by Sally Rigby
‘Am I under arrest?’
‘You’re helping us with our enquiries. But, if you attempt to leave, I may be forced to arrest you.’
‘For what?’
‘The murder of Ryan Armstrong.’
‘But that’s ridiculous. I didn’t do it. We’ve had this conversation already and you know that I was at home after going to meet Naomi and her not turning up.’
‘According to you, but there’s nobody to vouch for you.’
‘Has something else happened? Is there a reason for me being brought back in?’ His voice slowed, uncertainty in his eyes.
Whitney opened the folder and took out the photo of the gun. She slid it across the table. ‘Do you recognise this?’
He pulled it forward. ‘It’s a photo of a gun.’
‘Do you recognise which gun?’
His brow furrowed as he continued staring at the photo. ‘I think so.’
‘Guess where we found it?’
He didn’t appear concerned. Was it an act, so he could pretend he had no knowledge of how the gun got in his locker?
‘In my father-in-law’s gun cabinet?’
What the …
‘Explain?’
‘It looks like the gun my father-in-law owns. It’s a family heirloom and belonged to Jess’s grandfather. It’s hers now, but she keeps it with her father because it’s illegal to own one and she was worried about being found with it.’
Was that why Jessica said that neither she nor her father owned a gun?
‘This handgun was placed at the back of your locker at the gym, wrapped in a towel.’
‘Why were you looking in my locker?’
‘We went to the gym to find you and took a look while we were there. We had permission from the manager. We’re awaiting confirmation from forensics that this gun is the murder weapon.’ A slight exaggeration, but he wasn’t to know.
Colour drained from his face and his body went rigid. ‘B-but … it can’t be. How … I mean … it … No. This is … I didn’t shoot Ryan. I swear on my son’s life. It …’ His voice faded away.
Whitney glanced at Clifford whose expression was unreadable. Was he being taken in by Marshall’s denial?
‘How do you account for it being in your locker?’
‘It must have been planted. Do you really think I’d leave it there if it was me? I’m being framed, I tell you. You have to believe me.’
‘By whom?’ Clifford asked.
‘I don’t know. Someone who knew about the gun and thought they’d use me as a scapegoat by stealing it and using it to kill Ryan.’
‘That demands a huge stretch of the imagination. It’s an illegal weapon that nobody knew about. Unless you’re suggesting it was your wife? Or her father,’ Whitney said.
‘Of course I’m not. She was at her parents’ house when he was killed. And why would she shoot Ryan? We were all friends. It makes no sense … I don’t know …’ He threw his hands up in despair. ‘I need my solicitor.’
‘Yes. I think maybe you do. But, in the meantime, Scott Marshall, I’m arresting you on suspicion of murdering Ryan Armstrong. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’
‘This is ridiculous.’
‘Do you understand?’ she repeated.
‘Yes, I understand. I’m not stupid. But you are if you think that I’d shoot my best friend. Instead of accusing me you should be out there finding the real killer. It’s …’ His voice fell away, and he slumped forward, resting his head on his hands.
‘You may phone your solicitor and then you’ll be taken to one of the cells until they arrive and we’ll resume this interview.’
She escorted Marshall to the custody suite and went back to find Clifford who was waiting for her.
‘There’s something we’re missing,’ Clifford said, a puzzled expression in his dark eyes.
‘If there is, then we’ll find it. That’s what we’re good at. Let’s see if the super has managed to fast track the search warrants.’
Chapter 31
‘Guv, the warrants have arrived,’ Brian said, as soon as she walked into the incident room with Clifford.
‘Wow, that was quick. The super’s certainly excelled herself today.’
‘They’ve also called from the custody suite to say that Marshall’s solicitor won’t be here for another three hours.’
‘Perfect, that gives us time to look around the house. Doug and Meena you can come with me. We’ll go shortly, I’ve got a call to make. Brian, I want you to take Frank and pay a visit to Gordon Elliott, Marshall’s father-in-law. Ask him to check his gun cabinet for the handgun he has. He might try to deny having it because it’s illegal, but explain that we know he has it and that we believe it’s been stolen and used in the murder of Ryan Armstrong. That should ensure he cooperates with us. I want to know when he last saw it and who has access to the cabinet.’
‘Yes, guv.’
She turned, intending to go to her office when Clifford stepped towards her.
‘What about me? I’d like to be a part of the search,’ he said, in a low voice.
Damn. She’d forgotten about him. Though, the more the merrier and he could be useful.
‘Sure, if you want to. I’ll be back in a minute.’
She hurried to her office and pulled out the phone from her pocket. The call she had to make wasn’t for work. Martin had left her a voicemail. He wanted to take her and Tiffany out for dinner on Saturday and, with the case virtually solved, she couldn’t see there would be a problem. She’d texted Tiffany to ask what she thought, and she was very keen.
‘Whitney,’ he said. ‘Thanks for getting back to me. Is Saturday okay?’
‘Yes, we’d love to go out with you. I do have a message from Tiffany, though. She asked for it not to be anywhere too fancy as she’s got nothing to wear.’
‘I was thinking of The Swan pub between Lenchester and Long Buckby, if that’s okay. I found it online, and the menu looks good.’
‘Yes, I’m sure that would be perfect.’
‘Shall I pick you both up at six?’
‘Yes. The only thing …’ She paused.
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ She didn’t want to jinx it. She ended the call and returned to the incident room. ‘Everyone ready?’ she called.
Clifford came over to her. ‘Whose car are we going in?’
‘Not mine. What do you drive?’
‘A BMW 6 Series.’
‘That’ll do nicely.’ She glanced across at the others. ‘Doug, take Meena, I’m going with DI Clifford.’
‘Okay, guv. We’ll see you there.’
‘You don’t like to drive?’ Clifford asked as they left the incident room for the station car park.
‘I don’t mind driving, but I like to be in comfort and as I’m surrounded by people with nice cars I take advantage. You’d understand if you saw the sorry state of my old banger.’
‘I’ve had my fair share of those.’
She found that hard to believe but didn’t pursue it. George would have been proud of her restraint.
It took twenty minutes to reach Favell Drive, and Clifford parked outside behind Doug, who was already there. Whitney headed up the path, with the others close behind her, and rang the doorbell. Jessica Marshall answered within a few seconds.
‘Mrs Marshall, we have a warrant to search your house.’ She held it out for the woman to see, but all she took was a cursory look.
‘Why? You’ve already been here.’
Clearly Scott’s solicitor hadn’t contacted her to inform her of what was happening. Whitney would have to do that herself.
‘Things have progressed since we saw you last, and we have your husband in custody. He’s been charged with the murder of Ryan Armstrong.’
Jessica grabbed hold of the door frame, terror in her eyes. �
��What? It can’t be true. He wouldn’t. I know him. I can’t believe it. You must have got it wrong. Why do you think it’s Scott?’
‘Sorry, there’s nothing more I can tell you at this stage.’ She rested her hand on Jessica’s arm, wanting to calm her. ‘We’re going to be here for a while. Is there somewhere you and your son can go, like your parents’ house, and we can let you know when we’ve finished here?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘They won’t mind us going there.’
Damn. She’d sent Brian there. It had briefly slipped her mind.
‘Actually is there anywhere closer, in case we need to speak to you?’
‘My sister, Jackie, lives in the next street. I’m sure she won’t mind me calling round.’
‘Perfect. The nanny should go with you, too.’
‘She’s not here. I gave her the day off.’
‘I’d like her contact details before you go. She’s to be questioned because she lives with you. We’ll be interviewing you again, later, too.’
Jessica took out her phone. ‘Her name’s Susan Bedford, and this is her number,’ she said, showing it to Whitney, who wrote it down in her notebook. ‘Will everything be left in a mess?’
‘We’ll make sure to put things back as we go through. I’ll come with you while you grab whatever you need.’
‘Okay.’
Whitney walked into the house with the woman, leaving the others outside. They first went into the lounge where the little boy was playing in a playpen. Jessica picked up her handbag from the side and then took hold of her son. ‘Come on, Leo. We’re going to see Auntie Jackie.’ The little boy grinned and clapped his hands.
‘He’s a cutie,’ Whitney said, smiling.
‘Thanks. He’s my life,’ she said, stroking the top of her son’s head. ‘When can I see my husband?’
‘Not yet. He’s waiting for his solicitor before we resume interviewing him.’
‘Okay. I understand.’
Whitney escorted Jessica to her car, which was parked in the garage, and waited until she had driven away before ushering the others in to do their search. ‘Right, let’s spread out and see what we can find. Anything to confirm we have the right person in custody. Don’t make a mess, if at all possible.’
After looking through the study, and discovering nothing incriminating, Whitney headed upstairs and into the son’s bedroom. It was white with a life-sized Spider-Man painted on the wall opposite the small bed. Clifford was standing beside the white chest of drawers, holding a dark brown teddy bear.
‘I didn’t have you down as a stuffed animal lover.’
‘Appearances can be deceptive. Just like this is. It’s a nanny cam. People put them in their houses so they can check up on what their nannies or babysitters are doing.’
‘Good find. I am aware of what they are.’
‘In which case you know that, most likely, there will be others in the house, if they’re keeping an eye on the nanny.’
‘We can use them to look for evidence against Scott Marshall. Where do the recordings go to?’
‘Usually a phone, tablet, or laptop, through an app.’
She hurried down the stairs and called out to the others. ‘Stop what you’re doing and turn your attention to finding hidden cameras. There was one in the son’s bedroom in a teddy bear.’
After half an hour of concerted effort, they’d found cameras in the lounge, dining room, kitchen and hall.
‘Now what?’ Doug asked.
‘We look for a laptop or tablet, to which the recordings could be downloaded,’ Clifford said.
‘There’s an iPad in the kitchen on the table,’ Meena said. ‘That was the only electronic device I came across.’
‘We’ll get that back to the station now. You two stay and finish the search,’ she said to Doug and Meena.
Clifford drove them back, and she headed straight over to Ellie.
‘We’re looking for recordings from nanny cams on here. I know it’s an iPad, but can you get into it using the self-service kiosk? Does it work the same as a phone?’
‘Sorry, guv. I can only get into mobiles. I’ll get it over to Mac in forensics and see if he can start working on it straight away.’
‘Thanks. Please stress the urgency. We’re hoping the recordings from the cameras will show Marshall with the gun. If anyone can get him to do it quickly, you can.’
‘Leave it with me.’
‘I’m going to contact the Marshalls’ nanny and get her in for an interview. She might have witnessed something.’
She went into her office, took her notepad from her pocket and called the number she’d written down.
‘Hello, Sue speaking.’
‘This is DCI Walker from Lenchester CID. We’d like to talk to you as soon as possible about the Marshall family. It’s urgent. Where are you at the moment?’
‘I’m in a café with my friend. I can be with you in forty minutes, or so, if that’s okay?’
‘I’ll let the front desk know to expect you. Please don’t mention to anyone that you’re coming here.’
After ending the call, she decided to contact George.
‘Whitney, is there a problem?’ the psychologist said, dispensing with any pleasantries.
‘I was hoping you could get back here. We’ve arrested Scott Marshall, and the interview has been halted until his solicitor arrives. I’d value your input.’
‘I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.’
Chapter 32
‘Gordon Elliott’s gun’s missing, guv,’ Brian said, when he arrived back at the incident room, and had come over to where she was standing by the board. ‘He kept it in a locked cabinet in the garage and couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at it. It took a while for him to admit to having it.’
‘Where did he keep the key?’
‘In his desk drawer. Unlocked. Would you believe.’ He shook his head. ‘It means that anyone could’ve taken it. I’ve arranged for SOCO to go there to fingerprint the gun cabinet and the desk. Marshall often visits so he could’ve easily found a way to take the weapon without being discovered.’
‘Did he mention that he’d given the gun to his daughter as a keepsake?’
She wrote the name Elliott on the board with an arrow to the word gun.
‘No, but I did, and he said it wasn’t true. That the gun was his. Probably to protect her because it’s an illegal weapon. Not that we can prove otherwise.’
‘Did you inform him that it was the murder weapon and ask for an alibi?’
‘Yes, I did. He was in bed at the time of the murder with his wife. His daughter was there also, as we already know.’
‘Guv, Susan Bedford has arrived,’ Meena called over. ‘They’ve put her in interview room one.’
‘Thanks. She’s the Marshalls’ nanny,’ she said to Brian. ‘Let’s go and speak to her,’
‘Wouldn’t you rather take DI Clifford?’ Brian nodded over to the far corner where Clifford was seated looking at the computer screen.
‘Don’t you want to interview with me?’
‘Yes, of course I do, it just … It doesn’t matter, I’ll grab my jacket.’
They headed out the office and once out of earshot she turned to him.
‘Have you felt excluded during this investigation?’
‘Not left out intentionally, but I know how difficult it is having DI Clifford here. I have first-hand knowledge of how the Met guys view themselves.’
Ah. So that was it. She’d thought Brian of all people wouldn’t have let that bother him.
‘DI Clifford isn’t too bad, to be honest. I’ve known a lot worse. He has to be included in parts of the enquiry, but I don’t think questioning the nanny is going to make any difference to his syndicate operation. The whole point in this interview is to learn more about what goes on in the Marshall household. In particular, what she’s seen between Scott and Jessica that might assist in our interview with Scott once his solicitor arrives.’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘So shouldn’t he come with you now?’
‘Stop trying to talk yourself out of being part of the investigation. I took Clifford to the earlier interview because Scott Marshall might have had information on the syndicate. As I’ve just explained, speaking to the nanny is different.’
This sensitive side of her sergeant was unnerving. It wasn’t how she’d expected him to act.
‘Okay, guv. I’ll just be glad when the Met is well away from us and we can get back to life as normal.’
‘You can say that again.’
‘I’ll just be glad when …’ He laughed.
‘Don’t you start. You’ve been spending too much time with Frank and Doug.’ She shook her head in exasperation.
‘Guilty as charged,’ he said, holding up both hands.
They reached the interview room, where seated behind the table there was a young woman in her early twenties, with short red hair in a pixie cut. She was fiddling nervously with the edge of her blue and white striped cardigan.
‘Susan Bedford?’ Whitney said.
‘Yes. Everyone calls me Sue.’
‘Thank you for coming in.’ Whitney pressed the button on the recording equipment. ‘Interview with Detective Chief Inspector Walker and Detective Sergeant Chapman. And … please state your full name.
‘Susan Bedford.’
‘We’d like to talk to you about the Marshall family. How long have you been working for them?’
The young woman sat upright in her seat and stared directly at Whitney. ‘I’ve been with them for twelve months as nanny for Leo.’
‘Was this your first nannying job?’
‘Yes, as a private nanny. After training as a nursery nurse, I worked in a nursery for five years in Leamington Spa.’
‘Why did you move to Lenchester?’
‘I saw the job advertised when I was looking to get away after splitting up with my boyfriend. The Marshalls asked me over for an interview and offered me the job on the spot, subject to references. I couldn’t believe my luck. Leo’s a lovely little boy and Mr and Mrs Marshall seemed nice, so I accepted. They also provided accommodation as it was a live-in position, so it was perfect.’
