Backlash

by Lynda La Plante

  Everyone waited as she put up a picture of the burnt-out Jeep on the board and then turned to her captive audience with an almost theatrical flourish.

  ‘Forensics have confirmed from the chassis and engine numbers that this was the same Jeep stolen from Cobham. Finding any further forensics is a long shot, but the steering wheel, windows and doors are still intact. They will not know until later if we have any identifiable prints that match Oates. It is also doubtful that they will be able to recover any DNA, but they are working on it.’

  In fact Anna had only just received this information in a text message from Pete Jenkins. She had managed to reply before taking the floor, asking him to make sure they covered every inch of what was left of the Jeep for prints and bloodstains. Now, she ended her lengthy speech by indicating the dates on which Oates was seen covered in chalk dust.

  ‘His basement was a filthy hovel, but nothing that could link him directly to the chalk quarry was found. His slipup was Mrs Murphy seeing him looking “ghostly” at two in the morning. Oates told Mr Murphy that it was chalk dust his wife had seen on him. She cannot be sure of the exact day but I have narrowed it down to the week Rebekka went missing . . . Added to this is the confirmation from one of his associates that he had attempted to get work driving the trucks in the quarry, and this means Oates knew the area.’

  A murmur broke out as she returned to her seat and Mike Lewis stood up once more. Like everyone else, he was taken aback by the revelation of such vital pieces of evidence. But to calm things down, he stressed that they were still without a single witness for two of the murders Oates had claimed. Without doubt, they had him for the murder of Justine Marks, but even with the considerable amount of circumstantial evidence, they would still have difficulty in proving Oates murdered Fidelis Julia Flynn and Rebekka Jordan. It was at this point that Mike looked at Langton. There was an embarrassing delay as Langton found it difficult to get to his feet. Barolli had to give him a hand, which he clearly hated, but he covered it by making a joke about stiffening up due to waiting so long to say his piece. He adjusted his tie and firstly apologized for keeping everyone waiting for the briefing to start. He then gestured to the incident board and as always gave a theatrical pause for effect.

  ‘The cost of this triple enquiry has escalated and it has been difficult for me, being out of action, to oversee everything that’s been going on, especially the Rebekka Jordan case. However I congratulate DCI Travis as she has uncovered vital evidence that five years ago I was unable to bring to light. Acting on admissions from Henry Oates regarding the two unsolved murders, you have all shown incredible dedication, but even considering your achievements it has still been a major problem for me to get the green light to continue.’

  A murmur broke out and Anna clenched her hands. Surely he was not going to pull them off their cases at this juncture? But then he gave one of his flashing smiles.

  ‘But we have the go-ahead, and now with extra staff and total commitment I know you will find the evidence to put Oates away for every murder he has committed.’

  He indicated the photographs of the items removed from Oates’s basement.

  Anna was relieved and sat back in her chair as Langton continued, informing the team that in the morning they would be getting Oates back in police custody for interview. He reminded them they were dealing with a man who had killed and who enjoyed the power it had given him to outwit the law. He went into detail about the cost of searching the quarries, and warned that it might be impossible to mount such a big operation due to the time and manpower it would require.

  Anna was nonplussed. One moment he was opening up their enquiry and the next it felt as if he was closing it down. Langton started to loosen his tie before taking a chair and turning it around so he could remain standing but lean on the back of it.

  ‘If we can find further evidence, in particular from that bastard’s trophy box, I believe it will be the key to breaking him down in the interviews. It will be imperative we move slowly, if we want him to admit his sick prowess, but with encouragement and tenacious psychological questioning, I believe Oates will crack . . .’ He crooked his finger and smiled.

  ‘Get the fox out of his lair, get him so fired up with his cleverness he will want to reveal his brilliance, and it will be Oates himself who will take us to the poor souls’ graves. I have lived for five years with the face of little Rebekka Jordan, I felt I failed her and her family, but I truly believe we are close to uncovering what happened to her, uncovering this man’s sick perverted pleasures. So, good work everyone, keep at it, and we will get the result we all want.’

  The briefing broke up. Langton had, as he always did, given everyone a boost of confidence, an energy boost. Anna could see that he was tired out, and was about to offer him a lift when he disappeared into Mike’s office, asking Joan to order a car in fifteen minutes.

  Barolli sidled up to her desk and nodded towards Mike’s closed door.

  ‘You think Mike is up for this?’

  ‘Up for what?’

  ‘Getting the fox, as the guv said, out of his lair.’

  ‘You got that wrong, Paul, he’s got to think we don’t know what we are doing, not him, it’s going to be up to Mike to draw him out.’

  ‘Langton should be the one to do it.’

  ‘No he shouldn’t. This is Mike’s investigation, he has to take the lead, but Langton will be in the viewing room.’

  ‘You in for the interview with him?’

  ‘Samuels said it might be a bad idea, so you might have to do it.’

  ‘Who, me? You know more about all the cases than I do.’

  ‘What’s wrong, Paul – not up for it?’

  As Paul hurried off, Anna laughed. Langton had already said she would be in the interview with Oates. The truth was, she was unsure about Mike’s ability to conduct the type of interview Samuels had recommended, but it was not her place to say so, and she knew that if she was sitting beside him rather than Langton he would have the opportunity to prove himself.

  Langton left without saying goodnight, and Anna and Mike found themselves still working at nine o’clock, preparing for the following morning.

  ‘Christ, there’s so much here to get through, it’s going to take all night,’ Anna said.

  Mike, visibly drawn and tired, hesitated and then ruffled his hair.

  ‘You think Langton should steer the interview?’ he asked Anna.

  ‘No, this is your investigation and you’ve led the team from day one. He’ll probably be looking over your shoulder from the viewing room and he’ll proffer advice along the way, but believe me, Mike, you are ready for this.’

  He smiled and had no idea she was lying.

  ‘Thanks for that. Can we just go through some more strategy before you leave? I’ve got a shedload of notes from Langton and I’d like to run them by you.’

  ‘Sure, and we need to work out a signal between us when one or other of us takes over questioning Oates.’

  ‘What did you and Langton have?’

  She smiled and said Langton would close his notebook to indicate that she was to open hers. Other times he would tap her on the knee beneath the table. It wasn’t a question of good cop, bad cop, it was simply exhausting work trying to draw out truthful answers from the depths of a twisted mind. Since everything was filmed and recorded, they had to go by the book.

  ‘Another one of Langton’s tricks is to use a fountain pen,’ Anna remembered. ‘He’ll take it out of his pocket when the interview starts, remove the cap and use it to write something. He then replaces the cap to look as if he’s finished. It unnerves the suspect as they think the questioning is over and they feel relieved, only for it to start again as he takes the cap off. I’ve seen him put that pen in and out of his pocket numerous times – again it unnerves the suspect – but the signal to take over is when he lays the pen down flat by his notebook, and if he taps the table twice with the pen he wants to take over the questions.’

  M
ike leaned back in his chair. She could tell he was very unsure of himself, and again she encouraged him, reiterating that no matter how nervous he was, she would be right beside him and together they would make a strong team. He opened a desk drawer and took out a fountain pen, held it up and smiled.

  ‘I’ll put some practice in, top off, top on.’

  Anna suggested that they re-read the report from Samuels and pay very close attention to his interview advice. Mike agreed and together they went through the file he had left with them.

  ‘I reckon you should start off by asking Oates about the Justine Marks case first,’ Anna said.

  Mike was puzzled as he had already done this and he didn’t think it would take them any further.

  ‘Remember Samuels said Oates knew the game was over as soon as Justine Marks’ body was found in the back of the van but you went in blind and were too aggressive,’ she prompted.

  ‘Thanks for reminding me. My confidence needed boosting.’

  ‘My point is that this time you’re not blind. Her case is the one with the strongest evidence out of all of them. It’s the freshest in your mind, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well it’s the same for him, but the difference is he’s revelling in it, still getting his rocks off dreaming about it every night. To Oates Justine is still a fresh kill.’

  ‘So you’re saying if I can draw him out about Justine’s murder using his behavioural patterns he may let it all out . . .’

  ‘Then the rest will follow and he will be dying to tell you about all the other murders.’

  ‘That’s brilliant, Anna, thanks for that.’

  ‘Just in case it doesn’t work, don’t disclose the doll pieces, trinkets box or crucifix to Kumar. Oates doesn’t know about them either and still thinks we haven’t found anything. To him they’re murder trophies, so it’ll be like dropping a bombshell when we reveal what we know.’

  It was after eleven by the time Anna collected her briefcase and coat ready to leave, and even then some of the team were still working. Tomorrow was a big day, and she could see the trolley of files stacked up for Mike to select and check through. The mug shots of Henry Oates had been enlarged and pinned up. Having never met him, Anna stared at his face: the blue eyes set wide apart, the flattened boxer nose, the thick-lipped mouth. The face could not be described as foxy, there was no cunning in the vacant eyes, but she knew that inside Henry Oates was a vicious animal and that if they drew him out too fast, he would bite them and retreat back into his lair. To lure and keep him out of his lair they would have to stroke, cajole and encourage him and it would take time and patience.

  Tomorrow she would meet him face to face. Her emotions were very mixed, but shockingly she was actually looking forward to drawing out the fox.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Adan Kumar arrived at Hackney Police Station promptly at eight-thirty. He was as usual overconfident and ingratiating, smiling and shaking hands with both Mike Lewis and Anna as they at first discussed the murder of Justine Marks. As he was already well aware that his client was charged with her murder, he listened without interruption. He had not, as they feared he would, requested a psychiatric assessment of his client. Kumar did however express concerns about his client’s physical and mental state, but Mike informed him that on his arrival earlier this morning Oates had been seen by a doctor who had declared him fit to be interviewed.

  It was a shaken Adan Kumar who was led through the disclosure of his client’s connection to the disappearance of Rebekka Jordan and the murder of Fidelis Julia Flynn. He made copious notes and often asked for Mike to repeat himself, which he obligingly did. Kumar appeared hardly able to digest the bulk of evidence mounting against his client. He did attempt to argue that he should have been given prior access to the documents, but Mike pointed out that the enquiries were still ongoing and it was hoped that his client would be able to assist them.

  Kumar, now visibly nervous, was given access to Oates to discuss the disclosure evidence and, to the surprise of the team, he returned after spending only half an hour with his client, to inform them he was now ready to be interviewed.

  Langton was already set up in the viewing room with Barolli. The interview would be filmed and recorded to DVD. Whilst they waited for Oates to be brought up from the cells, Mike and Anna checked through the trolley filled with files and made sure that the photographs and statements for the Justine Marks case were laid out. Mike glanced at Anna. She had her notebook out and a row of sharpened pencils beside it.

  ‘You all set?’

  ‘Yes.’

  They had only a few more minutes to wait before they heard footsteps outside in the corridor. Kumar entered and sat opposite Mike Lewis. He took out his notes and took one of the bottles of water provided on the trolley. The solicitor said nothing, but he gave a couple of anxious coughs and looked at his watch. Heavier footsteps sounded from the corridor as two uniformed officers approached with Henry Oates between them. One opened the door, the other stepped back to allow the suspect to walk into the room. He was wearing prison-issue denim jeans and shirt and black slip-on trainers. He was smaller than Anna had anticipated, no more than five feet nine, but he was well built, with broad sloping shoulders and a slim waist, and the jeans without a belt looked loose.

  ‘I sit here, do I?’ he asked, nodding to the only vacant chair.

  ‘Yes, please,’ Mike said, without looking up.

  ‘Opposite her,’ Oates said, smiling.

  Anna forced herself to return his smile and stared into his face. His wide-set very blue eyes were unnerving, babyish, the nose even more flattened than in the photographs, as if the entire bridge had been crushed. His flared nostrils tilted upwards, giving his cheeks a strangely flat appearance. His thick lips were pinkish, and from his smile she could see that his teeth were gapped and stained. He wore his hair in a dirty blond curly crew cut which revealed that one of his ears was much thicker than the other.

  Mike quietly read through the police caution, gesturing first to the tape recorder and then to the cameras. It was ten-thirty-five. He started off by asking Oates if he could call him Henry, to which the prisoner nodded in agreement. Mike said he was sorry to hear about the assault on him in prison and that he hoped Oates was now feeling better. Oates said nothing but just sat looking around the room. Anna knew that Mike was trying to soften him up as Samuels had suggested, but so far this was not bringing any noticeable response from Oates.

  ‘We have here, Henry, your original statement when you were arrested,’ Mike went on, ‘and I would like to draw your attention to certain paragraphs in which you told me how the body of Justine Marks came to be discovered in the rear of the van you were driving.’

  Oates listened attentively, slouching in the chair.

  ‘I need to go over what happened with Justine again.’

  ‘Why? I already told you it was an accident.’

  ‘Yes, and we appreciate your honesty, but last time I didn’t really give you an opportunity to tell your side of the story and there are a few things I didn’t understand.’

  ‘All right, fire away then,’ Oates replied with a yawn.

  ‘You said that you stopped to offer Justine a lift home but she was rude. How was she rude?’

  ‘Bitch told me to fuck off when I was just trying to do the right thing.’

  ‘She must have liked you, though, as she obviously changed her mind.’

  ‘Yeah, but I had to tell her I was okay, like nothing for her to get worried about.’

  ‘You must have really turned on the charm to persuade her to have sex with you,’ Mike suggested.

  ‘Well, not a lot. I think she was just up for it and fancied me anyway.’

  ‘Wish I was so lucky.’

  ‘Well you got it or you ain’t,’ Oates replied with a wink of his eye.

  Both Anna and Mike noticed that Oates had started to sit more upright as the conversation went on. He was now leaning forwards making eye co
ntact with Mike as if he was having a lads’ chat in the pub.

  Langton sighed. This was going to be a very long day. He found it extremely irritating to have to sit and listen to Mike being all namby-pamby with a man like Oates, but he knew there was a purpose to it and that it had to be done if Oates was to fall into the trap. He was actually impressed with Mike’s tactics and the way he was drawing Oates onside. He did wonder how much of the strategy was down to Travis’s advice, but either way the fact that they had planned the interview and were now executing it together was good to see.

  ‘You said that after willingly having sex with you Justine suddenly became hysterical and attacked you . . .’ Mike was saying.

  ‘Kicked me in the balls.’

  ‘That must have pissed you off, let alone hurt like hell.’

  ‘It did piss me off. I thought, you ungrateful slag. I give her a good shagging and she then throws a hissy fit .’

  ‘If I were you I think I’d have slapped her as well.’

  Kumar suddenly interrupted.

  ‘DCI Lewis, I really think this line of questioning is leading—’

  Before he could finish his sentence Oates with a look of rage in his eyes turned quickly and poked his solicitor firmly in the chest.

  ‘You don’t ever interrupt me again!’ Oates shook his head in annoyance then turned back to Mike, who resumed at once.

  ‘I was saying I could understand you losing your temper like that and hitting her with the spanner.’