Page 59 of My Lord
“Mackenzie Miller, we spent the night—” Before I could finish, Mary spluttered. We all looked over. She was still staring at her monitor but held a bottle of water in her hand.
“We spent the night talking and drinking, he stayed in my spare room. Now, I’ll ask one more time before I have you removed. What is this about?”
“Harry Denmark was found drowned last night. We are trying to trace his movements prior to his death,” Detective Millward added.
“He’s what?”
“Dead. His body was found in the Thames.”
“Jesus,” I said, genuinely stunned. I slumped against the table. “What happened to him?” I asked.
“We’re awaiting reports, obviously, but at the moment we are treating it as suspicious.”
“And that’s why you wanted to know where I was last night?” I asked, starting to get angry. “Why would I be connected to the death of Harry Denmark?”
“We know that you met him recently, and we also know that you may have been working with him in an operation that he was not authorised to undertake. What is your connection with Jeremy Daughton?”
“I don’t have a connection with Jeremy Daughton and right now you are going to leave my office and return when I have a legal presence.”
“You met him the other night,” I was told. The only person that could have told them was Stanton.
“You think you need a lawyer for an informal chat?” Burrows asked.
“I think I need a lawyer for an accusation, however informal, that I may be involved with the death of the Chief of Police.”
They looked at each other. I stood and buttoned up my jacket. I wasn’t about to speak one more word to them. After a minute or two, they walked to the lift. I watched them leave.
“Get that?” I asked.
“Every word. Who you been bumping off then?” Mary asked. She held up a Dictaphone that she’d recorded the conversation with.
“I haven’tbumped offanyone.”
“Shame, getting a bit boring around here at the moment. I’m all on my own up here and I’ve caught up on all my soaps.” She pointed to the screen paused during an episode of Coronation Street.
“I’ll be back later,” I said. “And thanks, Mary, you’re a gem.”
“I better get a bonus for this. I might be implicated in something. You know Jack the Ripper was a Lord, don’t ya?” she shouted across the room as I walked away.
“I know. I believe my grandfather warned his father not to take the murder thing too far, but he wouldn’t listen.” Her laughter followed me. I wasn’t laughing, though; I was worried.
I met Mackenzie at his house half an hour later. I recalled the meeting and we sat nursing a coffee.
“So, they think someone killed Harry? But why ask us, or rather, you?” he said.
“They must think it has something to do with André stroke Jeremy.Someonetold them I’d met with him, and that someone could only be Veronica or Stanton. I’d trust Veronica with my life. That means Stanton.”
I knew a lot about Stanton, everyone in our ‘circle’ did. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the least to discover he was a snitch, he’d been on the edge of criminality for years and got away with it.
“Let’s think. What has Harry stumbled on that could have gotten him killed?” Mackenzie asked.
“He knew whatsit and whatsit were the same person. He knew he was connected to laundering, but then that wouldn’t take a genius to work out. He knew he had shares in Trymast and that now he doesn’t. He also knew that our names had come up in an investigation way above his pay grade…” I paused. “Either he had found something else out ortheythink he has.”
“Must be highly embarrassing for the government to learn that the Russian mafia had access to their military contracts. Not that I can really see what information they could gain from them that would give an advantage,” Mackenzie said.
“Would to your competitors, though, wouldn’t it? Who else was pitching for that contract?”
“I don’t know. We never get told that kind of information. Maybe that’s what Harry stumbled on.”
