spoke to his sister. She said he went wandering around the world before he was due to go to university. He got as far as Bangkok and that was it. On his return, he gave up the idea of a university education and went straight into business. “Dabbling in the Stock Market”, is what she called it.’

  ‘Was he an instant millionaire? When he started out in this “dabbling”, that is?’

  A look of bemusement settled on Melissa’s face. ‘Erm, yes,’

  ‘But not until six months or so after returning from Bangkok?’

  ‘Are you a clairvoyant, sir?’

  Magee shrugged. ‘An easy guess, Melissa. When you pull off a big job, it’s often best to lie low for a while. Anyway, it can often take time to find a fence, turn your ill-gotten gains into cash.’

  ‘That’s exactly what his sister said, or words to that effect anyway. She said she suspected he’d pulled something off in Bangkok all those years ago, but had kept quiet.’

  ‘Tell me, Melissa. Did she say whether it affected her brother? Emotionally?’

  ‘This is unnerving. Her own words were that he was haunted by his experiences in Bangkok.’

  Magee sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘I take it you were saving the best bit to last?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Nick Price.’

  Melissa placed her hands on her hips and huffed, ‘You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?’

  ‘Sorry to deflate you.’

  ‘You can be infuriating at times, sir.’

  ‘I’m paid to keep one step ahead.’

  ‘You had me spend an hour working my guts out on something you knew already?’

  Magee broke into a smile at seeing Melissa’s frustration. ‘No, sorry, Melissa, I’m just winding you up. Todd Conners’ story was the same.’

  ‘Really? So we’ve found our connection?’

  ‘Looks like it. Todd Conners, Michael Harwood, Nick Price, money and Thailand. Chances are, we’ll find our murderer as soon as we establish what happened in Bangkok eighteen years ago.’

  ‘A case of revenge?’

  ‘I should think so,’ Magee said. ‘I reckon they got away with several million, but something probably went wrong.’

  ‘Eighteen years could be a long prison sentence perhaps? A life sentence, someone finally released for good behaviour?’

  ‘Could be,’ Magee agreed. ‘Some other gang member doesn't get away. He gets caught and takes the rap for the others. He’s just been released and has come looking for his fair share.’

  Melissa frowned. ‘But why murder them?’
/>
  ‘Maybe he tried to blackmail them first. He collects his money then murders them to maintain silence.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s not about money, sir. Maybe he has his share stashed away, but just wants revenge for being grassed up or abandoned?’

  ‘That’s quite plausible, Melissa. Yes, I like that better, actually.’

  ‘But that begs a question, sir.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Are there any more in the gang? Any more who are going to be murdered?’

  Magee was impressed at Melissa’s line of thinking. ‘We need to find out who else is involved.’

  ‘You’ll have to ask Nick Price.’

  Magee winced. ‘That could be difficult. I can’t see him admitting involvement in a crime. Especially not to me. And certainly not in front of his daughter.’

  ‘You could bring him in.’

  Magee grunted. ‘And have a team of top lawyers brought down on me like a ton of bricks? No thanks, I can just see the expression on Superintendent Vaughan’s face on being presented with that scenario.’

  ‘Nick Price could be at risk himself. You’d be doing him a favour, bringing him in.’

  ‘Somehow, I don’t think he’ll see it that way.’

  ‘Then you’ll just have to persuade him to talk.’

  Magee groaned. Melissa was right. ‘That’s not going to be easy. I seem to get under his skin every time I get anywhere near him.’

  ‘You’ll just have to find a way of being more persuasive. Perhaps if you weren’t quite so blunt in his presence?’

  Magee narrowed his eyes. ‘Okay, okay.’

  ‘Perhaps we could go public on it. Appeal for any other gang members to come forward for protection?’

  ‘I imagine it would be a waste of time. Coming forward would probably mean them having to admit that a crime was committed. I doubt whether any sane person would do that.’

  ‘But if the crime was committed in Bangkok, then it wouldn’t matter would it? We’ve no jurisdiction.’

  ‘I don’t see it helping. Just imagine if the press gets hold of the story. They’d love to steadily count the bodies off, printing large headlines like Why can't the police stop this madness? No, Melissa, while my head's on the chopping block, I'm keeping this case quiet.’

  ‘But what about the Home Secretary, aren't you going to tell him?’

  ‘Damn! Yes, I suppose I should. I’d better get on to him now. Let’s pray he doesn’t leak the story. You know what politicians are like with the press; they can’t keep their mouths shut.’

  ‘Lack of police efficiency will reflect on him just as badly, sir.’

  ‘That’s true. I’ll quote you to him on that.’

  ‘Where to next then, sir?’

  ‘God knows, Melissa.’ He slumped back in his chair, feeling his enthusiasm waning.

  ‘If there’s another murder in the pipeline, maybe we should just wait and pray.’

  ‘Do you believe in God, Melissa? Or Buddha for that matter?’

  ‘No, sir, I don't, to be honest.’

  ‘Nor do I, Melissa. So who do we pray to?’

  ‘Well, I don’t know about prayer, sir, but I do have one small suggestion. Something we could try out with Paul Mansell.’

  Magee still hadn’t forgiven Melissa for her eagerness to help Mansell out during his interview. He leant back in his chair and said, ‘This had better be good. Go on, then, I’m listening …’