The Rubicon

by Andrew Heasman

  Having been given a set of baggy grey tracksuit trousers and an equally ill-fitting sweatshirt to replace his own clothes, Adam was offered a coffee as he awaited the arrival of the detectives. They were obliged to take his initial statement as soon as was practicable. The first account of events was crucial during any investigation, particularly one where a death was involved, as inconsistencies often showed up between that version of events and subsequent accounts during interview. Adam was aware of this and had prepared what to say.

  The wait was long and tedious - especially at that unearthly hour of the morning. Some considered it a tactic used by the detectives to weaken the person being interviewed, to tire them prior to giving their statement. However, should the delay be deemed TOO long, the witness/suspect could claim that they were unfit to be interviewed and demand that it be postponed until a more civil time of day. Adam was on the verge of making that call when the door burst open and DS Carmichael entered the room looking none too pleased.

  “I’d only just fallen asleep when I got the call to come down here!” She looked tired and took a seat opposite Adam, her Detective Constable opting to stand in the doorway. “Are you OK? I heard that you were cut during the incident.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine, a bit battered and bruised, plus I’ve got a few stitches in my thigh.” Adam indicated his right leg.

  There was a moment’s silence.

  “So, go on then, what happened?” asked Bev Carmichael.

  “What do you THINK happened?” Adam was indignant. “Turner broke into my house and tried to kill me! Just like I said he would if you didn’t do something to stop the intimidation.”

  “But how, exactly, did he die?”

  “I dunno. He had a knife, we fought, and I turned it against him. It was him or me.”

  “So you’re claiming it was self-defence?”

  “No, I’m not claiming it was self-defence, it WAS self-defence.” Adam shook his head in disbelief. “Are you calling me a liar now? Isn’t it obvious? I warned you something might happen, something serious like this. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he tried to kill my wife and daughter...”

  DS Carmichael interrupted.

  “Yeah, but that wasn’t proven - you’re just assuming it was him.”

  Adam continued as if she had not spoken.

  “...then here he is, having broken into my house, armed with a knife, trying to kill me.”

  The SIO made no reply as she considered his explanation. On the face of it, what Adam had said made a convincing defence, a logical account for the events of earlier. Of course, she only had one side of the story to consider - Aaron was not in a position to give his account. But something did not sit right. She had a hunch that there was more to the killing than Adam was saying.

  “OK, Adam, you know how it works - a man is killed in your house, by your own hands, so I have no other choice but to arrest you so that we can investigate the matter further.” She stood up and took a deep breath. With a serious expression on her face, she continued, “Adam Greenwood, I am arresting you on suspicion of murdering Aaron Turner at your home address earlier today. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something that you later rely on in court. Anything that you do say will be taken down and may be used in evidence. Do you understand?”

  “But...” Adam started to protest, but quickly realised that it was pointless. He nodded his understanding. Although he had predicted his arrest, the actual process of being formally detained for murder, and cautioned, had still taken him by surprise. Now he understood what it felt like to be on the other side of the law and how each of the many hundreds of prisoners that he had arrested throughout his police career had felt. He suddenly felt dirty, tainted by his actions, disappointed with himself. He was now a criminal. However, that was not the end of the matter. He had not been charged yet, he had not been to court, and he seriously doubted that it would ever get that far through the British justice system.

  “Do you want a solicitor?” asked the Detective Sergeant.

  “I suppose I’d better, eh?” Adam looked at her and grinned. Was smirking the action of somebody facing a life behind bars? It added to Bev’s unease about the whole situation.

  “We’ll contact your wife and let her know what’s happened. She can arrange a visit when she wants. I’m afraid you’ll be staying with us for a little while until we can get this mess sorted out. We’ll formally interview you later today once we’ve got some forensic results back and processed the crime scene. You know the procedure.”

  Adam made no reply.

  “You’d be best getting your head down until then, getting your story clear in your mind.”

  As she turned to leave, Adam spoke.

  “I’m assuming that you’ll be referring your own actions, and those of the force, to the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) and the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct)? I’d say you’ve got a lot of questions to answer, yourself - how could you allow matters to have gone this far without any action on your part? I’d say you’re all gonna need to be beyond reproach to get away unscathed.”

  Adam had no intention of making any complaint - provided all charges were dropped against him - but by mentioning it at this early stage, it applied an extra layer of pressure onto the investigators, the police service and the CPS to ensure that every decision that they made could be justified and was ethical.

  Now Adam needed to allow the system to do its thing, to allow the wheels of justice to exonerate him, which he knew they inevitably would.

  Chapter 41

  18:00 – Tuesday 10th January.

  Interview Room #3 felt much more claustrophobic from the suspect’s side of the table than it had done from the interviewing officer’s position.

  In addition to Adam, the closet-sized room contained DS Carmichael, DC Barton (the SIO’s assistant), and Tara Cranthorpe (Adam’s solicitor). It felt cramped and overcrowded, the air stuffy and the lighting stark.

  Tara was young, a junior defence solicitor appointed to Adam under the duty solicitor scheme, for free. She looked as if she was a newly qualified graduate, inexperienced and nervous, but looks could be deceiving. In reality, she was one of the up-and-coming stars of the law firm, “Williams and Smythe,” based in Barrington. She spread her notes across her side of the table, opened her A4 pad to a fresh page, and placed her pen just so in readiness for the forthcoming interview.

  The ear-piercing BEEP as the recording devices were initiated startled everyone.

  Following the usual formalities, introductions of those present, and the setting of ground rules, the interview began in earnest.

  “So, Adam - it is OK if I call you Adam?” He nodded. “You’ve been arrested on suspicion of murdering Aaron Turner at 75 Cannondale Drive, Barrington-on-Sea at approximately midnight last night. I must remind you that you are still under caution.” Adam nodded again. “I appreciate that during your initial interview you stated that it was self-defence on your part, but this is your opportunity to explain, in detail, exactly what occurred, for the record.” Although Adam was an ex-police officer and knew the interview procedure like the back of his hand, DS Carmichael felt obliged to explain every last detail in a formal and professional manner. It ensured that she did not omit anything and protected both sides against claims of impropriety. “So, in your own words, please tell us how Aaron Turner met his end at your house.” She leaned back in her chair giving Adam the go-ahead to speak.

  “Well, it all started back in October when I intervened to help PC Johnston who was being assaulted outside my house. It turned out that the assailant was Josh Turner, Aaron’s brother.”

  “OK, all of that is a matter of public record. For the benefit of the tape, Josh Turner is currently awaiting trial for those, and other, offences. Carry on.”

  “From then on, my family and I have been subjected to numerous incidents of intimidation. Everything was reported to
the police, to you, DS Carmichael, and you recorded cases of anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, and threats towards us. This culminated in a hit-and-run on my wife and daughter.” Adam paused to catch his breath.

  “For the benefit of the tape, it is true that you reported these occurrences to us, and each one was thoroughly investigated. There was insufficient evidence to link them to Aaron or Josh Turner, despite you identifying one suspect in an ID parade who was an associate of them. However, any connections were tenuous, to say the least, and certainly not sufficient for CPS to look at charging anybody. All of the claims were circumstantial and did not amount to intimidation in any form.”

  Adam smiled to himself. It was ironic that ever since he had mentioned complaining about the police’s ineffective actions, they had seemed determined to go on record to justify themselves.

  “That may be true in your world, but to me, it was a clear case of intimidation. It may have been Turner’s gang members that actually committed the crimes, but he was the orchestrator.”

  “You seem remarkably well informed.” DS Carmichael was suspicious of how he had come by this information. Did he know more than he had told the police? Or had he got an informer within the police service passing on confidential details? If he had, she knew exactly where that leak might be.

  Adam suddenly realised that he was saying too much. Anymore, and he might find himself facing some awkward questions about his sources of information, diverting the interview away from the actual killing. He decided to bring it back on track.

  “Look, I warned you, repeatedly, that if you didn’t put a stop to things, it would escalate. I had my house torched and my family almost killed, for fuck’s sake. Surely you can see the connections?”

  “OK, but as I said, there was no proof as to who committed those offences. In fact, just to be clear, with regard to the arson, we were trying to obtain copies of your home CCTV footage to help identify the culprits. It was you who decided that it showed nothing, and it was you who deleted it all. Now, if you wouldn’t mind returning to the events of last night, please.”

  Adam looked towards his solicitor. It was pointless. It was like banging his head against a brick wall. The police were determined NOT to see any connections between the events amounting to the intimidation and the eventual death of the prime suspect. He sighed.

  “OK, I’d just got home from work and I was getting ready to turn in for the night. I’d gone upstairs, but I heard noises from the kitchen so I went onto the landing to see what was going on. And there he was, Aaron Turner, holding a knife.”

  “Did he say anything or do anything to threaten you?”

  “He didn’t say a word, but he was trespassing in my home and he had a knife in his hand. That’s pretty threatening, I’d say.”

  He looked towards Tara who was busy taking notes.

  “What happened next?”

  “He lunged at me with the blade. I grabbed his arm and we grappled as we both fought to control the weapon. We bounced off a few walls and he tried to attack my face with his free hand - hence the scrapes on my neck.” Adam pointed at the fresh gouges. “He pulled free and slashed with the knife, cutting my upper thigh, so I attempted to grab the knife again, and this time we fell to the floor.”

  “Go on...”

  “He wasn’t moving. I rolled to one side and the knife was stuck in his stomach.”

  “So that’s why you said it was self-defence when we took your first account?”

  “Yeah! Certainly sounds like self-defence to me. It was so fast though. One minute we were fighting, the next, he was laid out, pouring with blood.”

  “So you’re saying it was accidental? You had no intention of stabbing him?”

  “Of course not. He was the one with the knife, not me.”

  “Talking of which, how do you account for the fact that the knife was one of yours from your kitchen?”

  “No idea. I guess he picked it up when he broke into my house. He must have come through the back door into the kitchen, seeing as the front door has been out of action since he set fire to it.”

  “Since he allegedly set fire to it - we don’t know it was down to him,” corrected the Detective Sergeant. “How come the knife only had Aaron’s fingerprints on it?”

  “Dunno, you tell me. I didn’t touch the blade, just the handle, so mine might be there, but it was during the fight, they might have been smudged.”

  Bev Carmichael nodded as if ticking off each question on an imaginary checklist.

  “Earlier in the day, there was a hoax telephone call to Turner’s son’s school, supposedly from Social Services, stating that Aaron was to be prevented from having any contact with his son. What do you know about that?”

  Adam looked towards Tara with a mock look of confusion on his face. The question was a bit left-field. The SIO seemed to be going off on a tangent for some reason.

  “I don’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know he had a son ‘til you mentioned it,” he lied. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”

  Bev smiled to herself. “Come on, you’re an ex-copper, you don’t believe in coincidences - none of us do.”

  “Well, how do YOU account for it then?” Adam turned the question back on the instigator. She made no reply. “And anyway, how is that even related to this case? It’s got nothing to do with me.”

  DS Carmichael looked as if she had been chastised by a subordinate.

  Adam continued while he had the upper hand.

  “Let me put a question to you. With all of the evidence collected by SOCO, my account of events given in interview, the lack of witnesses, and all of the previous warnings that I gave you about the escalating intimidation – which you chose not to act on – have you actually got one single piece of evidence to suggest anything other than what I’ve just told you?”

  Bev did not answer immediately. She was trying to think of a suitable way of phrasing her reply such that it did not make the police look totally incompetent. DC Barton looked at his superior, questioningly. From the look in their eyes, it was pretty obvious that neither had any evidence to counter with.

  “He’s got a point, DS Carmichael. If you’ve got nothing more to add, might I suggest that you release my client without charge or, at the very least, release him on bail pending further investigations. I can see no reason for you to hold him on suspicion of murder,” said Tara Cranthorpe.

  DS Carmichael looked flustered. She was not used to junior solicitors making demands of her. On the other hand, they both made a convincing argument. Adam was correct in that, to date, there was no evidence suggesting anything different to his version of events - if anything, the evidence that they did have actually corroborated his account. However, she still had a niggling doubt that there was more to this case than was being said. Adam was keeping something back. Whether Tara Cranthorpe knew what it was, she could not say.

  “Right, well, we’re still waiting for results to come back from forensics which will either confirm or refute what you’ve told us. We’ll speak again, I’m sure, but for now, I’ll make arrangements to get you bailed and out of here. Is that OK with you two?”

  She looked at the smiling faces staring back at her. Tara began packing away her stationery and DC Barton terminated the interview and seized the recordings.

  ...

  22:00 – Tuesday 10th January.

  Adam arrived back at his in-law’s house to looks of concern and suspicion from Sarah.

  Having not been informed that Adam had been arrested until late morning, and with her leg making it difficult to travel, she had opted to leave her visit to the police station until later in the day - she was positive that his arrest was simply a mistake anyway. The early evening call from the Custody Sergeant had come as something of a surprise, especially when she was told that Adam was being released and should be home within the hour.

  Three hours later, he actually made it through the door.

  Following masses of hugs, and a
barrage of questions, Adam decided to keep his explanations simple, giving a stripped-down version of events that concluded with the news that Aaron Turner was dead and that the threats and intimidation would now cease. Although obviously pleased with the outcome and concerned about her husband’s injuries, Sarah still had her doubts about whether Adam was being totally honest with her.

  “So, how come you were so convinced that it would be over straight after Christmas?” she asked him. “It’s almost as if you predicted it. How could you have known it would happen when it did?”

  Feeling as if he was about to be rumbled, he bluffed away her concerns. After a brief pause, he added, “Look, it’s over now, let’s just leave it at that.” He changed the subject, “Shall we go and see Jen tomorrow, break the good news? It’ll be something for us to look forward to.”

  Sarah nodded. Smiling, she asked, “But what about you? Have the police finished with you now?”

  “Nah, not quite, I’m still on bail. They’ll probably want to interview me to tie up loose ends, but I’m sure they’ll write it off as self-defence soon enough – after all, that’s what it was.”

  Sarah was not so sure. She was convinced that he had done something to provoke Aaron into attacking him, but by asking him outright, she would be admitting that she did not trust her husband and that he had lied to her. After what they had all been through, it was probably best to keep her concerns to herself - at least for now.

  ...

  The following day...

  Bev Carmichael sat behind her desk rubbing her temples. Her head was pounding.

  She had been wading through the paperwork relating to the death of Aaron Turner. Although, on the face of it, everything pointed towards a straightforward case of self-defence, she could not budge that nagging doubt hovering at the back of her mind.

  The post mortem results had just arrived and although the written report was quick to attribute the cause of death to the knife wound, she felt that there must be something more that had not been included. It stated that Aaron had a single stab wound to the abdomen, the angle of which could be consistent with having fallen onto the blade during a struggle. It pointed out that he had no other injuries - no bruises from punching, no scratches, nothing out of the ordinary – all of which tied-in with Adam’s account of the fight (he had made no mention of throwing any punches). Further examination of the fatal wound had revealed micro-fibres inside it which matched to Adam’s clothing. There were also traces of his blood DNA in the cavity, all of which suggested that he had been cut before Aaron had been killed with the knife - again, the evidence supporting Adam’s account of events. Scrapings from beneath Aaron’s fingernails revealed blood and skin matching Adam’s DNA profile, and apart from that, the report concluded that there was nothing suspicious, nor anything which might cast doubt on what had been said during interview.