Horton to discover who had. And there was more. Horton’s mind was teeming with ideas. He needed to talk to Uckfield urgently, but first he asked Gaye to look up the word
Hastily thanking her, and asking her to pass on his gratitude to Lauder and Perdita, he hurried back to the station after promising her he’d tell her all later.
‘Over a drink,’ she called out after him.
Horton found Uckfield in the incident room along with Trueman, Dennings and Marsden. He’d anticipated an atmosphere of excitement — the news that Venetia Trotman was Georgian was a breakthrough — but what he saw, much to his surprise, was dejection and in Uckfield’s case sullen anger.
‘Why so gloomy?’ he asked in puzzlement, removing his leather jacket.
Uckfield answered him grumpily. ‘Why do you think? You’ve ruled Felton out of the investigation and we’ve got sod all else.’
‘But Lauder’s analysis of Venetia Trotman changes everything.’
‘What bloody analysis?’
Horton focused his gaze on Dennings. The idiot hadn’t told Uckfield or Trueman.
Flippantly, Dennings said, ‘Dr Clayton’s friend claims she’s from Georgia.’
‘John Lauder is a forensic anthropologist,’ Horton corrected, stiffly. Uckfield glowered at Dennings.
‘So, she’s a foreigner.’ Dennings shrugged but glared at Horton, clearly not pleased with him butting in and showing up his incompetence.
Trueman caught on instantly. ‘Your anonymous tip-off could also be someone from Georgia.’
‘Yes. And there’s more.’ Horton’s thoughts were tumbling through his head like tickets in a tombola. Quickly he told them about the symbol etched on his Harley, which drew raised eyebrows from Trueman and a ‘bloody hell’ from Uckfield. Horton then said, ‘And there’s Jay Turner.’
‘Who?’ Uckfield asked.
Excitedly, Horton said, ‘My body in the harbour turns out to be Jay Turner, who is of great interest to Commander Waverley and Superintendent Harlam of the Serious Organized Crime Agency. Turner was born in Portsmouth, and educated at the University of London where he got a degree in Modern Languages, specializing in Russian. He was last seen alive in London on the twentieth of February. He left on foot, didn’t own a car and wasn’t carrying any luggage. Cantelli discovered that Turner began working for the International Development Fund in 1996 and regularly spent three to six months working overseas, and the rest of the time he was hardly ever in London.’
Uckfield opened his mouth to speak, but Horton quickly continued. ‘We learn that Venetia Trotman originates from Georgia, and judging from the lack of any ID I wouldn’t mind betting she’s here illegally. Her husband, Joseph Trotman, bought Willow Bank in 1997 and paid all his bills in cash. Venetia told me her husband had died three months ago, but how do we know that for certain? His death hasn’t been registered because his identity is false. I wouldn’t mind betting that Joseph Trotman equals Jay Turner and that he met Venetia when he was working in Georgia.’
‘You’ve got evidence?’ Uckfield interjected sharply.
‘No. I’m assuming it because Turner worked for the International Development Fund, and spoke Russian.’
Uckfield addressed Marsden. ‘Get everything you can on this International Development Fund. Find out if they operate in Georgia and if so since when.’
‘There’s something else,’ Horton added. ‘The missing yacht is called
With renewed vigour, Uckfield turned to Trueman. ‘What do you know about Georgia? Recent events not ancient bloody history.’
‘It’s complex,’ Trueman said.
Uckfield rolled his eyes. ‘Edited highlights please,’ he pleaded.
As Trueman delved into his encyclopedic memory he also tapped into his computer. ‘Georgia is in south- western Asia, bordering the Black Sea, and sharing borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. It’s largely a mountainous country with the Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south. Georgia is of great strategic interest to Russia and the West, because it sits in the path of potentially lucrative oil routes. But relations with Russia are very tense. Georgia’s also featured in the Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts-’
‘As in he of the Golden Fleece,’ interrupted Uckfield.
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I hope we don’t end up with skeletons dancing all over the bloody place.’
‘It’s also got Black Sea port facilities at Poti and Batumi,’ Trueman added, ‘which are becoming increasingly important as main cargo terminals for the Caucasus and Central Asia.’
‘And for smuggling people out of the country,’ added Horton meditatively, ‘which could be the reason for Waverley’s interest.’
Uckfield said, ‘Could Jay Turner aka Joseph Trotman have been using his yacht and Willow Bank for that?’
It was possible, but Horton said, ‘I’d have thought he’d have been picked up by now if he had.’ Immigration and customs regularly patrolled the Solent. ‘But he could have another route, or varied them. Or he might be involved in something else illegal, large-scale corruption for example. Hence the Serious Organized Crime Agency’s interest.’
Uckfield sprang up and began to stalk the incident suite. Horton could see the way his mind was working; how he’d love to get one over on the men in suits from London. So would Horton, but the moment Commander Waverley got a sniff of this it would be out of even Uckfield’s hands. And Horton was rather keen to find out why the gentle, dark-haired Georgian woman had been killed, and by whom. He was also very eager to get his graffiti artist off his back.
He said, ‘If Turner did work in Georgia, then he might have been involved in taking bribes from suppliers and siphoning off money for himself from government contracts. The money could have been converted into jewellery or gold, and some of that might be what’s stashed away in that locker. And why Venetia Trotman was so desperate to keep hold of the key.’
‘So who killed her?’ asked Dennings grumpily.
‘Not my anonymous caller,’ Horton replied. ‘But he could have been inside Venetia’s house when I was there. He saw me at the house when I was there looking over the boat, and followed me to the marina where he etched that symbol on my Harley.’ And Horton knew he must be the man who had been hiding out in the derelict houseboat, and following him without being seen. A man highly experienced at covert work and survival tactics. ‘After keeping an eye on me, and seeing I wasn’t about to spirit Venetia away, he returns to Venetia to find her dead. He realizes I couldn’t have killed her, because he’d been watching me most of the night, so he calls me.’
‘How?’ asked Dennings.
‘I left a card with Venetia with my direct line number on it. It didn’t give my position or job, but he knew I was a police officer, and the only way he could have known that was because he’d followed me here. And he’s been tailing me to see who I’m going to lead him to.’
‘And how the blazes do we find him?’ exclaimed Uckfield, leaving unspoken the remainder of the sentence — without telling Waverley and his boy.
Horton said, ‘He’s still in Portsmouth, and he’ll stay here until we find her killer — or he does.’
Uckfield eyed him shrewdly.
Horton added, ‘I’ve asked Joliffe to check the fingerprints on the debris I found in the derelict boathouse with the Georgian authorities.’ Horton had called him as soon as he’d left Dr Clayton. ‘They might be able to give us a name and a photograph. I think you should also check if any motorbikes have been stolen from sea ports around Britain, excluding here — I’ve already checked, there aren’t any. He probably came into the country via a port.’
Uckfield said crisply, ‘Dennings, get on to it and chase Joliffe for those fingerprints. Go over every single bit of evidence looking for connections with Georgia and see if we can get anything from SOCO to match DNA to Jay Turner. Trueman, contact Europol and Interpol and the Georgian authorities. Marsden, when you’ve got all you can on this International Development Fund, see if you can find anyone who can confirm Jay Turner’s overseas postings without Waverley knowing. None of you are to say anything to Commander Waverley, Harlam or DCI Bliss. If we’re
