Chapter 13 #2
Virgilio answered first. ‘That seems a logical deduction, Dan, but I suppose we still have to consider the possibility that person or persons unknown might have killed Angel in the duomo yesterday, and somebody completely different here piggybacked on that killing to settle accounts with Hicks – and that puts Vincent Archer into prime position if Dini’s theory of him having been on the fiddle turns out to be true. ’
We talked it over and all four of us finally agreed that we were more probably looking for a single perpetrator here at the villa responsible for both murders, but that we should keep an open mind.
Virgilio could well be right about Archer being a prime suspect, but this all depended on Dini’s fraud scenario being true and uncovering that in a company based in Panama wasn’t going to be easy.
Virgilio glanced at his watch. ‘I imagine Mr Nelson is still interviewing Archer, so I’ve been thinking of starting our second round of interviews with Alexander Murray, the sales director, who might be another who stands to do well out of the recent deaths.
Alternatively, there’s Liam O’Connell, who allegedly had a furious argument with Archer about something.
I agree with Marco that O’Connell looks like the toughest of the men, so let’s start with him.
Marco, when you and Dini questioned him this morning, what did he say when you asked him about the argument he supposedly had with Archer? ’
Sergeant Dini looked a bit sheepish. ‘I’m afraid he has a really strong accent and I couldn’t understand much of what he said. I think what he was trying to say was that it wasn’t a big deal.’
Virgilio glanced across at me. ‘I think this is where your interpreting talents will have to come in again, Dan. Let’s get O’Connell in first and see what he has to say for himself.’
Sergeant Dini went out and returned a minute later with Liam O’Connell.
I remembered seeing him yesterday at the lunch table.
He was probably in his early forties with short-cropped, brown hair and he looked fit – and as if he could handle himself in a fight.
He came in looking relaxed and confident and sat down in front of us. Virgilio started the questioning.
‘Mr O’Connell, am I right in thinking that you used to be in the British Army?’
‘That’s correct. I was a sergeant in REME, that’s the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
I spent fifteen years in the army before joining TXA Supplies.
’ This was the first time I’d heard him speak, and I could see how his strong Northern Irish accent would have been almost impenetrable for a non-native speaker like Diana Dini.
I realised that Virgilio was in the same boat, so I provided a translation.
He gave me a grateful nod and produced more questions.
‘How long ago did you join the company?’
‘Almost exactly ten years ago.’
‘How old are you, please?’
‘Forty-three.’
‘During your time in the army, did you come across Tristan Angel?’ O’Connell shook his head, but Virgilio wanted to be sure.
‘So, when did you first meet Mr Angel?’
‘When I was called for interview by him ten years ago.’
Virgilio nodded a couple of times and changed tack. ‘I understand that a few days ago, you were involved in an argument with Mr Vincent Archer that turned into a physical confrontation, and the two of you had to be separated by Peter Schneider. Can you tell me what that argument was about?’
‘I already told your colleagues this morning that there was nothing to it. Just a disagreement about a business deal.’
I had a feeling that there had to be more to it than that. Had Archer confronted him about some financial misdeed – or had it even been the other way round?
Virgilio looked unconvinced. ‘Is it normal for your disagreements to end up in a fight?’
He scoffed. ‘It wasn’t a fight. Nobody hit anybody.’
‘Can you tell me more about the business deal in question?’
Just as Emilia Cortez had done yesterday, when questioned about the company’s business dealings, O’Connell shook his head. ‘That’s classified.’
Virgilio wasn’t giving up. ‘This is a murder investigation, Mr O’Connell; you have to answer my questions.’
Once again, the Irishman shook his head.
‘I’m sorry, Chief Inspector, but I can’t.
Like all my colleagues here, I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevents me from discussing company business with anybody outside the company.
’ No doubt realising that Virgilio wasn’t satisfied, he extended an olive branch.
‘All I can tell you is that Vince accused me of screwing up a big order. He was right, the customer received the wrong goods and was justifiably angry, but it wasn’t my fault. ’
‘Whose fault was it, then?’
He shrugged. ‘Some clerk somewhere along the line inverted a serial number and the wrong things got delivered. Once Vince had calmed down, I showed him the original order and he could see that it hadn’t been my fault.
’ He looked across at us and smiled. ‘So, he and I soon became the best of friends again.’
It all sounded quite plausible, but there was something about his slightly cocky air that didn’t sit well with me.
It would be interesting to hear Vincent Archer’s version but, for now at least, I resolved to keep a very close eye on Mr O’Connell, but at least he hadn’t been in the Grenadier Guards.
The questions continued for another ten minutes or so but without producing any meaningful results.
Yesterday morning, he had been in the duomo but he hadn’t seen his boss and he certainly hadn’t murdered him.
Similarly, last night, he had gone up to his room at ten-thirty and claimed not to have stirred until the morning.
Finally, Virgilio thanked him and sent him off before turning to us. ‘Well, what do we think?’
Marco shook his head. ‘No sign of guilt, and his story about the argument seemed convincing enough. What do you think, Dan?’
‘I agree. He’s either a very cool customer, or he’s not our murderer. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I can throw him, but I’m not sure he’s our killer.’
Virgilio looked over at the sergeant. ‘Now let’s see how Alexander Murray reacts to being told he’s suspected of being a murderer.’