‘Yeah, but I give her some Quaaludes and she said she was gonna go and shack up with Eddie over at Hackney and arrange some deals with the clinic junkies. She said she’d be back and threatened me again if I tried to stitch her up.’
By now he was sweating so much his face was dripping and he kept on wiping himself with the sleeve of his shirt.
‘She only gave me £1,500 then left. I swear before God she left, man, and that was the last time I saw her. I never killed her, she left the squat a day or so before she was found dead. I can prove where I was: me and my girl went to the Chelsea Hotel, I even checked in under my real name.’
‘The underage girl you were with when we arrested you?’
‘Yes, but she told me she was eighteen… we spent some of the money Julie Ann had given me on a few nights there, expensive meals, champagne, and bought a load of clothes and shoes in Carnaby Street. We were in the hotel room when it was on the news that she was dead, man. I got scared shitless so I just lied cos I honestly dunno what happened to her.’
Bradfield felt like it was two steps forward and a big hole-in-one going back.
O’Duncie’s alibi had a ring of truth about it and could easily be checked out with the hotel and young girl. Feeling depressed Bradfield pulled out the photograph of Eddie Phillips from the envelope and pushed it towards O’Duncie.
‘So what happened with you and Eddie?’
The room was stinking from the sweating O’Duncie as he looked at the photograph. He yet again glanced helplessly to his solicitor.
‘Just answer the question, Terry,’ Stonex said.
‘He’d been at the squat a few times with Julie Ann. They were on the same drug-rehab programme where my sister worked. After Julie Ann died he turned up saying he was scared because you lot wanted him to give the name of the dealer they used.’
‘The dealer is the man known as Big Daddy? The man you planned to score off using Julie Ann’s money?’
O’Duncie reacted, and slowly nodded his head.
‘Yeah, all right, yeah, but I never met him, I swear on my life I dunno him and last I heard he got nicked in Manchester. I know he’s a fuckin’ nightmare if you cross him and Julie Ann was terrified of him. I only done business through his sidekick Dwayne, an’ he can get crazy, kicking your head in.’
There was a pause as O’Duncie swallowed and coughed before he continued.
‘Anyway, Eddie was fucked up when he come round to the squat, he was stinking of puke and crying. He said because Julie Ann had been murdered, he was being hounded by you lot, but he swore he’d never mentioned me.’
‘Did he say anything about Julie Ann being pregnant?’
‘Yes, but I knew it wasn’t mine as I never shag junkies without protection because of hepatitis, and it couldn’t be Eddie’s as he was a right little nerd. I didn’t know she was pregnant till Eddie said so, and Christ only knows whose it was as she was a right slag.’
‘Do you know if Big Daddy raped her?’
‘Not for certain, but it wouldn’t surprise me, having heard what he’s like.’
‘And how did Eddie end up in the canal, Terry?’
By now O’Duncie’s shirt was soaking wet with sweat, which ran in streams down the sides of his cheeks.
‘Look, I admit he was a pest, but he’d done me a favour by not telling you lot she used to stay at my crash pad. He wanted to hang out away from the heat, so I said he could stay for a few days. Someone in the house gave him a pair of my old trousers and a shirt and he left. If they give him any gear it wasn’t from me cos he had no cash.’
Bradfield sighed and drew back the photograph of Eddie and stacked it on top of Julie Ann’s.
‘We will check out your alibi. You will now be charged with drugs offences and be held in custody to appear at the Magistrates’ Court where we will ask for you to be remanded in custody. Kath, go get someone to help you take him down to the charge room with Mr Stonex, but open the fucking windows in here first.’
A few minutes later Kath returned with a uniform PC to assist her with O’Duncie. As they left the room Cato Stonex remained behind and said he wanted to have a quick word with DCI Bradfield.
‘You pulled a fast one and lied about speaking with the allegedly underage girl and her parents.’
Bradfield shook his head. ‘You’re long enough in the tooth to know how the game’s played, Cato; besides you were only worried you’d fucked up by interviewing a juvenile alone.’
‘We’re not so different: all said and done we both have a job to do.’
‘Maybe.’ Bradfield paused. ‘Where the hell did you get a name like yours from anyway?’
‘It’s a Saxon surname, Bradfield, and whether or not I like my Christian name is none of your bloody business.’
‘Right Cato, mate-o, it’s not my business but I don’t take bent money from drug dealers for payment.’
‘For what it’s worth I don’t think he killed Julie Ann and nor did Dwayne Clark.’
‘What! You met up with Dwayne?’
