Christmas Killing (6 page)

‘You’re right. It’s all a bit sad. I don’t think there’s much more to see here. I somehow doubt his children would have bumped him off to get his money. Come on then. We’ll go and see the delightful Kevin.’ They took the key back to the Warden and got her to promise not to let just anyone into Jimmy’s house. Then they left the premises.

The pair drove to what Ray had nicknamed Riley Towers. Mrs Riley came to the door, clutching the baby under one arm. Her daughter was hanging around behind her, looking even more scruffy than the previous time they’d visited. There was a dreadful smell coming out of the house and Ray felt sick at the thought of going inside.

‘Morning. Is Kevin in?’

‘Nah. He’s at his brother’s place. He usually goes there on a Saturday night.’

‘Do you have his address?’

‘Twenty-four Caduggan Avenue. He’s in the posher part of town. Doin’ all right for hisself is Malcolm. Better than we are at any road. Got two lovely kids as well.’

‘We’ll go there to see him. Thank you Mrs Riley.’ Ray smiled at the poor woman, greatly relieved that they didn’t have to go inside.

‘Blimey, what a stink in that place. Whatever was it do you think?’ asked Ted.

‘I expect one or both kids had relieved themselves, probably on the floor. I hope to goodness the baby she’s got inside her will be her last. Heavens, if she’s got a grown-up son with kids of his own, she must be near the end of her procreative life. It really is a pity someone couldn’t have sterilised her before the last three were born.’

‘Three?’

‘Remember what Kevin said? They’ve got a disabled brother tucked away upstairs somewhere.’

‘Good lord. It’s incredible what some women will go through.’

‘I’m not sure they’re all aware of the consequences actually. Their blokes come in from the pub wanting a bit of nooky and lo and behold, another pregnancy results.’

‘That’s always assuming she’s really got a bloke.’

‘Something to ask Kevin. Do you know where we’re going?’

‘I think it’s a couple of streets along, on the left.’

‘In the posher part of town,’ remarked Ray.

‘Oh yes. Very posh here isn’t it?’

Ray’s phone rang.

‘Yes?’ he answered.

‘Jimmy North’s son and daughter are here. Do you want to see them?’

‘Can you get someone to interview them? Make a report and leave it on my desk please. I’m on my way to see someone else.’

‘Right you are sir.’ Ray switched off his call.

‘Everything happens at once doesn’t it?’

Chapter Six

Kevin Riley stretched as he woke up. For several minutes he wondered where he was, alone in a different bed. He realised he quite missed Julie what’s her name and decided it might be time to find another girl. He had his bed at his brother’s place and usually stayed there on a Saturday to give him a bit of a break from the rest of the family. He glanced at his watch. Ten-thirty. He went along to the bathroom and listened for the sounds of his brother’s family. The house was silent. He wandered downstairs and saw the note left on the kitchen table.

Make
sure
the
door
is
locked
when
you
leave
.
Out
for
the
day
.
Malc
.

Brilliant, he thought. He’d invite his mates over. He went into the hall and picked up the phone. He dialled a couple of numbers and organised two of his mates to come round.

‘Bring some girls wiv you. You sister for one and a couple of ‘er mates too.’

He rubbed his hands together in glee. He knew his brother kept a stash of beers in the cupboard under the stairs and hauled them out. The girls would always drink beer, he knew from history. Summat to eat, was his next thought. He looked in the cupboard and found crisps that his sister-in-law had bought for the kids’ lunches. He could always buy some more later on. He heard a cacophony of horns blowing and looked through the window. They were here.

‘Okay mate? You made good time. Come on in.’

‘Mandy’s here and Kylie. Kylie was stoppin’ over at ours. Haven’t found another girl yet.’

‘’Ow about Matti? Think she’d like to come?’ said Mandy.

‘Who’s she?’

‘I think she took over as the new elf at Foredyce’s. You know, after Julie was done in.’

‘D’ya know her number? Give ’er a call. Phone’s in the ‘all.’

Mandy went to phone and came back looking a bit green.

‘You’ll never guess what’s ‘appened? Someone’s done for Santa. You know, the old man Jimmy summat or other. Well someone stabbed ‘im.’

‘Blimey’ said Jace, one of Kevin’s mates. ‘Poor old bugger. Who the heck would do that?’

‘Weren’t me,’ Kevin said hurriedly.

‘Course it weren’t. Why on earth would it be you?’

‘Dunno. The police seem to think it were me what done in Julie. If it hadn’t been for you two saying I was wiv you on the phone nickin’ thing, I reckon they’d ’ve got me for that. Anyway, beers all round?’

‘Yes ta,’ Fred said.

‘Girls?’

‘Ain’t you got nuffin’ else?’

‘I dare say there might be some wine. I’ll go and look.’ He went to the fridge and there was a bottle, left by Shelley for their supper. ‘Bingo. Here we go girls.’ He unscrewed the cap and poured out a large glass for each of them.

‘Ta.’ Kylie took a sip. ‘Bit dry. Is this all there is?’

‘I can give you some sugar.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll drink it. Make sure you get summat sweeter next time.’

‘I certainly will. I’ll put some music on, if I can find anythin’ we like.’

Soon, the party was well underway. The two girls got up to dance and one of them kicked over someone’s beer.

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Mandy apologised. ‘Is there a cloth in kitchen?’

‘I expect so. Come on Kylie. Dance with me while she cleans up the mess.’ Kevin quite fancied the girl and was ready to make a new start with someone.

‘I should help Mandy.’

‘Nah. Don’t bovver. She’ll be all right. D’ya fancy comin’ upstairs wiv me?’

She gave a shrug and followed him up. The two lads left downstairs made typically rude comments as they went.

‘Go for it Kev,’ called Fred after them. They sat there for a while, with Jace wondering if Mandy would be up for a trip upstairs.

There was a hammering at the door. Jace looked out.

‘Blimey. Looks like it’s the fuzz. I’m sure that’s the cop what interviewed us.’ He went to the bottom of the stairs and bellowed for Kevin to come down.

‘Bugger off,’ he yelled back.

‘The cops are here. Come on down now.’ He went to open the door, as they were offering to call for someone to come with a ram to batter it down. ‘Mornin’,’ he said opening the door.

‘Is Kevin Riley here?’ said Chief Inspector Jones.

‘’E’s jus’ cummin.’

‘And you are?’

‘Jace Blenkinsop.’

‘Oh yes, I know you. Something to do with mobile phones.’ The youth looked down, as if he was avoiding the policeman’s stare. ‘We’d like to come in,’ he said, pushing past Jace. Ted Wilkes followed him, looking round the room as he did so.

‘’Ere, you can’t do that. ‘Ave you got one of them thingies? What d’ya call it?’

‘A warrant,’ Fred told him.

‘Yer. ‘Ave you got one of them wot ‘e said?’

‘We could waste a whole lot of time getting one but as we’re here now, we’ll speak to you all. Now, where’s Kevin? And where’s Mr Riley? I mean the one who owns this place.’

‘Dunno,’ Fred replied. ‘Kev invited us over. P’raps he went out somewhere.’

‘And gave you lot permission to be here? I somehow doubt that. Ah, here’s the man himself,’ he said as Kevin came down the stairs.

‘Mornin’,’ he muttered. ‘What now?’

‘We’d like you to come along with us. A few questions to be answered.’

‘What am I s’posed to ‘ave done?’

‘Hopefully, nothing. We have a few matters to clear up.’

‘’Ow did you know I was ‘ere?’

‘Your Mum told us. She didn’t mention you’d have friends here too.’

‘You’d best clear off now,’ he told his mates. ‘Kylie? You’ve gotta go,’ he yelled up the stairs.

‘Perhaps you’d better clear up a bit first, too,’ said Ray. It’d be a dreadful shock for your brother to come back to this lot. We can wait for a few minutes.’

They watched as the lads stuffed the empty cans into the kitchen bin.

‘I haven’t really cleared up the beer spill properly,’ said Mandy.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Jace told her.

‘We might need to speak to you again. Where do you live?’ Ray asked them. They gave him their addresses, which he seriously doubted actually existed.

‘Don’t worry Sir, we’ve got them on record. Except for you two young ladies.’

‘She’s my sister and the other’s called Kylie. She lived down the road from us,’ Fred informed them.

‘Very well. Off you go then.’

‘Right. See ya round,’ Fred said as he collected the rest of his group together. They all piled into his car and he drove away sounding his strident horn along the street.

‘That should have woken anyone having a lie in,’ remarked Ted.

‘Okay sonny. Let’s go,’ Ray told Kevin.

‘I thought ya wanted to talk ‘ere.’

‘No. I think we’ll take you to the station.’

‘Wot am I s’posed to ‘ave done?’

‘That we shall find out.’

They bundled him into the car and drove back to the police station. He was put into an interview room and left for a while to calm down. Ray took out the interview notes and read them through.

‘What gave you the idea that Kevin wasn’t involved with the phone nicking scam?’

‘It seems he gave the wrong names about who he was with. You must remember ... he said he was with Joe and Alfie. We’d got Fred and Jace for the job. I know he was pretty dense about who he was with but I assumed that was just him trying it on. Okay. Let’s go. Let’s see what he’s got to say for himself.’

Kevin was making all sorts of a din by the time they reached the interview room. Fortunately, the seats were screwed down to the floor, as was the table. The audio visual recorders were built into the room so he hadn’t been able to damage any of that equipment. He was banging on the door and shouting at the top of his voice.

‘What the ‘ell are you doin’? Shuttin’ me away in ‘ere. I’m gonna complain to ... well someone.’

‘Calm down young man. Come on, sit down and shut up.’ Obviously his consumption of beers was enlivening his attitude and he was becoming angrier and angrier.

‘What’s up then? Come on. Tell me.’

‘We want to look at last Wednesday afternoon again.’

‘Yer know what I was doin’. I was nickin’ mobile wiv me mates.’

‘Oh yes. Joe and Alfie wasn’t it?’

‘Who?’

‘You told us it was Joe and Alfie. Friends from the pub.’

‘Yer, well maybe it was.’

‘I don’t think so. Fred and Jace are our most likely candidates. They admitted to it when they were interviewed.’

‘Fred and Jace it is then.’

‘Only you weren’t with them, were you?’

‘Course I were.’

‘So how much did you get for the phones?’

‘I dunno. They deal with that.’

‘But you must know how much you made on the afternoon.’

‘A few quid I s’pose.’

‘So where were you really? On Wednesday afternoon. About four o’clock.’

‘I was out wiv me mates. I want a s’licitor. If ya don’t believe me I need a s’licitor.’

‘Very well. I’ll call the duty solicitor. It may take a while as it’s a Sunday. Perhaps we’d better put you in a cell while you’re waiting.’

‘Nah. Don’ want a cell. I’ll wait ‘ere.’

They ignored what he said and booked him in properly and he was taken to a cell.

‘You hungry son?’ asked the duty sergeant.

‘Bleedin’ starvin’,’ he replied.

‘Right. Well I’ll see what I can do about getting you something to eat. Take him to number four will you?’ he asked one of the staff.

‘Thanks. I think we’ll go out to the Foredyce’s store now, Ted. Kevin will keep. I need to see what the latest news is from there.’

The store was very busy. It seemed that lots of extra people had gone there to see what was happening and to bag a bargain or two for Christmas.

‘I wonder if Miss Pringle has come in today? She usually seems to know what’s going on. I think I’ll go to her office and see.’

‘I’ll go along to the Grotto and make sure it’s still closed,’ Ted said.

The HR’s office also seemed to be closed. The doors were locked and he turned away, slightly disappointed. He heard a buzz of noise coming from another room along the corridor and stood outside listening for a moment or two. It was obviously something important.