by John Mead
‘I agree,’ Swift came to a decision as Merry spoke. ‘Despite the chief’s recommendation of using her I believe we’d be better without her. Although, to be fair, I think she is right that we have underestimated Cowan, she’s a much more subtle actor in this than I’ve certainly given her credit for. However, on Monday the gloves will be off.’
Before heading home for the weekend Merry called Ray, knowing he would be the last to leave, ‘Can you get details of Doctor Hassan’s recent bank transactions?’
‘As we are paying her expenses, I can get them easily enough,’ Rosen had seen it all and wasn’t fased by the request, ‘though I’d have to be a bit inventive as to her status in the investigation after all she isn’t a suspect. Is she?’
‘Not exactly, it’s just that I’ve been wondering where Cowan got that roll of money from,’ Merry explained. ‘Let’s just call it an elimination, for our peace of mind.’
21
Julie’s mother was all smiles and good cheer, despite looking tired, she was obviously determined her daughter should not worry about her. In reality it simply made Julie worry more. Her grandmother had been the same, up until her very end she had denied anything was wrong, that there had been nothing for anyone to worry about. It reminded Julie that the women in her family were both fighters and deniers. Denial was something that gripped her now, she thought. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to protect the woman she loved, as she realised she no longer loved Alima. It was, however, that she couldn’t face the fact that a woman she had loved should be so duplicitous. It was coming to terms with this that decided her to phone her boss, at least it got Julie out of helping in the kitchen as her step-brother and his wife prepared Sunday lunch while her mother was entertained by her grandchildren in the garden.
Matthew had also spent most of the hot, summery weekend in the garden, finishing the tree house. To him it was a large wooden box, stood on stilts, with holes cut in it and a dodgy looking rope ladder for access. To his daughters though, it was just the right mix of fairy castle and trolls cave, no doubt it was his wife’s artistic flair for the furnishings and painting the exterior that made it magical in his daughters’ eyes.
Saturday evening had been spent with his wife, emptying a bottle of wine and discussing what to do about her redundancy. The restructure, apparently designed by the deputy head in charge of curriculum, decimated the school’s pastoral care team whilst leaving curriculum intact. Kathy explained she could have cried on seeing it, despite being pre-warned, but had refused herself the self-pity, as she saw it. She would of course apply for the single deputy post remaining, combining curriculum and pastoral, but would also start thinking of other options. The likely redundancy payout was less than Matthew had expected but they agreed that, with care, it should tide them over until something came up.
Merry was in the middle of helping prepare Sunday lunch when Lukula phoned, and he went into the garden, where his daughters played in the tent they had made under the tree house, to talk. It was a short conversation, as Julie told him her findings and the suspicions it raised in her mind about Doctor Hassan.
‘It puts her at the scene of Lynsey’s killing,’ Lukula pointed out, ‘which is bad enough, but given what you discovered about her and that she has visited the nail bar at the Berner Centre a number of times, it raises serious concerns about how much she hasn’t told us.’ Julie hesitated at the final step before taking it but then plunged on, ‘It might even suggest she is colluding with Cowan, perhaps trying to protect her patient rather than helping the police solve a murder.’
‘We are going to have to tell the govenor first thing tomorrow,’ Merry concluded, stating the obvious, ‘I’ve been in touch with Hayden and surveillance hasn’t revealed anything new.’ Swift had drafted in additional officers to ensure a round the clock watch was kept on Cowan and Billy, the cost of manpower involved was going to test the chief superintendent’s textbook calm manner, ‘and he will be wanting Cowan and Billy Craig brought in Monday. He’s already agreed Alima is a liability and can’t be used as a consultant any more but I will need to explain that he should also have her brought in for questioning. It’s time she was completely honest with us.’
There was a pause as Lukula gathered her strength and set aside her pride to tell him, ‘You know I can’t be involved in that, don’t you. Since meeting Alima I have gotten close to her, started a relationship with her. I shouldn’t now be involved in interviewing or investigating her.’ Julie had expected a degree of surprise from Merry but up until this moment she had simply been having a relationship with a civilian consultant, hardly unethical and certainly not contrary to any police procedure, so she wondered at the length of the pause in the conversation as Matthew considered what he’d been told.
‘I didn’t realise,’ he finally stated, having moved to a corner of the garden furthest from any prying ears, ‘so I hope you understand… that is I wouldn’t have… You know Alima and I had a fling years ago, before I was married.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ Julie laughed, amused that he should be worried about a liaison from so long ago, then registering his embarrassed tone the penny dropped and she went silent,
‘Well, seeing her again after all those years,’ his embarrassment was tangible, Julie could visualise him looking down at his feet, unable to face the world for the guilt of what he’d done, ‘it sort of rekindled my old feelings, that is our old feelings…’
‘You fucking bastard!’ Lukula said with cold rage. ‘You shit, you just couldn’t keep it in your pants for once could you?’ The line went dead, Julie couldn’t slam her mobile down but she could hurl it across her step-brother’s garden; much to the astonishment and amusement of her niece and nephew.
Monday morning Swift pondered what Matthew and Julie had told him, ‘Hassan’s much more deeply implicated in this than we had cause to believe,’ he repeated again, as if saying it for the sixth time somehow made the assertion more acceptable, he could see that her involvement in the case so far was not going to play well, neither politically nor legally; it had ‘career-ending cock-up’ written all over it. ‘She is almost certainly a witness, possibly an accomplice, to Lynsey’s killing. And, from what Ray has dug up about her finances, she seems to have supplied Cowan with the money to pay off Billy Craig for providing an alibi. Although it’s possible she doesn’t know the use it was put to given that she obviously didn’t warn Cowan she was under surveillance.’ Swift tapped the report Rosen had handed him showing that Hassan not only had significant debts, and various unaccountable outgoings but that she had withdrawn money from a number of ATMs, in the early hours of Friday morning, that added up to £1000. ‘Added to that she seems to have managed to bed my two senior investigating officers.’
Julie managed to keep her mouth shut but the anger contained within her breathing and facial expression caused Matthew much discomfort, much more so than Swift’s disapproval. Julie’s relationship with Alima could not be held against her but Matthew was married, a fact which hardly made his actions censurable in this day and age but still put him decidedly on the moral low ground.
‘Right,’ Swift began decisively, inwardly he was amused at Merry’s obvious discomfort. ‘I’ll take Ray and arrest Doctor Hassan, we’ll have forensics go over her flat and car, put everything on a legal footing given she has, at the very least, potentially perverted a police investigation. Matthew, you and Julie,’ he wasn’t going to let the pair off easily they needed to get over any personal difficulty and get on with the job, ‘bring in Cowan. Forget all this DID crap and treat her just as Jenny Cowan, use whatever name she responds to but otherwise do it by the book. At the moment I would be comfortable with a charge for the murder of Lynsey Hensley. I’ll have Hayden go pick up Billy Craig, she can arrest him unless he comes clean in the first five minutes. We could be waiting on a number of solicitors, so it’s likely to be a long day. What’s more the searches will take time, in addi
tion to Hassan’s flat I’ll want Cowan’s place re-examined and Craig’s if he doesn’t change his story. So it’ll be a while before we have a full picture. Any questions?’
‘Not a question,’ Rosen chimed up, knowing what he was about to say wasn’t going to endear him to either Merry or Lukula, ‘but another point to note. When I was looking at Doctor Hassan’s details for her bank account something rang a bell about her address. You may remember we had a report back from the tech guys who’d looked at Madeline Turner’s phone and she had a note in her scheduling app. We thought CW was the initials of someone she was meeting with and the number 250 was an amount of money. Well, 250 Canter Way is Hassan’s address: CW 250.’
Billy took less than five minutes to recant his statement. By the time they reached the station he was telling Hayden he’d been confused, that he had seen Jackie on the14th April but in the early evening, not the afternoon; his wife swapped her shifts so often he’d been muddled.
‘The money you were paid had nothing to do with it?’ Hayden asked, sounding anything but convinced by his change of heart.
‘I didn’t ask her for any money,’ Billy went on, desperate now to be believed, ‘she just turned up with it. “Thanks for the favour” she said, then told me not to try and see or speak with her again. She hardly seemed to know me at first. She wasn’t her normal sweet self at all but was stand-offish, almost angry with me, then went off without a by-your-leave. Obviously I wasn’t going to say no to the money, so, when the inspector saw me shortly after I was confused, didn’t know what to say or do. But, over the weekend I decided it was my civic duty to tell the truth, no matter what, and was just leaving for the police station when you knocked at my door.’
‘So what have you done with the money? We’ll be needing it as evidence to trace where the notes came from,’ Hayden informed the crestfallen Billy, doing her best not to smile as she had no sympathy with his plight.
It was late in the afternoon by the time Doctor Hassan’s solicitor arrived and spoken with his client. Despite having had sandwiches Rosen realised he would miss his dinner, he usually had a curry on a Monday night at his local Indian but if the govenor wanted him in on the interview instead of Merry or one of the others, then such was life.
‘Is this all really necessary?’ Alima asked – immediately after the formalities of setting the tape running to record the interview and introducing the persons present – breaking her solicitor’s injunction not to speak unless asked a question and then only to give the barest factual answer she could, preferably a simple yes or no. ‘I’ve already told Matthew about my involvement with Jenny Cowan both as her therapist and originally as her friend, given the support role I have within the case I realise now I should have explained this earlier but I really didn’t know it was important to do so. If I’ve broken any regulations it was unintentional.’
‘I believe it is the case that you only told Inspector Merry of your history with Jenny Cowan after he asked you, following his investigations into her background. Is that correct?’ Swift asked, still studying the notes he’d prepared beforehand.
‘Yes,’ Alima’s face was fixed in a smile as she assumed her arrest, for perverting the course of justice, and interview a formality.
‘You confirm that you have known Jenny Cowan since your early student days?’
‘Yes, I had just completed my degree and was working on my Masters,’ Alima explained.
‘You bought drugs from her?’
‘Yes, a little cannabis for my own recreational use,’ Alima glanced apologetically at the DCI. ‘A rather stupid indiscretion of my youth, I’m afraid.’
‘You travelled back with her from Mallaig to Fort William on the night she was attacked?’
Alima hesitated, the smile slipping, she had no idea the police knew that, she’d underestimated Matthew once again, though her smile was quick to return as she had her revenge lined up for him, ‘I don’t remember, it is possible.’
‘We have a photofit of a woman who travelled with her,’ Rosen placed the photofit on the table as Swift spoke, then gave the evidence number for the tape.
‘No, that isn’t me,’ Alima was quick to deny, the picture was too generalised for it to stand as proof after all this time.
‘Really?’ Swift sounded genuinely surprised. ‘Even when you compare it to a recent photo of yourself.’ Again Rosen presented the evidence to the suspect and the tape.
‘Where did you get this?’ Alima knew the answer but was buying time to decide how to answer.
‘You can see the resemblance, the headscarf is different, the current photo shows you wearing something I would describe as a hijab, but it is you in both pictures. You would agree?’ Swift asked, as far as he was concerned it was a matter of fact.
‘I don’t remember wearing such a headscarf,’ Alima stated.
‘I’m surprised,’ Swift pointed out. ‘You seem to have worn such a headscarf or hijab on your frequent visits to the hair and nail bar in Burslem Street, near the Berner Centre.’
‘I don’t really remember,’ Alima was thrown, this wasn’t how she’d expected the interview to go. The solicitor at her side had turned to fix her with a stare, the signal they had agreed to remind her of his advice.
‘We have dates of your visits recorded on CCTV,’ Swift continued, pleased Hassan was on the back foot so soon, ‘would you like me to read them out as it may help jog your memory?’
‘I did go there once or twice,’ Alima had decided the partial truth was better than an outright lie, ‘I don’t remember when exactly nor what I wore particularly.’
Swift read out the dates, times and evidence numbers of the various CCTV images, to which she agreed before he asked, ‘So it is common practice for you to wear a headscarf or hijab, although you have said it isn’t something memorable to you?’ Alima smiled, shifting her position and broadening her smile, inwardly panic stricken as she realised that Swift’s obsession with her headscarf was leading her down a path she didn’t want to tread.
‘I’m not particularly religious,’ she stated, trying to sound as if the point was of minor importance. ‘If pushed I would say I was Christian but I still occasionally wear a headscarf as a head covering. I used to own a hijab to wear as a courtesy if I travelled to Muslim countries or if I visit my father, even though my parents live in Shropshire.’
‘So you own one currently?’
‘No,’ of that she was absolutely certain.
‘So did you dispose of it after you were seen wearing one on Wednesday 10th May or was it after Friday 12th May?’
‘I can’t remember exactly when but before then, I decided after all these years as a non-believer it wasn’t appropriate.’
‘We have a witness who saw you, wearing a hijab, sunglasses in hand, a designer pair like the ones you are wearing in the previous CCTV shots…’
‘Your witness is mistaken,’ Alima interrupted, ignoring her solicitor’s raised eyebrows.
‘He picked you out from photos we showed him of you and other women,’ Rosen put the photo sets on the table, again giving the evidence numbers, as Swift spoke, ‘he not only picked you out wearing your hijab, but also recognised the sunglasses, nor did he hesitate in selecting your photo when you were not wearing a headscarf.’ Alima made no comment as she hadn’t been asked a question. ‘So can you tell me where you were on Wednesday10th May between three and four pm?’
‘That’s when Lynsey Hensley was murdered,’ Alima pointed out, looking shocked. ‘I know because I read the summary file while helping you interview Jenny Cowan. As I was her therapist you’ve been very keen for me to help with the investigation as a consultant.’ Alima was glad to get that fact on the tape.
‘That was before this witness came forward to confirm you were at the scene during the time of Lynsey’s killing. We also have CCTV showing a woman wearing a headscarf, who matches your gen
eral description, being in and around Swedenborg Gardens, prior to and after the attack. You have said the witness was mistaken so where were you?’
‘At home, working, I was on my own but I did FaceTime my brother in America at about three,’ Alima maintained her outward calm and confidence, it was her word against some black youth.
Swift continued with his questions, asking about the bogus research project at the local mental health centre, she repeated what she had told Merry but denied knowing or meeting Lynsey or Jody. She may have spoken to Madeline at the nail bar but she had little recollection of her. At one point it occurred to her to complain that Merry had forced her to have sex in exchange for keeping quiet about his findings. However, as they had now moved on beyond the concerns Merry had raised she thought it might seem like a malicious claim to divert Swift from his questions. Then all too suddenly Swift was taking a break, saying that sandwiches and coffee would be brought in, then he and the dour looking sergeant were gone.
‘Now, Ms Cowan,’ Merry started the interview, having gone through the usually formalities for the tape, ‘you have already been arrested on suspicion of murder and interviewed by DCI Swift in the presence of your solicitor, then released on police bail, is that correct?’
‘Yes, last week, but I’m not Jenny Cowan, my name is Leanne Solbury,’ Leanne stated, she rather liked the inspector’s quiet, calm tone and pleasing smile, so felt none of her usual panic when she found herself the centre of attention.
‘I’m happy to use that name for the present moment,’ Merry confirmed. ‘Previously, when DCI Swift interviewed you, we had guidance from Doctor Hassan, acting as a consulting expert for the police, that your mental illness does not impair your ability to understand and answer questions. We still believe that to be the case, although we are no longer using Doctor Hassan, and, given that our police surgeon and your legal counsel agree, do you still agree that is the case?’