by Zach Abrams
“I was at school.”
“And 11am on Tuesday morning.”
“Same thing.”
“It's not what your school records show,” Sandra asserted. She hadn't pre-checked, but took the chance making her challenge.
Sean looked panicked. “Kev said he'd sort it,” he blurted.
“Kevin would sort what?” Sandra asked.
“Oh shit, shit, shit,” he mumbled looking down at the floor, his whole body trembling.
“What is it Sean?” Sandra asked gently.
“I cannae say anythin' else.”
“What is it? What are you afraid of?”
“I cannae say. He'll give me a good kickin' for sayin' anythin'.”
“Who, Kevin?” Sandra asked
Sean sat rigid but Sandra saw a slight nod of his head.
“You don't need to worry about Kevin. With what we have on him, he'll be going away for a long period of time. He won't be able to hurt you.”
Sean looked up, his eyes were watery. “But how? He said he'd take care o' everythin' and nobody would ever be able to get anythin' on him.”
“Because he said it doesn't make it true. You don't need to be afraid of him,” Sandra replied. She was treading a dangerous path knowing what she'd told Sean had no substance, but realising it was what he needed to hear for him to trust her.
“I did what Kevin telt me. I registered into school each day and then skipped out to meet him. He telt me it would be okay.”
“Was Tommy there with you too?”
Sean nodded.
“And the three of you went to the Sheriff Court,” Sandra prompted.
“Aye. You know about that?”
“You'd be surprised what we know,” Sandra answered honestly, thinking in truth the reverse was more accurate.
“And Kevin brought the weapon,” Sandra again prompted.
“I never saw it, but Tommy telt me about it. Kevin said for me to wait around by the Theatre on Gorbals Street. He said he might need me later, then he went away with Tommy. I was just standin' about. It was really borin' 'cos they were away for nearly an hour. They were laughin' and gigglin' when they came back and Kev gave me a tenner.”
“Do you know where they'd been?” Sandra asked.
“I'm no' sure exactly, but it was somethin' to do with the Court.”
“Did they not tell you any more about it?” Sandra pressed. “Maybe they mentioned a name or said what they were doing or why.”
Sean's expression was blank. “Nah, nothin' I can think of. They were laughin' when they came back though. They were very happy.”
“What happened then?”
“We went for a walk, ended up at Macdonald's. Kevin bought the food; he got me a Big Mac meal. I wanted to pay for my own. It wisnae fair for him to pay when he'd already given me money, but he insisted. It was a really good day.”
“And was he still carrying his weapon?”
“I dinnae know.”
“Let's move on to Tuesday. You met up with Tommy and Kevin again.”
“Aye, that's right. There was someone else as well.”
“Who was it?”
“I dinnae know. I hadn't seen him before and he didnae want to talk to me. He telt me to shut up whenever I asked anythin'.”
“He wasn't someone from your school?”
“I dinnae think so.”
“Okay, what happened this time?” Sandra asked.
“Kevin said we were going to play a game. He said he had somethin' planned. We all stood at the corner of the building and, when Kevin gave the word, we were to run forward an' follow him. We were to grab a man and make him run wi' us down the path.”
“Is that what he said?” Sandra asked.
“Aye, it was. He said he wanted us to give him a fright.”
“What actually happened?”
“Well, just like I said, Kevin said, 'Go,' and we all ran forward and rushed him away. It worked, he looked really scared. Then Kevin said to chuck him on the top of the wall. I lifted him and Kevin and this other boy pushed. The man was screamin' and then he disappeared. I think maybe he jumped over the other side to get away. Anyhow, Kevin said let's run and we ran away.”
“What was Tommy doing?”
“Tommy was too wee to do much; he was wi' us at the start, but he stood back when we lifted the man up. I remember now, I dinnae know why, but I think he was callin' for us to stop.”
“What happened then?” Sandra asked.
“Well, we ran over the bridge and into town. Tommy was annoyed about somethin' and said he had to talk to Kevin. They went away, leavin' me wi' the other boy, but he turned his heid whenever I wanted to talk. Then Tommy and Kevin came back and we all went hame.”
“What did Tommy say about what happened?”
“He telt me he didnae want to talk about what happened and I wisnae to say to anyone else. It was to be our secret. Aw naw, Tommy'll be angry; I've spoilt the secret.”
“It's okay, Sean. What you've told us is very good. It's not the sort of secret that you're meant to keep. Now tell me, did you go out with Tommy and Kevin that evening?”
“Aye.”
“And what happened?”
“I've no' to say.” Sean pursed his lips and looked adamant.
“You went down by the river, didn't you?”
Sean looked up, surprised, his involuntarily nod confirming the answer, but kept his lips tight closed.”
“It's okay, Sean, you don't need to say anything because we've already got it worked out. I'm going to tell you what I think happened and I want you to nod your head if I'm right. Would that be okay?”
Sean nodded.
“You met up with some other boys.” Sean nodded again.
“Then Kevin said you were to give someone else a fright.”
“Na, it wisnae Kevin, it was Tommy.” The words were out before Sean realised, and a panicked look went across his eyes as he clamped his hands over his mouth.
“It's okay, Sean. I got it wrong and you corrected me. You're doing very well. Now, after Tommy explained what you were going to do, you all grabbed a man. It was a man that had been at the Court earlier on, wasn't it. Not the same one who was on the wall but one who'd been with him.”
Sean nodded enthusiastically.
“When you found him, he was given a bit a beating.” Sean nodded sombrely.
“Then someone walloped him on the head.” Another nod.
“Was it Tommy who hit him?” Sean shook his head.
“It was Kevin then.” Sean indicated agreement.
“Was it Kevin's idea to drop him in the river? Sean nodded and smiled.
“There must have been a big splash.” Sean nodded again, enthusiastically.
“Then you all split up and went home.” Nod.
“Did you know any of the other boys?” Sean indicated a negative.
“Then Tommy told you it was all to be a secret and you weren't to say anything. What reason did he give when he said you mustn't talk about it?”
“He said we'd done a bad thing and we had to say nothin' so it'd go away.”
“And did Kevin say anything about it?”
“No, he wisnae there after we split up. Tommy said we wouldnae see him again, not for a lang time.”
“Thank you, Sean. What you've told us is very important. You've done very well. We're going to go now and I'm going to ask someone to bring in some photos for you to look at. They'll tell you more about it, but I want you to tell them if you see anyone who was with you on Tuesday, either the other boy at the Court or any of the people who were with you at the river. I'll see you later.”
When they stepped out of the room, Sandra breathed an enormous sigh.
“That was amazing,” Peter stated. “You've cracked all three cases.”
“Not quite,” Sandra replied. “We now understand what happened and we can try and use what he's told us to find out more, but none of the evidence is admissible. I didn't realise in advance
that he had learning difficulties and by the time I was sure, we were already in the middle of things and there was no point stopping. By rights, I should have stopped as soon as I realised. We shouldn't have been interviewing him on his own. We should have made sure he had a family member or an advisor or a lawyer, but in any event, nothing he's said can be used in a court of law.”
“But you read him his rights and repeated several times telling him he didn't need to answer the questions.”
“I'm afraid that isn't the point, as any good lawyer can argue that he didn't have the mental capacity to understand the question being asked or the consequences of giving the answers he did. What we can do is use what he's told us to try to draw out information, or even better still a confession, from Tommy or from Kevin.”
Chapter 18
Sanjay joined Alex in his office planning their interview with Graeme Armstrong when Phil knocked on the door and called in, “You're going to want to see this.”
Alex invited him in and Phil passed over a report, but not content to leave it to be read, by way of explanation, he added, “I've been to see Sheila Armstrong's oncologist.”
“I'm heading into an interview. Save me time studying this, what does he say?” Alex requested.
“Sheila's tumour was first diagnosed more than two years ago. She was warned it would be terminal but at that time they had no way of knowing if it would be months or years. She was informed that, in the meantime, if she was careful, she could lead a normal life.
“Sheila had no wish to be careful. 'If it was going to happen, it would happen,' she told the doctor, and she didn't want the diagnosis to be made public. The only concession she made was to have regular check-ups every three months.”
“I suppose it was her right,” Alex responded.
“Her last appointment was little over a week ago. The doctor advised her that the tumour had grown and was pressing on her brain; she needed to make plans. The end might only be days away and certainly no more than a month.”
“How did she take the news?” Alex asked.
“The doctor said she was very pragmatic and showed no emotion. He offered to get her help or counselling but she refused. She said she'd hoped for longer but she was ready. She'd already settled her affairs but needed to make some final adjustments.”
“Had the doctor been surprised?” Alex queried.
“I asked, he said it was uncommon but not unheard of. He'd had to pass on similar news to many, many people over the years and the range of reactions was enormous, from denial to acceptance, defiance to resignation. Sheila had been unusual, but he'd half expected it as she had a very controlled and controlling personality.”
“Very interesting,” Alex said. “Now let's see what her husband has to say.”
* * *
“Good afternoon, Mr Armstrong, thank you for coming in to see us,” Alex held out his hand.
Graeme ignored the gesture and remained seated, looking considerably peeved. “What was so important you had to see me straight away? I had plans for this evening. Have you found who was responsible?”
“We've made a lot of progress,” Alex stated, curtly. “Please sit down, we have some more questions for you.”
“Now come on, I've been interviewed twice already. You surely don't consider me a suspect, do you? Maybe I should have listened more to my brother and not have been as cooperative.”
“I'm sure you know better,” Alex replied. “You've been most understanding up until now. There are many people we're interviewing, and it's true that you must be considered a suspect, but as I'm sure you're already aware, the immediate family are the first people we have to look into and eliminate from suspicion. Now, as you've commented yourself, you've already been interviewed, so I must remind you the caution you've already been given still applies.”
Armstrong nodded and confirmed audibly when requested.
“You're familiar with the routine; let's get down to business,” Alex started. “We've now gathered a lot more information and we're aware you haven't been honest with us.”
“What do you mean?” Armstrong asked. “Every word I've told you is true.”
“You've been withholding important information,” Alex pushed.
“What do you mean?” he repeated.
“About your mistress.”
“How can you say that? Our conversation already touched on it and I said I'd rather not say. I might not have told you everything but I didn't hide anything,” Armstrong defended.
“Maybe so, but you gave us no indication of her significance.”
“How do you mean?” Armstrong asked.
“You didn't tell us she was a teacher and more particularly you didn't advise us that she was in the school and actually saw Sheila on the morning of her death.”
“What! What are you talking about? She wasn't there on Monday. She was working in a different school. We'd talked about it when I told her the group were going to be there.”
“Now come on, Mr Armstrong, surely you're not expecting us to believe you didn't know she was there and that you didn't see her.”
“That's precisely what I am saying,” Armstrong claimed, his voice almost at shouting level. “I didn't see her. I don't remember her being there. Why should I believe you when you say different?”
“We already have three separate confirmations, not to mention her own admission. She brought in the tea, for God's sake.”
Armstrong's eyes looked wildly from face to face. “I didn't know. I must have been out of the room at the time. I had to go to my car to bring in some equipment. I wasn't there when the tea trolley was brought in. I do remember seeing it though.”
Alex and Sanjay exchanged glances. They were taken aback by Armstrong's denial and were trying to assess the credibility of his claim.
“She told us she'd been scheduled to be at another school on Monday, but she'd rearranged her plans so as to be at Eastfarm to see the writers perform, but also because she had an audition in one of the theatres.”
“She did mention something about an audition,” Armstrong conceded.
“On that particular day,” Alex stressed.
“If you say so, but I didn't know she'd be at Eastfarm on Monday,” Armstrong reaffirmed.
“You don't deny having an affair with Yvonne Kitson?”
“We were in a relationship,” Armstrong confirmed.
“She told us you were planning to leave Sheila and it was your intention to set up home together.”
Armstrong said nothing, his head dropped, and he stared downward.
“She said you wanted to get a divorce, also that you had asked Sheila and she'd refused,” Alex prompted.
“It isn't that simple.”
“Okay, then tell us,” Alex pressed.
“I told you before about Sheila, how she'd become increasingly promiscuous. I said I didn't know about actual relationships but that wasn't completely truthful. She'd asked me to do things. This started a while ago. She wanted to be voyeuristic and for me to do the same. She wanted me to watch her having sex with another man. I think her real intention was to have a threesome. I refused, the idea revolted me. She also wanted to watch me with someone else. I didn't want to, I thought the idea was really weird. But she kept on about it. She said she'd try to set me up with a woman, someone she fancied as well. Now that really did throw me. Imagine your wife wanting to match you up with another woman and for her to watch and then join in. I had no idea she'd had any lesbian or bisexual tendencies before. I said no again, but I started thinking about it and imagining what it would be like.”
“So, you agreed,” Alex queried.
“Not exactly. I didn't say yes, but I didn't refuse outright either.”
“Go on.” Alex prompted.
There was silence for several seconds before Armstrong continued. “Sheila told me she'd met someone she thought would be suitable. She hadn't discussed anything with her but it was her opinion she'd be right. She said she knew the
sort of woman I'd go for. I was amazed. I told her not to be so daft. She said I should meet the woman and get to know her and then decide. I thought what harm can come of meeting her. It was then she told me it was someone I'd already met, Yvonne Kitson from the am-dram group. Although I'd seen her before, I didn't know her well, but she was young and pretty and the thought of having a fling and doing it with my wife's blessing thrilled me in a strange sort of way, even though I knew what she was planning.”
“And what say did Ms Kitson have in all of this?” Alex asked.
“She knew nothing about it, still doesn't as far as I'm aware,” Armstrong answered. “I'm guessing Sheila had some previous conversation with her and gauged that she might have been attracted to me.”
Before Armstrong could continue, there was a loud hammering on the door. Alex held up his hand to indicate a pause and pointed for Sanjay to see the cause of the interruption.
Sanjay left and returned a few minutes later. “It's Calum Armstrong out there creating hell about us bringing in Graeme without his say-so. He has a Mr Pettigrew, their family lawyer with him. I explained we had no reason to seek Calum's permission. Fair's fair, the lawyer tried to help me calm him down, but they both insisted Pettigrew be allowed to speak to his client and I have no justification in refusing, not unless Mr Armstrong here doesn't want him.”
Alex nodded his agreement.
“I suppose as long as he's already here, I should speak to him,” Armstrong said.
Alex suspended the interview and said he'd send Pettigrew in to speak to Armstrong. No sooner was he out the door than he was subjected to a barrage of abuse from Calum. Alex pointed the way for Pettigrew then firmly led Calum away. “You have no reason to be here. You can, of course, wait for your brother, and if you wish to do so, then there's a seating area you can use. However, I warn you, it could take some considerable time. You can rest assured Mr Pettigrew will have full access to your brother and attend any discussions, but only if it's your brother's wish. Now, if you'll please step over there and let us get on with our jobs.”
“It's not good enough. I want to make a formal complaint and I know all the right people to present it,” Calum threatened.
