‘If any other illegal activities have occurred in that house, in addition to the murder, of course, then you may well bear responsibility.’
‘Verbiage, utter rubbish,’ Stanford said in frustration. ‘You’ve got nothing, yet you persevere with this nonsense. I suggest we wrap this up. You can give me a lift back to my house, or else I’ll catch a taxi and send the bill to you.’
‘I suggest we break for ten minutes,’ Vincent said. ‘Mr Stanford, you’re welcome to sit outside and make yourself more comfortable.’
‘I’d be more comfortable at home. What do you want ten minutes for?’
‘We need to make a phone call to London.’
***
Isaac regretted agreeing to Wendy going to Brighton. Larry could have gone on his own. After all, Wally Vincent was down there. Wendy could have helped him out on the street and checking around the murder scene.
It had been decided during the previous night, at one in the morning, when Isaac had phoned Larry, who had been fast asleep, that he would follow up on Vincent’s good work, seeing if anything else could be found.
The three police officers sat around Vincent’s desk, his phone on speaker, Isaac up in London.
‘What do you have? Larry asked.
‘I’ll let you three go first.’
‘We’ve interviewed Stanford. He’s saying little, and unless we give him something that he can’t deny, he’s going to walk out of the station soon enough.’
‘Inspector Vincent, Wally, regardless that he didn’t inform us that he was in Bedford Gardens, has done a sterling job. I’ve met with Billy Dempsey and his parents, the young boy’s sure of what he saw. I’m with Gordon Windsor and two of his team. They were thorough in their investigation before, but I’ve asked them to focus on the front of the house, especially around the door, and to see if they can find anything under the dirt and grime. It seems certain that Stanford has been in the house at some stage.’
‘How long ago?’ Vincent asked.
‘The condition of the prints is bad, but they're more recent than twenty years. Windsor believes they could have been placed there within the last three years. He can’t be any more precise, but we can prove that Charles Stanford has been into 11 Bedford Gardens.’
‘Anything else?’ Wendy said.
‘Windsor’s got two of his people checking, and the area at the top of the house, including the last flight of stairs, was vigorously checked the first time. One thing is clear. Stanford has not been up in that room, not in the previous few years and definitely not in the last eleven months.’
‘Could he have killed Matthews?’ Vincent asked.
‘There were fingerprints on the bottle of wine that was found, two men, and none belong to Stanford.’
Stanford had asked for a pizza. He looked up at Wally and Larry on their return.
‘I’ve always heard that the condemned man has a pizza,’ he said.
Larry and Wally sat down, then Wally restarted the interview, reiterating the conversation so far.
Stanford said nothing as he ate his last slice of pizza. ‘Not bad,’ he said. ‘It’ll save me cooking later.’
‘Detective Chief Inspector Isaac Cook is at Bedford Gardens, at your house, with a crime scene investigation team,’ Vincent said. ‘They’ve found your fingerprints on the door handle of the front door of your house.’
‘Twenty years ago, maybe.’
‘The condition of the prints is not good, but they are proof that you have been in the house recently. What were you doing at 11 Bedford Gardens in the last year?’
‘Nothing can be proved.’
‘We’re trying to solve a murder,’ Larry said. ‘You must understand that our actions are not personal. It’s the truth we want.’
‘I’m a private man,’ Stanford said.
‘Yes, we understand all this,’ Vincent said, with a sigh of frustration.
‘One year ago, give or take a few days, I received a phone call. It was anonymous.’
‘What was it about?’
‘I was told that my house was being used for criminal activity.’
‘What sort of activity?’
‘The voice told me drugs were being stored in the basement.’
‘What did you find?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Then why do you think you received that phone call?’
‘Someone wanted me to find the body, but they couldn’t have known that I wouldn’t climb those stairs, not at my age and in my condition.’
‘Do you have any idea why they wanted you to find the body?’ Larry asked.
‘I’ve no idea, and as to why they chose my house, I don’t know.’
‘You could have told us this before and saved yourself a lot of trouble,’ Vincent said.
‘All I want is to be left alone.’
‘We need to trace that phone call,’ Larry said. ‘Any idea of the date, other than a few days either way?’
‘I keep a diary. I can give you the day and the time, as well as the date that I visited Bedford Gardens, and yes, eleven months is probably correct. Now if there is no more, I will leave you at this police station while I go back to my house and my life.’
‘Is there any more you can tell us? Larry asked.
‘I will send a message to your phone with the date and the time of the phone call. If you can trace that, then so be it. But quite frankly, I’m not concerned either way.’
Wally Vincent concluded the interview.
Stanford left, this time shaking the hands of the two men, and Wendy’s.
Chapter 21
It wasn’t as though he hadn’t wanted Tricia, Brian Jameson thought. It was just that he was comfortable on his own in the house, with the occasional lady friend if he wanted one, but most times
