Feeling a fresh rush of frustration he thought instead about how he’d like a joint now, so he could dream about Florida. If they pulled the job off, it was going to be a reality – first class all the way. As he slowly drifted off to sleep he thought about the risk of them being caught. He knew that he would never survive another prison sentence. It was a sad comfort, but nevertheless a decision he had made – if they failed he would take his own life.
On her journey to the station Jane couldn’t stop thinking about Dr Harker’s lecture. Her quiet evening at home with her mother after the wedding rehearsal had ended on a note of amusement when a drunken Pam had returned home, picked up a wedding magazine and started moaning that she was unsure about her choice of wedding dress.
Mrs Tennison had had to persuade Pam that it was too late now to change her mind.
‘It’s gorgeous and you’ve made the right choice. It’s just pre-wedding nerves.’
Jane had laughed and said to herself, wait until you see the state of my cleavage in my tight bridesmaid dress!
She had gone to her bedroom, leaving her mother and Pam to discuss the final details, bouquets and veils. For the first time in weeks she had not, as usual, gone straight to sleep. Instead she lay on her bed and thought about how she could use what she had learnt from the Harker lecture on the Julie Ann Collins case, especially as it helped to take her mind off the hideous bridesmaid dress.
Refreshed and eager to get back to work, Jane arrived at the station at 8 a.m. She was unsure whether DCI Bradfield would still want, or need her, to continue with the indexing of statements and information on the Collins investigation. She was about to knock on his door when Kath saw her in the corridor and scooted out from the incident room.
‘Shush, Jane, don’t wake him up. He’s having a kip in his armchair.’
They both went into the incident room and Kath continued to update Jane about Bradfield.
‘He didn’t finish in the mortuary until 2 a.m., and then he had to write up his report cos the DCS is on his back. He’s been here all night and God knows what time he eventually got to sleep. I’ve had a pretty rough night of it – Spencer Gibbs had me looking after Mrs Phillips after she threw a wobbly, but mind you I don’t blame her under the circumstances.’
Jane had a puzzled look on her face. ‘Kath, can you please slow down and start at the beginning as I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about regarding Mrs Phillips.’
‘Sorry, I totally forgot you were at Harker’s lecture yesterday. Bloody brilliant, isn’t he? Did you spot the crucial clue with the suspect’s trainers?’
‘Yes to the talk and no to the trainers. Tell me more about what’s been happening here.’
‘Well, it wasn’t exactly here, over at Regent’s Canal to be exact. Anyway get a couple of coffees and a bacon roll for us both, an egg in mine as well, and then I’ll give you the whole story,’ Kath said, handing Jane some money.
She returned from the canteen fifteen minutes later and listened intently as Kath told her everything that had occurred the previous evening concerning Eddie Phillips and his grandmother.
‘She was in tears but calm at first, well, more in a sort of catatonic shock, I’d say. Then when she ID-ed Eddie’s body at the mortuary she really went off on one, screamed her head off and went for poor old Spencer. Her personality change was unbelievable.’
‘Did she hit DS Gibbs?’ Jane asked with surprise.
‘Tried to slap him and then kicked him in the shins. It was quite funny as he was hopping about on one leg because it hurt so much!’
‘Why did she react like that?’
‘Do me a favour, Eddie’s face was bloated and discoloured from being in the water. Anyway she was convinced Bradfield and Gibbs had beaten him to death then dumped his body in the Regent’s Canal.’ Kath went on to explain how she’d had to restrain Nancy and get the police surgeon out to sedate her.
‘I felt so sorry for her I took her home and stayed the night with her. The drugs calmed her down, but she still had tears spilling down her cheeks and kept saying, ‘My poor little fella, what a waste.’ Eddie was all she had and even though he was a druggie she obviously loved him. She even told me that looking after him was what kept her going. Eventually she fell asleep, but when she woke up at the crack of dawn the drugs had worn off. She saw me as the enemy cos I was connected to Bradfield and Gibbs. She screamed that she’d tell the papers and get a petition up from everyone on the estate about how the police had murdered her grandson.’
‘What happened then?’ Jane asked.
‘She told me to eff off out of her flat, so I did before she went for me as well.’
‘Regent’s Park is a bit off Eddie’s usual patch for shooting up, isn’t it? From what I read he normally used the squat on the Pembridge,’ Jane remarked.
Kath cocked her head to one side, noting Jane’s use of ‘shooting up’, proving that she had picked up the drug lingo Kath had explained to her.
