Chapter Thirty-Three
An officious woman glared at Magee as he strolled into the Home Secretary's office late morning. Before he could introduce himself, she spat out, ‘How dare you!’
Magee was taken aback. ‘Excuse me?
‘How dare you invite yourself to see the Home Secretary!’
Magee squared up to the woman and retorted, ‘He’s expecting me. I made an appointment.’
‘No you did not, you said you’d come at eleven o’clock and that he’d better be there for his own good. That is not making an appointment, Chief Inspector.’
Magee shrugged. ‘Well, it worked, I assume. Anyway it’s urgent.’
‘Urgent? Well thank you very much. You've made him upset. Very upset. He’s in a foul mood this morning, with everyone. He’s already put off a meeting with the Defence Secretary because of you. I hope you don't expect a cup of coffee, I can't say I'm in the mood to make you one.’
‘That's okay. I'll survive, I’m sure.’
The secretary swore under her breath, but nevertheless ushered Magee into Rees Smith's office. It came as no surprise that Rees Smith eyes were glowing with anger.
‘Thank you, Dawn,’ Rees Smith said. ‘Leave us please. No interruptions whatsoever please, even for the PM.’
As instructed, Dawn left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Rees Smith turned his attention to Magee. With utter contempt in his voice he yelled, ‘Magee, what the fuck do you think you’re playing at?’
Magee remained calm. ‘I'm not playing at anything, sir. It's you that's playing a game and a pretty dirty game at that.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
Magee took out a photograph from his jacket pocket and threw it on the desk. Rees Smith stared at the picture for a few seconds before asking, ‘Where did you get this?’
‘Keith Gibson’s mother kept it.’
‘And why are you showing it to me?’
Magee turned aggressive. ‘Don’t try to bullshit me.’
‘Magee! That is no way to talk to a Cabinet Minister.’
Magee spat back, ‘I really don’t care. You are nothing more than a little shit. I have no respect for a man who’s doing what you’re doing.’
‘Which is?’
‘Using me, allowing your old comrades to be murdered, trying to hush up this story. It’s called perverting the course of justice, as if you didn’t know. And that’s a criminal offence, punishable by a prison sentence.’
Rees Smith put on one of his famous false smiles. ‘I wouldn’t call them comrades, Magee. One or two faces in this photograph are familiar, I must admit. But you know what it's like, you go on holiday, get friendly with a few people, have a few drinks. Photos are taken of a good time being had. A month later you look at them and can't remember their names. And this is some eighteen ago, Magee. I couldn’t possibly be expected to remember it.’
‘Bollocks! You’re a liar.’
Rees Smith’s false smile dropped. ‘That's not very polite, Magee. May I remind you of the rank I hold.’
‘I don't give a damn what rank you hold! You're still a man, you’re not god. You're nothing special. May I remind you that I’ve organized a press conference for one o'clock this afternoon, as I told your secretary earlier this morning. After I’ve finished with that, some reporter will probably have a few things to say to you that might be even ruder.’
‘And what exactly are you going to tell the press?’
‘That you’ve known about the intended victims all along, that you knew who was going to be murdered.’
‘Rubbish, this photo is nothing more than coincidence.’
Magee was incredulous. ‘Coincidence? Four men from this photo have been murdered inside the last two weeks. The fifth, dead already, had a wreath sent to his mother last week along with a dagger. You've got a file thick with reports on the murders, from me. You got involved with this case right from the start. I thought it odd at the time, but now I know the real reason.’
‘Okay, Magee, have it your way. But my story is that I met some guys while travelling the world. It just shows the sort of people you can inadvertently get acquainted with. What they did when I wasn't around, well, who knows? The fact that four died recently doesn't bother me at all. Whatever they did doesn't involve me; I'm just an innocent bystander. I do hope, Magee, that you are not going to imply that I’m mixed up with the likes of Nick Price?’
Magee snorted. ‘So you remember his name then?’
‘Well, yes, he owned the bar. But not the others, they were just bar flies.’
‘Bollocks! You’ve known their names all along. That’s why I could tell there was something wrong with your phone conversations with me. You were already familiar with the victims.’
Rees Smith gave a thin smile. ‘So, what exactly are you going to accuse me of at this press conference of yours?’
‘I'm not sure yet. Not sure that I'm going to accuse you in public, at least not at the moment. I’ll call you a bare faced liar and a common thief to your face. To the press though, I’ll just present the facts and let them make the accusations.’
‘The accusations being?’
‘That you conspired to pervert the course of justice, that you knew these men were going to be murdered and you did nothing to prevent it. In fact, I reckon you just sat back and waited. You think the murderer is one of the remaining men, and you're waiting to see who the last one left is.’
‘Absolute drivel, Magee.’
‘Really? I don’t think so. You got involved immediately after Todd Conners’ death. That means you knew what was going on at that stage. So, effectively, you condemned Harwood, Harrison and Nelson to their deaths. I’m sure the press would love to hear you answer that charge. Oh, yes, and I’m sure they’d love to hear your explanation as to how you and your comrades all became millionaires just a few months after this photo was taken. What did you do, pull off some massive drug deal?’
At the mention of drugs, Rees Smith pulled a Browning out of his jacket pocket, cocked it and pointed it at Magee. ‘How dare you make such insinuations?’
Magee sat unflinching, as though a child had pulled a toy gun on him. ‘You won't do that, sir.’
‘Give me one good reason, Magee. One good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now? My secretary will find me rolling on the floor with your dead body. I'll naturally say that you pulled the gun on me, that you’d gone crazy after being suspended and wanted to take your anger out on me. No witnesses, I win. Who would disbelieve me? I am the Home Secretary, don't forget.’
‘The entire world would know you were lying.’
‘Oh? And how do you reason that?’
‘Because the newspapers next week would be running front-page headlines of your conspiracy. If you'll allow me to remove a few sheets of paper from my jacket?’ Magee paused, put his hand in his breast pocket, withdrew a wad of papers and threw them on the desk. ‘Thank you. Now, this is a photocopy, as you can see, which means that the original must be somewhere else. In fact, it's in an envelope at a solicitor's office at this very moment. I’ve given instructions for the envelope to be opened in the event of my death and for the contents to be made public. I've given my solicitor no time limit. You can read it for yourself. It's all good stuff; it would make a wonderful news story.’
Magee sat in silence for several minutes whilst Rees Smith read Magee's report. By the end of it, Rees Smith had become noticeably paler. ‘You bastard, Magee!’
‘With respect, sir, you're the bastard around here. Now, would you mind putting the gun down, it's making me nervous.’
‘I'm not so sure I shouldn't kill you anyway and take the risk that your solicitor can be silenced. Maybe I could issue a Section D notice.’
‘You won't find him in time. I hired a new solicitor only yesterday. As to the Section D notice, the letter to the solicitor has specific instructions to send a copy to a European newspaper over which you will have no jurisdiction.’ Magee p
aused to let the situation sink in. ‘Now then, I have a proposition for you. Maybe we can sort something out between ourselves.’
‘I'm listening,’ Rees Smith said, but he didn’t put the gun down.
‘I understand why you want this affair kept secret. I realize that the political scandal would be enormous and may even bring the government down. I wouldn’t want to be considered responsible for that. On the other hand, I can't say I give a damn whether you survive this ordeal or not. I'm indifferent to Des McAlister and Sean Fitzpatrick. I’m sure Nick Price can take care of himself and as for John Mansell, well he’s disappeared off the face of the earth. The ten of you have lived this lie for eighteen years. Okay, so some big heist happened abroad, not here. But the press would still love to know about it, I’m sure. My offer is that I'll join your conspiracy. I will not tell a living soul about your involvement, or the others come to that. Your secret will die with me, okay? I'm the only one outside the group that knows your little secret. You know that the others won't say anything even after your death, if it comes to it, and neither will I.’
Rees Smith sneered. ‘And just what is the price for your silence, Magee? Money?’
‘No. Certainly not! I'm not that sort of police officer. What I want is only what was mine in the first place, what was taken away from me largely because of your interference and lack of cooperation. I want to be reinstated at the same rank, with the same benefits and to be put back in charge of the case. I'm a family man, damn it, that's all I care about. All these threats of losing my job and pension have worried me sick these last few days. Give me my job back and I'll sell my soul to the devil, or, in this case, to you. I do not want your money, I have principles.’
Rees Smith waved the photocopied papers at Magee. ‘Your principles include blackmail, though, I take it?’
‘That's not blackmail. It's equivalent to wearing a bulletproof vest. Self-defence.
‘Okay, Magee, you have a deal. Shake on it?’ Rees Smith held his hand out.
‘I'll shake hands with the devil himself gladly, but not with you, sir. I can’t say I care for your character at all.’
‘Fair enough.’ Rees Smith withdrew his hand. He re-holstered his gun and picked up his phone asking Magee for the number of his Superintendent. Ten minutes later, after some firm commands and syrupy compliments about Magee's abilities and efficiency, Superintendent Vaughan could do nothing else but agree to Magee's full reinstatement and Jackson's removal from the case.
‘There you go, Magee. That's my side of the bargain done.’
‘Thank you, sir. I'll keep mine, I promise. Before I go, though, there're just a few things you could help me with, if you don't mind.’
Rees Smith grunted. ‘You're not getting anything out of me, Magee.’
‘I'm aware of that, sir. I was just hoping for your cooperation in stopping the killer, that's all. I agreed to keep your secret, but I still intend to try to capture the man and save your lives. That is my job after all.’
‘No promises, Magee. What do you want to know?’
‘What was the occasion about? The one in the photograph, I mean. Do you remember that much?’
‘A party. A birthday party I think.’
‘Whose?’
Rees Smith frowned. ‘Not sure.’
‘One of the group?’
‘Maybe. No! No, it was Nick’s wife. It was her birthday. Her twenty-first if I remember correctly.’
Magee nodded his head. At least it corroborated Nick Price’s version. ‘She’s the girl in the photo I believe?’
Rees Smith sighed. ‘Yes. She was such a pretty girl. Nick thought the world of her.’
‘Can you put names to specific faces?’
‘Not really.’
‘From the top left, Conners, Harwood, Harrison, Gibson, Nelson. You note the order?’
‘Sorry?’
‘They’re being killed off in sequence.’
Rees Smith stared down at the photo with incredulity. ‘Fuck!’
‘You hadn’t realized that?
‘I haven’t seen this photo for years, Magee. It hadn’t occurred to me that, well . . . shit!’
‘Do you know why the murderer is killing off your little group in the order that you appear in the photograph?’
‘I’ve no idea. It’s bizarre.’
Magee thought it sounded like the man was telling the truth. ‘But there must be a reason this picture is important. It appears to symbolize the killer’s hatred. Why would anyone hate the people in it? Hate them enough to carry out these barbaric acts of revenge?’
‘I really do have no idea. Look, Magee, what is it with this photo? Why have you latched on to it?’
‘I just think it’s important. I can feel it in my bones. A copper’s intuition I suppose. You all became millionaires around the time this photo was taken, are you sure this scene isn’t a celebration? A celebration of greed perhaps?’
Rees Smith shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Magee nodded, taking Rees Smith’s uneasiness as a positive answer. ‘How many people would have had copies of this photo?’
‘Why on earth do you want to know that?’
‘I imagine the murderer has a copy. It’s his death list, he’s bumping you all off in order, so it makes sense that he has his own copy. It should narrow down my list of suspects.’
‘There were lots of copies made, there must have been a dozen left on top of the bar for us to help ourselves.’
‘So everyone in the photo had their own copy?’
‘Presumably so.’
‘Anyone else?’
Rees Smith frowned. ‘I can’t think why anyone else would want a copy. Would you want a copy of someone else’s holiday photo?’
Magee thought about it at length. ‘No, I suppose not. Tell me, whatever it was you managed to pull off to make you rich, did it occur before or after this photo was taken?’
‘Does it matter?’
‘It certainly does.’
Rees Smith squirmed in his chair before replying, ‘After.’
‘So, at the time of this photo, no one had a grudge against any of you, in terms of money?’
Rees Smith grimaced. ‘Your reasoning is logical, Magee. Problem is, no one had a grudge against us afterwards either.’
‘Because any others involved were killed?’
Rees Smith turned a shade paler. ‘I . . . erm . . . I don’t know about that, Magee.’
‘Nick Price told me. He said that you all got equal shares, although some people involved didn’t survive. I just wanted to check with you, are you sure they all died? No possibility anyone you thought was dead could actually have cheated death?’
‘No, I don’t think so. The possibility of anyone surviving what happened would be too far-fetched.’
‘Good. That helps. It means the killer is most likely to be someone in the photograph.’
‘John Mansell,’ Rees Smith replied. ‘That’s my guess.’
‘You knew John well?’
‘Reasonably well. He owned the place jointly with Nick. John worked behind the bar most of the time. He was more suited to it. Nick was a little too blunt for his own good sometimes. I chatted to John quite often. Nick wasn’t keen on me, he thought I was trying to muscle in on his business interests.’
‘So you reckon the murders are connected to John Mansell? Does John have a motive?’
Rees Smith nodded. ‘Our friendship collapsed shortly after this photograph was taken. By the end of my time in Thailand, he hated my guts.’
‘Enough to plan to kill you?’
Rees Smith closed his eyes and hung his head. ‘Yes, Magee, without question.’
‘And the others? Could John have killed them?’
Rees Smith reflected on the issue a few seconds. ‘No. No, I don’t think so. That doesn’t make sense, does it? It was only me he had an issue with.’
‘Is Nick Price out for revenge as well? Maybe together with John Mansell?’
/>
‘It’s possible. The two of them were as thick as thieves.’
‘It would explain Paul Mansell’s involvement, wouldn’t it?’
‘Yes, maybe.’
‘I was convinced the murderer was a Thai, not an Englishman.’
Rees Smith shrugged. ‘Nick Price and John Mansell could be using a team, including a Thai hit man perhaps?’
‘This is getting more complicated than I imagined.’
‘Exactly. My very own thoughts.’
‘Are you sure there was no other Thai man in your group?’
‘Positive.’
‘Didn’t Nick’s wife have a brother? A twin brother? Wasn’t his name . . . erm,’ Magee paused to recollect, ‘Jook?’
Rees Smith averted his eyes and coughed. ‘Um, yes.’
Magee noticed the body language immediately. He had touched a raw nerve. ‘Nick said Jook died as well as Maliwan. In the same accident wasn’t it?’
Rees Smith was visibly writhing in his chair. ‘Um,’ he said, followed by another nervous cough. ‘Yes, he did.’
‘How did Maliwan and Jook die?’
‘I . . . erm . . . I don’t really know, Magee. Look, this is getting out of hand. I told you I wasn’t prepared to go into detail.’
‘You killed them, didn’t you, sir? Both of them.’
Rees Smith’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You killed Maliwan and Jook, didn’t you?’
‘I, erm, how . . .’
‘My god! You did, didn’t you?’ Magee rubbed his forehead. ‘Oh Christ, that’s why there’s been this conspiracy. That’s why Nick Price won’t talk about it. You, a Home Secretary, are a cold bloodied murderer, aren’t you? You killed his wife and his wife’s brother, didn’t you?’
Rees Smith’s face turned red. ‘Now look here, Magee,’ he protested. Don’t you dare go making accusations like that to the press or I’ll fucking crucify you!’
‘Well, well. At last I’m getting near the truth.’
‘No you’re not!’
‘Oh, I am, I certainly am.’ Magee slapped the side of his head. ‘Oh, of course! That’s why Des McAlister stopped speaking to you, isn’t it? He’s a pacifist. Whatever you did, you went over the top, didn't you? You did something so outrageous in killing Maliwan and Jook that McAlister stopped speaking to you on the spot. That’s it, isn’t it? Well, well, well.’
Rees Smith was fuming. ‘Magee, you’re beginning to outstay your welcome.’
‘Yes, I suppose I am. Still, a double-murderer in the Cabinet, eh, who would have thought it? What happened to the security checks before you were promoted? No wonder you're concerned about the ensuing scandal if this all breaks loose.’
‘This is all pure conjecture, Magee. You have no facts, and no one will bear witness against me.’
‘Quite true, and each day another witness dies. You must certainly be pleased about that.’
‘I am not pleased about any of this, Magee.’
‘No?’
‘No!’
‘Does your security staff know of the danger?’
‘They know of a danger, not the danger. They're on twenty-four hour red alert at the moment.’
‘So there's no point in me offering you police protection then?’
‘No! That would imply foreknowledge. It would be extremely difficult to explain.’
‘I see. So you would prefer to die and have your reputation left intact, rather than live and face the public wrath?’
Rees Smith snorted. ‘Any day, Magee, any day.’
‘But your wife and children, they would suffer unbearably. Aren’t you a family man?’
‘If the scandal broke, Magee, I'd be hounded so much I'd probably, well, suicide is an easy way out, isn't it? If I'm going to die then I hope it won't be in vain. If my wife and daughters can escape the trauma of a scandal, then the sacrifice would have been worth it.’
Magee was astounded. ‘My god, you're serious aren't you?’
‘Absolutely, Magee. It's my life and my country. It's my choice. It is still a free country, isn't it?’
Magee sat staring at Rees Smith for a few moments. It gradually dawned on him that perhaps the man wasn't the monster he’d thought. He was nothing more than a desperate man trying to cover up a past indiscretion, trying to protect his country, wife and children from the consequences of the truth coming out.
‘If it’s okay with you, sir, I’d like to interview McAlister and offer him protection. He’s the next intended victim, I believe.’
‘By all means, Magee, but I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with him either.’
‘I’d like to try nevertheless. Look, I’ve taken enough of your time, I'd better be going,’ Magee stood to go and offered his hand, nodding his understanding. ‘Good luck, sir.’
Rees Smith rose and firmly shook Magee's outstretched hand. ‘Thank you, Chief Inspector.’
The handshake said it all; Magee had sold his soul.