Chameleon's Shadow

‘What line?’

‘It’s OK to steal off an old person, but not to hit him.’

‘I ain’t never stolen off an old person.’

‘According to your stepfather, you have. You used his Switch card to take three hundred quid out of an ATM the day before you ran away. He also found other withdrawals of lesser amounts when he went back through his bank statements. He blames himself for recording his PIN in his diary and giving you the impression that stealing was easy.’

‘That’s different.’

‘How?’

‘Stealing off family’s different from stealing off strangers.’

‘Meaning what? That it’s a lesser crime or it’s easier to get away with?’

‘Mum and Barry know why I did it.’

‘And that makes it acceptable?’ Jones asked drily, eyeing the woman.

She raised her head. ‘It was a difficult time for him. He did some things he regrets. Barry and I understand that.’

Jones studied her face with interest. ‘Does your understanding extend to the cell phones Ben has admitted stealing in the last four months? He uses interesting terminology when he refers to his victims . . . he calls female victims “bitches” and male victims “mother fuckers”. Both suggest disdain for the people he robs.’

‘None of them was old, though,’ said Ben with a gleam of satisfaction in his pale eyes, as if he’d scored a point. ‘I wouldn’t call an old bloke a mother fucker . . . I’d call him a geezer. In any case, you don’t see that many of ’em flashing their mobiles around in the street, so they ain’t that easy to rob.’

‘It’s not a moral issue, then, it’s a practical one. If a frail eighty-two-year-old made it easy for you, you’d treat him the same way you treat a teenager.’

‘Think what you like,’ the boy said dismissively. ‘It don’t make no difference to me if you twist what I say.’

‘An elderly black lady was punched and kicked not so long ago for her mobile phone. She was so badly injured, she had to be hospitalized.’

‘Nothing to do with me.’

‘For the record,’ the solicitor interjected, consulting his watch, ‘my client, Ben Russell, said he doesn’t steal from old people, nor does he refer to them in derogatory terms. I am also drawing Superintendent Jones’s attention to an earlier interview where the phrases “bitch” and “mother fucker” were discussed at length. These are recognized street slang for young females and males respectively, and in no way suggest contempt on the part of my client.’ He tapped his watch. ‘We agreed ten minutes. I shall have to insist that we end the interview now.’

‘By all means.’ Jones bared his teeth in a wolfish grin. ‘What are we keeping you from, Mr Pearson? The opera?’

The man’s mouth curved in a faint smile. ‘I don’t write the rules, Superintendent. I am merely obliged on behalf of my client to remind you that they exist.’

‘Then I suggest you remind your client similarly. As an overworked taxpayer, I presume I’m in the ludicrous position of both investigating this self-confessed thief –’ he gestured towards Ben – ‘and paying you to protect him.’

‘I’m afraid so,’ the solicitor agreed. ‘The French would call it the theatre of the absurd, but it’s the price we pay for living in a civilized democracy.’ He turned an unsympathetic gaze on his client. ‘I do understand your frustrations, however. I’ve never met a policeman yet who would describe what he sees on a daily basis as civilized.’

*

Jones waited until he, Beale and the WPC were clear of the building before he asked the female officer what she’d made of the solicitor’s parting remarks. ‘Did you get the impression Pear-son was trying to tell us something?’

‘Only that he doesn’t like the kid. He doesn’t like the mother either. While you were talking to Nick outside, the pair of them kept whingeing on about compensation for police harassment. I could tell from Mr Pearson’s body language that the whole conversation was making him angry.’

‘What did he say?’

‘That he could see no basis for such a claim but they were within their rights to pursue it through another solicitor if they chose.’ The woman laughed suddenly. ‘He suggested they go to Grabbit and Runn in Litigate Street and keep their fingers crossed that a malicious suit didn’t result in Ben being charged with multiple counts of theft.’

Twenty-one

FOR A WOMAN WHO prided herself on her common sense, Jackson felt a superstitious spike of alarm when she returned after a second patient visit to find her car deserted. Now what? She stared up and down the well-lit road, but there was no sign of Acland anywhere, nor was there a message under the windscreen wipers to indicate where he’d gone or why. She wasn’t even sure what had spooked her unless it was her lingering suspicion about what he’d been doing the previous night.

She called Daisy on her mobile. ‘Hi . . . no, everything’s fine except that Charles seems to have vanished again. Is he with you?’

‘What do you mean “again”?’ Daisy sounded annoyed. ‘Did he come back?’ The noise of customers was loud in the background.