came the uniformed officers, ready to remove the men and woman, take down statements, and generally pave the way for clearing the area. They took the first load away as Delroy and Silas remained facing the wall.When Sam rejoined Anna, he was grinning, and looked elated. 'Well, our guys are something else! They both claim they were at the cafe to just score a bit of hash. Not illegal, and for medicinal purposes only!'Anna smiled, but became serious as Sam held up a plastic bag containing a large silver Glock pistol. 'Where did you find it?''In the cafe. In fact, Silas Roach tried to reach for it, then acted all innocent as if he didn't even know it was there!'Anna looked out of the window just as Silas Roach was being turned from facing the wall. He had both wrists cuffed, and kicked out as the weapon dog barked and sat in front of him. She could feel her adrenaline pumping. Might she be looking at the man who had shot Frank Brandon? If she was, he'd also shot the man standing behind him. Would he be able to identify Alexander Fitzpatrick?
CHAPTER 16
The incident room was filled to bursting as the team received the update. Anna and Gordon were now waiting for their turn to interview Silas Roach and Delroy Planter, who had both been charged with dealing and possession of class-A drugs—heroin and cocaine, and a large quantity of hashish and marijuana. A bulk of hash had been discovered hidden in one of the old-fashioned hairdryers. Roach and Planter were in real trouble, as the kids were so terrified that they talked freely; some were as young as eleven. A few girls who were legitimate hairdressers also spilled the beans. The nontalkers were their heavies and six Jamaican servers, who were the guys who would pass the gear and take the money to Delroy and Silas. Three were illegal immigrants; the other three had records for drug offenses and burglary. Also discovered was a considerable amount of cash in a suitcase, with lists of numerous names and addresses.It would take hours to process the offenses against the dealers. It was imperative for the Murder Squad to question the two men with reference to their case, but the Drug Unit were not prepared to release them into their custody until they were sure they had charges against them. Cunningham was furious, and eventually had to get Langton to secure the release of the two suspects into their custody. They were to be delivered the following morning and held in the cells at the station until they had finished being interrogated. They would then be returned to the Drug Squad to complete their charges.By this time, it was after nine o'clock. Cunningham called it quits for the night but wanted the team back early the following morning. Anna wrote up her reports and did not get home until after ten-thirty. It had been a long but productive day. Already the two suspects' fingerprints were being matched with those from the drug squat, and they would have verification of any hoped-for match by the following morning. Suddenly the case was starting to move—yet again down to Anna's diligence, in requestioning Jeremy Webster and Eddie Court. The next morning, however, Cunningham reprimanded her for not gaining the two dealers' names from Eddie Court in her initial interview. If she had done so, it would have taken the case forward far more quickly. This time, Anna stood her ground and, trying hard to retain her composure, said that it was her initial interview with Jeremy Webster that had steered the case. If it had not been for him, they would not even have had the link to Eddie Court.'Well, I want the little bastard brought in and charged for withholding evidence. I am not satisfied.''I did give him my word that if he gave me information, he would not be prosecuted,' Anna said angrily.'That was not your prerogative. Bring him in.'Anna gritted her teeth. She wanted to be privy to the interviews with Delroy Planter and Silas Roach, however, so kept her temper. It was still only eight-thirty, and they had not as yet been brought over to the station. Both suspects were to be taken before a magistrate to answer the drugs charges; there was no hope of either being granted bail. Anna gave instructions for Gordon and two officers to bring in Eddie Court. They wanted a statement from him saying that he had scored from both the men, and that they were in the Chalk Farm squat the night of Frank Brandon's murder. This was confirmed at ten o'clock. They now had a match with their prints from those taken from the squat.There was a buzz as the two suspects were delivered at eleven-fifteen. They were taken to separate cells while their solicitors met with Cunningham. They would be questioned separately. Both were informed that there was strong evidence that one of them had committed a murder. Fingerprints on the Glock automatic were confirmed as belonging to Delroy Planter; ballistics had already confirmed that the weapon was the one used to kill Frank Brandon. This detail brought the incident-room tension up a notch. Everyone was eager to know the outcome of the forthcoming interrogation.
Only Anna was doubtful that Delroy was the shooter. He was such a big man. Frank Brandon had been shot through the drug-squat door; the two bullets had entered his chest at an upward slant.When she mentioned this to Phil, he dismissed it sarcastically, suggesting that the bastard could have been sitting down—or that maybe they should look for a dwarf, because Brandon had also been shot while he lay on the floor! Like Cunningham, he also brought up the fact that she had questioned Eddie Court days ago.
His attitude infuriated Anna. 'Well, at least I proved that Mr. Webster was of value!'
Phil shrugged. They had, he murmured, wasted hours of time tracking down the vehicles listed by Jeremy Webster. Anna gave up. There was no way Phil was going to give her credit for anything she had done, but she didn't have a row with him, remembering Langton's warning about getting along with the team, especially Phil.
It was not until twelve-thirty that Cunningham gave the team the lineup for the interviews. She would take Delroy Planter into interview room one, and Anna was to interview Silas Roach in room two. Cunningham had Phil with her, and Anna was with Gordon. Both suspects would have their solicitors present: Elwyn Jones was representing Planter and Margery Patterson was acting for Roach.
Silas Roach had overpowering body odor. He was still wearing his knitted hat, and had not had any change of clothing since his arrest. He was belligerent and totally uncooperative, repeatedly sucking his teeth and kicking against the table leg. Anna read him his rights, but he wasn't listening. Patterson was trying her best to make him pay attention, but he didn't seem interested; he kept on saying that he had been set up and was not going to say anything else. He had never been at the Chalk Farm estate and his arrest the previous day was a frame-up. He was at the cafe having a cup of coffee.
Anna let him rant on as she took out her notebook and files. 'Mr. Roach, we have confirmation that your prints were found at number nineteen in the Warren Estate. We also have a witness to your presence on the night of the murder.' Anna showed the photographs of Frank Brandon. Roach was pushing his chair back and clearing his throat as if he was going to spit on the floor in front of him. 'Fucking lies, fucking lies.'Anna tried to maintain her calm as she plowed on, bringing out more photographs from ballistics showing the bullets and saying that they now had verification that the weapon used was the one Roach had in his possession; since it also had his prints on it, they were certain he had been the man who pulled the trigger and killed Frank Brandon.'I fucking didn't, I was never fucking there. It's a fucking setup.'Cunningham was having a similar session with Delroy Planter. He had constantly refused to answer any questions, saying nothing but 'No comment.' He denied ever using the Warren Estate to sell drugs; even when told they had witnesses, he still denied it. He also denied that he was dealing drugs from the cafe and said that, like Roach, he was only there for a coffee.'Mr. Planter, we are not interviewing you about the drug raid. This is an entirely different case. You are here to answer questions regarding the murder of an ex-police officer, Frank Brandon.'Phil took over and, like Anna, he showed the mortuary pictures and the murder site. He got the same denial. It was at this point that the interview-room door banged open, and James Langton barged in.While Cunningham explained into the tape that he had now joined the interview, Langton banged his fist down on the desk.'Take a good look, Delroy. He was a police officer; he was also my friend. You'll get time for this and your life won't be worth living, I'll make sure of it. Start talking—you got five minutes before we charge you with his murder. Your prints are all over the fucking weapon, and we have a witness who says you fired the shots. Don't think your pal next door isn't going to save his own skin.'Langton dragged over a chair and sat opposite Delroy. Elwyn Jones, Delroy's solicitor, asked about the evidence. Langton glared at him. 'Take a look.' He swiped at the papers on the table.'I am advising my client not to answer any further questions until I am satisfied.''I am not wasting any more time,' Langton said. 'You can play out the 'no comment' game but, like I said, we have a witness.You are being charged with the murder of Frank Brandon.'
'I never fucking shot him, man! It wasn't me!'
Langton leaned over the desk. 'Then tell us who it was.You help us, Delroy, and we can give you a break, a big one.'
Delroy shook his head, sighing.
