knew Linda’s friend Tania Hutchison, the girl she was with at Brimleigh, but you didn’t bother to tell us that, either, did you?”
Hayes’s jaw dropped. “Who told you all this?”
“That doesn’t matter. Is it true?”
“What if it is?”
“Then you’ve been withholding important information in a murder investigation, and that, laddie, is a crime.”
“I didn’t think we were living in a police state yet.”
“Believe me, if we were, you’d know the difference. When did you first meet Linda Lofthouse?”
Hayes glowered at Chadwick, still playing with the rubber band. “At Dennis’s place,” he said.
“When?”
“I don’t know, man. A while back.”
“Weeks? Months? Years?”
“Look, Dennis is an old mate. Whenever I’m in the area I drop by and see him.”
“And one time you did this, you met Linda?”
“That’s right. She was staying at Dennis’s.”
“
“No way. Linda was untouchable.”
So it looked as if Nokes was telling the truth about that, at least. “This would have been the winter of 1967, early 1968, right?”
“If you say so.”
“How often have you seen her since?”
“Just a couple of times, you know.”
“No, I don’t. Enlighten me.”
“I’ve done some concerts with the Hatters, and she was at one of them. I met her up at Dennis’s again, too, but I didn’t, like,
“So why did you lie about knowing her if it was all so innocent?”
“I don’t know, man. I didn’t want to get involved. You guys would probably take one look at me and think I did it. Besides, every minute I was standing around in that field I was losing money. You don’t know what this business is like, how hard it is just to break even sometimes.”
“So you lied because you thought that if you told the truth I’d keep you from your work and you’d lose money?”
“That’s right. Surely you can understand that?”
“Oh, I can understand it well enough,” said Chadwick. “You’re speaking my language now. Concern over money is a lot more common than you think.”
“Then…?”
“What were you doing after you introduced Led Zeppelin on Sunday night?”
“Listening to their set whenever I had a moment. They were incredible. Blew me away.”
“Where were you listening?”
“Around. I still had things to do. We were looking to pack up and get out of there as soon as possible after the show, so I couldn’t waste time. As it turned out…”
“But where did you go to listen to them? The press enclosure was roped off in front of the stage. Apparently that was the best place to watch from. Did you go there?”
“No. Like I said, I didn’t have time to just stand there and watch. I had other things to do. It was pandemonium around there, man. We had people falling off the stage stoned and people trying to sneak in the front and back. Managers wanted paying, there were cars blocking other cars, limos turning up for people, pieces of equipment to be accounted for. I tell you, man, I didn’t have time to kill anyone, even if I wanted to. Which I didn’t. I mean, what possible motive could I have for killing Linda? She was a great bird. I liked her.” He lit a cigarette.
“I notice you’re left-handed,” Chadwick said.
“Yeah. So?”
“The killer was left-handed.”
“Lots of people are.”
“Do you own a flick-knife?”
“No way, man. They’re illegal.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you know the law.”
“Look, are we finished, because I’ve got a lot of phone calls to make?”
“We’re finished when I say we are.”
Hayes bristled but said nothing.
“I hope you realize the extent of the trouble you’re in,” Chadwick went on.
“Look, I did what anybody would do. You’ve got to be crazy these days to give the fuzz an inch, especially if you’re a bit different.”
“In your case, it didn’t work, did it? I’ve found out anyway. All we need now is one person – just one person – who saw you leaving the backstage area for the woods while Led Zeppelin were playing. Are you so sure that no one saw you? After all, we’ve discovered all your other little lies. Why not this one?”
“I did not leave the enclosure, and I didn’t see Linda leave, either.”
“We’re reinterviewing all the security personnel and everyone else we can think of who was there. Are you certain that’s the story you want to stick to?”
“I did not leave the enclosure. I did not go into those woods.”
“What did you do with the knife?”
“I can’t believe this! I never had a knife.”
Chadwick spread his hands on the table, the gesture of a reasonable man laying out his cards. “Look, Mr. Hayes, I’m not persecuting you because you’re different. In fact, I don’t believe you’re that much different from most of the petty villains I come into contact with. You just wear a different uniform, that’s all. Why don’t you make it easy on us all and tell me how it happened?”
“I want my solicitor.”
“What about Tania Hutchison? Did you try it on with her, too?”
“I’m not saying another word.”
“But it was Linda you really wanted, wasn’t it? Linda, who seemed so unattainable. ‘Untouchable.’ Isn’t that the word you used? She was so beautiful. Thought you weren’t good enough for her, did she? Even your money and your famous contacts didn’t impress her, did they? So how did it happen? She wandered off into the woods. You did your MC duties, and when everyone was enthralled and deafened by Led Zeppelin, you followed Linda into the woods. She rejected you again, and this time was once too many. She was having her period. Did she tell you that? Did you think it was just an excuse? Well, you were wrong. It was true. Maybe you were high? Maybe you’d been taking drugs? You could probably plead that you weren’t responsible for your actions. But she turned her back on you for the last time. You grabbed her from behind and stabbed her. Then, when you realized what you’d done, you knew you had to throw us off the scent. It was a clumsy attempt, but the best you could come up with under pressure. You walked to the edge of the field, were lucky enough to steal a sleeping bag without being seen, and the body was still undiscovered when you got back to it. You shoved her in the sleeping bag – very carelessly, I might add, and that was my first indication she hadn’t been killed in it – and you carried her to the field. While everyone’s attention was riveted on the stage, in the dark, you set the sleeping bag down at the very edge of the crowd so we wouldn’t link her with the backstage lot and hurried back to your duties. I don’t suppose it took long. Was there a lot of blood to wash off your hands? I don’t think so. You rubbed them on the leaves, then you rinsed them off in the beck. Did you get any on your clothes? Well, we can always check. Where did you hide the knife?”
As Chadwick talked, Hayes turned pale. “It’s one thing accusing me of all this,” he said finally, “but it will be quite another proving it.”
“All we need is one witness who saw you leave the enclosure at the relevant time.”
“And the nonexistent knife.”
