I woke to the smell of coffee and warm toast. Julia placed my breakfast on the bedside unit. She was wearing one of my old T-shirts.
‘Best I could do’ she said. ‘You should try shopping once in a while.’
‘Normally I have fresh juice and croissants with a selection of conserves available.’ I sat up. ‘Sometimes you run out, you know how it is.’
She laughed and got back into bed after turning the television on. ‘Is it always this cold in your flat?’
I said it was, between mouthfuls of toast. ‘Storage heaters. They’ll kick in soon.’
‘They best do.’ She pulled the duvet up to her neck.
I put the plate down and thanked her. It’d been a long time since someone had made me breakfast in bed.
The news was covering Tasker’s death. The report went to a pre-recorded interview with a tired looking DI Robinson, who urged anybody with any information to come forward. I felt as tired as he looked. We’d spent several hours the previous night listening to the tapes of Julia’s recent interview with Tasker. The interview had been wide-ranging, starting from the day he met Priestley, his happiness as the band took off, his difficulty with drugs and the eventual split, through to his thoughts on the imminent reunion. I could have cried as his voice filled the room, his death adding poignancy to his words. Julia had let me burn a copy so I could listen to it again. I reached for my mobile and called Major’s number. I listened to the voicemail message.
‘He’s gone to down London for a couple of days on business’ I said to Julia, killing the call without leaving a message. ‘He’s done a runner.’ I threw my mobile onto the bed. Fuck’s sake. I should have known from Major’s manner that something was amiss. It wasn’t a clever move. The police were bound to take a closer look at Tasker’s flat. If the police knew about the break-in, they’d be coming for me next.
She put her mug down. ‘Don’t beat yourself up over it. He’s manipulated far more intelligent people than you.’
‘Cheers.’
‘You’re welcome.’
I told her I wasn’t doing this for Major. I was doing it for Tasker’s parents. But I didn’t like being used, or being left to face the music. I checked my emails on my mobile. Sarah hadn’t had any luck getting an address for Rusting yet. I looked at the television as the reporter moved onto the sports news. Julia killed the television and checked her mobile. She said she had to go. The story was moving. ‘Don’t beat yourself up, Joe. You’ve done nothing wrong, so nothing changes. You told Greg’s parents you’d help them, so if I was you, I’d stop feeling sorry for myself, grab a shower, and go see them.’
Once Julia had left my flat, I took her advice and headed for Tasker’s parent’s house. At first Keith Tasker would only open the door as far as the safety chain allowed. Once he realised it was me, he let me through. He looked awful. I sat down in the front room and asked him how he was doing.
‘Muddling along’ he said. ‘I don’t really want to talk to people at the moment. I know they mean well, but it’s too soon.’
‘It’s understandable.’
He disappeared into the kitchen to make us drinks. I took the opportunity to have another look around the room. The first condolence card stood on the mantelpiece. I picked it up and read it before carefully placing it back where I found it.
He walked back in and passed me my drink. I thanked him. ‘Where’s Kath?’ I asked.
‘She’s in bed. The doctor gave her something to help her sleep.’
‘How are you coping?’ I asked.
He sat down in the chair opposite me. He looked like he’d aged ten years since I’d last seen him. ‘I’m carrying on. I have to. Lots to be arranged.’ He passed me a key to his son’s flat. ‘You might be needing that.’
I took it and drank a mouthful of coffee. Major had lied to me. He’d told me Tasker’s parents didn’t have a key. I pushed the thought to one side and tried to find the right words. I repeated what I’d told him before; I wanted to help. I owed them that much. I told him that Major had left the city without telling anyone.
‘Does that mean Kane was involved in Greg’s death?’
I’d thought this over last night as I walked back to my flat from the restaurant. I still didn’t have an answer. ‘I don’t know.’ It was the truth. As he’d said, he needed Greg alive. But I couldn’t get past the question of why run? ‘He told me he didn’t kill Greg’ I said.
‘He can’t of’ he said to me. ‘He was Greg’s best friend and he’s been a friend of the family for years. It doesn’t make any sense to me.’
‘Do you think he was capable of killing him?’ I asked.
He considered the question. ‘I wouldn’t have said so a few days ago, but we’re dealing with reality. It’s not hypothetical, is it? I’m sure most of us could kill if we’re pushed hard enough.’
I had nothing to say to that. I knew it was true. I moved us on. ‘Did Greg ever mention Kane’s financial situation to you?’
‘Never. It wasn’t something we’d talk about. It wasn’t any of my business, I suppose.’
‘Have the police spoken to you today?’ I asked.
‘Not really. To be honest, they haven’t really told us an awful lot, but I suppose that’s for operational reasons. There must be things they’re simply not prepared to tell us. I can’t say I’ve pushed them. I don’t think we could bear it if they told us something unpleasant about Greg’s death. It would be too much to cope with.’
‘I understand.’
‘They did tell us we should sever our ties with you. Let them get on with things.’
I wasn’t surprised. ‘I won’t be obstructing the police’ I said. I didn’t intend to, but I wouldn’t be giving DI Robinson and his team an easy ride, either. I’d make sure every lead I generated was followed up as necessary. ‘Did you see the news this morning?’
‘I did.’ He sighed. ‘I suppose it’s too much to ask them to respect our privacy, isn’t it?’
‘Have they bothered you?’
‘They’ve been ringing, asking us to give our side of the story. You can imagine the whole tawdry business. I’ve had their numbers blocked, but I doubt it’ll stop them.’
‘I know a journalist. Would you like me to see what I can do?’
He shook his head. ‘Not at the moment, thanks.’
It was his decision. ‘I know we’ve spoken before about it, but is there anything else you can think of that will help me? What did Greg do with his days? Have you any idea? I’m not getting very far with working it out.’
‘I’m ashamed to say I have no idea. It wasn’t something we discussed. He led his life how he saw fit and that was the end of it.’
‘I’m just trying to build a picture. Had he said or done anything unusual recently? Anything at all?’
‘Greg spoke to me last week, which was a little unusual in itself. There was no problem between us, but we just didn’t usually speak about what was going on his life. It was his way. He told me he wasn’t very happy with things. His relationship with Siobhan wasn’t great and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. I told him he should do whatever felt right. What else could I say? I’ve been married for over forty years. What would I know about what goes on these days? Siobhan’s a lovely girl, but the fact of the matter is she’s a lot younger than Greg. I suspect they wanted different things from life, which is perfectly understandable. It was difficult to know what to say. It might have been nothing, just one of those rough patches that blows over.’
‘I’ve met Siobhan’ I said.
‘At her boutique?’
I nodded.
‘Greg set her up there.’
‘So I understand.’
‘What was strange about our conversation was that Greg told me he had some big news for us. It was strange because he normally just told us what he wanted to tell us, and that was it, conversation over. I got the feeling that this time our opinion counted for something, that it was something important to him.’
He had my attention. ‘What did he say?’
‘He said he’d tell us next time he saw us, once he’d made his mind up about whatever it was.’
‘He never said?’
He shook his head. ‘And I suppose we’ll never know now.’
Julia had left me a message whilst I’d been talking to Keith Tasker. Michael Rusting, the engineer from Tasker’s studio, had called her newspaper. He said he had a story for her. Julia wanted to see him immediately. I collected Julia and we drove to the drab looking council flat Rusting lived in. Tasker’s studio can’t have paid well. Julia took the lead and knocked on his front-door. I recognised him when he opened the door. Julia introduced herself and confirmed we were from the newspaper. He invited us in. ‘Nice to see you again’ I said. A dog sat on the settee, but it ran away as soon as Rusting raised his voice.
‘Might as well make yourselves at home’ he said, indicating we should sit.
‘You’re not an easy man to find’ I said.
‘I’ve not been hiding’ he said.
Julia set up her recorder. ‘Thanks for agreeing to speak to us, Mr Rusting.’ She passed him a cheque. ‘As we agreed’ she said.
He put it in his pocket. ‘All helps.’
‘Didn’t even get as much as a thank you off the police when I gave my statement’ he said. ‘So I might as well make some money from it, know what I mean? I haven’t got a job now, so I need some money from somewhere.’
‘Your statement?’ I said.
‘I found Greg at the studio’ he said.
I asked him to repeat what he’d just said.
‘I found him.’ He offered us drinks, but we both quickly refused.
‘Why didn’t you report it to the police?’
‘I did.’
‘Not straightaway.’
Rusting looked panicked. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Because I went there after you did and found Greg. I rang the police.’
Rusting stood. ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’
I was on my feet. ‘You don’t have a choice now.’ I turned to Julia. She obviously knew what he was going to say. I let it go. Rusting sat back down. I did the same. ‘Why didn’t you ring the police?’
‘I didn’t want the hassle.’
‘The hassle? He was dead.’
‘Exactly. There was nothing I could do for him.’
‘Not good enough.’
‘I’ve got a criminal record.’ He looked away from me. ‘I didn’t want the hassle’ he repeated.
‘So you thought you’d leave it?’
‘It wasn’t just that’ he said. ‘I saw these blokes leaving, they didn’t look like good news, so I hung back, made sure they didn’t see me.’
I rubbed my face. This changed things. ‘How did you know they weren’t good news?’ I asked.
‘I just got a vibe off them, like they weren’t to be messed with. I didn’t even know Greg was in there, he hadn’t told me he was coming back. I thought they might have been robbing the place.’
‘What happened after you saw them come out?’
‘They got into a car and drove away.’
‘What kind of car?’
‘I don’t know. It was too dark to see.’
‘Colour?’
‘I don’t know.’ He stared at me. ‘I thought I was talking to her about my story. For the newspaper.’
‘Once we’re done’ I said, staring back at him, weighing up whether or not he was holding something back. I decided he probably wasn’t. ‘Did you hear them speak?’ I asked him. ‘Were they local?’
‘I wasn’t close enough. They were arguing amongst themselves, though.’
‘What did they look like?’
He hesitated, started to say something, but changed his mind. ‘It was too dark.’ He at least looked embarrassed by the lack of detail he’d remembered. ‘Just average.’
‘What did you do once they’d gone?’
‘I went into the studio, found Greg on the floor. I could tell he was dead straightaway. It was obvious, so I ran. I called the police once I’d had a drink and settled my nerves.’ He shrugged. ‘What choice did I have?’
I nodded to Julia. It was her turn.
Rusting gave us no more. I dropped Julia off at her hotel. Having a witness changed things, even if the witness hadn’t supposedly seen a great deal. I needed to know what the police were doing. I walked into the reception area of Queens Gardens Police Station. I didn’t like the place. It was dull and grey. Institutionalised. The desk sergeant told me DI Robinson wasn’t available. I stood my ground and insisted. A couple of youngsters waited in bolted down chairs. They soon got bored of staring at me and went back to whispering and laughing at each other. Eventually, Robinson’s assistant, the one I’d given my statement to, made herself available.
‘What can we do for you, Mr Geraghty?’ she said.
‘I understand you’ve got a witness.’
She looked angry. She walked back to the reception desk, pressed the release button on the door. ‘In here.’
I followed her down the corridor and into an empty interview room.
‘How do you know about the witness?’ she asked.
‘He’s spoken to the media. You can read all about it tomorrow.’
If she wasn’t angry before, she was now.
‘He said he saw a couple of men leaving the studio right after Tasker was killed’ I said.
We stared at each other. I chanced my arm. ‘What did he tell you?’ I asked.
She sighed, like she’d heard it all before. ‘With respect, Mr Geraghty, I wouldn’t tell you the time if you asked me. But please be assured we’re looking into it. This isn’t a job for you.’
She walked across the room to the door and opened it. We were finished.
I followed her back to the reception area. ‘His family want his things back, anything you found on him.’
She stopped walking. ‘I suggest you mind your own business.’
‘What about the money he took from his girlfriend’s till?’
‘What money?’
I smiled. She shouldn’t have confirmed for me that it wasn’t on his person when they found him.
She showed me to the door. ‘I’ll let DI Robinson know you dropped in.’
I left my car where it was and walked to Tasker’s flat. This was my first sighting of it in daylight. It looked like any other nondescript new build block which had sprung up around the city centre in the last few years. Plenty of glass and cheap looking brickwork. Letting myself in, I headed to the front room. It was a mess. CDs had been ripped from shelves and thrown onto the floor. Drawers had been emptied and discarded. Whoever had done this hadn’t been subtle. Had Major been responsible? Looking around the room, I could tell the police’s Scene of Crime Officers had already been and gone. I stepped over broken glass and walked into the kitchen. Nothing. Tasker’s flat was nowhere near as big as mine and probably twice as expensive. I left the kitchen and moved into his bedroom. Tasker’s clothes had been thrown across the floor, duvet cast aside. Whoever had been in here had done a thorough job. I was pleased his parents hadn’t seen the mess. I heard someone walk in.
‘Hello’ I shouted. I walked back into the front room. Attack was the best form of defence. A middle-aged woman stood in front of me. ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear you’ I said to her.
‘Your colleague said you were all finished here once your scientific people had done their stuff.’
She thought I was a police officer. ‘Just a few loose ends to tie up.’ I turned to face her. I made a decision. I hadn’t lied. I continued. ‘Are you a neighbour?’
She nodded. ‘Your colleague took all my details.’
‘Right.’
‘I can’t believe it, I really can’t. One of my friends told me who Greg was. I had no idea. I’m not a music fan, so it didn’t really mean anything to me, but it’s terrible to think of what happened to him.’
‘It is. Did you hear anything?’
‘I hear things nearly every day. He was always playing his guitar loudly and singing. It didn’t seem to matter to him what the time was. It was non-stop. If you’re talking about the nights your colleagues were asking about, there were some very noisy arguments. I wasn’t able to tell them more than that.’
‘Did you hear what they were arguing about?’
She shook her head. ‘The walls are thin in this place, but not that thin.’
‘Was it a man he was arguing with?’
‘It was usually a woman, but there have been men around here recently.’
That was interesting. ‘Did you ever see the people he was arguing with?’
‘I mind my own business. You have to be so careful these days, don’t you?’
I decided to come clean. ‘I’m not with the police.’ I passed her my business card. ‘I’m working for Greg’s family.’
She looked at my card. ‘Why would they need a Private Investigator?’
‘Just to keep the police on their toes.’ I smiled, hoping it would put her at ease.
‘I see.’ She put the card in her pocket.
‘Is there anything else you can tell me?’ I said I hadn’t caught her name.
‘Mrs Musgrave.’
‘Right.’
She shook her head. ‘I can’t think of anything.’
I thanked her for her time and told her she shouldn’t hesitate to ring me if anything came to mind. I didn’t want to push my luck. Heading out, I saw the same two men I’d seen at Siobhan’s boutique parked up about fifty yards away, staring at me. I picked up my pace and hurried to my car.