STRANGE BODIES (a gripping crime thriller) (11 page)

‘Marcus,’ Verity broke in. ‘Can we sort this out, please?’

Adams wondered,
Was there a note of warning in her voice?

‘Of course, of course. Now, Nicholas, can you pop around today some time?’

‘Certainly, when would be convenient?’

‘Let’s see … it’s twelve fifteen. Shall we say one, that suit you? We can have a bite of lunch together.’

‘You mean now?’

‘Yes, don’t believe in putting things off. I’m not far away, Gemini Towers, 65
th
floor. I’ll arrange for you to be met in the foyer and one of the security staff will whisk you up. Until one then.’

Nicholas looked a little bemused at the exchange that had taken place a few seconds earlier. He said, ‘Well, he’s not going away. Why are you smirking?’

‘I’m never too sure where he is at any time but I knew he was here now and I can always contact him with this.’ She touched the pendant. ‘As you pointed out we had lunch two days ago,’ she said somewhat tartly. ‘And to answer your other question, I may have mentioned something to him about a problem I was having but no names. And I didn’t mention the photos because I only got them yesterday. But you can’t possibly suspect him! That would be ridiculous.’

‘No, I don’t suspect him. I am simply trying to establish who might have known a lot about the Richardsons, we have so little to go on. One of my teams is liaising with CID at this stage and we are trying to gather whatever scraps we can.’

He looked at her pendant and said, ‘And what’s with the phone? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before. Is it new?’

‘Yes, it is,’ she said shortly. ‘It’s a prototype, and that’s all I can say about it. Is there anything else? I have a conference shortly.’

‘I’ll need those photos and the other information you received.’

‘I can do that now.’ She pulled an e-tab from her bag. ‘What’s your code number?’ she asked.

He told her and she keyed in the information. ‘There, you should have them in a second.’

‘How on earth did you …’ His voice trailed off. ‘There’s a lot more to you than I thought, isn’t there, Ms Burne.’ It wasn’t a question.

Nicholas had intended to ask her to have lunch with him but the … invitation? … summons? … from Marcus Havington had scuttled that plan, but no harm in trying. He said, ‘I was going to ask you to have lunch with me but unfortunately Sir Marcus has pre-empted that. Perhaps another time?’

‘I am rarely available at midday, Commander,’ she said coolly. ‘But thank you for asking.’

A little put out at her abrupt dismissal, he said sharply, ‘I’ll need to come and examine your personal computer, the one you received the information and the photos on. In your home office, wasn’t it? I’ve arranged for one of our bright boys to do the work. My computer skills are quite good but not up to the standard of our specialists.’

She looked dismayed. ‘I have confidential information on there. I can’t …’

‘Ms Burne, either we examine your computer at your home or we confiscate it and bring it to CECI.’

‘See See?’

At her puzzled response he added, ‘I mentioned it before—our Cyber and Electronic Crime Investigation division. I’ll arrange it for this afternoon or evening. I strongly suggest you make no alterations or changes to any of your equipment between now and then.’

She thought for a second then sighed. ‘Very well. Obviously I have no choice here. I should be home by five o’clock. Call me before you arrive and I’ll release the parking barrier outside my house. And now may I ask
you
a question?’

‘Yes, but if it’s about the murders I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer it. I’m keeping in mind that you’re a reporter.’

‘I’m just a freelance writer, not an ambulance chaser,’ she retorted. ‘And my question is this: you said this was only one aspect of the case. What are some others?’

‘I can’t answer that at the moment. I’m waiting for some information to come in. The investigators are still going over the Richardson’s house and belongings and trying to find their missing vehicle. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you something later today.’

She rose then and walked to the door. She turned and this time held out her hand. He grasped it gently and said, ‘I’ll see you later today, Miss Burne.’

He stood in the doorway for a few seconds watching as she thanked Mrs Halifax for the coffee. Max was waiting to escort her back down to her car, he was pleased to see, and wondered if he had been there the whole time. He asked Mrs Halifax.

She said dryly, ‘Max knows where to find a cup of tea and a piece of cake. It was no hardship for him to wait for your charming visitor.’

She raised one eyebrow as he said blusteringly, ‘Not a visitor, Mrs Halifax. A possible source of valuable information,’ and turned back to his office.

Rosemary Halifax wondered,
Now what’s got him all hot and bothered? It’s the second time today I’ve seen him flustered. And she’s certainly a lovely looking woman. Hmmm.

Chapter 19

Adams contacted the CECI chief, Inspector Lucas. ‘Matty, I need one of your brighter geeks later today, around five. Anyone up for a spot of overtime, about an hour? Out of my budget. I need to track some very nasty images, murder not porn, so someone with a bit of experience. Don’t want the bugger passing out on us.’

‘This about the Richardson case, Nick? Heard about that. Yes, very odd, very nasty. Believe they were tortured. I’ll ask around, see who’s available and get back to you in five.’ He broke off abruptly and was back in four. ‘Got someone. He would have been my first choice anyway but he volunteered. Ex-Yank, New York … Jet Blanchard. Made Detective Sergeant here last year. He was a murder cop for a number of years in NY then transferred to electronic crime before he came here so he’s not likely to faint on you.’

‘Jet! Is that his real name?’

‘No. Jeff, I think … yes, Jeffrey with a J. Jet by name and nature. Works fast and good. Very, very good as we recruited him specifically about three years ago. He’d put in an application for migration and his quals popped up when we ran the standard checks. Yeah, he became a citizen early this year. I remember we had a bit of a do for him. Single, thirty-four, babe magnet too, so I’m told.’

Nicholas guffawed. ‘Any of your crew not? From what I’ve heard they all are.’

‘Well, girl geeks often tend to be on the …umm … plainer side but the current crop, geez, if I was ten years younger.’

‘That’s a load of cock, Matty. You and Irene are the happiest couple I know.’

‘Yeah, well, no harm in looking, mate. About time you came round for dinner again. Rene was asking about you. She wanted to know if you’d found yourself a girlfriend yet.’

‘Please don’t let her set me up again. That lady friend of hers who just “dropped in unexpectedly”? She was even more embarrassed than I was.’

‘I hear you got all hot and bothered about the lovely Verity Burne from
Circe
mag.’

‘Who the hell told you that! She’s only just left the building.’

‘Ha, that’d be telling.’

‘Surely not Mrs Halifax. I couldn’t believe ...’

‘Nah. I happened to ride up in the elevator with your security guard a few minutes before you called me. He said you were ogling her as she left.’ He roared laughing. ‘Yep, he actually said, “ogling”.’

‘Shit, get hold of the stupid bastard and tell him to keep his fu ... flapping mouth shut. I didn’t ogle, I don’t ogle. I may admire but ogle … never. And I didn’t anyway. Look, I mean … well, maybe I did look …’

He realised he was waffling so stopped before he could make a complete fool of himself. ‘Ms Burne is certainly an attractive woman. Speaking of which, hers is the computer we need to look at. Send your Jet up to my office around four-thirty and I’ll fill him in on what we need to do. He can come with me to her house and I’ll voucher him an autocab home.’

‘OK. Now you bring her along for one of Irene’s gourmet feasts one night,’ Matty said. He rang off with a laugh.

Nicholas put his head in his hands and groaned.
Now I’m thoroughly confused. And who the hell does she remind me of?
It must be someone I’ve seen in one of Father’s old movies.

He decided that as soon as he had an early night, and the energy, he would unpack the box with the collection of video disks and the old player, some of the few personal items he had brought with him, small mementos of happier times. As a young boy he had enjoyed watching those old, old movies with his father, especially the silent ones where everyone walked jerkily, the Keystone Kops his favourites then.

He buzzed Mrs Halifax. ‘I’m having lunch with Marcus Havington at one o’clock today. I should be back by two to two thirty. What appointments do I have?’

She looked surprised, but merely said, ‘Nothing until your three o’clock with the Commissioner. You did say Sir Marcus Havington, Commander?’ She frowned. ‘I thought he was away.’

‘No, he put that off apparently. Ms Burne contacted him and arranged it. I need a bit of exercise so I’ll walk down to his office. It’s in the new Gemini Towers in Liverpool Street opposite Hyde Park, isn’t it? I said I’d be there at one so if I leave now I should be there in time. Message me if anything urgent comes up.

‘Oh, and a DS Blanchard, name of Jet, from CECI will be here at four thirty. We’ll be going to Miss Burne’s place to see if he can track down the source of some graphic photos she was sent. I won’t be back after that so you can leave whenever it suits.’

He had almost no secrets from Mrs Halifax. She was cleared to a level only two steps below his and her mind was as sharp as a tack. She was responsible for all the security in his offices. She monitored and recorded all meetings unless he indicated otherwise; they had various code phrases for that. He wasn’t sure why she had opted to come to Australia, but was very pleased she had. With his recommendation and endorsement there had been no hiccups with the application. It didn’t matter why—as long as she was here.

Chapter 20

Eighty storeys high, the foyer of Gemini One was breathtaking. Glass elevators clung to the inside of the building, their exposed cables like exotic vines amongst a jungle of rich greenery. The ripple and plash of a waterfall cascading from the heights filled the air, competing with bird song and the chatter of crowds thronging the cafes and bars. Nicholas looked up and saw flashes of colour as birds flittered through the greenery of towering palms and exotic plants.

Before he reached the large circular reception counter, a tall redhead in a dark blue uniform stepped towards him. Her face was too angular for beauty but she was striking, with dark brown eyes and a proud nose. Her hair was pulled back in a severe braid, accentuating high cheekbones and a wide mouth. She smiled at him and spoke in a broad American accent.

‘Commander Adams? I’m Lara Nash and I’ll be escorting you to Sir Marcus. If you’ll come this way, sir.’

She led him down a short corridor, stopped about halfway and pressed her finger on a metal plate set beside a mirrored panel which slid open revealing an elevator. She smiled at his surprised expression and said, ‘Sir Marcus doesn’t care for the glass elevators. This one is direct to his office.’

‘I was told I’d be met by security. Are you …?’ Nicholas asked.

She answered before he completed his question, ‘I’m Sir Marcus’ personal bodyguard and I assure you I am more than capable of looking after him. If you have a doubt, perhaps we could go a round or two, unarmed combat, I mean of course.’ She smiled at him and licked her lips.

He eyed the sturdy body which filled her uniform more than adequately. She was almost as tall as he and her shoulders strained the sleeves of her jacket.

‘I’ll pass on that offer, thanks. I’m a bit out of practice these days. Texas?’ he queried, one eyebrow raised.

‘Well, yes, Commander. Good ear. But it’s been a while since I left Fort Worth for New York. I like to think of myself as an Aussie now.’

The lift doors opened and they stepped into a small foyer where a woman sat at an elegant desk, a holo screen in front of her. Lara introduced them.

‘This is Ms Tennant, Sir Marcus’ PA.’

She nodded and smiled slightly before resuming her work.

They passed through a broad archway into a space that looked like the living room of a comfortable house. To one side was a fireplace, the walls held tapestries and paintings and the floors were scattered with rugs, faded old Persians. A comfortable seating arrangement of couches and armchairs, side tables and lamps took up most of the remaining space on that side of the room.

The decor reminded him of Adelaide Browne’s house. Nicholas could see a carpeted hallway at the rear of the room with several closed doors leading from it. The smell of freshly made coffee filled the air and to the left of the room he saw a console with a coffee machine. The wall nearby held a number of monitors, and a brief glance in that direction showed him a glimpse of the foyer and another location he didn’t recognise.

Nicholas barely had time to take this in before Lara was introducing him to a tall man who seemed familiar.

‘Commander, this is Orlando Gray, the company’s Security Chief. Orlando, Commander Nicholas Adams.’

‘Good afternoon, Commander. We met at your mother’s funeral … such a sad occasion.’

Orlando Gray was well named. In spite of his impressive size, he was a grey man in an unremarkable dark grey suit. His face was bland, unmemorable and his eyes were pale grey behind rimless lenses. Now in his early thirties, his hair was the sort of mousy colour that never changes much from childhood to old age. They shook hands.

‘Of course. Nice to meet you again in more pleasant circumstances,’ he said, glancing around. ‘I can’t quite take this in … it’s more like a home than an office.’

‘Indeed. Sir Marcus likes his comforts.’ He spoke as though he disapproved, lips compressed to a thin line after the utterance. ‘If you wouldn’t mind having a seat for a few minutes. I have something to attend to first.’

He turned to Lara, gripping her arm possessively as they walked over to the coffee machine, talking in a low voice. She pulled her arm free and poured a mug of coffee as they spoke. She shook her head sharply and spoke to him, her face conveying annoyance. Gray took her upper arm and shook it roughly; she pulled away angrily, before seating herself at the bank of monitors, one of which he noticed showed the interior of the lift he’d just left.

Nick pondered this scene as Gray walked back to him.

Down the hall Gray pressed his hand to a panel which opened the door of an elevator concealed behind rich timber-look panelling.

‘Ms Nash has notified Sir Marcus of your arrival and he will be waiting for you,’ said Gray as he held the door open. He ushered Nick into the small space then stood back. The door closed and the elevator started upwards. After a few seconds the door opened and Nick saw Marcus Havington waiting to greet him.

He held out both hands. ‘Nicholas, my boy. How delightful to see you again. Come in, come in.’

‘Sir Marcus,’ murmured Nicholas. ‘I feel like Alice in Wonderland.’

Marcus chuckled. ‘I’ve got just the thing, a bottle marked “Drink me”. It’s a 40-year-old malt, but good enough, eh. Well, dear boy, come and sit down over here. And please, drop the Sir.’

Nick looked around at another unusual room, this one more office-like but still furnished like a private home rather than a place of business. He hadn’t seen Marcus for a while, not since his first month in Australia. It always surprised him that such a mild and pleasant man could command such enormous wealth and wield such enormous power throughout the world. At sixty-five, his hair was still thick with only a few grey hairs scattered through the dark brown. He exuded a quiet but powerful presence.

‘Where exactly are we now? Is this the top floor?’

‘Yes, it is and there is an identical office in Gemini Two next door.’ He gestured to the twin building a corner of which could be seen through the tall windows.

‘I like to move around, but I want all my offices to look the same. You might say, as some do, that I’m paranoid about security, now we are in a fully shielded top-floor penthouse. No possibility of being monitored.’

‘Is this necessary? I just have a couple of questions to do with a murder investigation, nothing secret about that.’

‘Of course, of course, but after we get that out of the way there are some other matters I need to discuss with you now that you are here. So indulge me.’

Nicholas said dryly, ‘It was actually Verity who made the contact. I was told by Gray that you were away.’

‘Ah, yes, Orlando,’ said Marcus. His eyes twinkled. ‘Were you perhaps thinking Verity was my mistress? As it happens Verity and Adelaide are my nieces. Odd, I thought you knew that. Daughters of my late twin sisters, Sophie and Maria. They lost both sets of parents when Verity was eleven and Adelaide ten. Avalanche … long story, for another time. Ask her about it, eh? Charlie and the girls were staying with us on the farm just outside Burford for school holidays when it happened. My wife and I were their guardians.’

He paused, frowned, then added, ‘And what were your people doing spying on me anyway?’

‘Not my people. The Fraud squad have their eye on some fellow who was also lunching there. Nothing to do with you, actually. Their DCI happened to mention it to me in passing. Good looking girl having a very friendly lunch with Sir Marcus Havington … just a casual reference. You
are
well known.

‘Which brings me to the point of all this—did Verity, Ms Burne, say anything to you about the Richardsons? Anything about her sources, anything at all?’

‘Hmm, I recall her mentioning a problem she was having. She certainly didn’t mention any names. That good enough for you? And now let’s get comfortable. Sandwiches there under the cover. Coffee or a splash or two of this malt?’

‘Better stick with coffee for now. I still have a long day to get through.’

‘Verity is a wonderful girl. Had a bad marriage, poor thing, he said. ‘And had a lot of fortune hunters after her since her husband died. Know about that, Nicholas?’

‘Marcus, I’m not here to discuss Ms Burne …’

‘You know, your parents were very dear to me, right from the early days. Hugo always said if anything happened to him he wanted me to look after your mother and you, physically and financially. And I did. Kept an eye on both of you, one way or another.

‘Your mother, Eleanor, was one of the great beauties of her day. When Hugo met her here in Australia within weeks he whisked her back to England to meet his family. I think we all fell in love with her on sight. So very sweet and natural. I wasn’t the only broken heart when she and your father married. Still, I met my beloved Elizabeth not long after and we were happy till the day she died.’ He sighed gently, then took a sandwich and bit into it thoughtfully.

‘I don’t know why I’m telling you your own family history! Now, Verity. Verity is physically a strong woman, quite capable of looking after herself these days. Emotionally, well, that’s a different matter. She needs a good man, I mean good. As I know you are. If you want her you will have to be patient, very patient.’

‘What’s this all leading up to? And what did you mean by fortune hunters? Are your nieces your heirs?’

‘Let me explain. After I finished my engineering degree I worked with my father for some years. This was back when the W.I.S.E. project was being mooted. The old man was one of the movers and was prepared to back it if others were willing to come in. It was to be a joint undertaking with the Australian Government.’

‘Sorry, Marcus … wise?’

‘Water for an Inland Sea Enterprise or Project, usually called W - I - S - E or sometimes WISP. You must have heard about the north-to-south canals and lakes in Central Australia. Look, I don’t want to go into all this now. I’ll send you the references and you can read it all yourself at your leisure. Fascinating stuff.’

‘Anyway, once the thing got underway the old man saw I was more than capable of running the show, so he signed over most of the shares in the companies to the three of us, to me and my two sisters, when he turned sixty. Said he wanted to enjoy his money before he was too old and took off to do just that. He’s still doing it too. I’ve lost track but I think he’s on his fourth or fifth wife, somewhere in the South Pacific or wherever it’s warm and still above water. My sisters weren’t interested in business, both being academic types, so were happy to take income from their shares and leave me to run it on my own. When they died half their shares went to Verity, to Adelaide and her brother Charles in trust until a certain age and the rest to me. In addition to the trust income, Verity has made a lot through her own inventions and patents. Charles and Adelaide too, for that matter, made plenty off their own bat.’

‘Charles? I didn’t know Adelaide had a brother. Where is he?’

‘Charles Havington Browne is CEO of Proserpina Inc, the parent company of my American business interests. A very astute chap who earns every cent of his large remuneration. He lives in New York with his wife, Faith, and their two young children. Most of his trust income is diverted to various charities.’

‘Hang on, Verity has inventions and patents? What sort of inventions are you talking about?’

‘She has a company, an electronics company and that’s all I’m going to say. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.’

‘How many more surprises have you got for me today, Marcus? And well, I see what you mean about fortune hunters and I …’ he stopped at a sudden thought. ‘Does she think I’m a fortune hunter? Is that why she won’t …?’

Marcus held up his hand to silence Nicholas, stood up and walked over to his desk. ‘In a word, no. Now, I want to show you something. Come and sit here.’ He pointed to a chair on the other side of the desk. ‘I told you I’ve been looking after your mother’s finances. Now I want to show you just how. He placed his palm flat on the desktop.

‘Computer, commence operations. File Adams-Chandos, subfile ANS7132b. Execute.’

The desk top shimmered for a couple of seconds then cleared to show a spreadsheet filled with financial data.

‘Split screen, duplicate and reverse duplicate data. Execute.’ The desktop shimmered again and showed identical spreadsheets, one of them now facing towards Nicholas.

‘What is this? What am I looking at?’

‘This is your trust fund, yours and your brother Christopher’s actually. I set these up when you were about ten. We, your father and I, set up one for your mother too which was wound up after she died. As you know she left everything to you and your brother. Now, your own trust fund matures on your thirty-fifth birthday which is just a few weeks away. Keep looking.’ Marcus slowly ran his finger down the screen, scrolling down, revealing page after page of figures in amounts that were almost incomprehensible to Nicholas.

‘What is this? Why didn’t I know about this? Why didn’t my mother mention it? Why now? … I’m sorry for all the questions, Marcus, but this is rapidly becoming most confusing.’

Marcus said, ‘You had to know this sometime soon and today is as good a day as any. As I said, I was going to contact you—this is why. Please look at the bottom line.’ He pointed to it.

Nicholas felt himself blanch. ‘This can’t be,’ he whispered. ‘I thought we both had decent incomes from Father’s trust, but this … I can’t take it in. Are you sure this is right?’ He stabbed a finger at the screen, which rippled slightly.