The Fourth Cart

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Magee thought the change in Geoffrey Rees Smith’s demeanour was remarkably since the last visit to his office in Westminster. The man appeared to be on a high, a genuine smile in place for once.

  ‘You’ve arrested Nick Price I hear. About time too! Has he confessed yet?’

  Magee sat down without been asked. ‘Not as such,’ he replied.

  ‘Not as such? What the hell is that supposed to mean, Magee?’

  ‘He said that Mal did it?’

  ‘Mal did it? But that’s preposterous! She’s been dead for eighteen years.’

  ‘So I gather. Nick’s being assessed at the moment.’

  Rees Smith guffawed. ‘Assessed? It sounds as though you should just throw him in the loony bin and chuck the key away.’

  ‘I’m doing this by the book, sir. He’ll be examined over the course of the next few days by a variety of doctors. If he’s clinically insane, then it may prove impossible for him to stand trial.’

  Rees Smith grimaced. ‘Well, as long as you’ve got him under lock and key, then I’m safe.’

  Magee took a few seconds to respond. ‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that, sir.’

  Rees Smith appeared perturbed. ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘I haven’t proved that the murders were committed by Nick Price. Some issues have yet to be cleared up.’

  ‘Issues?’ Rees Smith responded, a frown appearing on his face. ‘Such as what?’

  ‘Well, there’s the issue of the unknown man, possibly of South East Asian origins. The one seen by the hotel security guard in Hove.’

  ‘We’ve discussed this already, Magee. It was a hit man. Or possibly Nick Price’s son, Somsuk. I assume you’ve arrested him as well?’

  ‘Of course, sir. We’re holding Nittaya, Somsuk and Paul Mansell for questioning as well.’

  ‘Good.’ Rees Smith broke into a smile. ‘I’ve nothing to fear then.’

  ‘Only your past, sir.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You’ve only your past to fear.’

  Rees Smith snapped, ‘And what precisely do you mean by that?’

  ‘Something McAlister said. He said that your past would catch up with you, eventually. He thought his own punishment was inevitable.’

  ‘Hah!’ Rees Smith chuckled. ‘Des was a fool.’

  ‘I’m not so sure, sir. I still need some answers before I throw the book at Nick Price.’

  ‘Answers to what?’

  ‘Questions like, where are the remaining knives? Is there just one more knife, presumably for you, or are there four more left, making ten knives in total?’

  Rees Smith retorted, ‘Buggered if I care!’

  ‘I think you should care, sir. It would be dangerous to let your defences slip at this stage.’

  ‘The game is over, Magee. Well and truly over. There is nothing more to fear.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure.’

  ‘Explain yourself, Magee!’

  ‘There’s an anomaly in this case. You all say that Nick’s wife Maliwan is dead.’

  ‘That is correct.’

  ‘My problem is that Nick mentioned to me that he was denied a funeral and that he could never forgive you for that. What did he mean by that?’

  Rees Smith frowned again. ‘I don’t see this as being relevant, Magee.’

  ‘Please bear with me, sir. Is it true that there was never a funeral for Maliwan?’

  Rees Smith bit his lip before answering, ‘No, there wasn’t.’

  ‘Why was that, sir?’

  ‘Because we had no body to bury!’

  ‘Again, sir, why was that?’

  Rees Smith squirmed uncomfortably.

  Magee nodded thoughtfully. ‘Am I right in thinking that her body was left somewhere? Dumped, maybe? Is that why Nick Price has never been able to forgive you? Because not only did you kill his wife, but you deprived him of the ability to bury her with dignity, denied him a grave to visit?’

  An ice-cold expression appeared on Rees Smith’s face. ‘You may leave now, Magee. The case is closed. You will not trouble me anymore. Understand?’

  ‘Yes, sir. I quite understand.’ Magee rose from his chair. ‘Just before I go though, please think about the logic of what I’ve just being saying.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘If you never buried her body, if she was indeed dumped somewhere, then how can you be so positive she really is dead? Can you be absolutely one hundred per cent sure Maliwan is not behind these murders? After all, of everyone in that photograph, she’s the one with the biggest grudge against you. You all survived, you all became millionaires. She didn’t, did she?’

  ‘Bollocks!’ Rees Smith shouted at Magee’s back as he walked out of the room, ‘You know nothing!’