Episode 21 - The showdown

Meanwhile, on Mia’s advice, Cleo and Daphne had moved from the canteen to the observation room next to Greg’s office. Gary and Greg would interview Collins there.

As expected, Collins threatened Gary with revenge for the humiliation of being dragged out of Fish’s house in full view of everyone.

“What were you doing there?” Gary asked.

“Claiming what is now mine,” said Collins.

“Really? You’ll have to explain that.”

“He did not pay his fees. He owed me a lot of money.”

“That does not entitle you to the house, Dr Collins,” said Greg.

“I had an agreement with Fish and he broke it.”

“Can you prove that?” Gary asked.

“Can you prove otherwise?” said Collins.

“Which bank paid you?” said Gary.

“A proxy,” said Collins.

“Offshore, I presume.”

“Until recently.”

“And then?”

“Nothing.”

“If Fish was insolvent, his estate will reveal it, but you can’t jump the guns by claiming his property, Dr Collins. You’ll have to take your turn with the other creditors.”

“That would be the first time,” said Collins.

“Come on. If Fish could not pay his bills, his cashflow must have hit a hitch. Fish’s illegal activities at the house on the Oxford road will be scrutinized as soon as the murders of Irene and Maureen have been cleared up, and it now seems that you were deeply involved as well. Investigating the dead is difficult. We should have more success with your dealings, Dr Collins, especially your plan to take on the trafficking of young women.”

“Why should I do that? I’m a lawyer, not a pimp.”

Greg thought Gary was taking too long to ‘warm up’ the suspect, as Collins now was. Collins was pursuing his own line. Greg knew that defence lawyers often resorted to thought experiments. Was Gary falling for this one?

“Fish was bankrupt,” Collins insisted. “I don’t think he would have neglected to pay me if he had been able to. He knew how much I knew about him.”

“And condoned, Dr Collins,” said Greg. “And that is a criminal offence. But you say he did not pay you, but instead moved his assets to somewhere you could not get at them. I’m inclined to think you are spinning us a yarn on that, too.”

“Were you bluffing about the offshore account?” said Gary.

“No. I helped to install one and managed it for him.”

“Very convenient,” said Gary. “So you knew what was in it and could actually help yourself.”

“That was how he paid me until recently. The little skunk had found somewhere else to keep his money.”

“And to stop your hands from getting into the till,” Nigel chipped in, unable to resist a comment aimed at this unbelievably arrogant, corrupt lawyer.

“So you kept an eagle eye on Fish’s cash reserves, did you?” said Greg, “and the self-service arrangement collapsed, on the basis of which you were going to help yourself to the house.”

“Not just to the house, Greg. To the business!” said Nigel. “Illegal prostitution is more lucrative than the even the most corrupt legal dealings.”

Gary and Greg exchanged glances. Had Nigel hit the nail on the head? It would explain why Collins had gone to the house. He needed to take control of the ‘business’ and get things moving again. Did Ivan and Olaf know what he was planning?

As far as Collins’s claims were concernd, the idea that a gangster had installed an offshore account from which his lawyer, who had helped him to imstall that account, could pay himself was so unlikely that you could not have invented it.

“Let’s recapitulate, shall we?” Gary proposed.”You mentioned Fish’s offshore account even though it was empty. Why would you do that, Dr Collins? What sort of game are you playing? Did you empty it? Was the guy too late to rescue his ill-gotten gains?”

“No,” said Collins. “I’ve told you what happened.”

“Honestly?” said Gary.

Collens was getting nervous. He had shot his mouth off. He had not needed to mention that offshore account. His one-upmanship was not impressing these cops. They were looking for a more believable ulterior motive, as well they might.

***

Cleo thought that, too. Daphne was amazed that Fish was  had nothing in the bank. She had thought he was the rich guy she had dreamt of meeting one day. Cleo told her that was a fairytale and she should stop believing in it for all time.

***

“Of course, knowing that Mr Fish was about to declare insolvency makes you a suspect, Dr Collins,” said Greg, determined not to let the case slip entirely into Gary’s hands.

“If I had wanted him dead, I suppose it would,” said Dr Collins. “But there is no future in killing off clients who are unwilling to pay for services rendered. There are better ways of addressing the problem, such as acquiring their businesses – the legal ones, of course.”

“I’m surprised Fish had any,” said Nigel.

“And that’s what you were doing at the house, is it?” said Gary.

“Right in one,” the lawyer replied.

***

“I think it’s time for at least one of Fish’s acolytes to join the discussion, Nigel,” said Gary.

“Which one?” Nigel wanted to know.

“Who are you talking about?” Collins asked.

“You’ll see,” said Gary. “Drink another coffee while we wait.”

To Nigel he indicated that Ivan the barman would be first on the carpet.

“Is your coffee doped?” said Collins.

“No. But we can lace it with something fortifying if you prefer.”

“Cognac or Bourbon?” Greg said, reaching into the cupboard where Gary used to keep a store of the hard stuff.

“Cognac,” said Collins.

***

Collins was wary of what he said when Ivan Davis entered the room. Daphne was horrified. Cleo held her back only with difficulty from flying into the office to confront Ivan.

“Oh, it’s you,” said Collins.

“Yes me. Your hireling, remember?” said Ivan.

“What do you mean by that?” said Gary.

“It’s not the first time he has forced me to do something,” said Ivan.

“Shut up,” said Collins.

“I’m coming clean,” said Ivan.

“Shut up, I said.”

“Take this person out of the room and watch over him,” said Gary. “My colleague will show you where, Dr Collins. His former office is now vacant.”

After that short hiatus, Gary judged that Ivan was under such pressure that he would actually want to reveal what had been going on.

“I see you’ve reached the right decision,” said Gary. “For starters, I’m arresting you for the murder of Maureen Bishop. It can’t get any worse, can it?”

That was too much for Daphne. She bounced into Greg’s office and made for Ivan.

“Yes it can,” she screamed.

Nigel tried to calm her down, but she was hysterical.

“You didn’t tell me the gun was loaded with live bullets,” she said. “You skunk. You said I was to trust you!”

Ivan laughed nastily. This was pure theatre, mused Gary. Cleo followed Daphne into the office.

“Sorry I wasn’t fast enough to stop her,” she said.

“I’m glad my chief adviser came in,” said Gary, resisting the temptacion to embrace his ‘chief adviser’. “The rest is formality, isn’t it, Mr Davis?”

“The girl wanted Ronnie punished anyway,” said Ivan, as if that would help his defence.

“I’m not a girl. I’m 20,” Daphne protested.

Cleo mused that people under stress could swoop on trivialities even if their situation was dire.

“Meaning Maureen,” said Ivan, adding what amounted to a confession.

“What a pity your defence lawyer is not here,” said Nigel to Ivan.

“I did not pay Collins. He paid me,” said Ivan.

“For what?” said Gary. “Killing off potential witnesses?”

“Did you do that?” gasped Daphne.

”I left you out, you silly bitch,” Ivan retorted.

“That’s right. Go the whole hog, Mr Davis. You have nothing to lose,” said Gary.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened that day?” said Cleo in a rather seductive tone.

“You mean that I should confess?” Ivan replied, looking hard at this halfcast who seemed almost to be on his side.

“If it’s a confession, spit it out,” said Cleo a little more firmly, thinking of the mincemeat Dorothy would have made of questioning Ivan. For someone deeply involved in a criminal organization he was surprisingly naïve.

***

“You tell me,” said Ivan.

“Did you have a reason to kill Ronnie fish, or were you acting only for Collins or Daphne?” Gary asked. “Like killing two birds with one stone.”

“He didn’t use a stone,” said Daphne, who had lost the plot.

“So you tell us what happened, Daphne,” said Cleo. “I know you want to get it off your chest.”

Daphne automatically clutched her bosom. In her own mind she was still a Barbie doll.

“Ivan said Collins had been in touch and told him to play cops and robbers,” said Daphne.”The idea was to scare Ronnie, but I didn’t know what for.”

“What for, Mr Davis?”

“He did not pay any of us for many weeks. And he had sacked me for no given reason.”

“That’s not enough of a reason,” said Gary.

“What did you do, Daphne?” said Cleo.

“All of a sudden he was stretched out face down on the pavement.”

“That was after you shot him, wasn’t it?” said Cleo.

“Yes, Miss. He was all bloody.”

“Why did you do it, Daphne?” said Cleo.

“I thought it was a game,” the young woman insisted. “Honestly.”

“I hope the judge believes you,” said Gary, turning back to Ivan.

“Do you have anything to add to the story, Mr Davis?”

“Olaf loaded the gun. He must have put the live bullets in.”

“Not a very good defence, Mr Davis, since you dosed Fish with a lethal dose of that nerve drug. He would have died anyway.”

***

Gary turned to Nigel, who had sat himself down at his cornert table and was scratching away at notes.

“I’ll talk to Olaf now, Nigel,” said Gary.

Turning back to Daphne and Igor he anouned that he was arresting them both for the murder of Ronnie Fish.

“The security officers will take you down to the cells,” he added, ignoing Daphne’s screeching protests that she was not guilty, and Ivan’s attempt to shut her up before she accused him any more blatantly. “You can ask for a lawyer, but not for Collins. He will be otherwiae occupied.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” said Daphne, who was now tearful and subdued.

“If you can prove he told you to kill or harm Ronnie Fish, it will help your case,” said Cleo.

Ivan and Daphne were led away. Daphne tried to hold Ivan’s hand, but it was shaken off. No chance of them swopping alibis or excuses in future. That love affair was over before it started.

***

With the assassination pair out of the way, Olaf was brought in by a security guard.

Gary wasted no time on niceties. Niegel went back to his table and started a fresh page.

“Why did you put live bullets in Daphne’s gun, Mr Lewis?” Gary started, determined not to hold the questioning for a minute longer than he had to.

“Who told you that?” said Olaf. “That little hooker?”

“Does it matter who told me? I think we can assume that was you who loaded the gun. Did you have any particular reason?”

Gary should be excused for asking that seemingly innocent question. The questioning was leading nowhere.

“I did not know she was about to shoot Ronny,” said Olaf.

“Didn’t you know about Ronnie’s financial problems?”

“Of course I knew.”

“You also knew that Daphne got mad at Ronnie because he had not awarded her the attention she wanted.”

“She only wanted his cash,” said Olaf. “She moved on to me after that and I decided to let her escape.”

“So she was being kept at the house against her will, was she?”

“Not her. I told you she wanted Ronnie and he did not respond thee way she wanted. After that she she tried me. We had a good reason to let her go, quite apart from her making a nuisance of herself,” Olaf said.

“I’m curious,” said Gary.

“She was a very poor hooker. The clients complained about her.”

“So it all had to be sweetness and light at Fish’s house,” said Cleo. ”Untalented hookers were disposed of, one way or another.”

“Daphne did not have the right attitude. Hookers don’t love their managers.”

“She wasn’t a hooker before was sold to the Fish establishment by Mr Black, Mr Lewis,” said Cleo.

“Jet Black was only paid to make suggestions.”

“Really?” said Gary. “So his trafficking of young women was only making suggestion, was it?”

“Daphne was easy prey, he had told me over the phone,” said Olaf.

“It gets nastier every minute,” said Cleo.

“So Daphne played the system without knowing what that meant, and presumably because she was high,” said Gary. “And you are innocent, I suppose. Providing a silly young woman with a gun and then loading it with live bullets was presumably an innocent gesture from a compassionate friend, was it?”

“You could put it like that,” said Olaf. “The drugs are innocent pick-me-ups, designed to light the fires, as it were. Daphne did not have any fires to light.”

“Did you know that Ronnie Fish was going to be assassinated with that gun?” Greg asked, mainly so as not to be let out of Nigel’s report.

“No.”

“What else don’t you know?” said Cleo.

***

“I think we’ve finished the questioning, Mr Lewis,” said Gary. “For the time being I’ll arrest you for being an accessory to the murder of Ronne Fish.”

“But I wasn’t,” said Olaf, for the first time dropping the air of unconcern that he had adopted.

“Prove it,” said Gary. “Prove that you were not in league with Jasper Collins to take over Fish’s establishment by rendering him bankcrupt.”

Olaf had not reckoned with this twist.

“It was Jasper’s idea,” he blurted out.

”Now we’re getting there. Would you like to explain in more detail?”

“He called the tune,” said Olaf. “Ivan was sacked for cooking the books.”

“And that insensed him so much that he was willing to get rid of his boss, I expect,” said Cleo.

“You knew it would, didn’t you, Mr Davis?”

“I thought Ronnie’s and my rejection of Daphne would be helpful, but I did not tell them to kill Ronnie. Bankruptcy would have been enough to get him out.”

“You didn’t tell them, But Jasper Collins did, and you will have a hard time proving that you were not involved.”

***

“That’s it then,” said Gary, when Olaf had been taken to an arrest cell.

“You’ll have to arrest Collins,” said Nigel. “Get the job done, Gary, then we call move on.”

“You’re right, Nigel.”

***

Without any kind of preamble Gary arrested Jasper Collins for the murder of Ronnie Fish.

“You’ll have to prove it and you can’t,” said Collins.

“We can,” said Gary.

Collins burst out laughing.

“No one can prove anything, Mr Cop. You are deluded,” said Collins as bracelets were slipped onto his wrists.

“Not quite as deluded as you, Dr Collins,” said Gary. “Take him away!”

***

“What a nasty piece of work,” said Nigel.

“He’d likr us to think he’s as mad as a hatter, but he isn’t,” said Cleo. “He’ll plead insanity and he won’t be the first to get away with it. I expect he’s groomed enough clients to know how.”

“He won’t get Olaf on his side, Cleo, because that would implicate him,” said Gary.

“He almost had me brainwashed,” said Greg. “Congratulations, Gary. I was wrong to think you were intruding in my job.”

“Don’t mention it, Greg. I quite enjoyed it!”

“Nobody else did,” said Nigel.

"I beg to differ," said Cleo. "But we are all glad to see the back of those guys."