Mortal Men (The Lakeland Murders Book 7)

by J. J. Salkeld

  ‘I wouldn’t say…’

  ‘Forget it. It’s not down to you, all this. It’s the Chief’s doing. He’s been leaning on me so hard since he first turned up. He’s been bloody bullying me. That’s what’s so fucking ironic. I’m the victim here, and now I’m the one in the dock.’

  Hall thought, briefly, about mentioning Will Armstrong. But there was no point. ‘Then that’s what you need to say, I’d suggest’ he said.

  ‘Waste of bloody time. He’s a clever bastard is the Chief, just like you. No witnesses when he does it to me, see. Nothing written down, not ever. It’s all hints, anyway. Just a subtle pressure, every fucking day. And it wouldn’t help if I did talk about it, not really.’

  ‘You mean that what you said wouldn’t be taken in mitigation? It might, you know.’

  ‘Be your age, for once. Christ, Andy, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more clueless senior officer than you. How you’ve managed to achieve such a good career arrest and conviction rate I have no bloody idea.’

  Hall didn’t respond. He could have explained that he’d recently identified an inverse correlation between an officer’s arrest rate and their political savvy, but this didn’t feel like the time to say so. He’s already decided, long since, that the time was never, anyway. He waited for Thompson to speak again.

  ‘So you want me to cut to the chase, eh? They’re going to make me an offer, I know it. Go quietly, take the fall, and I’ll keep my pension. Fight them and I’ll lose the lot. It’s what they always do, the bastards. Look after themselves. So what would you do, in my situation?’

  ‘Why do you ask? Like you say, I’m not the best at this sort of stuff.’

  ‘Aye, that’s true. But you know what you’ll say to the enquiry. I want to know how damaging that will be, before I decide.’

  ‘That’s for you to judge, sir. You know what I saw and heard. You know what you said when I talked to you about it. Only you can decide if that’s even the basis for a case against you. Assuming there’s no other evidence, that is.’

  ‘Of course they’ve got other witnesses, but you’ll be their fucking star. You’re a devious bastard, underneath all that honest-copper routine.’ Thompson jumped up, as if he’d decided on something important. ‘It’ll be a kangaroo court. It’s fucking obvious. So I’m asking you, what would you do? Would you take a deal?’

  Hall thought for a moment before he replied. Perhaps Thompson really did want his perspective. There had to be a first time for everything.

  ‘Well, that would depend. I suppose that if it was me I’d take the offer, but that’s because I need the pension. Will do, anyway. And I’m no hero either, when it comes to confrontations. Just the opposite in fact, more’s the pity.’

  Thompson nodded.

  ‘But wouldn’t it stick in your throat? Letting the Chief get away with it like that?’

  Hall shrugged.

  ‘Come on, Andy. Would it?’

  ‘Yes, of course it would. But in six months I’d have forgotten about it, particularly on the first of every month, when my pension appeared in my bank account. And look at it this way. If the Chief is a bully, and he gets away with it, I’ll bet he’ll react just like a con would. He’ll push it too far the next time, and get far too over-confident. Because in the end they usually get caught, don’t they? They nearly always get caught, in the end.’

  ‘If you say so, Andy. If you say so.’

  When Thompson had gone Hall walked down to the CID office. There was hardly anyone there, and no-one that he knew. But Hall half-recognised a DC at a desk on the far side of the office, who suddenly seemed to be finding whatever was on his computer screen especially riveting. Hall searched for his name as he walked over.

  ‘DC Fisher, isn’t it?’

  ‘Aye, sir, that’s right.’

  ‘Where is everyone?’

  ‘Out nicking Jez Taylor, sir.’

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘You’d need to ask the boss about that, sir.’

  ‘Of course, don’t worry about it.’ There was an awkward silence. ‘Are you getting on OK, Fisher?’ Hall felt uncomfortably like a minor royal meeting a road sweeper in a provincial town square.

  ‘Fine thanks, sir. I’d better get on with it, like.’

  ‘Yes, of course. Don’t let me hold you up.’

  By the time Hall had read the new material in the case file Taylor was in the station. So he made his way down to the custody corridor, and found Iredale in the observation room again.

  ‘I think we’ve got him this time, boss.’

  Hall smiled. ‘I hope so, Keith. Are they about to kick off?’

  ‘Aye. He looks nervous, does Taylor, don’t you think?’

  ‘He does. But I would, in his position.’

  ‘Have you ever been on the other side of the table then, sir?’

  ‘No, but I’m about to be. And it’s not a pleasant prospect, I can tell you.’

  ‘But you’re not like a con, are you, sir? Most of them don’t feel guilty about anything except getting caught. Taylor doesn’t give a shit, not usually. So it may mean something. Look at the way he’s fidgeting, like.’

  Hall didn’t get a chance to reply because Jane and Mann walked in to the room. Jane looked confident, and she only glanced briefly at the camera as she sat down. But Ian Mann grinned straight up at the camera. And it didn’t take long for Jane to get in to her stride.

  ‘You told us that you didn’t have a financial relationship with Mr. Foster, and that you were just friends.’

  ‘That’s right, aye. Muckers, like, that’s what we were.’

  ‘So you got on well?’

  ‘Oh, aye. Like brothers, almost.’

  ‘And yet you argued. Violently, in fact.’

  ‘Says who?’

  ‘We have two independent witnesses who saw you and Foster arguing, outside the night club in Kendal.’

  ‘Aye, well. Even brothers argue sometimes, don’t they?’

  ‘So what were you arguing about?’

  ‘I don’t remember. It was weeks ago, was that. And we’d both had a few, I expect. It’ll have meant nowt.’

  ‘I don’t think you had, Mr. Taylor. Because our witnesses say that you arrived by car, and that you seemed very eager to talk to Mr. Foster. And that you did almost all of the talking.’

  Taylor glanced at his lawyer, then back at Jane.

  ‘Like I said, I don’t remember what I said. Not word for word, like.’

  ‘But you must have some idea, surely?’

  ‘My client has already told you, Detective Inspector. He doesn’t recall exactly what was said.’

  ‘How about generally?’

  ‘It’ll have been something and nothing, I expect. Like I said, even families fall out, don’t they?’

  ‘Was it about the money you owed him?’

  ‘What money?’

  ‘Was it about money?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘How can you be so sure? I thought you couldn’t remember what was discussed.’

  ‘Well, it wasn’t money. It wasn’t the state of the Middle East either, come to think of it. Now that is a crime, if you ask me.’

  Jane Francis turned over an evidence bag that she’d placed on the table when she’d come in to the room, opaque side uppermost. It contained six unused shotgun cartridges.

  ‘We found these when we searched your house.’

  ‘Fuck off. That’s a fucking lie. You planted them, you bastards.’ For the first time Taylor looked really frightened, and he started to get up. But Ian Mann was round to his side of the table before he could even start to reach across the table towards Jane. Taylor sat down again, and he did it fast.

  ‘You didn’t even hide them very well, did you?’ said Jane. She hadn’t even flinched when Taylor had got up, Hall noticed, but he thought that he probably wouldn’t have either, if Mann had been sitting beside him.

  ‘I’ve never seen them before, honest. You’ve got to beli
eve me.’

  ‘Well, we didn’t plant them.’

  ‘Someone else, then.’

  ‘Like who?’

  ‘I don’t fucking know, do I?’

  ‘So you’re telling us that these cartridges have nothing whatever to do with you. Is that right?’

  ‘Aye, I just fucking told you. I bet they don’t have my prints or what-you-call-it on them, do they?’

  ‘No, there are no prints, or other forensic traces. So someone was careful. And that someone was you, wasn’t it? Come on, Jez, do yourself a favour. We know that you loaned Foster money, we know you argued, and now these shotgun shells. And I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that they match the ones that were used in the killing.’

  ‘No, that doesn’t fucking surprise me.’ Taylor looked up at Mann, almost pleadingly, but he smiled back. ‘Come on, mate’ he said, ‘you’ve been here before. There’s no point denying it, not any more. Do us all a favour, and let’s get it over with.’

  ‘I’ve done nowt. I didn’t kill Frankie. All right, he owed me money, and we might have had the odd word about it, like. But I never killed him. Why would I? I’ll never get my money back now, will I?’

  Taylor sat back, as if he’d made an especially convincing point. But it was Jane who was smiling.

  ‘So you’re changing your story? You’re saying that you did lend money to Foster, and that you argued with him about it?’

  Taylor looked across at his lawyer, who shook his head.

  ‘Aye, I am. There’s no law against it, is there?’

  ‘There is if you lend money to other people commercially, unless you have a license of course.’

  ‘Aye, well, I only lend to a few people. Mates, like. Just between friends, it is.’

  ‘So you’re not denying that you’re an illegal money-lender?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said the duty solicitor, ‘but haven’t you cautioned my client in connection with the death of Frankie Foster? You now seem to me to be seeking to intimidate my client by referring to other possible offences.’

  ‘I’m not trying to intimidate anyone. So let’s try another question then, Jez. What happens when a friend that you lend money to can’t, or won’t, pay you back?’

  ‘Then I talk to them. See what’s wrong, like.’

  ‘And if they still don’t pay? Do you take them to court?’

  ‘No, of course not. Like I said, it’s just among mates. I’d be….. disappointed, that’s all. Aye, disappointed.’

  ‘So if we find everyone else that you’ve loaned money to, and believe you me that’s exactly what we’ll do next, we’ll find that they’ll all say that the worst you’ve ever been with them is disappointed. Is that right?’

  ‘Aye, that’s right. They’ll not say a word against me.’

  ‘But if that’s not the case, and any tell us that you’ve threatened them with violence, or actually inflicted any injuries, then you can see how that’s going to look, can’t you? I’m no lawyer, but I’d say you’d be buggered. In layman’s terms, as it were.’

  ‘Ignore the Inspector’ said the lawyer, ‘as she rightly says she has no legal competence.’

  ‘But I do understand how a jury works, and so do you, don’t you Mr. Taylor? And if we find that this is your usual pattern of behaviour then you know exactly how that will look. Of course you do. It’s obvious, isn’t it? So, why not tell us what happened at Frankie Foster’s that day? Your solicitor will confirm that a confession always goes down well with the courts.’

  ‘I’ve told you. I did not fucking do it. I didn’t shoot Frankie. I’ve never shot anyone. And as for those shotgun cartridges, I’ve never even fucking seen them before, and that is the God’s honest truth.’

  Jane Francis spent most of the next hour with the CPS, trying to persuade Penny Trussle, the Case Officer, that they now had enough to charge Jez Taylor with Frankie Foster’s murder.

  ‘I don’t doubt that he did it, Jane, but you know how it is. The bean-counters will make the decision, and this would be an expensive trial, so…’

  ‘So you’re not willing to charge him?’

  ‘I didn’t say that. I’m going to have to refer up, that’s all. Look, I know how important this is to you, but in the end it’s not my decision.’

  ‘But you’d charge him, if it was down to you?’

  Penny hesitated. ‘Probably, yes. Lift some viable DNA off those cartridges and you’d definitely be in business. But it looks as if they’re clean, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And there’s no other evidence that Taylor handled or bought them, anything like that?’

  ‘We’re working on it, but no. Not so far, anyway.’

  Penny Trussle got up. She knew Jane well enough to know that she’d keep trying for as long as she stayed. Jane was nothing if not a trier.

  ‘Keep at it, and let me know if there are any developments.’

  ‘Will do. And you do your best for me with your bosses, Penny. Just show them the photographs of the scene, if they need any convincing.’

  When Penny had gone Jane sat for a while, trying to come up with any arguments that she’d forgotten, because a follow-up email would do no harm. But she couldn’t think of any. So she got up, and walked up to Andy Hall’s office. His door was open, and she was sure that he’d been expecting her. He offered a brew, as she knew he would, and she accepted, as he knew she would.

  ‘It’s a funny thing’ he said, when he came back. ‘But when I was first made a DI the station Superintendent, you remember old Robinson, he saw me in the kitchen making tea for a few of the lads. He didn’t say anything at the time, but a couple of days later I received the summons. You know, the way he used to do it. His PA called, and gave me an appointment for the next day, so I knew I was in for a bollocking over something or other. Trouble was, I couldn’t work out what it was for. Not for the life of me. It gave me a sleepless night anyway, which I expect was his intention.’

  ‘It’s the way they play the game’ said Jane, hoping that he’d come to the point.

  ‘Anyhow, when I saw him he asked how I was getting on, and how people were dealing with my promotion from DS. I said they were fine about it. But he kept probing away, and eventually he got to the point: he didn’t like me making them all a brew. He said it wasn’t befitting of my rank.’

  ‘He was a pompous old bastard. So what did you say?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ve been a copper my whole working life, but I have been in to normal workplaces, and everyone takes their turn there, don’t they?’

  ‘You’re just a hippy, Andy.’

  ‘Even I’m a bit young for that, Jane.’

  ‘A communist, then.’

  ‘I’m way too young for that, love. Anyway, what can I do for you? Are you charging Taylor?’

  ‘Would you?’

  ‘So you’re not, then?’

  ‘Not at the moment. The CPS is getting its office abacus out and seeing if we can afford it. Christ, Andy, what’s the world coming to when the decision to prosecute a murder comes down to the bloody cost.’

  ‘It’s a factor, certainly.’

  ‘You don’t sound disappointed.’

  ‘I’d certainly like Foster’s killer to be arrested, and as soon as possible.’

  ‘But you still don’t think it’s Taylor? Christ, Andy, what about those cartridges?’

  Hall took his time before he replied.

  ‘I hear you, but I believed him as well, I’m afraid. I don’t think he’s ever seen them before.’

  ‘Bollocks. You just want to believe that. So how did they get there, then?’

  ‘I don’t know. Planted by the killer perhaps?’

  ‘By which you mean Tyson or Winder?’

  ‘Possibly.’

  Jane got up, leaving her tea half drunk.

  ‘I don’t know why I bother’ she said. ‘The bloody evidence doesn’t matter a damned bit to you, Andy. When you get an idea in your head you just won’t let
it go, will you?’

  ‘I will when a better one comes along to replace it. You know that.’

  Jane shook her head.

  ‘No, that’s not it. This is just wilful on your part. Is it because I’ve been proved right about this? Is that it?’

  ‘Come on, love. You know me better than that. When have I ever claimed the credit for the team’s work? I hate it when people do that. I want you to be right. I want you to get a great result here. Nothing would make me happier, honestly.’

  ‘Maybe, but you still like being the centre of attention.’

  ‘Don’t we all?’

  Jane turned to leave. She knew how it would go if she stayed. Hall would be reasonable and self-deprecating, which would just make her even more annoyed.

  ‘Hang on a sec, Jane’ he said. ‘There’s something I wanted to ask you.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m going to go and see Rachel Armstrong.’

  ‘Will’s widow? Why? What possible good could it do?’

  ‘None, I suppose. But if I could understand what happened…’

  ‘You’re looking for the motive? For Christ’s sake, Andy. You already know why it happened.’

  ‘They’re going to hang Pete Thompson out to dry because of it.’

  ‘Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. You’ve said so yourself. The man’s a bully, plain and simple, and he’s finally going to pay a price for it. You should be pleased about that, because it’s the very least he bloody deserves.’

  ‘Thompson came to see me earlier. He said the Chief was bullying him. That’s why he did it.’

  ‘And you believed him? He’s just like any other con, Andy. It’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it?’

  ‘Maybe he’s right though. In this case, I mean. Where does it all stop, after all?’

  Jane walked back over to Hall’s desk, reached over and took his hand.

  ‘Would you take any notice if I said that I thought you shouldn’t go?’

  ‘Of course I’d listen.’

  ‘But you’d go anyway?’

  ‘Probably.’