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“But look what happened when we did inform the police. Our son is dead.”
“Something went wrong. This was an unusual case from the start; there are a number of inconsistencies.”
“What are you suggesting? That it wasn’t a straightforward kidnapping?”
“There was nothing straightforward about it at all, Mr. Armitage.”
“I don’t understand,” said Robin. “The phone call… the ransom demand… they were genuine, surely?”
“Yes,” said A
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Martin. “We’re not made of money.”
“I know that,” A
Martin frowned. “I suppose you’ve got a point. Unless…”
“Yes?” Banks picked up the questioning again.
“Unless it was someone close to us.”
“Can you think of anyone?”
“Of course not. I can’t imagine any of our friends doing something like this. Are you insane?”
“Mrs. Armitage?”
Robin shook her head. “No.”
“We’ll still need a list of people to talk to.”
“I’m not having you going around bullying our friends,” said Martin.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be discreet. And, don’t forget, you’re the one who suggested it might be someone close to you. Anyone have a grudge against either of you?”
“A few goalies, I suppose,” said Martin, “but nothing serious, no.”
“Mrs. Armitage?”
“I don’t think so. Modeling can be a brutally competitive career, and I’m sure I stood on my share of toes on the catwalk, but nothing so… terrible… I mean, nothing to make anyone do something like this, especially so long after.”
“If you’d both like to think about it for a while, it would be a great help.”
“You said it was odd that he wouldn’t let us talk to Luke,” Robin said.
“It’s unusual, yes,” A
“Do you think it was because… because Luke was already dead?”
“That’s possible,” said A
“When will that be?”
“Perhaps by this evening or early tomorrow.” Dr. Burns, the police surgeon, had been unable to give an accurate estimate of time of death at the scene, so they would have to wait until Dr. Glende
“Can you remember anything else about the caller?” Banks asked Martin Armitage.
“I’ve told you everything I know. I can’t remember any more.”
“The voice definitely wasn’t familiar?”
“No one I recognized.”
“And there was only the one call?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us that might be of help?”
Both Martin and Robin Armitage shook their heads. Banks and A
“Josie and Calvin?” said Martin. “But why?”
“They might be able to help.”
“I can’t see how.”
“Were they close to Luke?”
“Not especially. If truth be told, I always got the impression that they thought him a bit of a weirdo. They’re wonderful people, salt of the earth, but sort of traditional in their views of people and behavior.”
“And Luke didn’t fit the mold?”
“No. He might as well have come from outer space as far as they’re concerned.”
“Was there any animosity?”
“Of course not. They are our employees, after all. What are you suggesting, that they had something to do with this?”
“I’m not suggesting anything, merely asking. Look, Mr. Armitage, I can understand your feelings, honestly I can, but you must let us do our jobs the way we see fit. It’s not going to help at all if you start challenging every move we make. I promise you we’ll be as discreet as we can with all our inquiries. No matter what you think, we don’t go around bullying people. But we also don’t accept everything at face value. People lie for a variety of reasons, many of them irrelevant to the investigation, but sometimes it’s because they did it, and it’s for us to sort out the lies from the truth. You’ve already lied to us once yourself that we know of, when you rang DI Cabbot and told her you’d heard from Luke.”
“I did that to protect Luke.”
“I understand why you did it, but it was still a lie. Maybe you can see how complicated our job becomes when you take all the lies into account. The lies of the i
Michelle had been joking when she told Banks she was getting paranoid, but she was begi
“Any progress?” he asked, leaning against the door.
“I’m not sure,” said Michelle. “I’ve been going over the old crime reports for 1965 looking for some sort of co
“And have you found any?”
“Not directly, no.”
“I told you you were wasting your time.”
“Maybe not entirely.”
“What do you mean?”
Michelle paused. She had to be careful what she said because she didn’t want Shaw to know that Banks had tipped her off to the Kray co
“So? Where’s the co
“A club on Church Street called Le Phonographe.”
“I remember that place. It was a discotheque.”
Michelle frowned. “I thought disco was in the seventies, not the sixties.”
“I’m not talking about the music, but the establishment itself. Clubs like Le Phonographe offered memberships and served meals, usually an inedible beef burger, if my memory serves me well, so they could sell alcohol legally after regular closing time. They’d stay open till three in the morning, or so. There’d be music and dancing, too, but it was usually Motown or soul.”
“You sound familiar with the place, sir.”
“I was young once, DI Hart. Besides, Le Phonographe was the sort of place you kept an eye on. It was a villains’ club. Owned by a nasty piece of work called Carlo Fiorino. Used to like to pretend he was Mafia, wore the striped, wide-lapel suits, pencil-thin mustache, spats and everything – very Untouchables – but his father was a POW who ended up staying on after the war and marrying a local farm girl out Huntingdon way. Plenty of local villains hung out there, and you could often pick up a tip or two. And I don’t mean for the three-thirty at Kempton Park.”
“So it was a criminal hangout?”
“Back then, yes. But petty. People who liked to think they were big players.”
“Including Bill Marshall?”
“Yes.”
“So you knew about Bill Marshall’s activities?”
“Of course we did. He was strictly a minor presence. We kept an eye on him. It was routine.”
“What was this Carlo Fiorino’s game?”
“Bit of everything. Soon as the new town expansion was well under way he turned Le Phonographe into a more up-market club, with decent grub, a better dance floor and a casino. He also owned an escort agency. We think he also got into drugs, prostitution and pornography, but he was always clever enough to stay one step ahead, and he played both sides against the middle. Most of the time.”