“It’s quite long Boss.”
“That’s alright Alec. Eddie is being tucked up in a cell and his friend with the gun is getting his head seen to. We’ve got all the time we need.”
“Right Boss,” Fuller said. He looked down at the paper and began to read the statement.
“I received a telephone call at the office at approximately 3pm on the afternoon of Wednesday 9th October. The caller gave his name as Eddie Thorbury. He said he was aware of my interest in Thorbury Hall as we’d both recently attended a ‘save the hall’ meeting at the university. He hadn’t introduced himself to me but he’d been told I was Carol Jones and I was a solicitor at Hallows and Gunther. He told me he needed a lawyer who specialised in conveyancing as he was interested in purchasing the hall. I said I was a specialist in lease law but may be able to assist him. I offered to arrange an appointment for him at the office but he said he needed a prompt service and wasn’t concerned about the size of the fee so I agreed to meet him at the Parkland Hotel at 4.30pm.
“He was waiting for me when I arrived at the hotel. I recognised him from the meeting he’d referred to when he called me. He bought us both a coffee in the bar and explained that as a member of the Thorbury family he was appalled by the state into which the hall had been allowed to lapse. He said he was part of a consortium and they needed a legal advisor to handle the purchase. He said he was unable, at this stage, to reveal the identity of the other consortium members but despite his youthfulness, he seemed very plausible. He said the university had been reluctant to consider an offer as no decision had been made about the future of the hall which meant he’d been unable to view the property officially but he said he knew a way in and asked if I’d like to take a look.
“I told him I couldn’t enter a property without the permission of the owners but in view of all the current interest in the hall, I decided to take the risk. I wouldn’t have done it if Eddie hadn’t been so convincing. I never thought he was anything other than a genuine client so I agreed to go with him.
“I left my car at the hotel and he drove us to the university in a black Clio. I remembered seeing a similar car behind me that morning when I drove from the trading estate to the office but by now, I was so convinced by Eddie’s credibility, I had no concerns. I remember dozing in the car and when we entered the grounds through a hole in the fence, I remember thinking it was just as well I always wore sensible shoes but everything which happened after that seems hazy. Eddie must have led the way to the house and I have a vague recollection of walking through the building but after that I can’t recall a thing before I woke up in the hidden room. There was a lamp on the floor but no windows. My bag and phone had been taken but I still had my watch. It was just after eleven o’clock so I assumed it was Thursday morning but now I know it was Friday. I couldn’t have slept for so long but I had no recollection of what had happened since I was with Eddie. I must have been drugged. In the room, as well as a small camp bed and the lamp, there was a paraffin heater, a bottle of water, a packet of biscuits and a bucket to piss in. There was no door and there seemed to be no way out.
“About an hour later, I heard raised voices and the hidden door opened. Eddie was with an older, rough looking man. They were arguing about money. I don’t remember the exact words. The man pushed Eddie inside and shut the door. Eddie said he didn’t know who he was but I could tell he was lying. He said nothing which gave me a clue about the man’s identity. He just complained about his phone being taken. Most of what he said after that was incoherent. I asked him why I’d been locked in the room but he said he didn’t know as if it was nothing to do with him. He kept referring to ‘the money’ but eventually, I lost interest in his nonsense. I just wanted to get out.
“We were together in the room until Paul and Peter rescued us. We ran down the stairs to the tunnel but the man who’d been with Eddie earlier was there. He had a gun. Eddie said he could have the money but the police arrived before the man could reply.
“The man disarmed the police and told them to join the others. Then he pulled me away and put the gun to my head. He told the officer at the other entrance to drop his gun and made everyone move down the tunnel. Then he let me go and told me to run towards them. When I looked back, the man was on the floor and two other men were standing over him. I believe they were police officers.”
Fuller looked up at Evans after he’d finished reading. “That’s it Boss,” he said.
“Thanks Alec,” Evans said. “Your busy day is now over. Well done with the brick. Hopefully our man will start talking tomorrow. If we don’t need to recall you, have a nice weekend.”
“Cheers Boss,” Fuller replied before making a swift exit from the office.
“Eddie must have slipped something into her coffee,” Evans said after Fuller’s departure. “And to convince her that he was genuine, he must be one hell of a smooth operator.”
“If Carol was drugged, she could have been taken to the house at Shoresby without remembering anything,” Marsh reasoned.
“I’d say it was possible but unlikely. It would certainly have been difficult for him to do it unaided and the risk involved would have been extremely high.”
“But giving Carol his real name was even riskier.”
“True. But to lure Carol to Thorbury Hall, he would have had to be himself. Being Eddie Thorbury gave him the credibility he needed to make it work.”
“But Carol could have told anyone about the meeting with Eddie at the hotel.”
“Also true,” Evans admitted. “We need answers from Eddie in the morning including everything about his mother’s involvement and the man in the tunnel. Call Tessa and Gary. They can assist.”
Chapter 53
The following morning, Tessa Turnbull and Gary Curtis reported for duty at 8am and by the time the Thorbury family solicitor arrived, they were fully briefed and up to speed on the latest developments.
After his discussion with Eddie’s legal adviser, Hinton finalised the interview plan with his team. Marsh and the two DCs would observe from the adjacent room while he and Evans conducted the interview. Evans was expecting Turnbull’s observations to be insightful in view of her specialist knowledge.
When the pre-interview formalities were completed, Evans began the questioning. “Let’s start with chemistry,” he said. “You love it don’t you Eddie?”
“Yeah,” Eddie replied.
“Tell us how your interest began.”
“Is this relevant to your enquiries Inspector?” the solicitor asked. He’d introduced himself as Silas Longthorp and it was clear from his manner that he considered the Honourable Edward Thorbury to be above the scrutiny of the public servants sitting opposite him.
“I doubt if we’d all be here this morning if Eddie had no interest in the subject,” Hinton stated.
“It’s okay,” Eddie said. “Why would I mind taking about chemistry?”
Tessa had suggested beginning the interview with an open question to which Eddie would be keen to respond and Evans had guessed that chemistry was his favourite subject. Tessa had also suggested waiting for Eddie to mention the involvement of his mother. The advice of the rookie detective was consistent with the thinking of the vastly experienced Inspector.
“I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in chemistry,” Eddie began. “When I was still at junior school, mother allowed me to set up a lab in our field at the bottom of the garden. She’d kept horses there but when they were sold, she had a cabin built for me. She’s always encouraged my interest in chemistry. The lab was isolated and private. Ideal for my experiments. I love trying new things, seeing how they work.”
“And how do they usually work?” Evans asked.
“Most work very well but there have been one or two issues. There were a number of minor explosions in the cabin but the chlorine in the school chemistry lab was the worst mistake. It certainly didn’t impress the Head Master. He wouldn’t believe it was an accident and my university
reference suffered as a result. That buggered my chances of a Russell Group place or any other university place worth having.”
“Is that how you ended up at Little Howton?” Hinton asked.
“Yes. Little Howton was my only decent option for higher education but to be fair, old Crowley has managed to build an impressive reputation for his fiefdom. It’s marketed as a centre of excellence but it’s really for clever kids from good families who’ve gone wrong one way or another. The fees are ridiculous but well-to-do parents are happy to pay them to get their bad boys and girls back on track.”
“We believe you had to leave the academy due to possession of illegal drugs,” Hinton said.
“I would advise you not to respond Edward,” Silas Longthorp said.
“Any comment Eddie?” Hinton asked.
“My client was framed by a vindictive fellow student,” Longthorpe stated.
Hinton glowered at the solicitor. “You’re crossing the line Mr Longthorpe,” he said. “Your client answers the questions.”
“It’s true,” Eddie said. “I’m not sure who it was though.”
“Why would anyone want to frame you?” Evans asked.
“I suppose I wasn’t very popular.”
“Let’s talk about the cabin Eddie,” Hinton said, unable to conceal his impatience. “How did you experiment with drugs in your lab?”
Eddie glanced at Longthorp who responded with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
“I’ve never experimented with drugs,” Eddie said.
*
Behind the observation window, Tessa Turnbull was also shaking her head. “He’ll clam up now,” she said.
“That’s always a risk in any interview,” Marsh reasoned. “The solicitor won’t allow Eddie to incriminate himself.”
“Do we know anything about him?” Curtis asked.
“It might be useful to check him out,” Marsh said.
“Shall I do that Sarge?”
“Yeah. See what you can get Gary.”
*
In the interview room, Hinton broke the silence. “Tell us about unit twelve,” he said to Eddie.
“What’s unit twelve?” Eddie asked.
“Unit twelve on the Lord Alfred Trading Estate.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We believe you rented the unit,” Evans said. “We can get a formal identification from the landlord. The subway under the unit was being used as a drugs lab.”
“If it was, it’s nothing to do with me.”
“We’ll find your DNA all over it,” Hinton said. “I’ve already had discussions with the CPS. They say we may have enough to bring charges against you for production of controlled drugs. That would be enough for a remand in custody.” As things stood, this was the charge Eddie was least likely to escape and Hinton sensed he might be willing to provide a confession in exchange for sanctuary.
“If you have the evidence to charge my client then do so Superintendent. Otherwise, I expect him to be released this morning,” Silas Longthorp stated.
Hinton curtailed the interview and asked to speak to Longthorp in his office. Eddie was taken back to the cells and Evans joined Marsh and Turnbull in the observation room.
“What’s your thinking?” Evans asked Turnbull.
“I can see nothing disturbing about Eddie. No obvious abnormality. He’s pleased to talk about his interest in chemistry but clearly intends to deny having any part in criminal activity. That’s quite normal behaviour.”
“The solicitor’s behaviour is normal too but is he only acting on Eddie’s behalf?”
“You think he’s trying to protect other people Sir?”
“It seems possible.”
“Gary is checking on Longthorp,” Marsh said just before Curtis returned.
“Eddie’s making a hell of a fuss in the cells. He wants to see you Sir,” Curtis told Evans.
“Does he? Tell us about Silas Longthorp.”
“He’s represented some serious criminals in the past Sir. Most of them have walked from court.”
“I wonder how the Thorbury family come to know a solicitor with that sort of reputation,” Evans mused. “Let’s see what Eddie wants to tell us,” he said to Marsh.
In the custody suite, Eddie’s cell door was opened by the officer in charge and Evans and Marsh stood in the doorway with the officer behind them.
“I’m sacking Longthorp,” Eddie announced. “I want that other solicitor, the piss taking one. Get him back and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Chapter 54
Chris Hinton’s discussion with Silas Longthorp had been interrupted by a message that Eddie no longer required the services of his solicitor and after a brief conversation with his ungrateful client, the Thorbury family’s legal representative had departed in a huff. The young duty solicitor, after recovering from the shock of his unexpected recall had advised Eddie that with little chance of avoiding charges, his focus should be on mitigation.
After Hinton and Evans had reconvened the interview, Hinton began the questioning with the other detectives observing as before from the room next door.
“We know unit twelve was being used as a meth lab and we know you rented the unit. The landlord identified you from a photograph. We also know about your knowledge of chemistry which means you could have learned the production process for crystal meth without difficulty and given the necessary ingredients, you would have had no difficulty making it. No point in denials. How did you get into the drugs business?”
“It was only an experiment. A bit of fun. I never intended to sell the stuff or use it. I dabbled with lots of things. The crystal meth was a challenge. I wanted to perfect the process but the whole thing is foul. I had to bury the waste in the field and make sure I didn’t attract too much attention.”
“Just a bit of fun? Not much fun for all the new addicts you must have created,” Evans said, slipping out of line with the plan to keep Eddie talking. The inspector ignored Chris Hinton’s reproving glance.
“It was only an experiment,” Eddie repeated. “I would have left it at that if I hadn’t met Michael Gilbert. If it wasn’t for Michael, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I wish I hadn’t gone to Charlotte’s graduation but mother insisted. Even so, I would have been okay if I hadn’t told him about the experiments and then agreed when he asked me to let him have the ice. I should have realised he wanted to sell it.”
“Eddie Thorbury, victim of circumstance,” Evans remarked, still off-message.
“I said I’d tell you everything. This is the truth,” Eddie assured them. “Michael turned up at Long Malden about a week after the graduation party and persuaded me to give him everything I’d made. Then another week later, he came back with a pile of cash. He said it was my share of the proceeds. I couldn’t believe it. He said he needed more so I started to supply him on a regular basis.
“Michael provided most of the ingredients. He was very resourceful and he had no trouble selling the ice in north London. If he was on someone else’s turf, he got away with it. I was soon overwhelmed with cash and demands for more and more ice but Charlotte was curious about what I was doing in the cabin and I had to buy her silence.”
“Charlotte knew about the drugs?” Evans asked.
“Yes. I owned up to her but the money didn’t keep her quiet. She must have told Carl.”
“Who’s Carl?” Hinton asked.
“You know who Carl is. He’s walked away from court about a dozen times. Witness intimidation, kidnapping and murder. He’s never been convicted.”
Hinton looked at Evans. “Carl Simpson-Divine, Thorbury drug baron. One of our untouchables,” he said.
“Of course. We all know Carl. I thought he’d retired. How did Charlotte know him?” Evans asked.
“He’s lived in Long Malden for three or four years,” Eddie revealed. “He’s my mother’s boyfriend.”
“Her boyfriend?” Evans looked at Hinton. “Silas Longthor
p’s involvement is beginning to make sense,” he said. “Finish the story Eddie.”
“On one of his visits to Long Malden, Michael told me his brother had found the cash he’d hidden in his bedroom. He said he’d had to cut him in. By the time Simeon moved to Thorbury, Carl had taken over. We had to supply him and accept a lot less in return as well as buying Simeon’s silence so Michael set up a sideline in London. I’d developed a few experimental drugs which I made as well as the ice.”
“To be clear,” the solicitor cut in. “These drugs were purely experimental.”
“I said I’d tell them everything,” Eddie asserted. “Michael found a market for them. He raked in piles of cash which he took care of. Carl got enough to avoid any suspicion but I was still glad to get away to Little Howton. Not that it proved to be much of an escape. Carl’s influence stretches a long way. I wasn’t able to shake him off. He expected the same service in Hull. I was forced to supply his associates there. I wanted to get out but no one crosses Carl.”
“Not even his girlfriend’s son?” Evans asked.
“Carl’s responsible, either directly or indirectly, for dozens of unsolved murders. There’s no sentiment where Carl’s concerned.”
“We know exactly what Carl’s been suspected of,” Evans said.
“So Carl took over the business and you were supplying him from Hull?” Hinton asked.
“Yes. I had a lab in a tumbledown house I’d rented in the city. I’d developed a new ice production process. Less waste, less equipment and fewer ingredients.”
“Was Michael involved in the business in Hull?”
“He helped out with ingredients. He was a regular visitor to the academy up to the time I left. I supplied Hull from unit twelve when I came back from Belgium and when Michael started at the university, he took over the run to Hull.”
“Was anyone at the academy involved in the drugs business?” Evans asked.
Never Return Page 22
