by Ford, P. F.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Slater. ‘We’re in now. I have a search warrant here.’
‘Yes. So I can see. What you looking for?’
‘Have you got keys to the garage round the back? We need to get at the Peugeot van.’
‘I’ve got them here in my pocket,’ the caretaker said.
He took a keyring with four keys from his pocket and handed it to Slater.
‘Will you need it for long? Only I’m going to the cash and carry this morning, to get some cleaning stuff.’
‘I’d use another vehicle if I were you,’ said Norman. ‘We’re going to take it away.’
‘But I haven’t got another vehicle,’ said the caretaker.
‘You could try the bus.’
‘We also need the keys to start it,’ said Slater.
‘They’ll be in it,’ said the caretaker. ‘None of the lazy buggers ever brings ‘em back in here like they’re supposed to.’
Slater handed the keys over to Ian Becks.
‘Just follow the “deliveries” sign,’ he told Becks. ‘You’ll find the garages opposite the back doors. The van’s in the one on the left as you look at them.’
‘Right,’ said Becks. ‘We’ll do a quick check, then shove it onto the trailer and take it back to our workshops.’
‘Good luck. We’ll see you later.’
Slater turned back to the caretaker.
‘We want the CDs the CCTV is stored on,’ he said.
‘They’ll be in the TV room at the back of reception.’ The caretaker pointed to a door in the far corner. ‘Here, I’ll show you.’
He led them across to the door, swung it open and led them inside. A desk faced a wall bearing several screens showing views from the CCTV cameras.
‘They’ll be in that top drawer,’ he said, pointing to a desk with two drawers.
‘And we want access to Mr Rossiter’s office,’ said Slater.
He slipped on a pair of latex gloves as he walked across to the desk and slid open the drawer.
‘I don’t know which office is which,’ said the caretaker. ‘But they’re all unlocked so I could clean ‘em. If you know which one it is, you can help yourself.’
‘Yeah, we know where it is,’ said Norman. ‘We can find our way up there okay.’
‘Is that it? Do you need anything else?’
‘No we’re good,’ said Norman. ‘You’ve been very helpful Mister?’
‘Swan.’
‘Yes, thank you, Mr Swan,’ said Slater.
‘Can I go now?’
‘D’you think you could hang on until someone else gets here?’ asked Norman. ‘Just in case we need anything else.’
‘I suppose,’ agreed the caretaker, gloomily. ‘I just hope it’s not that snotty bitch from HR that gets here first. She’ll chew my balls off for this.’
‘For what?’ asked Norman.
‘Letting you lot in, probably,’ he grumbled. ‘Miserable cow. She’s always moaning about something.’
‘Let me guess. Mrs Rowntree, right?’
‘Oh you’ve met her, then.’ The caretaker grinned.
‘Let’s just say we’re not her favourite people,’ Norman said, grinning back
‘You certainly won’t be this morning, that’s for sure,’ Mr Swan said, letting out a laugh. ‘Is it alright if I go and make meself a cup of tea?’
‘Sure,’ said Norman. ‘Just hang around the reception area so we can find you if we need to.’
‘Well, there’s ten disks here.’ Slater rummaged through the drawer. ‘And they’re marked with letters, but I’ve no idea which one is which.’
‘Take ‘em all,’ said Norman. ‘I’ve got a bag here. We can find out which is which later on.’
He opened a plastic bag and Slater placed the disks carefully inside.
‘I didn’t expect to see you two here this morning,’ said a familiar voice from the doorway.
They looked round to see the smiling face of Millie Gibson watching them.
‘Morning, Millie,’ said Slater. ‘D’you know how these CCTV disks are marked?’
‘There should be a blue book, A5 size, in that drawer,’ she said. ‘It’s a dead simple system. We just record the date, and the letter of the disk.’
‘There’s no book in here,’ he said, turning back to the drawer.
She walked over and peered around him into the drawer.
‘That’s funny. It’s always in there. It’s not supposed to be removed.’
‘Who’s responsible for keeping the records?’ asked Norman.
‘Me and Frosty,’ said Millie. ‘I don’t think anyone else is even aware we have CCTV. Most of them think the cameras are dummies.’
‘When did you last see the book?’ asked Slater.
‘Yesterday morning. I usually change the disks when I come in.’
‘Does anyone else have access to this room apart from you two?’ asked Norman.
‘Well, we don’t keep it locked, so anyone could come in here if they wanted. But I’ve never known anyone else come in here.’
‘What the hell’s going on here?’ Celia Rowntree marched fiercely through the doorway. ‘What are you two doing here? I told you before you’re not welcome. Who allowed you into the building?’
‘This allowed us into the building,’ said Slater, thrusting the search warrant towards her.
But she wasn’t listening to him. Through the wonders of CCTV, she was watching Ian Becks loading the Peugeot onto his trailer.
‘What’s that man doing? Who said he could take that van away?’
‘I did,’ said Slater. ‘This search warrant does, if you’ll just stop carping long enough to read it.’
‘How dare you speak to me like that!’ she snapped, indignantly.
Then she suddenly realised Millie was in the room, watching the whole show.
‘Don’t you have any work to do, Millie?’ she hissed.
‘Yes,’ said Millie, guiltily. ‘Sorry. I’ll get on.’
Celia waited for Millie to leave the room and then rounded on the two detectives again, but it was Norman who spoke first.
‘If you’ll just stop with the righteous indignation stuff,’ he said, ‘and listen to what he’s telling you, you’ll see we have a search warrant. We’re taking the van for forensic examination, we’re seizing the CCTV footage from the day Diana Woods died, and we’re going to search Bruce Rossiter’s desk, and Diana’s desk.’
‘Bruce won’t allow you to do that,’ she said.
‘I don’t think he’s in a position to stop us,’ said Slater, testily. ‘And anyway, he doesn’t have to allow it. This search warrant allows it, if you’ll only stop and read it.’
‘But there will be staff in that room-’
‘There are no buts,’ interrupted Slater. ‘We have an officer posted outside that room turning staff away until we’ve finished. Now you can either co-operate with us, or we can get a much more extensive search warrant, come back with a small army, and turn the whole building upside down. Which do you prefer?’
She scanned the search warrant, and the air seemed to go out of her.
‘Right. Well, that seems to be in order,’ she said, awkwardly, when she had finished reading. ‘So how can I help you?’
‘Where’s the book that goes with these CCTV CDs?’ asked Slater.
‘It should be in that drawer.’
‘Yes. I know it should be in the drawer,’ said Slater. ‘But it’s not, so where is it?’
‘Perhaps Millie has it.’
‘Millie says it was in the drawer last time she saw it, yesterday morning,’ said Norman.
‘Well, someone else must have it then,’ she said.
‘Millie says only you and her use the book or even know what it’s for,’ insisted Norman.
‘What?’ Celia Rowntree said. ‘You think I’ve got it? Why would I want it?’
‘Why would Millie want it?’ asked Slater.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, h
er patience wearing thin yet again. ‘Why don’t you ask her?’
‘We have,’ said Norman. ‘She doesn’t have it, and she doesn’t know where it is.’
‘Well, I’m afraid I don’t know where it is, either,’ she insisted.
‘Perhaps we need to search everywhere, after all,’ Slater said.
‘You’ll need another search warrant,’ she said, with an icy smile. ‘This one is very specific about where you can look.’
Slater couldn’t argue with that. She was right. It had been a mistake to make it so specific, but they’d had to compromise. It was the only way they could get the search warrant granted late last night.
‘We’ll take these CDs anyway,’ said Slater. ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to find what we’re looking for.’
‘We’re going up to Rossiter’s office now,’ said Norman. ‘If you want to come and watch what we’re doing, you’re more than welcome.’
‘Mr Rossiter is going to be very upset when he comes in and finds out what you’re doing,’ she warned them. ‘You’re going to spoil his day.’
‘We’ve already spoilt Mr Rossiter’s day,’ Norman said, grinning. ‘He probably should be phoning in to say he won’t be in for work today, but he’s only got the one phone call at his disposal, and I’m pretty sure you won’t be the first person he wants to call.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Let’s just say he’s helping us with our enquiries, if you see what I mean.’
Norman winked at her as he followed Slater from the room and headed for Rossiter’s office.
‘Any problems, Jane?’ asked Slater, as they approached Rossiter’s office.
‘Well, I’m not very popular with those people I’ve had to turn away from their office,’ she said, smiling. ‘But there’s been nothing I couldn’t handle.’
She stepped aside as Slater and Norman entered the office, and then followed them inside.
‘So what are we looking for?’ she asked them.
‘Right.’ Slater pointed to the two desks closest to the door. ‘It’s just these two desks. This one here was Diana’s, and that one over there is Rossiter’s. We’re looking for anything that might prove they were in a relationship, and anything that might suggest they had fallen out.’
‘That’s a bit vague, isn’t it?’
‘You start on Diana’s desk,’ he said. ‘You might not find anything because Rossiter has already been through it, but you never know, he might have missed something. Me and Norm will take his desk. It’s twice as big, and we think we’re more likely to find something in there.’
They quickly got to work at their respective tasks. Jolly soon drew a blank, but Slater and Norman were having a bit more luck.
‘Wow!’ muttered Norman. ‘Look at this.’
He produced an expensive-looking carrier bag from one of the drawers.
‘Drawers within drawers,’ he said, as he produced a set of fancy underwear from within the bag and held them up. ‘Do you think these are for him, or for her?’
‘They’d have to stretch a hell of a long way to go around his arse,’ said Slater, grinning.
He leaned across for a closer look.
‘They’re made by the same people who made the underwear she was wearing when they found her body.’
‘How come you know so much about ladies underwear?’ asked Jolly.
‘You should see what he’s wearing under that suit,’ said Norman, winking.
‘I recognise the label,’ said Slater. ‘It’s not exactly run-of-the-mill stuff, is it?’
‘Let’s have a look,’ asked Jolly, stepping closer so she could see.
‘That’s expensive stuff,’ she said, admiringly. ‘I certainly can’t afford anything like that on my wages.’
‘So it’s not the sort of stuff your average girl wears?’ asked Slater.
‘Not if she’s on an average salary.’
‘But as a gift?’ asked Slater.
‘A girl would be very happy.’
‘So now I know what to buy you for Christmas,’ said Norman, with a wink.
‘I wouldn’t waste your money,’ said Jolly. ‘Because it couldn’t possibly make me THAT happy.’
‘Well, well, well,’ said Slater reaching into another drawer. ‘What did Millie say? A blue book, A5 size.’
He lifted something from the drawer and placed it on the desk.
It was a blue book, A5 size.
‘If that’s the right book,’ said Norman, ‘then it looks like all roads point to Rossiter.’
Slater opened the book and glanced at the first page. There was a list of dates and letters.
‘This must be it,’ he said. ‘It’s exactly as Millie described it. Dates and letters. Dead simple.’
As he thumbed through the pages the dates got closer and closer.
‘Oh bugger,’ he said. ‘Would you believe it? The last page has been torn out.’
‘So, how much more incriminating do we need it to be?’ said Norman.
‘I thought this bloke was supposed to be clever.’ Jolly shook her head. ‘First you find her mobile phone at his house, and now you find this book in his desk. That doesn’t seem very clever to me.’
‘He’s arrogant,’ said Norman. ‘Arrogance makes people think they’re much cleverer than anyone else. He certainly thinks he’s too smart for us, but that’s been his undoing. He thought we were too stupid to find anything.’
‘You call it arrogance if you want,’ said Jolly. ‘But I think it’s just plain bloody stupid.’
Chapter 19
‘Before we start I would like to stress, for the record, that my client has repeatedly denied having any involvement in the murder of Diana Woods. Your continual refusal to accept this fact, and your behaviour this morning, amounts to persecution of an innocent man. I hereby inform you of my intent to pursue a claim for wrongful arrest and harassment.’
Brian Humphreys looked rather pleased with his performance as he sat down alongside his even more smug-looking client.
Norman shook his head slowly from side to side and went back to studying the notes in front of him.
‘Thank you, Mr Humphreys,’ said Slater, smiling broadly. ‘Your intent is duly noted. Am I right in my belief that criminal law is not your particular area of expertise?’
‘Can’t be,’ said Norman, without looking up from his notes. He said it just loud enough for Humphreys to hear.
The smug look on Rossiter’s face faltered for barely a second, but Humphreys wasn’t so good at hiding his feelings, and it was obvious he had no idea what Slater was suggesting. Slater stared impassively at Humphreys and gave him a few seconds to reply, but this just served to make the unfortunate solicitor even more uncomfortable.
‘The reason we’ve invited your client here this morning-,’ he began.
‘I wasn’t invited, I was bloody well dragged here,’ snorted Rossiter.
‘It’s a question of perception I suppose,’ said Norman, looking up from his notes. ‘But I didn’t see anyone place a hand on you until you made a move to attack DS Slater.’
He looked back at his notes. Rossiter glared at the top of Norman’s head, but didn’t comment further. Humphreys looked suitably alarmed. Slater bet his client hadn’t mentioned that he’d almost assaulted a police officer.
‘We just have a few discrepancies we need Mr Rossiter to clarify for us,’ continued Slater. ‘Once that’s done to our satisfaction he’ll be free to go. I think that’s fair enough, don’t you?’
‘What discrepancies?’ snarled Rossiter.
‘We’ll go through them one at a time. How about we start with the time you claim to have reached home on the day Diana was killed. You say you were home by five forty-five.’
‘I said it because that’s what time I got there.’
‘But your wife says you didn’t get home until after seven,’ said Norman.
‘Well, she’s mistaken.’
‘She’s quite sure it was after seven.
She even told us dinner was nearly ruined because you were late.’
‘She must be thinking of another night,’ insisted Rossiter. ‘We had dinner at around six o’clock. It wasn’t ruined at all.’
‘So why does your wife say different?’ asked Slater.
‘Like I said, she must be mistaken.’ Rossiter sighed, wearily.
‘But she insists she’s not mistaken,’ said Norman.
‘Well, she must be lying than,’ snapped Rossiter. ‘I assure you I was home by five forty-five.’
‘Why would your wife be lying?’ persisted Slater.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Rossiter, angrily. ‘Why don’t you ask her?’
‘We don’t think you were home as early as you claim.’
‘So where do you think I was?’
‘We’ll come to that shortly,’ said Slater.
‘How did you come to have Diana Woods’ mobile phone in your bedside drawer, Mr Rossiter?’ asked Norman.
‘What?’ Rossiter sounded genuinely horrified. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’
‘Well, let me spell it out, as I’m the one who found it,’ said Norman. ‘You have a bedside cabinet next to your bed, yes?’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Rossiter. ‘Doesn’t everyone?’
‘Well, I searched it when we were there this morning,’ said Norman. ‘Second drawer down, tucked right at the back, under your socks, I found a mobile phone. Closer inspection showed it belonged to Diana Woods.’
Rossiter looked bewildered. He turned to Humphreys.
‘I don’t understand this, Brian,’ he said, shakily. ‘I don’t understand what’s going on.’
‘We’ve been looking for that phone, since Diana’s body was found,’ said Slater. ‘Perhaps you can explain to us how it came to be in your possession.’
Rossiter’s earlier smugness and bravado had completely evaporated now. The colour had drained from his face, and sweat shone on his forehead. Humphreys had gone a strange colour, too. Slater thought the solicitor was rapidly realising he was out of his depth.
‘So how did the phone come to be in your drawer, Mr Rossiter?’ asked Slater, again.