Dead on Demand (A DCI Morton Crime Novel) (32 page)

He also made headway with the darknet evidence. While he couldn't show a physical item such as the newly wiped laptop, he could ask Murphy for an alibi for each of the times that the messages were sent. The timestamps were contained within the recipient's computers. Without anything else to corroborate, simply not having an alibi for any one time would not have been sufficient to convince a jury of Edwin's guilt, but the case was a house of cards. By layering each denial it became implausible that Edwin was simply unavailable every single time the messages were sent. In a way he had damaged his own defence by having such strong alibis at all other times.

The question would be whether or not twelve men and women would find him guilty. The Crown Court was a notoriously unreliable place for a prosecutor. The jury didn't have to explain their verdict, so all sorts of whacky decisions had been reached even in just the cases that Kiaran had dealt with.

Pictures of the victims would be laid before them. The dead were butchered in horrendous ways, and the carnage would leave a strong impression on the jury.

His opening speech was what truly laid the foundations for the prosecution case.

'Ladies and gentlemen.

'Mr Murphy has been charged with multiple counts of procuring murder. It is my job to prove this case to you beyond reasonable doubt. That does not mean you cannot have any doubts, but you must be sure that he has acted criminally in order to convict him.

'Over the course of this trial, we will show how he methodically manipulated vulnerable persons over the Internet to convince them to act out his heinous plan. The defence has no alibi for any of the times the messages were sent, although he was in a conveniently public place at the time of each death, as if he knew they were going to die.

'We'll adduce testimony from one of those manipulated to show that Mr Murphy attempted to solicit "murder swaps" multiple times. The first time he did so, he used Vanhi Deepak to kill his wife while she was on her morning run. He did this to benefit financially, and gain custody of their child. One week his wife serves him with divorce papers, and mere weeks later she is found face down in Battersea Park, dead.

'Then the person guilty for that murder, the only direct witness who could identify Edwin Murphy, is killed outside the pub where she worked. This might seem like a case of karma, justice even, but ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake – Edwin Murphy is a sociopath who used this death to cover up his own liability.

'Then Barry Sullivan, her killer, had to die. Not to cover up the Deepak death, but so that Murphy wouldn't have to deliver on his promise. He had Peter Sugden try and kill him. He died in the attempt, and doesn't appear on the indictment, but video footage of this will be adduced showing Mr Sugden attempting to kill Barry Fitzgerald.

'When Sugden failed, Mr Murphy simply tried again. He used persons unknown to kill Barry, using a rare neurotoxin to do so, in a sealed disabled toilet on an international ferry. Presumably he then owed this person for the kill, and roped in another to take part.

'Enter Anthony Duvall, now a prosecution witness, who killed multiple times. His first kill was of an unknown person whom he refuses to disclose, but the details are shown in the exchange of messages which will be adduced as a prosecution exhibit.

'Yosef Gershwin was supposed to kill another unknown person for Duvall, but had an attack of conscience. Duvall killed him, as a direct result of manipulation by Edwin Murphy, who was in fact the dealmaker in the transaction. Murphy let slip Gershwin's details in order to get him killed.

'By this time, Mr Murphy thought he was free and clear. No witnesses or physical evidence tied him to the crimes, and he made a plan to emigrate to Canada, fleeing the devastation he had unleashed on London.

'We caught him, at the airport, after detectives realised that all the persons manipulated by the darknet spoke to one single puppet master. That puppet master was Edwin Murphy. His reaction when accused during an interview under caution says it all, ladies and gentleman. Murphy is guilty as sin. He is a charlatan who will to try and convince you otherwise. Don't let him get away with it. Edwin Murphy is guilty of murder, ladies and gentlemen, and the sooner he is off our streets the better.'

Kiaran sat, noting a slight murmur of assent spread among the jury. The trial wouldn't last long. Without physical evidence the circumstances could be dealt with in mere days as opposed to the weeks Kiaran was used to.

In a few short days, he would get back their verdict.

***

The jury took a long time. At the end of forty-eight hours of deliberation, His Honour Judge Milligan, QC, called them back into the courtroom.

'Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed? Please answer, yes or no.'

'No.'

'Do you believe you could reach a unanimous verdict?'

'No, Your Honour.' The foreman shot a nasty look at juror number twelve.

'I am going to ask you to retire one more time to try and reach a unanimous verdict. If you are unable to do so, I will accept a majority verdict.'

The bailiff led them back out of the courtroom.

Kiaran's hands began to shake. It was a close call. That meant he wasn't way out of the ballpark with his arguments. He hoped the holdouts were of the not guilty kind, and would agree this time around to vote guilty.

He knew that the second time, juries were often much quicker. Both lawyers waited in open court, watching the clock on the wall tick in an infuriating manner. Two hours later, the bailiff was back.

'They are ready, Your Honour.'

'Bring them in.'

The jury came in, single file, and took their seats. They looked weary, but triumphant. Kiaran hoped it wasn't just the triumph of being home for the weekend.

'Have you reached a verdict upon which at least ten of you agree?'

'We have.'

'What is your verdict?'

'We find the defendant, Edwin Murphy, guilty.'

Kiaran exhaled in relief. He could breathe again. At the defence table both lawyer and client looked deflated.

'Is that the verdict of you all, or a majority?'

'Majority, Your Honour.'

'How many of you agreed to the verdict and how many dissented?'

'Ten and two respectively Your Honour.'

'Thank you for your service, you are dismissed.'

The bailiff led them from the courtroom while Judge Milligan waited.

'Mr Murphy, you have been found guilty of three counts of murder. You are hereby sentenced to life in prison.'

His lawyer leapt up.

'Permission to appeal, Your Honour?'

'Denied.'

The defence lawyer sank back into his seat. He had lost. He could still apply directly to the appellate court for permission to appeal, and he would, but he wasn't confident. There was nothing procedurally wrong with the verdict.

***

Edwin stared at the floor in his cell, trying to avoid making eye contact with his new cellmate. As he focussed on a spot of the cell floor between his feet his mind began to wander.

It had been lunchtime in Finnigan'sWake when Eleanor's brother Mark had joined him. He couldn't remember what the bar looked like, but the taste of the grease on the burger was fresh in his memory, making bile rise in his throat as he fought to keep the contents of his stomach down.

He'd had more than his share of the booze when Mark arrived, and his arrival didn't stop the flow of beer. It simply substituted it with whisky, Mark's poison of choice. He and Mark had known each other for a long time. It was through him Edwin had met Eleanor.

'So, my bitch sister wants a divorce then?'

Edwin nodded.

'What you gonna do?'

'What can I do?' Edwin slurred.

'Stop her.'

'She's entitled to half.'

'Mate, you earned that money. She doesn't need it anyway, she's a bloody lawyer. You know how much they get paid.'

'I can't do anything.'

'Hold that thought.' Mark stood.

Mark fetched another few rounds, returning to the table laden with an overloaded tray of assorted spirits.

'Cheers!'

'Cheers? I'm gonna be broke, and she'll get Chelsea.'

'So, you're a creative man. Find a solution.'

'Like what? Kill her?'

'That would do it,' he laughed.

Edwin nodded. If only she'd get hit by a bus tomorrow, his life would be perfect.

'Sometimes you have to make bad things happen to get what you want.'

'I can't!' Edwin protested.

'What was it you worked on during your undergrad?'

'Darknet research on private networks. How the fuck's that gonna help?' Edwin frowned.

' It's anonymous, right?'

'If you do it right, yeah.'

'So, there are criminals on the Internet, aren't there?'

'But they'll know who I wanted killed.'

'So, you could hire someone else to kill them. Then no one would you are involved.'

Edwin's lopsided smile returned.

'That might just work.'

'Yeah, it might, now let's go get pissed.'

Mark grabbed him by the armpit and lifted him up, before half carrying him to the street to hail a cab to the next bar. If the idiot went through with it, Mark's parents would have no choice but to put him back in their will. Without Eleanor, he was their only child, and would inherit the whole estate. Problem son or not, they'd love him again when his sister wasn't there to steal the limelight.

All he needed to do now was convince Edwin that the plan was all his idea. Enough alcohol should do the trick.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORS

Thank you for reading
Dead on Demand
. We appreciate how valuable your time is, and we're delighted you chose to spend it finishing our novel. If you have a spare moment, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review on the site you purchased this book on. Honest reviews help other readers find books they will enjoy, and let authors know what their readers want.

DCI Morton returns in
Cleaver Square
, available now at all good bookstores.

If you'd like to find out when we release new eBooks, please join our
mailing list
.

You can also join us on twitter
@90daysnovel
; email us on
[email protected]
or like us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/90daysnovel

Table of Contents

Dead on Demand

Chapter 1: Falling Apart

Chapter 2: Red Spot

Chapter 3: The Plan

Chapter 4: Working Girl

Chapter 5: Oh, Canada!

Chapter 6: Jogging is Murder

Chapter 7: Morton

Chapter 8: Where's Mummy?

Chapter 9: Not Here, Thank You!

Chapter 10: A Broken Man

Chapter 11: Confirmation

Chapter 12: Interrogation

Chapter 13: Too Far

Chapter 14: Unknown Territory

Chapter 15: Patsy

Chapter 16: Weak Links

Chapter 17: Data Trail

Chapter 18: DÉJÀ Death

Chapter 19: Worry

Chapter 20: Hope

Chapter 21: Suffering

Chapter 22: Done and Dusted?

Chapter 23: Officer Down

Chapter 24: One of Ours

Chapter 25: Incognito

Chapter 26: The Barrier

Chapter 27: Rosenburg

Chapter 28: Flow

Chapter 29: By Self-Defence

Chapter 30: No Luck

Chapter 31: Sunrise

Chapter 32: The Frenchman

Chapter 33: Paper Trail

Chapter 34: Hot Pursuit

Chapter 35: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

Chapter 36: Pain

Chapter 37: Guns

Chapter 38: Keys to the Castle

Chapter 39: Honey Trap

Chapter 40: To Sea