CHAPTER 1
Nick hated the smell of official buildings, the sterile disinfectant and wood polish tinged undertones that spoke of efficiency and order. More than he hated that though, he hated the boredom and suspicion filled atmosphere of police stations, particularly this one, Tottenham Court Road, his local. Which was why he would have given almost anything not to be here again, slouched in a chair in the waiting area enduring the suspicious glances of passing policemen, not to mention those of the other occupants of the room; the snivelling woman in the fur coat, stopping her sobbing to glance around fearfully every once in a while, the man Nick felt sure was a career criminal, hard face set looking unblinkingly straight ahead, and the tired father with his little girl. All of them waiting, all of them suspicious of each other and their reasons for being here, guilt by association.
Nick let out a sigh, rather more loudly than he’d meant to, drawing more glances from the other occupants and a disapproving stare from the desk sergeant. Nick focussed on his own shoes, shuffling the scruffy brown brogues across the floor, he flicked a look at his wristwatch, wondering how long he would be here. There was always a gnawing fear you may not come back out, or at the very least by stifled for hours or even days by inane questions and procedures. You’d have thought a murder would have jumped the queue. Just then a young man in a smart suit came through the internal door and cleared his throat.
“Nick Valentine?”
Nick climbed to his feet and gave a weak smile that was returned with a disapproving grimace. He sighed, resigned to what was to come. Reaching the man Nick held out his hand. The man looked at it before awkwardly shaking it.
“Nick,” said Nick.
“Yes, I know,” the man said coolly. “Detective Miller. This way.” He ushered Nick down a corridor filled with the racket of clacking typewriters and into the relative silence of a small interview room. The iron radiator in the corner gave a groan that reverberated around the pipes. A uniformed constable came in and stood by the closed door as they sat, keeping his eyes professionally locked on the middle distance. Nick leaned back in his chair, hands splayed across the table in front of him. Detective Miller spent what seemed an inordinate amount of time shuffling papers in a manila folder in front of him. Finally he stopped and fixed Nick with a cold stare.
“I don’t like men like you, let me start by saying that. Your war record speaks for itself up until the time it disappears into a load of quite unsatisfactory dead ends. Then you resurface, discharged from the Foreign Office from places unknown in 1926, for conduct unbecoming. Yet they let you keep your pension. Why?”
“I thought we were here to discuss the body I found?”
“We are here to discuss a murder and your role in it. From what I see, you are something of an unsavoury character, well known to this station and with possible, might I add, very likely, criminal affiliations.” Miller glared at Nick.
“Supposition on your part. Shouldn‘t there be a good cop here as well?” Nick quipped.
“What?” Miller seemed confused.
“Never mind. Look, let me guess, you’re new here right, your first spell out of uniform in a new station, trying to make your mark. I get it. I should imagine that you’re really popular around here, bellowing out orders and pulling all the strings you can get your hands on.” Behind Miller the uniformed constable suppressed a smirk. “But I’m just a concerned citizen reporting a crime, nothing more, nothing less.”
“I’ll be the judge of that!” barked the detective, Nick noted with satisfaction that he’d stung him. “Where were you between 1919 and 1926 I wonder Mr Valentine? What were you doing, that you wash up here flitting around dance halls and bars, working as some sort of liquor soaked private detective? If you can even call it that. Amateur detectives? Those days are long gone Mr Valentine.”
“Well I guess that’s why I’m not trying to solve this murder and they’ve got a hotshot like you on it instead. I’m not a detective, I’m a security consultant, and if you want to know what I did, then go see the Foreign Office and see how far you get with them. Now, do you want to know what I saw and heard or are we going to waste anymore time?” Nick sat forward and fixed Miller with a hard stare. The man flushed and seemed lost for words for a minute, something he attempted to disguise by fiddling in his jacket for a pen. He flushed harder as he scoured his pockets unsuccessfully, “Here, borrow mine,” said Nick holding his pen out. Miller looked at it, then took it with a mumbled thanks. He started to scribble some notes, then clearing his throat he spoke without looking up.
“Can you tell me in your own words how you found the body?”
“Of course. It was just after five this morning, I was up in my flat when…”
“How do you know what the time was?” interrupted Miller.
“I looked at the clock.”
“Fine, please continue.”
“Thanks. Like I said I was up in my flat and I was woken up by a noise. I think.”
“You think? What kind of noise?”
“I have nightmares. About the war. I think it was a shot that woke me up.”
“Or a nightmare?”
Nick shrugged. “Something woke me up. There’s a body.”
“Why do you think it would be a shot though?”
“She was shot wasn’t she?” Nick retorted, struggling to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
“Just answer the question.”
“Call it instinct.” There was a long pause. Miller looked up into Nick’s challenging gaze and quickly looked back down at his paper.
“Please go on,” he mumbled.
“So, I headed outside to see…”
“You think you heard gunfire and you went outside?”
“Jesus Miller, we’ll be here all day if you keep this up, yes I thought I heard gunfire and I went outside.” The door swung open with a bang.
“That’s enough.”
Miller span round angrily and glowered at the new man who’d entered. Nick sized him up. He was tall and wiry, and young, a sparse fair moustache perched uncomfortably above thin lips, his suit was expensive and he wore a Cambridge college tie. His piercing pale eyes fixed on Nick, who had a feeling this wouldn’t be good.
“I thought I gave instructions that I was to interview Mr Valentine?”
“With respect, this is a police matter and…” began Miller.
“Not anymore. I suggest you go and see your superintendent for an update detective?”
“Miller,” said Miller in a tone somewhat lacking certainty in the face of the new man’s authoritative tone.
“Miller, good, noted, now get out. Both of you.” Miller looked like he was about to say something, looked at the uniformed constable, who shrugged, and thought better of it. He stood stiffly but as he went to leave he turned to Valentine.
“I’ll be watching you,” he warned. Nick raised an eyebrow.
“Then that makes two of us, now leave please.” Commanded the new man. Nick watched as the two policemen filed out. The man in the smart suit shut the door behind them then turned and fixed Nick with an unconvincing smile from those thin lips. “So Mr Valentine, or should I say ‘major’”, he sneered, crossing to the table and sitting down stiffly, back ramrod straight, “what an ‘honour’ to meet you.”
Nick decided that he really didn’t like this man, he’d met many of his type, and typically disliked them all. The type with the arrogance that comes from having everything handed to them on a plate, and the expectation that everything always would be. Nick slouched lower in his seat and took his hands off the table. “And who do I have the honour of meeting?” Nick asked with as much disdain as he could muster. The man sniffed and looked at Nick closely as if deciding what to impart.
“My name is Carruthers. I work for the Home Office, I’m sure for a man of your background I’ve no need to expand on that?”
“Not at all. Since when is a murder in Fitzrovia a Home Office matter?”
“That is rather w
hat I was hoping to ask you.”
Nick kept the surprise off his face and fished in his jacket pocket for packet of cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?”
“Actually I do.” Nick curled the corner of his mouth and lit up anyway, pleased at the flicker of annoyance he elicited. A long silence passed between them, Nick had nearly finished his cigarette, and he had a sudden longing to leave this place and get some fresh air. The man thought he was good but he wasn’t.
“You know the silent treatment usually only works with nervous people who have something to hide. I’m neither. Like I told the police at the time, I just found the body. There’s no more to tell than that, so I’m a bit bewildered as to why you’re here.”
“Let’s just say I’m a man who doesn’t believe in coincidences and there are already one too many in the this case Mr Valentine, and I don’t like that one bit.”
“Well would you care to enlighten me, or I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere terribly fast.”
“Very well. You knew the deceased?”
“I don’t know who the deceased is, I didn’t touch the body.”
“How did you know they were dead?”
“Have you seen the body?”
Carruthers shifted uncomfortably and paled. He obviously had.
“Then you’ll know that she was shot in the back of the head and the exit took most of her face off. Large calibre weapon at point blank range. Anyway, generally when the front of someone’s head is missing, they’re dead.”
“Quite,”