The Body in the Boot: The first 'Mac' Maguire mystery (22 page)

Mr. Newell seemed a bit formal in his case.

‘Can we please not talk about it?’ Sammy pleaded. ‘It’s just a tickle at the back of my mind if I try and think about it too hard it might disappear. I need to get back to my computer at the hospital, that’s where I do my best thinking.’

Mac said no more. In a funny sort of way he knew what Sammy meant. Sometimes memories can be so elusive that they need to sidled up to rather than chased after. Traffic going into London wasn’t that bad and Mac wasn’t sure if they really needed to have the siren on quite so often. However both Tommy and Sammy seemed to enjoying themselves.

Tommy parked right outside the front doors and they followed Sammy into the hospital. They went up to the fourth floor and Sammy unlocked the office next to the one they’d interviewed Dr. Olsen in.

‘There it is, isn’t she gorgeous?’ Sammy asked.

He waved in the direction of a desk that had two very large monitor screens, a keyboard, and some games controllers. Mac couldn’t figure out what Sammy was referring to until Sammy squatted down and lovingly stroked a clear plastic box full of technology that was positioned under the desk.

‘Bloody hell what have you got in there?’ Tommy asked.

‘Made it myself, this is one of the most powerful babies you’ll ever come across,’ Sammy replied as he pressed a button on the computer. He exchanged some computer jargon with Tommy that meant absolutely nothing to Mac.

All Tommy could say was ‘Wow’.

‘I’d be grateful if you’d leave me to it gents. I’ll text you if I come up with something,’ Sammy said.

As they waited for the lift Mac said, ‘You looked quite impressed by that box. I must admit it didn’t look that fantastic to me.’

‘It’s not the box, it’s what’s in it. I’ve heard of people building their own computers, mostly for gaming, and some of them are insanely powerful but that is the best I’ve ever actually seen. God I’d love to have a go on it.’

Mac looked up to the heavens, boys and their toys, he thought.

‘Come on, stop dribbling and let’s go get a coffee.’

As they walked towards the café Mac noticed Tommy kept looking around as if hoping someone would turn up.

‘She only works every second Saturday,’ Mac said.

‘And is this a second…’ Tommy stopped in mid-sentence, his face reddening as he realised he’d been rumbled.

‘I take it that phone call you’ve been waiting for was from my daughter.’

Tommy nodded.

‘Well I rang her, just to see if she’d remembered anything and I just mentioned that we could discuss it over dinner if she liked. She didn’t say no but unfortunately she didn’t say yes either. She said she’d have to check her work rota first.’

‘If you go and get us some sandwiches I’ll put you out of your misery.’

Mac got out his phone and called his daughter.  The phone rang for a while before a sleepy sounding Bridget answered.

‘Sorry love, did I wake you?’ Mac asked.

‘It’s alright Dad, we had some emergencies yesterday and I had to work late. Where are you?’

‘I’m at the hospital, back on the case. Sammy texted us and we picked him up from Heath Row. We’re just waiting for him to come up with something.’

‘Sammy’s back then? Good, if anyone will know something he will. You said ‘we’?’

‘Yes, Tommy’s with me.’

‘Oh good,’ Mac thought Bridget sounded a bit strange. ‘Can you put him on?’

Tommy arrived with a tray of sandwiches and coffees.

‘She wants to speak to you,’ Mac said.

‘Really?’ now it was Tommy’s turn to sound strange.

‘I need the loo,’ Mac said diplomatically.

He went to the toilet and peeked around the door before coming out to make sure Tommy had finished talking. He had. Mac knew it had gone well for him because when Mac got back to the table Tommy just sat there in some sort of dream with a big, sloppy smile on his face.

‘I take it went well then?’ Mac asked.

Tommy shook his head in disbelief.

‘She said yes, I mean it’s only dinner, but…Oh sorry Mac, I mean she’s your daughter and all.’

‘Don’t worry, Bridget is like her mother, nothing I could ever say would change her mind. Anyway I think she could do a lot worse,’ he said as he tucked into a cheese sandwich.

‘Do you really mean that Mac?’ Tommy asked.

Mac nodded.

‘I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’

‘Well…’ Mac was interrupted by Tommy’s phone. Tommy took a look and then showed it to Mac.

‘
Got it S’

‘Come on what are we waiting for?’ Mac said, wrapping the remaining half of his sandwich in a paper napkin.

Sammy was busy blowing up spaceships on two screens when they made it back to his office. Mac turned around and saw Tommy behind him with his mouth open and eyes glazed.

‘Wow!’ was all Tommy said.

Mac looked up to the heavens.

‘Mr. Newell, Sammy, you said you found something?’ he said raising his voice so he might be heard above the sound of exploding metal.

Sammy tore himself away from his game and a picture of a handsome, grey haired man in his fifties appeared on the screen.

‘Sorry, it took me a while to locate the memory. This is the guy who mentioned a hibernation drug, it was just a comment in passing. It was after a seminar and we’d all had quite a few beers. He said he’d actually seen it in action in a lab somewhere, Eastern Europe I think he said.’

Mac and Tommy exchanged looks.

‘Who is he?’ Mac asked.

‘His name is Professor Bartholomew Moran but I think people call him Barry.’

‘How do you know him?’

‘We’ve corresponded a fair bit over the web, as we’re in the same field, but I only ever met him the once. It was at a seminar in Los Angeles a couple of years ago and, when someone mentioned hibernation, he told us this story about how he’d seen the drug in action on mice. It had some bad side effects, if I remember right, but he was quite astounded that it worked at all.’

‘Is he based in the US?’

‘No, no. He works at the Life Sciences department at UCL. He’s a director or something.’

‘The UCL here in London?’ Mac asked hopefully. 

‘Yes, somewhere on the Tottenham Court Road I think.’

‘Can you get me his number?’ Tommy interjected.

A couple of seconds later a number appeared on the screen. Mac looked at his watch. It was four thirty. Mac thought they’d be lucky to get him at his office at this time on a Saturday. Tommy rang the number and got the professor’s secretary. They were lucky.

‘This is Saturday young man, and the professor sees no-one on Saturday,’ she said starchily.

Tommy explained the urgency of the situation and a few seconds later a man answered. He had a soft Irish voice.

‘I’m sorry,’ the Professor said, ‘my secretary is somewhat protective of me as it’s my day to catch up on things. How can I help?’

Tommy explained again.

‘Can we come and see you right now?’ he asked.

‘Of course,’ the Professor replied and gave an address and directions to his office.

‘Okay Mac let’s go,’ Tommy said.

They both thanked Sammy who had already resumed playing his game.

On their way out Tommy stopped and turned. ‘You’re not one of the Free Wizards are you?’

‘You bet,’ Sammy replied without turning.

‘I’m thoroughly impressed, really nice to meet you.’

Sammy replied with a raised fist without missing a move.

As they walked back to the car Mac asked, ‘What’s all that about Free Wizards?’

‘They’re a gaming team, one of the best. They play other teams over the web. They’re really cool.’

Mac frowned.

‘Can we get back to business please?’

Even with some traffic they made it to UCL in just over twenty minutes. They found the professor’s office on the second floor just where he said it was. A woman in her forties opened the door and it was clear from her expression that she disapproved of their very existence. She led them to the professor’s room and left them with a sour look.

The professor, however, seemed grateful for the interruption.

‘I hate these catch up Saturdays,’ he confided, ‘even though I know the work has to be done. How exactly can I help?’

Mac explained the bare bones of the case and why the hibernation drug might be crucial in solving the case.

The professor thought on that for a moment.

‘Yes, yes I remember,’ he said with a smile. ‘It was Rika who showed me the drug in action. Let me tell you the whole story. I was presenting at a seminar in Budapest and, as it was the last night, a large group of us decided to go for a drink afterwards. God they know how to drink in Hungary. Anyway we were talking about this and that, all work related of course, when someone started talking about the possibility of a hibernation drug and how useful it would be in treating major trauma victims. Rika was there, she was a graduate student at the time, and she spoke very good English. She mentioned that the lab she worked for part time had come up with something along those lines. The rest either didn’t hear or dismissed her but I was interested. So she took me to the lab and showed me the drug in action. It was amazing, the mice were more or less dead, yet they were alive.’

‘Sammy mentioned something about side effects?’ Mac asked.

He crossed his fingers as he thought about Hetty Lewinton lying in her hospital bed.

‘Yes, they were quite bad unfortunately and caused brain damage and memory loss in a lot of the mice. Some were so badly damaged that didn’t even remember how to eat. Unfortunately for the lab it looked like the drug was going to be a non-starter but Rika said they were trying to find similar compounds that might not have the same disastrous side effects.’

Mac said a little prayer for Hetty.

‘Did you see anyone else when you were at the lab?’

‘No it was very late, it was just Rika and me. I must remember to contact her and see how she is,’ the professor said with another smile.

Mac thought that more had gone on between the professor and this Rika than just looking at mice. Then another thought struck him. 

‘You still have her number?’ he asked excitedly.

‘Yes, somewhere. Maggie?’ he called loudly.

The secretary came back in. She looked like she’d just lunched on lemons.

‘Can you see if we have contact details for a Rika somebody. Wait, yes. Rika Kovacs, that’s the name.’

She left to do her duty.

‘Anything else you can tell us Professor, perhaps about the lab where Rika worked?’

‘Sorry can’t remember its name or anything or even exactly where it was. Rika drove. There was something she said though about the guy who ran the lab though, he was English, a tall Englishman, Rika said. She didn’t like him though, not sure why.’

‘She didn’t give a name?’ Mac asked hopefully.

The professor shook his head.

‘Sorry, if she did I don’t remember it.’

The secretary came back with a post-it note with a phone number on it and gave them a look which told them it was time to leave.

Tommy gave the professor a card.

‘Call me if you remember anything else.’

The secretary accompanied them to the door, making sure they actually left, and gave them the thinnest of smiles as she closed the door behind them.

‘God, she’s a bundle of laughs,’ Tommy said.

‘Ring the number,’ Mac said excitedly.

Tommy did. All he got was a Hungarian woman at the other end who couldn’t speak English.

‘What now?’

‘Get me Martin,’ Mac ordered.

Tommy rang the number and handed the phone over.

‘Martin, this is top priority. We have a name for a woman in Budapest, Rika Kovacs, and a phone number.’

Mac gave him the number.

‘She used to be a graduate student. I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got to go on. This woman worked at the lab in Budapest that developed the hibernation drug. Can you get onto your friend Maria and see if she can track her down. Tell Dan we’re on our way back.’

Mac looked at his watch as they drove off. It was coming up to five. He felt a familiar tingle of excitement; the investigation had reached the tipping point. With a bit of luck they should know before long exactly who the tall Englishman was. Even though Tommy used the siren it was gone six by the time they got back to the station.

The incident room was buzzing when they got there, all the team busily doing things. Mac could sense the same excitement in the air he’d felt himself earlier.

‘Okay team!’ Dan shouted as he stood by the white board. ‘Now that Mac and Tommy are back let’s catch up. Martin.’

Martin reluctantly took Dan’s place.

In a low voice he said, ‘Mac provided me with a name and phone number of a woman in Budapest who said she’d worked at a lab that had developed a hibernation drug. The phone number was a dud unfortunately as she no longer lives at that address. However my friend Maria managed to get the phone numbers and addresses of three Rika Kovacs who used to be graduate students at the Faculty of Science at the university. Kovacs is a common name there. She tried all the numbers and only one of the women spoke English. She confirmed that she’d worked at a lab and had met Professor Moran. She’s awaiting our call now.’

‘Okay let’s see what she’s got to say,’ Dan said.

Mac crossed his fingers and said another little prayer. The whole case might hang on what happened in the next few minutes.

‘Hello is that Miss Kovacs?’ Dan asked.

Dan had the call on speaker and the whole team crowded around.

‘It is. Who am I talking to?’

‘My name is Detective Inspector Dan Carter of the Bedfordshire Police in England. I believe you might have some information that could be crucial to a criminal case we’re investigating.’

‘Yes the police woman said it was about the lab where I used to work in, is that correct?’

‘Yes that’s right. We’re investigating a case here of a woman who was found in a state of profound hibernation and I believe that you know about a drug that could cause such a state. Is that right?’

There was silence at the other end for a few seconds.

‘I’m almost not surprised. I always thought he was a…,’ she hesitated over the word, ‘yes a slimy bastard, he always smiled too much.’

‘Who is ‘he’?’

‘He was the guy who owned the lab. He set it up in Hungary because it would be cheaper to run. He was looking for a breakthrough drug, something that would make him famous. For a while he thought he had it with the hibernation drug or HDE 1078 as we called it. He was so happy, already preparing for the press interviews in his head I guess, a narcissist if ever I met one. Then the bad news. Autopsies on the mice clearly showed brain damage in the memory centres. Although the drug might have been saved many people’s lives I must admit I was almost glad. I couldn’t work with him after that, he was so weird, and so I left.’

‘What’s his name?’ Dan asked.

Mac could sense the team hold its breath.

‘Jonty Hart-Tolliver.’

Mac thought it sounded like someone out of a Jeeves book.

‘Jonty Hart-Tolliver? Are you sure?’ Dan asked looking over at Martin.

Martin was already banging away at his laptop.

‘Yes of course I’m sure.’

‘Anything else you can tell me about this Jonty or the lab?’

‘Not really but there was something going on, I’m sure of it but I never found out exactly what. Jonty had a buddy, Sandor his name was, but I never found out what his role was. A translator Jonty said but I think he did a lot more than that.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Once when I worked late I saw Sandor bring a prostitute into Jonty’s office. They didn’t see me. They were disgusting, Jonty and his little pimp.’

Mac thought she was very lucky. If they’d found out she’d seen them she might not be around now to tell the story.

‘Is that Oleksandr Shevchenko you’re talking about?’

‘Yes that’s him. They made a right pair, tall and short we called them, but there was something really creepy about both of them.’

‘What was the name of the lab?’ Dan asked.

‘It was called JHT Magyarpharm but I don’t think it exists anymore.’

‘Thank you very much Miss Kovacs. If you think of anything else please let us know.’

Dan put the receiver back and punched the air.

‘Something to go on at last. Martin anything yet?’

‘There’s a Jonty Hart-Tolliver who is listed as the main shareholder for HDE Pharma UK. The company was started up just over a year ago.’

‘HDE? That’s what the drug was called wasn’t it? HDE 1078. Where is it?’ Mac asked.

‘That’s right and it looks like you were right about something else Mac,’ Martin said. ‘The company’s in Cambridge, in one of the old industrial sites that’s being redeveloped as a science park.’  

‘It all fits. Okay let’s call the boss,’ Dan said.

Dan explained the new evidence to the DCS over the phone and his raised fist indicated success to the team well before he’d finished his conversation.

‘He’s at the golf club, of course, nineteenth hole, but he said yes, we have enough to raid HDE Pharma’s premises.’

‘When are we going ahead with the raid?’ Adil asked.

Dan gave it some serious thought.

‘There’s a girl missing and God knows how much time we’ve got. I’m not waiting until morning, we go as soon as possible. Adil get the Support Unit organised and get them here as soon as they can make it. Mary can you alert forensics and let them know we’ll need a team tonight. Martin get us photos and maps of the target site. I’ll get on to Cambridge Police and get them to go to Mr. Hart-Tolliver’s house and bring him to the company’s site. Rest of you meet here in half an hour.’