A Time to Kill

by Stephen Puleston

  After the charges were read to her and her guilty plea entered Drake listened to the Crown prosecutor who sketched out the facts in undemonstrative, straightforward terms. It would be the task of the defence lawyer to stand up and mitigate on her behalf.

  Dafydd Upton impressed Drake. He began confidently. ‘My client accepts all the facts outlined by the prosecution.’

  Drake mentally ticked off each positive point Upton made in favour of the magistrates dealing with Fiona Jones leniently. She had paid the compensation for the damage to the cars, she was genuinely contrite, and would readily pay any further compensation to Penny Muller the court deemed appropriate. Was there any risk of reoffending? Of course not. It helped that the Mullers had moved away. They had found a property in the Scottish Highlands they hoped to convert into a wellness centre. Bryn Hyfryd had been sold to a local authority in the south of England who were going to turn it into an outward bound centre for youngsters.

  And more than anything Fiona Jones had lost her husband. Dafydd Upton paused before explaining to the magistrates in a soft voice how Harry Jones had been lured to his death and shot in cold blood by Glyn Talbot. It had been a lonely, shocking death. Fiona Jones would have to live with the trauma for the rest of her life, Upton explained.

  Both women magistrates must have been the same age as Fiona, Drake guessed. He looked at the first and then the second, realising Dafydd Upton’s mitigation was pushing at an open door. The sympathetic looks and the occasional glance over at Fiona made clear they were going to be lenient.

  Once Upton finished, the court clerk announced the magistrates would retire to consider their decision. Upton went over to Fiona and gave her some warm words of encouragement because she briefly smiled. He nodded at Drake. Drake nodded back; perhaps he had been too harsh thinking Upton might not make a decent criminal advocate.

  They didn’t have to wait long for the magistrates to return.

  Fiona stood up.

  ‘This is a very difficult case…’ The chairman pronounced solemnly.

  He proceeded to impose a suspended custodial sentence as well as a sum in compensation payable within seven days to Penny Muller. Nobody in the courtroom was surprised. The journalists scurried out and Drake followed them, watching as they recorded pieces to the evening news broadcast on television. As Drake left the building one of them came up to him. ‘Do you have a statement for the press?’

  Drake shook his head slowly and carried on walking.

  * * *

  Brian Featherstone, the investigator from the independent police authority, removed his spectacles for the fourth time in less than an hour and cleaned them vigorously.

  Drake looked over at Featherstone. He was a mousey little man with an intense stare and a hair-splitting manner, who Drake had taken a dislike to after the first question. Now Drake faced a grilling from the authorities who investigated whenever a police officer discharged a firearm so the interview was standard procedure.

  ‘Explain to me again exactly where you were with your investigation.’

  ‘We were about to arrest Glyn Talbot on suspicion of three murders.’

  ‘But at that stage you didn’t actually have all the evidence.’

  ‘We had evidence of him intimidating Harry Jones from the CCTV coverage we recovered and he recently discovered Harry was the father of Matthew, his son. And he was completely obsessed about the bomb storage facility and keeping the place exactly as it was. We have eyewitnesses—’

  ‘Eyewitness.’

  Drake wanted to shout at this pedantic idiot.

  ‘Eyewitness that confirms Talbot was in Heulwen Beard’s home the morning she was killed. And we found evidence of the DNA result to make a compelling case that—’

  ‘But Talbot is dead, Inspector. And he’s not in a position to answer your compelling case.’

  Policing would be so much easier without this moron, Drake thought.

  ‘Did you demand Talbot lay down his weapon?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Featherstone peered over his glasses at Drake.

  ‘I’m sure you’re aware that I need to examine in minutiae every aspect of the decision to discharge a deadly weapon.’

  Drake narrowed his eyes. Would Featherstone have stood there and watched Talbot kill Maldwyn Owen?

  ‘There was a clear and present danger to the life of an innocent man.’

  ‘I appreciate that but—’

  ‘And we found Carwyn Owen bound and gagged in one of the derelict houses in Barracks Mon, which suggests to me and probably to any other police officer and any right-thinking member of a jury that Talbot intended to kill Maldwyn Owen and then his brother.’

  ‘I appreciate that, Inspector—’

  ‘What I don’t think you appreciate or even understand is when I saw Talbot preparing to take a shot at Maldwyn Owen’s forehead I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t have a chance to consult the fucking manual.’

  ‘Bad language is uncalled for—’

  Drake ignored him. ‘An innocent man’s life was at stake. And Talbot had killed three people. It wasn’t a multiple-choice scenario. My priority was the preservation of life.’ Drake stood up. Featherstone gave him a surprised look. ‘You have my written statement, the statements from Detective Sergeant Morgan and the two firearms officers. Do you think for one moment it will be easy living with the decision I made to authorise the death of another human being?’

  Featherstone settled into a stony glare.

  ‘You know it was the right decision.’

  Drake turned on his heel and left the investigator.

  * * *

  Over three weeks had elapsed and one Friday morning Drake was working on intelligence reports about a series of burglaries, but his mind was thinking about the executive suite he had booked at a five-star hotel in the Peak District with a luxurious swimming pool, spa and a Michelin-star restaurant. Since Wednesday his exchange of texts with Annie had become more flirty and it surprised him that he managed to feel so excited about a weekend away with his girlfriend.

  When Superintendent Price appeared at the door to his office, Drake made to get up. Price waved him back to his seat. The superintendent passed a report onto his desk.

  Drake could guess what it was.

  ‘Featherstone has completely exonerated you. In fact, the authority complements you on the way you handled both the investigation and the events at Barracks Mon.’

  Drake wanted to punch the air, do a jig around his room. A weight had been lifted from his mind even though he knew he had done nothing wrong.

  ‘Thank you, sir.’

  ‘Your team did well. Despite what happened there’s no doubt that had Talbot been apprehended he’d have been spending the rest of his life behind bars. And I’ve heard from Overend too. They interviewed Perdue and Lennon and both came up with some cock-and-bull story about visiting Harry Jones who showed them the furniture in the lock-up as potential buyers. I don’t think he was too pleased that he couldn’t make a case against either man.’

  Once Price left curiosity got the better of Sara because she announced herself by tapping two fingers against his door. ‘Did the superintendent have the report from…?’

  ‘Yes, the investigation has absolved us of any blame.’

  Drake sensed Sara’s relief and gestured for her to sit. ‘Have you seen the local paper?’ He pointed to the corner of his desk. ‘Apparently the bomb storage facility development will go ahead after all. Although Erdington was worried the grants might fall through, he was able to rescue the deal.’

  Sara continued. ‘The case had quite an effect on Luned because she has a family links with Llanberis. I’m sure it must be dramatic when you’ve got connections like hers. She heard Fiona Jones has got to know Harry’s daughter. Apparently once she learned what happened the whole tracing your roots programme fizzled out.’

  ‘Good, I hate those programmes – they seem so contrived.’

  Sara nodded. ‘Luned called to
see Nancy Brown earlier this week for her to sign her final statement. She and Richard Perdue are now officially a couple.’ Drake recalled the details from the hotel on the Wirral confirming Perdue’s alibi but also a description of his companion – Nancy Brown. Sara continued. ‘She has the house on the market and she’s going to move in with Perdue. In January they’re going on a world cruise.’

  Sara got up. ‘Doing anything nice this weekend?’

  Drake smiled. He was leaving before lunch in less than an hour.

  ‘Yes, as it happens I’m going for a fancy weekend in the Peak District.’

  ~~~~~~~~

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  Inspector Drake Series

  Devil’s Kitchen – prequel novella

  Brass in Pocket

  Worse Than Dead

  Against the Tide

  Dead on your Feet

  A Time to Kill

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  A Time to Kill

  by Stephen Puleston

  This book copyright © Stephen Puleston

  First edition published 2018 by Stephen Puleston

  The right of Stephen Puleston to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

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