An unlikely story, but somehow it left me thinking, not for the first time, that some parts of this case will forever be shrouded in mystery. Sadly, that’s often the way it goes. Endings in the real world are never usually neat.
One interesting little question that was answered, though, was how Murk had got into the building where he’d murdered O’Brien. We’d assumed that Kitty MacNamara had let him in, but the truth, or the most likely version of it anyway, turned out to be far more interesting. Apparently, he’d had a brief affair in the weeks leading up to the shooting with the married woman living in one of the ground-floor flats. She’d been away on holiday with her husband and young son while the investigation had been going on, but on returning had heard about what had happened, seen Murk’s photograph, and approached us discreetly to say that she thought he might have copied her key and used it to gain entrance. The affair, she’d said, had been ended abruptly by him a week before the killings, and she’d been so nervous that he might break in during her absence that she’d left her jewellery in the hands of her mother. Whatever else you said about Murk, he’d been professional to the end.
During the course of this tale, more than one person has alluded to the cunning of Mr Stegs Jenner and whether or not what he was telling us was true (and most of us thought it was far too coincidental to be the truth), but he was sticking to his version of events and, as a result, he was eventually released from police custody without charge. Since then, his wife has sued for divorce, and the last I heard he was dividing his time between London and Spain.
Neil Vamen suffered badly as a result of his attempt to tip the scales of justice in his favour. The Law Society began an investigation into claims that his solicitor, Melvyn Carroll, was acting as his mouthpiece and had had a part in setting up the safe-house attack on Merriweather, and the investigation is still going on. Merriweather himself was moved to another safe house, reputed to be within the British naval base in Gibraltar, where he is guarded round the clock by armed marines and where the chances of anything happening to him range from somewhere between slim and none, but veering towards the latter. As for Vamen himself, such was the public outcry at news that a supposed crime lord could strike so blatantly at those ranged against him that the prime minister himself made a statement claiming that such lawlessness could not, and would not, be tolerated. He sounded like he meant it as well.
Vamen’s trial has been put back yet again and he faces new charges as a result of the testimony of twenty-one-year-old Francis Taylor, the only survivor of the three-man assassination team. It’s believed that Taylor is going to implicate Melvyn Carroll and Vamen directly. Perhaps this time Vamen might finally get the comeuppance he so richly deserves.
Tina recovered from her injuries quickly and was out of hospital within the week, and back at work within the month. Two weeks after that, we went on safari to Kenya, spending five days in the Masai Mara before flying on to Mahe in the Seychelles where we stayed for another week, soaking up the equatorial sunshine in surroundings that seemed to melt away all the stress and pressures of the daily grind. I even got to take my advanced diving course. The whole trip broke the bank, of course, and for a long time afterwards we were both paying off the debts accrued, but it was worth it. Sometimes you’ve just got to let go.
In late July, a few weeks after we’d got back from the trip, the two of us (now officially an item at the station) went for a barbecue at the Malik household on a fine, sunny Sunday. Malik’s two daughters were eight and five, and Tina played with them like a natural. I even got the idea that she might be getting broody, and funnily enough, it wasn’t such a bad thought. An expensive one, perhaps, but not a bad one. We toasted our combined successes on the O’Brien case, and the fact that we were all still here to talk about it, and in the evening, when the kids had gone to bed, Malik raised his glass, and said, ‘To the future.’ Tina and I, and Malik’s wife Kaz, repeated the toast, and I remember that, at that precise moment, I was the happiest I’d been in a long, long time.
To the future. When we left that night, I felt a renewed sense of optimism. Which was ironic really, because I’d never see Asif Malik alive again.
But that’s another story. For this one at least, the book was closed.
Afterwards, part two
The sea front at the resort of Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol is filled with English pubs, and restaurants that offer all-day full English breakfasts. If you want Spanish culture, or even Spanish people, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you want to blend into a crowd of fellow pasty Englishmen, then it’s definitely the right one.
Stegs Jenner took a seat at one of the tables outside a particularly shabby-looking English-style pub, an establishment he remembered being there and with roughly the same decor, including the tattered San Miguel canopy, when he’d come to Fuengirola on his first lads’ holiday in 1990. Other than him, the seating area was empty, which was one of the reasons he’d chosen the place. The food there was apparently renowned for being appalling.
A waiter covered in tattoos who looked like he’d just got out of Wormwood Scrubs, and probably had done, came over with his pen and paper.
‘Two pints of San Miguel,’ Stegs told him from behind his sunglasses, and the waiter skulked off again, without writing it down.
A minute later, Nicholas Tyndall slipped under the canopy, looking very suave indeed in a canary-yellow short-sleeved shirt and linen trousers, and took a seat opposite Stegs. He was carrying a black Adidas sports bag, which he placed on the seat between them.
Tyndall smiled, showing gleaming white teeth. ‘Lovely day for it again,’ he said, relaxing in his seat. Stegs noticed that he was wearing Armani sunglasses. Very nice. You had to give Tyndall top marks for style.
‘Always is down here,’ said Stegs.
‘You need a suntan, my man. You look too. . English.’
Stegs smiled back. ‘I’ve ordered you a pint of San Miguel. Hope you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all. It’s the only drink to drink down here.’
‘To be honest, I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought one of your minions would have delivered the goods.’
The beers arrived, and Stegs went for his wallet. Tyndall, however, put a hand up to stop him, and swiftly produced a twenty-euro note that he gave to the waiter. ‘Keep the change.’
The waiter grinned. ‘Cheers, mate. Just shout when you want another.’
‘I wanted to thank you personally,’ Tyndall said when he’d gone. ‘You’ve done a lot for me these past few months, and I appreciate it.’
‘That’s what the money’s for.’
‘Yeah, but let’s just say you went above and beyond the call of duty. You risked your neck on that hotel thing, and I don’t forget a thing like that. Know what I mean?’
‘It’s nice to be appreciated. Thanks.’
‘No, thank you. Your efforts have put two of my biggest rivals out of business. Vamen’s not going to be out now until he’s pushing a hundred, and that headcase Strangleman’s well out of my hair. You’ve done well. There’s even a little bonus in there for you.’
‘You’re too kind.’
‘I hope we can work together in the future.’