‘The amount stolen from the casino was probably much greater than the ninety grand that got reported to the police, but the casino owners couldn’t report having a larger amount of cash on the premises without running the risk of losing their gaming licence. I can also confirm that it was an inside job. The thieves knew the code for the burglar alarm and the combination of two safes.
‘Secondly, the data James e-mailed to campus contained a full membership list for the Golden Sun. Leon and Sacha Tarasov were both members. Leon’s account showed that he owed the casino over six thousand pounds when the records were stolen on May sixteenth last year. He was briefly investigated in connection with the robbery.’
‘How come the cops didn’t make any link to Leon?’ James asked.
John shrugged. ‘The Golden Sun had over a thousand members, seventy or eighty staff and a few hundred others who’ve worked there in the past. It would have taken a team of a dozen officers more than a month to track down and investigate every single suspect. The police just don’t have that sort of manpower. Abbey Wood serious crime squad has four or five officers and they probably deal with two or three incidents per week. They might have pulled up Leon’s criminal record at some point, but it’s featherweight. There’s nothing there that makes him look like a suspect in a major robbery.’
James smiled. ‘On TV you always see a whole roomful of officers investigating one crime.’
Millie nodded. ‘That’s right James. But in real life – unless you’re talking about something like murder or child abduction – you’re more likely to find one or two officers investigating dozens of cases. At Palm Hill we’re twelve officers short and we don’t even have enough vehicles to go around. You have to book them out weeks in advance.’
John resumed his briefing. ‘Thirdly, MI5 are still analysing the data, but they believe the two passwords written on the CD belonged to employees called Eric Crisp – a part-time security guard – and Patricia Patel who is a croupier.’
Millie looked like she’d been hit by a rock. ‘John, are you winding me up?’
John straightened up in his chair and looked mildly offended. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Patricia Patel is married to Michael Patel, the officer who thumped James on Saturday night. Pat Pat is Michael’s nickname for her. I’d never even heard of the Golden Sun until this morning, but I knew she worked nights as a casino dealer. I baby-sat their daughter a couple of times last year when Patricia’s mum was sick.
‘I also had an officer called Eric Crisp on my squad. He moved out to Battersea when he got promoted to Sergeant a couple of years back. He was best man at Michael’s wedding. Then he picked up a nasty back injury and got invalided off the force.’
Everyone around the table exchanged shocked glances.
‘Oh-kayyy,’ John said, drawing a sharp breath. ‘I was about to say that the next task for this investigation was going to be finding out who Patricia Patel and Eric Crisp were and establishing their links with Leon Tarasov; but it looks like Millie just filled in most of those gaps.’
‘What about Will?’ James asked. ‘Where does he fit in with the robbery?’
‘That software was out of the ark,’ Dave said. ‘It was obviously copied and stolen because it contained information that the robbers needed, on staffing, or security, or whatever. My guess would be that Patricia Patel or Eric Crisp copied the information across, which is easy. But they didn’t have the expertise to get the software running on a modern computer, so they called in Will and he sorted them out.’
‘It’s interesting that Will kept the data hidden inside the computer though,’ Millie added, still sounding shell-shocked. ‘You’d have to be scared of someone or something to hide the information, rather than just delete it.’
‘Maybe Leon, or whoever, didn’t tell Will what they wanted the data for,’ James suggested. ‘According to Hannah, Will was a complete nerd, so he would have shat himself if he saw news about the robbery and realised he was an accessory to a major crime.’
Dave nodded. ‘Especially if he was smoking a lot of dope. That stuff makes you so paranoid – or so I’ve been told …’
‘The thing is,’ James added, ‘when I spoke to Hannah she was all like: Will was just a harmless geek, he either killed himself or got so stoned that he fell off the roof. But if he got mixed up in a giant robbery and Tarasov was scared that he might go to the police, couldn’t he have got someone to go up on the roof and give him a little shove?’
John nodded. ‘James is absolutely right, of course. We must now face the possibility that Will was murdered by someone linked to the casino robbery.’
‘Mind you,’ Dave said, ‘if he was smoking loads of dope and stressing out over the cops nabbing him for the robbery, that might have been what drove him to suicide.’
‘Another valid theory,’ John nodded. ‘I’ll get hold of the coroner’s report and police records relating to Will’s death. We’ll have to broaden the focus of this operation and try to learn everything we can about Michael and Patricia Patel, Eric Crisp and Will Clarke.’
‘We don’t have an awful lot of resources though,’ Millie said. ‘We’ve been stretched thin just looking out for Tarasov.’
John nodded. ‘I know, but now we’re looking at bent coppers and a potential murder investigation, rather than a local villain with too much money on his hands, I’m sure Zara will spare the resources to crank things up a notch.’
James spotted a tear welling up in Millie’s eye. ‘Hey, are you OK?’ he asked, reaching across the table and touching her wrist. He thought she was about to cry, but she rubbed the moisture away and exploded with anger.
‘No, I’m not OK,’ Millie yelled, scraping her nails across the tabletop. ‘I’ve been out hundreds of times with Mike and Eric covering my back. I was their superior … I wrote their appraisals. Glowing appraisals. I lent Mike money when he was having a struggle after the baby was born, I pushed Crisp into taking his sergeant’s exam. Those two must have been having a right good laugh behind my back the whole time.’
John tried to calm Millie down. ‘Hey, there are a lot of bent cops around, you know? I was on the force and I’ve served alongside a few myself.’
‘They’ve made me look such a fool,’ Millie glowered. ‘It’s no wonder nothing ever sticks to bloody Tarasov if he’s got half the cops in Palm Hill in his pocket.’
John dared to smile a little. ‘Two cops is hardly half the force.’
Millie shook her head. ‘Two that we know about, but there could easily be others. You know how it works, John. A big scandal breaking out amongst the officers in my squad means my career is down the pan. They won’t sack me, but I’ll be transferred well out of harm’s way; somewhere like the traffic department or the archives.’
James watched in horror as Millie froze briefly, then slumped forwards and burst into tears.
‘I don’t deserve this,’ she sobbed. ‘The force has been my whole life since I left university. I’ve worked too hard … Too bloody hard.’
26. WILLIAM
Michael Patel’s close friendship with Eric Crisp, Leon being a casino member and paying off his debts shortly after it was robbed, Patricia Patel’s password written on the CD found inside Will’s computer – everything pointed towards these five people being involved in robbing the Golden Sun Casino. But to make a case stand up in court, you need more than coincidences and tangled fragments of information. The pieces had to be turned into a story that made sense and was backed by solid evidence.
Everyone had a job to do. John headed back to campus to get hold of the records relating to Will’s death and ask Zara for extra resources. Dave had to carry on sticking close to Pete and Leon. Millie had to hide her hurt feelings and work normally alongside Michael Patel, while subtly trying to find evidence of his misconduct.
Although James felt bad for Millie, he was in a good mood as he drove back to Palm Hill with Dave. Not only was he optimistic about the mission suc
ceeding, but John had asked him to switch his focus away from Max and Liza to concentrate on finding out more about Will. This meant hanging out with Hannah, which suited him fine. By the time James arrived back at the flat, he’d already set up a midnight meeting.
*
James got his butt kicked in the FIFA tournament that evening. They played two a side: James and Max as Arsenal, versus Liza and Charlie as Chelsea. Liza wasn’t into computer games. She kept getting the pass and shoot buttons mixed up and was only playing because she liked hanging out with Charlie, but Charlie more than made up for his team-mate. He weighted every pass beautifully, had a fantastic line in curved shots from outside the penalty area and most of the luck was running his way as well.
Max chucked a massive strop when Arsenal went three down for the second game in succession, claiming that Charlie was using a cheat code to score goals. After bouncing his controller off the wall, Max stormed out of his own bedroom.
‘He’s such a spoiled brat,’ Liza said, shaking her head jadedly. ‘Max expects to get his own way ’cos he’s Uncle Leon’s favourite.’
‘Do you want to play two against one?’ James asked.
Liza edged up to Charlie and smiled at him.
‘Maybe we’ll clear off to Liza’s room,’ Charlie grinned, as he gave Liza a quick kiss.
James nodded. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’
‘I wouldn’t dare,’ Charlie giggled. ‘Leon might sit on me.’
Liza gently swiped Charlie across the head and told him not to be rude as they stumbled out of the room, grinning at each other. James wasn’t too happy at being left alone with Max. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he was quite boring and sometimes acted more like he was ten, instead of nearly fourteen.
Max looked embarrassed when he came back, holding two cans of Coke and a giant bag of spicy tortilla chips. He wanted to carry on playing FIFA, but James didn’t want him to start showing off again if he started losing, so they ended up watching Jackass DVDs, while James showed him a couple of basic self-defence moves.
When it got to midnight, Max gave James a lift and he hauled himself through a wooden hatch above the Tarasovs’ landing, into a crawl space between the ceiling and the flat roof. He had to clamber over some fibreglass loft insulation, before breaking open a second hatch and sliding outdoors on to the roof itself. Hannah was already out there and she gave him a hand up.
‘Wow …’ James said, awed as he did a three-sixty.
He looked at the stars and the skyscrapers at Canary Wharf lit up in the distance, then at Hannah who wore a denim micro-skirt and a tight yellow top. They closed up and exchanged a big open-mouthed kiss.
‘I just had the biggest row with my dad,’ Hannah said, as she stepped backwards. ‘My headmistress rang up and told him that I bunked off yesterday. Now he says I’m grounded for the whole summer holiday.’
‘Bummer,’ James said.
‘I told Dad to shove it. He can’t stop me going out in the week, because him and Mum go to work every day. So he goes, I’ll put a padlock on your room if I have to. So I told him I was gonna run away and get myself pregnant to piss him off.’
James started to laugh. He loved Hannah’s warped sense of humour. ‘I bet that went down well.’
‘He’s such an idiot, James. It’s because of what happened to Will. He wants to keep me in a box like a china doll. But Will was a sad case. He got stoned all the time because he was lonely and didn’t have any friends, not because his friends were a bad influence. I told Dad that if he keeps on like this, I’ll end up depressed and lonely, just like Will.’
‘Your dad sounds like a turd. What about your mum, what does she say?’
Hannah shrugged. ‘Mum’s OK, but she’s a wimp. When I talk to her she agrees with me, but when Dad’s there, she won’t stand up to him. I know you’ve got no money or that, James, but you’re so lucky not having parents around.’
‘It’s not such a big deal,’ James grinned, teasing Hannah. ‘It’s just total freedom to do whatever I want, that’s all.’
‘Anyway, from now on I don’t care what my dad says. I’m going out enjoying myself. I’ve already arranged for me and Jane to go swimming tomorrow.’
‘Oh, cool,’ James said. ‘Max reckons the leisure centre’s got really cool waterslides. Can I come?’
‘Actually, it’s kind of a girls’ outing. Liza’s coming and we already told her she’s not allowed to bring Charlie.’
James looked at his watch. ‘So what time have you got to go back indoors?’
‘We can spend the whole night up here for all I care,’ Hannah said.
She’d already spread out a blanket and a couple of cushions, which was a lot nicer than sitting on the prickly asphalt. They snogged a little bit, but mostly just talked. Hannah was the fifth girl James had got off with since his first ever kiss sixteen months earlier. Out of the five, Hannah was easily the one he had most in common with: she was blonde and good-looking, she had a temper, she hated school and she was always in trouble.
After an hour talking about all kinds of stuff, James realised that he had to do his duty and steered the conversation back towards Will and the robbery. Dave had already confirmed that Will knew Leon, so he thought he’d see what Hannah had to say about Michael Patel.
‘So, you heard about the computer blowing up?’ James said.
Hannah kissed him on the neck. ‘Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. I should have warned you how dusty it is in that lock-up.’
‘It’s not your fault. If I’d had half a brain I would have worked that out for myself. When I was putting Will’s things in my room, it felt so weird. It belonged to someone only a few years older than us and he’s dead. You know what I mean?’
‘I cried so much,’ Hannah said, nodding slowly. ‘For about a week after Will died, I couldn’t get it out of my head, no matter how much I tried to think about something else. Even now I wake up with this funny feeling sometimes. Like, I’m all stiff and sweaty and I’m kind of thinking to myself: was that a dream or did it really happen?’
‘Do you think he was in trouble?’ James suggested. ‘A dark secret, like a girlfriend with a bun in the oven or something?’
Hannah grinned. ‘Will with a girl? No, no, no.’
‘What, was he gay?’
‘He wasn’t gay – at least not so far as I know. But Will never had a girlfriend in his whole life.’
‘When was the last time you saw him?’ James asked.
‘Why are you so interested?’ Hannah asked back.
James realised he’d been rattling off too many questions, like a policeman or something.
‘I dunno,’ he said, trying to sound as if he couldn’t care less. ‘I guess I’m morbid or something. We don’t have to talk about this if it makes you sad.’
Hannah seemed satisfied with the explanation and edged into a little smile.
‘I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘It’s more than a year ago, I’m mostly over it now. The last time I saw Will, I bumped into him on the balcony two days before he died. He looked wasted. Come to think of it, he always looked wasted; but he was in a good mood. He’d just made a couple of grand and he was talking about taking a break and going off to Thailand for a long holiday.’
James recalled seeing a Lonely Planet guide to Thailand amongst Will’s books in the lock-up.
‘So, how do you reckon he made that sort of money, selling dope?’
Hannah looked offended. ‘James, Will smoked a bit of dope but he wasn’t a drug dealer. He had a good reputation for mending computers and setting them up for people and stuff. He’d just done some job for Leon Tarasov.’
‘Right,’ James said, making a mental note of this fact as he sneakily picked off the tiny scab in his hair to make it bleed.
‘Oww,’ he said noisily.
Hannah sat up on the blanket, looking concerned. ‘What’s up?’
‘I accidentally scratched my head. I’m bleeding where that pig belted me again
st the car roof.’
Hannah looked at James’ bloody fingertip. ‘You poor little lamb,’ she said, grinning dopily.
‘That Patel’s a nutter,’ James said. ‘Max reckons he’s smacked a few other kids around, as well.’
‘I’ve heard that,’ Hannah nodded. ‘But he was really nice to me when Will died. He was just around the corner when it happened. He went over and grabbed Will to see if he was alive, then he came running over to me and Jane. I was hysterical. He put his arms around me and rubbed my back to calm me down … Actually, you know what, James? It’s a beautiful warm evening and we’re supposed to be having a nice time.’
‘Sorry,’ James said. ‘What do you want to talk about?’
‘Nothing,’ Hannah said, moving her head towards James so that they could start smooching again.
*
James woke up at seven, busting for a pee with a sunrise breaking out over his head and a dead arm where Hannah’s head was resting on it. He tried moving her gently on to one of the cushions without waking her up, but her eyes flickered open.
‘Oh,’ Hannah moaned slowly, as she stretched into a yawn. ‘My back’s really stiff.’
As James stood up and walked the cramp out of his legs, he noticed loads of cricks and twinges to go with his dead arm.
‘Who’d have thought a hard asphalt roof wasn’t a good place to sleep,’ he grinned. ‘Do you think your dad’s noticed that you’ve gone?’
Hannah shrugged. ‘If he did, he’ll shout at me; if he didn’t, he’ll shout at me about something else. So what difference does it make?’
‘I need the toilet. You can come down to my flat for breakfast if you want. Mind you, I don’t think there’s much in the fridge except milk for cereal … And I think we’re out of cereal.’
‘Might turn that one down then,’ Hannah grinned, as she wrapped the blanket around the two cushions, gathered it up by the corners and slung the bundle over her shoulder.
‘So I’ll see you then,’ James said.
‘What do you think will happen when I tell my dad that we spent all night having sex on the roof?’