Page 64 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

DS Wood and Mike Chapman were sitting at a table in Mottingham’s Prince of Wales pub. They both had pints of lager in front of them. ‘What was Wheeler’s cause of death?’ Wood asked.

‘Ruptured spleen.’

‘Any idea who killed him?’

‘Probably Johan De Klerk.’

Wood laughed. ‘Right . . . a man at death’s door has a miraculous recovery, nips out to Wheeler’s flat to seek revenge and beats him to death. You’re on the same planet as Anderson.’ Chapman explained what they believed had happened. ‘A bit of summary justice then,’ Wood said.

‘I’d have preferred it if Wheeler was still alive. We might have got him to tell us who else was involved and who the diamonds belonged to.’

‘I might be able to help you with that,’ Wood smiled.

‘Just get to the point. I’ve had a fucking long day, and I’m knackered.’

‘I had an interesting meeting with Stubbings last night, which led to an even more interesting one with a lady called Chandice Bramston.’ He took out his notebook and put it down on the table.

‘Who’s she?’

‘Michelle De Klerk’s best friend – or at least she was. They’re not on speaking terms due to a mix-up over a very expensive sapphire ring and a dodgy jeweller.’

Chapman’s eyes lit up. ‘You got a name?’

‘Nathan Cole. He owns a shop in Hatton Garden.’

‘And . . . ?’ Wood told Chapman how Michelle De Klerk had introduced Chandice to Nathan Cole to get her engagement ring resized.

‘Cole swapped the sapphire for a fake one, but Chandice twigged a few months later.’

‘How did Stubbings get involved?’ Chapman asked.

Wood grinned. ‘You’re going to like this. Michelle De Klerk hired him under her married name, but he recognised her as Belsham, the barrister. She made him sign a non-disclosure agreement before telling him why she wanted his services as a PI.’

‘And why did she?’

‘She suspected Cole was swapping diamonds and other gemstones for lab-made ones.’

‘What exactly did she want Stubbings to do?’

‘Find out as much as he could about Cole’s activities. She never gave him Chandice’s name. All she said was that Cole had ripped off a close friend with a fake sapphire ring, but as the real one had been returned, her friend didn’t want to pursue the matter.’

‘How did Stubbings find out this friend was Chandice?’

‘Good detective work is his forte, but I’ll tell you more after you get a round in.’

Chapman went to the bar and brought back two more pints. When he’d sat down, Wood continued. ‘Stubbs started enquiring about Cole through informants and other contacts he still had, and . . .’

‘Are some of them serving police officers?’ Chapman interrupted, frowning.

‘I didn’t ask. But he found out that Cole used professional burglars to steal valuable jewellery from wealthy people.

In the main, he targeted people who had purchased goods from him as he had their addresses.

Cole then removed any precious stones and made new rings, necklaces, etc. to sell as legit pieces.’

‘He could have been using Wheeler to do the burglaries, then,’ Chapman remarked.

‘Yeah, but Wheeler must have double-crossed him. I found out Cole smokes cigars, so it looks like he’s the person who tortured Wheeler.’

‘Which means he may do a runner . . .’

‘He hasn’t. Not yet anyway. I got my wife to call his mobile number this afternoon and ask if he could restore an old diamond ring. He said he’d need to look at it first. He’s open for business at ten a.m. except for Sundays and Mondays.’

‘You’re a crafty old bugger, aren’t you?’

‘I like to think so. Stubbs said he told Michelle everything he’d discovered and asked if she was going to inform the police.

She didn’t give him an answer but asked if there was any evidence that her husband was involved in Cole’s dodgy dealings.

Stubbs told her he hadn’t found any but could do more digging if she wanted. ’

‘And did she ask him to?’

‘No. She paid him off and warned him he’d better not breach the non-disclosure agreement, or she’d sue him for every penny he had.’

‘So Stubbings walked away, and that was the end of it?’ Chapman asked.

‘Of course he didn’t. He’s a detective, isn’t he? He was suspicious of Belsham and wanted to know more, but knew he had to be careful.’ He flicked through pages in his notebook.

‘So is Johan linked to Cole’s criminal activities?’

‘Stubbs couldn’t be certain, but he did some surveillance on Cole’s shop and saw De Klerk entering the shop with a briefcase. He came out nearly an hour later . . . without the briefcase.’

‘When was that?’

‘A few weeks after his wife hired Stubbs.’ He turned another few pages.

‘So it looks like Johan could be involved in Cole’s scams. The question is, does Michelle know, or is she involved as well?’ Chapman said.

‘Stubbs also followed De Klerk to a warehouse in Hackney Wick.’

Chapman shrugged. ‘That’s where he stores his wine.’

‘Then Cole turned up while Stubbs was watching the place.’

‘OK, that’s more interesting. But he could have been buying some wine.’

‘That’s what I said to Stubbs, but he said Cole didn’t come out with any wine . . . just the same briefcase that he’d seen De Klerk carrying.’

‘Is he still watching Cole?’

‘No. He got involved in other investigations and didn’t have the time.’

‘Did he tell Michelle?’

‘He couldn’t. He reckoned she might sue him for continuing the investigation behind her back.’

‘So how did Stubbings find out about Chandice if Michelle didn’t tell him?’

‘Through LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. He guessed that Chandice Bramston was most likely to be the “close friend” Michelle was referring to.’

‘He took a big risk talking to her. Wasn’t he worried she might tell Michelle?’

‘Stubbs didn’t talk to her. I did. He gave me her name and said she lived somewhere in Coombe Park.

I traced her address through the voters’ register and visited her this morning.

I told her I was investigating Nathan Cole for fraud and theft.

She’s a smart cookie and was very cagey at first, but I got what I needed from her, and it confirmed that Stubbs was telling the truth. ’

‘Why did he wait until yesterday to speak to you?’

‘He’s been abroad. He didn’t know about the De Klerk stabbing until he got home a couple of days ago.’

‘What did Chandice tell you?’

‘Chandice said Michelle is a very ambitious woman and would do anything to protect her reputation. Stubbs had the same impression.’

‘Do you think Chandice might tell Michelle about your visit?’ Chapman asked.

‘They’ve not spoken since she got her sapphire back, and that’s nearly six months ago, so I think it’s unlikely. I know you’ll have to tell Anderson about Cole, but I’d appreciate it if you could find a way to keep Stubbs’s name out of it. Same with Chandice Bramston.’

‘I’ll do my best. How much did you tell Stubbings about the investigation?’

‘Just what was on the news and a bit more detail about what happened during the burglary.’

Chapman gave him a suspicious look. ‘Did Stubbings want anything in return for the information?’

‘Not a sausage.’

‘Why do you think he spoke to you then?’

‘Two reasons. One because he’s a friend and knows he can trust me.

He doesn’t like Belsham and is happy to see her get some comeuppance.

A few years before Stubbs was dismissed, he was involved in a murder case where she represented the defendant, a wealthy businessman who was acquitted.

I won’t go into all the details, but Stubbs was convinced she coached him and basically prepared his answers. He felt she’d really fucked them over.’

‘I don’t think she’d risk her career doing that. Sounds like Stubbings is blaming her for his own mistakes. The fact that Michelle Belsham hired Stubbings isn’t a crime, and she may well just be an innocent victim of Cole’s.’

‘Then why didn’t she want Chandice to report the theft of the sapphire or report it herself?’ Wood said bluntly.

‘Fair point,’ Chapman conceded.

‘Was it that redhead, Jessica Russell, that figured out Palmer wasn’t involved?’ Wood asked.

Chapman nodded. ‘She’s a real pro. She sees things other people miss.’

‘She’s pretty fit as well,’ Wood winked.

‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ Chapman replied with a shrug.

Wood grinned. ‘Don’t give me that crap. I’ve seen the way you look at her. Have you asked her out yet?’

‘Look, I like her a lot, but I don’t think she’d be interested.’

‘If you don’t ask, you’ll never find out,’ Wood said with a wink.

*?*?*

When Jessica and Anderson got to De Klerk’s room in the hospital, the blinds were down.

Anderson knocked gently on the door and few moments later Michelle opened it and stepped out into the corridor.

Before she closed the door behind her, Jessica could see Johan lying motionless with his eyes closed.

‘Has he still not woken up yet?’ Jessica asked.

‘Not yet,’ Michelle replied with a sad expression. She suggested they go to the waiting room and talk there. Once there, Michelle sat down, while Anderson and Jessica remained standing.

‘I wanted to give you an update on the investigation,’ Anderson told her.

‘I’ve brought Jessica along to answer any questions about the forensic side of things.

’ Anderson told Michelle about Liam Palmer’s arrest and the subsequent withdrawal of all charges against him after it was discovered that John Wheeler had committed the break-in, assaulted Johan and framed Palmer for the crime.

‘I’m pleased to hear you caught the real culprit and an innocent man was vindicated. Did Wheeler admit he was responsible for what happened to my husband?’

‘No. When we found him, he was dead.’

She looked shocked. ‘Murdered?’

‘We’re still awaiting the pathologist’s final report. But Wheeler did have a ruptured spleen, which contributed to his death. We believe the injury may have occurred during the struggle with Johan,’ Jessica said.

She frowned. ‘If my husband did something to Wheeler, it must have been in self-defence.’