The Coercion Key (25 page)

McDonagh gazed at the sketch for a moment, her face unreadable, then she fixed Annette with a stare.

“May I ask what sort of enquiries?”

“No, I’m afraid you may not.” Annette’s tone hardened as she sensed a hostile witness. “Do you know her or not, Ms McDonagh?”

The woman hesitated and glanced at Jake. His gaze matched Annette’s for sternness and McDonagh realised that she had no friends in the room. Finally she sighed.

“Yes, I know her. You’re correct, her name is Jenna Graham. She’s been a member here for several years.”

“Doing what?”

“The usual things. Gym, dance classes, socialising. She’s a member of the swimming team. A very good swimmer I’ve heard.”

Annette leaned forward, not relaxing her gaze. “Are you saying that you don’t know her personally?”

McDonagh stammered out a reply. “N…No, I didn’t say that. This is a small gym and we all know each other. I just meant…”

Annette knew exactly what she’d ‘just meant’. She’d seen it a million times before. Friends, work colleagues, even family members started to distance themselves from someone once the police appeared. It was as if because someone was wanted for a crime the police would suddenly start examining the lives of everyone who knew them. Annette had wanted to say ‘give me a break’ more times than she could count. Did they really think cops had nothing better to do than dig randomly into people’s lives? They had enough crime to solve without looking for more. Annette maintained her neutral approach despite her annoyance.

“So you do know Ms Graham. Tell us what you know about her, please.”

McDonagh glanced frantically at the door behind them as if praying that some rescuer would appear. Her face was a shifting picture of ‘what should I say?’ and ‘what do they know?’ Annette was tempted to put her out of her misery and say, ‘don’t worry, we know that Jenna is transgender so you won’t be giving anything away’, but she kept her mouth firmly shut and tightened her gaze. Finally Louise McDonagh told them what they already knew.

“Jenna is transgendered; male to female.”

Annette nodded and the woman looked relieved.

“You know?”

“Yes. What else can you tell us about her?”

McDonagh relaxed and spoke more freely. “She joined us about eight years ago, I’d have to check the records to be accurate but I don’t think it was long after her surgery had been completed.” She smiled. “She’s a truly beautiful woman; you would never know that she’d been a man.”

She saw that Annette wasn’t smiling back and hurried on, wondering what sort of crime warranted the attention of two detectives on a Saturday afternoon. It had to be something bad.

“Jenna keeps herself to herself really. Just does her classes and leaves. We have a lot of members like that. She joined the swimming team a while back, which was a bit of a surprise.”

Annette leaned in urgently. “Why? Couldn’t she swim?”

McDonagh’s expression showed that the idea hadn’t occurred to her. She shook her head. “God, no. She swims like a fish. I was just surprised because…”

Her voice tailed off and Annette could feel her irritation rise in response. She slapped her palm down on the desk, making Jake twitch. The effect on Louise McDonagh was more satisfactory. Her eyes widened and she started to gabble.

“Well, because, the team is a lesbian team.”

Annette screwed up her face in confusion and glanced at Jake. He looked equally puzzled. He spoke for the first time in five minutes.

“I’m sorry, but aren’t all the gym’s members lesbian?”

Louise McDonagh’s eyes widened so far that she reminded Annette of a children’s cartoon.

“No they are not! This is a women’s gym, not a lesbian one.”

As if to establish her own heterosexual credentials she pointed to a photograph on the notice board, that Annette and Jake had missed. “That’s my husband and children.” She stared indignantly at Jake, her voice hardening. “Where did you get that impression from?”

It was Jake’s turn to babble. “Someone we met implied that it was.”

“Well then, I suggest you correct their assumptions. We cater for all women, not just one group. We have classes for various religious groups, disabled groups, mothers and toddlers and obviously straight and lesbian members. The fact that some of our lesbian members have decided to form a swimming team is their business.”

Annette watched the exchange, wondering why McDonagh was so irate. All she’d managed to do with her indignation was confirm that she was prejudiced. Annette returned to the original point.

“Why are you surprised that Jenna Graham joined the swimming team? Are you saying that she isn’t lesbian?”

McDonagh nodded firmly. “She definitely isn’t. I know that because she met my son one day and was very taken with him. Couldn’t stop talking about how handsome he was. She joined this gym to avoid the bullying she’d encountered at mixed gyms when they found out that she’d once been a man. She came here to be safe and accepted, which she was. But she definitely isn’t gay. That’s why I was surprised when she joined the lesbian team instead of one of the other swimming teams here.”

Annette shook her head, bewildered. She watched as Jake withdrew a photograph of Victoria Linton from his pocket and nodded him on to ask the question that was on both their lips.

“Do you have a Victoria Linton among your members?”

McDonagh thought for a moment as if picturing each member’s face then she rose and walked to a filing cabinet in the corner, pulling out the top drawer. After a moment rifling through the files she shook her head.

“No, there’s no member of that name. Not now and not for the past five years. We keep the past five years files on top.”

Jake handed her Vicky Linton’s photograph and they both watched as she smiled.

“Oh, that’s Vicky Mooney. Lovely girl. She’s on the swim team.” She nodded. “She’s definitely lesbian.”

Craig had been right. Vicky Linton was gay and she’d been hiding it from her work colleagues and family by telling them that she was dating a man, the mysterious Julian Mooney. Linton had even hidden her true name at the gym, taking Mooney’s surname instead. If Craig was correct then Jenna Graham had joined the swim team deliberately to meet Linton then lied and said she was lesbian to insinuate herself into Linton’s life. It was a lot of trouble to go to just to stalk her prey. Graham must have been obsessed with revenge.

Annette stood up to leave. “Thank you, Ms McDonagh. That’s been helpful.”

“What did I say that helped?”

Annette ignored the question and continued. “Now, we need the names and addresses of every member of the swimming team.” They had to find Jenna Graham. It was going to be a busy couple of days.

Chapter Nineteen

The C.C.U. 4 p.m.

“OK, it’s the weekend so I’m going to make this short and sweet. You all have homes to go to and in Liam’s case he seems to think that his is my flat!”

All eyes turned to Liam and he nodded grimly. “He’s not to be trusted. He nipped out to see Linton’s neighbours without letting anyone know.”

Jake interjected innocently. “Does he have to? Let anyone know I mean? Isn’t he the boss?”

The glares Nicky and Liam gave him put Jake quickly back in his box. Craig smiled at him in a way that said ‘I thought I was as well…’ then he turned back to the job in hand.

“Right. Let’s start with Annette and Jake. Anything interesting at the gym?”

Annette gazed at him and shook her head. Not with a ‘no’ but with an incredulity that said ‘how did you know that Victoria Linton was gay?’

“We found out that Jenna’s surname is Graham. I’m sure it will turn out to be false but maybe Graham’s a family name.”

Liam cut in, laughing. “Or maybe there’s another corpse out there called Graham that we know nothing about.”

Annette shrugged. “Nothing would surprise me about this case after today. Anyway, Jenna Graham joined the gym eight years ago. By the way, it’s a women’s gym, not a lesbian one. It seems we got our wires a little crossed.”

It was Nicky who interrupted this time. “You mean there are no men allowed at all?”

“None.”

Nicky sighed and gazed into the distance with a beatific smile on her face. “No rowdiness, perfume and flowers everywhere. I bet there was even a coffee shop with somewhere for kids to play. Heaven.”

Annette smiled in agreement, ignoring the mock-indignant expressions of the men in the team.

“Anyway, it was pretty much as Nicky described it. We met with the duty manager, Louise McDonagh, and after she’d been reminded of her civic duty she cooperated and checked her records. She knew Jenna was transgender and said that she joined the gym to avoid the bullying that she’d experienced elsewhere, but she was surprised when Jenna joined the swimming team.”

Liam asked the obvious question. “Couldn’t she swim?”

His guffaw was ignored by the rest of the group and Annette carried on.

“I asked that but she could swim brilliantly. McDonagh was surprised because Jenna wasn’t gay and that particular team definitely was. Every member was lesbian except for her.”

Craig leaned forward eagerly. “Including Victoria Linton by any chance?”

“Yes.”

“How did the manager know that Graham wasn’t gay?”

“Because she met her son one day and made no bones about how much she fancied him. Another thing: Victoria Linton went under a false name at the gym. McDonagh only recognised her from the picture. She called herself Vicky Mooney. Linton must have had a personality transplant as well, because McDonagh described her as a lovely girl.”

Liam snorted. “That’s not what her P.A. called her.”

Nicky nodded wisely. “P.A.s see the true side of their bosses.” She attempted a meaningful glare at Craig then giggled. Craig smiled and turned back to Annette.

“Vicky Mooney…” He shook his head sadly. “The poor girl was living in a dream world where Jenna Graham really loved her, but she still couldn’t come out as lesbian to the rest of the world. She even took her alias Julian Mooney’s surname.”

“Actually I think it was the other way around, sir. Mooney had been Victoria Linton’s alias since she’d joined the gym in 2009. I think that when they were cooking up a cover name for Jenna Graham, she became Julian Mooney because it fitted Victoria Linton’s existing fantasy.”

Liam interrupted. “Aye, whatever. But meantime this Jenna Graham really fancied men?” He shook his head. “All this confusion’s giving me a headache.”

Jake leapt in. “Just don’t start thinking you’re gay, for God’s sake, Liam. That would really upset evolution.”

Liam looked at Jake blankly while the others laughed. By the time he got the joke Craig had moved on.

“OK, so Victoria Linton kept her sexuality secret except for the people she met at the gym. Her neighbours had no idea and I’m damned sure that her father didn’t know, although I’m going to ask him a few questions.”

Annette gave him a warning look. “You’re not giving away her secret, are you? It was her business.”

Craig shook his head. “Don’t worry; I’ll keep the questions neutral. I just want to find out how well Henry Linton knew his daughter and if he ever met Jenna Graham in the guise of Julian Mooney. OK, so Victoria Linton showed a completely different side of her character at work and the gym. At the gym she was vulnerable and pleasant and at work she was a shark. Jenna Graham would have seen Linton’s vulnerable side but it still didn’t deter her from killing Linton along with all the rest.”

Davy had been lounging back in his chair chewing on his nails, now he graced them with his giant brain. “She left Linton to almost the last though, chief. Maybe she w…was in two minds about killing her?”

Liam snorted. “More likely she needed somewhere decent to stay. You didn’t see Mooney’s house.”

Craig thought for a moment. “You’ve both made good points, although I’m inclined to think it was lodgings rather than love that motivated Graham to kill Linton near the end. But that raises a question. Uniform went through Julian Mooney’s house an hour ago and found nothing that indicated a woman was living there, so where are Jenna Graham’s clothes? And if she’s planning to skip the country she’ll need a passport and money, there was no sign of either of those at the house.”

Davy cut in. “If I w...were her I’d carry my passport and money with me everywhere.”

“Fair enough. But what about her clothes? Unless she’s dragging a suitcase around Belfast she has to keep them somewhere. We’ve put the house under surveillance just in case she comes back but my guess is that she won’t.”

Liam made a suggestion. “Couldn’t she have put them in a left-luggage locker?”

Jake jumped in. “Or how about at the gym? She must have a locker there.”

Craig nodded. They were both valid ideas. “Liam, you check the left-luggage at train stations, airports and ferry terminals. Get the Garda Síochána to check down south. Jake, go back to the gym and take a look. Get a warrant for Graham’s locker before you go.”

Annette was quiet but Craig could see her mind at work.

“Penny for them, Annette.”

Annette hesitated, unsure whether to say what she was thinking or not. “Well… it’s just a thought, but if I wanted to hide clothes or suitcases somewhere that they wouldn’t be noticed, I’d hide them in plain sight.”

Nicky saw where she was going and nodded.

“OK, where, Annette? At the gym?”

“No. I’d hide them amongst Victoria Linton’s stuff in her flat. If they were in a relationship Graham probably had a key to Linton’s flat. It was searched last week but not since and it’s not a crime-scene any more so Graham could easily be staying there now. Besides, even if some of Graham’s clothes had been there last week who would have noticed them amongst all Vicky Linton’s things? Apart from trouser length and shoes Graham and Linton might have worn the same size. And empty suitcases left at Linton’s would have been ignored unless they’d been monogrammed differently. If Jenna Graham has been living there, her things could easily have passed as Victoria Linton’s. We should go back now and take another look.”

Davy nodded. “She w…would have had a key. I gave Maggie a key a few months after w…we started dating. Most couples have keys to each other’s places.”

Liam sniffed. “I never gave Danni a key until we got married.”

“Before you w…were married people still had drawbridges instead of doors.”

“You cheeky…”

Liam was interrupted by Craig’s raised hand.

“Annette’s right. Forget the lost-luggage search, Liam, you and I will take Linton’s apartment. My money’s on Jenna Graham staying there until she gets ready to run, if she hasn’t already gone that is. It’s getting late so let’s leave it until tomorrow; I want armed support there as well. Graham’s already shot two men. Annette, I’m betting that you have a list of names on the swimming team to interview. You and Jake can take those tomorrow as well.” He swung to face Davy. “Davy, give us whatever you’ve got, then we’ll call it a day and brief tomorrow morning at ten.”

Davy reached back over his head, lifting a folder from his desk and giving the hand-outs inside to Liam to distribute.

“OK. You each have four s…sheets. The top one has the code from the keys. Although it kills me to admit it, Liam was right.”

Liam gave a satisfied grin.

“It was a pension number. A private pension purchased with the health service pension of a Mrs Mary Mulhearn, a part-time nurse who w…worked at the Maternity, Paediatric and Endocrine Unit on Elmwood Avenue. S…She took her pension as soon as she could, in 1998 when she was fifty years old.”

Annette winced. She’d been a nurse before she’d joined the police and she knew that the health service pension, while small, was reliable. Why would anyone have taken it out of a public sector haven and gambled by putting it in a private pension fund? Davy answered her with his next words.

“The pension w…would only have given her three hundred pounds per month and she was a widow with a child, a fourteen-year-old boy called James. Her husband died earlier that year so she was s…struggling alone on the pension and the salary of a part-time nurse of ten thousand pounds per year.”

James Mulhearn was her son. Jake’s chat-room gamer.

Craig interrupted. “She must have been desperate for money if that was all she earned. By swapping over to a private pension she would have been hoping to generate an additional income and be able to live decently.”

Davy shook his dark head and frowned. “I think that was the plan but by 1999 she w…wasn’t earning at all. She left w…work because of ill health. Depression. S…So by then her pension was all she had. I think I know what happened but I’ll confirm the exact details on Monday w…when there are more people around.” He paused and his expression changed to one of sadness. “Mary Mulhearn died on the 14
^th
of May 1999 leaving her s…son James alone at fifteen year’s old. He ended up in the care s…system, but Jake was right, he inherited her life insurance money w…when he was eighteen.”

“How much, Davy?”

“Half a million pounds. Enough to pay for gender-reassignment surgery and more. By the w…way, the operation must have been done abroad somewhere. There’s no record of it anywhere in the UK.”

Liam whistled. “Half a million! The mother must have insured herself up to the eyeballs. Even so, how could the boy have claimed on the insurance if she committed suicide? Surely they wouldn’t have paid out? And how could any mother kill herself and leave a young lad alone?”

Annette swung on him. “She was depressed, Liam. Not sad, not just having a bad day, depressed. Have you any idea what that means?”

Liam saw the fury in her eyes and leaned back in his seat. “Whoa. Calm down. I was only saying.”

“You’re always only saying something.”

Craig intervened before a full-scale row broke out. “Rein it in you two. Annette, you obviously have strong feelings about this. Why?”

Annette shook her head. “I had a depressed patient once… he…”

Her voice broke and Craig knew what she’d been going to say. ‘He committed suicide.’ He nodded and turned back to the group.

“OK, Liam, be a bit more sensitive please. Depression’s not something people can control. But you have a point about the suicide. However Mrs Mulhearn died she must have managed to make it look like natural causes for the boy to inherit the insurance money.”

Annette spoke quietly. “It’s easy enough to make a suicide look natural if you know how, especially back then when forensics weren’t as advanced. As a nurse she would have known how to do it.”

Craig nodded. However Mary Mulhearn had died she’d convinced the insurance company that it was natural causes, but somehow her teenage son had known the truth and suicide had become his fixation. He nodded Davy on.

“OK. Turn the page and you’ll s…see the photo of James Mulhearn from 2004 and beside it Dr W…Winter’s image of his shooter, Jenna Graham.” He stopped and turned to Craig. “By the way, chief, Mary Mulhearn’s maiden name w…was Graham.”

It figured. People never travelled too far when they were looking for aliases.

“You can see that the features are the s…same in both photographs. Mulhearn was thin and fine-featured. That made him an attractive girl. Mulhearn had short auburn hair but the Doc s…said Graham’s was long and curly, so the sketch artist put that in.”

They stared at the page in silence for a moment. There was no doubt about it. James Mulhearn and Jenna Graham were the same person, but where Mulhearn had been an average looking man, Graham was a stunning looking woman. Craig shot Liam a look that warned him not to crack any jokes.

“Good. Did you produce an image of what Julian Mooney might have looked like?”

“Next page.”

When they turned over the page a second set of images appeared. On one side of the page was Jenna Graham just as before, on the other was her as she might have looked like as Julian Mooney. Davy had tied her hair back at the nape of her neck, added glasses and a moustache and created a realistic looking man.

“S…She would probably still remember how a man w…walked and spoke, so she’d have fooled anyone who saw Mooney, even close up I would think.”

Craig nodded, still staring at the page. “This is brilliant work, Davy. Liam, get uniform to show these around where Mooney lives and get all three images checked against passport photos, please.”

Davy shook his head. “I’ve already done Mulhearn’s checks, there’s no passport and nothing at all on him after 2004. I’ll leave Mooney’s and Graham’s checks running tonight w…when I go home. There’s one last page in your hand-out.”

They’d all missed it. The page contained one paragraph: a citation from the Central Saint Martin’s in London. ‘James Mulhearn. BA honours in Jewellery Design 2008.’

Mulhearn had created the keys himself. But where had he bought the platinum? Craig went to ask the question of Davy, but Jake jumped in.