by Angus McLean
The second article related to a drugs trial being aborted two years ago after it was found that the ecstasy pills found in the accused’s flat had been planted. Vance was named as the lead on that case, too. Although he denied all knowledge and it never went any further, the smear was made and again, the charges were kicked.
The third document was a copy of an internal memo between Vance’s DI and the national manager of Police Professional Conduct. It had taken me a couple of reads to translate the management speak into plain English, but I could see the three people facing him absorbing it like they spoke the language. Clearly they were smarter than me.
Roger finished reading and looked across at me. He was a hard man to read, but there may have been a glimmer of hope there. Alan and Brenda both finished reading and looked at each other, then put their heads together and whispered.
I was guessing it wasn’t sweet nothings.
Finally they straightened up and Alan took the lead again. ‘Where did you get this memo from?’ he asked. ‘It appears to be a confidential internal document.’
‘It is,’ I agreed. ‘And it was delivered to us anonymously.’ If Buck dropping it round to Molly in person that very morning counted as anonymous, then anonymous it was.
Their expressions were disbelieving. Brenda even went so far as to give an unladylike snort. I couldn’t have cared less.
‘Look,’ I said, ‘you may not appreciate the fact that I have that document, but you can’t deny its relevance. A memo between two senior managers, clearly outlining allegations of illegal practices by Karl Vance, is pretty damning from any angle.’
‘It says here the allegations weren’t upheld,’ Alan pointed out.
‘True. But put that together with the other pieces of evidence you have in front of you here, and you have a pretty decent picture.’ I looked at each of them in turn. ‘Don’t you?’
I could see that Roger was swayed. Maybe he really was the best detective after all. Alan was giving nothing away, and Brenda was frowning so hard her forehead had more ripples than a potato chip.
I decided it was time to press home while I had some momentum. Nobody ever came first by sitting back.
‘Look,’ I said, ‘I’m gunna put my cards on the table here. My livelihood, the business that my wife and I have built up, is on the line here. My best friend’s freedom is on the line. All we want is justice. You’ve got an allegation against me in front of you from a source that should, on any given day, be reputable. It probably reads well and prima facie there’s a case to answer there. I’ve got no argument with that.’ I paused to let that sink in. Vance had had his shot, and now it was mine. ‘Problem is, you now have other evidence to consider. Now it’s looking like your informant is actually not very credible. In fact, he may well be a liar.’
I saw a flicker in Alan’s face. He hadn’t liked that one. My blood was getting up, and I needed to tread carefully.
‘You look at me and what you see is what you get. Roger knows me, he knows my reputation in the industry.’ I turned my attention to him for now. ‘Let me guess; a bit of a cowboy sometimes, a bit of a hothead, speaks before he thinks.’
He gave the smallest of nods. He was all ears for now.
‘But I bet you also hear good things about the way I operate too. I’m results-driven, I care about my clients, I go the extra mile.’ I reconsidered that one for a second. ‘Admittedly, that’s mostly because Molly makes me go the extra mile. I prefer to get paid for it. And it would be easy to look at me and assume I have a grudge against the police because of the way things went down there, but that’s so not true at all. I totally support the department, I respect the rule of law, and even when I don’t want to, I always try to do the right thing.’
I had their full attention now. The room was silent.
‘And I know for a fact that whatever else you may have heard about me from anyone other than Karl Vance or Hugh Kennedy, you will not have heard that I’m dishonest,’ – I looked Roger in the eye – ‘or a crook,’ – it was Alan’s turn, ‘or a liar,’ and I finished with Brenda. ‘With respect, you folk have a big decision to make, and I just ask you to take heed of all the facts, not just what you’ve been given in this allegation. This whole situation doesn’t smell right, and we all know that if the wrong decisions are made when people’s freedom is at stake, then that’s not justice.’ I paused again, taking a moment to look at each of them in turn. ‘That’s not justice at all. That’s justice denied.’
I sat back and took a breath. I folded my hands across my waist. Sweat was trickling down the middle of my back and my shoulders were bunched tight. I was done.
The panel were silent for a few seconds, before Alan cleared his throat tentatively and glanced at his companions.
‘Well ahh … thank you for that, Mr Crowley. It’s always good to hear from someone in person, and you’re certainly very passionate about this, so I thank you for speaking so candidly. We will, ahh, take a few minutes to consult in private, so if you could just wait in the foyer, maybe get yourself a coffee, we’ll call you back in shortly.’
‘Thank you.’ I took my leave and headed out to the lobby. There was a café/bar there. I ordered a double-shot cappuccino, and after a nano-second’s thought, I added a cheese scone. With real butter.
They may say plenty of things about me, but when Dan Crowley’s in a dangerous mood, anything can happen.
Chapter 17
The room was getting hot with four people in it, and they’d been going for well over an hour.
They’d paused to change the discs and Gardner had been sent to get more cups of water. Mike could feel his breakfast gurgling away in his gut. Bacon and eggs at a café, wholegrain toast, and chased with coffee. Maybe too much coffee. He had decided it may be his last meal as a free man, but he was starting to regret his choice.
Gardner returned and put three cups down on the small table, being sure to slop Mike’s a little. He ignored her smirk and swapped the cup with Vance, swiping the spilled water onto the floor. Vance pretended he hadn’t noticed and carried on, hitting Record and running through the preamble again.
‘So tell me,’ Vance said, leaning back in his chair, ‘what was the nature of your relationship with Sarah Flynn?’
‘We had a casual relationship.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means it wasn’t serious.’
Vance raised his eyebrows questioningly. ‘A friends with benefits type set up, is that what you mean.’
Mike nodded. ‘I guess so, yeah. We spent a lot of time, but we weren’t exclusive, I suppose you’d say.’
‘Any arguments or issues between you?’
Mike considered that before replying. ‘No.’
Vance raised his eyebrows again. ‘You sure about that?’
Mike frowned. ‘Well I was there, so yeah, I’m sure.’
Vance nodded and slipped a glance to Gardner. Mike had the unsettling feeling that he’d just unwittingly walked into something.
‘How’s your temper?’ Vance said, changing tack.
‘Fine.’
Vance nodded again. Gardner was taking notes, even though the DVD was running. Mike waited. There was no mistake now; they were coming to crunch time. This was going to be Ground Zero for his freedom, he had no doubt about that.
‘You work out much?’
Mike nodded. ‘Yep.’
‘Lift weights?’
‘Yep.’
‘Do any boxing?’ Vance’s tone was casual, but it was clear he knew the answer already.
‘At the gym, not competitively.’
‘Uh-huh.’
Mike wanted a drink, but he didn’t want it to be seen as a nervous tick. Look at him, he’s guilty. Gets nervous and he needs a drink. He held fire, knowing there would be more to come. Vance didn’t disappoint.
‘You’ve been previously married.’ Vance met his gaze across the table. ‘Haven’t you?’
Mike nodded. ‘Yep.’
<
br /> ‘When did that relationship break down?’
‘I don’t see the relevance of that question,’ Evans cut in. ‘Move on.’
‘It’s relevant because I want to know what your client is like in relationships,’ Vance replied, ignoring the lawyer and keeping his eyes on Mike. ‘So?’
‘You don’t have to answer that, Mike,’ Evans said.
‘It’s okay. The marriage broke down because we spent too much time apart, our careers were in different parts of the country, and we probably didn’t try hard enough to make it work.’ Mike could feel his cheeks getting hot. It was the first time he’d ever spoken about it with somebody he didn’t know, and the humiliation burned. ‘Happy?’
‘Not really.’ Vance eyed him coolly. Mike wanted to reach across and give him the good news.
‘Any more pointless questions, detective,’ Evans warned, ‘and we will be ending this interview. Am I clear?’
Vance ignored him. ‘So would you describe yourself as an aggressive type of person, Mike?’
Mike almost smiled. ‘I was a soldier for a long time; it’s a job that’s all about controlled aggression. I wouldn’t say I’m any more aggressive than anyone else. In fact I’m probably better at controlling it because that’s how the Army trains you.’
‘I see.’ Vance looked to Gardner again, who passed him a sheaf of papers. He flicked through to a tabbed page, read something, and looked back to Mike. He held the papers so neither Mike nor Evans could see what was written.
Mike felt his pulse quicken.
‘Have you ever threatened Sarah?’
Mike frowned, confused. ‘No, why?’
‘Have you ever said you would harm her in any way?’
‘No. Never.’ He could feel Vance and Gardner staring at him. The air in the room was thick. Vance waited.
Mike had nothing else to add, so he stayed silent. Finally Vance grunted and referred to the papers in front of him again.
‘We have a statement from a witness who states that they overheard an argument between you and Sarah last Saturday night,’ he said. ‘What do you have to say about that?’
Mike shook his head. ‘It never happened. Who told you that?’
‘I’m not prepared to tell you that.’
‘Then how do you expect me to answer when I don’t know the full story?’
‘You don’t need to know who said it, you just need to tell me if it’s true or not.’
‘Well it’s not. And how can they be so sure it was us and not somebody else? A lot of people live in the block, y’know.’
‘The witness states that it was inside your apartment.’
Mike shrugged. ‘They must be mistaken, it still didn’t happen.’
‘The witness states that you two often argued.’
Mike turned to Evans, not sure how to respond.
‘In the interests of fairness,’ the lawyer said, ‘I suggest you put the witness’ allegation to Mr Manning, and give him the chance to respond properly.’
‘That’s what I’m doing,’ Vance said. ‘We have a witness who says they argued often, and in particular they argued last Saturday night in your client’s apartment.’
‘Yes, so I heard, and he’s answered that. Is there anything else?’
Mike could tell Evans was starting to get annoyed now. With any luck this would be wrapped up soon and he could get out of there. He needed a shower and a sleep.
Vance leaned forward with his forearms on the table. ‘The witness states that last Saturday night they overheard you two arguing, and you threatened her. You specifically told her “I’ll crack you one”.’ Vance held his gaze across the table. ‘Explain that.’
Mike felt the floor opening up beneath him. This was not good. Not true, but also not good. ‘I can’t explain that,’ he said. ‘It’s not true.’
‘But Sarah was at your apartment last Saturday night?’
‘Yeah, she was.’
‘Why was she there?’
‘We’d been for a run, and she stayed for dinner.’
‘Did she stay the night?’
‘Yep.’
‘I see.’ Vance leaned back again and checked the clock on the monitor screen. ‘It’s eleven thirty. We’re just going to take a short break.’ He stood, his chair scraping loudly on the concrete floor. ‘We’ll leave the discs running.’
Mike stayed silent until the two detectives had filed out and closed the door, then turned to Evans. He felt like he was overheating. ‘What the hell’s going on?!’
Evans held a finger to his lips. ‘The machine’s still on, still recording,’ he said. He flipped over a page of the pad he’d been making notes on, scribbled a note, and showed the page to Mike, being sure to block it from the view of the camera.
Don’t stress. They’re fishing. Watch my lead.
Mike nodded and took a drink. It was like throwing a rose petal at a raging bull. His head was pounding.
In terms of bad days at the office, this was a record breaker.
***
I followed Roger back into the meeting room and closed the door behind me.
I was caffeinated and fed and as nervous as a virgin groom. I wondered how Mike was getting on; at least I wasn’t in the firing line for a murder.
I took my seat and waited. It reminded me of being in the principal’s office. There was some murmuring between the three dark overlords opposite me. I held my hands in my lap. It was the only way I could keep them from fidgeting.
Finally Alan cleared his throat and looked at me.
‘Thank you for waiting, Mr Crowley. As you know, we met here today to hear, and to assess, your response to a complaint against you. The complaint alleged that you were assisting your partner and friend, Michael Manning, to escape and evade Police during a murder investigation. Your suitability to hold a private investigator’s license was therefore in question.’
He paused to check his notes. Hopefully it was going to be a short speech or I might pee my pants before he reached the punchline.
‘We have listened carefully to what you’ve had to say,’ he continued. ‘And we would like to thank you for meeting with us. As I said earlier, it’s always handy to hear directly from the person involved.’
I nodded, and willed him on.
‘While the allegation is obviously an extremely serious one, we believe it has been worthwhile meeting and taking to opportunity to gather more evidence before we made a decision.’ He cleared his throat again and looked across at me. ‘And make no mistake, Mr Crowley, this is a very serious matter.’
When your shins start to sweat, you know things are bad. Mine were leaking like Edward Snowden.
‘However, we have reached a decision in regards to your suitability to continue to hold a license, and it was not a decision we made easily.’ He licked his lips before delivering the coup de grace. ‘We have decided, at this time, not to suspend your license.’
My heart punched me in the back of the throat and I may have squealed.
‘But please be aware, Mr Crowley,’ he finished, ‘this was not an easy decision at all, and I think it’s safe to say that we have suspended licenses before for much less.’
I nodded and hoped my bladder would hold out.
‘We will continue to monitor this situation,’ Roger added gravely, ‘so it may not be over just yet. But for now, you are free to continue operating and we won’t be holding a formal hearing.’
I nodded again.
‘But we will be watching.’ Brenda couldn’t help herself. ‘So don’t step out of line.’
I nodded for the millionth time and stood. ‘Thanks for the kind words,’ I said to Brenda.
Roger came round the table and shook my hand, blocking my view of the other two. ‘Thanks for coming in,’ he said loudly, then added in a whisper, ‘watch your back, Vance is out to get you.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. I released his hand and headed for the door.
It was time to get the monkey suit off; I had a
murder to solve.
Chapter 18
By the time Vance and Gardner returned to the interview room, Mike was wound as tight as a spring.
The clock on the DVD unit’s screen told him they had been out of the room for eight minutes. Not a word had passed between him and Evans during that time. He had struggled to stay still. The walls of the room seemed to have crept closer in the last few minutes and the air was stale.
Gardner shut the door and took her seat beside Vance, at Mike’s two o’clock. He felt her eyes on him and gave her a glance. She had a cocky smirk on her face, which got wider when he made eye contact. Mike looked away; she wasn’t worth wasting his time on.
‘It’s eleven thirty nine and the interview is recommencing,’ Vance announced, for the sake of the recording. He pulled his chair in close to the table. Mike could smell fresh cigarette smoke coming off him. ‘Before we carry on, do either of you have any questions?’
It was clearly a standard question for the sake of appearances, and Mike shook his head. Vance opened his mouth to continue before he was cut off by Evans.
The portly lawyer roused himself in his chair and harrumphed. ‘Yes, I have a question,’ he said. He used his silver fountain pen to indicate the box of files that sat on the floor behind the two detectives. ‘What have you got in that box there?’
Vance looked surprised, and took his time answering. ‘Files,’ he said.
‘Files on what?’ Evans’ tone wasn’t quite accusing, but left no room for misunderstanding.
Gardner looked to Vance, who licked his lips. He paused again. ‘Ahh …’
‘Is it material relevant to this case?’ Evans asked.
Mike sat back in his chair. He had the feeling they were screaming towards a crossroads in the day’s proceedings.
‘Look, let’s just carry on here,’ Vance said. ‘I don’t think …’
‘Well I think that answers my question,’ Evans said. ‘See, it appears highly unlikely to me that you would have gathered a whole box full of statements and such like on this matter in so short a time.’ He rubbed the side of his florid nose with a sausage-finger. ‘Which would tend to indicate that it is material unrelated to the matter at hand. My guess is either a totally different investigation, or the folders are full of blank photocopying paper.’