A Rush of Blood

Eighty-four

‘I’m sorry we’re later than arranged,’ said Mario McGuire as Regine

Zaliukas opened the door, ‘but as I said when I called you earlier, someone wanted to join us, and we had to wait for him.’

‘That’s no problem,’ she replied. She was dressed casually, as she had been the evening before, in slightly more formal day wear, but with the same fluffy carpet slippers on her feet. ‘What happened to him?’ she asked. ‘Didn’t he turn up?’

As she spoke, a figure stepped into view from the side of the doorway, to stand alongside Becky Stallings. His face was lined with tiredness and his clothes were creased from travel, but his eyes were clear and alert. ‘No, I made it,’ he told her. ‘It was a bit of a rush, everything ran to time.’

She peered at him for a second or two. ‘It’s Mr Skinner, isn’t it?’ she murmured.

He nodded, smiling as he extended his hand. ‘It’s been a while, Regine. You look barely a day older; I wish I could claim the same.’

She shook his hand, and stood aside. ‘Please come in.’

‘Where are Mork and Mindy?’ McGuire asked, as he stepped into the hall, after Skinner and Stallings.

‘Max and Zaki?’ She laughed softly. ‘They’ve taken the girls to Agen, to the cinema.’ She looked at the chief constable. ‘Why are you here, Mr Skinner?’

He ignored her question. ‘How old are they now?’

‘Aimée is eight, and Lucie is newly six.’

‘Have you told them about their father?’

‘No, not yet. I need quiet time with them before I can break that kind of news. Too many things have been happening.’ She moved towards the sitting room, and beckoned them to follow. ‘Come through and sit.’ The three police officers followed; McGuire and Stallings took seats on the sofa facing the widow in her chair, but Skinner stood, beside the garden door.

‘OK, Regine,’ he said. ‘It’s time to tell us what happened.’ He stopped abruptly and frowned. ‘But first,’ he continued, ‘. . you’re not alone in the house, are you.’ Statement, not question. ‘Yesterday evening you felt unsafe, so Mario and Becky told me, yet this afternoon your bodyguards have gone out with the kids. . and left you alone? No, you feel safe now, don’t you?’

She shrugged. ‘I should. You’re here.’

‘It’s nice to know we have your confidence, but I reckon you’ve got a little added insurance. Come on, call him, or do I have to go looking?’

‘No, you don’t.’ The accent was thick, but the words intelligible. The voice came from the opening that led to the kitchen, at the top of the steps, where its owner had appeared, a man in his early thirties; clean-shaven, dressed in jeans and a fresh white T-shirt with a caricature image of Nicolas Sarkozy on the front. He was smaller than either police officer, but the definition of his musculature said that he was no less formidable.

‘You’ll be Jonas, I take it,’ said the chief constable. The newcomer nodded. ‘In that case, Regine will be fine.’ His eyes narrowed, imperceptibly. ‘But she’ll be fine now anyway, won’t she, Colonel?’ The surviving Zaliukas brother returned his gaze, but quizzically, suggesting mystification.

He turned back to the woman. ‘OK, let’s begin. In your own time. There is no pressure on you here. We need to know the circumstances that led to Tomas’s death, but be sure, lass, that we regard you, I regard you, as a victim too.’

She nodded, and seemed to relax a little. ‘Where do I begin?’ she murmured.

‘Let’s start with the massage parlours, and the company known as Lituania SAFI. How did your husband come to be involved in that?’

‘At the time, I never knew he was involved,’ she replied. ‘He didn’t tell me when he did it, even though we were supposed to make all the business decisions together. I only found out a couple of years later, not long after Lucie was born, when we were at a party, a business thing, and one of the women there, a banker’s wife, I think, made a nasty remark. She called him a pimp. I didn’t know what she was talking about so I punched her.’ She tapped the side of her nose, and smiled, very faintly. ‘Right there,’ she whispered. ‘It bled all over her blue satin dress. There was a scene, of course, and Tomas had to take me home. Once we got there I made him tell me what she had been talking about.’

‘You made him?’

‘Oh, I made him, all right.’ She looked at Stallings. ‘Imagine, he thinks I couldn’t stand up to my husband. Tomas might have been. . what he once was. . but I was no pushover either.’

‘I know that well enough,’ Skinner chuckled. ‘No one ever took you for a softie, Regine. So what did he tell you?’

‘He said that not long after Tony Manson died, he was approached by a man he called Dudley.’

‘Eh?’ Skinner’s eyebrows rose. ‘How did he know this man?’

‘From his time in the merchant navy. Dudley was on the crew of his ship.’

‘But he’s Scottish. On a Lithuanian ship?’

She nodded. ‘He joined in Amsterdam, after some men defected and left them short-handed. He and Tomas sailed together for a couple of years, and when Dudley left the ship in Scotland, Tomas went with him. . unofficially. He deserted, and he was allowed to stay.’

‘I know that. When he approached Tomas, what did he want?’

‘He thought that Tomas had been left Manson’s massage places,’ she explained. ‘It was known that Tony had left everything worth having to an associate, and Dudley assumed that it was him. He told him it wasn’t and he thought that would the end of it, but Dudley came back. He said that he had someone who was interested in buying the places, and that if my husband could help, he would cut him in for half of the deal. Tomas thought why not, and so he approached the lawyer who was acting for Lennie Plenderleith. . he was in jail by then.’

‘How did Ken Green get involved?’

‘When Tomas asked Mr Conn at Curle Anthony and Jarvis to act for him in the deal, he said he’d rather not. Green was introduced by the other man in the deal.’

‘This partner, this other man. Who is he?’

‘I don’t know that. Tomas wouldn’t tell me. He never did tell me, ever.’

‘Do you know if the two of them ever met, or was all the business done through Dudley?’

‘Oh yes, they met. When the company in Uruguay was set up, they went there to sign the papers. Four of them went. Tomas took Valdas, because he was going to be looking after the places, and the other man had someone with him too. Not Dudley, though; a man Tomas called Henry.’

‘Was that the trip when he had the tattoo done on his shoulder?’ McGuire asked.

She nodded. ‘He said that they all did.’

‘Excuse me for a moment.’ Skinner stepped out into the garden, took out his phone and called McIlhenney. ‘Neil,’ he said as the superintendent answered, ‘no time to chat, but call Greatorix and tell him that his pathologists should check for a tattoo on Henry Brown’s shoulder. They’ll find one, and when they do, they should photograph it. Then check the photos that were taken at Tomas’s autopsy, and at Valdas’s; you should find two the same, although Valdas’s will be a wee bit singed.’

He went back inside. ‘Sorry about that, Regine,’ he murmured. ‘So Valdas knew who the man was?’

‘Yes.’

He looked at Jonas Zaliukas, who had come down the steps and was standing behind his sister-in-law’s chair. ‘What about you?’ he asked.

‘I was in the army when this shit happen,’ the man replied.

‘That’s not an answer, but we’ll go back there later. For now, do you know, Regine, if Tomas put any more money into that company?’

‘No, he didn’t. He was paid a dividend on his investment, fifty thousand every year, twenty per cent of his capital, but he didn’t put any more in.’

‘Where did the money go?’

‘Into a bank account he opened in France, for the girls. I doubt if he paid tax on it; it was always in cash.’

‘We don’t really care about that,’ the chief constable told her. ‘Why don’t you bring us up to date now?’ he invited. ‘When did all this business begin?’

‘Two weeks ago,’ she replied, and as she did, the tension seemed to grab her once more, tightening her shoulders, and narrowing her mouth.

‘How?’ the chief constable asked quietly.

‘Tomas came home from the office on Wednesday night,’ she replied, ‘the week before last. He told me that there was big trouble in the massage parlours, that Valdas had done something very stupid, and that his partner was very angry.’

‘Did he tell you what Gerulaitis had done?’

‘No, but he said that it was criminal, against the law. You see, those businesses are sensitive, what happens there is. .’ She paused, frowning. ‘How do I say it?’

‘What happens there is tolerated,’ Stallings prompted her. ‘Men go there, and to places like that all over Britain, and they pay for sex. We all know it happens, but there’s an unspoken agreement that nothing will be done about it. Our society can never eliminate prostitution, but it can’t be seen to make it legal either. So we compromise; we turn a blind eye to women selling themselves in places like that, because it’s a hell of a lot safer for them than doing it on the street. As long as the business is properly run, and the women aren’t exploited; if they were, that couldn’t be overlooked.’

‘And that’s what Valdas was doing,’ Skinner added. ‘He had smuggled in a squad of girls, youngsters, some of them under age, from Estonia, and put them to work. Some were willing, and those that weren’t were drugged.’

Regine stared at him. ‘That’s what he did?’

He nodded.

‘Tomas didn’t tell me that. Now I know, I’m even more glad that he’s dead.’

‘How did his partner find out?’

‘Through Dudley, Tomas said. From time to time he would go into the places as a customer, to check that they were being run properly.’

‘And when he did that a couple of weeks ago,’ McGuire murmured, ‘he saw the new talent.’

‘Just so,’ Jonas Zaliukas growled. ‘Valdas!’ he spat. ‘What’s your word in English for someone who is very stupid?’

‘Idiot, dimwit, moron. . take your pick.’

‘I take all of them. My brother made not many mistakes, but he was one. And it kill him.’

‘Regine,’ Skinner whispered, ‘go on. Tomas sent you here, didn’t he?’

‘Yes. He said he would have to deal with the trouble, but that his partner was a very serious man, and there could be danger until it was all made clear. He told me to take the children and come here to Mezin. He said he would come for me when it was safe. But it never was for him.’ Her eyes filled with tears, but she kept her self-control. ‘We left the very next day; I drove and we got here on the Friday afternoon. Everything was fine over the weekend. Tomas called me several times, and I told him we were OK. On Saturday he told me that Jonas had arrived from Lithuania, and also that his partner seemed to understand that what had happened was not his fault. I was going to go back, but he told me I should stay here for a few more days.’ She stopped. ‘I’m sorry. I need something to drink.’

Stallings rose to her feet. ‘I’ll get you some water.’

‘Thank you,’ said Regine. ‘A very little water, please, with a lot of whisky in it. You’ll find both in the kitchen.’ She looked around. ‘Would anyone else. .?’

The three men shook their heads. ‘Nice shirt,’ Skinner remarked to Jonas Zaliukas, as the inspector left. ‘It looks brand new. Bit tight, though; maybe you should take it back and get a size bigger.’

The Lithuanian shrugged. ‘It’s OK,’ he murmured, with evident disinterest.

They stood in silence until Stallings returned, carrying two glasses, the whisky and a sparkling water for herself. The widow thanked her, and sank half of her drink in one swallow. ‘Where was I?’ she murmured. ‘Yes, the weekend. On Monday morning, just after ten o’clock, the doorbell rang. I thought nothing of it. I assumed that it was the postman, or maybe the friendly Englishman who lives a few doors up. But no, it was two other men, and they were not friendly. One was Dudley; I met him once a long time ago. The other was bigger, big strong man, with big chin. They pushed me into the house, then came in and closed the door. I told them to go or I’d call the gendarme, but Dudley just laughed. He told me we were all going, them, me and Aimée and Lucie. He was going to take us straight away, but the other man. .’

‘Henry,’ said McGuire.

‘His name is Henry? Ah. He is not a nice man either, but he’s nicer than Dudley; he let me take clothes for the children, and some toys and books. I asked him where we were going, but he wouldn’t tell me. They took us outside. . there was nobody in the street, but there never is. . and put us into the back of a car, a hire car with the label still hanging from the mirror. We drove for a while, until we arrived at a cottage on the far side of Agen, in the country, with nothing around it. There was another car parked outside, just like the first. When they took us inside, I saw they had food in bags on the table. I asked how long they were going to keep us there. Dudley said that would depend on Tomas. He said that if he did what he was told we would be home in a couple of days. If not. . He didn’t finish, but the way he looked at me, and the girls, made me very frightened.’ She shuddered, and winced, as if in pain. ‘Dudley is a very bad man.’

Skinner looked at her and sensed renewed hesitancy. ‘Tell us, please,’ he asked. ‘I think I know but we need to hear it from you.’

She nodded, and finished her whisky in a second swallow. ‘They gave us a bedroom and left us there. The girls wanted to know what was going on. I told them that these men were friends of Daddy’s and that they were going to look after us for a little while. I checked the window, of course, but it had been screwed shut. I thought about breaking the glass and maybe using a piece as a weapon, but with two of them that would have been hopeless. After an hour or so, they came back. They made us all sit on the bed. I asked the other man, Henry, how they had known where we were. He looked at me, and he said, “Valdas’s wife doesn’t like you. She knew where Tomas would have sent you. We only had to ask her the once.” That bitch Laima,’ she hissed. ‘Even if he hadn’t told me I’d have guessed quickly enough. Then Dudley took out a mobile telephone. “We’re going to make a wee movie,” he said, and he smiled, but in a horrible way. He pointed the phone at us, and he began to speak, in Lithuanian, very bad Lithuanian. I was surprised at first, but I remembered those two years at sea.’

‘You speak it yourself?’ Stallings exclaimed.

Regine stared at her. ‘Lady,’ she replied, ‘if you marry a man and you don’t learn his language, then you are a fool.’

‘Of course,’ said the chief constable. ‘But go on.’

‘When Dudley spoke, it was as if he was speaking to Tomas. “Here we are,” he said, “us and your three treasures. And this is what’s going to happen.” The other man stopped him there. He asked me if he could take the girls for a walk. Looking back, I took a big risk trusting him. He could have been a paedophile, anything, but something in his eyes told me that I could, and that I should get the children out of there. So I said yes, and I told them to go with him.’ She sighed. ‘And that left Dudley and me alone.’ Once again, pain flashed across her face. ‘As soon as they were gone, he switched on the phone again, and he began to speak again. “Tomas,” he said, still in his terrible Lithuanian, and I remember every word, “the big man says there’s a price for the crap that’s happened, and it’s you that has to pay it. Tomorrow, you’re to go to your lawyer and make whatever arrangements you need to, to transfer your holding in Lituania SAFI to another company, Scotland SAFI. Don’t you worry, we’ll know when you’ve done that. When you have, you’ll go to a public place. . and we’ll be watching you, don’t you worry. . and you will kill yourself. That’s what the man wants. If you don’t do it, then we’ll send your wife and your kids back to you in as many boxes as it takes, but it’ll be at least a dozen. And you know, the man always keeps his promises.” And then he stopped.’ She looked up at Skinner. ‘That’s why Tomas killed himself,’ she said. ‘To save our lives.’ She sat silent for a few seconds. ‘As soon as he’d brought the girls back,’ she continued, ‘Henry left in the other car, and he didn’t come back. Dudley locked us in our room, brought us food and let us out to go to the toilet when we asked, but he didn’t say any more to us. I didn’t want him to, because I was terrified. Two days later on the Wednesday he drove us back to Mezin and let us out of the car on the edge of the village. When he did that, I knew that Tomas was dead.’

Skinner nodded. ‘Yes,’ he murmured, ‘that’s what I thought.’ As he looked at Regine once more, he seemed to share her pain. ‘But that’s not all, is it?’ he added.

The woman’s face twisted; her eyes screwed up tight. ‘It’s all,’ she cried, quietly.

‘Ah, but it isn’t,’ the chief constable went on, as his colleagues’ attention switched to him. ‘Dudley didn’t stop where you said, did he?’

Very slowly, Regine Zaliukas shook her head, and drew her right foot out of its fluffy slipper. Its middle toe was missing, the stump covered by a white bandage.

A small scream escaped from Becky Stallings; from McGuire a low animal snarl.

‘He set the phone,’ the woman told them, her voice almost a moan, ‘so that it filmed him as he did it, with a pair of garden clippers. When I had stopped screaming, he told me that if I did not give him Tomas’s number, he would cut off another. I did, of course. He sent the video to Tomas, and then he waited. After a few minutes his phone rang and it was Tomas. He put it on speaker so I could hear. He yelled at Dudley; he promised that he would take all ten of his, one by one, before he killed him. But Dudley said, “You won’t be able to do that, will you, because you’ll be dead.” And now he is.’ She slumped back in her chair, looked at Stallings, and held out her empty glass. ‘Please.’

‘I’m going to eat that bastard when we catch him,’ McGuire swore, as the DI headed for the kitchen.

‘My sentiments entirely,’ Skinner concurred. ‘Or they would be if Dudley was still fit for consumption. Somebody strung him up last night, in a barn,’ he put his wrists together above his head, ‘like that. Then he cut off all ten of his toes. When he was finished he put a shotgun in old Dudley’s mouth and pulled the trigger. When Henry Brown came charging on to the scene, like the Seventh Cavalry, armed with a big Colt handgun, he shot the legs out from under him, and then did the same to him.’ He looked at Jonas Zaliukas. ‘We found them maybe sooner than you expected,’ he said. ‘But it was still too late for us to trace your flight. You were back in France by that time. There’s a late evening service from Edinburgh to Carcassonne on a Monday,’ he explained to McGuire, and to Stallings as she returned with a refilled glass. ‘David Mackenzie found it when he checked all possible flights for me first thing this morning. Its passenger list shows a Colonel J. Zaliukas, travelling on a Lithuanian passport. Let me guess, Jonas,’ he said. ‘You bought the shirt at the airport when you landed.’

‘Yes, I did,’ the man admitted. ‘But I know nothing of the other things.’

‘You know everything, Colonel. You also know that we’ll never place you at that crime scene in a month of wet Sundays.’

‘Maybe,’ McGuire exclaimed. ‘The shirt he wore yesterday. .’

‘You can have it if you want,’ the Lithuanian offered.

Skinner smiled. ‘Don’t bother, Mario. He wore a sterile tunic, and then he burned it in a bin behind the barn. . the same bin, I reckon, that was used to burn Ken Green’s files to ashes. He and his clothes will be clean as a whistle. But that’s why Regine wouldn’t talk to you last night. She had to wait until Jonas got back, to tell her it was OK. Did he tell you what he was going to Scotland to do?’ he asked her.

‘I tell her nothing,’ said Zaliukas quickly. ‘Only that she should stay with Max and Zaki and say nothing to anyone until I got back.’

‘So why did you go to Scotland?’

‘I go to make arrangements for Tomas’s funeral. You can check if you like. People called Scotmid will do it.’

‘And it’ll be safe for Regine to go back?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure? A man called Cameron McCullough might have a different view.’

‘No. That man, you will find, is a realist. If he did think to do harm to Regine, or rather order it, for he does nothing himself, he would know that while he may have a few hoodlums left, I have an army.’

Skinner stepped slowly across to him, feeling his eyes sting with weariness as he looked down at him. ‘Let me tell you something, Jonas. If any of your soldiers set foot in Scotland, they will be on the first plane home. . if they’re lucky. Regine will be safe because I will make it my business to ensure that she is. As for McCullough, I still have to make his acquaintance. But I will.’ He tapped him on the chest. ‘And you? As soon as your brother is in the ground, Colonel, you should go back to Lithuania. And you should fucking stay there.’