‘That will cost money. If Dundas and his daughter are as smart as you say they are, they’ll have covered their tracks well. According to Dundas, a lot of the money is tied up in overseas banks, trusts, offshore-registered companies. Not so easy to get hold of.’
‘That’s why I need a good solicitor. They’re out there.’
‘I suggest you do not break the law, Mr Lawrence. The English police are not as forgiving as the Spanish.’
‘They weren’t forgiving either. Strings were pulled.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘What I said. Do you think they would release me just because my father died?’
‘Why are you telling us this?’
‘Insurance.’
‘Against whom?’
‘Just remember that whatever happens, I didn’t kill my father and that Leonard Dundas is not to be trusted.’
‘These people? The sort that kill to get what they want?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did they kill your father?’
‘I don’t know, and that’s the honest truth.’
‘We need to stay in touch. As much for your protection as for our investigation.’
‘Your son, where is he?’ Wendy said.
‘I’ve no idea. I’ve not seen him for a few years.’
‘Is he in trouble?’
‘Not to my knowledge. I found alcohol when I was younger, he found heroin.’
‘Does that upset you?’
‘He’s an adult. My father was a self-made man. I wanted to be, but my son, he’s a hopeless case.’
‘His mother?’
‘No idea where she is now. A few wives, a few other women since then.’
***
The interview with Ralph Lawrence had brought a new element into his father’s death. Chief Superintendent Goddard had joined the scheduled meeting in Homicide.
It now looked as if the investigation was going to be prolonged, and this time with the addition of possible organised crime interference.
‘Ralph Lawrence is in trouble,’ Isaac said.
‘You could see that he was putting on a brave face, but he was frightened,’ Wendy said. ‘He’s going to disappear again.’
‘You’ve got a watch on him?’
‘I have, but if he’s in deep with the loan sharks, they’ll not wait long.’
‘What are you suggesting?’ Goddard said.
‘Either Ralph has borrowed money beyond his ability to repay, and the father’s death came as a godsend, or else he’s borrowed against his perceived inheritance,’ Wendy said.
‘If organised crime had killed Gilbert, that would explain the lack of clues,’ Isaac said.
‘Are we suggesting that the man’s death was prearranged, murder to order?’ Larry said.
‘It’s possible. Ralph may have known that entering an arrangement with the loan sharks came with some conditions: pay the money back with interest, we’ll deal with your father.’
‘Would he have entered into such an agreement?’
‘Is Ralph the type of person to read the small print or to care about his father?’
‘Unlikely,’ Wendy said.
‘According to Leonard Dundas, the man has survived by charming gullible and rich women.’
‘And once he had his money and tired of them?’
‘Cast off, flotsam to the sea. Tell us, Bridget and Wendy, you’re both mature women. Wendy, you’ve met the man, Bridget, you’ve seen him. Pretend you’re rich and lonely, and Ralph Lawrence comes up to you and lays on the charm.’
‘Twenty years too old for me, and the man’s going to seed,’ Wendy said.
‘He didn’t appeal, not from what I could see,’ Bridget said.
‘That’s it,’ Isaac said. ‘The man’s survived due to his charisma, his good manners, his expensive education and his posh voice. He’s never needed to borrow heavily before, but now he’s getting old, and Spain was the make or break. He also knew he only needed a few more years before his father died of natural causes.’
‘Men like Gilbert Lawrence don’t die that easy,’ Goddard said. ‘They refuse to accept the possibility. He could have lasted another five, ten, maybe fifteen years.’
‘Okay, we’ll concede the possibility, but Ralph’s aware that one day he’ll be fine. And he’s a chancer. He’s had a litany of failed ventures. It could be that he wanted to settle down, get a house in the country, a garden, grow vegetables.’
‘Conjecture, short on facts,’ Goddard said.
‘That’s the problem,’ Isaac said. ‘We don’t have facts. We have a dead man knifed in his garden, no clues of any significance. We have a great deal of money, and according to the man’s solicitor, a great deal of property.’
‘But not going to the man’s children.’
‘Not in itself. Caroline, the daughter, received a five million pound one-off payment.’
‘Enough?’
‘Not if you expected a great deal more. Greed, yet again. Caroline Dickson and her family are stable people. No reason to suspect them at this present time.’
‘Money corrupts, you know it,’ Goddard said. ‘I suggest you don’t leave anyone out of your investigation.’
‘We won’t.’
‘An early arrest?’
‘Not looking good,’ Isaac said.
‘I was hopeful. You’ve got my confidence but be careful. If the son is involved with dangerous people, who knows where it will end up.’
With Goddard leaving, Isaac turned to Wendy. ‘Ralph Lawrence’s son, any updates?’
‘I’ve got one,’ Bridget said. ‘I did some searching on the internet.’
‘And?’
‘He’s moved on from being a layabout squatting somewhere or other. He’s now an anarchist, committed to the overthrow of capitalism, and the redistribution of wealth to the needy.’
‘With him being one of the needy. Where do we find him?’
‘Idiots Incorporated,’ Bridget said.
‘Apart from that, do they have a title?’
‘Anarchist Revolutionaries of England. Their address belies the fancy title. You’ll find them in a lockup garage down in Putney. Wendy’s got the address.’
‘Violent?’ Isaac said.
‘Their website states that they are committed to the overthrow of the current government. By any means, according to them.’
‘It’s either rent-a-crowd who do little except philosophise or people who believe that murder is acceptable.’
‘And Ralph Lawrence’s son had a grandfather who represented the worst excess of what they abhor.’
***
There was one thing
