In the Company of Ghosts by Stephen A Hunt

team.’
    ‘Paranoid, then,’ said Thorson. ‘Wanted to see who was logging into his terminal when he wasn’t about?’
    ‘Paranoid, that’s a nasty word, Helen. Cautious, that’s how I would describe Mister Werks. You can never be too cautious. I think events have rather vindicated his decision in hindsight.’
    ‘We’re close to eliminating your third option,’ says Doyle. ‘I’ve already arranged for someone I trust to do a second autopsy on the sly and match the DNA. She’ll make sure which twin it is we’ve got on the slab, and rule out a looky-likey. Anyway, I can’t see any motive for Werks to pull a Reginald Perrin on us. Why would he want to fake his death and disappear? No money problems. Who wouldn’t want to be Saucy Simon? What man wakes up one morning and realises he’s developed an allergy to the leather on his chauffeur-driven Aston Martin?’
    ‘You would be surprised,’ said Agatha. ‘But I agree with your general premise. Occam’s razor, Lex Parsimoniae . The most straightforward option is the second. A person or persons unknown murdered Simon Werks and wanted his death to appear like an accident. Someone knew about Mister Werks proclivity for autoerotic asphyxiation inside his office, and provided for a tape to be faked showing his unfortunate death indulging his perversion. Then a hit team arranges for the fiction to become a reality. Quite ingenious, really. You make your victim’s death so excruciatingly embarrassing that the chances are the victim’s own family will cover it up for you.’
    ‘Faking the tape,’ said Thorson, ‘feeding it into the building security system and replacing the real footage of the assassination. That’s pro-work.’
    ‘Premier League shit,’ added Doyle.
    ‘It’s very important that the drug the assassination team used to sedate Mister Werks is isolated from his blood. That drug will tell us all that we’re going to find out from the scene of crime. I trust your friendly coroner is proficient in such matters?’
    Doyle tapped his watch. ‘It’s not my first time on this merry-go-round, love. We’re on the clock with this case. Home Office wants to be ahead of the game before the news of Saucy Simon’s death gets leaked to the press.’
    ‘There’s a story on the internet that Mister Werk’s twin cancelled his presence at a business event in Durban. I trust we will be able to talk to Curtis Werks?’
    ‘Already arranged. His house is in Surrey. The interview will be there,’ said Doyle.
    ‘Let me see the segment prior to the assassins releasing Mister Werks feet,’ requested Witchley.
    Spads restarted the footage and fast-forwarded to the point Witchley had asked for, freezing it for her. Witchley tapped the screen, indicating the hitmen’s assembly mechanism. ‘Custom suction attachment, weights and pulley. This machine isn’t an industrial system that was re-purposed. This was built to order with only one function in mind, lynching a man and making it appear like a suicide.’
    ‘Guess it wasn’t a home assassination kit from Amazon,’ said Doyle.
    ‘Engineering, medical knowledge, forensics expertise, leaving nary a trace inside the room or on the body. Not many people are so professional. Mossad. The SVR and a couple of the other Russian services, the MSS in China, a few other state actors. Corporations, perhaps. Where they can afford a private security force with staff that are ex-service. Motive, that’s the thing. Find the motive and the rest will follow.’
    ‘Might have been his business competitors?’ said Spads.
    ‘A possibility,’ said Witchley. ‘Although a slim one, I suspect. Even the Russians don’t act like Russians these days.’
    ‘The Chinese could have done it,’ said Doyle. ‘If they thought Saucy Simon was becoming a danger to one of their key markets. Trust me, them I know.’
    ‘An avenue to explore when we meet Curtis Werks. What developments have they got coming down their R&D pipeline?