Deceit is in the Heart (P&R15) Read online

  Norton was just about to stab Richards in the back.

  Shaw shot him.

  The noise was deafening in the confined space.

  Toadstone ran into the room, even though one of the men tried to stop him, and threw himself on top of Richards.

  ‘Are you all right, Mary?’ he asked as he began untying the tie at her mouth and at her wrists.

  ‘Paul! What are you doing here?’

  ‘I came to save you.’

  ‘Well, you certainly did that.’ She burst into tears.

  He kissed her.

  And she kissed him back.

  He lifted her up in his muscular arms and carried her out of the room, but then he wondered what he was going to do with her.

  The CO19 officers found Sally Prentice still alive in the bathroom, and she was rushed to the hospital.

  Aftermath

  Thursday, September 4

  ‘Good job yesterday, Toadstone.’

  ‘Thanks, Sir.’

  ‘What’s happening with you and Richards?’

  ‘She’s coming home this weekend. I’m going to collect her on Friday night. We’ll go out for a meal on Saturday night, and then I’ll take her back on Sunday afternoon.’

  ‘Sounds like I should act as a chaperone.’

  ‘I don’t mind.’

  ‘You’re a wimp, Toadstone.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You need to man-up, that’s what I mean. Do you think that Richards wants to spend a boring weekend with you ?’

  ‘I thought . . . but she said . . . oh!’

  ‘I’m right in thinking that money is no object?’

  ‘Maybe . . .’

  ‘How far is it from Bramshill to Heathrow?’

  ‘About half an hour.’

  ‘If I was standing in your shoes, I’d book two First Class seats to Paris, the most expensive room in a hotel overlooking the Seine – not the honeymoon suite, save that for the honeymoon, but sumptuous all the same. Maybe at the Hotel Meurice and you can eat in the restaurant on Saturday night. I mean, here’s a woman who comes into your life once in a lifetime. She’s yours for the asking, and you want to take her to the local Pizza Hut for a slap-up Marguerita with a free salad bar.’

  ‘I’m beginning to get the picture, Sir.’

  ‘It’s been a long time in coming Toadstone, believe me. She asks you where you’re going, because I can tell you now that Richards is no slouch when things aren’t as they should be.’

  ‘And I say?’

  ‘You say: I’ve booked us into a double room overlooking the Seine in Paris. We’re going to make love all weekend, and I’ll eat strawberries and cream out of your navel.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Do you want to make love to her?’

  ‘You don’t mind?’

  ‘Stop asking the wrong questions all the time. It’s got nothing to do with me. Richards is a grown woman. You’re the man who loves her. The ball’s in your court to use a clichéd analogy. Once you’ve made her fall in love with you, then you can be as quirky, endearing and pathetic as you want. First though, you have to show her the real Paul Toadstone without fainting or being sick in your boots. Can you do that?’

  ‘I can do that.’

  ‘So, you arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport late, take a taxi to the hotel and book into your room. You’ve packed your pyjamas, haven’t you?’

  ‘Oh yes. I never go anywhere . . .’

  ‘You’re pathetic, Toadstone.’

  ‘Ah!’

  ‘Richards wants an international man of mystery, not a mummy’s boy dressed in pyjamas. If you take your pyjamas you may as well flush all your money down the toilet.’

  ‘She’ll see me naked.’

  ‘And you’ll see her naked. I thought you’d been working out in the gym anyway?’

  ‘I have.’

  ‘Now’s the time to reap the whirlwind.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Listen, we could spend all morning closeted away in my new office so that you can learn your lines for the weekend, but I have the Chief Constable ringing me soon. I want you to go away and write the plan out for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In there somewhere is you taking her shopping for French lingerie and a strapless dress with matching bag and shoes for the meal on Saturday night. Everybody will turn to stare at her as she walks to the dining table, and you’ll be the man she’s with. In your mind, keep in clear focus that she’s the princess and you’re the prince, and I’ll read over those plans while we’re eating lunch at the Alf’s Head this afternoon.’

  Toadstone stood up. ‘I understand, Sir.’

  ‘And one last thing.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Never – ever, tell Richards that I had a hand in all of this.’

  ‘It was all my idea.’

  ‘Damned right it was.’

  Toadstone shut the door as he left.

  Lydia rang through. ‘It’s the Chief Constable, Chief.’

  He liked the sound of ‘Chief Parish, but he was far too young and good looking to drive a desk.

  ‘Good morning, Sir.’

  ‘You have some explaining to do, Parish.’

  ‘If I hadn’t done what I did, would I be the person I am? If I’m not the person you think me to be, would I be acting up?’

  ‘I can see I’ll have to keep a close eye on you, Acting DCI Parish.’

  ‘Very kind, Sir.’

  The call ended.

  He glanced at the report Toadstone had given him concerning the analysis of the crime scene reports, the DNA profiling and database matching of Luke Norton, and the provenance of Faberge wax-seal fob. None of it mattered anymore. Norton was dead, Carrie and her two children, and the other women and their children had been avenged. Justice had been served. Richards had been saved. He was acting up for three months. He was taking Doc Riley out for lunch tomorrow. His life was back on track again. He had a beautiful wife and three beautiful children – life was rosy.

  What could possibly go wrong now?

  ***

  Tuesday September 30

  Julian passed her the envelope containing the Private Investigator’s report and sat down at the table under the parasol.

  ‘It’s hot today. Pour yourself an orange and lime.’

  ‘Thank you.’ He did as she suggested and took a long swallow.

  ‘Have you read the report?’ she asked him.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And your father?’

  ‘No – no one else has seen it.’

  The corner of her perfect mouth creased upwards. ‘I might have to kill you, you know.’

  ‘It is to be expected.’

  ‘You needn’t sound so happy about it.’

  ‘A difficult month, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Nothing to do with me, I hope?’

  ‘My father is ailing, but you need not be concerned.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that, Julian. I like your father.’

  ‘Yes.’

  She opened the A4 envelope, slipped out the folded papers, emptied the photographs onto her naked stomach and began reading the report:

  To: Rechtsanwälte, Urban & Reus

  From: Jochen Meisner. Owner: A1 Detectiv Agency

  Hirschbuamweg 21, 63876 Groß-Zimmern

  Telephone – 0073 8091 578820

  FAX – 0073 8091 578821

  [email protected]

  http://www.A1detektiv.de

  Friday, September 26

  Dear Sirs,

  On 27 January 1945 the Schutzstaffel (SS) abandoned Auschwitz. Before he left, SS Hauptsturmführer Josef Mengele organised the transportation of five samples of his own sperm to England.

  Mengele, and his assistant – Dr Herbert Kühl – were transferred to Gross Rosen camp. They weren’t there for long, because they didn’t want to be taken prisoner by the Soviets. During their journey, they became separated. Mengele was eventually captured by the Americans and then released before he escape
d to Argentina. Kühl, on the other hand, was captured by the British, and volunteered his services as a genetic researcher. The British agreed, and also permitted him to take his family to England. Kühl then headed up a top secret facility carrying out genetic experiments in Feltham, southwest London, which is called the Defence Geospatial Intelligence Fusion Centre (DGIFC). During his tenure, and as part of the plan, Kühl obtained the five samples of Mengele’s sperm. Kühl died in 1956 at the age of 71.

  Kühl was succeeded by his assistant – Dr Orvil Lorenz – who oversaw the Epsilon experiments at St Winifred’s maternity wing in Epping, England between 1979 and 1985. Shortly afterwards Lorenz died, and his position was filled by Dr Ruth Völker – Kühl’s grand-daughter.

  Dr Lorenz was investigating the two sides of human nature – good and evil in an attempt to create the perfect soldier. He was experimenting on one of the monozygotic twins, and using the other as a control. (Note that monozygotic twins are identical and formed from a single fertilised egg that splits into two, which means that there are either two males or two females. However, two of the twin pairs are male-female, which suggests that a Y (XY) sex chromosome (male) was replaced with an X (XX) chromosome (female) to change the gender of one of the twins, so that he could experiment not just on male-male and female-female twins, but male-female twins also). His experiments involved altering their genotype, which is the inherited instructions it carries within its genetic code, with the intention of changing a phenotype – their observed characteristics or traits. In this case, what makes people good or evil. Five sets of twins were used:

  E1: Gabriella/Gideon ?

  E2: Rufus/Roscoe Jameison

  E3: Mary/Molly ?

  E4: Sebastian/Simeon ?

  E5: Zara/Zachary ?

  None of the twins had parents in the true sense of the word. The biological father, of course, was Josef Mengele, but the women were merely vessels for the twins We have discovered that the woman who gave birth to Zara and Zachary on May 2, 1983 was called Maisie Elliott, but she is now dead. The first four experiments failed. In what way they failed is not known.

  It is our understanding that the Epsilon 5 experiment was successful. We do know that Zachary is probably Detective Inspector Jed Parish, who works on the Murder Investigation Team (MIT) at Hoddesdon in Essex (currently acting as the DCI due to injury of the incumbent). He is married to a woman called Angela (previous married name was Richards née Applegate), and has two young children called Jack and Melody. Melody has a different mother who is now dead. He has also adopted the grown-up daughter of his wife – Mary Richards, and she also works as a detective and is his partner. She is currently on secondment at the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) in Bramshill in Hertfordshire until January of next year.

  Jed Parish has carried out his own investigation of his birth, and is in possession of four of the five British Secret Service Top Secret Epsilon files. We found no copies of the Epsilon 5 file still in existence.

  It is also understood that an SS file came into Parish’s possession, which contained an unbroken enciphered four rotor Enigma M4 message. He acquired the assistance of a German translator called Günter Kappel, who used distributed computing and two people from the M4 project (which is a project to break original unbroken Enigma M4 messages) – Steven Davies and Sandra Hegarty – to decode the document, which they discovered refers to the transportation of five samples of sperm belonging to Josef Mengele to England.

  Zara – we believe – is Zara Roche. Israel Voss was a friend of both Dr Herbert Kühl and Dr Orvil Lorenz. We believe – although cannot prove – that Voss acted as a means of communication between Kühl/Lorenz and Mengele until his death by drowning in 1979. When the Epsilon experiments came to an end Dr Lorenz needed a place to hide his one success. As such, Israel Voss adopted Zara Roche on August 6, 1983.

  Both twins had locator chips surgically implanted in their ankles – Zara in the left ankle, and Zachary in the right ankle. Without the frequency of these chips, it would be difficult to activate and locate the twins, but our investigative work continues.

  She glanced down to the tiny scar on her left ankle. She’d noticed it many years ago, but thought it to be a childhood injury. Was there really a chip beneath the skin? She would have to get it removed.

  ‘I hope the report meets with your approval?’ Julian asked.

  ‘It does.’

  ‘Do you wish Mr Meisner to continue with his investigations?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. Thank him for his diligence and pay him a generous bonus.’ She would arrange his demise and the burning of his offices in the not-too-distant future.

  ‘As you wish.’

  ‘Did you make any copies of this report?’

  ‘One for our files only.’

  ‘Which are covered by the legal confidentiality laws.’

  ‘Yes.’

  She lay back on the sun longer and picked up the seven photographs.

  Now what?

  She had a twin brother.

  He was her mirror image. They had the same binary, eidetic and genetic code. They had lain together, like yin and yang, in the womb – touching. Good and evil, light and dark, day and night. They were identical twins. She didn’t think he particularly looked like her, but from a certain angle there was a slight resemblance she supposed.

  So, she was the daughter of Josef Mengele. A shadow of a smile crossed her lips. What would people pay for that information? What would people do to get their hands on the report she’d just read?

  She would have to give some thought to what her next move should be. One thing was for certain though – God separated light from darkness on the First Day, and the battle between good and evil has raged ever since.

  ####

  About the Author

  Tim Ellis was born in the bowels of Hammersmith Hospital, London, on a dark and stormy night, and now lives in Cheshire with his wife and three Shitzus. In-between, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at eighteen and completed twenty-two years service, leaving in 1993 having achieved the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 (Regimental Sergeant Major). Since then, he settled in Essex, and worked in secondary education as a senior financial manager, in higher education as an associate lecturer/tutor at Lincoln and Anglia Ruskin Universities, and as a consultant for the National College of School Leadership. His final job, before retiring to write fiction full time in 2009, was as Head and teacher of Behavioural Sciences (Psychology/Sociology) in a secondary school. He has a PhD and an MBA in Educational Management, and an MA in Education.

  Discover other titles by Tim Ellis at http://timellis.weebly.com/

  Also, come and say hello on his FB Fanpage:

  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tim-Ellis/160147187372482

  ####

  Genghis Khan

  Warrior: Path of Destiny

  Warrior: Scourge of the Steppe

  The Knowledge of Time

  Second Civilisation

  Orc Quest

  Book I: Prophecy

  Harte & KP

  Solomon’s Key

  Parish & Richards

  A Life for a Life

  The Wages of Sin

  The Flesh is Weak

  The Shadow of Death

  His Wrath is Come

  The Breath of Life

  The Dead Know Not

  Be Not Afraid

  The House of Mourning

  Through a Glass Darkly

  A Lamb to the Slaughter

  Silent in the Grave

  In the Twinkling of an Eye

  A Time to Kill

  Deceit is in the Heart

  Quigg

  The Twelve Murders of Christmas

  Body 13

  The Graves at Angel Brook

  The Skulls Beneath Eternity Wharf

  The Terror at Grisly Park

  The Haunting of Bleeding Heart Yard

  The Enigma of Apocalypse Heights (Novella)

  Tom Gabriel
/>   Footprints of the Dead

  Whispers of the Dead

  Stone & Randall

  Jacob’s Ladder

  The Gordian Knot

  Josiah Dark

  Dark Christmas (Novella)

  Inigo & Tig

  As You Sow, So Shall You Reap (Novella)

  Cyrus Kane

  An Ill Wind (Novella)

  Collected Short Stories/Poetry/Anthologies/Non-fiction

  Untended Treasures

  Where do you want to go today?

  Winter of my Heart (Poetry)

  With Love Project – The Occupier

  The Killing Sands (Anthology)

  Raga Man (Short Story)

  The Writer’s A-Z of Body Language (Non-fiction)

  Summer of my Soul (Poetry)

  Also planned for 2015/2016:

  Mortis Obscura: Scavenger of Souls (Farthing & Trask 1)