Robert Thorogood - Murder in the Caribbean

‘Did she give you anything new in her statement?’

‘Not really. It’s the same as she told us. Pierre turned up three days ago. Three men arrived soon after, argued with him, and left. And then, later that afternoon, one of the men returned, and Pierre left with him in his car.’

‘And he’s been in hiding ever since,’ Richard said, finishing Camille’s story.

‘Got it in one.’

‘But who were the men who met him?’ Fidel asked. ‘And which of them was the one who came back?’

‘Well, Fidel,’ Richard said, ‘I think that’s a very good question indeed.’

Richard explained how he’d just read Pierre Charpentier’s original case file, and how Pierre had been part of a four-man gang who’d robbed a Bond Street shop of over two million pounds’ worth of jewels. And how Pierre had shot a member of staff dead before he made his escape.

‘Then how did they catch him?’ Fidel asked.

‘Pierre left his fingerprints on the gun he used.’

‘He did?’ Dwayne asked, surprised. ‘That’s not too clever.’

‘Maybe he wasn’t too clever.’

‘Did they positively identify him in any other way?’ Camille asked.

‘I don’t believe so.’

‘There wasn’t any CCTV inside the store?’

‘The case notes don’t mention anything about CCTV.’

‘And he never took off his motorbike clothes, gloves or helmet at any time during the robbery?’

‘That’s right.’

‘So no-one was able to place him visually at the scene?’

‘This, I believe was very much the point Pierre’s defence brief tried to make.’

‘So the only thing that actually links Pierre to the murder is a weapon that had his fingerprints on?’

‘Not quite the only thing,’ Richard said. ‘He was from Saint-Marie, and he was in London at the time. Oh, and the man he shot dead was also from Saint-Marie. We’ll have to look into him. His name was André Morgan. But you’re right, Camille. If it was indeed Pierre Charpentier who committed murder that day, he was very foolish leaving his own gun behind at the scene. But that’s not what interests me. What interests me is, where did Conrad get his money from?’

This statement took everyone by surprise.

‘What?’ Dwayne asked.

‘Well, it was you, Dwayne, who said that despite having no real talent, Conrad "came into money" about twenty years ago. And you also said it could have been mob money that funded him. So what I’m wondering is, what if it wasn’t mob money?’

‘Do you think he was maybe one of the robbers?’ Fidel asked, his eyes widening.

‘Well, let’s look at what we know. Pierre was jailed twenty years ago. Not just for murder, but also because of his part in a four-man heist of a jewellery store in London. Even though he always denied he was involved in any way. But then, according to our witness next door to Pierre’s safe house, on the very day he got out of prison he was met by three men.’

‘Oh I see!’ Fidel said. ‘They were the other three members of the gang.’

‘That’s what I’m thinking,’ Richard said. ‘And although our witness’s sight isn’t what it might once have been, her hearing’s good enough, and she said very specifically that these three men were already arguing before they arrived, and then Pierre joined in the argument soon after. And the nub of the matter was the fact that he was demanding they hand over "his share". In fact, he kept asking, "where is my share?". Now, what do you think that could refer to?’

‘His share of the jewels!’ Fidel said.

‘Exactly. Despite his protestations of innocence, Pierre was one of the robbers that day. And I think that for the last twenty years, as he rotted in a high security prison, there was only one thing sustaining him. And that was the knowledge that all he had to do was keep quiet and the moment he left prison, he’d finally get his share of money from the heist.’

‘You really think he kept quiet all that time?’ Dwayne asked sceptically.

‘I think anyone with the right incentive would keep schtum. And two million pounds’ worth of jewels is quite the incentive. I imagine that once the rest of the gang had paid their fence and any other intermediaries to re-cut the stones, they’d maybe have cleared as much as a million pounds by the end. So, divided by four people, that’s a quarter of a million pounds each. And in Saint-Marie dollars that’s maybe as much as three to four hundred thousand dollars per gang member.’

‘Yup,’ Dwayne said, now in accord. ‘I’d keep quiet for a lot less. Especially if I was already in jail for murder.’

‘So what are we saying?’ Camille asked. ‘Was the day Pierre got out of prison the day he also found out he wasn’t going to get any of his money?’

‘That’s exactly what I think happened,’ Richard agreed. ‘His share of the cash had been spent. Or mismanaged. We don’t know. But we do know how angry Pierre was to find out that his share was missing. And this was after he’d spent twenty years believing he’d be rich when he left prison. Just imagine what it must have been like if he really did find out his share of the loot no longer existed. It would push anyone over the edge.’

‘So that’s why he killed Conrad,’ Camille said. ‘And why he then broke into Conrad’s house immediately afterwards and left that fake ruby. It was a message. Just like you said.’

‘But who was the message for?’ Dwayne asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Richard said darkly. ‘And that’s what’s worrying me.’

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