Tennison

Chapter twenty-one

Jane arrived at work to find a note from Bradfield telling her she would have to return to normal duties. She wondered if she had upset him but, not wanting to question his decision, she reported to the duty sergeant. The Julie Ann case had gone cold.

They had also questioned Dwayne Clark, who had come in accompanied by Stonex. Detectives had not found any drugs at Clark’s address, or at his friend’s flat in Coventry, and as he had a strong alibi for the murder of Julie Ann he was released without charge pending further enquiries. The toxicology tests on the blood samples taken from the body of Eddie Phillips were under way and early indications were he had injected himself with pure heroin and in a drug-induced stupor fallen over and then collapsed into the canal where he drowned. The scientist concluded that the overdose alone would have killed him within a few minutes. It was believed that O’Duncie had deliberately supplied Eddie Phillips with the lethal heroin, intending to kill him as he feared he would tell the police about his drug dealing and abuse of Julie Anne. However, as much as it angered Bradfield, he knew he didn’t have enough evidence to prove that it was O’Duncie who supplied Eddie and therefore couldn’t charge him with his murder. Experience had taught him that ‘some you win, some you lose’, and no matter the result of a case you had to move on and not let it fester in your mind, but putting O’Duncie away for the rest of his life was something Bradfield would’ve loved to do.

The depression could be felt by everyone. Time was spent going over all their evidence to date, but they had no further suspects.

Jane hadn’t yet seen Bradfield and wondered if he was sleeping off his hangover in his office. She was given a fifteen-minute break mid-morning and was on her way to the canteen when he walked into the corridor.

‘Ah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.’ He was flushed, and she was unsure if he was about to tell her off or explain why he had put her back on normal uniform duties. He gave a cursory look around before he reached for her hand.

‘Erm, listen, about last night... I would have said something first thing but, well, you know we’ve been pretty caught up. I just wanted to apologize... I hope I didn’t make any untoward advances. I was well drunk but I remember you helped me back.’

‘It was fine, sir, nothing happened.’

He grinned. ‘Ah well, chance would be a fine thing, but thanks.’

He walked off, and Jane continued on her way to the canteen, when Kath hurtled up behind her.

‘You ain’t gonna believe what I might have dug up! It came at me like the proverbial brick in the head last night in bed, and this time, Jane darlin’, if I’m right it really is my golden ticket into the CID.’

She hooked one arm around Jane’s shoulders and waved a single sheet of typed paper. ‘But first I need your help to check something. You still got the list of serial numbers Julie Ann’s father gave Bradfield?’

‘The original is locked away with the exhibits, but I wrote them all down on some index cards as well.’

Kath’s excitement was mounting as they hurried into the incident room. Jane pulled out the index cards from the carousel and handed them to her. Pushing her paperwork to one side Kath laid the cards in a row on the table, and then placed the piece of paper she had been carrying next to the cards.

‘Right, I’ll read out a number on my list and you check it against the Collins list,’ Kath said.

‘But we’ve already checked the serial numbers and matched the notes O’Duncie stole from Julie Ann.’

‘We haven’t checked my list,’ she smiled, tapping her finger on the piece of paper she’d put on the table.

Jane could see it was a further list of banknote denominations and serial numbers. ‘Did they find some more money at O’Duncie’s squat?’

Kath shook her head. ‘I woke up in the middle of the night and I just knew that I was missing something, but not what it was that I was missing, do you understand?’

‘No I don’t, other than you’ve lost something. I’ve been so bored and I had to cover the front desk yet again as I’m back on uniform duties. Did I upset Bradfield?’

‘No he had no choice, Chief Super said to release you.’ Kath looked back at the list, ‘Shit, I know I am right.’

‘Sorry, what you got?’

‘OK, the money he’d hidden, some of it still had the currency wrapper round it, that’s what I’d missed, well, until now.’

‘Who’d hidden, Kath? I’m not following you.’

‘Kenneth Boyle — remember that little scumbag? I nicked him turning over an old-age pensioner’s place and we searched his flat.’

‘The bloke you had up in court the other day, the one who got a soft sentence?’

Kath nodded and reminded Jane how Boyle had a load of money hidden in an old shoebox in his bedroom. He said he’d nicked it from other old people’s flats, but having now checked the victims’ original burglary reports, she realized the total amount of money stolen didn’t add up to what was in the shoebox.

‘Well, he’d probably spent some of it,’ Jane replied.

‘No, no, listen to me. That’s what’s been naggin’ me. There was much more in the tin than he’d confessed to stealing. I thought at first he probably did more burglaries than he admitted, but then I remembered some of the notes in the tin had a currency wrapper round them like the ones Bradfield found at O’Duncie’s.’

‘My God, do you think some of the Boyle money may have been cash Julie Ann stole?’ Jane asked excitedly.

Kath’s eyes lit up. ‘Yes. I’ve listed the serial numbers on what we found at Boyle’s place so let’s start checking them against Mr Collins’ list — we’ll do the ones in the bank wrappers first.’

Kath and Jane got to work. It was only a matter of seconds before Kath shouted, ‘Bingo!’ and started leaping up and down.

‘Boyle was arrested a couple of days after Julie Ann’s murder. Didn’t I say he gave it up too easily about the burglaries? He looked like a cat that got the cream and will no doubt get a pitiful sentence. He thinks he’s got away with it. I’m right, I’m right, I know it!’

It was Kath’s turn to look like the cat with the cream as one by one she ticked off further serial numbers that matched the money seized from Kenneth Boyle. She gave Jane a big hug and did a small sashay dance to DCI Bradfield’s office and in her excitement forgot to knock before walking in.

‘Get out, Morgan,’ he bellowed and she saw that he was with DI Spencer Gibbs having a celebratory whisky over his reinstatement to normal duties.

‘This is really important, sir. I think I may have found Julie Ann’s killer.’

Jane finished the few bits she had left to do and was about to make her way down to the front office when she stopped to look at the photographs of Julie Ann pinned to the board on the wall. She stared at the beautiful face of the young girl before she had become addicted to heroin. The picture next to it, taken at the post-mortem, was covered by a piece of paper which Jane lifted back to reveal Julie Ann’s drug-ravaged body. The marks on her neck were horrific, but her bulging eyes and swollen tongue caused by the strangulation were the most sickening sight. Jane hoped Kath was right about Boyle. Whoever had done this to Julie Ann deserved to be caught and put away for a very long time.

Jane shook herself and went downstairs. She found Sergeant Harris who, apologizing, said he needed her to continue covering the front desk. She knew he was deliberately making her do it, but was determined not to show any of the antagonism she felt towards him.

She simply smiled. ‘Yes, of course, Sergeant Harris.’ He had never mentioned the recovered money and Jane’s property-store lists; in fact since the incident he had been surprisingly polite when speaking to her, which made her feel even more suspicious. Jane wondered if he was just biding his time before doing something else to try to make her look bad.

An hour passed with no one attending the station counter and Jane was feeling quite bored. She sat down at the desk and remembering DS Gibbs’s advice at the squat raid started to read the weekly published ‘General Orders and Regulations’. She’d just become engrossed by a list giving details of which officers had been sacked or fined for misconduct when the front-desk phone rang. Jane picked it up, asking how she could help the caller. She listened as someone on the other end with a squeaky voice rambled on, not letting her get a word in.

She took the phone from her ear, held her hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Sergeant Harris who was sitting at the duty desk typing up a report.

‘Sarge, I don’t know if I should take this call seriously or not.’

‘We take every call seriously, Tennison — what’s it about?’

‘Sounds weird... he said something about picking up a conversation on his radio at home about a robbery.’

Sergeant Harris pursed his lips.

‘Well, that’s a new one on me, bloody time-waster — give it here.’

He got up from his desk and went over to Jane who handed over the phone.

‘This is Duty Sergeant William Harris. Please slow down, son, if you’d just...’

Jane smiled, realizing Harris was having the same difficulty understanding the caller.

He shook his head and raised his eyebrows. ‘Just you listen up, son. Unfortunately we have had a serious incident that requires every officer’s urgent attention. Please call back later.’

He put down the phone.

‘I thought we took all calls seriously?’ Jane said, wondering if she was chancing her luck with a flippant remark.

‘Not with squeaky nutters, we don’t.’

The door to the charge room opened. Gibbs walked out and crooked his finger to Jane.

‘If I find out that lipstick joke is anything to do with you, you’ll be sorry.’

‘I don’t know what you are talking about, Sarge,’ Jane said.

‘Yeah, neither did Kath, but I’ll find out, I’ll bloody find out.’

‘What was he talking about?’ Harris asked.

Jane shrugged. ‘I don’t know, Sergeant.’

DS Gibbs went to speak with Bradfield while Kath booked Boyle in at the station. Bradfield had moved fast after Kath had explained about the money and a paddy wagon had been sent to Brixton Prison to collect Boyle and bring him back to the station. Boyle had asked Gibbs, who was accompanying him, why he was being taken back to Hackney and Gibbs had replied that there were more break-ins they needed to speak to him about.

‘He was really edgy and sweating. I made up a couple of addresses and he said he’d broken in and nicked money from them. Kath Morgan was spot on. He’s definitely hiding something if he’s confessing to crimes that don’t exist.’

‘Who’s his brief?’ Bradfield asked.

‘Like last time, doesn’t want one. Might change his mind when he finds out why he’s really here.’

‘Fuck him if he does. I’ll get the files together, you bring Boyle up and tell Kath Morgan she can sit in on the interview with you and me.’

Ten minutes later Gibbs and Kath brought Boyle into Bradfield’s office, sat him down and removed his handcuffs. He was unshaven, his face covered in acne, and nasty boils were visible on his neck above the prison-issue shirt. Bradfield got up and stood beside Boyle, placing a photograph of Julie Ann down on the table in front of him.

‘Do you recognize this woman?’ Bradfield asked quietly, leaning over so his face was close to Boyle’s.

Boyle didn’t answer.

‘Kenneth Boyle, I am arresting you for the murder of Julie Ann Collins. You are not obliged to say anything, but what you say may be given in evidence.’

Boyle wiped his sweaty brow with his nicotine-stained fingers and was about to say something when Bradfield interrupted him.

‘You refused a solicitor when DS Gibbs asked if you wanted one so don’t even think about changing your mind or I’ll write your confession myself.’

Bradfield opened his desk drawer and put a plastic property bag containing bundles of bank-wrapped £1, £5 and £10 notes on the table. When asked Boyle admitted they were some of the notes recovered from his home and said that he’d stolen them from a pensioner.

‘Well, Kenny, I’ve had the notes checked for the murdered girl’s fingerprints, and guess what — they’re on some of them. One print is right next to yours. So if you know what’s good for you I suggest you tell me exactly how they came to be in your possession?’

Boyle refused to look at Bradfield and shuffled his feet.

‘Erm yeah, I did meet her and she give me the money, right? She told me to get her some heroin, I mean what I said was I could score for her, right?’

‘Right! So who’s your dealer, Kenneth?’

‘Er well, I dunno his name, but I seen him passing gear on the streets, right? I mean I dunno where he lives, that’s the God’s truth, sir.’

Kath crossed her legs as she watched the repellent Boyle attempt to lie his way out of anything to do with the murder. Bradfield concentrated on his notebook, tapping it with his pencil.

‘I mean on my mother’s life, the last time I saw her was after she give me the money. She said to meet up with her outside the hospital, well, I couldn’t find this dealer so I went to tell her and she never showed up.’

Bradfield nodded his head and then picked up a pencil sharpener and began to twist his pencil round and round in it.

Kath was fascinated by how Bradfield deliberately changed his attitude towards Boyle, making it appear he believed him, encouraging him by accepting his story, and constantly nodding his head saying he understood how difficult it would be for Boyle to name his dealers.

‘Right, that’s right, but I swear before God that’s what I intended doing, scoring drugs for her.’

‘Yeah, I understand. I mean she was just a common little slag. She’d open her legs for drugs, right?’

‘Yeah, she fucked anyone, even the blacks. She was a tart all right.’

Bradfield paused then spoke quietly. ‘But she wouldn’t screw you, would she?’ he asked without any trace of emotion.

It was as if Bradfield had hit a raw nerve as Boyle pursed his lips.

‘Yeah, I mean she was a slag, right? And she got this posh way of talkin’, lookin’ down on me.’

‘That must have really pissed you off.’

Boyle nodded, and then Bradfield slowly pushed the photograph of Julie Ann closer.

‘She deserved what she got.’

Kath watched as there was a glance between Bradfield and Gibbs, who had so far not spoken. Gibbs now leaned forwards, jabbing Boyle with his finger.

‘She’d fuck anyone else but you, because you are a stinking little no-good thief. She told you to piss off, you got riled and decided you were gonna show this slag that nobody like her could refuse you and you made a grab for her...’

Bradfield patted Gibbs’s arm and he sat back. ‘Easy, Spence, that wasn’t how it happened, was it, Kenneth? Yes, you put your hands up for nicking from pensioners, and you owned up to the Magistrate. But this was different: she was lovely and you knew what she was, but that didn’t matter, did it?’

‘I don’t go out with toms,’ Boyle said, shaking his head.

‘Oh come on, Kenneth, you liked her — and you’d got money now, all that cash you nicked. Did you offer to pay her?’ Bradfield asked, and moved Julie Ann’s photograph closer.

Gibbs leaned forwards again. ‘Shit, you were gonna pay to screw her and she still turned you down? That must have fucked your head, cos you knew she was a slag, knew everyone else was getting it.’

‘No.’ Boyle‘s face twisted.

Bradfield slid in his next question. ‘When did you know about the money she had? I don’t believe she’d give you cash for drugs as she already had her own dealer.’

Boyle was so thick he couldn’t see how Bradfield and Gibbs were playing with his head and there was a hideous pause as Boyle stared at the floor and constantly scratched his raw acne.

He wouldn’t look up. ‘She dropped her purse and—’

‘Oh I see, she dropped her purse and you picked it up?’

Gibbs cut in. ‘You ripped her blouse open and pulled off her bra so you could fondle her tits, but she resisted and you went ape and strangled her with her own bra.’

Still Boyle said nothing, but from the look of self-pity on his face Bradfield knew he and Spencer Gibbs had got it right about what happened in the kids’ adventure playground. Gibbs replaced the picture of Julie Ann before she started taking drugs with the one of her body at the playground.

‘That’s what you did to her, you murdered her and then stole her money. Look at the photograph, see her eyes and tongue? Remember them bulging out as you squeezed the life out of her, can you? LOOK AT IT!’ he shouted.

Boyle swiped at the table, and the photographs slid onto the floor as he started crying.

Bradfield leant over and patted Boyle’s back. ‘Come on, now, son, calm down. Take us through what happened, Kenneth. You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest. Just tell us what happened because I know you never meant to hurt her.’

Bradfield waited as Gibbs collected the photographs and stacked them like a pack of cards.

‘You got a tissue, WPC Morgan?’

Kath delved into her pocket and passed over a clean tissue. Bradfield handed it to Kenneth who blew his nose and then began to knead the sodden tissue.

‘It was night-time and I saw her on a swing in the kids’ playground by the Kingsmead Estate. I went over to her, she stopped and looked me up and down and I told her I’d seen her around lots of times, even talked to her once, but she ignored me and said to go away. I tried to talk to her more and was being nice but then she told me to piss off as she was waiting for someone. But I guessed it was for a punter so I said I had money to pay her for sex and she laughed at me. She got off the swing and started to walk away so I touched her shoulder and asked her to stay. Next thing I knew she turned round and spat at me, she gobbed at me right in my face. She dropped her bag and bent over to pick it up and I dunno, I just went crazy — dragged her to the ground and got on top of her.’ He started crying again.

‘I know it must be horrible for you to recall it all, son, but you’re doing well and it’s almost over, so keep going,’ Bradfield said, urging him to confess.

‘Oh Christ, I dunno how it happened. I put one hand over her mouth then ripped her shirt open and pulled at her bra which came undone, then she bit my hand and when I pulled it away from her mouth she started to scream. I was scared someone would hear her and in a panic I put the bra round her neck and shit, I didn’t mean it, but I kept on pulling it tighter and tighter...’

He sobbed, using his hands to show how he had pulled the bra, crossing his wrists as it tightened round her neck, and then tightened it in a knot.

‘I got scared and ran off with her bag. It wasn’t for the money, I swear before God it wasn’t for the money. I didn’t know how much she had until I got home.’

Jane went to the ladies’ locker room to hang up her uniform jacket before going off duty. She saw an upset-looking Kath sitting on a bench and hesitated before going over to ask if she was all right.

‘Yeah, Kenneth Boyle just confessed to killing Julie Ann. It was so sickening listening to him go over it all. He’s being charged now by DS Gibbs and will appear at the Magistrates’ Court in the morning. It’s weird, I just want to cry. But I tell you, Bradfield’s a cool bastard. Just as I thought he was feeling sorry for the pathetic little shit, he laid it on him that he also killed the kid she was expecting. His voice was harsh and you could tell he loathed Boyle. Gibbs is the same, they kind of do a double act, but they got him to admit everything, no big drama it was just...’ She sighed. ‘It wasn’t making me feel good, which I honestly believed it would, you know, getting closure, but all I could really think of was what a waste of life. Anyway this time he won’t get banged up for months, he’ll be there for twenty-five years at least.’

Back in her room at the section house Jane couldn’t stop thinking about what Kath had said about the waste of life. By the time she had got undressed and was ready to take a shower, she didn’t feel like having anything to eat, or God forbid, going to the pub or sitting in one of the TV rooms.

Lying down on her bed, she found herself thinking of Bradfield and his remark ‘Chance would be a fine thing’. Did he mean that he expected an approach by him to be rejected? She curled up and tucked her hands under her chin. At the beginning of the investigation she hadn’t been impressed by his manner but now she knew she was infatuated and even in awe of him. Over and over again she had been surprised by him: the time she had seen him gently touch the dead girl’s foot, his kindness at the Collinses’ house before he knew about their daughter’s beating, how, drunk outside the pub, he’d told her that he felt as if they were the only ones who cared.

She remembered, too, all the odd things he had said to her, unsure if they were complimentary or not. She curled up tighter because now, lying alone in her room, she had to admit to herself that she hoped that he did like her.

Give me just a little bit of your heart now, baby...