She had remembered Richard Doyle’s assertion that Bio-Synth were unusually eager to run for the cover of Alistair’s cash rich balance sheet. Without needing to know the precise reasons for the intensity of the courtship, she had also ascertained from Doyle that if Alistair had not seen synergy and expressed an interest, Bio-Synth would have needed serious restructuring of their operations. Doyle had also said that they could not get guaranteed support from their bank, hence the irregular injection of £65 million. Her hereditary disposition as predator rather than prey came naturally. It was similar to the laws of physics, insofar as it was possible to know many things that could or could not be done, without understanding the reason. She took advantage of the hiatus, during which the opposition members were whispering to one another in a huddle.
“I believe we may add a new guideline to the process. I have benefitted immensely from the tour, somewhat to your disadvantage. My technical consultant here advises me that your plant needs comprehensive overhaul. In his opinion, it could do with being replaced. In that event all you appear to be able to offer me is a fast track to clinical approval, which is not a quantifiable hard asset in terms of independent valuation. I have therefore concluded that the only interest I can now recommend to my board is one of acquisition, and even then, it would probably be at a price at which you would be horrified. On the other hand it could save your company. It is a big decision for you, and the only bargaining point I am prepared to consider in arriving at a final price, is information leading to the whereabouts of Baumann. We leave you to consider your position and thank you for your hospitality.”
When they returned to the Mercedes Vivienne apologised for springing the title of technical consultant on Parrish.
“We had to shorten their decision path Martin, now let us get out of here.” They dropped Schroder and he was delighted with the exclusive he could print after Vivienne had informed the UK police of Gertrude’s confession. He wanted to follow up on the Bio-Synth discussion as and when Vivienne gave the green light.
Chapter 20
The alert for Greg Watson to be on call for Renton reminded him that he had some new data available. He called him just as the car was arriving in Rowlands Gill.
“Jack, we’ve been testing a new programme to take as much subjectivity out of time of death calculations as possible. It extrapolates well accepted data automatically and compares each approach, such as corpse temperature, necrosis, ambient conditions etc. and assigns an interactive coefficient for those applicable. Some reinforce one another and others cause conflicting effects. It has proven to be useful and I have begun to enter data for the victims we have so far, starting with Banks. It suggests he was killed earlier than first thought. My personal estimate was that the latest he had died was 2.00 am on Sunday 4th November, the programme is indicating around 7pm. on Saturday 3rd, which doesn’t give a hell of a lot of time after the football match. This is still an estimate, but my colleagues have convinced me that it was definitely well before midnight. The implications are important, and that is why I am telling you now. I can’t see how he could have been murdered in the north.”
Renton took some time to digest this and thanked Watson. “You may get another chance to test out your brainchild very soon.”
Having left the car in the lower village car park, the three officers accessed the entrance to the Walk at the viaduct and proceeded west. The Priory was not easy to see even in the absence of leaves on the surrounding trees. They had informed the landowner of the need to inspect the ruin and that he should meet them on the adjoining road which ran under the Walk itself. He was asked to stay out of the ruin because they could not be certain it was without risk. He was then asked to confirm who he was and that he was indeed the landowner. The three of them set off over the meadow in the approach to the building. They could already hear birds squawking and when within a few metres, a flurry of activity heralded the retreat of several Red Kites. These carrion-feeding rare birds were not happy at being disturbed during their feast. Peering inside caused one of the young officers to rush to the nearest bush and discharge his breakfast. Renton and the other officer stood in silence while they assessed the scene. The deceased male had no eyes or cheeks, and his hands had been stripped of all flesh, looking like an x-ray image protruding from his jacket sleeves. Renton called Watson and Donoghue to get there as soon as possible.
The prospect of transporting a lifeless corpse from the car park, even under cover of darkness made Renton think that the man had walked to the ruin under threat. The Derwent Walk was originally the main transport railway for coal from Newcastle to Consett steelworks, and the return journey which brought the steel to the shipyards on the Tyne. When those industries began to decline, the railway fell into disuse, and eventually the tracks were ripped up and the route became a trail for walkers, horse riders and cyclists. It had become a very popular recreational facility, and it would be extremely difficult to get from the car park to the ruin in daylight, without being seen by someone, especially if they were in the company of a dead body.
*
Wah Chen received an unexpected call. “Hello Donald, it has been a while.”
He was not particularly receptive to his old boss at Gladstone-Klein. Firstly, he felt he had been held back by the narcissistic attitude of someone who continually exploited the riches of the corporate ladder. Without actually having any real talent himself, he milked the strengths of others. When Chen had decided to move on, Price was livid at first, and then had a sudden change in attitude. It became clear that he could help or be destructive when references were required by the Home Office. The favour had not taken long to be called in after Chen was successfully appointed to a senior analyst post. Price had learned from his many contacts of the decision to lodge the Genetic Profile Directory with the Home office, well before it actually happened.
He reminded Chen of how instrumental he had been in him securing his new career. He added that it could be a long or short career, depending on his agreement to a request. Price had figured out ahead of Alistair Banks that the Directory would be invaluable in his leverage to improve clinical clearance times for his products. When Banks had agreed, but asked how it could be achieved, Price simply said he could deliver it for a fee. Chen had then received the blackmail threat. ‘We want this transfer to be untraceable and then the source to be corrupted, denying even official access.’ Chen’s predicament was eased with the cut he was offered by Price, and he ultimately became quite passive to the morality of his action and the possible consequence of incarceration. Price had summed it up neatly for him. ‘Wah, everything which can be valued in monetary terms is simply a commodity. The stock market reflects the value of shares at any given point in time, and in there is opportunity and lost opportunity. Morality is no different, what is valued today can be worthless tomorrow. This opportunity for Alistair won’t be repeated. You can be set up for life; that is if you have both the ability and the balls. If you decline you won’t have a job, I will ‘discover’ the theft of Gladstone-Klein data to pin on you. I know you did this, so that need not be in the equation. Don’t make the same mistake as you did when working for me, this is the winning ticket in the lottery.’ Chen had countered this by claiming it would cost more. He played on the importance of the consequences of failure or detection, and the differences for Price and himself. He insisted that the scam had to stand up to scrutiny from the inevitable expertise which would be thrown at the ‘disappearance.’
They settled on a new split and Chen began the programme. He wanted the fragmentation completely ready to be activated before any copying took place. He had received partial payment up front and this current phone call was made by Price to arrange for the remainder to be handed over.
“Yes Wah, it has been a while, and things have got messy. You obviously know about Alistair’s death and the subsequent involvement of the police. You won’t know that the briefcase with the Directory must have fallen into the wrong han
ds. The police have not released this information, but I saw him with it the day of the football match after which he disappeared. We have to assume it is in the possession of whoever killed him.”
“Shit. Donald, you said you had this under control.”
“Yes, but I only figured out after the match that he was taking it to Germany with him.”
“What about the rest of my money?”
“That’s why I am calling you. He had yet to pay me the balance and we can both say goodbye to it.”
“No Donald, you have to get it. If I’m going down, I’ll take you with me. I will show the Home Secretary how to recover the Directory, and that there has been infiltration by your company, with Banks as the beneficiary. They will then find the new custodians of the Directory and verify your involvement, and as you suspected I still have Gladstone-Klein codes, so I can embed the fragments where you can’t find them. Remember, I created most of the design structure for your system, and that will help me to convince them of my innocence. You won’t be afforded such an opportunity, and you know what you told me about grabbing opportunities Donald. Get the money and call me. You have one week.”
*
The young officer had just about gained control of his queasiness and joined his partner in sealing off the area with yellow police tape. Renton waited patiently for Watson and Donoghue to express their initial thoughts. The forensics people had started to examine various parts of the body and the enclosed ruin. They quickly discovered that they were not the first to disturb his clothing, as there were hordes of beetles, worms and even small rodents running for cover. Watson surmised that the corpse had been there for some time, maybe three days or more. Donoghue wanted it back in the lab as soon as possible to avoid any further dining out by the local wildlife. All but the three pale blue-suited forensics people left, and they could now embark on an uninterrupted and thorough examination of the building and surrounding meadow.
*
Marlene Beresford had given in to her concern and reported her husband missing. The Newcastle police had at first tried to stress that the short time involved could be explained by a number of things, and that they would not normally list someone as officially missing for another day at least. When the desk officer queried her insistence with his superior, the dialogue changed dramatically. Peter Beresford was not just some wandering crack-head who had lost the will to live, he was always in control. He placated Marlene and asked her to recount the story in full by coming to the station.
*
The painstaking trawl of the CCTV footage of the station mailbox had not been too helpful. There were at least thirty people who had deposited items in the relevant time interval. Their envelopes included proof of ownership of vehicles, production of driving licences and completed speeding violation forms. None of the people were known to the police as viewed from the film. The note must have been delivered by one of them, so they would have to go through an elimination programme from the deposited paperwork and match it to the person.
*
The last couple of days had not been uplifting for Bradstock. The latest corpse, the latest disappearance of Harry Houdini Bowman, and the latest potential earth tremor involving Peter Beresford had all conspired towards unfavourable headlines. From his lonely mental vacuum, a dubious course of action gathered momentum. He would set up an all-embracing incident room in Durham. He felt it was worth employing a sledgehammer to crack this string of interrelated nuts. His final justification rested on two of them being definitely connected to the northeast, and perhaps Baumann’s trail could be reassessed from there too. The full artillery of the Three Rivers force would also vindicate the decision which had been taken to amalgamate Durham, Nothumbria and Cleveland. It sounded impressive.
*
Donald Price had his own ticking bomb to contemplate. He knew Chen had the ability to carry out his threat. He wanted to have a conversation with Vivienne in order to convince her that the final payment from Alistair was overdue. It was tricky because it would only be possible to verify the debt by finding the Genetic Profile Directory in the missing briefcase. His only other option for raising such an amount would be to receive a bogus invoice for some fictitious service to his company. He decided it was worth running an idea past Julian Hepworth.
*
The identification of the latest body was a very unpleasant process. The ID referred to an employee of Bio-Cure Industries. Andrew Todd had worked directly for Harry Bowman, as chief research manager in the Bio-Chem division. His wife was completely distraught at the dreadful condition of the body. As he was supposed to be travelling on company business, she had no cause to think it could be Andrew. She collapsed and began to hyperventilate. Having got her breathing under control she was taken to hospital as a precaution. At first sight of the body she had shaken her head in denial, but shock had quickly set in and she had screamed in protest while nodding her head that it was her husband.
*
When Marlene Beresford had gone through the tale for a second time, then filled out and signed the form, the duty officer was instructed to copy it and pass one to Renton. The normal procedure between the forces swung into action and Clyde police checked the boat. When the news came back that it looked like suicide, the ripples moved outward very quickly. Renton now grasped why he had a copy of a missing person report. The potential connection between Banks, Vivienne and Peter Beresford could not be ignored.
Vivienne got the news from her mother while the Mercedes was boarding the return ferry. She was temporarily suspended in inexplicable grief. She broke down and Martin Parrish had to hold her for a while before determining the cause. She wasn’t making a lot of sense, rambling on about how it would have been easier to accept if he had been killed in an accident, or even taken out by his enemies.
“Now I have to start thinking all over again. Why? Why would he do this? He never once gave me any reason to love him, or to witness him demonstrating how he truly cared about anyone but himself. This is bizarre. I hate him more than ever, laying this on my mother – the selfish bastard. He has corrupted my life and now this. I just wanted him to love me. Is that too much to ask?” Parrish tried to get her to recognise that love of that kind has many faces.
“You asked about my mother on the way here. I had a fantastic relationship with her and she was so appreciative of that. My brother never once came to see her during her long illness, and he lived in Staffordshire, only four hours away by car. She loved both of us equally and I could never understand it. In fact it caused a very deep rift between me and Steven. However, she didn’t want to see that, and encouraged me to make allowances for him having a more ‘distant’ personality. I had to pretend everything was fine between us during her last hours, as I’d warned him her time was short. It was the love I felt for my mother which allowed me to do this convincingly, I couldn’t bring myself to cause her distress at that moment. I’m sure your father always cared about you even though you fought all the time. Then there’s your mother, Vivienne. You can’t feel what you claim to for her if you can’t share her grief. She’s relying on that, so don’t deny her need. Believe me, you’ll feel better about it than if you sour her loss even more by raking up old scores.” She brushed away the tears and replied.
“I know, I know, but Jesus, I wanted him to be there when he found out that I’m not going to be pushed around by anybody in restoring Alistair’s dream. I wanted him to be proud of me for once.”
“He would have been. I know that I couldn’t believe how you told those Bio-Synth people about the way things are going to be, even if I was your technical consultant. And I get the feeling a few more people are in for a shock. Now, let’s get something to eat and you can call your mother back.”
*
Greg Watson popped his head in to say Andrew Todd’s cause of death was consistent with the others. “It was more difficult to obtain uncontaminated tissue, and therefore the result is a little more ‘empirical’ than normal, but
it was insulin overdose preceded by sedation. I will get to time of death tomorrow. I know it is critical for you with the implication that it wasn’t within the last twenty-four hours, so I want to be sure.”
When Renton got the news of Bradstock’s master plan from Cousins, he suffered complete but short mental blindness. It prompted him to inform Sam Gibson and Stephanie that he was going to the hospital. As he arrived, there was a call he needed to make.
“Jane, it’s me Jack. I’m at the hospital again. I don’t think anything much is going to happen, but I would rather sit with Ben than deal with some of the shit that’s coming over the transom at work. I wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed the last couple of nights, and just in case you were going to invite me again tonight, I would have declined. It was so good with the two of you that I don’t want to ruin it again, like I always have. Can I take it slowly? I need to change a lot before both of you can rely on me.”
“I think you already have.”
“Well, maybe, but I mean really change. I have something in mind, but I’ve been there before. I’m determined to do this but it will take time, and some of that time is for Ben. How about going to the cinema on Saturday? The two of you can argue over which movie for the next few days.”
“That would make a lovely change. I’ll check whether Daniel has any arrangements and get back to you. It’s nice to be talking like this again. Now go and see Ben and let us know how he is.”
Chapter 21
Thursday November 15th 2018
The clatter of trolleys woke him up. Renton had not intended to sleep at Adams’ bedside, but he certainly slept well. There was no further change and he used the washroom before returning home to shower and change.