Above Suspicion (40 page)

‘So, McDowell is … what?’ She frowned.

‘A possible suspect. But also a decoy.’

‘What?’

‘Until we’ve got more evidence, I’m not bringing Daniels in. We could arrest him on the fingerprint off your photo frame, but he was also later inside your place with your approval.’

‘Hold on - that was much later. I brought in the frame days before,’ Anna said stubbornly.

‘I know. But he could say otherwise and then it gets down to his word against ours.’

‘That’s ridiculous.’ Anna was steaming. ‘Anyway, forensic can prove him wrong.’

‘I know, but we have to cover all probable explanations from his brief. We need more evidence that’ll screw him. Did he go to Manchester in the last few weeks? He certainly dropped McDowell in our laps.’

‘So, what’s next?’

Langton pointed to her. ‘We watch out for you. I’m sure he’ll try and make contact with you, just to find out about McDowell.’

‘If he does, how much do I tell him?’

Langton drummed his fingers on his desk. ‘Oh, I think you can tell him quite a lot. We want him staying right where we can pick him up. So the more he thinks we believe our decoy is guilty of the murders, the safer he’s going to feel. You up for it?’

She nodded.

‘I thought you would be. Now, I want you in on the interview with McDowell, but you play by the rules, Travis. You do not, at any cost, put yourself in jeopardy. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, sir.’

There was a pause. He was still looking at her; she was unsure whether she should leave. Then he smiled softly. ‘The seat discovery was good, Travis. Your dad would be proud of you.’

She swallowed the emotion that welled up. ‘Thank you.’

‘OK - that’s it for now.’

Wearing handcuffs and prison-issue dungarees, freshly washed and shaved, McDowell was escorted from Wandsworth Prison to Queen’s Park. He arrived for the interview just after three o’clock. He seemed almost a new man, thought Langton, who had first glimpsed him that morning in court.

He was remarkably coherent. The medication, the meals and a good night’s sleep seemed to have worked wonders. He understood the seriousness of the charges and although he would plead guilty to the drug-related offences, denied that he had committed the murders.

When Anna and Langton entered the interview room, McDowell’s handcuffs had been removed. He was sitting beside his new solicitor, a thin-faced, dome-headed man named Francis Bellows. Langton introduced him to Anna; the two men had met earlier that morning in court. Bellows had been court-appointed and briefed from Manchester and had already had a lengthy session with McDowell at the prison.

‘DS Anna Travis will be conducting the interview with me,’ Langton explained as he drew out her chair. Anna sat down facing McDowell. He was enormous and, contrary to her expectations, had a rather jaded handsomeness.

‘Right, let’s get started,’ Langton said, pressing the tape machine on before swivelling round to check the video camera was also ready.

The bubble wrap had been removed from both seats and was laid out in sections. The forensic team had examined every square inch with magnifying glasses. They removed samples of a wool and synthetic carpet, oil stains, grit and a fraction of sand. After these samples were listed and numbered, they focused on the seats. The disappointing news was that the two seats had been well and truly cleaned before being taken to the crusher yard. The leather was in immaculate condition but smelled of mildew and some kind of leather-cleaning fluid.

Leather is not a material that fibres cling to. The two scientists worked on a seat each, moving inch by inch, but they were unable to discover anything except a few grains of sand. They took the seats apart and removed the back to revealed the underside. Here, the leather stitching ran in parallel lines: there were accumulated dust balls and a one-pence piece. Then they got lucky. Caught in the stitching, hardly detectable by the human eye, was a strand of hair. It took a while for it to be gently teased free. It was a single long blonde hair with the root attached and it was from the passenger seat.

The next discovery was caught in the glint of torchlight. It was embedded in the crease of the stitches on the driver’s side. The tweezers gently released what looked like a small sliver of pink glass. The hair and pink glass were placed in separate containers, ready to go to the lab for testing.

It had been over two hours and McDowell was tearfully explaining his relationship with the victim, Beryl Villiers.

‘Beryl liked Ecstasy. She wouldn’t leave the stuff alone. She loved that euphoric feelin’, know what I mean? I couldn’t stop her. Then I had a bit of a problem, got busted and she started taking them like Smarties. I was only in for a six-month stretch, right? But when I come out, she’s up and left me. I search all over Manchester for her, then I find out she’s dossing down at Lilian Duffy’s place. I went fucking apeshit; they were a real bunch of slags there, I’m telling you. I wanted her back with me. I loved her.’

‘So, talk me through the time you went to find Beryl. You said she was staying at Lilian Duffy’s house?’ Langton asked.

McDowell hesitated a moment. ‘Right hovel it was, over in Shallcotte Street. By now Beryl was doing heroin and Lilian Duffy was using her out on the streets.’

Langton began to lay out the photographs of their victims and McDowell touched them one by one.

‘Yeah, yeah, they were there. Or they came and went. Almost every tart in Manchester stayed over at that place at some time or other.’

Langton glanced at Anna. ‘Did you see her son at the house?’

‘Yeah.’

The picture McDowell conjured up was even more wretched than Anna could believe. The child, brought up in a house filled with women, was either ignored or beaten. The only temporary escape came during foster care, which was unpredictable and intermittent because his mother constantly insisted on dragging him back.

‘You were questioned about Lilian Duffy’s murder before, weren’t you?’

‘Oh fuck, that was a joke. It’s because I got in a fight with her once. She was on her feet when I left her in that alley, her kid just standing there with this crazy expression on his face. Next I hear is, she was found by the cops, beaten up and covered in blood. He done it.’

‘Done the beating?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What about the murder?’

‘I dunno. It was a while after. But he certainly had reason to.’

‘What reason?’

‘Well, what she done to him, locking him in this cupboard and that. Days on end he’d be in there before someone opened the door.’

‘So, contrary to what you said before — that you only went to Shallcotte Street rarely — you seem to have been a frequent visitor.’

McDowell shrugged. ‘Like I said, I went there looking for Beryl.’

Langton tapped the desk with a pencil. ‘Well, you were there before that. First you say that Anthony Duffy was just a small child, next you say he was beating his mother up.’

‘Right, yeah.’ McDowell sucked at his cigarette.

‘So, how many times did you visit that house in Shallcotte Street?’

McDowell shrugged again. ‘It was like this — I lost my club, fell on hard times a bit and when I needed a place to doss down, I’d go there.’

‘When was the last time you saw Lilian Duffy’s son?’

‘Anthony? It’s got to be twenty years ago, pal - that time when he come round for his passport, or it could have been after he was arrested, I can’t remember. He could be dead, for all I know. Me head’s a bit muddled; it’s the drink.’

‘So, he never made contact with you? Say, in the last few months?’

‘You’re not listening to me. I never seen him since he done over his mother.’ McDowell was starting to sweat. ‘I don’t feel well.’

‘Do you need to take a break?’

‘I need a bottle of fucking vodka, but I doubt you’re going to give me one!’

It was just after half past six when they called it quits for the day. McDowell by now was shaking, unable to think straight, and his sweating had started to stink out the interview room. He was taken back to Wandsworth to be returned for further questioning the next morning. The legal sixteen hours with breaks was almost up.

Langton was stunned to hear what forensics had found in the car seat. It was a hell of a lot more than he had expected.

He contacted the lab. By now it was after half past seven and nearly everyone had left for the night. Lewis had already gone home to his new baby. Barolli was on the late shift, organizing the surveillance on Anna’s flat.. Anna was sorting out her desk and putting things in her briefcase.

‘You off then, Travis?’ Langton asked, squinting from his cigarette smoke.

‘Yes, unless I’m needed here.’

‘You’re not. Goodnight.’

She looked from the impatient Langton to the edgy Barolli, then picked up her coat. ‘Goodnight, then.’ The swing doors closed behind her.

Barolli briefed Langton, who stood in the middle of the incident room in his raincoat ready to leave. Daniels had been at home most of the day apart from a trip to the gym in the afternoon. He came back carrying the Evening Standard.

‘At least he knows we acted on his tip-off,’ Barolli said, showing Langton a copy of the newspaper. The headlines reported that a suspect was in custody for the serial murders.

Langton inhaled deeply, the smoke drifting from his nose.

‘You going off, then?’ Barolli asked.

Langton sat down, hunching his shoulders in the raincoat. ‘A lot depends on the lab tomorrow, doesn’t it?’

‘Yeah. They say with the hair’s root attached, they were pretty positive they’d get a result on the DNA. You know, gov, maybe we should pull the bastard in tonight?’

‘I’ve been thinking about that. But Travis is primed to know what to say if he calls her.’

‘You think he will?’

‘He must be itching to know what we’re doing with McDowell.’

‘Why hold off? The surveillance team is costing a lot; we are way over budget.’

Langton stubbed out his cigarette. ‘Because, pal, if we don’t get the results we’re hoping for from forensic, he’ll be in and out of here like a blue-arsed fly.’

He looked at his watch. ‘Who’ve we got on Travis’s flat?’

Barolli checked his list. ‘Dick Field; takes over at eight.’

‘Mmm.’

‘I was just going to grab something to eat before they close the canteen.’

‘Who’s on Daniels?’

Barolli checked his list and passed it over. Langton glanced at it and let it drop back onto the desk. He yawned; he was exhausted.

‘Why don’t you go and recharge your batteries, gov?’ Barolli said anxiously. Any minute the canteen would close.

Langton dug his hands in his coat pockets and stood up. ‘I’m going to have a sleep. Call me at home in a couple of hours.’ As he walked out, Barolli sighed with relief.

‘He’s knackered,’ Moira remarked.

‘Run up and get me a bacon sandwich, would you? I’m starving.’

Moira pushed her chair back. ‘I hope he has something to eat; he’s not had anything all day.’

‘Tell me about it.’

Anna bought some groceries at her local supermarket. As she returned to her car, her mobile rang. She tucked it between her shoulder and her chin, juggling her shopping bags.

‘Travis,’ she said.

‘Hi there.’

‘Who is this?’ She dumped the bags, knowing immediately who it was.

‘Don’t you recognize my voice?’

‘I’m sorry. Is this Alan?’

‘Yes, it’s Alan. Where are you?’

She hesitated, her mind racing. ‘I’m at Tesco. I’m in the middle of shopping.’

‘Which Tesco?’

She sat in her car. ‘It’s the one on Cromwell Road.’

‘I know it.’

She shut the door and locked it. How on earth had he got hold of her mobile number?

‘Are you still there?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Just getting in my car. I’m actually in the car park.’

‘You’re not far from Queen’s Gate. Why don’t you wait and I’ll meet you there?’

‘Unfortunately someone’s coming to fix my dishwasher and I’ve got to be at the flat to let him in.’

‘Well, another time then.’

‘OK.’

She wasn’t sure if he had hung up or not. As she listened—

‘How’s it all going?’ he said softly.

She jumped. ‘How’s what going?’

‘I read in the paper you’ve arrested someone. He was in court this morning.’

‘Yes, he was. But you know, Alan, I can’t really talk about it.’

‘Why not?’

‘You know why not. I’m on the case and it’s just not ethical.’

‘But I was the one who told you about him.’ He sounded peeved.

Sweat started trickling down from her armpits. ‘I know you did.’

‘So, did they find any evidence?’

‘My gov would go crazy if I told you.’

‘He’s only jealous.’

‘Oh, I doubt that.’ She gave a soft laugh. ‘I have to go now, Alan.’

‘Goodbye then.’ He hung up abruptly. Barolli was at his desk, mouth full of bacon sandwich, when Anna rang. She told him she’d had contact.

‘Shit, where are you?’ he swallowed.

‘I’m at Sainsbury’s on the Edgware Road. In the car park. He wanted to meet me but I told him I was at Tesco and I had to get home to let someone in to fix my dishwasher. So he knows I’ll be home.’

‘Listen, let me get back to you. You just carry on and I’ll talk to the gov.’

‘OK.’ She cut off the call.

Barolli called Langton’s flat.

‘He’s not bloody answering,’ he said to Moira.

‘But he must have got home by now.’

‘Yeah I know, but maybe he was so shagged out, he’s not hearing the phone. Let’s hope he picks up his mobile.’ Barolli tried the two numbers for another few minutes and then redialled Anna.

‘Travis? I can’t get hold of the gov. He doesn’t live far from you. Can you call in before you head home and give him an update?’

‘Wait a minute.’ Anna jotted down Langton’s address.

She had often wondered where he lived. She was about to find out. She continued towards Kilburn. Once she found his street, to the left off Kilburn High Road, she drove along slowly, looking for the right number.

Anna climbed the front steps of number 175 and rang one of the unmarked bells. A female voice answered.