by Oliver Tidy
‘With respect, sir. Please don’t go compounding one gross error of judgement with another. Where would the sense be in that? Two wrongs don’t make a right.’
‘It’s not about sense, Joy. It’s about what is right and proper and professional.’
Marsh thought it was a pity he wasn’t more aware of those honourable concepts before he dipped his wick in a suspect. She said, ‘OK. I understand all that. Look, can I speak freely for a moment?’
He let out a long, tired breath. ‘Go on then.’
‘First, please will you come and sit down?’ He did. ‘Before you do anything hasty, I think you should consider very carefully your options.’
‘I have considered them. I’ve been awake most of the night considering them and I always come back to the same place.’
Marsh frowned. ‘If you don’t mind me saying so, you’re outlook and attitude, not for the first time, are a little egotistical. What about us?’
‘What about you? This is nothing to do with you. Any of you.’
‘Firstly, you know that and we know that, but do you really think whoever gets to review proceedings here is going to think so charitably? I doubt it. That’s not what they do. They have jobs to preserve, too. They don’t hang on to them by assuming everyone is innocent. Quite the opposite. That means that the three of us are going to be tainted in some way with the fallout of… of... any shit that flies into the Professional Standards fan. It’s not right. It’s not fair. But it is the way things are. Agreed?’ She said this last word looking between the other two, who were sitting dumbly by. They made faces of agreement and nodded.
‘Secondly, this isn’t just your fault. When we were in the car on the way to Chatham you asked me to look for something on your phone. I saw a message from Julie. I guessed there was something between you both and I did nothing about it. I should have spoken to you. That makes me an accessory of sorts.’
‘That’s silly. No one could possibly level that accusation at you.’
‘Yes, they could. I could. I do. I accuse myself. There. If you go throwing yourself to Professional Standards and they make some sort of example of you, I have to carry that guilt around with me for the rest of my life.’
For once, Grimes was quick on the uptake. ‘That goes for me, too, guv. Joy told me. So I knew. I said nothing and you and me go back a long way. I should have used that to speak to you. If you’re guilty, I’m guilty.’
Spicer said, ‘Peter told me, guv. I don’t have the history that you too have or the close working relationship that Joy does with you to make me keep shtum. If anyone should have had a quiet word with you, it should have been me. By not saying anything, I’m as responsible for this state of affairs as anyone.’
Romney stared at each of them in turn. Then he slowly shook his head and a weak smile played at the corners of his mouth. ‘I think I saw a film starring Kirk Douglas with that sort of selfless reasoning. All right, Detective Sergeant Marsh. I’m listening. What do you suggest?’
Marsh stood and paced. She stopped and looked at him. ‘Only the people in this room know that you overheard them?’ He confirmed it with a nod. ‘Right. That gives us an advantage. It gives us time to think of a way to deal with this that offers the best chance of damage limitation. For all of us. We now know who is responsible for what happened to Lance Leavey. We have to act on that information sooner rather than later, especially if they are getting jittery about things. At the moment we don’t have any hard evidence with which to accuse and charge them. We just have our knowledge.’
Romney said, ‘They were nervous of phone records. There might be something there that will implicate one or both of them.’
‘What about forensic evidence?’ said Spicer.
Romney said, ‘There were no finger prints that they were able to lift off the plastic sheeting.’
Grimes said, ‘Why don’t we bring Julie in? You said she sounded fragile last night.’
Romney said, ‘And play it how?’
Marsh said, ‘By ear.’
Spicer said, ‘Why not make her an offer she can’t refuse?’
Romney said, ‘What do you mean?’
Marsh said, ‘Stop.’ They all looked at her. ‘You should not be here.’
Romney said, ‘What are you talking about?’
‘You don’t look well is what I’m talking about. You were very ill last night in front of many witnesses. You should go home and rest for the day. Maybe a couple. Get a doctor’s note and stay away for a couple of days. We can look after things here.’
In a moment they all understood why she had said what she had.
Romney looked like he might argue. Grimes said, ‘Joy’s right, guv. You look terrible. You should go home. Now. It’s a pity that we didn’t get to have our morning briefing because you were so ill that you just arrived and then had to go home again.’
Romney looked between them and felt so foolish and so moved by their motives and their intentions. He stood and looked like he was going to speak.
‘Best you say nothing,’ said Marsh. ‘Just leave and let us get on with things. We’ll do our best.’
‘Keep me posted,’ he said.
‘No, sir, we won’t. This has to be nothing to do with you now. That has to be a matter of record. Again, for all our sakes.’
Romney went out, got his jacket and left. They stayed in the meeting room.
Grimes and Spicer turned to look at Marsh. Grimes said, ‘Just out of interest, Sarge, what happened in that Kirk Douglas film?’
‘They were all crucified.’
‘In that case, I sincerely hope you have a plan.’
‘I do actually. I’m not saying it’ll work, but sometimes there’s only one way to find out. We have to try for him. He might be a particular kind of stupid sometimes but he’s a good copper and it just wouldn’t be right for him to fall on his sword and throw it all away.’
Grimes said, ‘His pork sword. You want to share?’
‘I’m going to speak to Julie Carpenter. Find out if she feels anything for him at all. Of course, if she doesn’t, or won’t play, then we’re going to be looking for a new DI.’
Grimes groaned. ‘Like you said, he might have his faults but thinking about myself for a minute I hope you succeed. Last thing we need round here is a new broom. At least he provides a buffer between us and her upstairs. God knows what it would be like here if she had an excuse to import one of her cronies.’
Spicer said, ‘Amen to that. Why do you think they killed him?’
Marsh said, ‘She’s engaged to be married, she’s shagging the DI and probably Patton. Maybe his theory about Lance Leavey filming people having sex in the school and looking to gain financially from it is right. He just got the wrong couple.’
Grimes took a sharp intake of breath. ‘That must have hurt him. You know, finding out. He was very keen on her.’
‘This morning I’m sure he could cheerfully strangle her.’
A noise in the main area drew their attention. Superintendent Vine was coming towards the meeting room. Without moving his mouth, Grimes said, ‘Shit.’
Marsh dressed her face with a smile as Boudicca opened the door. ‘Morning, ma’am.’
‘Morning everyone. Where’s DI Romney? I saw his car downstairs.’
‘He lasted five minutes, ma’am,’ said Marsh. ‘He just shouldn’t have come in today. He’s still clearly suffering with illness. He asked me to let you know he’s had to go home.’
‘Oh. That’s unfortunate. But he was very ill last night. To be honest, I didn’t expect to see him in today at all. I need a full report on last night on my desk this morning.’ She looked at Grimes. ‘How is the arm, Peter?’
‘Pretty sore, ma’am. But I’ll be all right.’
‘Good man.’ She pinned Marsh with her grey stare. ‘You can handle things for today?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ said Marsh. ‘We’re organising things now.’
‘Excellent. I’ll leave you to it th
en.’ She turned to leave and each of them relaxed a notch. Then she stopped and turned back to them. ‘Whose idea was it for you all to be there last night?’
Marsh put on her thinking face and said, ‘I’m not sure, ma’am. I know it was mentioned at one of our meetings.’ She turned to her co-conspirators. ‘Either of you remember?’
Clearly they’d both caught the Spartacus Reflex. ‘It might have been me,’ said Spicer.
Grimes shook his head, ‘I think it was my idea.’
Spicer said, ‘No. I think you’re wrong, Peter. I’m sure it was my idea.’
Boudicca interrupted them and she sounded a little irritable. ‘It’s not that important. It just would have been nice to know that CID were mounting an operation, especially as I was there.’
Marsh said, ‘It was all a bit last minute, ma’am.’
Boudicca realised she was wasting her valuable time. ‘You know where I am if you need me.’
When she’d gone through the outer office doors. Grimes said, ‘It wasn’t my idea.’
Spicer said, ‘It wasn’t mine either.’
Marsh said, ‘We all know whose idea it was. And we all know why he didn’t mention it to her.’
Marsh told Grimes and Spicer to get their reports written. She told them to chase up the phone records that she’d requested. If they could get them sent through electronically they should get to work on them to find out any links they could.
‘What are you going to do, Sarge?’ said Grimes.
‘I’m going to pay a visit to Julie Carpenter. Have an informal chat. Woman to woman.’
*
Betty had not been inclined to crabbiness when Marsh presented herself at the counter. It was possible that the woman recognised something of the smouldering anger about the policewoman.
Julie Carpenter was in a class. Marsh was asked if she’d mind waiting five minutes. She said that would be fine. Betty escorted Marsh through to the head teacher’s office. She did not offer refreshments or stay for a chat.
The bell followed by a rise in corridor noise volume indicated another ceasefire in the latest teaching and learning skirmish on the battlefield of St Bartholomew’s. Marsh waited.
Julie came through the door all false smiles, fake exhaustion and fatuous apologies. She was certainly power-dressing the part of senior management. Marsh could quite see why the head of the PTA would fancy living out a school-based fantasy, especially when the successful, attractive, provocative professional woman was compared with the dowdy, downtrodden lump he was married to.
‘Joy. Hello. This is a surprise. Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?’
‘No thanks, Julie. Are you teaching after break?’
‘Yes. I’ve only got ten minutes. I’m sorry.’ She made a face to express her regret.
‘You need to organise cover for your lesson,’ said Marsh. ‘This is going to take longer than ten minutes.’
Some barely buried emotion flung itself at the inside of Julie Carpenter’s face and Marsh got a glimpse of the months of living on edge she must have endured, waiting for the knock at the door. Julie did not argue. She went back out without speaking. A couple of minutes later she returned and settled herself behind the desk. She’d rallied a little in the short interval.
‘I’ve told Betty we’re not to be disturbed,’ she said.
‘That’s good,’ said Marsh. ‘Have you got any tissues?’
Julie showed her surprise at the question. ‘Yes. I think so.’ She started rummaging around in the desk drawers. ‘Here they are.’ She offered a small cellophane packet across the table.
Marsh wondered if Julie had her hopes up that the police were here to deliver bad news for the school concerning their head teacher currently on sick leave.
‘They’re not for me, Julie. They’re for you.’
Julie was still in her act. She frowned. ‘I don’t…’
‘We know, Julie.’
Julie Carpenter flushed a deep guilty crimson. ‘Know what?’
Marsh took and released a heavy, disappointed breath. ‘Listen very carefully, Julie. Let me finish. I won’t stop when you start crying, if you don’t mind, so do it quietly; I don’t want you wasting any more police time than you already have. I’m going to make you an offer you’d be… particularly stupid to pass up.
‘We know that you and Patton from the café across the way colluded to take the life of Lance Leavey and then hide him in that container.’ Julie Carpenter closed her eyes and slumped. The tears came thickly, quickly and quietly. ‘We don’t know why or how, but to be honest those are secondary considerations for us. When the police know the whos we don’t often have trouble finding out the hows, the whens, the wheres and the whyfors.
Julie made to speak, maybe to protest her innocence. Marsh stopped her with her finger and a tough, ‘I said listen. I’m not finished. It is inevitable that you will go to prison. You can’t often take a life in this country and not.’ The tears streamed down Julie’s crumpled face. ‘But perhaps you do not have to go to prison for as long as you could. It all depends on you. As I’m making my offer, Julie, just keep thinking this: do you want to be sentenced to ten years, out in five if you’re lucky, in one of the worst stinking shitholes in the country, far away from here, or do you want to do eighteen months out of three years in a soft open prison?’ Marsh knew she was being optimistic and that she didn’t have the power to make those decisions.
‘I’m not here to arrest you. I am here to make you an offer. If I have to arrest you because you mistakenly think you can somehow wriggle out of things then I can promise you that when we come to court Dover CID will go out of its way to paint the bleakest, darkest picture of your involvement in things. Such an eventuality will add years to your sentence. That’s a promise. And the recommendation will be that you are incarcerated in a very secure establishment. Work with me on this and I promise you that we will bend over backwards to encourage the courts to show some leniency with sentencing. Because I know about these things, you need to believe me when I say that your final destination of confinement will make a huge difference to how you are able to cope with imprisonment and in turn the rest of your life. If you need a second opinion by all means ask your legal representative.’
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Did you ever feel anything authentic for the DI?’
Julie looked genuinely shocked. ‘Of course I did. I still do. You have to believe that.’
Marsh didn’t feel that she had to. But she said, ‘Good. Because I won’t lie to you. I believe the only way through this, the only way for us all to get what we want out of it, is for us all to be consistently honest with each other. We need to establish an idea of trust.
‘You have the power to cost him his rank, maybe his job. He’s consorted with you and you were and are part of an ongoing murder enquiry. If it comes out that you are having/have had a relationship with him then he’ll be in deep professional trouble. Before you start thinking that you might have some leverage here, let me assure you that if it does come out about you two then you will also be in trouble for it. It will suggest that you sought to pervert the course of justice through influencing an officer of the law. That’s how we shall spin it. It will damage your defence and any chances of that softer option I was talking about. Just to be clear – the full weight of the law will fall from a great height and it will crush the life out of you. I will see to that personally. I will portray you as a devious, scheming killer.
‘The DI is on sick leave. He won’t be around for a while. Do not try to contact him. If he should be stupid enough to try to contact you, avoid him. Understand?’
‘That’s it? Leave him out of it and you’ll help me?’
‘That’s it. And I haven’t said anything about helping you. The police will simply not seek to make things worse for you than they already are. Don’t expect anything more than a good word and a sympathetic opposition. I’m not going to promise you things I can’t deliver.’
‘You won’t believe me, but it’s almost a relief. I can’t live like this. The whole thing is driving me insane. I don’t know how I’m holding it together.’
‘Me too, Julie. I don’t how you continue to live your life, come to work, have fun when you’ve been part of ending a young life.’
‘It wasn’t...’
‘I don’t want to hear it now, Julie. I’m not here for that.’
‘What now?’
‘What happens now, if you see things my way is this: I’m going to go back to Dover police station. I’ll have a coffee, sort a bit of paperwork. Then at about eleven o’clock the duty officer is going to call up to CID asking for me. He’s going to tell me that there is a young lady at the front desk by the name of Julie Carpenter who wishes to speak to me about the Lance Leavey murder investigation. We’ll take it from there.
‘In between the time that I leave here and you show up at Ladywell you will not have any contact whatsoever with Patton or, as I said, my DI. He cannot help you now even if he wanted to. Do you have any questions?’
‘No.’
‘Do you understand everything that I’ve told you?’
‘Yes.’
‘In that case, I’ll head back to Dover. You’ll follow me out of the office and in front of Betty we’ll say our friendly goodbyes because I wasn’t here for this. Is that clear? You will have your attack of conscience when I’m gone.’
‘Yes.’
Marsh stood up. And so did Julie Carpenter. They went outside. Julie kept her back to Betty. The women said goodbye and shook hands. Marsh turned and without a glance in Betty’s direction walked away.
*
The clock in CID said ten-forty. There was no sign of Julie Carpenter. Marsh refused to stand at the window looking out for her. And she wouldn’t let either of the other two either; they had work to do. Marsh appeared cool and calm. Grimes and Spicer displayed signs of creeping nervousness. Marsh noticed that they kept looking at the clock, their watches and then each other.
‘What if she runs?’ said Grimes.
‘If she runs then there’ll be two vacancies in CID that need filling,’ said Marsh.
