Tropical Passion Killer (No-one said it would be easy. Book 1) Read online

  His base, the Newcastle Major Crime Squad was the most enjoyable work he'd done. He is one of two Sergeants in the squad and although there is no rank structure when they worked together, he was Acting Detective Inspector in name only when the role was required, but without the title due to the financial restrictions and loss of numbers in the force.

  The squad worked against serious crime and the eventual arrest and conviction of major criminals, using the organised methods of investigation. They'd worked on several prolonged high-profile enquiries and they all enjoyed getting the result together, as a team. Steve was a team player, he enjoyed the squad but didn’t suffer fools gladly and senior officers had identified him as "one to get the job done".

  He was born and raised in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, otherwise known as "The Town", and although he still hadn't married, did have female friends he socialised with. An attractive man with masculine strong features and at just over 1.85m tall he cut a rugged and sporty figure with green eyes and short dark hair. He believed in the ethos of "work hard, play hard" and was known by colleagues as “James” or “Jimmy”.

  He was reading the occurrence log for the previous night at his desk in the long narrow squad room, which was in a building on the West Road in the City.

  Sitting in his office at the end of the squad room was Colin Tinkler, the Detective Superintendent in the City, his back towards the window which overlooked the west arterial road and the hospital. He was well educated and now in his late forties. A tall, slim, good looking man with an envied rapport with his officers. He'd done it and got the “T” shirt. He'd chosen the promotion route, however he kept in touch with all his officers and enjoyed being close to any action, even if it was just decision making.

  It was a typical non descript office, devoid of any human touch other than a few photographs adorning the walls, showing courses attended and conviction celebrations on the Quayside. There were four chairs and three green filing cabinets that were full of case files, authority papers and the officers' personal records and reviews. The walls were a lime green colour, contrasting the darker green cabinets.

  ◆◆◆

  It is 08:42

  “James”

  “Yes Boss” as he walked along the green linoleum floor to the boss’s office.

  “Shut the door, take a pew. You ok?”

  “Yes Boss, what’s up?”

  “Whats app actually. A WhatsApp message needs investigating.”

  “Yes Boss, no problem” taking a seat opposite the boss.

  “The Lopez family live in Gosforth, they moved from Mexico over 20 years ago. Manuel has a business and is a lecturer at the University, Angelina, his wife was working at the Hospital as a consultant before retiring. They have a son or should I say had a son Filipe, who is, was 25. Last night, they received a WhatsApp message from their son’s phone with an attached recording of Filipe being murdered. Allegedly. It shows Filipe having sex with a young lady before she stabbed him through his heart, then cleanly sliced his dick off. Professional, no doubt. Ok?”

  “Yes Boss.”

  “The recording has been examined and there's no facial appearances by the woman in question or identifying marks. She does look like a Latino lady by the colour of her skin.” Tinkler paused a while to let it sink in.

  He continued, “There have been no other messages. So far?”

  “Yes Boss.”

  “It obviously looks like Filipe has been murdered, but I don’t know where, not in the Town though, when, why or by whom. We don't have a body. We don't have a motive. We don't have a weapon but know clearly what was used, a commando type killing knife. All we have is a WhatsApp recording.”

  “Yes Boss.”

  “I’m not putting resources on this until we have a couple more of the W's sorted. I want you to liaise with the family, get as much information as you can about them, their history, Filipe and his travel plans. I’ve arranged for a copy of the video to be made available to you and you only, for your eyes only, get it?”

  “Aye Boss” Steve said raising his eyebrows.

  “Go and chat to them, they're a decent family, use your usual charm. Keep me in touch.”

  “OK, boss.”

  Steve walked to the IT forensics office on the top floor, a sanitised white place with more large screen televisions than Curry’s, (a high street retailer). After being allowed through the double locked doors into the secure room he met Walter, the senior technician. He was wearing a white coat and the name badge to prove it! Why he had to wear a badge was a mystery, everyone knew Walter.

  He was in his mid-forties, long wavy hair to the shoulders. He liked ladies, booze, hard rock music and of course Newcastle United football club, known locally as The Toon. He was a great lad to socialise with and very good at what he did. Not your typical techy.

  “Hi Jimmy. I’ve got the recording ready for you. I’ve obviously seen it but no one else has. Do you want to look at it here?”

  “Might as well Walter, in the private viewing room?”

  The large screen lit up and Walter played the recording.

  Steve and Walter watched intently and never spoke during the entire recording.

  Steve shook his head,” Nasty, very nasty. It looks very well planned and professional. Definitely a hit I'd say. He must have upset her or someone quite a bit. Can you do anything about the clarity?”

  “I’m trying but I doubt it, it’s dark you know.”

  “No good Walter, what about background stuff, anything there?”

  “There’s a bottle of water on top of some drawers at the end of the bed, but I doubt you would see that with what was going on.”

  “Alright, how many times did you watch before you saw the bottle?”

  “Never mind," Walter said, "it’s not good but I’m trying to enhance the image. The more you watch the more you see.”

  “Let me know asap what you get.”

  “Did you have to say that? No. See you later Jimmy.”

  ◆◆◆

  Steve stood in front of a large detached, ivy clad Victorian house. It was surrounded by large metal fencing and hidden by a thick hedge which was peeping through it. A large weeping willow and an apple tree sat in the garden. In front of double garage doors was a red Mercedes S650 sports car. The door to the house was wooden with a single wide opening and ornate black metal fixings.

  He rang the bell and could hear footsteps approaching from inside, a wooden floor he thought.

  The door was opened by a man with Hispanic skin reddened around the eyes from tears and tiredness. He had dark greying hair which wasn't brushed, at 1.75m tall and slightly overweight, he was wearing a dark brown woollen jumper and khaki slacks.

  Steve showed his Police ID card and introduced himself, “Mr Lopez I’m detective Steve Bond from Newcastle Major Crime Squad. Can I come in please?”

  “Yes, come in officer” with a hint of a Spanish accent. “We were told to expect you, please, this way, we are in the drawing room."

  He walked across the wide hallway into the drawing room at the rear of the ground floor overlooking the expertly manicured rear gardens. Mrs. Lopez was looking out of the open French doors.

  “Angelina, this is officer Steve Bond.”

  She turned slowly and Steve saw an attractive woman with dark wavy hair. About 1.70m tall, athletic, same skin colour as her husband and looking very tired. He guessed she would be about 50.

  She didn’t speak but walked to a large soft chair and sat down slowly.

  “I totally understand that this is not easy for you both, but I do need to ask some questions.”

  Manuel nodded “Yes Officer.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to Filipe or received a text, email?"

  "It was on Sunday 8th May. A phone call, we both spoke to him, Angelina more than me."

  “Did he say where he was, or what his plans were?”

  “He was very happy. He was in Panama.”

  “Did h
e say where in Panama?”

  “I don’t remember the name but at the end of the canal. He had travelled the canal on a boat from the Pacific.”

  "Was he travelling with anyone?”

  “He was with Josh but they were going to split up. Josh was going to the US and then New Zealand to meet his family when they finished Central America.”

  “Was Josh with Filipe at the end of the canal?”

  “He didn’t mention Josh to me, did he speak about Josh to you Angelina?”

  Angelina shook her head.

  “Do you have contact details for Josh?”

  “They’re in a book in the desk.”

  “Did Filipe say what his plans were, where he was going?”

  “He did say he was leaving the town the following day, it wasn’t the best of towns and he was heading to Colombia and Venezuela, some beach resorts.”

  “Anyone specific?”

  “No, he just said he was having a fantastic experience, loving the Americas, the food, drink, everything, people huh. The last thing he said was that he loved us both, hasta luego.”

  “Is Josh from up here?”

  “No. Cheshire they were friends at Newcastle University."

  “Could I have the contact details for Josh please? I’m sorry, but can I have a look in Filipe’s room? I'll have to speak to you again so if you can remember anything that might help, if Filipe had any places he wanted to visit or had been to before.”

  Manuel took the contacts book from the desk in the hallway and wrote down the details for Josh, handing them to Steve. He took Steve upstairs and into the room used by Filipe, leaving him alone while he returned to Angelina.

  Filipe’s room was large, a suite almost, with a black leather sofa and two chairs, a large screen TV and a desk with an "Apple" computer. A door led into a large bedroom with a king-size bed which was made and had not been slept in, with floor to ceiling wardrobes the length of the wall. There was another large screen TV on the wall facing the bed. Another door led into the modern en-suite.

  Steve used his mobile phone, “Walter it's Steve, eh, yeah Jimmy. I need you to come to the Lopez house now and collect some computer equipment. How long? Ok quick as you can. Any joy on the bottle? I know, I know you did say. Cheers.”

  He began a systematic search of the drawers. The desk was clean and everything in its place. Top right drawer revealed an atlas, traveller’s guide to Mexico and a note book. “Good start let’s have a look.”

  Opening the book Steve looked at an itinerary.

  Newcastle to Barcelona - flight

  Barcelona to Mexico City - flight

  Acapulco

  Yucatan

  Belize City - flight to San Jose?

  San Jose - flight to Panama City?

  Canal trip

  Cartagena

  Aruba

  Caracas

  Angel Falls

  Lima

  Machu pichu

  Rio

  Buenos Aires

  NZ

  He kept looking through the drawers, contact books, reference books. He heard the door bell and a short time later Walter walked into the room.

  “Have you got plenty of bags?” He got the look from Walter, “Sorry I asked.”

  “I need a couple to take these books.”

  He packed up the books then spoke to Mr Lopez for twenty minutes obtaining the family history. He left to head for the office with Walter staying behind to do what Walter does.

  On his return to the squad office, Steve went to the Detective Superintendent’s office, there was a grey door sign which was always on open under the title and open it was. Steve gave a polite knock and walked in.

  “You free Boss?”

  “Yes, come in and shut the door, coffee?” Steve nodded.

  The boss shouted through to the squad room for the coffees.

  “Yes Boss” was the loud reply.

  “What have you got?”

  “Briefly, the Lopez family came here in 1988 from Mexico. They'd met in University in Mexico City. Angelina Lopez was studying Medicine and he was in electronics. They were into political debates, that’s how they met. After graduating she started working in the NHS in Newcastle and he initially took a further engineering degree in Newcastle. He later started his electronic business and lectured at the Uni. They say they have no criminal records or no known dealings with any criminal families in México or the Americas. They have family in Spain and USA but none in Latin America. Again, no known criminal connections, no problems anywhere that they know of. Filipe was born in the Town in1992. No other siblings, he went to the RGS (Royal Grammar School) and then on to University here, he didn’t want to leave the Town, loved the place apparently. He was going to join his father’s business when he returned from this trip. He had local friends both male and female but nothing serious, loved having fun in the "Town" and enjoyed all sports, mostly watching The Toon."

  “So far so good. Go on.”

  “He'd planned this trip but didn’t have any booked flights other than the initial flights from the Town to Barcelona and then on to Mexico City. He had a lad called Josh Newton travelling with him, who was a friend from University.”

  “Right, stop there. Who is Josh, where is he, he could be involved, in danger or dead?”

  “I have a contact number but I wanted to go through you, which way you want to pursue the enquiry. I have a mobile and a home number where his parents live. I could get Walter to do a trace to see if the mobile is still active?”

  “Have the Lopez’s been in touch with the parents of Josh?”

  “No, and I’ve told them not to.”

  There's a knock on the door and Andy brings in two mugs of coffee.

  Andy is the other sergeant in the team, a fit guy, he runs marathons and fell runs. Quite solitary but has a brain that retains everything and can often link evidence together without the use of a computer. He does like a pint of real ale or Guinness when out with the group though but won’t get involved in the partying. He's married but no kids.

  “Sit down Andy. We’ve got a new job on. James will get you up to speed. You’re running the office, keep it tight, just our crew. There may well be some travel involved, we've a limited budget but if there's any problems see me. I want daily briefs and any significant issues I want to know immediately ok? James is the lead. Get Sarah to do the research end of things, Billy, Alan and Lauren for the enquiry team at the minute. Everyone here in an hour for a brief ok.”

  Andy gets up to leave “Yes boss on it now.”

  “James, I want one of Walter’s team on the phone enquiries now, paper work can be done by Andy later. Give him everything you've got. When was the last time the Lopez’s know Filipe was with Josh?”

  “Apparently Filipe didn’t keep in regular contact with his parents but the last occasion was in Panama City, there was a photo of them both at a quayside with a canal cruiser in the background. He'd planned to take a cruise along the canal.”

  “As a matter of urgency, we need background checks on Josh and his family, we need the correct info before we approach the Newton’s. Off you go, I’m off to HQ to try and get some funding. Keep in touch.”

  An hour later, Steve started to brief the team with all the information they have to date. All of them have experience of dealing with different enquiries and all trust and work well with each other. An excellent team of contrasting characters, he thought.

  Andy had already set up the data programme and intelligence data for the Operation. Sarah knows how to trawl for anything and had already completed the family research into the Newton's. Nothing to show after criminal checks on all the family who live in Alderley Edge in Chehire. Sarah isn't a police officer and at 32 lives life to the full. Gym, restaurants, holidays with the girls, likes the guys but still single.

  Billy and Alan on the other hand are Police Officers and joined the squad the same day and have been inseparable since. They’re from south of the river and travel i
n together. If anyone is going to cause a problem, it'll be one of these guys. Great workers but they prefer knocking down doors and lifting collars to sifting through documents and CCTV recordings. Give them a job and it'll get done! They've been given the arduous task of examining the books from Filipe's room!

  Lauren is to accompany Steve to Cheshire to visit the Newton’s. She's the same age as Steve and has been through a bitter divorce. She did keep the house in Whickham though and is happily single. Her ex was a copper and left her for another cop in the national training school down south and although she is still wary of close relationships, enjoys being with the lads. Attractive, slim with blue eyes and natural shoulder length fair hair, she has the Midas touch when extracting information, especially from guys.

  The squad headed off to the IT forensics viewing room, sitting in front of the large screen with note pad and pen ready, they watch the recording four times!

  Steve felt the mobile phone in his pocket vibrate and left for afew minutes to take the call.

  “That was the boss, he's got funding so the job is on but we have to keep it tight. We need the phone records done urgently. Sarah can you chase it up with Walter's team and get Filipe’s and Josh’s done, the last one to Filipe’s may well have been our murderous lady. Also, everything on Josh, is he still active and where is he?”

  “Lauren pick your bag up we’re off to Cheshire in the next twenty minutes. Lads just work through the books, anything at all give it to Sarah. Everything into the info pot and keep Andy in the loop.

  Andy you keep in touch with me and the boss, any issues straight to him.”

  “Oh Sarah, Filipe was supposed to be in a port at the Atlantic end of the canal cruise on Sunday 7th May. Also bank checks for payments for hotels or spending in the port, boat, whatever, you know what to do.”

  “Will do Jimmy. Enjoy your trip.” Sarah gave Steve a wink.

  Chapter 3

  Sunday 8th May

  It was a bright sunny day in Panama City, it was only 06:30 but was already 24 degrees. The taxi stopped at The Flamenco Marina adjacent to the small, three-deck canal cruise ship ‘Reina del Canal’. The crew were busy preparing to accept passengers on board and had just lowered the blue and white striped canvas upper deck shades.