by A. J. Cross
Looking at him, Watts could see that he was at the end of his rope. ‘You’re still under caution. It has to be formal.’
‘I understand.’
‘Wait here.’ Watts left the interview room, posted an officer inside the room, and came into his office. ‘Lawrence is refusing representation. He says he wants to talk. We’ve been down that road with him already. This time we do it right.
‘Judd, go up to forensics. Tell Adam what’s happening. He’ll give you what we need. Bring it to interview room one. After I finish with Lawrence, I’ll have another job for you.’
Lawrence’s head was resting on his forearms. He didn’t stir as Watts came inside and sat opposite. The wall clock ticked. Judd arrived, placed what she was carrying on to the table and sat next to Watts.
‘Mr Lawrence?’
Lawrence raised his head, blinked at them.
‘This is my colleague, PC Chloe Judd, whom you’ve met.’ He reached out to the PACE machine, gave the date, time and details of the room’s occupants, indicating the cameras trained on them from its two corners, then asked Lawrence to confirm his details and waited.
‘You’re still under arrest, Mr Lawrence.’ Watts waited. ‘You need to confirm what I just said.’
‘Oh, sorry. Yes, that’s correct.’
‘You attended a second time with your legal representative, during which you responded, “No comment”, to all questions put to you. That interview was halted. On arrival here today you have indicated that you wish to proceed with this interview without benefit of legal representation. Is that correct?’
‘Yes. All correct.’
‘Are you able to confirm that you are not under the influence of alcohol or any other substance?’
‘Yes.’
‘I am now advising you again, that it is in your interests to have such representation. Do you wish to have it?’
‘No. I don’t.’ He clasped his hands either side of his head. ‘It’s all in here, you see. Playing on my mind. I can’t cope with it anymore.’
‘Are you now wishing to make changes to what you told me previously?’
‘I want to tell you all of it.’
Watts glanced at Judd. ‘First, Mr Lawrence, I want you to look at an exhibit.’
Judd removed the lid from the box on the table, slid it towards Lawrence. He got to his feet, his eyes fixed on the gun inside it.
‘Sit down, please, Mr Lawrence.’
He sat, averting his eyes.
‘This is the gun which was used to shoot your brother and sister-in-law. We know it was in your possession for several years prior to those shootings. What do you have to say about it?’
‘I admit it. I was there.’
Watts fixed him with a direct look. ‘Mr Lawrence, are you now admitting that you were at the Forge Street scene when your brother and sister-in-law were shot?’
Lawrence lowered his head. ‘Yes.’
‘On that occasion, did you handle this gun directly?’
‘Yes.’
‘What I want now is a straightforward account of what happened at the time your brother and sister-in-law were shot.’
Lawrence’s hands were clasped to his head. ‘It was about money. I was in deep trouble. My wife was refusing to help. I didn’t know where to turn and suddenly I had a proposition put to me. I agreed to it. All I had to do was go to Mike’s car, remove a couple of items and go.’ He looked up. ‘That was it. End of story. Except that it wasn’t. When I got there, I could tell something was wrong. As soon as I opened the car door, it was obvious something wasn’t right with Mike. I grabbed what I’d come for and got out as fast as I could.’ He sat back, looking exhausted. ‘I was in a real panic. When I heard the news about the shootings, I couldn’t believe it. That wasn’t part of the plan. I got rid of the bag and the valuables. It was supposed to be an insurance scam involving the jewellery but by then I wanted nothing to do with it.’
Watts’ phone lit up. A text from Traynor. He read it, read it again, then looked up at Lawrence.
‘It was a scam,’ said Watts, ‘but not to do with any jewellery. Your brother and his wife had some really heavy-duty life insurance.’
Lawrence’s head came up. ‘What?’
Watts got to his feet. ‘Mr Lawrence, I’m halting this interview temporarily. You’ll remain here until I return. Do you understand?’
Lawrence looked spent. ‘I’ve got nowhere else to go. I know everything at home is finished for me.’
‘I’ll arrange for coffee, tea, and anything else you need.’
He shook his head. ‘Don’t bother.’
‘In that case, this interview is temporarily halted at …’ Watts added date and time and deactivated the PACE machine.
Leaving Brendan Lawrence under the gaze of an officer, Watts and Judd headed downstairs. He gave her a sideways look. ‘I want you to lead on the next interview with Molly Lawrence.’
She stared at him. ‘This case is massive. It’s—’
‘You’ve got some doubts that you’re up to it?’
‘No.’
Seen in a different context, she might be taken for a sixth-former, yet he knew she was far sharper than her years, that her irreverent attitude hid a keen awareness of legal procedure. ‘Our approach with Molly Lawrence remains that she is a victim-witness. We’ll use an interview room down here, away from Brendan Lawrence. Don’t forget. Accuracy. Reliability.’
‘Where’s Will?’
‘He’s following up some information.’
Reaching into his pockets, he called to Jones walking ahead of them.
Jones turned and took the small plastic bag Watts was holding out to him.
‘Check Sebastian Engar’s home contact details. Go and see him and ask him what he knows about this item of jewellery. If he recognizes it, I want whatever paperwork he’s got for it. Quick as you can.’
Jones took it, headed for the door. ‘On my way.’
They walked on. ‘Let’s see what Molly Lawrence has to tell us,’ Watts said.
Traynor had received a phone call forty-five minutes ago. He was now inside Molly Lawrence’s mother’s house, waiting. She looked to be in torment.
‘It was bad enough when I got your call about the life insurance. I knew then that Molly was in real trouble.’
‘If you know anything else which you think might have some bearing on the shooting of your daughter and son-in-law, you need to tell me.’
‘You don’t know what you’re asking of me. Of any mother,’ she whispered, reaching for a folded piece of paper lying on the low table in front of her. Her hands shaking, she opened it and held it out to him. ‘You need to read this.’
Traynor took it from her and looked at the heading in bold black letters. A coroner’s report. His eyes moved slowly over the concise words to the end and a decision in more bold letters: Verdict: Open.
‘I can imagine what it’s taken for you to make this available to us.’
‘I don’t have a choice.’ She glanced at the report still in his hand. ‘I know what Molly said happened that day.’ She looked away from Traynor to the window. ‘I always had my doubts. Can you begin to imagine how that felt?’
He was at a loss to find words to convey his sympathy and understanding of her situation. ‘Yes. I can.’
She nodded and gazed out at trees being whipped by a cold wind. ‘It’s not easy raising children and I’m thinking that I’ve made a mess of it.’
Traynor’s natural response was to reassure but he said nothing.
‘What does one do, Will, when two children are so … different, one outgoing, the other …? All young children are self-centred to a degree.’ She paused. ‘But it never changed. There were always the lies, the indifference to other people’s feelings and … using people, relationships, sex as a means to an end. Some of those things, the selfishness, became less obvious, but I knew they were always there. I tried to be a good mother, to guide, believe me. Our house was always full of
children, playmates … but not one of them was like her.’
She looked up at Traynor. ‘If I’d said something, done something … would her sister and Mike be alive today?’
Traynor folded the report and returned it to his pocket. ‘I appreciate how hard this was for you. It was the right thing to do.’
Watts looked at a text which had just arrived from Traynor. He turned his phone to Judd, who read it.
She looked up at him and whispered, ‘What the hell?’
‘Are you still happy to lead?’
‘Yes.’
They entered the room. Molly Lawrence stood, her face deathly pale.
‘Mrs Lawrence,’ said Judd, ‘before you are interviewed under caution, do you wish to have legal representation?’
‘Under …?’ She looked at Watts. ‘What’s going on? I want to go home.’
Judd reached for the PACE machine and cautioned her. Molly Lawrence’s blue eyes were still fixed on Watts.
‘I don’t understand. I’ve been honest with you, Detective Inspector. I’ve told you all I know.’
‘Mrs Lawrence,’ said Judd. ‘I’m leading this interview. You’re under caution because we believe that you are withholding information from this investigation into the shooting of your husband and yourself.’
As if Judd had not spoken, Lawrence’s eyes remained fixed on him. ‘I’ve told you I was under duress from Brendan. I need protection from him!’
‘Because we believe you are continuing to withhold information,’ said Judd, ‘the purpose of this interview is to give you every opportunity to add to or amend what you’ve told us so far, and also the information you have given to Dr William Traynor. Do you understand?’
She stared at Judd. ‘Why aren’t you listening to me? I couldn’t be open. I was afraid for my life!’
‘Mrs Lawrence, you’ve acknowledged some involvement in your husband’s death.’
‘If you mean I was there, then, yes.’
‘We have reason to believe it was far more than that. Do you now wish to add to or amend what you said earlier?’
‘No. I don’t.’ She pushed her hair behind her ears, her eyes fixed on Judd. ‘If you’re suggesting that I had anything to do with what happened to Mike, you’re wrong. That is monstrous. I’m as much a victim of Brendan Lawrence as Mike was. I lost the baby I wanted.’ She gave Judd a direct look, her chest rising and falling. ‘Until that night, I knew nothing of what was about to happen.’
‘Brendan denies shooting you and your husband.’
‘Ha! Brendan is a liar. Whatever he’s told you is lies. Like I said, when we approached that place, Mike suddenly stopped the car.’
Judd was recalling Nigel’s description of the stationary Toyota, all of its doors closed.
‘What time was that, Mrs Lawrence?’
‘I’m not sure. All I remember is Mike telling me what he and Brendan had planned. I was terrified. We started arguing. I was almost hysterical, asking him how he could have agreed to do what Brendan was suggesting, knowing the situation we were in with the baby. He told me Brendan needed money, that he had to pay off a massive drug debt, that he’d promised he would help him. You know all of this. I threatened to get out of the car.’ She looked at Watts. ‘But if I had, where would I have gone? I didn’t have a clue where I was.’ She brushed tears from her face. Her voice dropped. ‘Brendan arrived.’ Her eyes widened. ‘When I saw the gun, I couldn’t believe it. I fell apart, crying, shouting at Mike, at both of them, to stop.’
She covered her face with her hands. ‘That’s when Mike slapped me. Hard. He’d never done anything like that before. I was in shock. I just sat as they talked. Brendan asked for Mike’s watch and phone, my jewellery and my handbag. I just did what I was told.’
‘Mrs Lawrence—’
‘And then … Brendan shot both of us. Mike sort of jolted on his seat. I felt pain on one side and’ – she shook her head, looked away – ‘he left us there. I was bleeding. Mike was just sitting there, his eyes closed, not speaking, not moving and …’ She closed her eyes. ‘I need some water.’
With a glance at Watts, Judd stood. ‘I’ll have some brought to you, Mrs Lawrence. We’ll take a short break.’
They went out of the room and looked at each other. ‘No reference to any sexual aspect,’ said Watts.
‘No. She’s making it up as she goes along.’
Watts went down to the post-mortem suite where Chong was standing before a microwave oven, fumes spiralling inside it. She looked up as he came inside. ‘How are the interviews going?’
‘What looks like truths from one and lies from the other. Got anything for me?’
She nodded at the microwave. ‘Soon, I hope.’
Leaving her to it, he went to his office where Judd and Traynor were sitting in silence.
‘Before Judd and I continue the interviews, you queried how Molly Lawrence was shot. Tell me again.’
‘It didn’t seem plausible that, having shot Mike Lawrence in the head, the gunman wouldn’t do the same to her. Why leave her as a potential live witness? The progression of events appeared to be that the gunman took their belongings and then he shot them. That made no sense either. As for the work I did with her, in that kind of situation I proceed with an open mind. It’s part of the job. But, if each account of a situation starts from the beginning, if the responses themselves are lacking in detail, if it is repeated in similar limited detail, over time I consider I’m being lied to. That the person giving the information is being very economical in order to keep the story straight.’
Watts sat on the edge of the table, his arms folded. ‘Brendan and Molly have both given false information during their interviews. Question is, which one do I most believe? I’m hoping for something else from Chong that will clinch it.’
They waited in silence for a further ten minutes. ‘Science is taking its time.’
‘What if it doesn’t arrive?’ asked Judd.
‘Let’s hope it does, and soon. Ready?’
‘Sarge.’
Molly Lawrence stood as they came into the room. ‘I don’t like being made to wait. It’s extremely stressful.’
Judd switched on the recording equipment. ‘Sit down, Mrs Lawrence. You’re still under caution. This interview is being recorded as before, so we’ll continue. Tell me why you were at Forge Street late yesterday.’
Lawrence looked from her to Watts. ‘You already know why. Brendan told me that he’d left one of my earrings there and that it might incriminate me, and Will confirmed an earring was missing. I thought, if I found it, it might somehow incriminate him.’
‘Why didn’t you simply come to headquarters and tell us about it?’
Lawrence sighed, closed her eyes. ‘I’ve told you. I was under duress. Under threat.’
At a quiet knock, Watts stood, went to the door, returning with two A4 sheets which he glanced at then passed to Judd. She read them, looked up. ‘Mrs Lawrence, can you confirm whether at any time you had physical contact with the gun during the attack on you and your husband?’
She looked up. ‘Of course not. No.’
‘Are you also able to confirm that you had no direct contact with that gun at any time prior to that attack?’
‘How could I? I didn’t even know of its existence.’ Aware of Judd’s eyes still on her, she sighed. ‘No. I didn’t.’
‘For the benefit of the recording, I’m now showing Mrs Lawrence the results of an analysis of a partial fingerprint taken from the gun which was used to kill Michael Lawrence.’ She slid one of the A4 sheets towards her. ‘This partial print has been matched to ones left by you on the car belonging to you and your husband.’
Lawrence stared at the sheet.
‘Do you want to comment on that, Mrs Lawrence?’
‘Yes, I do. It’s either a mistake or you’re lying.’
Judd slid the second A4 sheet towards her. ‘I’m now showing Mrs Lawrence a forensic report on a watch, plus samples of the lining of
a coat, both of which were worn by her on the night Michael Lawrence was attacked, which—’
‘What are you saying? I was shot. I was robbed!’
‘Confirms the presence of significant gunpowder residue on both watch and lining.’ Judd paused and looked directly at her. The atmosphere in the room tightened. ‘The presence of that residue indicates that your hand was in extremely close proximity to that gun when it was fired. What do you say to that?’
She stared at Judd. ‘I say it’s ridiculous. I’m beginning to question the expertise of everyone working here.’
‘There’s no doubting the results, Mrs Lawrence.’ She pointed. ‘Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to test samples from your watch and your coat lining.’ Judd looked at her. ‘You described the sleeves of that coat as very long. The right sleeve was tested and gave the same result.’
Judd took back the A4s. ‘We have other information which strengthens our suspicions that you shot and killed your husband and then shot yourself. Evidence is fast accumulating against you, Mrs Lawrence. This is your opportunity to respond.’
She gazed back at Judd, arms folded, lips pressed together.
A further knock took Watts to the door. He returned with information which he handed to Judd.
‘Here’s something else for you to consider, Mrs Lawrence.’ Judd pushed the two stapled sheets across the table. ‘For the recording, I’m now showing Mrs Lawrence a statement by Sebastian Engar, employer of Michael Lawrence, which states that he has been shown a diamond earring, property of Molly Lawrence, and has confirmed he bought a pair identical to it.’
Judd looked up at her. ‘We’re now saying that those were the earrings you were wearing on the night of the shootings. Do you wish to comment on that?’
Lawrence gazed coldly at her. ‘Seb is a dear friend of mine and Mike’s. He’s fairly elderly, a very kind man, also, a very lonely one. He gave me those earrings as a wedding present. They belonged to his wife who died several years ago.’ She straightened. ‘I want those earrings back. In fact, you can fetch all of my property right now because I’m leaving.’ She stood. Watts did the same.
Judd looked up at her. ‘Sit down, Mrs Lawrence. This interview hasn’t finished.’
