‘Crack on,’ she said, and they got up and returned to work.
Before they returned to the interview room, Walter said, ‘Strange we never found anything about the fifth man.’
‘Ah,’ said Karen.
‘What do you mean “ah”?’
Karen bit her lip and said, ‘I have ID’d the fifth man.’
‘Have you now? And when did you do that?’
‘Yesterday, I think it was, but with everything else going on, and then the discovery of Flanagan’s fingerprint, it didn’t seem so important, or relevant,’ which was not quite the truth, and they both knew that.
‘Would you like to acquaint me with this new intel?’
But before she could answer, he called Gibbons over.
‘Go and tell the Duty Sol there will be no more questioning of Michael Flanagan today until later this afternoon, say it’s due to fresh information that has just come to hand. She can stand down; we’ll keep her informed, and get Flanagan back to the cells.’
Gibbons pulled an impressed face and said, ‘Sure Guv,’ and beetled off to give the impressive Ms Drake the news.
Walter turned back to Karen. His face said everything: Tell all.
She didn’t need prompting.
‘His name’s David Baker, he’s thirty-six, and works for a grain merchant. Never been in any kind of trouble.’
‘Does he fit the description of the man Corla described?’
‘He does.’
‘What vaguely, exactly, what?’
‘Pretty much on the nail.’
‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’
‘It’s a little bit more complicated than that, Guv.’
‘Oh, in what way?’
‘He’s err, kind of, my bloke.’
‘What! Your boyfriend?’
Karen nodded.
‘Geez! And does “your bloke”, as you describe him, have a rock solid alibi for both killings?’
Karen shook her head, and said, ‘Not that he’s telling me.’
‘Have you discussed the case with him?’
‘No, not at all.’
‘Forgive me, Karen, but I find that hard to believe.’
‘I know it looks odd, Guv, but it’s the truth.’
‘Mrs West will have to be told. It doesn’t look good, does it?’
‘I know that, Guv, but once the fingerprint thing came up it really didn’t seem so important.’
‘You know the score KG, ALL intel is important, because it builds up the bigger picture.’
Gibbons came back and shared a look with Walter who said, ‘How was she?’
‘Miffed! She said that both she and her client were being unnecessarily messed around.’
Walter pulled a face.
‘That’s the least of my worries.’
He turned back to Karen and said, ‘I’ll need to interview this Mr Baker. Where can I find him?’
Karen gave him the phone numbers and an address.
‘You’ll not be able to attend, you know that?’
‘Sure, Guv.’
‘In fact you may need to be taken off the case. I’ll check that out with Mrs West.’
‘I thought that might happen.’
‘You thought that would be the case, didn’t you?’
‘It occurred to me, Guv, of course it did, I just wanted to get to the bottom of it first, I was bending the rules a little, I’ll admit, just as you did with the....’
‘Oh no! Don’t you dare compare my off the wall ID parade plan with your withholding information, it won’t wash!’
‘Sorry, Guv, but surely it’s all irrelevant now that we have concrete proof on Flanagan?’
‘There are numerous holes in that argument, don’t you think? Why didn’t Corla ID him, for one, how did he break his tag time, for two, you still haven’t found any evidence he is tag tampering, and how and where did he meet Belinda Cooper, for three? And that’s just for starters. Hardly watertight, is it?’
‘He was in her bedroom.’
‘Maybe, but nothing else fits.’
Gibbons phone rang.
They heard him say, ‘Just a second, Mrs Revelation.’
How she must have been miffed by everyone calling her “Mrs”.
‘Yes, he’s here, just a sec, I’ll put him on.’
Gibbons grimaced and gawped at Walter.
‘It’s Corla and she sounds....’
‘Sounds what?’
‘She sounds kind of frightened, Guv.’
Walter grabbed the phone and said, ‘Corla, what’s up?’
‘I’ve seen him!’
‘You’ve seen who?’
‘The murderer, of course, or at least the man who came out of Belinda’s house. I’ve seen him twice.’
‘Where? When?’
‘First thing this morning when I went for the papers, I always go out early if I can, stretch the legs, that kind of thing. He was across the road, but ducked out of sight when I looked at him.’
‘And the second time?’
‘A few seconds ago, crossing the square.’
‘Which square?’
‘The one outside Portobello Towers.’
‘What are you doing there?’
‘I was so unsettled when I saw him earlier that I had to get away from the house, so I decided to come and stay here with my nieces. They live in number 35. Safety in numbers, and all that.’
‘You mean Janice and Chantelle are your nieces?’
‘Yes, how do you know them? They haven’t been naughty, have they?’
‘No, nothing like that, they were helping me with something else.’
‘That’s a relief. Please come over, Walter. I’m so frightened. I’m certain he’s coming here to kill me. I’m the only witness, you see, without me he’ll get away scot-free. It’s me he wants.’
‘Sure. We’ll come straight away.’
‘Please hurry, and bring plenty of puff.’
‘Puff?’
‘Yeah, the damned lifts are off again.’
‘Bugger! Stay in the flat, lock the doors, and don’t go out. We’re on our way.’
‘Thanks Walter. You’re a love.’
He set the phone down.
Karen, Jenny, Gibbons and Nick had all gravitated to his desk.
‘Where’s Hector?’
‘He’s gone to see Pat the snout. Had some intel for us, apparently,’ said Gibbons.
‘Okay, Nick you stay here and man the phones. When Hector checks in, tell him to get down to Portobello Towers, PDQ, number 35. Jenny and Gibbons, get yourself a car and get over there and wait for us outside.’
Gibbons nodded. Jenny said, ‘Got it.’
Karen slipped on her jacket and headed for the lift to grab a car.
‘Nick,’ said Walter. ‘You bring Mrs West up to speed. Tell her Corla Revelation says she has just seen the prime suspect outside her niece’s flat. She says he’s there to kill her.’
‘Sure, Guv. But if the suspect is there, what’s Flanagan doing in the cells?’
‘Good question! Let him stew for a few hours. We’ll keep you posted.’
‘And what about the Duty Sol?’
‘Humour her, I’m sure you’re capable of that.’
Nicky grinned, ‘Happy to.’
Two minutes later
