Lost - Michael Robotham [109]
There’s a new head of the Serious Crime Group—DI John Meldrum. He spies me. “Hey, we once had a guy who looked just like you working here. I think he might be dead.”
“But not buried,” I yell back. “Congratulations on the promotion.”
I try to sound genuine but it doesn’t work. Instead I feel a juvenile rush of anger and jealousy. Meldrum is in my office. His jacket is hanging over my chair.
Campbell makes us wait again outside his office. Joe doesn’t understand the politics involved. It’s not actually politics—it’s spite.
Finally we are summoned. I let the Professor walk ahead of me. Campbell shakes his hand and gives him the no-brand smile. Then he studies me for a moment and motions to a chair. Meldrum slides his chair back a few inches, taking himself outside the circle. He’s here to watch and witness.
I should be addressing a task force. There should be detectives sitting on chairs and corners of desks—men in gray suits with Father’s Day ties and women with sensible hairstyles and minimal makeup. Instead I have to argue my case in front of a Chief Superintendent who thinks I betrayed my fellow officers and jeopardized a murder conviction.
Using a whiteboard, I explain what happened on the river. I write four names across the top: Ray Murphy, Kirsten Fitzroy, Gerry Brandt and Aleksei Kuznet. Ray Murphy is dead. Kirsten and Gerry Brandt are missing.
Taking out the brown envelope, I show him the ransom letters and the DNA reports, before describing the ransom drop and my trip through the sewers.
“I know it sounds far-fetched but I’ve been down there. I’ve followed the trail. They were waiting at the other end. Ray Murphy was the caretaker at Dolphin Mansions when Mickey Carlyle disappeared. I saw him shot and killed on the Charmaine. They’ll match the blood and the bullets to the boat.”
“Who killed him?”
“A sniper.”
Meldrum leans closer. “And this is the same sniper who tried to kill you?”
“I got in the way.”
Campbell hasn’t said a word but I know he’s struggling to remain composed.
“Kirsten Fitzroy lived at Dolphin Mansions when Mickey disappeared. She was Rachel Carlyle’s best friend. I saw her shot on the Charmaine. She suffered a stomach wound and went over the side. I don’t know if she survived.”
“Her flat was burgled,” says Meldrum.
“Not burgled. It was searched. I think Aleksei Kuznet is looking for Kirsten. He wants to punish the people who sent the ransom demand. I believe they’re the same people who kidnapped his daughter.”
Campbell scoffs angrily. “Howard Wavell killed Mickey Carlyle.”
“Even if you believe that—you have to accept that someone else sent the ransom demand. They included a lock of Mickey’s hair and the bikini.”
“Neither of which prove she’s alive.”
“No. But Ray Murphy is dead and Kirsten is in danger. Aleksei Kuznet was never going to let anyone steal two million pounds from him. He organized an execution. Now he’s looking for Kirsten and Gerry Brandt—to finish the job.”
I make a decision not to mention Sir Douglas Carlyle. Campbell is already on the edge. My only chance of persuading him to investigate is to let him believe the ransom was a hoax. I still can’t prove otherwise.
“What does Gerry Brandt have to do with this?”
“He was on the Charmaine. I saw him go over the side.”
I wait. I don’t know if I’ve done enough.
Campbell has assumed a perfect proprietary air. “Let me get this straight. So far you have mentioned a kidnapping, a revenge killing, a shooting and a ransom demand. I’ll add a few to the list: dereliction of duty, crippling a fellow police officer, withholding information and disobeying orders …”
A sense of alarm spreads through me. He doesn’t understand. He can’t see past Howard Wavell.
“We have to find Kirsten before Aleksei does. If she survived she would have needed medical help. We have to search