Three hours after leaving London, Tracy and Will arrived back at Trentbridge Police Station. The DCI was waiting for them. Tracy showed him the will they had found in the victim’s desk drawer, showing Norman was in line to get everything.
Andy called out for all members of the team in the incident room to gather round. “Okay. I’ve just heard from Eden and Carla. They’re on their way back and expect to be here in about an hour. So we’ll wait for them and have a quick round up. I’m sorry it’s been such a long day for you all.”
One hour later, Eden and Carla walked into the incident room. The DCI called out for his team to gather round again.
“Great work. With what I’ve seen of the evidence, I think we’ve got this case wrapped up. Norman is the sole beneficiary of the will. As far as I’m concerned we’ve got our man. I’ve been on to the CPS and they’ve agreed to us charging Norman with the murder. “
A cheer went up from most of the team.
“There are plenty of other cases needing our attention so let’s put this to bed and move on. Well done, everyone. Good job.”
As his colleagues walked back to where they had been before to get ready to go home, Eden turned to Andy Stone. “Can I have a word with you, sir, in your office?”
Stone nodded and the pair moved to the DCI’s office.
“I’m not convinced Norman did it.”
“Look, Eden. I’m under a lot of pressure with this one. Norman had the motive and the means, and he lied about who he was. He thought Winston-Moore was about to go off with someone else, someone much younger. We have the will from just three weeks ago leaving everything to him. If Peter had decided to go off with a younger lover then Norman wouldn’t get a penny. As far as I’m concerned unless you have something positive I really don’t see the point. If he’s innocent then let the jury decide. Go home and get an early night, we’ve got a lot of cases on the books and I need you fresh to concentrate on the schoolteacher assault first thing on Monday.”
Eden Gold arrived home and couldn’t even recall the journey, having been so pre-occupied. He didn’t want to go against his boss but he couldn’t let this one go. Something just wasn’t right. All his instincts were telling him Norman wasn’t the killer. He knew the DCI had already made up his mind about Norman. He wasn’t sure why but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t take the risk of upsetting his boss but he knew a man who could.
He picked up his mobile and dialled.
“Hello, James. It’s Eden Gold and I need your help, unofficially of course. Any chance we can meet?”
Chapter Twenty- Five
The headlines of the national press screamed out ‘Art Dealer Murdered at Hotel’, ‘Art Dealer Murdered in Million-Pound Painting Theft’ and all of them filled with details, some true and some from the imagination of journalists, too lazy or useless to get their facts right.
The hotel’s phones were red hot:
“I’d like to cancel my booking. I don’t want to get murdered in my bed.”
“I have to cancel; my er…, cat is poorly and I don’t want to leave him.”
“Can we re-book when they’ve caught the person responsible?”
It was not all bad news.
When the Albion Hotel had been taken over by its new owner, Lotto winner James Sheldon, he had brought in a design company to revamp the hotel. One of the things they had done was to extend and upgrade the bars and restaurant. So the bar staff were working at full capacity to cope with the hordes of curiosity seekers anxious to see where the murder had taken place. You always got people like that - just like motorway accidents where people slowed down to look or take photos.
So far the newspapers had concentrated on printing the details of the murder but DCI Andy Stone knew if they didn’t get a result in the next couple of days they would come up with a new angle to keep the public buying their papers. The usual way was to start attacking the police and ask what they were doing to bring the killer to justice.
This had the effect of putting the man in charge of the investigation under the spotlight. DCI Andy Stone was the man in charge of the investigation and all eyes were on him to get an early result.
Such a high profile case couldn't have come at a worse time. For the past few weeks he had been having a lot of personal problems at home and he really didn't need this. Luckily he had managed to build a good team around him. Eden Gold was a man he could depend on. But he needed a result, and he needed it quickly.
The top brass, as always, wanted quick results too. And they didn’t really care how you got them. After all, they could simply wash their hands of anything that happened. But they hated bad headlines and so anything they could show to the newspapers in the way of an arrest was fine. And it gave the impression they were hitting their targets. However, if things went pear shaped, the elite top brass always found a way out. If someone was arrested, the newspapers were off their backs. If the detective in charge failed, then it was his name on the report. That was why most real and genuine coppers hated the job. As the politics had taken over, it seemed justice had gone out of the window.
Politics, probably the only thing that could give ‘shit’ a good name, Andy thought to himself.
The general public didn’t know the real
