Craig shrugged. Six of one…
“Besides, Carmen already got Eddie’s statement and Annette will get the wife’s. We have images of the scars on Eleanor Rudd’s back and Carmen’s arranging for the son to be photographed. We have enough to make our case without listening to that sick bastard use scripture to justify why he had the right to terrorise his family.” He clicked on the kettle. “Get Jake to check Rudd’s movements on the day of his daughter’s death and the day before.”
Liam’s eyes widened. “You think he did it?”
“No. But we need to rule him out. Just crossing the ‘T’s. ”
Craig shook his head. There were very few crimes that shocked him and only one that made him want to kill the perps; abuse of anyone weaker, whoever they were. It covered child and elder abuse and domestic violence. In fact it covered a hell of a lot, and if he couldn’t do to the perp what they’d done to someone else, then he had to walk away. He knew it was a weakness, but thankfully one he could deal with by working in a team.
He poured the coffees and took a seat, glancing at the clock and wondering what to do next. It was one forty-five. The interview had taken twenty minutes – it was a record even for him. Everyone was busy working and they weren’t briefing again until four o’clock. He thought for a moment and then reached for his phone, dialling the C.C.U.
It was answered quickly but Nicky’s ‘Hello’ was nowhere to be heard, instead Craig heard her chatting in the background to someone else. He thought he’d got a crossed line and was just about to redial when he recognised the other voice. Nicky and Annette were discussing romance! Craig bellowed “Nicky” loudly enough for Liam to cover his ears and in a second she was on the phone.
“Sorry, sir. I picked up the phone then immediately forgot that you were there. Annette and I were chatting.”
“I heard. I was just ringing to ask you to move the briefing to three o’clock. We’ll be back before then.”
“Fine. Everyone’s here already, except Jake. Annette has Hannah Donard coming into the relative’s room, but they should be finished by three.”
“Good. Now off you go, back to your chat.”
As he clicked the phone off, the rangy shape of Karl Rimmins entered the room. From the back he could have been mistaken for Davy, tall and slim with flowing dark hair, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Davy’s eyes were guileless, thinking of computer bytes and his next Star Wars fest, Karl’s were like a hawk’s. They darted everywhere assessing real and imagined threats, and the years had hardened his glance. Where once his narrow black suit had looked like fancy dress on a student, its vampire like menace ruined by an innocent grin, now he wore it like the jaded look in his eyes wore him, eyes that had seen too much to view the world through a naïve lens again.
When he saw them Rimmins smiled, a small twist of the lips that didn’t show his teeth. Liam was the first to speak.
“Boyso, Karl. You look more like Dracula every day. Get some sun, lad.”
Rimmins twisted again. “And you look like a candle. A melting one.”
Craig let them banter for a moment then he cut in. “Are you here for Dr Cooke?”
The question seemed redundant but you never knew what other addicts might be lurking in Jack’s cells. Liam cut in, the opening too good to miss. He crooned.
“If your body’s had enough of me…”
It took ten seconds for Craig to catch on. “Very good, Liam. Dr Cooke the pop group, except that it was Dr Hook.”
Karl screwed up his twenty-something face. “Who?”
Liam shook his head. “What do they teach at school nowadays? They were a pop group, big in the ‘70s. I suppose that was before your teens.”
“It was before I was even thought of!”
Before Liam’s dismay got noisy, Rimmins turned to Craig. “Yes, sir. It’s Cooke. Have you seen him yet?”
Craig nodded. “Briefly, see what you think of him. A word of warning, his father’s Judge Patrick Cooke. He’s at the High Court.”
To Craig’s surprise Rimmins smiled more broadly than he’d done since he’d entered the room.
“How old is Cooke?”
Craig turned to Liam for the facts.
“Thirty-two. Why?”
“Because if Patrick Cooke’s his dad, then he was friends with my big brother Sean at school.” Rimmins shook his head. “Small world.” His eyes darted back to Craig. “You don’t think he committed your murder, do you?”
Craig shrugged. “Unlikely, but we’ve evidence still to gather, including an alibi.” His eyes narrowed in curiosity. “Why do you ask?”
“Because if it’s the Adrian Cooke I knew, he wouldn’t have hurt a fly. He was bullied by everyone at school, including our Sean, and he was his mate. What was the method?”
“Manual strangulation, but don’t mention that to Cooke.”
Karl shook his head again. “There’s no way he did that. I saw him playing with his dogs in the garden a few weeks back; he has two spaniels he dotes on. He was really gentle with them. If he turned out to be a killer I’d be shocked.”
Liam gave a sceptical snort. “I bet Ted Bundy’s mates thought the same.”
Craig looked thoughtful. “Thanks for the insight, Karl, and I’ll take it on board, but we could be talking high dose steroids and cocaine. It’s a violent mixture.”
Rimmins shrugged and headed for the door. “That’s my bit. I’ll find out what he was on and how much of it. You do the rest.”
***
The C.C.U. relatives’ room.
Annette considered the nurse in front of her and compared her demeanour to their earlier meeting. True, she’d been in a station interview room, with a whirring tape and tannoys booming out, and now she was sitting on a comfortable settee. But even so, Hannah Donard’s new found confidence was a stark contrast to her nervousness of two days before.
Donard tossed her long hair over her shoulder and sat straight-backed on the low slung couch, staring ahead with a glint in her eyes that said she was scared of nothing now. Annette narrowed her gaze, trying to work out why. OK, the station had been scary and yes, she had just found her friend dead, but the difference was more than that. Hannah Donard was acting as if she was protected, but protected from what and by whom?
Annette glanced at the transcript of their previous interview and prepared to start.
“Thank you for coming in again, Ms Donard. I have a few things that I’d like to check from our last encounter. You were very upset then.”
Donard smiled and Annette noticed her eyes flick towards a bracelet encircling her wrist. It was made of white metal so bright that it had to be new and the diamonds embedded in it added to the glint. Annette felt uneasy suddenly and decided to go straight to Donard’s most important words.
“Last time we met you said that when you found Eleanor Rudd’s body you screamed and Dr Cooke came to help you.”
Donard shook her head immediately and Annette’s heart sank. This was why she’d felt uneasy. Hannah Donard was about to lie. “It wasn’t Dr Cooke.”
“Oh? Who was it then?”
Donard shook her head. “I can’t remember. It was a man, maybe one of the porters. They’re often around there, bringing linen.” She stared at Annette unflinchingly, as if daring her to contradict.
Annette’s voice was firm. “I have you on tape as saying…” She glanced down at her papers. “When I asked you ‘What happened when you screamed?’ you answered, without any prompting ‘Someone came. I, I think it was Dr Cooke. He took me out of the room then someone must have called the police’.”
Donard’s gaze didn’t waver. “I said I thought it was Dr Cooke. I was wrong. I was in shock.”
Annette was equally immovable. “You then said ‘Oh God, it must have been awful for him’. To which I asked ‘What?’ and you answered ‘Seeing Ellie like that. They…’ with the clear implication that Dr Cooke and Eleanor Rudd had been close.”
A laugh rang throug
h the room and Hannah Donard rose to her feet. “I implied nothing of the sort, Inspector. Dr Cooke wasn’t even on the ward that day, he was on holiday. And as far as him being close to Ellie, he has a girlfriend.” She turned towards the door. “If you’ve finished with me, I have to meet my mother in town. We’re going shopping.”
Annette was struck dumb. Hannah Donard had obviously been got at by someone, but there was no point asking anything more until she had her ducks in a row. She led the way to the exit in silence, partly from anger and partly because to say anything would have shown what was left of her cards.
***
The C.C.U. 3 p.m.
“Grab a coffee and let’s start.”
Liam scanned the group. “Where’s Jake?”
Craig shook his head. “Busy with other things.” He continued before Liam had a chance to ask more. “OK, I’m going to kick off with our interviews with William Rudd and Dr Cooke. Liam will step in as and when.”
He propped his chair against a desk, tilting it back precariously on two legs. Nicky’s husky voice echoed across the floor. “If you break that you’re filling in the forms.”
He waved a hand to show that he’d heard and continued. “Right. Rudd first. Billy Rudd is a wife-beater who’s been doing it for years. He thinks it’s his divine right and God’s will so I cut the interview short and he’s being remanded without bail.”
Liam chipped in. “Short wasn’t the word for it. The whole thing took sixty seconds; has to be a record.”
Craig shrugged at his exaggeration and Carmen interjected. “He didn’t just beat his wife.”
Annette turned to face her. “Eleanor Rudd had old scars.”
“The son has newer ones. Rudd’s been ruling that family with a strap for years.”
Craig nodded. A strap made sense and fitted some of the marks on Ellie Rudd. “Did you find it?”
Carmen shook her head. “The boy told us he used one. I’ll ask uniforms to do a search, but the son’s already agreed to testify against him.” She glanced at Annette for confirmation of Margie Rudd’s cooperation but Annette was a million miles away so she continued. “William Rudd thought his daughter was promiscuous.”
Liam interrupted. “Was she?”
Carmen’s face soured and her tone matched. “By whose standards? Yours? Let’s just say if she’d been a man she’d have been back-slapped in the pub, but because she was a woman she got called a whore.”
Liam was about to bite back but Craig waved him down. Carmen had a point; society had a double standard for men’s and women’s sexuality, but even if she’d been talking rubbish he needed Liam and her bickering like a hole in the head. Craig nodded Carmen on and she sniffed grudgingly, resentful that he’d curtailed their spat.
“Her brother gave me a list of her boyfriends.”
That was too much for Liam. “Me? Wasn’t Ken with you?”
Ken cheered inwardly and Carmen’s face soured even more.
“He gave us a list of her boyfriends then, OK?” Craig’s eyes warned Liam not to reply. “Eleanor Rudd lived at home and the nurses’ home, except for a year when she lived with a man.”
It was Craig’s turn to interrupt. “Adrian Cooke?”
Carmen smiled smugly and shook her head. “No. Tim Taylor. They lived together from 2007-2008, when Rudd was a student nurse.”
Craig leaned back heavily with a look that said that something had just slotted into place. He waved Carmen on but she’d finished so he picked up on their trip to High Street.
“Liam and I arrested Dr Cooke and he’s in High Street now being interviewed by Karl Rimmins…”
Just then Liam’s mobile rang and he went to Craig’s office to take the call. Craig was halfway through reporting when he returned.
“That was Karl. He’s just opened a can of worms.”
Craig leaned forward so quickly his chair banged on the floor and Nicky shook her fist at them both.
“Tell us the worst, Liam.”
“Aye well, it seems that our Dr Cooke was pumping steroids as often as he was pumping iron. He bought them from the gym he trained in: Get-Fit Gym. It’s that poncey one on the Lisburn Road. ”
“So Karl’s going after the dealer.”
It was a statement not a question and Liam nodded. He rubbed his hands gleefully at the thought of dark Drug Squad officers raiding one of Belfast’s glossiest gyms, but Craig could tell from his face that there was something more.
“What else?”
Liam grinned. “Aye well, that’s the really good news. Cocaine.”
“We already know Cooke’s a user.”
“Aye, but he might give up his dealer there too.”
Annette shook herself from her listening trance. “What? You’re sure?”
Liam furrowed his brow curiously. Annette had said nothing for the past ten minutes but now she was full of life.
“Aye, so Karl says. Cooke might give up both names in exchange for a deal.”
Craig shook his head. It was too damn convenient.
Annette’s voice was insistent. “Is Cooke denying the murder?”
Craig nodded. “Yes, he says he was halfway up the Mournes at the time. Why, what do you have?” He waved Liam down. “I’ll come back to you in a minute, Liam. Go on, Annette.”
Annette’s insistence changed to confusion. “Well…it might be nothing, sir, but…” She pulled out her notebook. “I interviewed Hannah Donard, the nurse who found the body, at High Street on Friday. She was very agitated so I thought I would check on her again today, here, in more pleasant surroundings.”
“And?”
Annette grimaced. “Well, I can’t be certain, but…I think she’s been bought off.”
“What’s changed?”
“On Friday she said that when she found Ellie Rudd’s body and screamed, Adrian Cooke came running. Now she’s saying that she was shocked and got it wrong. It wasn’t Cooke at all but some other man. She can’t remember who, probably a porter.”
“What makes you think she was lying rather than just recalling more accurately?”
“Her whole demeanour had changed; she was almost arrogant today. That plus the brand-new diamond bracelet on her wrist.”
Liam nodded. “Bought off. Sure as shit.”
Craig pressed Annette further. “Donard implied that Cooke was close to Ellie Rudd. What’s she saying now?”
Annette shook her head. “She’s denying that they were close at all. Says Cooke has a girlfriend.”
Craig nodded resignedly. “OK, so let’s look at Adrian Cooke. We were initially told he was close to Eleanor Rudd and Sister Gormley said he’d had a drug problem. Hannah Donard said Cooke was the one who came when she found Rudd’s body but she now denies that. Cooke admits that he and Eleanor Rudd dated but he says he was just one of her men, and that he knew nothing about her death until I informed him today, because he was on holiday when she died. Now, between Cooke and Donard, we have the good doctor alibied as forty miles away with his girlfriend and Donard denying that he and Ellie Rudd were ever close, contradicting her earlier statement, so we think Donard may have been bought off. So all we have for sure is that Cooke is a drug user and he admits to dating Ellie Rudd in the past.” He swung round suddenly. “Davy!”
Davy had been browsing his smart-pad throughout the briefing, glancing up the odd time something had caught his ear. On Craig’s sudden use of his name he jerked to attention like a squaddie caught dozing on parade. Ken smiled, remembering how often that had actually happened to him.
Davy’s eyes widened. “What?”
Craig knew that even when Davy seemed asleep he picked up more than most of them, but even so he allowed mild sarcasm to colour his words. “Sorry to bother you, but did you happen to find anything useful in your background scans?”
The analyst nodded and ran a silver-ringed forefinger down his pad. He tapped it twice and the E.M.U.’s floor plan appeared on the screen beside Nicky’s desk. She tutted, knowing that
they would all gather round now and untidy her paperwork. Davy led the way across the floor and pointed at the diagram.
“OK. On the left is Newman, the acute w…ward, on the right the long-stay ward, Reilly Suite. In between is the area housing the clinical room, sluice and linen room; it’s an open area accessed from both parts of the E.M.U.” He glanced round the group, waiting for their nods.
Craig was the only one who spoke. “Yes. And?”
Davy tapped the screen again and a cross signifying Eleanor Rudd’s body appeared inside the linen room, a second tap brought up a series of multi-coloured dotted lines.
“The lines s…show the pathways of everyone I’ve been able to find on the CCTV.”
“Which one’s Adrian Cooke?”
Davy shook his head. “None of them. Cooke may have been there on Thursday but he managed not to appear on any of the CCTV feed.”
Craig raked his hair thoughtfully. “OK, if Cooke was there that day instead of being up some hill, someone must have seen him.” He turned to Liam. “Anyone mention him during the interviews?”
Liam shook his head. “No, but we didn’t ask about Cooke specifically. We were checking if anyone saw anything related to Rudd’s death.”
Craig made an unpopular decision. “Sorry, but everyone needs to be re-interviewed and specifically asked if they saw Cooke anywhere on the unit last Thursday.” Liam’s face was like thunder so Craig turned towards Annette. “Annette, take Ken, Jake and Carmen and you’ll get through them all in a day.” Before anyone could object he waved Davy on.
“There’s no sign of Cooke on the s…street or car park CCTVs either, but just because we can’t s…see him, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. I believe Hannah Donard’s original statement.”
Annette nodded. “So do I.”
Ken interjected. “Which begs the question, if Cooke was there and arrived first when Donard screamed, did he kill Rudd and hide nearby or was he simply passing and rushed to a woman’s aid?”
Annette jumped in. “There’s a second question. If Cooke was on the unit that day, why was he there? Work or some other reason? Work will be easy to check; all we have to do is look at the Rotas.”
The History Suite (#9 - The Craig Modern Thriller Series) Page 11