The Fifth Suspect

by Robert McNeil

  The two men from the club pulled Calder out of the van. He collapsed onto the floor and looked up at his assailants, eyes wide open in fear. He tried to get up but a kick caught him on the side of the head. One of the men leaned over him. ‘We know what you did, Calder. And a friend wants you to pay for it.’ A fist slammed into Calder’s face and blood spurted from his broken nose.

  The man spoke again. ‘Remember the name Fleming?’ Another blow caught Calder on the side of his head. The man whispered in Calder’s ear. ‘He’s coming for you, Calder. This is a taste of what’s to come.’ A kick landed in his groin and Calder groaned. Another foot caught his mouth. Blood trickled between his stained teeth.

  Calder tried to speak. ‘Pl… please. I’m an old man. I served my t–’

  Another blow landed on his face. He groaned and spat out two front teeth.

  ‘Okay, that’s enough,’ the driver said. He looked closely at Calder. ‘Better get him to hospital. Fleming doesn’t want him dead… at least not yet.’

  Ten minutes later, they threw Calder’s bruised and bloodied body out the back of the van by the entrance to the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

  It was Sunday evening when Liz Temple took the call from the duty sergeant. ‘I think you’d better come in, ma’am. Something’s happened you should know about.’

  54

  Fleming sensed the solemn atmosphere as soon as he walked into the office. Logan and Anderson were at their desks looking somewhat subdued. There was none of the usual banter.

  ‘Something up?’ Fleming asked.

  It was Logan who spoke. ‘Seems like it. Super’s in a foul mood. Came stomping in here, demanding to know why you weren’t in yet. She wants to see you straight away… in the interview room.’

  Fleming frowned. ‘Who’s there?’

  ‘Her and two CID guys from Reading,’ Logan answered.

  The frown on Fleming’s face deepened. ‘Oh, something interesting happen over the weekend?’

  Logan shrugged. ‘She didn’t say. But by the look on her face, I’d say something pretty serious is going on. Think you’d better get yourself in there, boss.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll catch up with you later.’

  Fleming made his way to the interview room, knocked and entered without waiting.

  Temple was sitting on the edge of the table, talking to the two men. The conversation stopped as soon as Fleming entered. ‘Come in, Alex.’ Temple’s tone was formal. Her face was unsmiling. ‘This is DS Crowe and DC Valdez from Reading CID.’

  Fleming offered a hand to the two men. ‘Pleased to meet you.’ He looked at Temple and raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Take a seat.’ Temple indicated her single chair behind the table. She, Crowe and Valdez settled into the three opposite.

  ‘Alex,’ Temple continued, ‘DS Crowe and DC Valdez want to ask you some questions.’

  ‘Sure, fire away.’

  ‘Under caution,’ Temple added.

  ‘What on earth for?’

  Temple ignored the query. ‘Are you happy to stay and answer their questions voluntarily?’

  Fleming shifted in his chair. ‘Yes, of course.’

  Temple nodded and looked at Crowe. ‘Okay, let’s get this over with.’

  Crowe took the wrapping off two new tapes and plugged them into the portable tape machine. He pushed the start button. ‘This interview is being recorded. This is an interview with DCI Alex Fleming. I am DS Crowe. Also present are DC Valdez and Superintendent Temple. There are no other people present.’ He then confirmed the date, time and location of the interview. ‘DCI Fleming, 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.’ He paused to take breath. ‘You’ve agreed to be interviewed voluntarily under caution and as such you are free to leave at any point. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes,’ Fleming replied in a resigned voice.

  Crowe looked at Temple who tipped her head imperceptibly. ‘Can you confirm what your relationship is with Jimmy Calder?’

  Fleming froze. So this is what this is all about. ‘There’s no relationship. He killed my mother twenty-three years ago.’

  ‘You knew he was released from Shotts Prison recently?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How did you find out?’

  Fleming had to think fast. He didn’t want to get his old friend Gordon Aitken from Police Scotland into trouble. Recalling the newspaper article Temple had shown him covering Calder’s disappearance when he’d gone to Edinburgh, Fleming assumed there would have been an earlier article covering Calder’s release. ‘I saw it in the papers.’

  Crowe looked dubious. ‘I don’t recollect it being in the national press.’

  ‘It was an Edinburgh newspaper.’

  ‘You read them regularly, do you?’ Crowe pressed.

  ‘An old friend sent it to me,’ Fleming lied quickly.

  Crowe’s lips tightened as if Fleming’s answer was too glib. ‘Can you tell me why you went to Edinburgh when you found out?’

  ‘I’d read up about restorative justice and thought I could move on if I could speak to the man. Maybe he would say he was sorry… show some remorse.’

  ‘You don’t deny you were looking for Calder?’

  ‘No, I was, but I didn’t see him. I realise it was a stupid idea and I’ve given up on it.’

  Crowe looked sideways at Temple.

  She nodded. ‘Tell him.’

  ‘Jimmy Calder was abducted by three men from a club in Reading last night. They beat him to within an inch of his life. Know anything about that?’

  Fleming paused before answering. ‘No… no I don’t.’

  ‘Interesting thing is, they chucked him out of the back of a van in front of the Royal Berkshire Hospital afterwards. Why do you think people would beat a man up and then take him to hospital?’

  Fleming shook his head. ‘No idea. Seems a strange thing to do.’

  ‘There is a plausible explanation,’ Crowe said.

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Calder said he overheard one of his assailants saying they’d better take him to hospital because you didn’t want him dead… yet.’

  ‘What!’

  ‘He told us that you put them up to it. One of the men told him that the beating was a taste of what was to come–’

  ‘This is ridiculous.’

  ‘You didn’t deny you had been looking for him,’ Crowe said.

  ‘Not after I’d been to Edinburgh,’ Fleming reminded him. ‘You’re not really buying his story, are you? Why would I get people to beat him up and advertise the fact I’d sent them?’

  Crowe shrugged. ‘Does seem a bit ill advised, but maybe you wanted him to know it was you. You would deny any involvement anyway. He has no proof.’ Crowe paused. ‘Unless we find the three men.’

  Fleming said nothing.

  Temple intervened. ‘Alex?’

  Fleming shook his head in disbelief. ‘I don’t know anything about this.’

  Crowe clearly wasn’t about to give up. ‘How did you find out where he was?’

  Fleming paused for a second. This was getting awkward. He knew it could come out that Police Scotland had phoned Watson to say that Calder might be heading for Reading. But he didn’t want to get Logan in trouble for telling him, nor did he want to snitch on Watson for giving him the address, despite his dislike for the man. Watson wouldn’t admit to it anyway. ‘No one told me. I had no idea.’

  Crowe switched the line of questioning. ‘How come you were off work over the weekend?’

  ‘I had a migraine.’

  ‘Go anywhere? See anyone?’

  ‘No, I stayed at home.’

  ‘Speak to anyone?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It would help us if you agreed to let us have your mobile phone and computer for forensic examination to check for recent contacts. Are you content to hand them over to us?’

  Flemi
ng hesitated. ‘Yes, fine. Do what you have to do.’

  Crowe nodded. ‘Thanks. I think that’s all for now. Interview terminated at nine forty-three a.m.’

  55

  Later, back in Temple’s office, she asked Fleming to sit down. ‘Alex, I told you before what could happen if this all blew up in our faces. You are under suspicion of involvement in this. Under the circumstances, the chief constable has ordered me to suspend you from duty with immediate effect, pending further enquiries. You need to go and clear your desk. Go home. And tell Logan and Anderson to come and see me straight away. I’m handing the Nielson case over to Bill Watson. They’ll be working for him with immediate effect. Any questions?’

  Fleming shook his head. ‘No, ma’am.’

  ‘You can leave your mobile phone with me now. DS Crowe will be round to your home later to collect your computer. That’s all.’

  ‘Fine.’ Fleming closed Temple’s door behind him and made his way back to his office. He signalled for Logan to follow him.

  ‘You look serious, boss,’ Logan said. ‘Everything okay?’

  Fleming shook his head as he emptied his personal effects from his desk. ‘No, everything is not okay. I’ve been suspend–’

  ‘What! What for?’

  ‘Jimmy Calder’s been assaulted. He told Reading CID that the men who assaulted him said I’d sent them to do him over.’

  ‘Fuck! How can they believe that, for Christ’s sake! Why would you advertise the fact that you sent them? It’s bollocks!’

  ‘That’s what I told them, Harry. But they’re not convinced.’

  ‘Bloody hell!’

  ‘Temple wants you and Naomi to go and see her. Bill Watson’s taking over the Nielson case and the pair of you will be working with him for now.’

  ‘Great,’ Logan groaned. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

  Fleming put the last of his things into his briefcase. ‘Yes, there is. You can keep me up to speed on what’s happening on the case, and with what Bill Watson is doing.’

  An hour later, Fleming was at home waiting for Crowe to collect his computer. He mulled over the Calder business. Had Calder used a random assault to make up a story about him, hoping to get him into trouble? Or was something more sinister going on? Who would tell Calder he’d sent them, and why?

  Watson had told him where to find Calder. He’d made it clear from the start he didn’t agree with the way Fleming was handling the Nielson case. And Watson had wanted Frank Jardine to get the DCI post. The chief constable didn’t want Anthony Hayden treated as a suspect, and he had told Temple to suspend him. They both had an interest in getting him off the case.

  Yes, Fleming thought, I need to have a little chat with Bill Watson…

  56

  Logan couldn’t believe what Fleming had told him. He filled Anderson in as they made their way to Temple’s office. Anderson couldn’t believe it either. Neither of them relished the prospect of having Bill Watson as their boss.

  Logan knocked on Temple’s door. Logan could hear voices inside. They waited.

  ‘Come in!’ Temple shouted. She was sitting at the head of her office’s conference table. Watson sat next to her. He glared coldly at Logan and Anderson as they entered.

  ‘Take a seat,’ Temple said. ‘I take it DCI Fleming has told you what’s happened.’

  ‘Yes, he has,’ Logan confirmed, sitting down next to Anderson.

  Temple looked deep in thought. After a brief pause, she updated them. ‘I want you to know why I had to suspend your boss. It’s not something I wanted to do, but I had no choice. He’s accused of being behind a serious assault and will remain suspended from duty, pending enquiries.’

  Logan and Anderson looked straight ahead and said nothing.

  ‘I’m putting DCI Watson in charge of the Nielson case for now,’ Temple continued. She looked at Watson. ‘Bill?’

  ‘Let’s get one thing straight from the start,’ Watson said. ‘It’s no secret that I didn’t see eye to eye with Fleming. I always knew he was the wrong man to fill the vacant DCI post. What’s happened here has vindicated my view. He’s cocked up big time.’ Watson’s steady gaze shifted from Logan to Anderson. ‘I don’t want any divided loyalties on my team. If either of you have any problems with working for me, say so now.’

  Neither spoke.

  Watson stared at them both. ‘I take it silence means you don’t have any problems?’

  ‘No,’ Logan said.

  ‘No… sir,’ Watson prompted.

  Logan held Watson’s steady gaze. ‘No, sir.’

  Watson looked at Anderson with raised eyebrows.

  ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Good. Let’s have an update on exactly where you’re at with the investigation.’

  It was Logan who spoke. ‘We were due to have a full team briefing meeting this morning. We wanted to bring DCI Fleming up to date with a few things after his absence over the weekend. Maybe–’

  ‘Forget the full team briefing,’ Watson cut in, ‘this is the briefing meeting.’

  Anderson looked at Logan with a frown.

  Logan saw the look but knew it was pointless challenging Watson. ‘Okay, where do you want to start… sir?’

  Watson looked at the ceiling. ‘How about suspects and enquiries being followed up, for starters?’

  Logan studied his notes. ‘We ran further checks on Anthony Hayden to see if there was any CCTV footage of his car at Bourne End and whether any neighbours saw him leave the house the night that Nielson–’

  Watson thumped a fist onto the table. ‘If I hear another fucking word about Anthony Hayden…’ He breathed heavily through his nose. ‘We know Fleming had a bee in his bonnet about him for some reason, but he arrested someone else. Why on earth are you still running checks on Hayden?’

  ‘DCI Fleming wanted to eliminate him as a suspect,’ Anderson pointed out. ‘That’s one of the things I wanted to update him on. Hayden’s car doesn’t appear on CCTV footage at Bourne End and none of his neighbours saw him leave his house that night. Neither was there any forensic evidence so he’s in the clear–’

  ‘Thank fuck for that,’ Watson snapped.

  ‘Also,’ Anderson continued, ‘DCI Fleming asked me to trace and interview all the car owners whose cars appeared on CCTV around Bourne End on the night of the murder–’

  ‘Why?’ Watson demanded. ‘What’s the point when he’s already arrested someone?’

  Logan came to Anderson’s rescue. ‘Just following up on everything, sir. Making sure there’s no loose ends, that’s all. Also, he decided to release Rain–’

  ‘Another example of Fleming’s lack of judgement,’ Watson muttered. ‘And why, may I ask, did he decide to release him?’

  Logan shifted uneasily in his chair. He’d had his own doubts about that. ‘He had a feeling Rainer might have been telling the truth when he said he had nothing to do with Nielson’s murder.’

  ‘A feeling!’ Watson exploded. ‘Give me bloody strength!’

  ‘He felt there was a lot of circumstantial evidence,’ Logan continued, ‘but maybe not quite enough to secure a conviction. And the DNA from the skin tissue found under Nielson’s fingernails didn’t match.’

  ‘So what are you doing about him?’

  ‘We’re keeping him under surveillance…’

  ‘And what good will that do?’

  Logan shrugged.

  ‘Maybe DCI Fleming wanted to make sure he didn’t do a runner,’ Anderson offered hopefully.

  ‘Hmm.’ Watson didn’t sound convinced. ‘We need to step up the search for the murder weapon. If we can find it, there may still be enough of a fingerprint trace on it to link it to Rainer. Get on to that as a priority, Naomi.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ She glanced at her notebook. ‘I was also running a check on all of Nielson’s business contacts. Do you want me to carry on with that if we’re concentrating on Rainer?’

  Watson shook his head. ‘Waste of time. Put it on hold.’

 
Temple had been sitting quietly, listening intently. ‘There was another line of enquiry DCI Fleming wanted to pursue. One I told him to do nothing about until I cleared it with Matthew Upson.’

  Watson raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh?’

  ‘He wanted to question Charles Trenchard again. Reckons he lied about knowing Nielson. He was his platoon commander in Afghanistan, but he told Fleming he didn’t know him–’

  ‘Or couldn’t remember him,’ Watson suggested with a sigh. ‘Bloody hell, ma’am, Fleming certainly knows how to stir the shit. Trenchard could be the next prime minister!’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘And presumably the chief constable hasn’t sanctioned this?’

  ‘I haven’t mentioned it to him yet and, under the circumstances, I don’t think I will. My decision: there’s to be no further questioning of Charles Trenchard unless all other leads draw a blank.’

  ‘Understood, ma’am,’ Watson agreed. ‘Very sensible.’

  Logan coughed. ‘That leaves just one other name in the frame…’

  Watson nodded. ‘Damien Potts. I told Fleming right at the start he was a prime suspect.’

  ‘Only thing is,’ Logan said, ‘there’s no trace of his fingerprints at the murder scene.’

  ‘Means nothing. Old hand like Potts knows how to make sure he doesn’t leave any prints. And he’s done a runner, has he not?’

  Logan nodded.

  ‘So we need to find him, don’t we?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘There was one other line of enquiry,’ Anderson said.

  ‘Another one of Fleming’s ideas, I suppose,’ Watson scoffed.

  Anderson reddened. ‘He thought we might get too tied up looking at a limited number of potential suspects. He didn’t want to leave any stone unturned…’

  ‘And?’ Watson waited.

  ‘He thought there was a possibility that Nielson’s murder might have been a revenge attack. Something to do with a drugs investigation years ago… and a later killing in Reading. The one Potts was convicted for.’