The Boudicca Parchments

Chapter 20

“They should be able to get the records of Costa’s text messages — and your replies — from the phone company. They may even be able to get the actual content of the texts. But, of course, that doesn’t stop them putting their own interpretation on it.”

“What about the anonymous tip-off?”

Daniel was consulting his lawyer in a meeting room at the police station. The lawyer in question was in fact the duty solicitor assigned to the police station to help suspects who didn’t have a lawyer of their own.

“They probably won’t be allowed to use it in court. It didn’t trigger a specific action by the police like a search or anything that in turn led to the discovery of more evidence, let alone evidence that can be cross-verified by another means. I’m assuming, of course, that there is no physical evidence that petrol was siphoned off from the tank.”

“There’s no way there could be. I certainly didn’t siphon any off, and I don’t think there’d have been time for anyone else to. I mean I walked to the house at reasonable speed and the attack occurred within about a minute of me entering.”

The duty solicitor had advised him that he could get another lawyer and that he could do this either now or at a later stage. He decided for the time being to stick to the duty solicitor and decide later whether to get some one else. In any case, because he was being charged, the more important task was to make sure the solicitor found a good barrister to represent him in court.

“Well if you’re sure of that, then I have a suggestion that might help. We could ask the police to check the level of petrol in the hired car and compare it to the level when you hired it. I assume you started with a full tank?”

Daniel nodded.

“They can calculate the approximate fuel consumption and compare it to the amount you actually used. And of course we’d also ask them to check the mileage indicator against the records of the car hire company.”

“I don’t know why they didn’t do that first,” said Daniel irritably.

“They were probably being just a little too eager. I think they’re placing too much emphasis on your motive.”

“I don’t have a motive.”

“Well their theory is — ”

“I know what their theory is! But it’s all based on a false assumption — that he changed his mind.”

“But if he never got the chance to talk to you, then how do you know that he didn’t change his mind.”

Daniel looked at the lawyer astonished. This was pure courtroom demagoguery. If Daniel didn’t know then he couldn’t have a motive. But surely the initial presumption had to be that Costa hadn’t changed his mind. There was no specific reason to think otherwise — except to twist the facts to fit the theory. Daniel tried to explain this to the solicitor in the simplest language he could think of.

“I don’t know if he changed his mind or not. But there’s nothing to suggest that he did. And my theory is that he was killed well before the meeting and the fire was to conceal the time of death — as well as to kill me.”

“Now that is pure conjecture.”

“Yes but unlike this speculative theory that he changed his mind, it fits the facts. First of all he was dead when I got there.”

“But you said he might have been unconscious.”

Daniel was by now getting irritated with the solicitor’s “devil’s advocate” approach.

“As far as I knew, he might have been unconscious! But the police told me that he didn’t die of either burns or smoke inhalation. They said he was already dead before the fire. I know that I didn’t kill him. Therefore he must have been dead already — and not merely unconscious! And another thing, if he was merely unconscious, then he might have come round and got out before they threw in whatever it was that started the fire. That would mean that the arsonist-murderer was leaving things to chance. And I don’t believe that. This whole thing was too well planned.”

“Okay but there’s a big difference between framing you and trying to kill you.”

“That maybe, but I barely made it out of there alive. I certainly didn’t have any help getting out. That means that whoever did it was trying to kill me.”

“But why would they try to kill you and frame you?”