Rutter took another glance at his watch, then swung around to face Beresford again.
‘Let’s follow your line of argument to its logical conclusion, shall we, Detective Constable Beresford?’ he suggested. ‘According to you, the wallet was dropped by the kidnapper. Right?’
‘I didn’t exactly say that it had to actually be the kidnapper who—’ Beresford began.
‘So if Brunton isn’t the kidnapper, we need another name for the wallet-dropper,’ Rutter cut in. ‘Does anybody here have an objection if I refer to him as Mr X?’
‘No objection,’ Woodend said.
He was beginning to worry about Rutter, he thought. This bullying, hectoring attitude he was now displaying was not like Bob at all, and the chief inspector wondered what had brought it on.
Perhaps it could be explained by the fact that Rutter’s nerves had been rubbed raw by the very nature of this particular case, he told himself – though there was no reason why they should be rawer than any other member of the team’s.
Perhaps he was so desperate to rescue the girl in time that he was prepared to ruthlessly slice through anything that got in his way.
Or perhaps – and this really was worrying – he just wanted to get this particular investigation wrapped up so that he could spend more time with his little daughter.
‘Mr X is intending to kidnap the girl in the park,’ Rutter continued. ‘In order to avoid making any mistakes, he’s planned it out in every tiny detail. But then – just before it’s all due to happen – he multiplies the risk he’s running a hundredfold by stealing another man’s wallet in the Daresbury Arcade. What if he’d been caught in the act and arrested on the spot, DC Beresford? What if he hadn’t actually been arrested, but someone had seen him take the wallet? What would have happened to his kidnapping plans then?’
‘Maybe he needed the money in order to finance the next stage of the kidnapping?’ Woodend suggested, more to take the pressure off Beresford than because he himself believed that was a possibility.
‘Oh, I see!’ Rutter said. ‘He’s booked the two of them – himself and the girl – into a nice cosy little bed-and-breakfast somewhere, but the problem is, he doesn’t have the wherewithal to pay for it.’
‘Steady now, Inspector,’ Woodend said warningly.
‘I’m sorry, sir, I suppose I could have been a little more tactful,’ Rutter admitted.
‘Aye, you could,’ Woodend agreed. ‘An’ there’s no suppose about it.’
‘But the idea you’ve just put forward really is a non-starter, sir,’ Rutter continued, unrelentingly. ‘The man we’re looking for is a careful planner. Can we at least all agree on that?’
‘Yes, we can agree on that.’
‘So there is simply no way he’d have been prepared to take the chance of stealing the money at the last minute. If he’d needed to steal at all, he’d have done it days in advance.’
Woodend turned to Beresford. ‘Any comment, lad?’ he asked.
‘What I was trying to say earlier was that there’s no reason to assume that the man who stole the wallet and the man who kidnapped the girl have to be the same man,’ Beresford pointed out.
‘Oh, really?’ Rutter said. ‘Then could you explain to me how the wallet found its way into the park?’
‘The thief took it there.’
‘And he just happened to drop it very close to the spot where the girl was snatched?’
‘It’s a possibility, isn’t it, sir? Maybe he saw the kidnapping taking place, and was so shaken by the experience that he didn’t even realize that he’d dropped the wallet.’
Rutter sighed heavily. ‘The first thing that pickpockets do after they’ve made the lift is to separate what they want to keep from what they don’t. The money would have gone into one of his pockets, the cheque-guarantee card into another. And then he’d have ditched the wallet itself as quickly as he could, because it’s recognizable, and would tie him in with the crime. Now if you’d told me that an empty wallet had been found in the park, I might have gone along with the coincidence theory. But the money was still inside it, and that has to mean – it can only mean – that Brunton dropped it himself.’
‘You’re the one who’s looked into this most closely, Monika,’ Woodend said. ‘What do you think?’
‘Everything Bob has said has made perfect sense, and I’d go along with him all the way if it wasn’t for the other aspects of the timing,’ Monika Paniatowski replied.
‘What other aspects of the timing?’ Rutter demanded.
‘We know that Angela was kidnapped at two minutes past three, give or take a minute or two either way. And we also know for a fact that Brunton was back in his office at three twenty …’
‘Do we? Are you sure of that?’ Rutter asked.
‘Yes, I am. His own secretary has confirmed that that’s the time when he arrived.’
‘Oh, well that’s all right, then. If you can’t believe his secretary – the woman who’s dependent on him for her wages – then who can you believe?’ Rutter said sarcastically.
‘I’m not relying just on her word,’ Paniatowski said levelly. ‘His time of arrival has been confirmed by Jeremy Smythe …’
‘Who, by your own account, is nothing but a drunken lecher!’
‘… a very successful businessman who’d never have got where he is today if he was as much of a fool as he sometimes acts.’
‘He was drunk when you saw him today – he could easily have been drunk yesterday as well.’
‘But the girls in the typing pool weren’t – and they also agree that Brunton turned up at twenty past three. Besides, if he was in the Daresbury Arcade at the time he claims he was, and then walked back to his office, that’s just the time he would have arrived.’
‘But was he in the arcade at that time – or is he lying about it?’ Rutter asked, refusing to concede an inch.
‘The assistant in the Venetian Glass shop confirms that he was there at some time in the afternoon, but she can’t say exactly when.’
‘Well, there you are, then,’ Rutter said triumphantly. ‘It’s yet another attempt to create a partial alibi! He goes into the shop earlier than he now claims, knowing no one will be able to pin down the time exactly, then takes himself off up to the park to kidnap Angela.’
‘And is back in his office twenty minutes after she disappears?’ Paniatowski asked.
‘I don’t see why not.’
Paniatowski sighed. ‘Because he not only has to grab the girl, he has to take her to the safe place that he’s prepared for her. And he simply couldn’t have done all that in the time available to him.’
‘I disagree,’ Rutter said.
‘That’s because you’ve not thought it through, Bob,’ Paniatowski said gently. ‘Wherever his safe haven is, it’s got to be somewhere he’d be sure he wouldn’t be observed when he was unloading an unconscious girl from the back of his car. A country barn, perhaps. Or some part of the town that’s virtually deserted because it’s in a demolition area. And there’s nowhere like that anywhere near the corporation park.’
‘If he was prepared to break a few speed limits …’
‘Brunton didn’t even have his car available. It was in the staff car park, blocked in by two other vehicles belonging to his partners.’
‘He could have borrowed a vehicle,’ Rutter said stubbornly.
‘Now that really would have been taking an unnecessary risk,’ Paniatowski countered. ‘Say the girl had puked up or soiled herself. How would he have explained that fact to the man he’d borrowed the car from?’
‘He might have anticipated her doing something like that, and put plastic sheeting underneath her.’
‘And would he also be willing to run the risk of the man who’d lent him the car realizing that he’d borrowed it at exactly the same time as the girl went missing?’
‘He could have borrowed it for the whole day.’
‘How would he have explained the need to do that, when his ow
n car was sitting in the car park?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rutter admitted. ‘But you can bet that he’ll have thought of something.’
‘We’re gettin’ nowhere fast,’ Woodend said.
‘So what do you think, sir?’ Paniatowski and Rutter asked him simultaneously.
‘I agree with Bob that the most likely reason for his wallet bein’ in the park is because he dropped it there himself,’ Woodend said. ‘An’ Edgar Brunton’s profile does seem to match the profile that Dr Stevenson gave us of the likely abductor pretty closely. He’s intelligent, methodical, an’ nobody who knows him will believe he could do a thing like this.’
‘The timing …’ Paniatowski protested.
‘I’ve heard what you’ve had to say on that, an’ you’ve made some good points,’ Woodend told her. ‘But just because we don’t yet see how he could have done it in the time available doesn’t necessarily mean that he couldn’t have found a way. So, while it would be a great mistake to rule out all other lines of inquiry, I think we should concentrate our main effort on Brunton.’
‘You sound as if you’re thinking about having him picked up, sir,’ Paniatowski said.
‘Well, that’s certainly my inclination,’ Woodend admitted.
‘You’ll get a lot of flak from Superintendent Crawley, and Brunton’s friends at the Rotary.’
‘An’ let’s not forget the Masons,’ Woodend said, ‘because, from what you’ve told us of your conversation with Smythe, Brunton’s a member of the funny-handshake brigade as well. An’ then, of course, there’s always Mr Marlowe – our esteemed chief constable. I imagine he’ll have somethin’ to say about me arrestin’ such a prominent member of the community.’
‘So why not hold off until you’ve got something more substantial to pin on him?’ Paniatowski asked.
‘Because time’s runnin’ out for that poor little lass,’ Woodend said. ‘An’ there are big advantages to havin’ a suspect in custody. Once we’ve got him banged up, we can start questionin’ him, and there’s always the chance that he’ll break down under interrogation, an’ tell us where the girl is.’
‘I’m the only one here who’s met him, and I can assure you that even if he is guilty, you’ll get nothing out of him,’ Paniatowski said.
‘Then there’s the fact that once we’ve got him under lock an’ key, we’ll have greater freedom to pursue the investigation,’ Woodend said, ignoring the comment. ‘We can show his picture round the hospitals an’ clinics, for example, to see if we can find anybody who’ll admit he tried to buy anaesthetics from them. We can show the same pictures to the people who were in the park, an’ that might just jog their memories. An’ we can do a thorough background check on him, which might just tell us where he’s likely to have hidden the girl.’
‘Do you think I could have a word with you in private, sir?’ Paniatowski asked.
‘This is private,’ Woodend said, looking round the office.
‘I meant, just the two of us.’
For a moment, it looked as if Woodend was about to tell her to go hang herself, then turned to Rutter and Beresford and said, ‘Would you mind excusin’ us for a few minutes, lads.’
The other two men stood up awkwardly, and stepped out into the corridor. Woodend waited until they’d closed the door behind them before speaking again.
‘I hope you’re not goin’ to give me a hard time, Monika,’ he said.
‘That’s not my intention, sir,’ Paniatowski replied, ‘but I would like to know why you’re really in such a rush to arrest Edgar Brunton.’
‘I’ve already told you, once we’ve …’
‘Please, Charlie!’
Woodend nodded. ‘All right,’ he agreed. ‘Maybe Brunton is innocent, as you seem to think he is. If so, I’ll have done him an injustice by arrestin’ him, an’ no doubt he an’ all his powerful friends will make sure that I pay for it. But there’s another side to the coin, isn’t there? He could also be guilty. An’ if there’s even the slightest chance of that, I want him lockin’ up.’
‘Why?’
‘I should have thought that was obvious – because while he’s in custody, he can’t be doin’ any harm to that little girl.’
Eleven
Edgar Brunton stared across the table of Interview Room Three at the man in the hairy sports jacket and the man in the smart blue suit.
‘You do realize that this is all a very big mistake, don’t you?’ he asked, conversationally.
‘Is it?’ Woodend replied.
‘Of course it is. And I’m very much afraid that you’re the one who’s going have to pay for making it.’
‘Don’t threaten me, Mr Brunton,’ Woodend growled.
‘I’m not threatening anyone,’ Brunton told him. ‘Far from it. All I’m actually doing is pointing out the facts as they stand. Take a close look at me, Chief Inspector. Do I look, in any way, like a kidnapper to you? Can you honestly picture me as child abuser?’
‘I don’t think I said anythin’ about child abuse,’ Woodend countered. He turned towards Rutter. ‘Did you say anythin’ about child abuse, Inspector?’
‘No, I most certainly did not,’ Rutter said flatly.
Brunton laughed. ‘Don’t try your primitive psychology on me, because it simply won’t wash. You may not have mentioned child abuse, but we all know that’s what this is all about. Why else would the man have kidnapped her? Because he wanted to teach her to play chess?’
‘You seem to be taking a very flippant attitude to this whole matter, sir,’ Woodend said.
‘On the contrary, I’m taking it very seriously. If I appear flippant, it’s only as a perfectly naturally reaction to the incompetent way you’re conducting this interview.’
‘Is it incompetent?’
‘Very much so. And please remember that, as a solicitor, I’ve had a lot of experience in observing police interrogations.’
‘Maybe you’re right,’ Woodend conceded.
‘That the interrogation is incompetent?’
‘That you’re not bein’ flippant. Maybe you’re just usin’ flippancy as a mask for your anger. I think that, deep down, you’re a very angry man. I think anger is the main drivin’ force in your life.’
‘I’m certainly angry at this moment,’ Brunton agreed. ‘Who wouldn’t be angry after being arrested by the police for something they hadn’t done? My reputation has been harmed irreparably. Irreparably! Because even when you release me – and you will have to release me eventually – there’ll be people in this town who think there’s no smoke without fire, so I must be guilty.’
‘You’re not helpin’ us, you know,’ Woodend said quietly. ‘An’ if you’re innocent, as you keep claimin’ you are, I’d have thought you’d have wanted to help us.’
Brunton seemed to be turning the statement over his mind, then he said, ‘You’re right. I’m not helping.’ He paused again, before continuing, ‘We seem to have got off on the wrong footing, don’t we? And perhaps that’s partly my fault. Shall we start again?’
‘If you like,’ Woodend said.
‘I’m a happily married man. I love my wife – if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.’
‘Now that is an interestin’ way of lookin’ at things,’ Woodend said. ‘Would you care to expand on it?’
‘Willingly. If I hadn’t loved my wife, I would never have left the office to buy her a present, and there would have been at least half a dozen witnesses who could swear that I was sitting at my desk the whole afternoon, and so couldn’t possibly have kidnapped the girl.’
‘Let’s talk about that shoppin’ trip of yours,’ Woodend suggested. ‘You realized your wallet had been stolen when you reached for it in the Venetian Glass shop. Is that correct?’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘So what I’m goin’ to try an’ do now is put myself in your position. I’m standin’ in the shop. Right?’
‘Right.’
‘I reach for my wallet,
an’ I find that it’s gone. What’s the first thing I’m likely to say?’
‘You tell me.’
‘I imagine it would be somethin’ like “Bugger!” An’, given the circumstances, I’d probably say it quite loudly. Then, because it’s not my habit to swear in front of shop assistants, I’d probably have said, “Sorry about that, love, but my wallet’s just been pinched.”’ Woodend took a drag on his cigarette. ‘Would you like to make any comment at this point, sir?’
‘No.’
‘I thought not. An’ you didn’t make any comment then, either. You see, we’ve spoken to the assistant, an’ she doesn’t remember you sayin’ anythin’ at all about your wallet bein’ stolen. An’ why? Because you still had it! Because you didn’t actually lose it until you were in the park!’
‘That’s not true.’
Woodend sighed. ‘You found a piece of glassware you wanted to buy, didn’t you?’
‘Did I? How do you know that?’
‘Because you’d never have reached into your pocket for your wallet if you hadn’t found somethin’ you wanted – which would mean that you’d never even have noticed it had been stolen.’
Brunton nodded. ‘You’re right, of course. I did find a piece of glass I liked. As a matter of fact, it was a rather beautiful vase. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one quite like it before.’
‘In other words, it was unique?’
‘I didn’t say that. Indeed, I have no way of knowing whether it was unique or not, though given the asking price, I rather doubt it was. All I did say was that I’ve never seen one quite like it before.’
‘Weren’t you worried you’d miss the chance to buy it?’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Well, you couldn’t buy it then and there, could you? Your wallet had been stolen.’
‘Correct.’
‘An’ wasn’t there a risk that if you came back later, once you’d laid your hands on more money, it might have already been sold?’
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