by Gait, Paul;
Perhaps he should have gone to London after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
4th January
It was the Parish Clerk who spotted the Police request for assistance, in the local newspaper. He went to see the Vicar for advice on what he should do.
‘Have you seen the paper?’
‘Not today’s. No.’
‘The Police are looking for a Polish guy driving a Polo involved in the M5 crash. The description of the man sounds like Jan.’
‘But surely the Police know that Jan is dead and his car is missing.’
‘I don’t know. Perhaps it’s different departments dealing with everything. Maybe we’d better ring them anyway.’
The report from the Control, about the Taxi picking Sue up, had got lost in the system, for it was not until the following week that the report was spotted by a vigilant control room Sergeant.
He understood the relevance of the report and quickly passed the information on to the M5 Crash investigation team.
John Sparrow subsequently went and met the taxi driver, who gave him a description of his fare that night. The policeman confirmed that it matched with the person for whom they were looking. Having now got the address from the Taxi control, he immediately went to Sue’s address to interview her.
Firmly he knocked on her door.
Sue never had visitors and assumed that she would be confronted by a door to door salesman, who didn’t know of her caustic reputation.
It was nearly two weeks since the accident and Sue’s facial injuries had almost disappeared. Although her neck was still painful, she was no longer wearing her neck brace all the time.
Grumpily she opened the door.
‘Good morning, madam. Are you the occupant?’
‘Can’t you read? The notice on the door plainly says ‘No Cold callers’. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. Good bye,’ she said, moving to close the door.
‘I’m Police Constable John Sparrow,’ he said, showing her his warrant card.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I am surprised to see a Policeman at my door.’ Her mind going into overdrive, her spirits rose briefly. Was he going tell her of Rupert’s sudden demise? Should she prepare herself to play the distraught widow?
‘Yes. How can I help?’
‘I’m making enquiries about the RTC that occurred on the M5 just before Christmas?’
RTC? What do you mean, RTC?’ she barked.
‘Sorry, Road Traffic Collision.’
It was not the news she was hoping for. Had she been found out? Immediately she went on the defensive.
‘I…don’t think…’Sue said, hesitantly, suddenly feeling apprehensive, trying to second guess his line of questioning. ‘Why do you ask?’ she said, regaining her composure. ‘Had somebody seen her in the Gravediggers car?’ she wondered.
‘We have reason to believe you might have been in the area that night.’
‘Why do you think that?’ she said, defensively
‘A taxi driver remembers picking you up and driving you to this address.’
Realising there was no point in lying, Sue invited him in, conscious that her neighbours could overhear their conversation from the doorstep.
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
‘May I ask what you were doing in the area?’
‘There was an accident,’ she said, trying hard to think of a response that wouldn’t compromise a story that she might need to fabricate.
‘Yes, it was a major accident. We had reports that a woman, bearing your description, was seen walking along the motorway after the accident. We were concerned that the person might have been injured. We just wanted to eliminate that concern.’
‘Oh, is that all,’ she said, relieved, unable to quickly think of an alternative reason for being there. ‘Yes, it was all a bit of a shock. It was terrible; I just had to get away,’ she lied, trying to ‘milk’ the situation.
‘Yes it must have been dreadful,’ he said genuinely.
‘Oh it was. It was. I was very frightened.’
‘Yes I can appreciate that. As I say, we need to identify everybody at the scene, especially as we have a car that we can’t currently link to a driver. Can you tell me what you were doing on the motorway?’
‘Well, it’s all a bit hazy,’ she said, trying to think of a reason that wouldn’t link her with the Gravedigger’s car.
‘I err…was travelling to Bristol with…a… my husband, Rupert. The last thing I remember was we were talking about a funeral …and then I was getting into a taxi…I must have been thrown out…that’s all I can remember,’ she lied.
‘Were you hurt at all? We couldn’t find any record of you receiving medical treatment at any of the hospitals.’
‘Oh, just a bit of whiplash, that’s all. Nothing to worry about. I didn’t want to bother the hospitals while they were so busy with real problems,’ she said, melodramatically.
‘Have you got it checked out?’
‘No, it’s only a stiff neck.’
‘You need to get it checked,’ he said, with genuine concern. ‘You might have cracked a vertebra.’
‘Thank you, I will. Umm…what is happening about the driver of the unclaimed car?’
‘Well at the moment, we’re trying to track them down by the VIN.’
‘Sorry, VIN?’
‘Vehicle Identification Number.’
‘Oh!’
‘All cars have a number attached to the chassis and this is recorded by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. What often happens, is the car gets sold on, but the new owner doesn’t fill in the paper work to inform the DVLA of the change of ownership. So it’s the devil’s own job to find them. Never mind we’ll get to the bottom of it I’m sure.’
‘Yes,’ she said, relieved that her run of good fortune was continuing.
‘Oh by the way. Did you know you’d left some shoes outside? It looks like rain, so I’ve brought them into the porch for you.’
‘Oh, thanks.’
‘They look a bit muddy. Do you use them for gardening?’
‘Well actually, I was wearing them the night of the crash. The heel is broken on one of them so I’m going to throw them away.’
‘Oh I see. When’s the best time to catch your husband?’
‘My husband was injured. He’s still in hospital.’
‘Sorry to hear that. What hospital would that be?’
‘Frenchay. But, why do you ask?’
‘Just need to corroborate your story, that’s all.’
‘Oh. Don’t you believe me?’ Sue said, irritated that he was going to check on her story and afraid that her lies would be found out. ‘I mean, is that really necessary? He’s very poorly, suffered a really bad head injury,’ she added, with false sympathy.
‘Coroners and inquests I’m afraid, and as you say you were a bit confused. Don’t worry, it’s only routine.’ He sought to reassure her. ‘I’ll have words with the hospital and we’ll arrange to speak to him when he’s recovered adequately. Thanks for your help.’
As the Policeman made his way up the path, Sue was already scheming to get Rupert to support her story. She was confident that she could persuade him to lie for her, especially as Joanne was in the same hospital and still in a coma. She would prove to be a valuable bargaining tool.
Meanwhile, Chief Collision Investigator Sergeant Fredericks duly arrived at the Vicarage and spoke to the Vicar and Parish Clerk. They repeated their conviction that the large Polish man the Police were trying to trace, sounded like the Gravedigger Jan.
‘Obviously we can’t be sure,’ he said, thankful that they’d gone to the press. ‘But it certainly sounds like he matches the description of the Polish gentleman, who bought the car. It’s too much of a coincidence for them not to be one and the same though. OK. I’ll have words with my Murder squad colleagues and get some more details.’
‘Why didn’t you know about him anyway?’
‘We’re based
in a different location to the Murder squad. We don’t always get to see everything that’s going on.’
‘Is there anything else we can do, perhaps identify the car or belongings?’
‘Thanks for the offer, but the car was caught up in the fireball that erupted after the crash. All we’ve got is an empty rusty shell.’
‘So what will you do now?’
‘We’ll probably take a photograph of the deceased to the former Polo owner and see if he can positively identify him.’
‘But if Jan was already…dead, how did his car get on the motorway?’
‘Pure speculation at this stage, but perhaps his attacker was stealing the car and a fight ensued. Who knows? Thanks for the information.’
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
4th January
Ben dumped his rucsac in the hall and hobbled up to the bathroom, his aching body reminding him that he had walked a long way.
He quickly showered and had put on clean clothes as Andy arrived to pick him up on time and they quickly set off for his appointment at the Police Station.
‘How was the camping?’
‘Yeah, OK thanks. A bit cold.’
‘Well good on you. These things need to be tried, even in winter.’
‘Yes.’ Ben held back from telling Andy about why he was camping in the first place.
‘Are you OK about the Police thing?’
‘Yeah, a bit nervous,’ Ben confessed.
‘That’s understandable. Now remember Ben, just tell them the truth. Exactly what you did and everything will be OK.’
‘OK…umm.’
‘Yes?’
‘Umm…I’m not sure about something.’
‘Go on.’
‘Umm, you know that mobile phone that I called you from on the day that it all happened?’
‘Yes. It was one that you picked up. Well nobody’s going to accuse you of stealing it…unless…’
‘Yes and I was going to tell the Police today and hand it in.’
‘Good idea.’
‘The trouble is…I think it belonged to the …Gravedigger… the guy that died.’
‘What! Andy said, nearly hitting the kerb in surprise. ‘How do you come to that conclusion? Did you take it off him?’
‘No, I found it on the path like I said. I didn’t even see his… you know, body.’
‘What makes you think it’s his phone?’
‘There’s a picture on it. I’m not sure if it isn’t the person who attacked him. I swear it looks like they are holding the cross I made for Geoffery’s grave.’
‘Let me have a look,’ Andy said, pulling into a layby.
‘I can’t, the battery’s gone flat.’
‘Damn. Well you really are in a pickle now.’
‘Yes I know.’
Oh Ben! We go from one crisis to another, don’t we?’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Answer me honestly. This is important. Did you take the man’s phone?’
‘No, honest I didn’t. It was just there on the path, covered in frost. I picked it up because I was desperate to tell you about the damage. I’m sorry.’
‘If you tell them you have the phone, they will think you stole it from him and have something to hide.
‘Why?’
‘Because otherwise you’d have handed it in. We need something to prove somebody else was involved.’
‘The photo on the phone, surely that might convince them?’
‘It might do. But I need to see it.’
‘Do you have a phone charger in the car?’
‘What type of socket is it?’
‘Here look.’ Ben said, showing Andy the phone.
‘That’s a strange phone, never seen one like that before. No I haven’t.’
‘Do you think we could buy a charger lead and I can show you the picture?’
‘Well we haven’t got time to do that before we go to the Police, your appointment is in ten minutes.’
‘Could we do it after?’
‘What’s the point when you won’t have the phone? You’ll have handed it in…’
‘But I need to show you the photo first.’ Ben implored.
‘Hang on! What are you suggesting? That we don’t tell them that you’ve got it?’
‘Yes.’
‘That would mean that we were withholding evidence. No we can’t do that.’
‘But they might arrest me.’
‘Yes, that is a possibility.’
‘No. I keep telling you, I haven’t done anything wrong. Stop the car. Let me out.’ Ben said, reaching for the door handle. The central locking meant that all doors were locked shut.
‘Come on Ben,’ Andy reasoned. ‘Running away doesn’t solve anything, as you should know by now. You have to face the music some time.’
‘No I don’t.’ Ben said, getting upset.
‘OK, OK. Against my better judgement we will say nothing about the phone. We’ll hand it in tomorrow. We’ll say we were tidying up Geoffery’s grave and we found it.’
At the back of Andy’s mind he was thinking his argument probably wouldn’t hold water, for the forensic team would have found it during their fingertip search. The phone records would identify it had been used too. However it was the best he could think of on the spur of the moment.
Suddenly it dawned on him, that if the Police were actively looking for the phone, he would be implicated already because Ben had called him on it. He was feeling more and more concerned by the minute.
‘Thanks Andy.’
‘In the meantime, let’s get the interview over with. God Ben, you do get yourself into some situations don’t you?’
The interview went well. The Police Sergeant dealing with the vandalism of the grave listened to Andy explaining the friendship that existed between Ben and Geoffery. Andy told him about the cross that Ben had made out of some burnt timbers from the old Scout hut.
The Police Sergeant listened to Ben explaining his actions the morning he discovered the damage, and how he’d called Andy to get him to come to the graveyard. However, he omitted to say the phone he’d used was not his own. The Sergeant assumed that, like all young people, Ben owned his own phone and therefore didn’t ask. Then Ben explained about the confrontation with the Dog walker and the reason he ran away.
Finally the Sergeant said, ‘Look. In future don’t run away when a Policeman asks to talk to you, because it makes people suspicious that you have something to hide.’
‘OK,’ Ben said, ‘but what will happen to the person who actually did the damage?’
‘Well we need to try and find them. The Scenes of Crime guy took lots of photographs of the damage. We’ll just have to check them to see if there’s anything we missed. For now you’re off the hook.’
As Andy and Ben left the car park, the Mobile phone company liaison man rang and gave the Murder squad detective the numbers that Ben had rung.
‘Do we know who they are?’ The DC asked.
‘No sorry. I can tell you that one is a landline and the other a mobile which has been called a couple of times. But it’s not one of ours though. You’ll need to speak to their supplier to get names. The alternative is you ring them and see who answers.’
‘That might get them running before we can get to them, if they’re involved in the theft.’
‘I’ll leave it with you then. Incidentally the phone was switched on and off before our guys could triangulate the signals, but it was in the Gloucester area somewhere. I’ve told them to try and catch it the next time and I’ll be in touch when we got some more information. OK?’
‘Yeah thanks.’
Sergeant Fredericks went back to his office and convened a meeting with his Murder Squad Colleagues.
‘I understand you might have some information on an owner of a car we are trying to find.’
‘Go on.’
‘We’re looking for a large Polish guy, described as being 6ft 6 and built like a brick…house.’
; They quickly identified that he was one and the same and duly emailed a photo of the man to South Wales Police for them to check with the former owner of the car.
That done, Graham met with John to update each other on their various findings.
‘So, what have we got?’
‘The Polo belongs to the Pole. The Pole is dead, his car presumed stolen.’
‘So who drove it?
‘I’ve interviewed the Taxi driver and his fare, a lady called Sue Williams Screen, a right sour faced bitch. She was definitely the one walking away from the crash scene. I’m a bit suspicious of her explanation for leaving the scene.’
‘Why?’
‘Says she was thrown out of her husband’s car, but he suffered serious injuries and she only has whiplash.’
‘Can happen.’
‘Yeah, but there was something…something I couldn’t put my finger on.’
‘Oh well at least she’s on the radar.’
‘We still don’t know, for sure, who the Polo driver was though.’
Andy took Ben into Cheltenham town and bought a ‘universal’ car charger with multiple plug connectors, one of which fitted the mobile.
Andy plugged it into his car as soon as they got back, within a few moments the screen indicated it had some battery life and Ben switched it on to show Andy the photo.
Within a few seconds, forty miles away, an alert sounded in the Mobile company monitoring unit and the technicians flew into action. Using the available data they were quickly able to triangulate the mobile and pinpoint exactly where Ben and Andy were sitting in the car looking at the picture.
The liaison man was quickly on the case, ringing the Detective again to whom he previously spoken. The DC vainly tried to get a response car to go to the location, but, fortunately for Andy and Ben, there were no officers available in the area.
However, frustrated by being unable to act on the intelligence, he made sure that if the call came again he would get priority over other jobs that might come in.
‘I see what you mean about that photo,’ Andy said, studying it intensely. ‘Whoever it is, they are pretty scary.’
‘Look, there’s the cross in the corner of the picture. See it?’
‘Yes, I agree that it does look like your cross.’