“Sit down, Miss Temple,” Katy warned.
Aghast, the woman stared blankly at her solicitor. “Say something. Do something. I ain’t being fitted up for no one.”
“Do as the inspector said and take a seat, Miss Temple. Keep calm while we sort out this misunderstanding.”
Alison righted the chair and plonked herself into it. She leaned back and folded her arms across her slim chest which was rising and falling rapidly due to her anxiety. “I need to get this sorted. I swear, I don’t know how that got into my account.”
“And you know what?” Katy said, “I believe you.”
“Thank fuck for that. Tell me what’s going on then.”
“First of all, I need to check a few things with you. Such as who has access to your account.”
“No one. If anyone got hold of my phone, they’d have a job getting into the app. My password is so weird even I have a job remembering it some days.”
“Do you have a partner, Miss Temple?”
“Yeah, Stitch. Why?”
And there it was… “Stitch? Does he have a proper name, assuming Stitch is a he?”
“He is, I ain’t one of those lesbos, if that’s what you’re getting at. I only know him as Stitch.”
“And how long have you known your fella?”
“Three, maybe four months. Why? You think he has something to do with this?”
“I do. What does Stitch do for a living?”
“No idea. He told me never to ask.”
“And that didn’t arouse your suspicions at all?”
“Nah, I like sex, what can I say? I don’t want the rest of the baggage that comes with a relationship. In that respect, we’re two of a kind. It works well for both of us, and the sex is fantastic. Oops…sorry TMI, right?” She laughed.
She was the only one.
“The thing is, we believe your fella was involved in a serious crime a few days ago. We’re very interested in speaking with him. Do you know where he is?”
“Nah, haven’t seen him all week. What crime?”
“The murder of Ray Thatcham, the man who deposited that large sum of money into your account.”
“Wait…what the…? I had nothing to do with no murder. I ain’t taking the rap for it, if that’s why you’ve dragged me in here.” She faced her solicitor. “Don’t just sit there, say something.”
“Inspector, my client clearly has no notion of why those funds were deposited in her account. Why don’t you issue a caution this time and let her go?”
“Let her off with a caution? A significant amount of money is deposited into her account the same day a man loses his life and you expect me to slap her on the wrist and release her? I don’t think that’s how it works, Miss Warren, do you?”
“Well, if you put it that way…”
“What? I had nothing to do with this. Here”—Alison picked up her mobile—“tell me where to transfer the money and I’ll do it right away. I don’t want it.”
“We’ll do that soon. Come on, Miss Temple, are you telling me your fella has access to your account and you knew nothing about it?”
“He must have. Maybe he saw a bank statement when it came through the post, I don’t know. I usually leave them unopened in a pile in the kitchen, maybe he swiped one. Fuck, you have to believe me. I want no part of this. I didn’t kill no one. I ain’t taking the fall for this.”
“In that case, we’d be willing to work with you.”
“Work with me? I don’t get you, how?”
“As I’ve already told you, we’re very interested in speaking with Stitch. You must have a contact number for him, yes?”
“Yeah, I have. What about it?”
Katy passed her a pen and paper. “Give me his number.”
“Now hold on a minute, if he’s killed someone and I’m gonna give you his number, where the fuck does that leave me?”
“We’ll protect you. The net is closing in on him and his gang,” she lied. “But with your help we can get them off the streets sooner than we anticipated. Maybe when I tell you this it will help make up your mind. This week, your fella and his gang have killed seven people—five members of the public and two police officers. Do you really want to be connected with someone who has that on his CV?”
“Shit! No way. I didn’t know.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks, her rough exterior crumbling before Katy’s eyes. “Please, help me. Tell me what to do. No, I don’t want to get involved. I want to get away from here. I have family up north. Let me go to them.”
“The first thing I need you to do is try to remain calm. We’ll help you if you’re willing to help us. Don’t panic.”
“I’ll do anything. I want no part of this. It was only about the sex, I swear. We never went out or nothin’. I know nothin’ about him.”
“Where did you meet?”
“In a nightclub, I was out with the girls.”
“And what? He came up to you and asked you out?”
Her cheeks flared up. “Umm…no, he took a shine to me. I was flattered, we had a quick shag in the men’s loo, and the rest is history. He turns up at my gaff when he wants. It suits both of us, neither of us is keen on being at the other’s beck and call.”
“I see. So you haven’t met any of his associates?”
“Not really. I saw one once. God, what am I saying? Katrina Banks and her fella and Stitch and I all went out one night.”
“Hence the photos on your Facebook page?”
“You know about them? Have you been spying on me?”
“I wouldn’t class it as spying, I’d call it more research than spying.” Katy grinned.
“Typical of you lot to twist things. What happens next?”
“Once you’ve given us his contact details, we’ll let you go, escort you back to your house so you can pack a bag and see you on your way.”
She searched her phone, jotted down the information on the sheet of paper and
