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Authors: Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
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‘Contents of the safe, guv. These were on top – marriage certificate and birth certificate, together in an envelope.’
Slider took them. ‘Well, that’s clear enough. He married a Miss June Alexandra Bromwich at All Saint’s church, Stamford, in 1975. You might see if you can trace her.’
‘Right, guv.’
‘And the birth certificate … Oh, look at this. Father was Sir Ernest Bygod, occupation given as barrister. Address Beaufort Hall, Colleyweston.’
‘Beaufort Hall? Sounds like a community centre,’ Atherton objected.
‘Sounds posh to me,’ Hollis countered.
‘And where’s Colleyweston when it’s at home?’
‘Lincolnshire,’ Slider said. ‘Round the back of Burghley where the horse trials are held. Very Shire.’ Points to Hollis – posh it was. ‘So it sounds as though he came from a moneyed background. He may have had a private income, or had money left him.’
‘Strange he should live in a flat above a shop in Shepherd’s Bush, then,’ Atherton said. ‘Even a large flat. Some sort of a kink in the straight line of his personal history, I wouldn’t mind betting.’ He gave Slider a significant look, which Slider resisted.
‘What else is in the document safe?’ Slider asked. ‘A will would be nice, for the next of kin.’
‘No will, guv. It’s all just papers, like the housekeeper said. These, his passport, exam certificates and legal qualifications, deeds to the flat, and the rest are financial – share certificates and bonds and that sort o’ thing,’ said Hollis. ‘I’ve given ’em to Swilley, since she’s doing the financial stuff. But there looks to be a lot of ’em. Looks as if he might have been well off.’
‘Nothing it would do anyone any good to steal, though,’ Slider said. ‘Unless, of course, something else was in there, and is no longer.’
‘Which brings us back to Mrs Kroll,’ Atherton said, ‘who was the most likely one to know. And we’ve only her word for it that he never locked the safe.’
‘Check that with Mr Plumptre,’ Slider told him. ‘Who’s looking into his other friends?’
‘Nobody yet,’ said Atherton.
‘Well, put Connolly on to it, and make that one of the questions she asks: what was in the safe, and did he lock it? And who was his next of kin?’ he added in a slightly fractious tone. ‘Why hasn’t anyone come asking for him?’
Gascoyne came in, with McLaren lingering at his shoulder. It was getting crowded in here. ‘I’ve got the first of the fingerprint results, sir. The marks you were interested in on the study door come back without a match.’
‘That’s disappointing,’ Slider said. ‘But not unexpected.’
‘Marks on the desk were the victim’s, and only his, same on the document safe,’ Gascoyne went on. ‘Housekeeper’s are all over the place, as you’d expect, except in the bathroom, so it sounds as if she might have been telling the truth about not wearing gloves.’
‘Also disappointing,’ said Slider.
‘Don’t you hate it when people are caught out telling the truth?’ Atherton said.
‘And the mass of prints up the stairs I’ve still to go through,’ Gascoyne concluded.
McLaren intervened. ‘I might have something for you to work on, Phil,’ he said, squeezing past to get Slider’s attention. ‘I been looking into the Krolls, like you asked, put ’em into Crimint.’ This was the Met’s intelligence data base. ‘The old man’s come up flagged all over the place.’ He grinned happily. ‘Must be the only crooked Polish builder in London. No criminal record – yet – but he’s been tugged plenty of times.’ He spread out some sheets on Slider’s desk. ‘This is him, Jacek “Jack” Kroll. Lives Eastman Road, Acton Vale – got a yard behind his house backs on to Acton Park Industrial Estate. Got a son, Mark, age nineteen, works with him. No previous.’
‘Is that the one that lives at home?’ Slider asked.
‘Yeah. Doesn’t stop him claiming social security,
Slider took them. ‘Well, that’s clear enough. He married a Miss June Alexandra Bromwich at All Saint’s church, Stamford, in 1975. You might see if you can trace her.’
‘Right, guv.’
‘And the birth certificate … Oh, look at this. Father was Sir Ernest Bygod, occupation given as barrister. Address Beaufort Hall, Colleyweston.’
‘Beaufort Hall? Sounds like a community centre,’ Atherton objected.
‘Sounds posh to me,’ Hollis countered.
‘And where’s Colleyweston when it’s at home?’
‘Lincolnshire,’ Slider said. ‘Round the back of Burghley where the horse trials are held. Very Shire.’ Points to Hollis – posh it was. ‘So it sounds as though he came from a moneyed background. He may have had a private income, or had money left him.’
‘Strange he should live in a flat above a shop in Shepherd’s Bush, then,’ Atherton said. ‘Even a large flat. Some sort of a kink in the straight line of his personal history, I wouldn’t mind betting.’ He gave Slider a significant look, which Slider resisted.
‘What else is in the document safe?’ Slider asked. ‘A will would be nice, for the next of kin.’
‘No will, guv. It’s all just papers, like the housekeeper said. These, his passport, exam certificates and legal qualifications, deeds to the flat, and the rest are financial – share certificates and bonds and that sort o’ thing,’ said Hollis. ‘I’ve given ’em to Swilley, since she’s doing the financial stuff. But there looks to be a lot of ’em. Looks as if he might have been well off.’
‘Nothing it would do anyone any good to steal, though,’ Slider said. ‘Unless, of course, something else was in there, and is no longer.’
‘Which brings us back to Mrs Kroll,’ Atherton said, ‘who was the most likely one to know. And we’ve only her word for it that he never locked the safe.’
‘Check that with Mr Plumptre,’ Slider told him. ‘Who’s looking into his other friends?’
‘Nobody yet,’ said Atherton.
‘Well, put Connolly on to it, and make that one of the questions she asks: what was in the safe, and did he lock it? And who was his next of kin?’ he added in a slightly fractious tone. ‘Why hasn’t anyone come asking for him?’
Gascoyne came in, with McLaren lingering at his shoulder. It was getting crowded in here. ‘I’ve got the first of the fingerprint results, sir. The marks you were interested in on the study door come back without a match.’
‘That’s disappointing,’ Slider said. ‘But not unexpected.’
‘Marks on the desk were the victim’s, and only his, same on the document safe,’ Gascoyne went on. ‘Housekeeper’s are all over the place, as you’d expect, except in the bathroom, so it sounds as if she might have been telling the truth about not wearing gloves.’
‘Also disappointing,’ said Slider.
‘Don’t you hate it when people are caught out telling the truth?’ Atherton said.
‘And the mass of prints up the stairs I’ve still to go through,’ Gascoyne concluded.
McLaren intervened. ‘I might have something for you to work on, Phil,’ he said, squeezing past to get Slider’s attention. ‘I been looking into the Krolls, like you asked, put ’em into Crimint.’ This was the Met’s intelligence data base. ‘The old man’s come up flagged all over the place.’ He grinned happily. ‘Must be the only crooked Polish builder in London. No criminal record – yet – but he’s been tugged plenty of times.’ He spread out some sheets on Slider’s desk. ‘This is him, Jacek “Jack” Kroll. Lives Eastman Road, Acton Vale – got a yard behind his house backs on to Acton Park Industrial Estate. Got a son, Mark, age nineteen, works with him. No previous.’
‘Is that the one that lives at home?’ Slider asked.
‘Yeah. Doesn’t stop him claiming social security,
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