Altered Egos (6 page)

When they were seated in the café she reached across the table and put her hand on his. ‘Do you remember anything about the day of the crash?’

‘Bits and pieces, that’s all. I remember the lecture, and us being together. That’s about it.’

‘Don’t you remember the phone call you got? From the office?’ she prompted him.

Memory stirred, but not vigorously enough. ‘Vaguely, but I can’t remember what it was about.’

‘You were asked to go straight to the laboratory. Not to go home first.’

‘That’s it. I wondered why. It seemed such a strange thing to ask.’

‘Well it wasn’t.’ Her grip on his hand tightened. ‘The reason they didn’t want you to go home was,’ she paused, ‘there was a fire the previous night. Your house was destroyed. There were
two people inside, a man and a woman. Both died in the fire. The police haven’t been able to identify them yet, but they’re assuming them to be man and wife.’

She noticed his jaw tighten, felt his hand tremble slightly, his voice was calm. Unnaturally calm? ‘Presumably Lara and her lover.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not all.’

He looked up and she saw what she’d taken for calm was shock. Shock and distress. ‘What else?’

‘There was a body found last week, in what the police are describing as suspicious circumstances. I’m afraid it was Adam.’

‘Oh dear God, no. What was it? A drugs overdose?’

‘No, at least I don’t think so. I mean, he might have been drugged, but from what little we could find out, that wasn’t how he died.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Richard, I’m sorry. The police think Adam was murdered.’

She saw the bright glint of tears in his eyes. It was a long time before he spoke. Again, his voice had a calmness she knew was a shell, one that was almost at cracking point. ‘I gave up on Adam a long time ago. I tried everything. Rehab clinics, therapy, hypnotism, the lot. I gave him money, it didn’t work. Denied him money, he stole it. Kicked him out of the house, time after time. Took him back, time after time. I thought one day I’d get the news. A visitor, a phone call, whatever. Thought it would be an overdose. But not murder. Do you know what it was about? Was it over drugs?’

‘I don’t think the police know for certain. They don’t think it was drugs related, not directly, even though Adam had a lot of it in his system.’

He looked up in sudden alarm. More than that: panic. ‘What about Jessica?’

‘She’s all right. Our people have her safe. She doesn’t know what’s happened yet.’

‘What do you mean “our people have her safe”?’

‘They’ve taken a house near the laboratory. All she knows is she’s to wait there until you arrive. They didn’t tell her anything, but they reassured her you were fine.’

‘I don’t understand. Why the need for all this security?’

‘They’re concerned for your safety. Yours and Jessica’s. They weren’t too worried about Lara, but after Adam was killed, somebody hit the panic button.’

‘You mean they reckon Lara’s death might not have been accidental?’

‘They’re not sure, but you know what they’re like. They won’t take the chance. There was a security breach at the lab just before all this kicked off.’

‘I thought the place was watertight.’

She grimaced. ‘So did they. Whoever got in was cleverer than they thought. They sawed through a tree close to the main power lines, caused a power blackout over the county for several hours. Long enough for an intruder to get over the fence. By the time the guards realized, he’d long gone. He made a bit of a mess in the labs before he got into the office block.’

‘What on earth was he doing in the office block? Why not just the lab?’

‘That’s the bit that got our spooks spooked. He went through all the personnel records. Not only went through them, but took a portable, battery operated copier with him. Cheeky swine left it behind when he’d finished.’

‘Do they know what the records he copied were?’

‘Personal details; family, home address, all the things they’re supposed to be keeping out of the public domain.’

‘Any idea who might be behind it?’

‘The official line is it might be down to one of the more violent animal rights groups. Given what we do at the lab, I suppose they’re the most natural suspects.’

‘Caroline, will you do me a very great favour? Will you go with me when I tell Jessica? I’m not sure I can do it on my own.’

She thought about it. ‘Very well, but I don’t think she should learn about us. Not now, and probably not for a long time.’

‘Morning, Mike. Couldn’t keep away?’ Clara reached the CID suite next morning to find Nash was already in his office. She heard movement and peered in.

‘Becky got called in by
The Gazette
, so I thought I might as well come to work as well. I’ve been reading the file on the Adam North murder. Have you made any progress tracing the rest of the family?’

‘I have the paperwork on my desk, I’ll go get it.’ She returned seconds later. ‘I had a lot of trouble finding anything, but eventually I managed to locate details of a passport application for Adam North. It was made about six years ago. On the same date there was another application, for a Jessica North, aged twelve. The parents’ details are the same, so I assume they are brother and sister. The reason there’s no registration for them in the UK is they were born abroad. In the United States, to be precise. The parents are listed as Richard and Lara North, nee Matthews. The father’s occupation is given as university lecturer, mother is shown as housewife. I was going to try contacting universities round here today, see if North’s been engaged by any of them. Even if he hasn’t, they might know of him.’

‘It would be useful to find out what subject he specializes in. I take it North senior is a British citizen?’

‘Yes, both he and his wife are, or were. We’re still not sure if he’s alive or dead.’

‘I think we have to assume he’s dead. Why else hasn’t he been in contact?’

‘I traced their birth certificates once I’d the details from The Passport Office. He was born in Leeds, forty-five years ago. Interestingly, his mother’s maiden name was Richards. That was the surname on the mail sent to the Gorton address. That was what the locals knew him as.’

‘I wonder why they needed to use assumed names? What were they hiding from? Or who? Did you make enquiries with the authorities in America?’

‘I did, I sent an e-mail to the FBI, but as yet I haven’t had a reply, unless something came in overnight. Mind you, I’m not sure I want to know what they find out. The problem with this case is, every bit of new information we get throws up more questions.’

‘If you’re going to be tied up ringing universities this morning, why not get Viv to do an internet search on Richard North? It may give us something. I realize it could be historical, if he’s been living under a false name for a while, but it could shed some light on what the elusive Mr North was up to, before he found it necessary to disguise his identity.’

Nash paused, as a random thought struck him. ‘Whilst he’s doing that, get him to enter Dr Richard North as well. If he’s a lecturer, we could safely assume him to be well qualified.’

‘OK, I’ll get him onto it as soon as he gets here.’ Clara turned to leave; then looked over her shoulder. ‘By the way, Mike, it is good to have you back.’

Nash looked at her suspiciously; then realized she was being serious, not lining him up for another insult.

By mid-afternoon, Nash was beginning to wonder whether he’d have been better off at home watching
Cash in the Attic, Bargain Hunt
or
Loose Women
. The first intimation that all might not be as it should came via a reply from the FBI. Sent from their Quantico headquarters, it was phrased in terms that could be diplomatically described as curt, but more accurately, downright rude. The message was to the effect that even had the American law enforcement agency been in possession of any information about Richard North they were either unable or unwilling to
share such knowledge with their British counterparts.

Nash was still trying to work out whether the FBI actually knew anything and were being deliberately obstructive, or they didn’t and weren’t prepared to admit their ignorance when Clara entered his office. ‘I’ve tried all the universities in the north of England,’ she told him, ‘including those Metropolitan ones.’

Nash smiled. ‘They used to be called Technical Colleges in my day.’

‘I’d no idea there were so many. Not that it did me any good. None of them have a Richard North on their teaching faculty. There’s a Helen North at Newcastle, but she’s sixty-three, comes from Northumberland and teaches Eastern history. I think we can count her out.’

Nash’s phone rang. It was Superintendent Edwards. ‘How are things going?’

‘How did you know I was here?’

‘Guesswork!’

‘I’ve a few difficulties to sort out.’

‘They wouldn’t be about the Adam North murder by any chance, would they?’

Nash’s eyes opened wide with surprise. ‘How did you guess that?’

‘That wasn’t a guess. To be honest, I had a phone call about half an hour ago, some captain from Military Intelligence. He informed me that inquiries into this matter were out of our jurisdiction and that I should instruct my officers to refrain from asking any questions that were unconnected with the actual killing. He went on to suggest we concentrate on the drugs connection, and that he felt sure we’d find that was the motive behind the crime. On no account were we to attempt to involve other members of North’s family in our investigation.’

‘Really? And what did you say to that?’

Her reply left Nash grinning. ‘I apologized for missing the announcement of his appointment as Chief Constable. And I followed that up by explaining that the Chief Constable was the only person I take orders from. I certainly don’t instruct my detectives to follow lines of inquiry based on vague assertions
from a junior army officer.’

‘What was his reaction to that?’

‘He said he was going to ring God and tell her what he’d told me. Said he felt sure she’d be more cooperative. So I told him to go ahead, but I nipped in to see her before he had chance. My instructions from Gloria are, “Continue to pursue the investigation and don’t let anything or anybody get in your way”. I don’t think she likes being threatened any more than I do.’

‘That’s the best news I’ve had today, and it confirms my suspicion that there’s more to this case than meets the eye: much more.’ He went on to tell her about the message from the FBI. ‘As a result of what we’ve learned, I’m going to treat the Gorton house fire as a suspicious death, and accordingly we’ll be investigating three murders instead of one.’

‘Any ideas how you’re going to proceed, given that you’ve so little hard evidence?’

‘I’ve a couple of thoughts that I’m going to get Clara and Viv working on.’ He explained them before adding, ‘I know it’s a long shot, but that’s about all we have.’

‘Go to it. Keep me posted. And if you get any further attempts to obstruct your investigation I expect you to take a hard line.’

Nash put the phone down. It seemed as if the attempt to block their inquiry had only succeeded in putting Ruth’s back up, which suited him fine. He looked up to see Pearce hovering in the doorway. ‘I’ve trawled the internet,’ Viv told him. ‘I couldn’t find anything relating to Richard North, not our Richard North anyway. There’s a Canadian novelist and a New Zealand academic whose speciality is Maori culture, but that’s all. Oh, and I’ve a message for you. Doug Curran wants a word. He said it’s about the Gorton fire.’

‘OK, I’ll ring him. You’d better come in. We’ll go about finding North another way.’

Nash picked up the phone. ‘Doug, you wanted a word?’ He listened for a few moments. ‘That’s interesting, very interesting indeed. Does it mean what I think it means?’

Nash stared at the file on his desk. He looked up. ‘Curran’s just told me their forensics people had another look at the seat
of the blaze at the house near Gorton. They found several more pieces of tubular plastic on the kitchen floor, some of them melted, some of them intact. Somebody wasn’t as careful about covering their tracks as they should have been.’

Pearce frowned. ‘What do you mean, tubular plastic?’

‘The outer layer that insulates electric cables. Somebody stripped down the cables, leaving the wiring exposed. Then they located it close to a collection of highly inflammable cleaning products; they’d been placed on a worktop next to the cooker. Tell me who in their right mind stacks cleaning stuff next to a heat source as powerful as an electric range cooker. All the killer had to do was switch the mains power back on and leave the building. Now, as to Dr North,’ Nash explained what he wanted. ‘Let’s hope we meet with more success doing it this way round.’ He paused and added, ‘Let’s face it, we couldn’t have any less.’

The course of action Nash had set in motion yielded fruit next day. Pearce was first to report. ‘I found details of a Richard North, who was a student at Leeds Grammar School. He meets all our criteria regarding age. The dates he was at the school and the timing of his examination results fit our man perfectly.’ He passed Nash the information.

Clara came in with more news. ‘Following up on what Viv found, I discovered he went on to Leeds University, was there four years, graduated with honours; then went on to do postgraduate studies. He was sponsored by an American company. He got his doctorate and went to work for them in California.’

‘Doing what, precisely?’

‘His degree and doctorate were in chemistry and microbiology. I checked the firm he worked for, the one that paid for his postgrad work. They’re listed as defence contractors by the US government.’

‘Good work, the pair of you. At least we now know something about him. All we need to do now, is work out what brought him back to the UK.’

‘One thing for sure, it wasn’t to lecture at university,’ Clara pointed out.

‘No, I’m beginning to think the job description on the children’s passport application is a massive red herring. So, has either of you got any idea what Dr Richard North might be doing in this neck of the woods, if he isn’t teaching?’

There was no reply. Both Clara and Viv struggled with the problem for a few moments before Clara said, ‘Beats me. Do you know, Mike?’

‘I’ve a theory, yes. But it’s only guesswork at the moment.’

Clara and Viv looked at one another. Pearce shrugged.

‘Go on then, mastermind,’ Clara encouraged. ‘Give your undeserving acolytes the benefit of your wisdom.’

Nash grinned. ‘How about Helm Pharm?’

Clara thought about the chemical company situated on a green field site just out of town. ‘Of course,’ she breathed, ‘it’s obvious really.’

‘That’s what they always say after a magician discloses his secrets,’ Nash told her smugly.

‘That still doesn’t explain why the military were getting so hot under the collar about our inquiries,’ Pearce pointed out.

‘It does if North was working on something secret. Which, come to think of it, is the only reason the military would become involved. Helm Pharm is just the sort of establishment they’d choose. A small, discreet company, tucked away in the countryside. Out of sight, out of mind. Absolutely perfect as a cover.’

‘But a cover for what?’

‘I’ve no idea, Clara. And I’m not sure I want to know, unless it’s relevant to our investigation. But if we assume Dr North is working on some secret project, there must be grounds for concern that what’s happened to his wife and son might be a way of getting at him. If he’s still alive, that is. For all we know, he might have died in the fire.’

‘You’re not convinced about that, are you?’

‘I might have been, but for the attempt to block our inquiry. Why would that officer be so concerned about what we might discover about a dead man? But if North is still alive, all the more reason to want to protect him. Let’s assume that North wasn’t the man in the fire. We now have two problems, apart
from the question of who killed Adam North, Lara North and the unknown victim.’

‘What?’

‘Problem one, where is Dr Richard North? Problem two, where is Jessica North?’

‘Just when I thought everything was becoming easy.’

Nash grinned at Clara’s sarcasm. ‘Resolve those problems and it might well do.’

With a good idea of how to contact Dr North, Nash phoned Helm Pharm, the pharmaceuticals company that had opened six years previously. He identified himself to the receptionist, stressing his rank. ‘I’d like to speak to Dr North, please. Dr Richard North.’

The reply was instantaneous. Too quick? Nash wondered.

‘I’m sorry, we have no one here of that name.’

‘I see; in that case would you please put me through to your director or personnel officer.’

‘I’m afraid neither our director or personnel officer is available.’

‘Either of their assistants then.’

‘There is no one available to talk to you.’

‘Can you tell me when someone will be available?’

‘No, I can’t.’ Nash blinked at the curtness of the reply.

‘Can’t or won’t?’

‘My instructions are that no one will be free to speak to you or anyone else from outside the company for the foreseeable future.’

‘Very well,’ Nash’s tone was gentle. ‘Can I have your name please?’

The dialling tone told Nash the receptionist had put the phone down on him.

Nash met with a similar lack of cooperation when he tried the Leeds firm of solicitors handling North’s affairs. The stonewalling tactics were beginning to annoy him. He thought for a while, before picking up the phone again and explained what had happened to Ruth Edwards, seeking her approval for his next course of action. As soon as she’d sanctioned it, Nash called Mironova and Pearce into his office. ‘Go find Jack Binns,’ he
instructed Pearce. ‘Tell him I want him to round up whatever uniforms will be available’ – he glanced at the clock – ‘in an hour’s time.’ He then explained what he intended to do.

Clara looked at him dubiously. ‘Mike, have I ever told you that you’re a devious bastard?’

Nash grinned. ‘I believe it may have cropped up in conversation once or twice.’

Pearce pulled in opposite the entrance to the company premises. Clara parked behind. The three detectives got out of the cars and surveyed the site. The two buildings were set well back from the road; the perimeter of the property was protected by a ten foot high wire fence, topped with evilly efficient looking razor wire.

The sturdy looking steel double gates directly in front of the watchers had a gatehouse to one side. From his viewpoint, Nash could see two uniformed security guards inside. The business part of the property comprised two brick buildings. Nash guessed the larger, two storey building, would be the laboratory, the smaller an office block. Under the eaves of both, surveillance cameras were mounted on the facia boards. As they watched, the detectives saw the cameras swivel slowly, scanning the terrain. ‘There’s something almost sinister about them,’ Clara observed.