This was all news to Kath and something Bradfield had obviously kept to himself for the interview with good reason.
Stonex sat back in his chair, sniffed and rubbed his nose. He took a deep breath and sighed. ‘You have been brushing up on your law, DCI Bradfield.’
‘Well, I hate to see an upstanding solicitor like yourself had over by a lowlife drug dealer like O’Duncie, who won’t even be able to pay your fees.’
There was a look of disbelief on Stonex’s face as he asked what he meant. Bradfield went into detail about the money that had been stolen by Julie Ann from her father. He explained how £2,780 was found in Terry O’Duncie’s room and the serial numbers on a total of £1,380 worth of different-denomination notes matched to the list provided by the bank. He added that the stolen banknotes were now all at the Yard being treated for fingerprints to be checked against those of their two victims, Mr Collins and O’Duncie himself.
‘Nearly half the money seized is stolen and the rest believed to be the proceeds of drugs, so that leaves your client without a pot to piss in and facing a charge that he murdered Julie Ann Collins for the money.’
‘So you’re saying you won’t be restoring the money?’
‘Correct, and he will also be charged with possession with intent to supply heroin and marijuana, and with various other drugs offences. No doubt with his previous he will be sent to prison for a long stretch, but should it transpire that any of the money’s legit then it could be restored to you as his solicitor.’
‘On the assumption-’
‘That we have ironed out the situation with your client’s false accusations regarding his broken nose and DS Gibbs stealing any money,’ Bradfield said and laid out the photographs of Julie Ann Collins’ body.
‘Your client has essentially denied knowing this victim as a close acquaintance, but as you’ve just heard we now have evidence to the contrary, not to mention her finger-prints in his bedroom at the squat. How you choose to break the good news to him is up to you.’
‘Well, I certainly think it’s time I had a serious conversation with him,’ Stonex replied, annoyed that he’d been made a fool of, not only by O’Duncie but also by Bradfield who was one step ahead of the game.
‘Good, WPC Morgan will escort you down to the cells.’
Cato Stonex hesitated but Bradfield pushed back his chair and stood up, checking his watch.
‘We can reconvene in say twenty minutes or so.’
Kath returned to Bradfield’s office a few minutes later and told him that Stonex was really pissed off with O’Duncie and the first thing he said was, ‘I don’t like being made to look like a clown, Terry.’
‘Well, let’s just hope he persuades O’Duncie to play ball. Otherwise we may still have unsolved murders on our hands.’
‘That was a stroke, sir, holding back about the girl being fifteen and Julie Ann’s fingerprints in the bedroom.’
‘I’ve never met her parents and haven’t a clue how old she is, but then neither’s Stonex. As for Julie Ann’s prints, well hopefully they might be there, but it wouldn’t prove he killed her,’ he said casually.
Kath knew he didn’t always play by the rules, but she’d never realized how canny he was and he’d certainly put the wind up Cato Stonex.
‘Do you think O’Duncie will confess now?’ she asked.
‘I fancy him more for killing Eddie Phillips, but to be frank there are some things that don’t add up with him and Julie Ann. If he killed her in that shithole squat for the money then it would more likely have been just after she ran off from her dad’s, but why bring her body all the way over to our patch? Why not dump or bury her somewhere out of town on the A40 or shove her in the canal like Eddie?’ He checked his watch again and stood up stretching and began pacing the room.
‘You want a cup of coffee?’ Kath asked, not wanting to question his valid points.
‘No thanks.’ He lit a cigarette and continued pacing up and down.
It was another ten minutes before two PCs escorted the handcuffed O’Duncie and Cato Stonex to Bradfield’s office. As they entered Stonex gave a discreet nod to Bradfield to indicate that his client was going to talk. The bruising from the broken nose had spread around O’Duncie’s eyes and he had fresh pieces of cotton wool plugged up each nostril. He was very subdued and sat next to Stonex opposite Bradfield and WPC Morgan.
Stonex handed over a short statement signed by O’Duncie in which he retracted all the allegations he had made against DS Gibbs and Bradfield, confessing they were a malicious attempt to get out of trouble. Bradfield asked Kath to take it through to WPC Tennison to give to A10 when they turned up to interview her. He waited for her to return before commencing the interview. He didn’t actually have to do so, but he liked watching the flash lawyer sweating and his client unable to keep his head up and look at him.
‘You are now aware of the serious charges against you, and we know you were intimate with Julie Ann Collins, so I suggest-’
