The Inspector Walter Darriteau Murder Mysteries - Books 1-4 by David Carter (best finance books of all time .txt) 📕

THE SUICIDE OF MAAZ Khan provided an unexpected impetus to the whole case. On hearing of his son’s demise, coming so soon after his daughter’s death, Mohammed Khan promptly confessed to the murder of Sahira Khan and Luke Flowers. Initially the police imagined it was simply a case of Mohammed taking all the blame on himself, but after questioning Wazir and Ahmed for a further twenty-four hours, they finally decided that maybe the violent deaths had indeed been the work of Maaz and Mohammed alone. Walter reserved judgment. The papers would go to the CPS, and they would ultimately decide if Wazir and Ahmed would face charges too.

Mrs West was understandably jubilant. Two murders cleared up in one night, and one of those was not even on her patch. It gave her great satisfaction to ring Chief Superintendent Gitts in Manchester with the breaking news that her wonderful team had solved his murder, and had already charged Mohammed Khan. Gitts bit his tongue and managed to congratulate Mrs West, though inside he was seething, as the woman had always riled him for reasons that only he understood, the officer he referred to behind her back as, that stuck up bitch from Chester.

The following morning she called Walter into her office.

‘Sit down, my man,’ she said smirking. ‘Fancy a snifter?’ and from her desk drawer she produced a half bottle of Irish whiskey and two tumblers.

That was a first, so far as Walter could remember, and in such circumstances, it would be rude to refuse.

Mrs West was clearly on a high. Her face positively glowed, as she poured two measures and slipped one across the desk.

‘You did a great job, Walter, thank you,’ and she raised her glass and actually winked at him, a trifle nervously and self consciously, he thought.

Walter smiled and sipped away. It sure as hell made a change from the usual carping, and hints that maybe his retirement day was coming ever closer.

‘The thing is,’ she said, ‘you remember that memo that came down from on high that said that we should make the most of any successes we may attain, through publicity. After all, our failures are always magnified out of all proportion, so I thought we’d have a little party, just a small cocktail effort, that kind of thing. Invite Gitts down,’ she said, grinning evilly over the top of her glass.

‘If you think that’s wise, ma’am, but there shouldn’t be even a hint of triumphalism.’

‘Good God no, Walter, there will not be any triumphalism on my watch,’ and she pursed her lips and smirked across at him.

‘Do you think Gitts will come?’ asked Walter.

‘Chief Superintendent Gitts, Walter, yes, I think he will come all right. To not do so would be seen as sour grapes, and he wouldn’t want that.’

‘Whatever you say, ma’am.’

‘And the press too. Local telly, that kind of thing, and the printed press of course, and that woman as well, what’s her name?  Gardenia Floem, that’s the one.’

‘Oh no, not her.’

‘Eh? Why? Don’t you like her?’

‘Not particularly, and the thing is, I think she might have a thing about me, ridiculous as it sounds.’

Mrs West spluttered on her drink. ‘Really? Lucky you. You could do a heck of a lot worse.’

The thought that the local crime hack might actually fancy her star inspector, well, that was indeed news, and anyway, it was too late, Walter’s doubts aside, for she’d already invited the woman. It would only make the party all the more interesting, and it was high time that Walter found someone to look after him, though Gardenia seemed awfully young for him, and while Mrs West was exploring that fascinating train of thought Walter said, ‘The thing is ma’am, we haven’t really cracked this case completely. There are still far too many loose ends.’

‘Meaning?’

‘We still don’t know why Luke Flowers was taking pot-shots at Neil Swaythling, and why he killed the other kid. Perhaps we should suspend any party until all the facts are fully known.’

She wafted her hand aggressively across the desk. ‘Poppycock, Walter! If we waited for all loose ends to be tied up in cases, we’d wait forever. The killing of Jeffrey Player was almost certainly an incidental accident, you said so yourself, and Flowers’ feud with Swaythling was almost certainly a drugs issue. He’s in a rock band for heaven’s sake, how much more proof do you need than that, and as Luke Flowers is no longer with us, that feud is dead and buried. No, I can’t see too many loose ends of any consequence. The case is over, solved, lock, stock and barrel, thanks to you, so the party’s on, Walter, the party’s on.’

‘If you say so, ma’am.’

‘I do say, Walter. Anyway, you’ll be pleased to know I have already invited the Floem woman, she rang before, said she wouldn’t miss it for the world, I quite like her as a matter of fact, seems to have her finger on the pulse, you could do a whole lot worse, now perhaps you could leave me to get on; I have my reports to write.’

Walter sighed and slurped what remained of his drink and bobbed his head and fled the room.

THAT NIGHT HE SAT SLUMPED in his favourite armchair before the TV. It was on, and he was staring at the screen, but he wasn’t watching. He was still working, pondering the case, thinking how lucky he had been to stumble on Sahira Khan’s disappearance, solely because he happened to patronise the State of Kerala.

Another unconnected thought entered his mind. The dirty dishes were piling up in the sink. He needed a new cleaner. He wondered how the much missed Galina Unpronounceable was getting on back in the Ukraine, or just Ukraine, no “the”, as she insisted it should be said, and he recalled her pretty blue-eyed face admonishing him about that, time and again. You don’t say “the” England,