The Late Greats by Nick Quantrill Page A

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.
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    I returned to the office feeling frustrated. There was something on Tasker’s mind before his death, but I had no way of knowing what it was. I’d thought Sarah was due to be here, but I was losing track of her movements. She’d left a message to tell me Kane Major had sent someone up from London to deal with his affairs. The man wanted to speak to me. Looking at my watch, he would be visiting in thirty minutes time. Obviously, he was under the impression I was available at his convenience.
    I picked up the day’s post and walked over to the telephone. No sign of Don and no new messages. I put the post on Sarah’s desk and sat down. Going back to basics was the approach I should take. I wrote down what I knew and tried to make connections between people and events. The process didn’t clarify my thoughts. Rusting was the best lead, but he hadn’t been much help. I left