by Gill Mather
And Ali went off to type up her notes for Hugh.
And Tammy filed all this away for future reference.
HUGH CAME IN LATER after a mammoth session with Graham.
“How’re you getting on with Graham?” said Ali as Hugh glanced through the transcript of her statement from Darren and instead of answering, he shook his head.
“You’d better brief junior counsel. I’m not going into court with a concoction like this.”
“But Darren expects you to present his case!”
“You must be joking. It’ll make the firm a laughing stock.”
Ali tried to put forward her theory that Darren was only using the intruder story to save his marriage and as a publicity stunt to gain sympathy not to mention the advantages to him of being free of the matrimonial chains for six months. But Hugh cut her short.
“Well. He can use someone else to promote his business and further his shenanigans. My name isn’t going in the papers in support of a pack of obvious lies. Instruct counsel and tell him it’s the best thing for him.”
“But does he want the best thing for him?” argued Ali as she cleared up her papers and prepared to walk out. “Maybe he wants the kudos of being represented by Hugh Sutherland.”
That had come out wrong!
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you’ll still have to instruct counsel and sell it to him that it’s the best thing for him because I’m not presenting that bundle of hokum!”
“Right,” said Ali, and traipsed off to her room.
ROOM WOULD BE A kindness actually to describe the broom cupboard that had been assigned to Ali on her first day at Pattersons. The romantic appeal of a possible career in the law had eclipsed the realities of the situation during her first week at Pattersons and she had started to set out the “room” to its best advantage, ignoring the fact that it had no windows and filling it with plants and an ultraviolet lamp. She had christened the room “The Privy” and put up a paper sign with the name on the door in fancy writing using one of her calligraphy pens. However Sandra had quickly come round and told her that the lamp would use too much electricity and had taken it away.
So Ali had got some colourful posters and tried to cheer it up that way. But they were starting to look tawdry and it was beginning to sink in that all the firm wanted out of her was the maximum work for the minimum outlay. Sure she was getting training but they didn’t care about her at all. She started to feel tearful, and realised that the only way to retrieve the situation was a session with Sammy. She was just reaching for the internal `phone to ring her when it buzzed insistently and, picking it up, it was Hugh telling her to get her coat. They had to go to the station. The DI was ready to interview Graham, and Hugh wanted her there to take notes.
CHAPTER 5
AS ALI DASHED INTO the car park, Hugh was yanking open the driver’s door of his old four wheel drive.
“Don’t you lock it?” Ali asked.
“If I have time. C’mon. Get in.”
Ali, tears forgotten, jumped in and slammed the passenger door shut as he pulled away. She just had time to clock with surprise that the car was a bit of a mess inside. In fact there was stuff everywhere. Old coats, shoes and boots, boxes and bags of stuff. He’d had to move a box off the front seat as she was getting in.
Blimey, she thought, for someone so precise and meticulous with his work, he was a bit of a slut with his stuff. She remembered being told he’d just bought his first house not long before. He was just the junior partner after all. Perhaps that was it. He was moving things. But the inside of the car clearly hadn't been hoovered for ages and the clutter had that look about it of a long-standing committed sloven. She should know. She’d come across enough of those types sharing houses at uni.
She nearly asked him if he slept in the car. It looked as though someone did. But she didn't think he’d take jibes lightly so she buttoned it.
Typical bachelor she thought. It was rather endearing really. Anyway her mother always said you can't trust a man who’s too tidy. What he needs is a good woman thought Ali. She wasn’t her mother’s daughter for nothing.
She’d just had time to get a couple of pads (that was all she could find – she hoped it would be enough) and some pens together. She knew Hugh didn’t like to be kept waiting. He was driving furiously considering the conditions but since there wasn’t much else on the road, Ali hoped they might avoid hitting inanimate objects instead. The car was sliding about a bit but Hugh didn’t seem to notice and very shortly they were parking out the front of the nick in an area that wasn’t meant for parking but Hugh wasn’t going to bother about that.
They waited about for more than a few minutes while Hugh paced up and down making Ali feel nervous. At last they were told to come to the interview room and found DI Hunter and another younger detective checking the recording equipment. The younger man was introduced as DS Mason. DI Hunter smiled pleasantly but both police officers looked rather tense.
After what seemed a long time, Graham was brought in. He looked ashen and shaken, his hair dishevelled, with a day’s growth of beard and his clothes rumpled. Despite what she had heard about him, Ali felt sorry for him. It was all rumour anyway. In actual fact, she knew nothing concrete at all about him.
Graham nodded to Ali and then looked fairly desperately at Hugh, the look saying better than words: Please get me out of here. Ali wondered how she’d feel if she had been arrested suddenly and had to spend a night in a police cell. But, she supposed, arrest wouldn’t be all that unexpected if one had carried out a serious crime. But had he?
Things were moving on however with DI Hunter turning on the recording equipment and introducing those in the room. He explained that Graham Spellings was there for questioning in connection with the alleged assault of Angela Cadman at The Old Lodge, Bakers Lane, Colchester. The date was given as last Tuesday. It was understood that Graham had agreed to answer some questions. DI Hunter cautioned Graham who said he understood and the questioning started.
The questions were substantially pre-prepared and went mundanely through Graham’s background for some time. Ali started to restrain her normally generous sweeps of the pen and started to cram as much as possible into as small a space as possible. At this rate she’d have finished a pad before they’d even got to what Graham had had for dinner on the day in question. She also had to will herself to concentrate properly after a while and not keep drifting off. Graham still looked outstanding despite being so tired and worried. In fact it rather added to his appeal, made him look more vulnerable. Hugh on the other hand looked eagle sharp and was leaning forward and making the occasional note of his own, his fair hair ruffled from passing his hand through it from time to time. There she went again. She reminded herself that she wasn’t being asked to produce an article about the relative physical appeal of client and solicitor.
Graham was taken through his domestic situation, the separation from Petunia and was being asked to outline the staff situation at The Old Lodge.
“So you still had your wife’s horses at The Old Lodge? Do you ride yourself?”
“No.”
“Could you explain why were they were still there.”
“Well firstly they weren’t strictly my wife’s. I’d bought them, at her request, for her to ride. She didn’t know much about horses but she took to riding quite well so…” Graham shrugged.
“For the audio record, Mr Spellings has shrugged his shoulders,” said DI Hunter. “Could you explain what you mean by that.”
“Well, I thought Petunia might get sick of the riding and that it was just a gimmick, like a status symbol, to keep up with the rich friends she’d started to make. Having horses and riding seems to be de riguer for her crowd.” Graham paused apparently uncertain whether another question was coming but carried on. “As I say I thought she might get tired of it but she seemed to want to keep it up…provided someone else groomed and fed them et cetera so..” He went to shrug again but obviously though
t better of it. “So I thought what’s the harm in it. But she liked a lot of night life and I wasn’t sure after she left whether she’d look after them properly. So yes initially I wanted to keep them, but Petunia and her solicitors made such a fuss about it that I gave in and the horses were taken away and went to Pet’s place. There are some stables there and a bit of land.” Graham finished rather lamely.
“When was that?”
“Last Thursday.”
“And Miss Cadman went with them?”
“Yes. She had to. And the part-time day staff. Someone had to look after them.”
“Going back to the situation prior to last Thursday, we established earlier that Miss Cadman had accommodation in an annexe to the house. Presumably you had keys to the annexe.”
“Yes of course.”
“So you could let yourself in at any time.”
“Theoretically yes but I wouldn’t do that unless there was an emergency. While Angela was with us, it was her home and she was entitled to her privacy.”
“Where do you keep your keys?”
“Apart from the ones I carried about with me, that it my car and my own house keys, they’re kept on a peg board just inside the back door. I suppose that doesn’t sound very secure but the house is a bit remote. We’ve never had any burglaries or any trouble with intruders or anything like that and the back door’s kept locked…sometimes. Trouble is if they were put away somewhere I’d forget where and never be able to find them,” Graham said defensively, and then more defiantly, “I’m not prepared to live in a fortress.”
“So what keys are kept on the board?”
“Spare house keys, spare annexe keys, garage keys, stable keys, spare car keys…I think that’s it. Oh and spare keys to Mrs Allan’s house.”
“As you say it’s not very secure,” cut in Hugh. “So it is true that anyone could have taken a key and for example copied it?”
“Yes but…”
“Thank you Mr Spellings,” said Hugh.
DI Hunter carried on.
“Please describe your movements during the evening of Tuesday 24th November.”
“Well Mrs Allan always goes to visit her sister on a Tuesday. She lives in Basildon…the sister…so Mrs Allan doesn’t get back `til late so I cooked my own evening meal. Because of the weather, Mrs. Allan was going to stay overnight at her sister’s. I looked at some papers, watched a bit of telly just to relax and went to bed…er about ten pm.”
“Isn’t that a bit early?”
“No I don’t think so. I generally start work about six am so I’ve got used to having early nights.”
He’s sounding a paragon of virtue so far Ali thought. Hard working, worried about the horses, conscious of the staffs’ privacy. He’d sprout wings and curly golden hair soon and fly off to perform a few miracles before he went off to sit at God’s right hand. DI Hunter clearly thought so too.
“You’ve been separated for three months now. Have you formed any relationships with anyone else in that time?”
Graham laughed without much humour.
“Relationships. I’d be lucky to find the time for just one relationship. We’re involved in a takeover at the moment and I barely have time to take a breath. This is incredibly inconvenient.” He started to look stressed and anxious. “I hope I’ll be able to leave after this?” He looked appealingly at Hugh and DI Hunter.
“All in good time,” said Hunter. “So no relationships.”
“No not unless you count a stray cat that wandered in a few weeks ago.” And he re-crossed his legs and folded his arms over his chest. Ali involuntarily noticed his upper arm muscles through his shirt sleeves and his chunky forearms where the sleeves were rolled up. Everyone else was wrapped up warmly. The ambient temperature in the station she had noticed wasn't exactly tropical. Graham however exuded good health and vitality and looked ready to spring into action.
Again she dragged her thoughts back to the matter in hand.
DI Hunter hesitated over his notes. Ali supposed he could hardly quote the tabloids to challenge Graham’s account of his private life.
“OK. So you say you went to bed at 10 pm. Did you go to Miss Cadman’s annexe at any time during the evening?”
“No. Not at all.”
“How can you be sure? Miss Cadman didn’t make her allegations for another two days. Can you always remember exactly what you’ve done several days ago?”
“That evening, yes. I was supposed to go to a meeting about the takeover. But it was called off at the last minute.”
“Why? Because of the weather?”
“No. One of the blokes involved’s wife went into labour early. He had to go to the hospital. So the meeting was cancelled.”
“So you went into Angela’s flat at other times?”
“I never visited Angela’s annexe in the evenings or any other times normally. She was employed to look after the horses. She was paid well. She did it very well. She normally gave them a last feed and look in about nine and if she was going out she did it earlier, and then looked in at them when she got back. I’d usually hear her. And if it was late Jake, my dog, would sometimes bark and wake me up. I didn’t go to the annexe because I didn’t need to.”
“Miss Cadman says that on Tuesday evening at about 10.45 a man came into her annexe and assaulted her. What were you doing at 10.45 on Tuesday 24th November?”
“I was in bed asleep by that time. I go to sleep very quickly. I had to be up early.”
“Did you hear anything?”
“No I was asleep.”
“Did your dog bark?”
“No.”
“When did you wake up.”
“When my alarm went at 5.15 the next morning.”
“What happened after you got up?”
“I got dressed. Grabbed some breakfast and went outside with Jake so he could have a run around.”
“Did you notice any footprints or tracks?”
“No, it had been snowing hard overnight.”
“Did you find Angela’s mobile `phone anywhere?”
“Yes it was on her door step. It was clear of snow because there’s a small porch.”
“So what did you do with it?”
“I took it into the tack room and left it on the table. I put a post it note on it saying where I’d found it. Then I went to work. I took Jake with me because Mrs. Allan wasn't going to be at home.”
“So are you saying that a girl gets assaulted in the annexe to your home and you don’t wake up and you don’t hear anything?”
“Yes. Or at least if Angela says she was assaulted, then she must have been. She’s a sensible girl. I don’t think she’d make up something like that or waste police time.”
“Miss Cadman is a pretty girl, wouldn't you say?”
Graham sighed exasperatedly. “I haven't taken any notice of her. She looks as nice as any other young girl.”
“Did you know she was hoping to go into modelling?”
Graham was silent for a few seconds, then he looked from Hugh to DI Hunter and back again with a worried frown.
“What in heaven’s name does that have to do with…whatever I’m being accused of doing?”
“Did you know Miss Cadman hoped to become a model?”
“I don't think so,” Graham put his hand to his forehead and looked at the DI strangely. “If it’s of any relevance at all, Petunia looked after the stable maids. Whatever the girl’s ambitions might have been it was nothing to do with me.”
“Apart from Miss Cadman’s account, there is physical and forensic evidence of an assault.” DI Hunter left it there. Graham’s eyes widened. “Miss Cadman…resisted. She screamed. Are you seriously saying that all that went on within literally yards of where you were sleeping and your dog was there too and you didn’t hear anything?”
“I really heard nothing. Er the walls are pretty thick and the annexe is the opposite end of the house on the ground floor from my bedroom that’s on the first floor.”
“Actually since Pet left, Jake sleeps on my bed.” Graham looked a bit embarrassed. “Petunia didn’t like him much. I gave him some food about nine and let him outside for a time. He didn’t stay out long.”
“Did you see anything unusual or anyone about when you let him out and let him in again?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Did you go into the annexe between Tuesday and Thursday?”
“No.”
Hugh again cut in. “But you might have.”
“Yes I might have but I didn’t.”
Wrong answer, thought Ali.
“There’s forensic evidence of the presence of a man in the annexe and on Angela’s clothing and bed clothes. It is being analysed for DNA and if it matches your DNA, how would you explain that?”
“Well I do own the house. I must’ve been in the annexe before, but I can’t remember when.”
“Are you aware if Angela had a boyfriend?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Did she ever have visitors to the annexe?”
“Well yes I think she did. It was her home. She could have who she wanted there within reason.”
“Did she have male visitors?”
“How would I know?” Graham spread his arms in exasperation. “I didn’t monitor her movements. I took almost no notice of her and what she did. Petunia looked after her when she was there and I…well…maybe I should have taken more notice after Petunia left bearing in mind what’s now happened, but I didn’t think. I mean I just carried on as before paying Angela and letting her get on with the horses. Obviously if she needed anything special she came to me but she had authority to do all the basic necessary things like order the horses’ food, get the vet in, arrange for the farrier to come. All that sort of thing. I didn’t need to be involved. Obviously I should have taken more interest. A girl on her own in an annexe.” Graham shook his head and was ringing his hands by now apparently unconsciously. If it was just a performance, thought Ali, it was a damn good one.
