The Inspector Walter Darriteau Murder Mysteries - Books 1-4 David Carter (autobiographies to read txt) 📖

a letter, or say hello, or pass the time of day, or take a leisurely country walk together, none of those things were true, you were visiting her for a rough sex session, and in that moment it was the most important and exciting thing in your entire life, and therefore you would remember to the very second what time you got there. You’d probably been looking forward to it all day, all week maybe, and you would know, to the day, to the hour, to the minute.’

Miro grimaced and said, ‘It was Friday, about six o’clock.’

‘A little teatime excitement session, was it?’ asked Karen.

‘If you want to put it that way. We’re very busy with all the expansion plans at the moment. It’s a very stressful business, top-line banking, we all need some form of release and relaxation. Some people drink, some people do drugs, I like female company, and there’s no law against it. Lots of bankers have mistresses.’

‘I’ll bet they do,’ said Walter. ‘How did you get down there? To Marigold Lane?’

‘Cab.’

‘And what time did you leave the caravan?’ asked Karen.

‘About eight.’

‘Cab again?’ said Walter.

Miro nodded and said, ‘Same firm, different driver, you can check,’ and that all matched up with Michael Flanagan’s statements.

‘Tell me what happened at Ross-on-Wye?’ said Walter, ever eager to flummox interviewees with a sharp change in direction.

‘What?’

‘You heard the Inspector.’

‘You mean with Ellie?’

‘That’s who we are talking about,’ said Walter.

‘I took her away for the weekend once or twice. Sometimes we went to Ross. What’s your point?’

‘And presumably Grizzy wasn’t aware of that?’ asked Karen.

‘Course not,’ said Miro. ‘What do you think?’

‘Just filling in background,’ said Karen.

‘Correct me if I’m wrong,’ said Miro, ‘but it’s not a crime in this country to have both a wife and a mistress, is it?’

‘No. Not a crime,’ said Karen, ‘just deceitful, despicable, disrespectful, and I’m sure your wife might even say, disgusting.’

‘But Ellie Wright wasn’t your mistress at all, was she?’ said Walter. ‘She was a paid whore, servicing any number of clients.’

Miro pulled a face as if to say, whatever, is there a difference? And then he said, ‘It’s much easier this way, than to have an actual mistress. You can turn it on and off, as and when you please.’

Walter repeated the words aloud. ‘Turn it on and off, as and when you please,’ and that said a lot about the guy.

Didn’t he have any idea how cold, uncaring, and cowardly he sounded, thought Karen.

‘What went on in Ross?’ repeated Walter.

Miro pulled another surprised face and said, ‘Really Inspector, do you want chapter and verse? I didn’t film it, if that’s what you think.’

‘I heard you went “well equipped”,’ said Walter. ‘Care to elaborate on that?’

‘Did Ellie say that? Stupid girl? You know how it is, just a few little sex toys, to spice things up. Nothing outrageous.’

‘Sex toys?’ said Karen.

‘What kind of toys?’ asked Walter. ‘You mean clamps, electric shock inducers, lighters, candles, what exactly?’

‘Certainly not! You seem to have an obsession there, my friend.’

‘I’m not your friend,’ said Walter, ‘and I’m still waiting for an answer to my question.’

Miro took a deep breath and breathed out heavy and acted like he was getting tired with the whole thing, and then grinned and gurned and said, ‘She liked to be incapacitated.’

‘Incapacitated?’ said Karen.

‘Explain,’ said Walter.

‘It’s just a little piece of equipment I picked up in Hamburg.’

‘Go on,’ said Walter.

‘There’s not much to it, really,’ just a metal bar that goes behind her neck, her hands go over the top, black leather straps, she can’t really move, not at all, get the picture?’

‘Isn’t the truth of it, that you liked to incapacitate her, when she had no choice in the matter, and that you enjoyed inflicting pain on Ellie Wright,’ said Walter, ‘and that she didn’t want to participate in that sordid business at all?’

‘Course she did! She’s a whore, remember; she does things for money, anything you want, and was paid bloody well for it. She told me I was one of her best ever clients. Even gave me a birthday card, for fuck’s sake. Said I was her banker banker.’

Or wanker of a banker, thought Karen.

‘Do you still have the card?’ asked Walter.

‘Nope. Got rid of it, just in case....’

‘In case Grizzy found it,’ said Karen.

‘Yeah. Something like that.’

‘Have you tried this incapacitator on Grizzy?’ asked Karen, suspecting that she knew the answer.

‘Course not, don’t be so ridiculous!’

‘Ellie told her best friend that she was frightened of you because you hurt her, care to comment on that?’ asked Walter.

‘What! Don’t be crazy. She enjoyed a bit of pain. It was all part of the whole business.’

‘Isn’t the truth of it that you enjoyed inflicting pain on Ellie Wright,’ said Karen. ‘That you got off on it, got a high out of it, because your wife wouldn’t entertain such a thing, and Ellie couldn’t do anything about it, because you had incapacitated her, totally, completely, and utterly.’

‘No! That’s not how it was at all. It was just a bit of harmless fun between friends. Look! If you don’t believe me, ask Ellie, she’ll set you straight. She’s not a fool.’

‘We can’t,’ said Walter, ‘she’s dead.’

IN THE STATION, GIBBONS took Lena’s call. Recognised the worry and distress in the caller’s voice straight away, and promised that someone would be there within twenty minutes. He ran across and told Mrs West about the report of a possible break in, and a possible missing person too. She told him to take Hector with him and go and check it out PDQ. She also instructed Gibbons to tell Jenny Thompson to ring Karen and keep Walter abreast of the situation.

IN THE PALATIAL ASNB office Walter’s revelation that Eleanor Wright was deceased took the wind firmly out of Miroslav Rekatic’s sails, or at least that was the impression he gave. Neither of the officers were convinced of his performance.

‘So,’ said Walter, ‘as it stands, you are the last person to see Ellie Wright