Page 73 of Mann Hunt
There was silence on the line. Then, in the background Declan heard Palvinder talking to someone in what Declan assumed was Punjabi. He heard a shrill voice talking back. Mr Attwal’s voice grew firmer. Then quiet.
“Declan. There was one name on a document. Wait five minutes, then check your email. I’m about to have a leak of corporate information from an untrustworthy employee about someone connected to Monarch.”
“Thank you.”
“Take good care of Charlie,” Palvinder said. “And wish him a swift recovery.”
“I promise.”
Declan disconnected. In a few minutes, he received an email of two words.
Michael Taylor.
* * * *
Declan called Michael’s number and it went straight to voicemail.
He decided to play a hunch and drove as quickly as possible to Katherine Mann’s house. As Declan pulled into the drive, he saw that the lights were on.
He rang the doorbell, then hammered on the door when the ring wasn’t answered. There was an eye at the peephole, then the door opened. Katherine stood aside and let Declan in.
“I was just going to call you. The police found the car. They found Ian’s women’s clothing and makeup in the trunk. It was that Sergeant McKeckran who called. He said that Ian had put himself at risk through his degenerate activities. He thinks my husband probably got involved with a bad trick.”
Declan said, “I think the cops are on the wrong track. Now, where’s Michael?”
“Michael’s not here,” she said, a bit too loudly.
“Katherine, I know he’s working with Monarch Development. I know they’re the ones who were trying to buy Ian’s factory, which makes him a prime suspect in Ian’s murder.”
“It’s okay, Katherine,” a voice said from behind him. “It’s time to come clean.”
Declan turned around. Michael was coming down the stairs.
“He’s smarter than he looks. You were right,” Michael said to Katherine.
Declan tensed, ready to fight. Michael just walked by him and flopped down on a couch, looking exhausted.
“This has gone totally to rat shit,” Michael said.
“Someone care to explain what the fuck is going on?” Declan asked as he moved closer to Michael.
Michael sighed. “I didn’t kill him. I had nothing to do with Ian’s death. We were friends.”
Declan stood above him. “Last time I checked, friends don’t fuck their friend’s wife.”
“Michael and I aren’t lovers,” Katherine said as she entered the living room.
Declan stood in silence.
Katherine stared him down, then sat beside Michael and said, “I love Ian as much now as I did when wemarried. I believed in him and supported him in every decision he made. But I hate living in Calgary. I miss everything about my life in London, and I realised I would die if I had to stay here much longer.”
Michael put his hand on Katherine’s knee. “Katherine told me she would do anything to get Ian to sell his final property, and I was just starting out in real estate so I thought—if I found a buyer, it could make me enough to set myself up in business, and I could help Katherine out in the process.”
Declan sat in a chair across from them. “So, how did Monarch get involved?”
“I started to put out some feelers,” Michael said, “and out of the blue, I got an email from Monarch. I’d never heard of them before, but they were offering Ian a good price. They weren’t trying to rip him off.”
“Who else was involved?”
