‘I cannot allow this to continue,’ Eileen Kerr said.
‘I’m nearly finished,’ Isaac said. ‘Miss Nichols, did you at any time threaten him?’
‘I may have. I was angry, frightened. I don’t want to remember.’
‘This must stop. This is police brutality,’ the lawyer said.
‘Meeting concluded at 11 a.m.’ Isaac pressed the stop on the timer and switched off the recording equipment.
***
‘What did you think?’ Farhan asked Isaac after Christy Nichols and her lawyer, possibly lover, had left. Feeling hungry, both had walked down the street to a small Italian restaurant.
‘The motive is strong enough,’ Isaac replied.
‘Is she capable of murder?’
‘What do we know about her?’
‘Not a lot. Apart from what she’s told us.’
‘We need to find out more,’ Isaac said. ‘Let’s be clear here. It’s either Christy Nichols or Jess O’Neill. Both had the motive. One had the opportunity. Is there anyone else we’re missing?’
‘If it’s not a professional hit, then it’s either of the two women.’
‘I’d prefer it was neither, but we can’t let them off. From what I can see, decent women placed in difficult circumstances with an unpleasant and odious man. He’s no great loss to society, yet someone has got to pay for liquidating him.’
‘Isaac, we’re here to uphold the law, not discuss the relative merits of the murderer and the murdered.
‘You’re right. We’d better bring in Jess O’Neill.’
‘We’re forgetting Fiona Avers. She had a motive,’ Farhan said.
‘If it remains unresolved after speaking to Jess O’Neill, we’ll call her in. In the meantime, how’s Wendy going?’
Farhan phoned her. Apparently, the trail for Linda Harris had gone cold.
‘Call her into the office. There’s something more important for her to do.’
Wendy took forty minutes to arrive. ‘Christy Nichols. Have you read her file?’ Isaac asked.
‘I’ve had no need to.’
‘You do now. We need to know more about her,’ Isaac said. ‘Where she came from. What her life was like before London. Also, would she be capable of murder?’
Chapter 37
Jess O’Neill’s facial expression clearly revealed her mood as she entered the interview room. Isaac had seen her walk in, but she had purposely looked the other way. He sensed it was going to be a difficult interview. Her brother-in-law, Michael Wrightson, accompanied her.
‘Let it be put on record that my client is here under duress,’ Wrightson said after the opening formalities had concluded. ‘She answered all questions submitted last time in an open and frank manner. And, as we know, at some embarrassment. Reopening old wounds and painful memories is neither appreciated nor required. Let me further add that if as a result of today’s interview it is clear there is no viable reason for her presence, it will be necessary to register a complaint.’
‘Please note that certain information has come into our possession,’ Isaac said after the threat from Wrightson. ‘It has necessitated the presence of Miss O’Neill, as well as others, here today.’ Isaac looked over at Jess. She failed to make eye contact.
‘Then please submit your questions,’ Wrightson responded. ‘My client is a busy person.’
‘Very well,’ Isaac replied. ‘Miss O’Neill, thank you for coming.’
‘I am here under the advice of Mr Wrightson.’ Still no eye contact.
‘We have reason to believe that the murder of Charles Sutherland is not related to the killings of the other two people. As such, it is necessary for us to re-evaluate the evidence.’
‘My client gave a full account of her relationship to Charles Sutherland, and her dislike for the man, last time. Do we need to go over that again?’
Isaac chose to ignore Wrightson’s comment. ‘Miss O’Neill, did you at any time threaten the man with physical harm?’
‘When he was trying to rape me?’
‘Yes.’
‘I probably did. What woman wouldn’t?’
‘I am sorry. I am just trying to ascertain the facts.’
Farhan chose to remain silent. He knew the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. He had to admit that she was a fine-looking woman.
Wrightson continued to interject. ‘This line of questioning is unacceptable.’
Isaac ignored him. He addressed Jess again. ‘Can you tell me about your knowledge of poisons?’
‘Is this an accusation?’ Wrightson asked. ‘My client does not need to answer.’
‘No, you are right. She does not need to answer. I, however, need to ask.’
‘Michael, it’s alright,’ she said to her lawyer.
Addressing Isaac, this time making eye contact. ‘If you are asking whether I poisoned Charles Sutherland, the answer is no. The accusation that I would be considered is abhorrent. I did not like the man, but murder…’
‘I am sorry for asking. There are others with a motive who have been asked the same question. It would be remiss if I did not ask you the question.’
He whispered in her ear, ‘He’s giving you a lead. Take it.’
Looking back at Isaac, this time a little friendlier. ‘I have no knowledge of poison, other than tear gas while on assignment in the Middle East. Is that poison?’
‘Thank you for your answer.’ Farhan sensed the desperation of his boss to eliminate her from the inquiry, although none of her answers proved her innocent.
The interview concluded within sixty minutes. As Jess and her brother-in-law left the room, she leant over to Isaac and quietly said, ‘You bastard!’
Farhan, not far away, heard what she said. He knew what it meant. He wondered how Isaac would explain away the actions that had generated such a venomous comment.
***
Wendy was delighted: the expense card reinstated, or, at least, the opportunity to use it without criticism.
Christy Nichols, the records had shown, came from a small village in the Lake District, close to the Scottish border. Wendy was heading up there, her husband in the hands of a live-in nurse for three days. Isaac had approved the cost, no option but to.
