“Do you think he may have murdered Bert Devos?”
“I honestly don’t know. He would have the motive obviously. And he definitely knew him. He’s one cool customer though. Did you notice he was not panicking at all when we picked him up? Simply came along. Didn’t ask or say anything in the car either. People who are innocent in my experience like to state that as often as they can. But he said nothing. Not even what a great mistake this is supposed to be, no references to his dad or his family’s influence or anything. He must have sort of expected this. And I guess he has his story ready for us. But does that make him a killer? I think we should focus on the drug angle for now and when that is well established, we can pressure him on the murder. Let’s go back in.”
They re-entered and gave Brandon his cup of lukewarm Earl Grey that he didn’t touch. Ianthe started the recording and said their names and ranks for the tape, then asked Brandon to give his full name and address as well, which he did.
“Brandon, we are conducting this interview for now without having cautioned you. Of course, that does not mean that you should not be telling us the truth. We want to have a chat with you with regards to some events and allegations that have been made. You are aware that our colleagues are conducting a search at your residence. You did not seem overly surprised by that event. Can you tell us why that is?”
As expected, Brandon’s reply was: “I decline to say anything at all without having my solicitor present, detective.”
“It’s detective chief inspector, actually, Brandon. And are you certain about that? While it is definitely within your rights to have legal assistance available, it may take time to find a solicitor available.”
“Well, if you allow me to go back home now, I can promise you I will return first thing in the morning with our family solicitor. But I have a feeling you are not going to do that,” he added wryly.
Ianthe smiled back at him.
“Who is the solicitor of preference we should contact?”
“I’m sure my dad has already reached out to him, but the family solicitor is Alistair Holloway at ‘Lynch, Godfrey, Montgomery and Holloway’.”
That was no surprise. Alistair Holloway was the best-known criminal attorney in Brighton and partner in the most upmarket firm.
“Right. I guess we better wait for him then. I am terminating this interview at six fourteen pm on Thursday sixteen May.”
Ianthe and Ben stepped out leaving Brandon with a PC.
“Quite as you expected,” Ben said.
Ianthe shrugged.
“Let’s go wait in the conference room.”
On the stairs to the first floor Ianthe’s phone rang. She looked at the display.
“It’s Ajanta,” she said and picked up. She listened intently without interruption, then ended the call with: “Understood. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight then for the briefing.”
Then to Ben: “The dog has found one hundred grams of coke hidden in his room. We’re going to shake up Mr Nicholson a little and give him something to think about tonight.”
And she turned back to the interview room.
Brandon Nicholson looked up expectantly when they came in. When he saw they were not being accompanied by anyone else, he said:
“Look, Detective Chief Inspector, I already made it clear that I was not going to talk to you without my solicitor present.”
“That is well understood Mr Nicholson. We are however not here for that. Brandon Nicholson, I am arresting you for the possession of a controlled substance with intent to supply. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Is that understood?”
For the first time the young man looked a bit shaken. But he nodded.
“Again, I want to speak to my solicitor.”
“We will be contacting your solicitor, Mr Nicholson. For now, however Detective Sergeant Ben Armstrong here will take you to the custody officer in the block next door. We will conduct the interview in the morning, giving you ample opportunity to consult with your solicitors but perhaps even more importantly to reflect on what is happening. Possession with intent to supply carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, Mr Nicholson. I trust your legal assistance will also make that clear to you and that it is in your absolute best interest to cooperate with the police.”
Not waiting for a response, Ianthe stepped out again with a nod to Ben who was already preparing to cuff Brandon Nicholson.
CHAPTER 14
Acting Detective Chief Inspector Ianthe Seymour drove her Audi Q3 home feeling quite pleased with herself and the events of the day. She felt they were finally getting somewhere in this peculiar case. It was fortunate she had ordered the search at the Devos residence the day before and it was a stroke of good luck that Helen Devos had wanted to offload her concerns. She still felt puzzled that the case definitely had taken the drug angle. From what she had learned so far about the victim, he had not struck her as your typical narcotics mogul. But that may of course have been exactly the reason why he had been killed. They could not exclude the human factor either yet. It might be that Bert Devos had been killed in a crime of passion because he had not approved of the relationship between Brandon Nicholson and Helen Devos. She hoped that the interview with Brandon the next morning would shed some light on the course of events. She was also happy about the way the hierarchy had let her run her course so far. She appreciated Norman Stokes, Winnie the Pooh, a lot. He obviously had placed a lot of trust in her. Promoting her to Acting DCI was a mark of that. Vik Gorti was many years her senior in the force. People would have expected him to be promoted rather than her. Yes, she felt satisfied about the course events had taken so far.
It was unusually early for her to go home at six forty-seven in the middle of a case. She decided to drop into the Waitrose on Western Road quickly and bought a bottle of Cornish Camel Valley Brut champagne to celebrate her promotion with Tony if he was home. She also picked up two Hereford beef fillets that he usually appreciated so much, some green beans and a bag of frozen chips that she could prepare in the dry fryer she had purchased on Amazon recently. That would make for an excellent meal in no time at all. As an afterthought, she added a bottle of red Rustenberg Peter Barlow to go with the steaks. South African, not Italian, but she hoped Tony would let that one slide this time. It was expensive enough for that. She would need a clear head in the morning though, so she would have to watch the amount of alcohol she could consume tonight.
She found a nice spot for her Audi not too far from their apartment. Tony’s bimmer was parked in his usual spot just outside their building. She often wondered how he always got so lucky to find a spot so close. The light was on in the lounge and she could hear Nick Cave’s sad but melodious voice singing “Come sail your ships around me”, which was one of her all-time favourites. The evening was promising to be a perfect end to an almost perfect day.
*
Detective Sergeant Ajanta Ghani was thinking how dreadful the day that had had such great promise had turned out to be. There had been the search in Lewes at first that she had not really been part of, but she had had the responsibility to take Josephine Devos back to the station and interview her. That nothing had come out of that interview was not important really. The importance was that Ianthe had delegated the task to her and admittedly to John and had not questioned in any way the outcome. Ianthe had not wanted to do the interview all over again, which meant that she had put her trust in Ajanta’s capability to handle a delicate interview with a person of interest. She knew quite well that other DIs would not have relied on a rather junior DS to handle that completely. DI Vik Gorti was well known for not being able to delegate anything at all that could be remotely important. Beside the fact Ianthe’s attitude inspired confidence and mutual trust, it also meant thing moved forward quickly. Ajanta suspected that was one of the main reasons for Ianthe’s stell
ar career in the force. Detective Chief Inspector. And not even thirty years old. Awe-inspiring that was. Ajanta did not feel jealous of Ianthe but admired her and was grateful she had been selected to be part of her team. As a consequence, she had been really gratified that DCI Ianthe Seymour had entrusted her with the responsibility for the crucial search at the Nicholson residence. She had known Ajanta had not led such a search before and was still quite junior to be handed a task that potentially had large ramifications on Operation Blackbird. After the meeting where she had received this assignment, Ajanta had immediately started to liaise with uniform to get the necessary people over on time. Where normally a couple of phone calls would have been sufficient to get that organized, she had gone over to central Brighton to find the Gold and Silver Commanders to make certain they selected the right people for the search party and she had imprinted on them it was absolutely crucial everyone would be in place on time, not a second late. She had even insisted on having the same dog as in Lewes as Yuki had been quite effective finding what amounted to a minimal amount of coke. They had been rather annoyed at her for that as Yuki had been assigned for training this afternoon and they had had to call her back. But Ajanta could nag everyone into submission as Sean tended to remind her and the Gold Commander, even though he outranked her by far, was mildly amused by her zeal and had made it happen. She had then run back in a hurry to Malling House to be just in time to leave again for the actual search. The right team had been there all right. The DCI had handed her the warrant that had been hand delivered to her by the super himself, and Ajanta had rung the bell and had delivered the warrant and led the search party. But why had Winnie the Pooh stayed around? Okay, he had not really partaken in the search but had chatted with the maid and looked around the fashionable interior until they had been done. And since he was the Detective Superintendent and Ianthe’s boss, the team had automatically deferred to him and reported to him rather than her. Even though she had heard him tell them that they should be telling her, which they had done. Her confidence had dwindled as a consequence. Had Ianthe doubted her abilities after all and had she asked the super to remain on the premises and supervise her? Had this been a test and had she flunked it or had she passed? They had found the dope obviously and that was a success in anyone’s book. In particular as it had been cunningly hidden in Brandon’s bedroom which even Yuki had been unable to point out. The dog had given all indications that drugs had been concealed in the room, but it had been Ajanta’s keen sense of style that had made her aware that the fashionable and hugely expensive semi-flush mount crystal chandelier was hanging askew. And indeed, a package containing the coke had been found attached to the bronze centrepiece of the chandelier in such a way it did not cast a shadow or could be detected from beneath. And while everyone had congratulated her on the find, she could not help but notice that the first thing DS John Ryan had done was to go down and tell Norman of it. The super had congratulated her and left immediately afterwards leaving Ajanta to wrap up the hunt.
She had returned to Malling House with John in her car to drop him off at his bike. When he had asked her why she had not been more ebullient after the find of the narcotics cache, she had asked him in a flat voice why he thought the super had stayed. He had looked at her without comprehension what she had meant until she had explained her doubts and worries to him. Which he had waved away as foolishness.
Perhaps he was right, and it had been foolish to think anything about it. It was possible after all that Pooh Bear had simply been curious. And even if it had meant he had not put full confidence in Ajanta before, she must have convinced him of the opposite having found the stash herself. And the main thing had been that DCI Ianthe Seymour had left with Brandon Nicholson leaving Ajanta to lead the team and had not once called her to ask about progress or interfere in any way until Ajanta had called her to report the find. And Norman had not beaten her to it but had left it to her to inform Ianthe. Which was undeniably a good sign. So why did she feel so miserable?
Ajanta drove her mini cooper onto the roundabout from Dyke Road and took the third exit on the left into Buckingham Road. Some idiot in a bimmer thought he had the right of way and honked the horn at her. Those motorists seemed to be convinced that the brand they were driving gave them the right of way everywhere! The mini cooper was definitely fashionable, but not the most impressive car obviously. Perhaps she should buy a BMW as well to boost her confidence. Or the kind of Merc that Brandon Nicholson drove. Now that was a flashy car! Or a big SUV like Ben’s. That was a thought! Not on her wages though. The mini and so many other things were all on credit. Or purchased for her by Sean. She felt a little better at the thought of Sean. He was definitely the best thing that had happened to her in her life. If only her family would see that, too. The thought of her family and in particular her mother depressed her again. She was so eager for their appreciation and quite desperate because of their rejection. Running away with Sean had been at the same time the best decision she had ever made and the worst decision. Even if he was so good for her, and even though his family did their absolute best to make her feel welcome, she missed her Bengali family loads of times and longed for the easy togetherness they enjoyed.
Ajanta had to turn right into Clifton Street and drive all the way down to Guildford Road before she found a parking space. She locked the car carefully and started to walk back to Buckingham Place. She saw light shining behind the drawn curtains. Sean was at home then. No doubt he would have prepared dinner as well. Ajanta had been planning a trip to Bangladesh to see her mother. Without Sean. She had not told him yet and she knew he would be disappointed. That made her feel more miserable. She would not tell him tonight she decided. Perhaps they could talk about a new car. A ruby red Mercedes SL. How much would she be able to sell the Mini Cooper for? She felt a little better when she turned the key in the lock of the front door.
*
Detective Sergeant John Ryan was puzzled by the events of the day. The search of the Devos residence in Lewes had been a bit of a let-down he thought. He had returned to Malling House almost immediately with DS Ajanta Ghani, taking Josephine Devos with them. At HQ they had put a very bewildered looking Ms Devos in Interview Room One. He had thought they would have grilled her on her relationship with her husband. He had thought it borderline suspicious that she had claimed she had not had any knowledge of her husband having been let go by Nokia. She had claimed that he had always worked from home a lot and that he had continued to do so and even had used the boat as his office. He would stay on the boat or would go on a ‘business trip’ which in reality had been a sailing trip and she had never questioned any of this? He understood his official office had been in Reading, which was quite far away from Lewes of course, but it had meant he must never have received phone calls from colleagues while at home, or never had to check his emails while at home, even though he was obviously paid handsomely. And his wife had never asked questions about that. Or so she had claimed. He thought Josephine Devos was either extremely gullible or extraordinarily cunning. What had puzzled him however is that Ajanta Ghani had not questioned her. When he had asked her during a break while she was not being more aggressive, she had answered:
“I think Mrs Devos either is very naïve or wanted to be very naïve. Nothing more. I don’t think there is a great conspiracy or even a plan behind what she is telling us. She was happy with her life, the money and the standard of living her husband provided. Questioning that might have put all of it in danger. So, she preferred not to.”
John thought that was too easy an approach to things. And he was equally surprised when Ianthe did not doubt it either. Had he heard correctly she was now a Detective Chief Inspector? She must have been promoted only yesterday or so. And he had to admit she was impressive. Which made it even more bizarre she had not wanted to question Josephine Devos herself but had left it to her two junior colleagues. Vik would never have allowed that. But of course, he mused, while he was parking his bike at his home,
he had not thought to tell her about his misgivings about Josephine Devos. He had just relied on Ajanta to tell Ianthe about the interview. That made DS John Ryan suddenly feel rather upset with himself. This was the second time he had neglected to speak up. He looked at his watch. It was only seven oh two pm he thought and smiled finding himself looking at the time in the accurate way DCI Ianthe Seymour would have done. He took his smartphone from his biker jacket and dialled her number. It went straight to voicemail. Ah. Well it could wait until the briefing tomorrow morning he thought.
He looked up at the window of the flat he shared with his mum. The ever-changing flickering light of the television shone through the closed curtains. He had had no doubt she would be at home. Resigned to another evening with dinner in front of the telly he walked up to the front door.
*
Detective Sergeant Ben Armstrong was sitting in his Jeep across the road from his home in 147 Balfour Road feeling rather wary. Operation Blackbird was playing havoc with his thinking. The day had obviously gone well for them. First there was the success of the search in Lewes this morning and the conversation Ianthe and he had had with Helen Devos. Ajanta and John had had no result with Josephine Devos, but that was only to be expected. It would have greatly surprised him if she turned out to know more about what was going on than she had said so far. Mind you, he had been surprised before. Then there was the obvious success of the search at the Nicholson place. Ajanta had done really well there. John had told him she had actually found Brandon Nicholson’s hidden stash due to her keen interest in interior design and what things ought to look like. Ianthe had been quite right to delegate the search to her. Ajanta was indeed a very competent officer, Ben thought. Bound to go places. Like Ianthe. Detective Chief Inspector Ianthe now. Boy, ‘stellar rise’ was an understatement in her case. But well deserved. Smart, competent, full of confidence had been adjectives he had known to apply to her. Add to that now a proven propensity to delegate tasks well to team members in such a natural and unassuming way that everyone in the team felt appreciated and was allowed to shine. No wonder the brass had noticed her and had decided to give her more responsibilities. On his way out just before seven pm he had observed DI Vik Gorti storming out of Norman’s office with his face a thundercloud. He knew what that discussion must have been about. Guys like Vik always failed to realize why their careers got stuck. They thought they were delegating while they were really trying to micromanage and looked for every opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight instead of allowing the team to excel. Which more often than not resulted in good people not wanting to work with them anymore and not-so-good people not being challenged to improve. DCI Ianthe Seymour did all that and more, and with such a ‘naturel’ as if she had been born to just do that. And then there were her impressive powers of observation as well of course. Ben had noticed her left eyebrow shooting up in surprise during their briefing session when he had mentioned the exact current street price of a gram of coke. It had been a slip of the tongue. But she had not missed it and his weak response to that had also not failed to register he was sure. She must be wondering what it meant that he actually knew those details. He would not be surprised if he received an invitation to undergo a drug test one of the next days. That did not really matter right now, he thought. He had been completely clean for a while. Unlike a number of his friends though, which was how he was still so aware of what was going on on the scene. He had basically kicked the habit when he had decided to join the force. He had never been a big user anyway. The pain medication after his knee fracture in his last game had caused it. But he did not want to risk his new career. Even though he had figured out the random tests were not so random anyway. If you were aware of when testing was going on, after a few times you could figure out the algorithm they were using to identify the officers to be randomly selected. He would normally not be up again for a test for the next six months at least. Unless of course Ianthe offered his name.
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