by Graham Smith
‘I agree. Admit it, Jonny. You were one of the people who were there when Mr Armstrong was killed.’
‘No, I wasn’t. I’ve told you the truth about it and that’s all I have to say.’
The blonde reached down and lifted up the briefcase she had carried into the room. Removing an envelope she put the briefcase back on the floor and stood up.
Jonny hated to think what was in the envelope. Whatever it was would have to be bad otherwise the blonde wouldn’t have kept it in reserve.
She stood up. Bending at the waist she leaned forward, giving him a close up of her cleavage. She had retained her position over the desk and seemed oblivious to the way Oakes’s eyes were locked on the contents of her bra. One by one she pulled pictures of blood droplets from the envelope.
‘These pictures were all taken at the Drover’s Inn. Forensic tests have proven each of these drops contain your DNA.’
Even as he fought to cope with the implications the pictures carried, Jonny found he could not tear his eyes from the view down the blonde’s blouse. The realisation her exhibitionism was a deliberate act to nullify the duty solicitor and distract him angered Jonny, but he had enough wits left to realise that if he got mad he’d end up doing something very stupid.
He and Steve had never considered the idea that he’d cut his hand on the way into the building. His blood in there was damning evidence. To think how clever he’d thought himself when they were burning their clothes to hide their tracks.
‘Go on, Jonny. Tell us what happened and we’ll try an’ help you. The early opinion from our head of Forensics is that you were there when Armstrong was murdered. He doesn’t believe you killed him though.’
Thompson’s jaw was set firm as he shook his head. ‘Don’t waste your time expecting a confession. Jonny boy hasn’t got the sense to tell us what really happened. He’ll deny everything, try and fob us off with a pack of lies. We’ve got plenty of evidence against him. Let’s just build our case and let him take his chances with a judge. If he’s lucky he’ll get less than ten years.’
‘So what’s it gonna be, Jonny? A confession and a reduced stretch, or a fight to the end and the longest sentence the judge can pass?’
Seeing nothing but a dead end, with a side road leading to a long time in prison broke Jonny. He accepted that the game was up and the police had too much on him. All his father’s solicitor friends would be able to do was get him a reduced sentence when he went to court.
‘OK. OK. Me and Steve did it. We went there on the rob. Old Man Armstrong went for us with a cricket bat. Steve whacked him with his crowbar and when he went down we took off. We never meant to kill him. Steve was just trying to stop him so we could get away.’
‘By Steve, do you mean Steve Collinge, your flatmate?’
Jonny nodded. ‘It was his idea to rob the place. We’d seen Border Crack and Deeks Aboot and heard about the pub robberies. Steve said it would be a piece of piss to turn one over and we’d get plenty drink and a good few quid.’
‘Mr Collinge has tried to lay all the blame on your door, but he didn’t know the forensic evidence didn’t support his claim that you were the one who killed Mr Armstrong.’
‘The bastard. It was him that hit Armstrong. Not me.’
Jonny watched as the blonde removed the tapes, dated them and pushed them across for him to sign.
Oakes rose to leave. ‘I wish you good luck at court, young man.’
‘Fuck off, you useless tosser. You’re a fucking disgrace. You spent more time looking at her tits than you did helping me.’ Spittle flew from Jonny’s mouth. ‘Believe me, I’m gonna make a complaint about you, you useless pervy arsehole.’
Oakes shrugged with seasoned indifference and left the room.
Jonny’s fingers shook the way his grandad’s did. His stomach had knotted itself into a ball causing his bowels to roil and twitch. The prospect of soiling himself was a realistic worry.
He knew his outburst at the duty solicitor had been unfair. While Oates had been guilty of the accusations levelled at him, the viciousness with which Jonny had spat the words shamed him. The man was doing a job and in his eyes, Jonny would just be the latest in an endless queue of losers to require his services.
The blonde and Thompson took him back to the custody area where, in the presence of the duty sergeant, the blonde charged him with breaking and entering and accessory to murder.
Chapter 44
Victoria was pacing back and forth across the cell. Since Harry Evans had walked into the Cumberland Park Hotel, her worst fears were being realised one by one. She wasn’t concerned for herself – she would face any music she had to, as long as her kids came back unharmed. All her worries were for Kyle and Samantha.
Denial would be her only course of action. Deny everything until they released her and just hope and pray it happened in time for her to get the rest of the money. She had refused to answer any of the questions Evans had thrown at her. All her focus was on getting released and raising the last £2,500 needed for the ransom. She had already worked out and tested the alarm code for the Cumberland Park Hotel. When she’d keyed the number into the alarm panel, the siren had sounded after about thirty seconds – more than enough time for her to get back to her desk and arrange a puzzled look on her face.
Try as she might, Victoria was struggling to fight back the feeling of despair. With all her belongings confiscated, she had no way of contacting Nicholas to let him know of her capture. She could not escape the feeling that she had failed her children, that they would be killed or mutilated because she hadn’t been able to raise the money. Her mind raced through a dozen different scenarios with each new one worse than the last.
What if the police find out about the kidnapping and the kidnappers find out the police know? What if the police search the home and find the money we’ve stolen? They’ll take it as evidence and then we won’t be able to pay the ransom. What if they have conclusive proof Nicholas and I are behind the robberies and bring him in too? Who will save Samantha and Kyle then? What if the police search my laptop? It has details of everything: all the robberies and the link to the kidnapper’s website.
She’d considered telling Harry Evans everything when he’d taken her to the police station. She’d known him for years and the tales of his rule-breaking were legendary. Doubting that even a renegade like Evans would be able to keep the kidnapping quiet, she had kept quiet.
The cell door swung open and Evans slumped himself against the door frame.
‘C’mon, Victoria, it’s time for your interview.’
Chapter 45
Samantha was all cried out. Her body ached from the sobs that had engulfed her body, her eyes were raw. Her lips still stung from the cuts inflicted by Elvis’s knuckles and her probing tongue had identified two loose teeth.
Looking across the room she saw Kyle’s back. The hand scratching his ear told her he was awake.
‘Kyle?’
No answer. He was still rejecting her.
She tried again. ‘Kyle, I’m sorry we didn’t get away.’
Silence. But she could tell he was listening. That gave her a glimmer of hope. Being cooped up was bad enough, but knowing he was mad at her made it ten time worse.
‘The bad men had locked the front door. I’m so sorry, Kyle. I never expected them to do that.’
‘You pinkie promised.’ There it was. The worst let-down of his short life had involved a pinkie promise. Promises made upon the shaking of interlocked pinkies were legally binding as far as he was concerned. Samantha had known the risk of a broken pinkie promise would be terrible for Kyle, however she had been so keen to escape she had offered the promise without hesitation.
‘I know I did. I honestly thought we’d get away.’ For the first time in hours he looked at her. The fear and hurt in his face was terrible for her to see. She felt a deep responsibility for his pain, as it was she who had raised his expectations by offering false hope.
She moved
across the room and wrapped him in her arms. After a minute or two he turned and returned her embrace. The hug from her brother felt like redemption. For the first time since being captured Samantha felt a natural grin caress her mouth, until she remembered were they were and what awaited them. They were one day away from a horrible fate if their parents failed them.
Releasing Kyle she got to her feet and went to the bathroom. There on the floor was a large piece of the games disc she had broken earlier to give Kyle as a weapon. A new plan came into her head. Sure it was risky and there was every chance that they’d be caught again. Yet if they had not been released by tomorrow night, there would be nothing left to lose. Samantha didn’t believe her parents could raise the ransom. All she and Kyle had left to look forward to was a long wait followed by an uncertain ending. Taking the piece of disc in her hand she started to gouge at the wall behind the bedroom door. If the men came in again, the signs of her latest escape bid would be hidden behind the open door.
Chapter 46
Evans drove back to Carlisle thinking about his encounter with Victoria. He’d tried to catch her out with a few well-chosen questions, but she hadn’t told him anything. All she was interested in was being interviewed and getting away. Her behaviour was unusual for people in her situation and while he had nothing solid to tie her to the various robberies, there was an awful lot of circumstantial evidence. He’d had Bhaki call round all the premises. Each one had told the young Asian that Victoria was their regular stocktaker.
Something about Victoria’s demeanour was off kilter and he couldn’t put his finger on it. She should be shouting to be freed, protesting her innocence, demanding a lawyer even. Instead, once he’d arrested her she’d remained mute, only speaking to request that she be interviewed as soon as possible. In his experience the people who were the guiltiest and had the most to hide behaved the way Victoria did. Yet he couldn’t work out what she would have to hide, other than her involvement in the thefts. They had been on polite speaking terms for years. He knew that she was a stereotypical hard worker with a loving family and a respectable life. She was the type who would give to charity, bake cakes for birthdays and help out at community events. The thought of her sneaking through dark rooms and emptying safes didn’t add up.
However, she was the one person who had a common link with all the premises. Even more damning was the fact her husband owned an ironmonger’s shop. One of the facets to his business was key cutting. Evans could recall times when the police had engaged Nicholas Foulkes to pick locks, so they could enter certain places without causing damage. When you added that to the look of horror on her face when he turned up at Cumberland Park Hotel, Evans was convinced she was guilty. But not as guilty as her behaviour indicated. With a clean record like hers, she would be unlucky to get more than a couple of years suspended sentence should the money be recovered. Yet she was acting as if she was up on a charge of mass murder or treason.
He wanted Chisholm to have a root around her laptop before he started the interview. He’d forgotten to hand it over when he’d brought her in earlier, so he’d have to wait until the computer genius had done his search. Evans was quite happy to delay the interview until he got Chisholm’s report. Not only would it agitate Victoria to be delayed but it would also give Lauren time to return after she’d finished at Penrith. Depositing the laptop with Chisholm, he spent a few minutes learning Bhaki’s progress. While he was talking with Bhaki, Lauren called to tell him of Jonny Green’s confession and the duty sergeant from the front desk rang to tell him that Nicholas Foulkes had been delivered by a couple of Workington PCs.
Getting to his feet, Evans made for the door. His team had enjoyed a successful day and he wanted to deliver the news to Grantham before he was summoned.
‘Sir, I’ve some good news for you.’ Evans entered the DCI’s office without knocking, as was his wont.
‘What is it, Quasi?’
‘We’ve now got a confession for the murder of Colin Armstrong and we’ve made two arrests for the licensed premises case.’
Grantham raised an eyebrow. ‘Who is it? Any of the usual toerags?’
Evans paced the room restlessly as he filled his boss in on the day’s news. A murder solved and a spate of thefts about to be cracked. He felt better than he had for weeks.
Grantham picked at the obvious hole in the investigation. ‘Why wasn’t this Victoria Foulkes listed in the lists of suppliers for all of the locations?’
‘Because her husband is a steward at Maryport Golf Club and because two of the places robbed seemed to think she was above suspicion. They’d accuse dray and bar staff like a shot, but not Victoria’s professional type.’
‘It’s the usual bloody thing, isn’t it? The public give us half a story and then act surprised when we can’t solve the crimes.’
Evans could have grumbled on with Grantham about the inadequacies of the public’s information giving skills, but he had work to do. ‘I’m off to interview Victoria Foulkes now. I’ll let you know how I get on.’
Tempting as the idea was, Evans decided against sharing his triumph with Greg Hadley. He didn’t want to make the younger man feel pressured. News would filter up the chain of command soon enough and Hadley possessed enough nous to work out who had solved the crimes.
I’ll get Chisholm to type up my reports as soon as he’s done with that laptop. Won’t hurt to get them in early for once!
Returning to their office via the canteen for a coffee and a bacon roll, Evans walked in to find Bhaki and Chisholm hunched over the laptop with mouths hanging open.
‘What you got, lads? Dirty pictures of the lady downstairs?’
Chisholm’s face was paler than usual when he looked up. ‘No, guv. It’s a lot worse than that.’
Chapter 47
Annoyed by the delay in being interviewed, Victoria was relieved to see Evans when he opened her cell door. Standing behind him was a young woman.
‘Are you going to interview me now?’
‘No.’ The word was delivered with a soft shake of the head.
‘Why not? I need to get home. My kids’ll be worried.’ The last sentence tore at Victoria’s heart, but she was determined to keep up the pretence.
Evans’s answer wasn’t forthcoming so Victoria tried asking him again. Saying nothing, he motioned for her to exit the cell.
Puzzled, Victoria left the cell and followed him, aware of the young woman falling in behind her.
Evans led her into an interview suite.
‘I thought you weren’t going to inter…’ Victoria fell silent when she saw her laptop on the table.
Oh my God, no. Please God, tell me they haven’t found out about Samantha and Kyle.
Fighting to give her legs enough strength to support her, Victoria managed to get herself into a seat before she collapsed. She took a breath and lifted her chin with a determination she did not feel. She needed to know how much the police knew. Her eyes searched the faces of Evans and his colleague but reported only bad news. While both wore poker faces, their eyes radiated compassion and empathy. The temptation to dissolve into tears and beg for Evans’s help was overwhelming, but the memory of Elvis’s warnings trumped her despair. Elvis’s source in the police may not exist, but the possibility that someone in the police force was in his pocket was too great a risk to take.
‘Victoria, this is DC Lauren Phillips. We’ve been through your laptop as a routine part of our investigation. We found more than enough evidence to link you to all the burglaries you’ve done.’
‘Then charge me and let me go.’
Is that all they’ve found? Please God, let it be all they’ve found.
‘I paused that investigation because we also found a link to a website with three videos of Samantha.’
‘Three?’
Have they sent another video? Are Samantha and Kyle OK?
‘Yes three. And from the way you said three I’m guessing that you only knew of one or two.’
‘It�
��s a project that she and her friends are doing for school.’
‘Really?’ Evans’s eyebrows arched in disbelief.
‘Yes, absolutely. Now will you please either charge me or let me go.’ Victoria stuck to her lie, hoping the bluff would work.
It was the young DC who spoke next. ‘A school project? Are you sure? Because when I was at school we didn’t make nude videos.’
‘Nude? Is she OK?’ The question fell from Victoria’s mouth before she could stop it.
Damn.
There was no way that the police would believe her story about a school project, if Samantha was now being filmed naked.
‘Can I see the last one?’
The DC fiddled with the laptop and then turned it around so Victoria could see the screen.
Watching the short clip sickened Victoria. She imagined the men behind the camera, leering and leching over her little girl as they made their threats. The only positive that she could take from the experience was that she’d seen only one sign of bruises or mistreatment on Samantha’s body. The only blemish on her skin was a blackened eye. Under the circumstances, the damage to Samantha’s face was of small worry. If she’d been raped her body would show the signs of a struggle, bruises and reddened areas at wrists and ankles where she’d been held or tied up.
‘They’ve been kidnapped, haven’t they?’
Victoria couldn’t answer the question. Her mouth was immovable. Her tongue was a dry lump that wouldn’t move. She gave a small nod.
‘Don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to get them back safe and sound. I’ve got someone tracing the website’s origin. We’ve already brought Nicholas in.’
Victoria let the tears flow as she begged Evans not to tell anyone else in the police. The next hour was spent going over all the details she knew about the kidnapping.