‘No, so spit it out.’
‘Have you got the phone number for Marcus Weston, the operations manager at the software company?’
Barnes flipped through his notebook. ‘Yes. Here you go.’
Kay stabbed the number into her desk phone, and then exhaled in frustration as she listened to the voicemail message. ‘He’s in Canada until next week.’
‘What were you going to ask him?’
‘I wanted to take another look at the cavity where Damien was found. Have we still got a key to the Petersham Building or was it returned to Weston after Harriet’s lot finished with the crime scene?’
‘I think Debbie had one she was going to take over there sometime and let them know they can use the room now that the CSIs have finished. I don’t know if she’s had a chance to yet, though.’
‘Do you know where she put it?’
Kay rose from her chair and crossed the room to the police constable’s desk.
The administrative detritus associated with a major investigation in full swing covered much of Debbie’s work area, despite her best attempts to keep the files and paperwork in separate piles for ease of reference.
‘What are you thinking?’ said Barnes as he joined her.
‘The cavity Damien’s body dropped out of – why put him in there in the first place? It was dark, there wasn’t any CCTV facing the rear of the building, so why not carry him out of there and hide his body somewhere else? I want to take another look now, before that room gets handed back.’
‘Okay, I’ve got an idea.’ He waved his hand at the paperwork. ‘Easier than going through this lot to try and find a key, anyway.’
‘Oh yeah, what’s that?’
He grinned. ‘Gemma Tyson.’
‘The receptionist?’
‘I heard her talking at the scene the day Damien’s body was discovered. She’s a smart kid – and she has the security codes to the building, which you’ll need as well as a key. She’s renting a flat in Wheeler Street so she’s just around the corner, too.’
Kay sucked in a breath. ‘We’d need Gavin to stall Alexander Hill in case he was thinking about heading over there tonight. I know he wouldn’t get into the building but I don’t want him to see us if he drives past.’
‘On it,’ called Carys and picked up her phone.
‘How long do you think we can delay him for?’ said Barnes.
‘An hour, no longer,’ said Kay. ‘His solicitor’s experienced at this sort of thing. As long as Gav hasn’t spoken to them yet—’
‘He hasn’t.’ Carys put down her phone. ‘He got waylaid by Hughes at the front desk to deal with a reporter, so I’ve told him to wait another twenty minutes before giving the good news to Hill and his solicitor. He reckons it’ll take him a good forty to fifty minutes to do the paperwork after that because he’s just hurt his hand and his writing will be slow.’
Kay smiled at the cheeky grin the detective constable wore, then checked her phone. ‘Get onto Gemma, Barnes. Have her meet us outside the Petersham Building in fifteen minutes.’
Forty-One
A quarter of an hour later, Kay waited until a taxi pulled away from the kerb with its inebriated occupants and then nodded to Gemma Tyson.
‘Now.’
Few pedestrians remained on the High Street, a cold wind and horizontal rain keeping most people indoors.
Kay caught Barnes’s eye and he winked as a quiet beep reached their ears.
‘Here we go, guv.’
Gemma held open one of the double doors for Kay and Barnes to enter, then locked it behind them. ‘You’ll need to wait there while I turn off the alarm for the rest of the building.’
She disappeared behind the reception desk, switched on a desk lamp beside her computer and keyed in a sequence of numbers before straightening. ‘Okay, follow me.’
‘Not so fast,’ said Kay. ‘We’ll take it from here.’
The receptionist’s face fell.
‘Here’s my mobile number,’ said Barnes. ‘Can you call me if anyone else shows up?’
‘Will do.’
He led the way through to the main office interior, switched on the lights and then headed across the large space and up a staircase, his shoes echoing off the metal treads in the silence of the building.
Kay followed, her excitement at the prospect of what they might discover tempered by the anxiety that it could be a fruitless task.
She was running out of options.
Barnes reached the top of the stairs and pushed the door open into the office above the breakout area. He gestured to Kay to step inside.
‘At least we don’t have to try to remove the carpet and underlay – it hasn’t been put back yet.’
‘Good. I didn’t fancy trying to pull that up. Let’s have a look, shall we?’
She retrieved a photograph taken by Harriet’s team when they had been called to the scene from her pocket, and paced back and forth across the bare floor, scrutinising the markings that had been highlighted by the crime scene investigators.
‘There are drag marks here, look. You can see where the boards have been scuffed.’
‘But they go towards the cavity, not towards the door.’
‘So moving him outside was never an option.’ Kay frowned. ‘That means the cavity was open before Damien died. Why?’
She dropped to the floor beside the loose boards that remained from the CSIs’ intrusion, then gestured to Barnes to help her. ‘We need to look inside here.’
Pulling a thin torch from her jacket pocket as Barnes pushed the first of the floorboards away, she shone the beam into the gap. ‘Can you move another one?’
Kay lowered her face until her cheek rested on the floor, and swung the beam around to her left. She shifted until she could see better into the cavity, and then straightened and sat back on her heels.
‘Well, that’s interesting.’
‘What is it?’ said Barnes.
In reply, Kay pulled out her mobile phone and hit the speed dial. ‘Gavin? Is Alexander Hill still at the station? Get down to the car park and bring him back in, now. He’s got some explaining to do.’
Kay handed her rain-soaked jacket to the uniformed officer outside the interview room, then pushed open the door and approached the table where Alexander Hill sat with his solicitor.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ said the solicitor. ‘I demand an explanation.’
‘One moment,’ said Kay, then indicated to Barnes to read out the formal caution once the recording equipment was running. That done, she turned back to Hill.
‘What do you know about the contractors responsible for the wiring in the Petersham Building?’
‘Only that John Brancourt brought in a team from Brighton to do it – they weren’t cheap, but they were thorough. They won the contracts for the fibre optic cabling for the software company’s computer servers as well as all the telecommunications equipment. Why?’
‘Tell me about the copper wiring in the ceiling cavity. We took a look and none of the old wiring has been removed. All the new wiring is over the top of it.’
‘What about it?’
‘What’s it doing there? We have whole teams working with the British Transport Police over metal theft because of the value of copper. That stuff’s being stolen from the side of railways and old telephone exchanges up and down the country. If you were renovating a building, why didn’t you remove the copper wiring and sell it on?’
Hill clasped his hands together on the table. ‘We were going to, but like I told you before, we were behind on the schedule. If I’d insisted on paying the electrical contractor to remove the copper wiring before installing the new fibre optic cables and other wiring, it would have added another four weeks to the project, never mind the cost involved. I simply couldn’t afford for the completion date to be pushed back. It made more sense to leave the copper wiring in place.’ He shrugged. ‘The software company has a tenancy for ten years. I can always arrange for someon
e to come back and remove the copper wiring at the end of their lease if I decide to sell it before a new tenant goes in.’
Kay removed her mobile phone and selected the photos app before passing it across to Hill. ‘That’s what I thought. But I’ve just taken a look at that cavity where Damien Brancourt’s body was found, and saw this.’
Hill frowned, but took the phone from her and looked at the screen. A split second later, his mouth dropped open. ‘That doesn’t make sense. ‘
‘That’s what I thought,’ said Kay. ‘The copper wiring has been cut. And it looks like it’s been pulled out of place – not left in situ as you’ve just described. Now, I know that Damian’s bodyweight would have moved the wiring as it worked its way through the cavity over time, but not like that.’
Hill passed her phone back. ‘None of the contractors would have touched that. We made it very clear at the project meeting in early June that that copper wiring was staying in place. Anyway, none of them would have cut it – it was still live. It’s powering the old telephone lines the bank had installed. If anyone tried to cut those, they’d be––’
‘Electrocuted,’ said Kay. ‘Exactly. Damian Brancourt was stealing the copper wire from the Petersham Building when he was killed.’
Forty-Two
‘Come on, grab a seat. Let’s get a move on.’
Kay called across the room to the assembled investigation team the next morning, the sound of the last chair scraping across the carpet reaching her as she turned to the whiteboard and gestured to the photograph of Damien Brancourt.
‘For those of you who have just arrived, we’re now certain Damien was electrocuted while trying to steal copper wire from the Petersham Building. Alexander Hill neglected to inform us when we first spoke with him that the copper wire was still live at the time of the renovations and was left in place for future retrieval. Damien Brancourt obviously had other ideas.’
‘When do you want to tell his parents?’ said Barnes.
‘Not yet. I want more answers before we give them the news, especially given Alexander Hill’s statement that Damien wasn’t interested in working for the family business. I want to find out from Damien’s friends why he felt that way. And the copper theft – what motivated Damien and his accomplice? Why did they need the money?’
She gestured to Debbie to begin handing out copies of the day’s report extracted from HOLMES. ‘Hughes, Parker – I want you working with Gavin to find out who buys salvaged copper around this area. If none of the companies you speak to have dealt with Damien, then widen your search. Trading Standards will have a list of metal recyclers, so start with those. Have a word with our colleagues in burglary as well. Remember, copper theft is a major source of income for organised crime members. We tread carefully with this information, and with the people we’re going to be questioning. I want to know if Damien Brancourt and his accomplice were planning to deal with one salvage company or several to spread the risk of getting caught.’
Barnes held up his hand. ‘There are trade associations that deal with metal salvage, too guv. I’ll make some phone calls and find out if there have been any complaints made about their members.’
‘Thanks, Ian.’ Kay took a step back from the board so she could review her case notes. ‘We’ve missed something along the way. Stealing copper from a building with a private security company in attendance takes guts – not to mention a healthy amount of stupidity.’
‘Could he have been coerced into the metal theft, guv?’ said Carys.
‘I certainly want to speak to Mark Sutton again before we rule that out,’ said Kay. ‘Can you bring him in for questioning this morning?’
‘Should we re-interview his university acquaintances?’ said Gavin. ‘Maybe they were working on the theory that they could sell it to pay off any university debt quickly.’
‘That’s a fair point, and one worth considering. I want to speak to Julie Rowe. She seems to have a knack for coming up with the ideas but coercing others into carrying out her actions. Case in point – Damien getting into trouble at that protest while she simply stood by. She didn’t mind taking the credit in the local newspapers for the protest, but she let Damien take the fall for her when things turned nasty.’
‘She’s going to make a great politician,’ said Barnes.
‘Indeed.’ Kay craned her neck to see over the assembled team. ‘Is Amanda here?’
‘Yes, guv.’ The financial investigator wound her way between the desks towards her.
‘Can you conduct a review on ELMER for Damien Brancourt, Julie Rowe, Shaun Browning and the others to see what state their financial affairs are in? Credit card debts, overdraft facilities, the lot. I want to know if any of them have been struggling to pay off debt, or conversely have large cash deposits being made in the twelve months leading up to Damien’s death.’
‘Will do. It’ll take me the rest of the day to put that together, but I can have it on your desk before I leave today.’
‘Thank you. Best make a start while we finish here.’ Kay picked up her briefing notes. ‘Hughes – I want you to work with the local branch of the British Transport Police. I’m particularly interested to hear about anyone caught stealing metal of any kind in the past year, or suspected of doing so. Find out if they’ve got any contacts we can speak to confidentially about Damien Brancourt – someone out there must know something. Even if it was the first time Damien had participated in metal theft, the person he was with was evidently cool-headed enough to remove the copper wire that had been cut in order to sell it. That indicates to me that person has had practice.’
‘Yes, guv.’
‘Back to Mark Sutton – I want an immediate audit of the financial records we have for him to find out if there are any links between his security work and salvage yards. When you’re talking with local companies, ask who they buy from – including cash purchases. Be cautious when you do so, because I don’t want to warn off Sutton before we’ve had a chance to fully investigate this angle.’
‘Noted, guv,’ said Gavin.
‘Right, that’s it – dismissed. Barnes – get onto Julie Rowe, and let me know when she’s here.’
Forty-Three
Kay buttoned her jacket and then gave the door to interview room four a hard shove.
The gesture had the desired effect, with both Julie Rowe and her solicitor jumping in their seats at the noise.
The solicitor recovered faster, turning the page of his notebook and straightening his tie with an audible huff as Kay sat opposite his client.
Julie Rowe appeared paler than Kay remembered from their last meeting and as Barnes recited the formal caution, she wondered how much the twenty-something was regretting her dalliance with Damien Brancourt.
‘My client has already provided a full statement about her interaction with Mr Brancourt,’ said the solicitor. ‘She feels this latest intrusion on her life is unnecessary.’
Kay ignored him, and kept her gaze on Julie. ‘How much credit card debt do you have?’
‘I-I don’t know off the top of my head.’ Julie’s eyes widened in panic as she glanced at her solicitor, then back. ‘A few thousand pounds, maybe.’
‘Let me refresh your memory,’ said Kay, and took the folder Barnes held out. ‘As at the thirtieth of last month, the balance owing is twelve thousand, six hundred and forty-two pounds. Plus interest at thirteen per cent.’
Barnes whistled through his teeth. ‘How much of that was Christmas shopping?’
Julie jutted out her chin. ‘None of your business. I’ll have you know I work hard for a living. Bloody hard. If you’re trying to make a point, Detective Hunter, then I’d appreciate hearing it.’
‘How long do you expect to take to pay off this debt?’ said Kay. ‘Four years? Six? You’re not working full-time at the moment, are you?’
‘I really don’t understand what my client’s financial affairs have to do with your investigation, detective—’
‘Then be quiet and li
sten,’ Kay snapped. She glared at Julie. ‘Damien Brancourt died because he was stealing copper wire from the Petersham Building. He and his accomplice didn’t know that the wiring was still live, so when Damien cut it, he was electrocuted.’
She waited while Barnes pushed a photograph taken of Damien’s body in situ on the breakout area floor across the table to Julie.
The young woman’s eyes widened in shock, and then she brought a shaking hand to her mouth as she cried out.
‘I’m running out of patience,’ said Kay. ‘I’ve spoken to every single person Damien came into contact with in the days and weeks leading up to his disappearance. One of you is lying.’
Julie shook her head, her eyes wet. ‘It’s not me. I’ve told you the truth.’
‘But have you told me everything?’ Kay retrieved the photograph and covered it with her hand. ‘Julie, I think Damien Brancourt frightened you. You thought you could use him to get attention for your cause with the protests against the development works in town, didn’t you, but you couldn’t control his temper.’
‘He didn’t mean it.’
Julie’s solicitor reached across to pluck a paper tissue from the box next to the recording equipment and passed it across to his client, his jaw set firm.
‘Mean what?’ said Kay once the woman had regained a little of her composure.
Julie dabbed at her eyes, then lowered shaking hands to her lap. ‘He hit me.’
‘When?’
‘A few days after the protest. After the police dropped the charges.’
‘What happened, Julie?’ Kay softened her voice, keen to win the woman’s trust. ‘Why did Damien hit you?’
‘He said it was my fault that he’d lashed out at that man. He said I used him.’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose he was right, I did.’
‘That didn’t give him an excuse to hit you.’
‘It was just how he was. One minute you could be having a normal conversation with him, the next he’d be yelling in your face.’
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