‘Mr Mason, have you had an affair?’
‘What sort of dumb question is that?’
‘It’s not dumb, only necessary. You’re overseas, negotiating substantial export deals for your company. The temptation must be there.’
‘Business is conducted differently over there, but you must know that.’
‘I’m aware of what happens. You’ve still not answered the question.’
‘I have. What more do you want from me?’
The door to the interview room opened, a ginger-haired, freckled-faced constable came in. ‘Apologies, but you’re needed outside, DCI,’ he said. Isaac acknowledged the man. He paused the interview, knowing that interruption could only mean one thing: someone senior needed to talk to him.
Outside in the corridor, Detective Chief Superintendent Goddard. ‘You’ve got Tony Mason in there?’ he said.
‘We have reason to believe that he is concealing evidence,’ Isaac said.
‘Is he the murderer?’
‘He’s not the only suspect. We’ve got no proof, but his testimony has given us reason for concern.’
‘I’ve had Commissioner Davies on the phone.’
‘And?’
‘He’s the head of the London Metropolitan Police, as you well know. “And” is not an appropriate response.’
‘Government interference?’
‘Are you likely to charge Mason with murder?’
‘Are we being told to back off?’
‘No. Davies is worried. Your Mr Mason is currently negotiating a deal to sell more than one hundred million pounds of technology to Saudi Arabia. If he secures that, then there are other companies lining up behind him to sell even more. The man’s important, and he’s sat in the interview room getting the third degree from you.’
Isaac didn’t like it, but it wasn’t the first time that he had come across ‘in the national interest’ in a murder investigation.
‘What do you want us to do?’
‘Unless you can prove it…’
‘Not yet. But he knows something, I know it.’
‘A hunch is no good with Mason. If you’ve got proof, I’ll back you up.’
‘Commissioner Davies?’
‘He has people to report to; we all do.’
‘A murderer could walk free. Until he’s concluded the deal in the Middle East, is that it?’
‘The politicians will tell you there are hundreds, possibly thousands of British jobs at stake. They’ll not say they’ve got their fingers in the trough, and it’s their seat in Parliament that’s at risk.’
‘And a murderer walking free is the cost?’
‘Not while I’m the chief superintendent, it won’t be.’
***
Wendy had not been pleased when Isaac had returned to the interview room and ended the interview, citing additional evidence, and saying that Mason was free to go.
She had watched the three people leave the station. Tony Mason had got into the back seat of a Jaguar. Christine and Gwen had taken a taxi. To Wendy, the investigation into Mason was not over, but as her DCI had explained, ‘We’re being told to back off, and only to question Tony Mason when we have proof.’
‘What then?’
‘We need to inform Chief Superintendent Goddard first, is that it? Ask for permission to charge a murderer?’
‘We still do our job.’
Isaac could understand his sergeant’s frustration, but there was still more to do. Mason was a person of interest, although he had been out of the country when Colin Young/Barry Montgomery had died. Not conclusive in itself as the man had influential friends, people who would return a favour for him, or place him in their debt.
Isaac could see that they were heading into the realm of conspiracy theory, and if it was someone unknown who had committed the murder, then it was a safe bet that the person would have been professional. Hitting the man on the head in Hyde Park, his subsequent drowning, still had the feel of amateurism. He dismissed his previous thought and walked over to Larry Hill’s desk.
‘Someone up high forcing their hand again, is that it?’ Larry said. He was leaning back, his hands behind his neck.
‘Thinking again? Isaac said sarcastically, although he knew his inspector was not a man to be idle for long.
‘Just going over the investigation in my mind. We’re focussing on the more likely characters, the men, and all three of them have negatives against them. Mason trades in weapons of death, Terry Hislop had a spell as a drunken brawler, and Archibald Marshall comes across as a despicable individual.
‘What’s your point?’
‘It seems illogical, leaving the man’s death to chance. What if he had managed to get himself ashore and onto the bank?’
‘We’ve spoken about this before. The man didn’t, and it’s still murder.’
‘But it could have been an accident, the man falling in, the other person not remaining there; or if they had, not knowing what to do. Not everyone can swim, and early in the morning, a light mist, the water cold, maybe whoever it was panicked.’
‘We’re making excuses. We need whoever it is, then we can decide on the charge. The judge and jury can decide on the penalty.’
‘Terry Hislop’s a strong man, but Gordon Windsor said that the blow could have been inflicted by a weaker person. Mason’s not in the country, and Archibald Marshall is a lecher, embezzler, but we’ve no evidence of violence against him.’
‘Are you saying we refocus on the women?’
‘Them or a gay lover.’
‘Apart from the man selling himself in the past, we’ve got no reason to doubt that he was anything other than heterosexual.’
‘He can’t have been. What he did with those men would have been abhorrent if he was totally straight. He was bisexual at the very least. There may still be someone out there that we don’t know of.’
‘Any suggestions as to how we find out?’
‘Your policing friend, Nick Domett.’
‘I don’t even remember the man,’ Isaac said, conceding that Larry had a point.
‘Haul him in, give him the third degree if you think it will help.’
‘We could sweat Christine Mason,
