Death on Account (The Lakeland Murders) Read Online Free Page B
Author: J J Salkeld
Mann.
As soon as he walked into the CID room he could sense that everyone was tense, the room was a bit too quiet, and energy levels seemed low. At this time in the investigation everyone should be buzzing. So there was absolutely no need to check if they knew that Ian Mann was being interviewed, because they’d all know already, and they wouldn’t be happy about it. And if they didn’t know then they had no business being cops.
The room was crowded, because the back-shift were just in and the day shift were all still there, and Hall took updates from everyone. Charlie Coward and Jane had come up with a handful of potential eye-witnesses already, and the provisional PM results were already in.
‘It wasn’t natural causes’ said Hall dryly, holding up the report. ‘A knotted ligature, and it broke his neck. No defence wounds, and we’re already pretty sure that the killer came up behind our victim. And we know it’s a man already. SOCO should be able to give us an idea of his weight and an estimate of height tomorrow, based on the casts of his footprints. And I assume that everyone knows that our victim, Royal, was actually anything but. His real name was Neil Williams, and he was the star witness in the Tom Cafferty double murder trial last year, and was due to take the stand in the re-trial later this week. If you want any background on the Caffertys just read the press reports, but they’re what the tabloids like to call a crime dynasty, and for once the comics are not exaggerating. They’ve controlled organised crime in Liverpool for over forty years now, and even the IRA kept clear of them back in the day. Tom’s the youngest of the clan, and his older brother badly wants him out of prison.’
‘So we’ll be talking to the brother?’ asked Charlie Coward.
‘Yes. I’ll do it, with a Merseyside DI acting as interpreter. We’ll get nothing obviously, but I’ll let him know that despite the fact that no-one will miss Williams we’ll treat this case as if he was one of our own. And I don’t have to tell any of you why that is, do I? A brother officer is being interviewed at this very moment, and unless we find our killer, and the person or persons who discovered Royal’s real identity, then Ian Mann may not be the last of us to come under suspicion. So how about CCTV, Ray? Anything helpful for us so far?’
‘There’s masses of it of course, so I’m still trying to get it all together. Do you want me to look at the ANPR data from all the cameras around town, see what registrations came in during the hour before or something? That might help us short-circuit it a bit. Talk about a surveillance society, but I’ve got more footage than you could shake a shitty stick at, boss.’
‘Thank you, Ray, and yes, try the ANPR files in the morning. I’m sure Jane will help you automate it somehow. Look for any vehicles owned by people with convictions for violence, and for any stolen vehicles. My guess is that our killer is far too experienced to use a vehicle that could be traced back to him, but you never know. So if you get any hire cars look and see if they were collected in Merseyside. And everyone from the day shift, do your hand-overs and get off home in the next hour. I need everyone to be totally fresh in the morning.’
Wednesday, 24th April
It took Ian Mann a few seconds to work out where he was, and he knew from recent experience that his head was going to hurt like hell when he turned his head to look at the digital alarm clock. So he decided not to bother. The alarm had been switched off since he’d been suspended, and he really had nothing to get up for anyway.
Instead he lay very still and thought back over the events of the previous night. Julie had wanted to come over after Val ‘Gory’ Gorham and Robinson had finished interviewing him, but he’d knocked her back, and he was glad he had. He had been in no mood to see anyone, and he still wasn’t. But all that
As soon as he walked into the CID room he could sense that everyone was tense, the room was a bit too quiet, and energy levels seemed low. At this time in the investigation everyone should be buzzing. So there was absolutely no need to check if they knew that Ian Mann was being interviewed, because they’d all know already, and they wouldn’t be happy about it. And if they didn’t know then they had no business being cops.
The room was crowded, because the back-shift were just in and the day shift were all still there, and Hall took updates from everyone. Charlie Coward and Jane had come up with a handful of potential eye-witnesses already, and the provisional PM results were already in.
‘It wasn’t natural causes’ said Hall dryly, holding up the report. ‘A knotted ligature, and it broke his neck. No defence wounds, and we’re already pretty sure that the killer came up behind our victim. And we know it’s a man already. SOCO should be able to give us an idea of his weight and an estimate of height tomorrow, based on the casts of his footprints. And I assume that everyone knows that our victim, Royal, was actually anything but. His real name was Neil Williams, and he was the star witness in the Tom Cafferty double murder trial last year, and was due to take the stand in the re-trial later this week. If you want any background on the Caffertys just read the press reports, but they’re what the tabloids like to call a crime dynasty, and for once the comics are not exaggerating. They’ve controlled organised crime in Liverpool for over forty years now, and even the IRA kept clear of them back in the day. Tom’s the youngest of the clan, and his older brother badly wants him out of prison.’
‘So we’ll be talking to the brother?’ asked Charlie Coward.
‘Yes. I’ll do it, with a Merseyside DI acting as interpreter. We’ll get nothing obviously, but I’ll let him know that despite the fact that no-one will miss Williams we’ll treat this case as if he was one of our own. And I don’t have to tell any of you why that is, do I? A brother officer is being interviewed at this very moment, and unless we find our killer, and the person or persons who discovered Royal’s real identity, then Ian Mann may not be the last of us to come under suspicion. So how about CCTV, Ray? Anything helpful for us so far?’
‘There’s masses of it of course, so I’m still trying to get it all together. Do you want me to look at the ANPR data from all the cameras around town, see what registrations came in during the hour before or something? That might help us short-circuit it a bit. Talk about a surveillance society, but I’ve got more footage than you could shake a shitty stick at, boss.’
‘Thank you, Ray, and yes, try the ANPR files in the morning. I’m sure Jane will help you automate it somehow. Look for any vehicles owned by people with convictions for violence, and for any stolen vehicles. My guess is that our killer is far too experienced to use a vehicle that could be traced back to him, but you never know. So if you get any hire cars look and see if they were collected in Merseyside. And everyone from the day shift, do your hand-overs and get off home in the next hour. I need everyone to be totally fresh in the morning.’
Wednesday, 24th April
It took Ian Mann a few seconds to work out where he was, and he knew from recent experience that his head was going to hurt like hell when he turned his head to look at the digital alarm clock. So he decided not to bother. The alarm had been switched off since he’d been suspended, and he really had nothing to get up for anyway.
Instead he lay very still and thought back over the events of the previous night. Julie had wanted to come over after Val ‘Gory’ Gorham and Robinson had finished interviewing him, but he’d knocked her back, and he was glad he had. He had been in no mood to see anyone, and he still wasn’t. But all that
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