The Body in the River (29 page)

‘
It was horrible; Silver just picked him up by the collar and kept smashing his head against the wall until he was dead.
’

‘
Then what happened?
’

Fleming shook his head vigorously.
‘
I don
’
t know. Silver looked into my eyes and said,
“
That
’
s what happens to people who cross me, be warned
”
. It was after that I realised I would have to get away sometime soon or he would kill me. It was then I bought my false passport.
’

‘
What happened to the body of the man he killed?
’

‘
Silver told Smith to dispose of it.
’

‘
Where? Do you know where he disposed of it?
’

Fleming shook his head again.
‘
No, Silver told me to leave so I did as quickly as I could.
’

Brookes paused for a long moment. Finally he said,
‘
Would you be willing to give evidence in court on all that you have said?
’

Fleming licked his dry lips.
‘
Only if you can guarantee my safety. He will have me killed if he can.
’

The solicitor said,
‘
My client has given you his full co-operation. What do you offer in return?
’

‘
We will ensure that he stays alive.
’

‘
What about the other charges and a reduction in sentence?
’

‘
That depends on the crown prosecutor. I know that he will not negotiate on the murder of Alison MacPherson, who was an innocent victim. But, if your client co-operates in bringing Silver and his men to justice, I will recommend that he offer some deal on the other matters.
’

Fleming said quickly,
‘
What about my money?
’

Brookes smiled.
‘
You can hardly expect to be allowed to profit from the proceeds of crime. We shall ask the court to confiscate that.
’

Fleming looked crestfallen; he now contemplated a bleak future. But at least he had a future; Alison MacPherson had none at all. Now that the interview was on tape, Fleming was totally committed. Brookes would ensure that the police kept their part of the bargain but Fleming would serve a term of life imprisonment.

The interview went on for some hours whilst Fleming
’
s detailed statement was recorded and signed.

The story he told was much as Brookes had worked out. The night of the murder, Fleming had gone to her flat with a bottle of wine. She had invited him in and he
’
d apologised for his behaviour in the office; Fleming had got angry with her when she
’
d told him what she had found out. She seemed relieved and told him about other discrepancies she had found in the business accounts. This made him realise that she already knew too much. She was too bright for her own good and would not let well alone. He felt that he had no choice; she would get them both killed unless he stopped her.

He drugged her wine with the date rape drug, which made her very drowsy. He
’
d then gone to her computer. It was switched on as she
’
d been working on it before he called. He found that she had created a file on which she had recorded irregularities she had found in the accounts. He
’
d decided that she had to be silenced.

It was here that he said that he panicked. He knew that if Silver found out about this information being in the hands of one of his staff, his own fate was sealed. He
’
d followed her to the bedroom and throttled her. Then he
’
d dragged the body to the balcony and thrown it into the river.

Brookes contained his anger. He knew that a judge and jury would not be fooled; Fleming had gone to her flat prepared to kill her. This was premeditated murder. Then, after killing her, he
’
d carefully tried to remove all traces of his having been in the flat. These were hardly the actions of a person in a state of panic.

The statement was typed and signed by Fleming. After completing the marathon interview, Brookes and Rose returned to their car and started the long drive back across London.

Once they were on the move, Rose said, excitedly,
‘
With this evidence, we can actually get Silver for murder.
’

Brookes was a little more cynical.
‘
Sadly, I
’
m not sure we can. We have Fleming
’
s word. But against that you can guarantee that Silver, Smith, and whoever else was present will deny it. That
’
s if they even admit such a meeting took place, which I doubt. No, we
’
ll need a whole lot more that that before we can act on it, including a body. But we will of course investigate it.
’

‘
But we can prosecute him for money laundering, surely?
’

Brookes shook his head and gave her a look.
‘
Do you really think so? Yes, we
’
ve evidence of him swimming in money and property that he can
’
t immediately account for. But once he gets his expensive lawyers on the case who knows what the courts will decide.
’

Rose insisted,
‘
But surely we can get all of the properties confiscated by the court; that will really hurt him.
’

‘
I hope you
’
re right, Jacqui. It will probably take years to sort out who legally owns what. But we
’
ve been given the job of bringing the man down; we
’
ll find a way.
’

Looking at his watch, he saw it was now late afternoon. Using his mobile, he telephoned Short and told him he
’
d go straight home and see him in the office the next morning. Then he asked Rose to drop him at Lynne
’
s restaurant and take the evening off.

*

‘
The opera ain
’
t over
‘
til the fat lady sings.
’

Dan Cook

At 8am the next morning, Brookes
’
team were assembled in the incident room at Leman Street Police Station.

Brookes wasted no time but started his briefing.
‘
OK, people, you
’
ve all done an excellent job bringing Fleming to justice. He
’
s made a full confession and, I
’
ve no doubt, will get a life sentence. But the job is only half done. Behind all this is Raymond Frederick Silver. He is the man Fleming was laundering dirty money for. He is a re-incarnation of the Kray twins and a Mafia boss all in one.

‘
Any major robbery or burglary that occurred in the East End of London had to be approved by him and he would take his cut from the profits. In addition, he has a chain of brothels staffed, if that
’
s the right word, with young women willing to satisfy just about any of a man
’
s sexual needs.
’
He paused then added,
‘
We
’
re pretty sure he caters for all tastes provided you have the money, and I mean
all
tastes. The rumour is that he can get you a child if that
’
s what takes your fancy. So far this is just a rumour. But if it
’
s true we will find out. That I promise you. And we
’
ll bring him down.
’
He looked around the room.

He continued,
‘
If that isn
’
t enough, he takes protection money from all the shady businesses in the area and that includes porn shops and peep shows. It was money from all these disgusting enterprises that Fleming was laundering through his company and it was fear of what Silver would do to him when Alison McPherson found out about this that pushed him into killing her. Not that there
’
s any justification for what he did, but in my mind that makes Silver just as guilty. Without this evil so-and-so Silver looking over Fleming
’
s shoulder, Alison would still be alive.
’

He looked at each of them in turn.
‘
I want this man. I want Silver so that I can serve him to the crown prosecutor on a platter with a red ribbon tied around his neck. I want him hung out to dry. I want him screwed down tighter than a duck
’
s arse.
’

There were a few titters among the detectives; Brookes was not usually quite so crude. But they knew he meant business and were all firmly behind him.

He continued,
‘
We
’
ve done this before with the drug dealer, Bronchi. Everyone said he was untouchable but we found a way of getting to him. Just as we will with this bastard. Our first task is to find out everything there is to know about him and his organisation.
’

He grinned at DS Fred Middlemiss.
‘
As you might put it, Fred, I even want to know which hand he wipes his arse with.
’
He waited for the laughter to subside then went on,
‘
We need to find the kinks in his armour and start to put pressure on him. Eventually he
’
ll break like a dry twig. Now I
’
ve got some ideas as to how we go about it but I
’
d like to hear yours. What do you think?
’
There was a long silence.

Then Liz Foreman said,
‘
When we got Bronchi, sir, we took out the men collecting the take from the brothels. Maybe we should we do that to Silver and his protection racket?
’

‘
That
’
s a possibility, Liz, it
’
s worth looking into. What else?
’

Stumpy Gerrard said,
‘
Is he into drugs, boss?
’

Brookes shook his head.
‘
Apparently not. Just about everything else but not drugs.
’

Fred Middlemiss said,
‘
But he must have some hobbies, boss. Maybe he does his money on the horses.
’

‘
Good thinking, Fred. As you came up with it, you can look into that. Any other thoughts?
’
He looked round the room. There were no other suggestions. He said,
‘
Right. I
’
ve given a list of areas to cover with DI Short, he
’
ll give each of you your task. Just so you all know what we
’
re doing as a team, I
’
ll give you my overview. We know where he operates from, The Venus Club in the East End. This is a downmarket nightclub; the waitresses are topless, the entertainment, strippers and the lowest and crudest comedians you
’
ll find anywhere.

‘
DI Middlemiss and I are going to pay the place a visit this evening. I want to meet this man, look him in the eye, and let him know he
’
s got me on his tail. I
’
ll let you know what we find in the morning.

‘
In the meantime, the collator at the local nick will have some info on him and his operation and one of the tasks is calling on him. But there
’
s more we need; we need to find out how his gang is organised. Who his lieutenants are, and his soldiers. He must have an accountant and he will have to keep records; who is he and where does he have his offices? Who does his enforcing now Smith is dead? What car does Silver drive? I understand he lives above the nightclub. Where does he socialise? Is there a woman in his life, does he have a family? What does he do with his money now we
’
ve taken out his money launderer? As Fred said, does he follow the horses, the greyhounds, whatever? I want to know all these things. Any questions?
’
He waited; there were none.

He finished,
‘
OK, let
’
s get at it. We
’
ll get together again at this time tomorrow with what we
’
ve found out.
’