Murder By The Book

DS Paul Cole took a sip of tea and stared at the information taped to the white boards. There were images from the crime scene and a recent photo of the deceased. Martin Ellroy was thirty-seven years old. He was a well-known author of a string of crime novels. His books were set in modern-day Manchester. The way he had been killed, single gunshot to the head, was like something from one of Ellroy’s books, which were predominantly set in Manchester’s criminal underworld. 

In the days since his murder, DS Cole and his team had been digging into the author’s background to see if they could shed any light on who would have a motive. Cole went through the notes on the board once more. By re-reading he might spot something they had previously missed. Ellroy’s personal life had been pretty run of the mill. Martin Ellroy had been married to Sue for almost twenty years. Nothing to indicate any extra-marital affairs on either side. They seemed to be a happily married couple, by all accounts. 

‘How’s the wife bearing up?’ Cole asked one of the Detective Constables.

‘Not great, as you’d expect.’

Cole nodded. Sue Ellroy would have support from officers who were trained in dealing with bereaved relatives. 

Over the next few days Cole and his team interviewed Martin Ellroy’s close friends. The detectives called round to houses or places of work, trying to piece things together. 

‘Did Martin have any enemies? Anyone who could bear a grudge against him?’

‘Not that I can think of, no more so than anyone else.’

As their enquiries went on, the answer was always the same. Nobody could think of any reason why anyone would want to harm Martin Ellory.

Early the following week, Cole visited another of the author’s friends for an informal interview. He asked her if she had any ideas about who could have wanted to harm Ellroy.

‘There was one thing that did occur to me.’ The friend said.

‘Go on.’ Cole said. 

‘You don’t think Tony Vallance had anything to do with it?’

‘You mean the Tony Vallance?’

The name was notorious across the North West. If newspaper reports were to be believed, Vallance controlled the Manchester criminal underworld. Not that DS Cole and his colleagues had been able to pin much on him over the years. There had been the odd spell in prison for Grievous Bodily Harm and demanding money with menaces. What they had managed to convict Vallance of was apparently nothing compared to what he was supposed to have been guilty of. Vallance was a well-known villain and a thug, but what did that have to do with the murder of the fiction writer?

‘Why would Tony Vallance have reason to kill Martin? I don’t see the connection.’ Cole said.

‘Isn’t it obvious? The guy in his books, the central character, it’s based on him.’ 

‘Really? Is that true? Martin Ellroy based a character on Tony Vallance?’ Cole asked.

‘Yes, apparently so. It’s common knowledge. The character Tommy Vesper is Tony Vallance. Maybe Martin went too far in his latest book. Maybe he got too close to the actual truth, and Tony Vallance killed him.’ 

She shrugged as if to say, it’s just a theory, but Cole had a feeling in his gut. He sensed he had just found the murderer. Cole got to his feet and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair. He thanked her for her time and co-operation and headed for the door.

Maybe Ellroy had gone too far in his latest book, maybe he’d come a bit too close to the truth. Maybe he had exposed something he shouldn’t have. Had he finally touched a nerve? Had he revealed something of the gangster’s enterprises and been punished? Had fact and fiction become too closely linked for the mob boss’s liking? This wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened. When Mario Puzo had released The Godfather, he had gotten in trouble with mob figures and even Frank Sinatra had accused the author of basing a character on him. Perhaps Ellroy had finally pushed his luck too far with the gangster. With a man as unpredictable as Tony Vallance, you had to choose your words carefully. What had the author been thinking, basing a character on him?

The gangster was well-known to Cole and his colleagues. He was renowned for being capable of acts of horrific violence, not that they could prove any of it, but everyone knew Vallance was a dangerous man. If Ellroy had indeed based a character on him, then than would certainly place the author in a very precarious position. 

One of his team, knocked on his office door. She jerked a thumb towards the investigation room.

‘I think you’re going to want to see this.’ She said.

The team huddled round the desk, all eyes on the CCTV footage on the monitor.

‘This is from an Indian restaurant, hours before the murder.’ She pointed to figures on screen. ‘That is Martin Ellroy, and that is Tony Vallance.’

In the grainy footage, Martin Ellroy and Tony Vallance were talking. Vallance had his entourage with him. Things became heated, with Vallance angrily waving his hands. Martin Ellroy then left the restaurant. That was the last known sighting of the author. 

 ‘Great work, guys. It’s time we brought Vallance in and see what he has to say for himself.’ Cole said. 

Tony Vallance sauntered into the interview room, with the air of a film star arriving at a movie premier, his lawyer beside him. Cole told them to sit down and took the seat facing. He placed photos of the crime scene down on the table between them.

‘This is Martin Ellroy. The author was found murdered. One bullet wound to the head.’

‘I don’t know anything about it.’ Tony said.

When his lawyer when to protest that he should say nothing, Tony waved a hand, giving him a look that said, he would handle this. 

‘Are you aware of the author?’ Cole asked.

‘I’m not the book-club type.’ Tony shrugged.

‘They say the gangster in the books was based on you.’ 

‘I wouldn’t know anything about that. As I say, I’m not a big reader.’ Tony said.

‘One theory would be that you killed Martin Ellroy because of what he was writing about you.’ Cole insisted.

‘Maybe it was a crazed fan who thought his last book was rubbish.’ Tony laughed.

‘We have CCTV footage of what appears to be a heated discussion in a restaurant. That was the last known sighting of Martin Ellroy. I think you killed him, but I don’t understand why. So, these books are based on you? Who cares? It’s fiction. Everyone knows it’s you he’s writing about, but we can’t prove it. He could say you were behind the Great Train Robbery. What does it matter? The law can’t prove anything. He had been writing these books for years. Why is that suddenly a problem? All these books later, you’re suddenly angry about it.’ Cole said.

‘No comment.’ Vallance said. 

‘Did you really kill somebody because of a fictional book he wrote? That’s low, even for someone like you.’ Cole snapped. 

Anger and indignation burned on Vallance’s cheeks. 

‘Everyone knows those books are based on me. The character even comes from the same part of Manchester. It’s basically my life story. How a kid from the Rock Street Estate came to be the top dog in this city. We even have the same initials. Tony Vallance, Tommy Vesper. That can’t be a coincidence. It was cool. How many people have an author to write a book about them? I assume you’ve not inspired a writer to pen a series of detective novels.’ Vallance said. 

‘So, what happened?’ Cole asked. 

‘I bumped into him in the restaurant. I was delighted to finally meet him. But then he said it’s not true. He said the books weren’t about me at all!’ Vallance ranted, shaking his head in disgust. 

‘That’s why you killed him? Because the books are NOT based on you?’ Cole said, this wasn’t the way he had been expecting the interview to go.

‘Can’t you see how that made me look? For years, people have been reading those books, everybody knows I’m that character. It’s me, right? And when I finally run into the guy, he denies it. I wanted to buy the guy a drink, but he stands there, in front of all my friends, he says no, it’s not based on me at all. 

‘I said it was fine, that I was flattered. It wasn’t a problem. I told him, I know the books are about me, that I’m the mob boss in the novels. Then Ellroy said it wasn’t about me, that he didn’t know who I was. He didn’t know who I was! And then Martin Ellroy laughed at me. He thought the idea that the books were about me was hilarious. And all my friends started laughing along. I don’t know what you know about the circles I move in, but a man in my position can’t afford have people laughing at him. My world is built on respect and reputation. If you let someone get away with laughing in your face, it’s game-over. And here was this book-worm mocking me in front of my peers. I couldn’t let that go.’ 

‘And that’s why you killed him?’ Cole said. 

Vallance’s lawyer shook his head.

‘I’m saying nothing.’ Vallance said. 

‘I think you’ve said enough.’ Cole replied.

By Chris Platt

From: United Kingdom