to
pick them up again.’
‘So, we can’t categorically rule him out,’ said Bowie, ‘but what would be his motive?’
‘He has a five per cent share in Paradise Villas,’ answered Carter with a half-shrug. ‘It’s not likely, but this could all have been about him wanting a bigger slice or a
disagreement about the way the business was going. He seemed to be really sacred of the knock-on effect with clients if they are put off by the nature of Eddie’s death.’
‘I can understand that, even allowing for the type of clients Eddie had, they’re going to wonder what kind of person gets killed like this. They’re going to wonder whose toes
he trod on. If Manson is in the frame then we need to ask ourselves what his plan would be,’ Bowie said from behind his desk. ‘What would he gain from killing his business
partner?’
‘It could be he gains nothing, but he is covering up some wrongdoing that could hurt his business. What if Eddie had started to go in a direction Manson didn’t approve of?’
‘What did you think of him when you met him?’ asked Bowie.
Carter answered, ‘Not my type. Public school gone wrong. Probably carried the hopes and aspirations of pushy middle-class parents who sent him to a low-quality, fee-paying school and he
didn’t make the grade, even then. He came out only good at working with his hands and they couldn’t afford or didn’t have the contacts to find him a job on the old boys’
network. So Manson ends up making bespoke kitchens for a living, not a bad job by anybody’s standards, but he still hankers after this rich lifestyle. He still feels like he just isn’t
good enough. That’s what Eddie saw in him when he met him. He saw a well-spoken, well-dressed carpenter, who might be perfect in his business. But, fifteen years down the line, did it all go
wrong?’
Willis was staring at Carter with an astounded expression on her face.
‘What?’ asked Carter. ‘Do you think you’re the only one with an insight into people’s characters?’ He grinned at her. ‘So, I’d like to delve
deeper into the life of Billy Manson.’
‘Up to you, but we don’t have time to waste resources,’ said Bowie. ‘What did you find there at the Paradise Villas warehouse?’
‘There had definitely been some activity there in the last two weeks,’ Willis said. ‘I took some more samples.’
‘What is going on there?’ asked Bowie. ‘What do they do there?’
‘The Paddocks is not that big a business park. There are about twelve units,’ answered Willis. ‘Paradise Villas occupies one of the biggest. It has a warehouse facility, an
office and a workshop. What you’d expect in an industrial unit.’
‘The other units on the site are a mix: printers, teak furniture importer, nothing of particular interest,’ said Carter. ‘It has twenty-four-hour security round the
site.’
‘What’s being made in the workshop?’ asked Bowie.
Carter looked at Willis to answer.
‘Not a lot, so far as we can see,’ she replied, ‘and, according to Manson, they buy everything in and it gets collected together to ship in the same container out to a job.
When we went there, there were just boxes containing marble fireplaces, pretty average-looking.’
‘They farm the work out,’ added Carter. ‘I suppose they have a tried and tested formula and just tweak it for individual requests. Robbo, did you check out any more information
on the villas they’re working on right now?’
‘One he’s building, the other doing alterations – that’s something he seems to offer – an after-service. The alteration is for a timeshare magnate who’s been
inside once for cheating customers. His name is Peter Tully and he has links to the criminal fraternity here and in Europe. He’s one I think we should go and talk to. The new villa is still
in its foundations stage – the owner is a football manager. We’re talking to him at the moment. He seems to be above
pick them up again.’
‘So, we can’t categorically rule him out,’ said Bowie, ‘but what would be his motive?’
‘He has a five per cent share in Paradise Villas,’ answered Carter with a half-shrug. ‘It’s not likely, but this could all have been about him wanting a bigger slice or a
disagreement about the way the business was going. He seemed to be really sacred of the knock-on effect with clients if they are put off by the nature of Eddie’s death.’
‘I can understand that, even allowing for the type of clients Eddie had, they’re going to wonder what kind of person gets killed like this. They’re going to wonder whose toes
he trod on. If Manson is in the frame then we need to ask ourselves what his plan would be,’ Bowie said from behind his desk. ‘What would he gain from killing his business
partner?’
‘It could be he gains nothing, but he is covering up some wrongdoing that could hurt his business. What if Eddie had started to go in a direction Manson didn’t approve of?’
‘What did you think of him when you met him?’ asked Bowie.
Carter answered, ‘Not my type. Public school gone wrong. Probably carried the hopes and aspirations of pushy middle-class parents who sent him to a low-quality, fee-paying school and he
didn’t make the grade, even then. He came out only good at working with his hands and they couldn’t afford or didn’t have the contacts to find him a job on the old boys’
network. So Manson ends up making bespoke kitchens for a living, not a bad job by anybody’s standards, but he still hankers after this rich lifestyle. He still feels like he just isn’t
good enough. That’s what Eddie saw in him when he met him. He saw a well-spoken, well-dressed carpenter, who might be perfect in his business. But, fifteen years down the line, did it all go
wrong?’
Willis was staring at Carter with an astounded expression on her face.
‘What?’ asked Carter. ‘Do you think you’re the only one with an insight into people’s characters?’ He grinned at her. ‘So, I’d like to delve
deeper into the life of Billy Manson.’
‘Up to you, but we don’t have time to waste resources,’ said Bowie. ‘What did you find there at the Paradise Villas warehouse?’
‘There had definitely been some activity there in the last two weeks,’ Willis said. ‘I took some more samples.’
‘What is going on there?’ asked Bowie. ‘What do they do there?’
‘The Paddocks is not that big a business park. There are about twelve units,’ answered Willis. ‘Paradise Villas occupies one of the biggest. It has a warehouse facility, an
office and a workshop. What you’d expect in an industrial unit.’
‘The other units on the site are a mix: printers, teak furniture importer, nothing of particular interest,’ said Carter. ‘It has twenty-four-hour security round the
site.’
‘What’s being made in the workshop?’ asked Bowie.
Carter looked at Willis to answer.
‘Not a lot, so far as we can see,’ she replied, ‘and, according to Manson, they buy everything in and it gets collected together to ship in the same container out to a job.
When we went there, there were just boxes containing marble fireplaces, pretty average-looking.’
‘They farm the work out,’ added Carter. ‘I suppose they have a tried and tested formula and just tweak it for individual requests. Robbo, did you check out any more information
on the villas they’re working on right now?’
‘One he’s building, the other doing alterations – that’s something he seems to offer – an after-service. The alteration is for a timeshare magnate who’s been
inside once for cheating customers. His name is Peter Tully and he has links to the criminal fraternity here and in Europe. He’s one I think we should go and talk to. The new villa is still
in its foundations stage – the owner is a football manager. We’re talking to him at the moment. He seems to be above
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