‘I’m not going to jail for something I didn’t do.’
‘Do you want to tell us down at Challis Street or are you going to give us a statement here?’
‘Okay, Cook,’ Knox said. ‘Here’s what we know. Ben Aberman, he’s a good operator, making good money, but he flies close to the wind, takes a few chances. He’s keen to open two more clubs, but he needs money, and you’ve seen his house. Not the sort of place that a few clubs such as Dixey’s will get you. The man borrows to maintain his expansion plans, his lifestyle. His parties are notorious, and he foots the bill, and the whores don’t come cheap. He’s over-extended, the lenders are calling in the money. Aberman’s panicking, borrowing here and there, wherever he can. Eventually, he runs out of time, and the lenders come in here and take him.’
‘Gus?’ Isaac said.
‘I’m only the hired help. The people who came here scared me. They were really mean. I act tough, but I’m not about to kill anyone.’
‘Carry on, Knox.’
‘I’m brought in as the replacement manager of this club, plenty of money, some bonuses.’
‘Bonuses?’
‘One or other of the women.’
‘Helen?’
‘She was promised, but two days later, she’s out of here. Daisy’s left, the poor substitute.’
‘After Aberman left, what happened?’
‘Not a lot. I was told Aberman had signed over the clubs, but for some reason, the house stayed in his name. That’s the honest truth. Whatever happened, we don’t know.’
‘But you heard rumours?’
‘There’s always rumours, but me and Gus, we didn’t give much credence to them.’
‘What were they?’
‘Helen had negotiated on Aberman’s behalf, and for whatever reason, they agreed to the deal. And then two days later, Helen left the club. The word is that he’s gone overseas, but I can’t buy that. For one thing, the man’s got a house and a lifestyle. And where overseas? That would need money, and Aberman, even if he was nothing else, was an Englishman. He had no connections overseas we knew of.’
‘Is this just you two, or are there others who doubt the story?’
‘We live on the edge, you know that, DCI. People come, people go. We don’t have the luxury of asking too many questions, otherwise…’
‘You disappear.’
‘Aberman’s not around, the club’s still open. That’s all we know.’
‘You weren’t surprised about Aberman’s garden.’
‘One night, a couple of years back, one of the lender’s heavies is in here. He’s had a few to drink. We know we need to look after him, so we bring him into the office. He wants to drink. We join in. He starts drifting in and out of consciousness. He starts talking, tells us about Aberman.’
‘What did he say?’
‘We’re just making conversation, not trying to pry.’
‘And?’
‘The heavy, he’s an ugly man, goes by the name of Pete. He says Aberman’s pushing up daisies.’
‘He’s dead.’
‘That’s what we thought he meant, and he said afterwards it wasn’t daisies, it was a bush of some description. He didn’t say what type, probably didn’t know.’
‘Did you think it was Aberman’s garden?’
‘Only when you mentioned the body. Anyway, the man fell asleep, and the next morning, when he woke up, he didn’t remember the night before. What was on top of the body?’
‘A bush,’ Isaac said.
‘We’ve been honest with you two,’ Knox said. ‘Now, give us a break and don’t ask us to repeat what we’ve just told you in a court of law.’
***
Graham Picket, the pathologist, a taciturn man, never appreciated having Isaac in his office, and now he had the full ensemble: Isaac, Larry, Wendy, and Gordon Windsor.
‘What is it with you, DCI?’ Picket said. ‘I have the body for two hours, and you’re bashing my door down for an answer. Your sergeant has brought me the dental records of a Ben Aberman.’
‘Confirmed?’ Isaac asked.
‘I’ll need longer to conduct a full autopsy, but the body, what’s left of it, and the dental records match. If you go away, then I’m willing to state that the body in my care is that of Ben Aberman.’
‘Thank you. A full report as soon as possible,’ Isaac said.
With the confirmation the team had expected, the investigation had taken a different direction. Initially, it had been about a man and a woman naked and dead in a hotel. Then there was a prostitute, a former friend of the dead woman, who had died, and now a club owner, which indicated that organised crime was involved.
‘It’s not over,’ Isaac said. Back in the office at Challis Street, the team were focussing on the situation. They were all fired up, ready to discuss the case and to get back out on the road, when the booming voice of their superintendent interrupted them.
‘They’re piling up again, DCI,’ Seth Caddick said.
‘It’s under control,’ Isaac said.
‘You must be joking. Maybe I should come down here and give you a hand.’
‘If you do, sir, I’ll register a complaint.’
‘Suit yourself. Remember the disciplinary hearing’s next week.’
‘I’ve not forgotten,’ Isaac said.
And with that, the obnoxious Caddick left.
‘He’s baiting you, sir,’ Wendy said.
‘And doing a good job,’ Isaac replied. ‘Ignore the man and ignore what could happen. We need to focus on what we have. Larry, an update from you.’
‘So far, our focus has been on Helen Langdon, not James Holden.’
‘Is there a point?’
‘Purely conjecture. Helen Langdon, the sinner redeemed, is looking increasingly suspect. And why Daisy? The woman left the club a long time ago, and she was only murdered after Helen. And what is this control that Helen has over Aberman’s murderer?’
‘She must have known he was buried in the garden,’ Wendy said.
‘A logical deduction. And how does she pull this off, this subterfuge? She came from an average family, average
