‘So you didn’t notice the car?’
‘Sorry.’
‘But you’re a car enthusiast yourself, aren’t you?’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘You have a Porsche.’
‘I do, but only because the boss gave it to me. A kind of a bonus, like. So I have to keep it. The boss would be right pissed off if I didn’t.’
‘And you don’t want to piss off the boss?’
‘No-one wants to piss off their boss, do they?’
‘I suppose not.’ Hall paused. ‘So don’t you want to know why I’m asking these questions?’
‘Not really, no.’
Hall smiled, and carried on as if the answer had been entirely different. ‘It’s because we believe the vehicle you got into was later involved in the burglary of a hotel room occupied by Alex Baker. The video guy.’
The solicitor was about to say something, but Bell held up his hand.
‘I’ve got this, thanks. I don’t know anything about that. Matt dropped me home. That’s it.’
‘Did anyone see you?’
‘No. I was alone. Well, I was that night, like.’
‘I see.’
‘So are we all done?’
‘Almost. I just wanted to ask you something about your record. Your criminal record.’
For the first time Bell looked surprised. ‘But I haven’t got a record.’
‘Exactly. It’s unusual, to say the least, to find that the right-hand man of a gang boss who has no criminal record.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mr. Hayton is a legitimate businessman. Just ask the VAT man or the HMRC.’
‘Tell me about your childhood.’
‘I don’t see how this is relevant, DCI Hall’ said the solicitor. But again Bell held up his hand.
‘Relax, it’s fine. I grew up in St. Bees. My dad worked at Sellafield, an engineer, only just retired in fact.’
‘And you were happy?’
‘Oh, aye. Then I went to Manchester to university, qualified as an accountant, then came back to work for a firm in Carlisle.’
‘And that’s how you came to meet Mr. Hayton?’
‘As a matter of fact it is, aye.’
‘And this is how long ago?’
‘Three years. No, I lie, and you’ve got the tape going and all.’ Bell smiled, but Hall didn’t. ‘It’s nearly five years now.’
‘And you know the full range of businesses that your boss is involved in?’
‘Of course. I’m the FD for the group.’
‘What about the drugs? The protection, the prostitution, the loan sharking and all the rest of it? Don’t worry,’ said Hall, before the solicitor could get a word in, ‘you don’t have to answer that. But how do you sleep at night? Just tell me that.’
‘I sleep very well, thanks.’
‘Really? In your position I wouldn’t, I’ll be honest.’
‘My client isn’t involved in, nor is he aware of, any criminal activity.’
‘That’s not what I was referring to. I was talking about how I’d feel, in your position. Because I’ve been having a look at the criminal records of a number of your colleagues, Mr. Bell. Your boss employs some very dangerous, extremely violent people. You do know that, don’t you?’
‘Mr. Hayton believes in second chances’ said Bell, smiling.
‘But you miss my point, Mr. Bell’ said Hall. ‘You see I look at you, and then I look at these men, and something just doesn’t add up.’
‘What’s that then? Maybe I can help. I am an accountant, like.’
‘I can’t quite see why one of those men, any of them really, hasn’t just helped himself to your Porsche, and then dumped you in a ditch somewhere. Dead, quite probably. I’m sure they’d like to, deep down. Two of them have killed for things that were less than the value of your key fob. Did you know that?’ Bell’s smile had faded. ‘I’m sure you did. So if I were you I’d be lying in bed, every single night, worrying about what would happen to me if anything ever happened to Mr. Hayton. Because I think he’s the only thing that is protecting you. And if he were gone, for whatever reason, I think you’d have no chance. No chance at all. You’re just not equipped for the life, you see. What do you think, Sergeant Mann?’
‘They’d tear him apart, sir.’
‘I can take care of myself.’
‘Well I’m certainly relieved to hear that’ said Hall. ‘I really am. Of course, there is a way of minimising the risk. And isn’t that what accountants do? Find ways to reduce risk, I mean.’
‘What are you getting at?’
‘Just that we could protect you from many of the vicissitudes of life with George Hayton.’
‘The vicissitudes?’
‘Let me put it this way. On the day that George Hayton is deposed, and that day will surely come, you will face the choices that all of of us face in times of extreme fear. Fight or flight. Do you try to run, and leave your home and family behind forever, or do you stand and fight? That’s the noble choice, of course. But let me honest with you. Looking at these men’s records it really wouldn’t be the wise one. But the third way, to coin a phrase, is that you help us. And who knows, if your employer was detained at her majesty’s pleasure as a result, along with a number of his people, then perhaps the meek might actually inherit the earth, for once.’
‘You really are barking up the wrong tree here, DCI Hall.’
‘Really? Well think on this, Mr. Bell. We have evidence that connects some of your employer’s people, including you, to a burglary that in turn is connected to the death of an entirely innocent young man. We’re talking murder, and conspiracy to murder here.’
‘That’s a lot of connections, loose connections.’
‘It is, you’re right, but it’s always the way with conspiracies. So if you think that we’ll give up and go away anytime soon you really do have another thing coming. I know exactly what happened on the night of Good Friday, and I know why it happened. And believe me, that’s more than half the battle. We will catch the person or persons who actually killed Chris Brown, but we won’t stop there. Because we’ll also catch the person who made it happen. You mark my words.’
‘You couldn’t catch a bus, not with that leg. I’m not involved with any criminal activity, and I don’t need protecting from anyone. Now, if it’s all right with you, I’ve got work to get back to.’
Hall sat back, paused, and then smiled. He looked like a vicar welcoming a new parishioner to a garden fete. ‘Just one more thing, and it’s an observation more than a question. I think you’ll find it interesting.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Let’s talk hypothetically for a second. Let’s try to put ourselves in the mind of a gang boss for a moment, and ask ourselves one simple question. Why would the boss of a gang that’s stuffed with people who have records for all kinds of offences send a clean skin out on a job, like a burglary or a mugging and theft, say? It doesn’t really make sense, does it? It stands to reason that the kind of person who has no record, no previous connection with any kind of criminality, wouldn’t be much good at that kind of stuff. In fact, they’d probably be pretty frightened about the whole thing. So why would the boss send them?’
Bell shrugged, and glanced across at the door. ‘You’re the detective.’
‘It’s simple enough, really. I’d say that the likely reason is that the boss wants to send a message to his young lieutenant.’
‘What kind of message?’
‘Well, that depends on how they’re getting along. It might be to show the youngster that he can’t ever replace the boss, and that there are things he can’t do that the boss has done in the past. Just a friendly lesson, if you like. But there’s another possibility too, which is that the boss actually wanted the youngster to be implicated in the criminal enterprise. In other words, that the boss knew that we’d connect the youngster to a serious crime all along. In fact, I think that’s what he wanted to happen.’
‘Bollocks’ said Lee Bell loudly, and Mann reached forward to turn off the tape. It seemed clear enough that the interview was over.
Hall and Mann drank coffee in the corridor outside the interview room while the solicitor briefed George Hayton.
‘Did Bell seem rattled to you, Ian?’
‘Honestly? No. Not really. It was a good try though, especially that last bit, and I do see why you did it. He’s probably never been in a cop shop before. But he’s either been well-prepared or he’s naturally confident.’
‘Or both.’
‘Aye, that’s true. I suppose he must have something about him to thrive in that environment. Some of Hayton’s crew are absolute animals, just like you said. You know the lad actually went to public school?’
‘I do. That’s part of why I thought I could rattle him. But I’m afraid I blew it there, Ian. Anyway, Hayton will be ready for us now, won’t he? And I can tell you now, we won’t get a bloody thing out of him.’
Twenty minutes later Mann was convinced that Hall had been right. Hayton had played a dead bat every bit as effectively as Geoff Boycott in his heyday. He found himself thinking about Debbie Hayton, and he had to force himself to focus on this interview. One thing at a time, as Hall was so fond of saying. And he kept plugging away, did Andy. Mann had to give him that.
‘Let’s talk about the car that was used in connection with the burglary of Alex Brown’s hotel room.’
‘Who’s he, when he’s at home?’
‘The man who videoed the game on Good Friday, and again on Easter Tuesday. We believe that he was mugged, and his room burgled, because someone believed that his video contained vital evidence.’
‘And did it?’
Hall smiled. He could hear just an edge of urgency in Hayton’s voice. He wrote ‘what have we missed?’ on his pad. ‘We’ll come back to that. Let’s talk about the car.’
‘I don’t know anything about it. Are you saying I was in it, like?’
‘No. I’m saying that it was at your taxi office, and that it contained at least two of your known associates, Matt Hayton and Lee Bell.’
‘Oh aye, I know them, like. Good lads, they are. I expect you’ve asked them what they were doing in the car?’
‘I’m asking what you know.’
‘Nowt. Sorry, but I don’t control my employees’ every move. I like my lads to show a bit of initiative.’
‘Like stealing evidence?’
‘I didn’t say that, now did I?’ He looked round at the lawyer in mock surprise. ‘Did I just say that, like? Or am I being fitted up here?’
Hall looked down at his pad. He took his time before he spoke again. When he was certain that he’d found exactly the right words.
‘Of course you do know that we’ve got copies of every second of the video that Baker shot, don’t you?’
‘Oh, aye?’
‘Every last second. And I’ll tell you something that I shouldn’t, Mr. Hayton. We’ve got nothing from it. Nothing that helps us to identify who it was who killed young Chris Brown.’
‘Shame. For you, like.’ Hayton was smiling now, and his hands relaxed on the table.
‘So far. Sorry, but I should have said nothing so far, Mr. Hayton. You see I’m about to have the material subjected to very specialist examination. Not here, you understand. It’ll cost, and as you may know we’re pretty skint as an organisation, but I’m confident it’ll be worth it. Very confident indeed, actually.’
This time Hayton didn’t reply. Mann was completely back in the moment. He could sense that Hall had struck a nerve.
‘And I’ll tell you why I’m so confident, since you look so interested.’
‘Who said I’m interested?’
‘Your eyes. They’re telling me. Anyway, the reason I’m so sure is that someone took the risk of burgling Baker’s hotel room and robbing him of all his equipment too. Because the robbers knew that there was something incriminating on that tape. Whether it’s in the picture, or the sound I don’t know. Not yet. But we’ll find it. You can bet on that.’
‘Aye, well. Like I say, it’s got nowt to do with me. None of it.’
Hall nodded slightly, then turned to Mann.
‘Ian, anything you’d like to ask?’
‘Just one thing, Mr. Hayton. It’s about your daughter, Debbie.’
‘You leave her out of this. Keep right away from her. You hear me?’
‘Oh, I hear you fine, Mr. Hayton. But I’m afraid that’s not how this works. You see we have reason to believe that you, or maybe one of your people, has involved your daughter in the conspiracy surrounding the death of Chris Brown. It’s an active line of enquiry, in fact.’
‘What reason? What line of enquiry?’
‘Two different lines, actually. I can’t give you the details for obvious reasons, but one connects to the car that DCI Hall mentioned and its likely whereabouts between the night of the burglary and the time when it was found, a difference of some days, and the other to a possible connection with a mobile phone that we believe was used by one of the burglars.’
‘That’s all rubbish. You can’t go hassling people like that. You tell him, Joe.’
‘Your solicitor will tell you exactly what I’ll tell you, Mr. Hayton. We will continue to pursue our lawful enquiries, and the fact that your daughter is the subject of some of those enquiries is neither here nor there. Do I make myself clear?’
‘So what’s the craic now, Andy?’ asked Mann, as he carried Hall’s laptop bag to Jane’s car.
‘Let’s talk in the car.’
Hall manoeuvred his way into the front passenger seat and Mann sat in the back.
‘How did you know? About the tape I mean? I saw his reaction when you mentioned it. Hayton’s frightened of something.’
‘I agree. It’s the only nerve I hit, mind you. And I should have thought of it sooner, because it’s so bloody obvious. They must know that they gave something away on Good Friday night during the game, something they’re sure the camera picked up, and that’s why they did what they did on Tuesday. They probably reckoned that Baker must be holding something back, because otherwise Matt Hayton or one of his mates would have been nicked already. I just should have thought of that. Put myself in their position.’
‘And you’re thinking it’s on the audio?’ said Jane.
‘Has to be, doesn’t it? I’ve checked and one of our techs listened to it through headphones, because that’s standard practice, but the transcript just has ‘inaudible’ over huge sections, doesn’t it? But that can be cleaned up and enhanced, I’m certain of it. Shit, I can’t believe I missed this.’
‘We all missed it’ said Jane. ‘You’ve followed the procedures, just like always, and it’s not as if you knocked someone back when they asked to have the audio analysed. Anyway, like you always say, a mistake corrected is an error eliminated. So what do you want me to do now?’
‘Talk to the techies at HQ. Find out who they use for this kind of analysis. I don’t care if it’s external, and I don’t care if it’s expensive. Concentrate on the time from five minutes before Matt Hayton joins the scrum until the moment Baker’s cameras turned off. I want to hear every word. Top priority, Jane.’
‘What about me, boss?’
Hall smiled. ‘What would you suggest, Ian?’
‘All right, it’s a fair cop. I was going to take young Keith out to Hayton’s haulage business again. Talk to Debbie about the car. I honestly don’t believe that she’s mixed up in any of this, mind.’
‘And you’re not mixed up with her?’
‘Of course not, Andy. Christ, like I keep saying I’m not a bloody probationer. I know the rules.’
‘I didn’t mean that. I just meant is your judgement clear? If we could tie that fly-tipping load back to Hayton, or better still the car to him, then we’d be one step closer to proving a conspiracy. But you know what that means, don’t you, mate?’
‘Aye. It’s one step close to her being o
n the charge sheet and all. I do get it, and I’m fine with it.’
‘All right. Well don’t do anything that I’m not able to do.’
Mann glanced at Jane and they both laughed.
‘On your way, DS Mann’ said Hall, smiling. ‘Or I’m going to be late for the ACC Crime. And you know what she thinks about timeliness.’
‘That it’s next to Godliness?’ said Jane.
‘Cleanliness, more like’ said Hall. ‘That’s far more important to her, I reckon.’
But DCI Hall wasn’t late for his audience, and his reception was warmer than he’d expected. Val Gorham feigned interest in his injury for just the right amount of time, and approved the audio analysis even if it meant using an external consultant.
‘Just so long as it’s not Lancashire’ she said, and Hall didn’t like to ask why. More politicking around a possible force merger, he guessed.
‘Absolutely, ma’am. Say no more. Now, about the other matter. Have you discussed it with the CPS?’
‘I have, and they’re willing to consider your proposal. However, there are certain to be conditions. The most significant is that Bill Iredale needs to understand that he will be subject to a full investigation, and that a deal is only on offer if there is no evidence that he benefitted materially from his association with Hayton, as he claims. In other words the CPS is proceeding on the basis that he was, in effect, the victim of blackmail following what was, at the time, a relatively modest disciplinary breach.’
‘He understands that, ma’am.’
‘Good. And I have to tell you that Superintendent Skinner was also supportive, when I discussed it with him.’ Gorham looked sharply at Hall, but his expression was as hard to read as always. ‘And before you ask, DCI Hall, yes it was absolutely necessary to involve the station Superintendent.’
‘And what did he say? Exactly, I mean.’
‘I don’t expect to be cross-examined by you, Andy.’
‘I’m sorry. I have to think about who might possibly be involved with Hayton currently. And I can’t entirely eliminate anyone who’s worked in west division over the last few years. Not at this stage.’
Hail and Farewell (The Lakeland Murders) Page 18
