‘Maybe. Who else did you meet?’
‘Of his people? That Lee Bell, when he came on the scene a few years back, but that was it. I always got the feeling that he didn’t mention me to many of his people. That’s the way people like him work. Come to think of it your job is much the same, I suppose. Mushroom management, I used to call it.’
‘And who did you tell?’
‘No-one.’
‘Not even your wife?’
‘Leave my wife out of this. But no, I didn’t.’
‘Have you got anything to corroborate what you’ve told us? Did you record your conversations, for example?’
Iredale smiled. It was a tired smile.
‘Now that’s why you’ve got the gold-plated handcuffs, isn't it? No, I never thought of it, to tell the truth. I suppose you might find records of the things I found out for him, down the years. You know, my log in details on the PNC, all that.’
‘Yes, that might help, especially if offences were committed after you passed on the information. But I’m not sure that, on its own, would be enough to convict him of anything.’
‘So what are you saying? I’m bloody giving myself up here. I want to do it, so let’s get it over with, like.’
‘I appreciate that, I really do. But you were the victim of blackmail here, and I believe you when you say that no money changed hands.’
‘The courts would take that into account. I’m willing to take my chances.’
‘Perhaps they would. Jane, any thoughts?’
Jane knew Hall more than well enough to know that she wouldn’t be required to just agree with the boss. But, as it happened, she did. And she said as much. It was a minute or two before Hall spoke again.
‘All right. How about this? We log this conversation, and report it only to the ACC Crime. With her approval we do nothing, until and unless we’re not able to make a case against George Hayton and other gang members in relation to the death of Chris Brown. If that’s the case Bill comes forward voluntarily, and offers the CPS a deal. Full disclosure in return for whatever they’re willing to give. How does that sound?’
‘Would the ACC wear it?’ said Iredale. ‘I remember her when she was just another pen-pusher at HQ.’
‘She still is’ said Hall, ‘but she might go for it.’
‘You sound doubtful, Andy’ said Jane.
‘Tell you what’ said Hall. ‘Why don’t the two of you go for a stroll for ten minutes? Let me think this through. I might be able to come up with something better.’
When they came back Jane knew immediately that Hall had indeed thought of something. And he thought that she smelled of fresh air. This time Iredale went to get the coffees. When he came back Hall was ready to lay out his idea.
‘I’ve thought of something that I think I can sell up the line, which would keep you out of jail, and which might help us bring Hayton down, and get justice for Chris Brown too.’
‘Sounds good to me’ said Iredale. ‘Though I can’t see it myself, like.’
‘Let me ask you something, Bill’ said Hall. ‘Did you ever get the feeling that Hayton had another source of information, inside the force, I mean?’
Iredale sat back.
‘Bugger me. You are as clever as they say you are. I hadn’t thought about that in years but aye, I did, towards the end, like. I did have a feeling that they had someone else. Hayton might even have hinted at it, once or twice.’
‘Locally?’
‘Aye, definitely.’
‘And this would be five, six years ago?’
‘About that, aye. Say the last year or two of my service.’
‘All right, so how about this? What if you were to meet up with George Hayton, and offer your services again, but in return for money this time?’
‘But I don’t know anything, do I?’
‘Yes, but that’s not what you say. You tell him that Keith confides in you, tells you everything. And one of the thing he’s told you is that we know Hayton’s got someone on the inside, and that he might have been turned by us. To feed Hayton duff information, or whatever.’
‘Aye, I follow you’ said Iredale, doubtfully. ‘So why am I doing this again? After all this time, like.’
‘For money. We’ll work out the details later.’
‘Would Keith have to know?’
‘I thought you’d ask that. No, not while the operation is underway, anyway. And beyond that, maybe not even then. Because I can’t see you ever being a credible witness in a prosecution, and assuming the CPS is willing to grant immunity in return for you doing this then I think it might never need to come out at all.’
‘Clever’ said Iredale. ‘Bloody clever.’
‘There is one tiny flaw in this plan though, isn’t there?’ said Jane.
‘Yes’ said Hall, ‘there certainly is.’
Iredale looked puzzled, so Jane explained.
‘What if Hayton hasn’t actually got anyone on the inside now? What then?’
‘Got you’ said Iredale. ‘He wouldn’t buy it then, would he?’
‘No’ agreed Hall, ‘that’s true enough, but would it matter? I don’t think we’d be putting you at any additional risk, Bill, and from your perspective you’d already have the deal from us in your back pocket.’
They finished their coffees in silence.
‘I’ll do it’ said Iredale, eventually.
‘Why not think it over? Take a day or so.’ said Hall.
‘No, I don’t need to. You’ve been right generous to me, both of you, and I won’t forget it. I’m in, if you are. Just tell me what you want me to do.’
Jane and Hall sat and watched Iredale as he walked back to his car.
‘Be honest, Andy. Why didn’t you just caution him and take him in? Did you actually believe that sob-story he told?’
‘Funny enough, I think I did. But that’s not the point though, is it? The fact is that we’re well and truly becalmed at the moment, Jane. Matt Hayton isn’t the brightest, but even he knows that the phone Keith found gives us nothing. On its own we could never charge him on the basis of it, anyway. So we’re a bloody mile away from George still, aren’t we? I’m starting to think that our only chance is to try to get him to panic, get him out of his comfort zone somehow. This might just do the trick.’
‘All right, let’s assume you’re right. But what are you going to give Bill Iredale to get Hayton going? What have we got that would make him feel in any way exposed? As you said yourself, the case we’ve got at the moment wouldn’t be strong enough to pull the skin off a rice pudding.’
‘Agreed. And I do have one idea. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. For now my task is to persuade the ACC to forego a dead-cert corruption collar, even a historic one, in return for the chance of greater glory. And, to tell you the truth, I’m far from certain which way she’ll jump.’
‘So if she does, what’s this idea? I know you’re dying to tell me.’
‘We need to show George Hayton that he’s very much the target here, that we know he’s ultimately responsible for Chris Brown’s death, and that we’re not letting up.’
‘How do we do that?’
‘We go and see him. Tomorrow, first thing. And then I’ll get someone to drive me over to HQ to see the ACC, and then on home.’
‘Was it something I said?’
‘No, of course not. I need to rest my knee, and you’re more than capable of taking this enquiry forward. We need to build the pressure on Hayton and his crew, and to connect one of them, and I don’t care which, directly to either the burglary or the assault on Baker. I know it sounds easy if I say it quickly, but that’s what we’ve just got to do. What you’ve got to do, I mean.’
‘And you have a proposal? Tell me you’ve got an idea, Andy.’
‘Come on. Let’s get back to the station. We can discuss it on the way.’
By the time they were approaching Workington Jane had a pretty good idea of what Hall had in mind.
‘So y
ou’re saying that we build a timeline for all of Hayton’s boys for the evening and night of last Tuesday? Because that should, or rather might, help us identify who it was who did Baker and his hotel room over. Christ, Andy, that’s a shed-load of extra work.’
‘I know, but there are ways of cutting it down. For a start, just pick the two or three of his guys who look most likely for the assault or the burglary. Their previous will be a help there. And make sure you look at Lee Bell too.’
‘He doesn’t look the type to get his hands dirty.’
‘I know, but I’m willing to bet that Hayton likes to have him involved in anything important. A bit of insurance, if you like. And one other thing, Jane. How have we got on with the CCTV of the car they used? Did we manage to track it back, to see where it was before the raid?’
‘No. No luck I’m afraid.’
‘Did we have the CCTV near Hayton’s taxi office examined though?’
‘Shit. I should have thought of that. Taking the inductive approach. Of course. I’m sorry, Andy.’
‘Don’t be. And it’s just an idea, remember. It might take us nowhere. But something solid would be good. Really good, in fact.’
‘How long have I got to find something?’
‘Assuming that I see Val in the morning, then you’ve got until then.’
‘OK. Tell you what, why don’t I drop you back at the hotel? This may be a late one. But one thing, Andy. And I’m sorry to ask again. Can we definitely trust young Keith?’
‘Absolutely’ said Hall. ‘I’m confident that he’s not George Hayton’s man.’
‘So you’re sure it’s Smith or Hodgson then?’
Hall laughed.
‘Christ no, Jane. It’s definitely not either of them. I’m sure that they’ve been bloody hostile to you and Ian, but that’s not because they’re bent.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘One reason, but it’s a good one. Why would they draw attention to the fact that the power struggle between Hayton and Moffett was coming to a head like that? After all, they chose to get involved in the Good Friday game, didn’t they? They weren’t ordered to go along.’
‘But Chris Brown was killed accidentally. So it doesn’t prove anything.’
‘I’m not so sure. We know for a fact that a confrontation was planned, and did happen. In other words Smith and Hodgson weren’t trying to misdirect any subsequent investigation. Agreed?’
‘Yes. I do see what you mean. But they are acting strangely, Andy.’
‘I don’t doubt it. But maybe you’re just confusing simple hostility and defensiveness with actual guilt.’
‘It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done that’ she said, laughing.
Thursday, May 1st
It was one in the morning, and the station was midweek, middle-of-the-night quiet. But Jane wasn’t alone, because Ian Mann and Keith Iredale had stayed on with her. Iredale had gone out and bought them a take-away to share, and Jane couldn’t remember the last time that she’d enjoyed one so much.
‘All right, Keith’ she said, when she’d carefully put their empty food containers back into the thin plastic bag that they’d arrived in and tied off the top, ‘have you got all the relevant clips connected up for us?’
‘Aye. Shall I show you?’
The three officers watched in silence. The shot was from a CCTV traffic camera at the lights, about fifty yards from the taxi office.
‘Here’s the car arriving’ said Iredale. ‘It’s 9.57pm. I know we can’t read the registration number from here, but we’ve got the car on another camera, a minute before, and it’s absolutely clear on that.’
‘And the sequence of cars around it is the same?’ asked Jane. ‘There’s no doubt that it’s the same one?’
‘Yes. I’ve checked the three before and after. They all match.’
‘Good.’
A few seconds later three men, merely indistinct shapes, came out of the taxi office and got into the car, one in the front passenger seat and two in the back.
‘And this is where we got lucky’ said Iredale, ‘because the lights changed and our boys didn’t want to draw any attention, so they actually stopped for once. Shall I call up the freeze-frame?’
Jane nodded, and a still image replaced the moving one.
‘It’ll get enhanced before anything comes to court, but there’s no doubt, is there? That’s Matt Hayton driving, and Lee Stringer in the front passenger seat.’
‘Agreed’ said Jane. ‘So we can identify the car, place it at Hayton’s taxi office, and we can identify two of the occupants as well.’
‘Exactly. And, as you know, we have that same vehicle at the hotel a little before midnight. Two unidentified men get out, one from the back and one from the front, both on the passenger side.’
‘Can we be sure that the one who gets out of the front is Bell?’ asked Mann.
‘I can’t, but who knows what the techies will be able to do with it? They couldn’t give us an ID based on the original footage alone, but this time we’d be asking a different question. We wouldn’t be asking who the person is, but simply whether or not it’s Bell. They can do gait analysis and all sorts then, can’t they?’
‘But we still haven’t got footage of the car anywhere near the scene of the assault, or after the robbery?’
‘No’ said Iredale, ‘and it definitely doesn’t go back to the taxi office. They’re not that stupid, I suppose.’
‘So where does it go?’ said Jane. ‘We know where it ends up, but how did it get there?’
‘Here’s the route I think it took’ said Iredale, calling up the digital map of the county. ‘This is the best route to get you out of town, if you’re trying to avoid CCTV and ANPR. And from there the driver could have just used the backroads over to Dalston, and the place where they dumped it.’
‘Nice work, Keith’ said Jane, and waited for Ian Mann to join in. But he didn’t. He was staring at the map on the screen.
‘Tell me this, Keith’ said Mann eventually. ‘Is there a way to get to the Hayton’s haulage yard from Workington, without being picked up on camera?’
‘Oh aye, no problem. It’s not far off this route in fact, is it?’
‘No, lad, it’s not.’
Jane heard something in Mann’s tone that she didn’t like.
‘Problem, Ian?’
Mann didn’t reply, and just shook his head.
‘Come on, mate. Out with it,’ said Jane.
‘It just goes to show, how bloody wrong you can be about people.’
‘Attractive young women, you mean?’
‘Aye, maybe it’s that. But I believed that she wasn’t involved in her dad’s dirty work, like. I really did.’
For some reason that she couldn’t quite identify Jane felt slightly sorry for Mann.
‘Look, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, does it? Just because the car might have passed by. There’s no evidence that the car was ever even in that yard.’
‘True, but where was it between Tuesday night and Saturday night then? It wasn’t driving about, was it? So it had to have been stashed somewhere. That place would be ideal.’
‘Even so, Ian, you’re jumping to conclusions a bit, aren’t you? We’re all tired. Let’s all get some kip. We’ve got what Andy wanted, and that’s another stick to beat George Hayton with. I doubt that he’ll even want to bring Debbie Hayton into all this.’
‘Aye, but I do. If she’s involved with her dad’s business then she’s as dirty as he is. Part of the conspiracy even.’
Jane decided to bow to the inevitable, and at least preserve her modest level of managerial dignity.
‘All right. Go and talk to her again tomorrow if you like. But not until we’re done with interviewing George Hayton and Lee Bell, OK?’
‘Fine. But I’ve done this job long enough to know not to trust people like her, not ever. I’m bloody ashamed of myself.’
‘You’re not compromised are you, Ian? Andy wi
ll want you off the case straight away if you are.’
‘Of course I’m not. What do you take me for? I’m not a bloody probationer. I just thought….’
Mann tailed off, and the others sat in silence. For the first time that day Jane felt tired, and her legs were heavy as she moved along the empty corridor a couple of minutes later, the lights coming on automatically as she walked.
Andy Hall couldn’t get comfortable on the hard chair in the interview room, so he put his bad leg up again. It helped, but only a bit. When Ian Mann showed in Lee Bell and his lawyer Hall apologised for not getting up.
‘You’re all right’ said Bell, sitting down. Hall noticed that Bell seemed to be making an effort not to look around too much, and to seem relaxed. And the effort was very nearly paying off.
‘Would you like me to explain how this works?’ said Hall.
‘No. I get it. I’m not under arrest, and I can go whenever I want.’
‘That’s about it. So, Ian, would you do the honours?’
Mann got the tape running, and made the introductions.
‘I’d like to know where you were in the evening of last Tuesday, the 22nd?’
‘I’m not sure. What sort of time?’
‘Say from after work. Six o’clock, perhaps.’
‘Blimey, you have it easy, don’t you? Not many of us in the private sector finish grafting at six. Not if you work for George Hayton, anyway.’
‘So you were still at work at six?’
‘For sure, aye. If I remember rightly I was there until quite late, maybe ten or eleven. Time flies when you’re having fun, as they say.’
‘And how did you get home?’
Bell didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t break eye contact either.
‘One of the lads gave me a lift.’
‘Which one?’
‘One of the boss’s gofers. Matt, probably.’
‘And was that in his car? According to our records he drives a Mercedes.’
‘Probably. I don’t remember. If it had four wheels and a seat. That’s enough for me when I’m knackered, like.’
Hail and Farewell (The Lakeland Murders) Page 17