you aware that Marsha was contemplating using what she had to blackmail you, Mr Westin?”
Colin gave them a broad smile. “That would have been a very silly thing for her to embark on, Matt.”
“ She was desperate to make serious money,” Matt said. “We have to wonder why she would have been in possession of her address book when we found her. Maybe she was going to hand it over for a bundle of cash. And just what do you mean, it would be a very silly thing for her to do?”
“I have no idea why she would carry such an item on her person, Inspector,” Colin said, letting his expression morph into one of circumspection. “You’re grasping at straws. She had not at any time given me the slightest reason to suspect that an attempt of extortion was in the offing. And she would have been out of her gourd to think that I would have handed over a bent nickel. I would have contacted the police.”
Matt was pleased to have cut through the man’s outer defences. That he had now gone from ‘Matt’ to Inspector, signified that Westin was becoming irritated.
“ But you do realise that―”
“ What I realise is, that you haven’t done your homework, Inspector. If you had, then you would know that twenty-five years ago, after I’d made my first few million dollars, my son Jay was kidnapped. He was three at the time. The bastards that did it contacted me. They wanted a million dollars for his safe return. I followed their instructions to the letter, and...and lost my son. He had been dead from day one. They had at no time intended to return him. At that moment I promised myself to never, ever try to deal personally with scum again. I now have a security set-up that is second to none. The team is headed up by an ex-assistant director of the FBI, and he only uses first-rate personnel.”
Matt was almost lost for words. Westin was right, he hadn’t dug deep enough into the man’s background. But despite what the details of the long ago kidnap were, he was still convinced that Westin was more than capable of looking out for himself, and would not have involved the police to handle Marsha, had she actually made a move on him.
“ What do you think, boss?” Pete asked as they left the building. “You believe a single word he told us?”
“ Yes. I believe that his son was kidnapped and murdered. And I also believe that a part of Westin – the good part – died a little when it happened. There is a side to him that is totally ruthless and not above carrying out any act to protect him and get anything he wants, by whatever means necessary. I think he was meeting Marsha on the pretence of paying her off. Maybe she got in his limo and maybe she didn’t. I doubt it. We can check CCTV. But if she had, then the address book and her body would never have been found.”
“ So you think he’s in the clear?”
“ Only because someone else got to her first.”
“ He needs to be looked at in depth, boss.”
“ Not by us, Pete. We have a killer to find. Whatever Westin might be guilty of, I don’t think he had a hand in Kelly’s or Marsha’s deaths.”
“ Fat cats like him put themselves above the law. They need to be made accountable.”
“ Men like Westin make their own laws. They have the clout to buy people. It’s called power. He’s got the juice to make things happen, good or bad, and doesn’t have to answer to anyone.”
“ Where does that leave us?”
“ Initially, with three pages of missing names to run down. Whoever is on video but not in the book is a priority.”
“ But you don’t reckon it will be one of them, do you?”
“ No. I think it’s unrelated; a psycho who is targeting prostitutes with red hair. He may stalk them, but doesn’t know them.”
“ Are you going to ask Beth to come on board when she gets back?”
“ Not officially. I might ask for some pointers as to his personality, but I don’t
Colin gave them a broad smile. “That would have been a very silly thing for her to embark on, Matt.”
“ She was desperate to make serious money,” Matt said. “We have to wonder why she would have been in possession of her address book when we found her. Maybe she was going to hand it over for a bundle of cash. And just what do you mean, it would be a very silly thing for her to do?”
“I have no idea why she would carry such an item on her person, Inspector,” Colin said, letting his expression morph into one of circumspection. “You’re grasping at straws. She had not at any time given me the slightest reason to suspect that an attempt of extortion was in the offing. And she would have been out of her gourd to think that I would have handed over a bent nickel. I would have contacted the police.”
Matt was pleased to have cut through the man’s outer defences. That he had now gone from ‘Matt’ to Inspector, signified that Westin was becoming irritated.
“ But you do realise that―”
“ What I realise is, that you haven’t done your homework, Inspector. If you had, then you would know that twenty-five years ago, after I’d made my first few million dollars, my son Jay was kidnapped. He was three at the time. The bastards that did it contacted me. They wanted a million dollars for his safe return. I followed their instructions to the letter, and...and lost my son. He had been dead from day one. They had at no time intended to return him. At that moment I promised myself to never, ever try to deal personally with scum again. I now have a security set-up that is second to none. The team is headed up by an ex-assistant director of the FBI, and he only uses first-rate personnel.”
Matt was almost lost for words. Westin was right, he hadn’t dug deep enough into the man’s background. But despite what the details of the long ago kidnap were, he was still convinced that Westin was more than capable of looking out for himself, and would not have involved the police to handle Marsha, had she actually made a move on him.
“ What do you think, boss?” Pete asked as they left the building. “You believe a single word he told us?”
“ Yes. I believe that his son was kidnapped and murdered. And I also believe that a part of Westin – the good part – died a little when it happened. There is a side to him that is totally ruthless and not above carrying out any act to protect him and get anything he wants, by whatever means necessary. I think he was meeting Marsha on the pretence of paying her off. Maybe she got in his limo and maybe she didn’t. I doubt it. We can check CCTV. But if she had, then the address book and her body would never have been found.”
“ So you think he’s in the clear?”
“ Only because someone else got to her first.”
“ He needs to be looked at in depth, boss.”
“ Not by us, Pete. We have a killer to find. Whatever Westin might be guilty of, I don’t think he had a hand in Kelly’s or Marsha’s deaths.”
“ Fat cats like him put themselves above the law. They need to be made accountable.”
“ Men like Westin make their own laws. They have the clout to buy people. It’s called power. He’s got the juice to make things happen, good or bad, and doesn’t have to answer to anyone.”
“ Where does that leave us?”
“ Initially, with three pages of missing names to run down. Whoever is on video but not in the book is a priority.”
“ But you don’t reckon it will be one of them, do you?”
“ No. I think it’s unrelated; a psycho who is targeting prostitutes with red hair. He may stalk them, but doesn’t know them.”
“ Are you going to ask Beth to come on board when she gets back?”
“ Not officially. I might ask for some pointers as to his personality, but I don’t
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