Страница 64 из 72
“Yes, sir.”
“Was Mark Wood bruised in any way? Did he have a black eye or a cauliflower ear?”
“No.”
“You’d expect something like that, wouldn’t you, if he’d been in an actual fight? Especially with as tough a customer as Jason Fox. Are you telling me Jason didn’t even get one punch in?”
“I don’t know, sir. Perhaps he hit Wood in the body, where it wouldn’t show, and not in the face? I mean, we didn’t do a strip search or anything.”
Banks shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s just not on. I had another good look at the crime-scene photographs as well, and I reread Dr. Glende
“Well,” Susan said slowly, “Superintendent Gristhorpe wasn’t entirely convinced, either. But Mark said Jason Fox was goading him about his wife and kid. They needn’t have faced off to start fighting. Mark probably just lashed out when he’d had enough. I suppose you saw it for yourself in the statement, but when we pushed Wood on exactly how and when it happened, he said it was all a blur, he couldn’t remember.”
“How very convenient. He also denied emptying Jason Fox’s pockets. Two loose ends.”
“That’s the thing that bothered me most, sir. But we just assumed that either he lied because it would look bad for him, too deliberate, stopping to empty Jason’s pockets instead of ru
“I’d go for the first explanation, myself. It just didn’t fit with the scenario he was painting for you. But why take his keys as well, unless they might have led to easier identification? I think whoever did this wanted to keep the victim’s identity from us until they had a chance to clear out the Rawdon house of any dodgy files or notes he might have kept there, and they weren’t taking any chances.”
“We just thought that if some opportunist came along and did it, he simply took everything. You know, just sort of scooped it all up quickly without pausing to separate the keys from the loose change.” Susan shrugged. “Chief Constable Riddle didn’t seem to be worried by any of this. And by then we had him breathing right down our necks.”
“It’s still two loose ends too many for me.”
“Then I don’t know where that leaves us, sir. What about motive?”
Banks told her about Mark’s co
“So you think Motcombe’s behind it?” she said.
“I do. But proving it is another matter. Officially the case is closed. You got an easy conviction. That pleased Jimmy Riddle. That and the opportunity to suspend me. I made a mistake there. I didn’t expect you’d solve the case so quickly that he’d be buzzing round the station all weekend. To be honest, I didn’t expect he’d find out where I’d gone.”
“Sir,” Susan blurted out, feeling her heart lurch into her throat. “Can I tell you something?”
Banks frowned and lit another cigarette. “Yes, of course. What is it?”
Susan chewed on her lip for a while, just looking at him, unsure now whether she dare speak out or not. Then she took a deep breath and told him all about Gavin’s betrayal.
When she had finished, Banks just sat quietly staring down at the table. She was afraid of what he might say, especially as she could no longer deny to herself the way she felt about him. Please God, she prayed, let him never find out about that.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said.
Banks looked at her, a sad, crooked smile on his face. “Never mind. It wasn’t your fault. How were you to know your boyfriend would run off and tell tales to Jimmy Riddle?”
“Whichever way you look at it, sir, I still betrayed a confidence.”
“Forget it.”
“How can I do that? Look how it’s turned out.”
“It isn’t over yet, Susan. I’m far from finished. It must have hurt you, this betrayal. I’m sorry.”
Susan looked down, into her empty glass.
“Fancy another drink?” Banks asked.
“No, sir. I’m fine. Really.”
“Well, I fancy another pint.”
Banks went to the bar and rang the bell. While he was waiting to get served, Susan sat hunched in on herself, feeling miserable. No matter how bloody kind and forgiving Banks might be, she could never forgive herself for what she had done. It wasn’t so much the betrayal itself, as the humiliation of letting herself be fooled and used by a bastard like Gavin.
“So what do you want to do?” she asked when he came back. “I mean about Mark Wood.”
“I see from the paperwork that Wood’s solicitor was called Giles Varney?”
“That’s right. A real arrogant bastard. Expensive, too. It seemed a bit odd at the time, that he would get Varney to come all the way from Leeds.”
“Yes.”
“Wood also said something about him being Jason’s solicitor, too – the one who helped them get the business set up. He didn’t want a duty solicitor. He was adamant about that.”
“Interesting.” Banks sipped his pint, wiped his lips and said, “And fishy. You know, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Varney is Motcombe’s solicitor, too, or at least works for the same firm. I’ll have to give Ken Blackstone a call and check. Now, according to the reports, it was only when the blood evidence came back that Wood confessed, right?”
“Yes, sir. It would have been pretty difficult to lie his way out of that one.”
“Did he have a private conference with Varney? Make phone calls?”
“Yes, sir. We did it all strictly according to PACE.”
Banks nodded. “So Wood talked to Varney, then he made a telephone call, then he confessed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who did he call?”
“I don’t know. It was made in private.”
“We should be able to find a record of the number. I’ll bet you a pound to a pe
“But why would he do that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You had him against the ropes. I mean, fine, early blood evidence doesn’t necessarily mean a hell of a lot, but Wood knew he’d done it, and both he and Varney probably knew it was just a matter of time before we got results from DNA testing. And that they’d be positive. In the meantime, if Mark Wood admits to a lesser charge of manslaughter, denying that he’s ever even met Motcombe, then the heat’s off. It was just a fight that went wrong.
“And you can also bet that Varney will milk as much sympathy from the jury as he can from the fact that the fight started over Jason Fox making racist remarks about Mark Wood’s wife and child. All Motcombe has to promise is that Wood will get a short sentence and that his family will be financially taken care of while he’s inside. That and a nice bonus when he gets out. I think it’s an offer I’d probably take if my balls were in the wringer like Wood’s are.”
“If he pays a pe
“Yes. I suppose he could renege. And arrange for an accident in jail. I’m assuming he’s not doing all this out of the kindness of his heart. He’s doing it because Wood has something on him. Like the truth about what happened.”
“What can we do about it, if you’re right?”
“We can’t do anything, Susan. Remember, you’re still on the force, but you’re off the case. I, on the other hand, can do whatever I want.”
“But-”
Banks held his hand up. “Susan, I appreciate what you’ve done so far, but I don’t want to risk getting you into trouble again. Even Superintendent Gristhorpe wouldn’t approve if he knew what I was up to.”
“He would if you told him, sir. I told you he had his doubts, too. But Jimmy Riddle just barged in and steam-rollered everything.”
“I know. But the super’s not here. It’s better this way for the time being. Believe me.”
“What next, then?”
Banks looked at his watch. “Next, I think I’ll get right back to basics and pay George Mahmood another visit. There’s something missing from those statements. Some co