‘Then tell me. Fire away, Jimmy. Let’s have the great DI Bliss show me what I missed and where we at Hinchingbrooke went wrong.’
Bliss swallowed half his drink before responding. ‘There you go again. Get over yourself, Harvey. You didn’t miss it. And it’s “the great DS Bliss” if you want to be entirely accurate. Look, George Moss alibied Watson. That meant you had to draw back and attempt to charge Watson with having contributed to the boy’s fragile condition.’
‘Yeah. We argued that his constant beatings had left the kid with a skull weakness. CPS told us we had no case. Not one they were prepared to lose, given the mother had already admitted to everything and claimed Watson never touched her son. That alone tainted any clinical observations.’
‘Right. So you know it’s him, but justice gives you the finger. Only, how much of that changes if George Moss admits he and Watson never spent that evening and night together? What if he says Watson put him up to it, having turned up at his place in a manic state, his hands and clothes covered in blood?’
Nicholls put a hand to his mouth before slowly stroking his chin. ‘Has he made a statement to this effect?’
Bliss shook his head. ‘Not yet. He wants assurances that I can’t give him. He needs you to protect him from the time he makes his statement until the time Watson gets found guilty. Without that, he sticks to his original story.’
‘I can do that. What made him change his mind?’
‘Persuasion.’
Nicholls grinned and raised his eyebrows. ‘Of the gentle variety?’
‘Is there any other kind?’ Bliss said.
The man’s face brightened, but swiftly became bemused. ‘How the bloody hell did you do this, Jimmy? How did you even find him to begin with?’
‘I have my ways. It’s immaterial to the case, because I have nothing to do with it. None of it came from me. That’s how this plays out: I give you his address, you pull him. You give him what he needs, he gives you what you want.’
‘He’ll stand up in court?’
Bliss nodded. ‘He will. I have him thinking of Watson as a man he wants out of his life before Watson begins to think of him in the same way. But don’t hang about, Harvey. Scoop him up while he’s still nervy. I don’t want him to do a runner.’
After a moment, Nicholls said, ‘This won’t all fall apart on me, will it, Jimmy?’
‘How d’you mean?’
‘I mean if he screams coercion.’
Bliss scratched at the scar on his forehead. He had a quick look around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard, but the place was far from heaving. ‘George Moss is a stain on humanity’s arse. If he says I leaned on him, he may well be telling the truth. But nobody has to believe him. Anyway, he’s guilty of providing a false alibi; if I coerced that out of him, so be it. The main thing is, any statement he provides to you will be under the watchful eye and ear of a duty solicitor. My name needn’t even crop up. Moss is fully aware of what’s at stake, Harvey. All you have to do is walk him through it.’
Nicholls chewed on his lip for a moment, then glanced at Chandler. ‘And what’s your involvement here, Penny? I realise we don’t know each other well, but this doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d be a party to.’
‘Jimmy gave me the details on the drive over. So far, that and this conversation is the extent of my knowledge. The way I see it, neither he nor I are here. That leaves you and this Moss character to work out your own story. Seems to me it’s a win-win for you.’
Nodding and turning back to Bliss, Nicholls said, ‘So why exactly are you handing this to me on a plate? Why not bring them both in yourself?’
Bliss did not have to consider his answer for long. ‘Because I know what a kick in the balls this case must have been for you and your team, Harvey. Hard to swallow when they turn out the way this one did. Kind of case that does things to your mind, keeps you up at night. Maybe even breaks you over time. There are less altruistic reasons why it’s probably best for me to steer well clear, but ultimately I’m giving it to you because you deserve it. Hopefully it’ll be one less ghost to follow you around.’
Nicholls sat back in the cheap padded bench seat and blew out his cheeks. ‘I don’t know what to say, Jimmy.’
Bliss was okay with that. ‘Then say nothing. Just listen while I tell you where to find him, and the precise details of the deal he and I struck. Your lot can pull him and take it from there. Seeing Watson nailed will be all the thanks I need.’
‘You think Moss backing off his alibi will be enough?’
Bliss grinned, having saved the best for last. ‘You remember I told you Moss’s revised story? About how Watson had turned up at his place that night of the murder, his clothes smothered in blood?’
‘Yeah. That’s still only hearsay from a man who’s already lied to the court.’
‘True. But keep your eyes on the prize, Harvey. The clothes. Watson had Moss destroy them. Only… something must have told Moss that one day he might need some leverage of his own.’
Nicholls stared at him, eyes wide and disbelieving. ‘You don’t mean…’
‘Yes, I do. Not only did Moss not destroy them – he didn’t even get rid of them. They’ve been tucked away inside a vacuum-sealed bag, which is currently wrapped in a duvet and stored in his airing cupboard. I know, because I’ve seen them.’
‘And the blood on them isn’t going to be only his, either.’
Bliss shook his head. ‘Not a chance,’ he said.
