The Murder Exchange (35 page)

Then, without warning, the door opposite the
Lovers Suite flew open and Fitz appeared in view

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with a revolver in hand, firing wildly in our general
direction. A bullet whizzed straight past my head
and into the lift, narrowly missing Krys. It hit the
full-length mirror at the lift's rear, shattering it
instantly. Taking advantage of the covering fire,
Mick also appeared again, firing off another series
of rounds. Joe's shotgun erupted in return, blowing
a huge hole in the doorway where Mick's head had
just been, while Fitz was forced to retreat as I
unloaded a steady burst of gunfire in his direction.
I then jumped to one side and disappeared into
the stairwell while Joe retreated into the lift as the
doors closed.

I dashed down the first flight of stairs until I was
in the second floor stairwell. The lift carrying Krys
and the others was going all the way to the ground,
and from there they were going straight into the
back of the Mercedes van. My job now was to make
sure Big Mick and Fitz didn't get a chance to balls
anything up. I ejected the Clock's magazine and
replaced it with a full one, chambering the first
round. Above me the door on the next floor up
banged open and heavy footfalls came down the
stairs. Taking a deep breath, I stepped back so I was
leaning against the door that led into the reception
area, and raised the gun. Behind me, I could hear i
people crying out and shouting in the bar, and I
hoped Kalinski was calm and ruthless enough to
keep a lid on things until it was time for him to go.

Big Mick came crashing into view, dressed only 5
in trousers, almost slipping up in his haste to get ]
down the stairs and intercept the lift before it
escaped with his boss. Fitz was right behind him.

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Mick's eyes momentarily widened when he saw
jne, but before he could react I pulled the trigger,
holding the gun two-handed.

Mick never had a chance. He took a bullet in the
gut, then the chest, then the neck, the force of
the rounds knocking him back in the direction
of the wall. He tottered for a moment, then fell
heavily. Fitz dived out of the way, but I kept shooting,
my bullets ricocheting off the carpet and taking
chunks out of the paintwork. From his position
lying on the stairs, and partially covered by his
friend, Fitz returned fire, his bullets passing
dangerously close. But I stayed calm, adjusted my
aim, and hit him in the shoulder and chest as he sat
up and tried to get a better shot at me. He fell bark
do^'ii again with hardly a sound, and I turned and
charged through the door and into the reception
area. Kalinski was already retreating out of the bar,
his weapon trained on the spot where I appeared. I
gave him the thumbs up and the two of us went
back into the stairwell where the bodies of Fitz and
Big Mick lay sprawled above us, their blood
mingling as it dribbled onto the carpet. Kalinski
paused for a moment to view the men who'd
almost certainly helped to murder his brother.

Then, without warning, Fitz sat back up, blood
dribbling from the corner of the mouth, and aimed
his weapon at us. There followed an excruciatingly
long one-second pause, as if we were all just frozen
there, and then I pulled the trigger. My first bullet
missed but the second ripped the top of his head
off, depositing a lump of something nasty on the
wall behind. Fitz continued sitting where he was

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for maybe a couple of seconds, then tipped straight
back. I didn't need any more encouragement to
get the hell out of there, and turned and charged
down the stairs in the direction of the ground floor,
Kalinski in hot pursuit.

The van was still double-parked with the engine
idling when we got outside. We ran straight for it,
pulling the balaclavas from our heads, Kalinski
heading for the back, me for the front. In the
distance we could hear the first faint sirens.

'What the fuck's going on?' howled Johnny as I
jumped inside. 'I saw them shove some naked!
geezer with an Elvis barnet in the back!'

The back door shut as Kalinski got in, and there
were two knocks on the interior panel to tell us
they were ready to go.

'Shut the fuck up and drive! Now!'

Johnny took one look at me, saw something in
my face he didn't like, and did exactly what he was
told.

Gallan

There were already at least a dozen police vehicles'i and several ambulances double-parked along the^
street when Ramsay pulled up about fifty yards!
down from the scene of the shooting. I pulled open;
the side door of the van and stepped out into the!
rain. I didn't wait for the others and started walk"ing
down in the direction of the brothel, Benin
following behind. The call had said that there'd
been a serious shooting incident with several;

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casualties, but it was the location that intrigued me.
Heavenly Girls. The brothel Neil Vamen's girlfriend,
the woman who had had nothing to say
regarding the death of a man in her home, had
worked in; the place in which the mysterious disappearing
Roy Fowler had an alleged interest.
Something was happening, and I desperately
wanted to get a handle on what it was.

The front door of the brothel was under police
guard, and in the doorway I could see a very
concerned-looking DCI Knox with his back to the
street, talking to someone. The person came into
view as we mounted the steps, and I was pleased to
see that it was Asif Malik.

Knox and Malik turned round as we approached

'Hello, John/ said Knox grimly. 'Dave/ he added,
nodding towards Berrin. Tou both know Asif,
don't you?'

'I do, Dave doesn't/ I said. We stepped out of the
rain, then did the introductions. 'So, what's
happened?' I asked.

'A double murder/ said Knox.

'Off the record/ said Malik, 'they're both associates
of Krys Holtz: Danny Fitzgerald and Mick
Noble. According to the witnesses here, a number
of masked men came in, shot the two of them, and
then, from what we can gather, abducted Krys
himself.'

'Shit/ was the only reply I could manage.

'Exactly. God only knows what this is going to
lead to.'

'We think the Serious Crime Group are going to

327

be taking this case, John/ said Knox, sounding not
entirely unrelieved by the prospect, "but we're
going to need some help taking statements. There
must be thirty people up there we've got to talk to,
quite a few of whom are not going to want to cooperate
very much.'

'Sure, no problem. We'll get on to it.'

Knox nodded, and headed up the stairs to the
reception area. 'I'd better get up there too/ said
Malik.

'Before you do, can I grab a moment?' I asked.

'It'll have to be quick/ he answered. 'This little
lot has really complicated things.'

'It will be.' I turned to Benin. 'I'll meet you up
there, Dave.' Berrin looked put out but didn't say
anything and did as he was told.

I took Malik by the arm and led him to the far
corner of the foyer. 'I spoke to the landlord/ I told
him, giving him a brief synopsis of what had been
said. 'Something was going on in that house, something
very illegal.'

'And you haven't been able to get hold of this
Franks guy?'

'Not a word. He's disappeared, just like Roy
Fowler, who, for your information, apparently had
a share in this place.'

That's interesting, except it still doesn't prove
anything. Whatever was going on in that house
won't be going on now, and if there's no evidence
of a criminal enterprise taking place, there's not a
lot we can do.'

'Does the company name mean anything to you?
Dagmar Holdings?'

328

'John, the Holtzes have God knows how many
front companies washing their money. I honestly
can't remember them all individually. But I promise
I'll look into it for you.'

I could tell that Malik was beginning to think of
me as an irritant, and I could hardly blame him. I
might have unearthed a few matters that needed
explanation, but in the end I had absolutely nothing
concrete, and it was the concrete stuff that any
police officer needed.

'You know, Asif, you're always looking for a way
into the Holtzes. If what I spoke about to you
yesterday ... If that actually happened, think what
it could mean. Someone would definitely open his
mouth.'

Ifs and maybes, John. At the moment the most
important thing is trying to prevent some sort of
gang war breaking out, and that means finding out
which madmen decided it would be a good idea to
snatch Krys Holtz.'

'Do me one favour.'

'What?'

I'm going to ask DCI Knox to authorize a full
search of Franks's house for any traces that might
back up my theory. I'd like to add that I've got your
support for it as well. Please. If I can turn something
up, I'm sure it'll help your investigations. If I
don't, then it's no loss to you.'

Malik thought about it for a moment, then,
deciding that it was probably easier to agree
than put up with more hassle, said he would.
'But that's the extent of my involvement. Is that
clear?'

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I'As daylight.' I patted him on the shoulder.
Thanks. I owe you one.'

;fIt

It was two hours before Benin and I finished taking
statements at Heavenly Girls. A number of the
clientele and staff were severely traumatized,
including one of the security people, a huge ex
boxer who'd had the misfortune to witness what
was left of the two shot men, and who now
kept bursting into tears, so it hadn't been an easy
task.

The rain had stopped by the time the two of us
descended the steps to the street. The van we'd
been travelling around in all night remained
parked further up and I could make out Ramsay
behind the wheel eating a sandwich, lazy bastard.

'Sarge?' said Benin as we walked along. |

I yawned. It was half two in the morning, a long 1
way past my bedtime. Tes, Dave?' J

'Have you got a problem with me?'

I stopped and looked at him, and realized how
difficult I'd made things for him lately. 'Of course I
haven't. I'm sorry about the last few days. I've been
trying to follow up on a couple of theories I've got,
and I suppose I didn't want to share them until
they'd come to something.'

'But we're working together on this. I need to
know what's happening otherwise I'm not going
to be of any use to you at all.'

'No, I understand that.'

'So what was it you were talking to the SO7 bloke
about?'

I sighed. 'A theory I'm working on, but a real

330

vague one.' And it was vague, too, but I was sure
there was something in it.

Benin lit a cigarette. Well, let's hear it then. You
never know, I might even be able to help.'

So I told him. By the time I'd finished talking, it
had started to rain again. What do you think?' I
asked, wondering if I was really any good at man
management.

Benin finished his cigarette and chucked it in the
gutter. 'I think I hope it isn't right because if it is
then it's a gruesome chain of events. But it wouldn't
totally surprise me, you know. I reckon it's got the
ring of truth about it.'

'So do I/ I said. 'So do I.'

331

I

Thursday, three days ago

Iversson

It was just after nine a.m. and raining hard when
I stepped into a phone box on Seven Sisters Road. I
dialled the number of a restaurant owned by Stefan
Holtz. A foreign-sounding gentleman answered on J|
about the tenth ring. 'L'Espagnol/ he grunted
miserably, which I thought was a bit cheeky. I might
have been a punter looking to book a table, and that
sort of tone would have put me right off.

Tell Stefan Holtz that the man from Heavenly
Girls wants to get hold of him. He's got a
message from Krys. I'm going to call this number
back in fifteen minutes and I want to speak to him
then.'

The guy on the other end didn't speak and I hung
up, getting out of the phone box and walking along
the street in the direction of Camden Road. Fifteen
minutes later, I entered another phone box on
York Road and dialled the L'Espagnol number
again. This time it was answered on the first ring
by the same guy as before. 'I've got a number to

332

ring/' he told me hurriedly. I wrote it down and
rang off without further comment, then dialled it.

Four rings later and Stefan Holtz was on the line.
'Where the fuck's my son?' were his first words,
delivered in a rough north London rasp that made
me think I'd been daft to start smoking again.

'He's unhurt. If you want to see him again it'll
cost you half a million quid in cash, used fifties.
You've got twenty-four hours to come up with the
money otherwise we'll chop his head off, and use
his quiff as a bog brush.'

'If you fucking touch him, I'll rip you limb from
limb.'

'I'm going to call back tomorrow morning at this
Hme with further instructions.'

I need more fucking time/ said Holtz, the first
signs of desperation in his voice. For all his money
and influence, he was powerless in the current
situation, and he knew it.

I put the phone down, confident that he'd follow
the instructions he'd been set. The two bodies left
behind the previous night should have been proof
enough of that. I was pissed off that we'd had to kill
two men to get what we wanted, particularly since
the whole thing had almost gone completely to
plan, but it was too late to worry about it now.

I hailed a cab and fifteen minutes later I was back
at Elaine's apartment. I used the key she'd given
me to let myself in and went up to the bedroom.
The curtains were still closed and she was lying in
bed, looking good. She opened her eyes and smiled
when she saw me.

I grinned back at her. 'We did it.' And then,