Chapter 15

 

 

        After he left that muddy lane and received the information about Donald Caruthers Mr Jones knew he had to be much more careful. He had switched cars and was now driving a nearly new grey Ford Focus with false plates that blended in well with the everyday traffic. Arriving at Donny’s apartment block around four o’clock he parked out front nearly opposite the main entrance and waited. A white delivery van arrived and the driver with a parcel buzzed the intercom for a flat number, said something into the microphone and waited until the door lock clicked. After a couple of minutes Mr Jones got out of his car and slowly walked towards the door. Then speeding up when he saw the delivery man press the exit button saying to the man coming out the door, “afternoon. Hot again eh,” and grabbing the door as it was swinging shut.

Climbing the stairs he saw the little old lady lady with the bundled up hair and floral apron come out of her flat and stand on the landing near the stairwell looking at him through those old lady glasses. She smelt of that cheap perfume old ladies wear, the kind that clogs up your senses. He asked her if she knew Donald Caruthers and when she told him he was out he had looked her straight in her face staring hard into her eyes and saw only apprehension. There was no lie so decided there was no advantage in staying. Saying he would call back he returned to his car.

He was starting to feel frustrated particularly with this Donald Caruthers who had inadvertently thwarted his attempt to get to Freddie then was out of his flat. The presence of that nosey old lady prevented him from searching the place which would have been useful. He still did not know who Donald Caruthers was but strongly suspected he was police, probably investigating the drug organisation James represented and chasing the same information he was. He needed to get to Freddie first but on the way was Aubrey Place so he thought he would swing in there and see if the wife was at home. That prospect thrilled him. She might know where the ledger was and even if she didn’t he would relish the opportunity of finding out she didn’t.

 

Parking in the lane out of sight of the house he slowly walked to the gate then crunched his way up the drive until he reached the lawn. Stepping onto the grass he silently made his way to the front door and knocked. There was a long wait and as he was about to knock again the door opened. How quaint he thought and how awkward. A butler. Still it’s not a problem if she’s home. He was sure not looking at any threat.

Max said, “can I help you Sir?” He was wearing a long black coat and had placed a bag on the hall floor behind the door.

Mr Jones, taking off his cap and speaking in a very deliberate way with that little smile firmly stuck in place, said, “is Mrs Beauchamp home?”

Max studied him for a second or two seeing someone he did not feel comfortable with, “I’m sorry Sir she’s away and she won’t be back for a while. If you leave your name I will advise her you called. If you wish you can tell me what your visit refers to and leave your number and she will call you if appropriate.”

Mr Jones said while at the same time thinking this was a stuffy old butler, “it’s no matter I will try again some other time. Maybe in a week or so,” and abruptly turned and walked down the drive loudly stomping through the gravel.  Max watched him leave thinking he was grateful for Donny’s warning. He was sure this man had something to do with whatever was going on.

He turned and picked up the bag, punched the code into the alarm keypad to set the alarm, slammed the door, turned the security lock key and walked around the side to the garages and his car taking the instructions Donny had written down out of his pocket.

 

Mr Jones had seen the bag and of course Max wearing the coat and thought the butler was leaving. If he was leaving with a packed bag it was reasonable to assume he was away at least overnight. It was also a fair guess that if he was away overnight he might be going to join his employer.  When the dark blue Fiesta pulled out from the gates a few minutes later his car was already purring and he set off to follow.

They slowly made their way along the winding lanes for about half an hour taking a few side turns. He kept well back with Max’s car only just in sight and was confident he would not be spotted. Entering the boundary of a small village Max stopped. Mr Jones took off his cap, kept going past Max while he was bending over towards the passenger seat and pulled into the small parking area in front of the village store. Max was checking the directions on the note on the seat then turned around and went back the way he had come for about one hundred yards and turned right into a narrow driveway.

Mr Jones was just about to follow when he saw the silver car belonging to Donald Caruthers enter the village and turn into the driveway. He stayed watching for a few minutes then started up, backed out and headed towards Freddie's place which he knew was only about forty minutes away.

 

Donny saw the grey Focus parked in front of the shop but saw nothing there to think it was other than a local stopping at the store. It was too far away to see the driver clearly. As he turned into the driveway he saw the Fiesta parked out front and taking no chances approached the house with care. Looking through the front window with some relief he saw Max.

“I see you made it Max,” he said as he walked through the door.

“Sure thing Donny,” said Max in a very casual way that drew a surprised look from Lilly who was coming into the sitting room from the kitchen wiping wet hands.

“Why Max,” she said, “are you losing your formal manner? I've been trying to get you to loosen up for ages, haven’t I? You must know Donny quite well to be so familiar.”

Donny said, “Max has been very helpful over the last six months. It was information he gave me a few days ago that enabled me to restart my investigation.”

“What investigation is that then?” said Bobby following Lilly out of the kitchen. Donny could see that he was almost in a temper which for Bobby was very unusual, “and just exactly who are you?” he continued.

“I’m Detective Inspector Donald Caruthers, part of a serious crime unit involved in the detection, prevention and prosecution of drug related organisations. And I’m sorry for any deception but this is an undercover operation.”

“You say Max has helped you,” said Lilly, “What brought that about? And why all this deception?”

Donny replied, “I’ve been investigating a particular organisation and the only way to get close to them is through the money they generate. This is laundered through various companies. The laundering operation is organised by James Munroe….”

“But James is my solicitor,” interrupted Lilly, “surely he’s not involved.”

“There’s no doubt about it. He approaches his clients, those that have financial troubles and offers them a way out of their problems. Your son, Freddie, was running your husband’s hospitality and gambling chain, a perfect company for this operation. They deal with a lot of cash and can easily filter dirty money through the system.”

“Why would Freddie do this though. Didn’t Aubrey know? I’m sure he wouldn’t agree to it. He was not involved was he?”

“No he wasn't. I’d already established that. Freddie has expensive tastes and he’d spent all the business cash and some more. He was in real financial difficulty with a lot of debt. James offered him a way out and he took it.”

“I don’t understand though,” said Lilly, “why would he do it? I know he spends a lot but Aubrey would have helped I’m sure.”

“He might have but I suspect Freddie also knew it would be the end of his cash supply and his extravagant lifestyle so James’s offer was too tempting.”

“I know you went to see Aubrey about six months ago. Max told me.”

Donny looked at Max with a you were supposed to be discreet look who simply said, “She asked who had called to make Aubrey so upset. So I told her. I said I would help you but there were lines I would not cross and lying is one of them,” and he shrugged.

“I had found out about Freddie and saw the opportunity to trace the money. By obtaining proof I could use that to act against the organisation. I went to see your husband to ask for his help which he agreed to do. I also asked Max for his help by keeping me informed of any developments.”

“Why did you not tell me this Max? You just told me Donny had called.”

“Because you did not ask and Donny wanted me to be discreet. You just asked who had called so I told you.” said Max.

Donny said, “A few days after I saw Aubrey Max phoned to say Aubrey and Freddie had a terrific row and Aubrey was going to see James. Two days later Max phoned to say Aubrey had been involved in an accident that he did not survive.”

Lilly went very quiet and Donny could see tears in her eyes, “tell me,” she said, “tell me honestly. Was Aubrey murdered?”

Donny replied in a slow quiet voice, “Yes Lilly, I think he was.”

Clearly very upset Lilly said with a shaky voice, “was Freddie involved?”

“No, I don't think so. I think that was James. Aubrey would have confronted him and told him he was talking to me. James would have had to take some action. He could not allow anything to happen that would affect the organisation. For him that was potentially fatal and he knew it. Unfortunately Aubrey’s death stalled my investigation. I had no way of obtaining the proof I needed until now.”

Bobby who had been just standing in the background listening walked forward looking Donny straight in the face, “so, what’s all this got to do with me. I can see I’ve been dragged into something. This is all a bit Film Noir detective stuff isn’t it? I hope I’m not the goodie that gets thrown to the wolves so the hero can ride off into the sunset.”

“After Aubrey’s funeral Max told me James had been to see you Lilly and he had suggested you see a financial advisor…”

Having recovered a bit Lilly interrupted, “you seem to have been pretty free with what goes on in my house Max.”

Reverting to his more formal self, Max said, “I am sorry Madam but I only told Mr Caruthers things I thought he needed to know. Important things. I was worried about you Madam.”

“As I was saying,” said Donny, “Max told me about the financial advisor suggestion and I had just met you Bobby. I saw that as a way of keeping in touch with a situation so suggested to Max that he recommend you to Lilly.”

“Oh, so I became your inside man, did I?” said Bobby.

“Well not really. It just gave me a means of contact if it was needed and it was. I hoped to get things moving and thought by having you in touch with Lilly I would at least have some sort of basis to work with. So I asked Max a few days ago to try to get you and Lilly back in contact. Max then told me about your argument, Lilly with Freddie and before you give him another bashing it was just as well because you had told Freddie that Aubrey had audited Freddie's business and hidden records. It was that that had sparked the latest activity and Freddie went straight to James. Whatever was said between them was enough to cause James to make arrangements. There’s a man, a Mr Jones, who was at Freddie’s house this morning.”

“How do you know he was there?” asked Lilly

“Because I was there. I was hoping Freddie was out or I would see him leave and then I could search his house. I need to find the records that Aubrey made. They are the key to concluding my case.”

“So who is this Jones fella then Donny?” said Bobby

“A very dangerous man, that’s who he is and someone to avoid. Basically he solves problems and he solves them in whatever way is needed to get the problems solved. He saw me at Freddie’s and must have traced me to my flat. He was there earlier this afternoon but my neighbour, who is the biggest curtain twitcher you’ll ever meet, stopped him on the stairs, said I was not there, so he left.”

“Ok I understand all this but what’s with all the kidnapping stuff then?”

“When I knew there were records it was obvious someone would look for them so Lilly had to be moved to somewhere safe. If I asked her Max suggested she might have refused to leave.”

“And I would have that’s for sure. It’s my house after all.” said Lilly with a determined look.

“I could not risk anything that raised suspicion, Bobby. If the focus of my investigation was discovered there was a real risk that it would totally collapse if the whole operation was shut down. Max understood this didn’t you Max?”

“I did,” said Max, “and I was really worried about you Madam. Something had to be done that was sure and Donny assured me he had everything covered.”

“So the kidnap plan would work and I think it has. Lilly is safely out of the house and Bobby, you have not really been put out too much. Any cost you have suffered will be reimbursed. Things moved so quickly I didn’t have time to organise finance.”

“Not yet I haven’t been put out so much. Are we in danger though? If this Mr Jones is searching for these records he might need to speak with Lilly.”

“Sure he will and that’s where I would appreciate your help. If you can keep her here and entertained it might give me a chance to get to grips with this. Have you any idea Lilly where Aubrey might have hidden the records?”

“Not really. Just somewhere in the house.”

“Max and I had a pretty good look but could not find anything. Could Freddie have found them?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve only been out of the house on Saturday morning through to lunchtime. He could have come over then I suppose.”

“If he had found them though,” said Donny almost thinking out loud, “why would James bring in Mr Jones. The problem would have been solved as far as he was concerned. No proof, no case James would know that. Unless Freddie was using it as a lever to get something from James.”

“Freddie wants control of Aubrey’s money. Maybe he would demand that.” said Lilly.

Donny said, “That’s right but that would work whether he had the records or not. He could just say he did. That would explain Mr Jones’s interest in Freddie, wouldn’t it?”

“And also in Lilly if Freddie didn’t have them,” said Max, “a man came to the house today about six just as I was leaving. Tall with glasses and a moustache and cloth cap. I didn’t take to him at all. He kind of smiled when he spoke but not a nice smile, one of those smirking kind of smiles. As he walked away he was sort of whistling.”

“Judging by Rita, my neighbour's description, that’s Mr Jones alright. That indicates he hasn't found anything yet. We were right to move you out Lilly.”

“What about Freddie?” said Lilly, “is he in danger?”

Donny said, “I think he is. Can you phone him and warn him? This Mr Jones is sure to pay him a visit. Well, I’m going to catch up with Freddie. Bobby, can you stay here with Lilly for a few days? And you as well Max. You should be safe here. Don’t go to the house at all.”

“I’ve asked Gloria over tomorrow. Is that ok? Lilly wants to meet her.”

“I don’t see why not,” said Donny, “but keep a low profile just in case. I’ll be back later tonight after I’ve seen Freddie.”