The Door is Still Ajar Read online

  Blumer entered the office and was immediately impressed by the decor. A plush oxblood leather sofa, with two matching armchairs. A green deep-pile carpet and a contstable print on the wall. He thought about his own shabby office and wondered if he was in the wrong business. Harry Parkes was sitting behind an big oak desk thumbing through a pile of papers. Harrry was delighted to see him. “Hello John. Long time no see. What can I do for you?”

  “Hello Harry. I’ve come to ask you if you can do me a couple favours I need.”

  “Okay John, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I want to interview two blokes that you might know, Dennis Hammond and Jack Dawes. Do you know either of them by any chance?”

  “Hammond yes, Dawes no. I gave Hammond a job as a doorman of one of my clubs. I had to sack him. He couldn’t keep his hands off the strippers. A complete tosser. Why do you wanna’ find ‘em John. What have they been up to?”

  “I’m in the middle of a private murder investigation and I think these two may have some useful information on somebody I’m looking for.”

  “No problem John, I’ll put word out and I’ll get back to you. Do you think that they were in on this murder? If so I’ll put Dave Sobel, Billy Reeves and Frankie Allen out to find ‘em right away.”

  I dunno’, but I think they may know somebody who could be a suspect. Does the name Danny Garcia mean anything to you, by any chance?”

  Harry chuckled and said, “Oh Danny boy. Sure I know Danny. Or rather I knew him. He used to do a bit of work for me; debt colllectin’, delivern’ stuff and just a runner, that’s all. Couldn’t let him know too much, cause’ of his big mouth, especially when he’d been drinkin’. Not a bad boy, but bloody stupid.”

  “Do you know where I can find him by any chance, I’d like to talk with him?”

  “No, but you can go and see Carol, his ex bird. She only lives around the corner. They’re not together now. But I still think he contacts her sometimes, when he wants somethin. I’ll give her a tinkle and let her know that you wanna’ find Danny. I don’t know what she can tell you.”

  When Blumer rang on Carol Lock’s front doorbell, he waited a while and assumed that nobody was in. He was just about to walk away, when the door opened. Carol Locke, although quite young looked haggered and unkept. She wore no make up and her hair was matted and tangled. Blumer was the first to speak.

  “Good afternoon. My name is John Blumer. Miss Locke, I pressume. Harry Parkes told me that you’d be expecting me.”

  “Hello Mister Blumer, please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?”

  When he entered the flat he immediately knew that he’d entered into a home of somebody that had thrown in the towel with life. There were a stack of unwashed pots, pans, plates and dishes in the sink. The carpet was old and threadbare. And the furniture was chipped, battered and old. Also the flat looked as though it had not been cleaned in weeks.

  “No thanks Miss Locke. All I want is to ask you if you are in contact with Danny Garcia. I would really like to talk with him in person.”

  “I don’t see him now, but sometimes he phones me. Two weeks ago, he phoned me from Clacton. He and Erma, his latest girlfriend have set up shop there in Jaywick, close by. They’ve got a food vending van. They were up in Skegness, but business wasn’t too good, so they moved down to Jaywick. I think him and Erma are okay together. She’s welcome to him.”

  “He may have information on two men that I’m looking for, Dennis Hammond and Jack Dawes. Would you know them by any chance?”

  Carol Locke’s lower jaw dropped in revulsion at the mention of their names and Blumer immediately knew that she was familiar with them.

  “Oh, those two disgusting bastards. I’ll never forgave Danny getting involved with them. I knew Hammoned first, because Danny brought him back to the flat. He must have met him around one of the pubs, or in a bookies. The way he used to leer it me made me wanna’ vommit. He brought Dawes around here later on and Dawes was just as bad as Hammond. I think they had something on Danny and they were trying to use him for something. I don’t know what. It was a pity, because Danny had met an older bloke who had started working for Harry Parkes.

  “Leonard took Danny under his wing and Danny actually started behaving himself. He started giving me money. He cut down on drinking, gambling and pot smoking, which I’m sure he got off of Hammond, or Dawes. Things were looking up. I could buy clothes, make up and generally improve my lot, until those two filthy bastards turned up here. Danny didn’t deserve anything, Mister Blumer. Harry Parkes took him on shortly after he got sacked, just after the Heathrow gold bullion robbery, which I found strange. He had found a job in a general maintenance team that worked around the airport and out-buildings. He volunteered to work nights, because he told me that most of the other blokes were married. Well that was the cock & bull story he gave me. But then he started going sick and turning up late.

  “They gave him a few chances, but had to sack him in the end. If it wasn’t for Harry taking him on we would have been back to square one again. I loved Leonard though. He was a bit of a Dandy and was always smartly dressed and very dapper. And he actually treated me with respect. He used to make me laugh, with his ad-libbing, humour and joking. But he died in a terrible fire. He was living upstairs in a house that Harry Parkes and Benny Goldberg co-owned. I think that the downstairs was used for storing stolen goods, ready for fencing. Fridges, televisions, washing machines, stereos, everything. They must have trusted Leonard, because he was liked a store manager. Taking care of the stock, looking out for the ingoing and outgoing stock. Signing reciepts, bookkeeping and generally keeping house. I think Leonard took Danny under his wing, because he felt sorry for him. Danny did not deserve a friend like Leonard, but how can you reason with somebody who’s ego is bigger than his capabilities? Danny was devastated when Leonard died and he went into a depression.

  “After Leonard died, Hammond and Dawes started turning up to see Danny more frequently. Which for me was a nightmare. Between me and you, I think that Danny had been doing something like reconnaissance work, or spying around the airport and reporting back to whoever was planning the robbery. He told me that when the heist was done; that he was not surprised, because the shift that were guarding the bullion at three o’clock in the morning were a bunch of drunken bums, that were too busy playing cards and hitting the whiskey to guard the bullion. How did he know that? I didn’t ask him too much, but I’m sure he knew a lot more than he told me. As I said before, until these two bastards turned up Danny was doing okay. Dave Sobel, or Billy Reeves would come around carrying a briefcase and give Danny instructions. He would dress up smartly and catch a train to one of the other big cities, usually Manchester, or Liverpool.

  “When he was sent away, Dave, or Billy would give me an envolope, with a ten pound note in it. Both of them behaved like perfect genntlemen with me. The complete opposite of Hammond and Dawes. But something happened between Hammond and Dawes and they had a big dust up. I can remember it well. I’d had enough of Danny by now and the day I threw him out, Dawes turned up, just as I kicked Danny out.

  “What happened next nearly gave me a heart attack. Hammond turned up and was absolutely furious with Dawes and they nearly came to blows. The gist of what I heard was that Dawes was doing some runs over to the continent, with his van for Benny Goldberg. Amsterdam, Hamberg and Dusseldorf. I think that they had been smuggling swiss watches, stolen gold jewellery and diamond necklaces for Benny Goldberg. Apparantly Hammond was meant to go on the next run with him, but Dawes had dumped him for another bloke and Hammond was not taking it laying down. This was the last that I saw of them and my God I was glad. That was the end of it for me. Harry looks out for me sometimes, but as far as I’m concerned I’d rather be completely alone that suffer that endless shit. No more, no more.”

  Blumer listened with guarded interest. The police had believed that the gold bullion heis
t, could have been an inside job. Or somebody had information on the movements of the gold. The sheer audacity and speed of the heist was something that must have been well planed in advance. To hijack the Securicor van that was on its way to the warehouse to pick up the gold. Then to gain access by using another van, with the Securicor logo on the sides was a stroke of genius. Then to tie up the guards who were meant to be guarding the gold and break open the safe with oxyacetylene cutting gear and sledge hammers, must have been done with military precision. The raiders had even known where the keys that opened the cage that guarded vault were. One of the guards were stupid enough to carry them on his belt. The gold was never traced. The police believed that it had been already shipped to the the continent via either Harwich, or Dover, before an investigation could have even begun to trace it. The bogus van must have been burned, or crushed in a junk yard. One theory was that a consortium of underworld characters had planned the robbery. And an outside crew were used to do the hard work. Needless to say, Harry Parkes, Benny Goldberg and the Ashton brothhers all had alibis and witnesses to their whereabouts, at the time that the heist was being done. Danny Garcia could have easily befriended the people that were guarding the warehouse. And possibly one of the guards had given him information, crucial to architects of the heist. The police had established that an eleven man crew had taken part in it. The Securicor van had been disabled, by throwing tacks on the road, as it approached along a narrow road, bursting all four tires. Then five masked men, with sawed off shot guns had trapped the three Securicor guards in the van, by blocking all of the doors. And a six man team armed with sawed of shotguns, had carried out the actual robbery. Luckily nobody had been shot, or killed. Carol had already anticipted Blumers next question and answered it without any doubt.

  “Do you think Hammond and Dawes had some hold over Danny, regarding what he may have known about the the heist. Could they have been blackmailing him, or bullying him?”

  “Possibly. But that would have been only part of it. I think Danny may have had dirt on both of them as well. Serious dirt. They were like a pair of baying hyenas. And now I remember Danny saying something to them that made them back off. I didn’t get the gist of what it was. But they became more subdued after that. It was like a viscious circle of the amount of shit that they had on each other. On top of it all, I think that the fire that killed Leonard had been started deleberately. It was just too quick and too explosive. I think it was arson and the target was Leonard. Peter, the next door neighbour thinks the same as I do. Whoever wanted Leonard dead, did a bloody good job, because his body was burned to a husk. But it’s all done and dusted now. All I want is a quiet life, Mister. But at the end of the day I blame Danny for all of my woes.”

  “Why would anybody want to kill this Leonard in such a terrible way, if he was the charming character that you say he was?”

  “I don’t know, but Peter has his own opinions about it and he was absolutely furious when it happened. Him and Leonard became pals and I think that Peter may be a bit of a bloody old woman, and used to watch the comings and goings of the house next door. He could have even been watching out for Harry Parkes also. Like a spy, or a paid lookout possibly.”

  “I would like to speak with Peter, if you don’t mind telling me where he lives.”

  “A couple roads along. Queen Elizabeth Road. You can’t miss it. That house next door is completely burned to the ground. I’d better warn you, he’s a bit of a funny bugger. If you don’t mind me asking. Why are you so keen to speak with Danny, Im curious? Has he got himself in trouble again with his big mouth? Or is he well out of his depth again with somebody?”

  “No, I don’t mind you asking Miss Locke. I am conducting a private murder investigation and Danny may have inadvertantly crossed paths with somebody who may, or may not be involved in it. I’m trying to establish the movements of a very crafty and devious killer that uses other people in their subterfuge, without them even being aware of it.”

  “You don’t think Danny could be involved in actually murdering somebody, Mister Blumer, do you? Danny’s a big baby. A silly little boy, that never grew up. He couldn’t hurt anybody though.”

  “Exactly, Miss Locke. Danny would be a perfect foil, or dupe, that could be easily manipulated by somebody who had ulterior motives, or was using him in some crafty subterfuge.”

  CHAPTER 16

  As Blumer rang the doorbell of Peter Parnell’s house, he was taking stock of the completely burned out wreck of the house next door. All that was left was the black and charred brickwork. When the fire had erupted, It must have been an inferno. The door opened and he was confronted by a overweight, bald headed man in his early sixties, who did not appear to be glad to see him. Blumer was the first to speak.

  “Good afternoon. My name is John Blumer and I would like to speak with Mister Peter Parnell, if he’s home please.”

  The man glared at him and said in a blatently rude and hostile manner, “Are you ‘old bill’? ‘cause if you are, I don’t Know nuffin’, I ain’t seen nuffin’ and I know nuffin.”

  “No, I used to be ‘old bill’, but now I’m just a private investgator, working for a client.”

  “Then what do you want with me then, if you don’t mind me askin’?”

  “Miss Carol Locke advised me to speak with you, because you had become quite friendly with the unfortunate gentleman Leonard, who lived next door, she told me.”

  The man’s manner immediately changed into a more friendly and congenial tone. “Oh Leonard, he was lovely geezer. What do you want to know about him?”

  “Miss Locke thinks that the fire that killed him may have been arson and you agree with her.”

  “Carol Locke. Poor little cow. I don’t think it was arson, it was arson. If it wasn’t, then I’m a bloody Chinaman. If there had not been an eight foot gap in our houses, my house woulda’ gone up in smoke as well. Thankfully the fire brigade managed to douse the fire, with four fire hoses going at full blast. There was no chance of get him out. It went up like a bomb.”

  “Can you tell me why you are so sure it was arson, in your own words?”

  “Yeah, sure. Two nights before the fire all the stuff that was stashed in the ground floor was moved out. I know cause’ two vans turned up to carry it off. And the next night about two in the morning, four big geezers turned up in a van and carried a heavy wooden crate out. It was so heavy that the back suspension on the van dropped by four inches. The night before the fire, I went around to have a couple of scotches with Leonard in his flat upstairs. There was a dodgy parrafin heater in the hallway, that was old and leaky. And would you believe, there was a five gallon plastic container filled with parraffin kept under the stairs. But the parrafin heater was out. The whole front room and hallway was filled with broken cardboard boxes and styrofoam.

  There were about six or seven plastic rubbish bags in the hallway, filled with styrofoam pellets. There was plastic bubble wrap everywhere. The bubble wrap was the type used for wrapping glass and porcelain. I never knew that glass and porcelain were stashed around there. All the gear that was usually stored in the house had been moved out. The front room was usually stacked up with washing machines, fridges, televisions, the lot. The place was rigged up like a bloody potential bonfire, cause’ all the packagin’ from the gear was everywhere.

  “Somebody must have torched it, because it went up like a bomb. The first thing to collapse were the wooden stairs, then the roof caved in when the rafters burned. But the whole thing stank to high heaven anyway. Leonard had a secret lady friend, called Contance, who would come and visit him sometimes. When I asked him about her, he only laughed and told me to mind my own business. He said that she was marrried and they had to keep it very discreet, because her husband would have killed the both of them, if he found out. Now get this. Three nights after the fire, I got out of bed to open my bedroom window and I see Contsance standing under a street light, loo
king at the burned out house. I put me dressing gown on to go down and speak with her, but she was gone. I’m sure it was Constance, cause’ she always dressed in expensive clothes and always had a big leather, or suede bag around her shoulder. I had not seen that little shit Danny Garcia, for about three weeks. He stopped coming around to see Leonard, soon after Leonard took up with this Constance. Leonard was good to that little rat. He picked him up by the scruff of the neck and made him treat Carol better. He used to make me laugh. He reminded me of Tommy Trinder, with his Trilby hats. And he always dressed like a right dandy, in Savile Row suits and bow ties. He was a lovely geezer and some bastard burned him alive. But I don’t know and probably will never know why.”

  Blumer went to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of Ben Truman and picked up a dimple mug from the kitchen, Then went to the living room and sat down in his armchair. From what he had learned from Carol Locke, Danny had arrived at Jaywick about two weeks after Sian Ellis had disappeared. The reason that they had left Skegness was because business was not very good, or that is what Danny had told her. But why come to a place like Jaywick; a small and isolated seaside resort. Could he be on the run from somebody and was trying to keep them off of his back? He would find out the reason the next day when Harry Parkes phoned him when he had just opened his office and sat down at his desk.

  He now knew where to find Danny Garcia and could hopefully catch him now. Unless of course he and his lady friend had to move on again. According to both Carol Locke and Peter Parnell, Leonard’s body had been burned to a husk and was literally cooked on his bed springs from the burning foam of his mattress. It was highly unlikely that Harry Parkes would have torched a property that was registered under his name. But it may have been very convenient for him that it happened. Possibly the house was being staked out by the police lieu of a raid and Leonard had warned him. And who was the mysterious Constance that Peter Parnell had spoken about. And why had Danny Garcia stopped visiting Leonard about three weeks before the fire? The whole incident stank to high heaven. The heavy wooden crate that was carried out of the house in the early hours may well have been containing gold from the heist from Heathrow airport. He thought that Leonard had almost certainly, been the reason for the fire. But why would anybody want to kill him in such a grotesque and completely over the top way.