When Imogen arrived at Jimmy Chilton’s house with Walsh, they had to ring the doorbell several times before there was a response. His car was parked alongside the house, in front of the garage. He looked behind them, past the front gate and at the road, checking for something or someone before ushering them inside.
Without even asking, Imogen could tell he lived alone. It was a clean and tidy place but there was something missing. Just like in her house, she supposed. You could tell when a person only had themselves to look after. He had a photo of himself with a couple of teenagers on his wall, grown-up children, no pictures of a wife anywhere. It was an old photo – she could tell by the plumpness in his face that had all but disappeared now.
‘What is it you want?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know what kind of man you are, Mr Chilton, what kind of person,’ DI Walsh began. ‘We believe your boss was involved in the murder of Simon Glover. Whether or not he did it himself is another question, but so far we have found plenty of people who have told us he is no good but no one willing to elaborate.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘So, you’re happy with the way he does things? Or are you just scared of having an accident at work if you speak up against him?’ Imogen pushed.
‘He’s a tough boss but no, I’m not scared of him,’ Chilton said unconvincingly.
‘What are your thoughts on Angela Corrigan?’ Walsh said.
‘Nice woman, no real thoughts beyond that,’ he said, avoiding eye contact.
‘You’ve never seen her with a black eye? Or worse? I don’t believe that for a second; I only met her a few weeks ago and I’ve seen it more than once. Is that kind of thing OK with you?’ Imogen said.
‘Look, I don’t know about that. Angela doesn’t come to the site very often and I don’t poke my nose where it doesn’t belong.’
‘How long have you known Reece Corrigan?’ Walsh said.
‘About nine years. I got a job with him not long after the company moved down here.’
‘Moved down from where?’ Imogen asked.
‘Shropshire, around ten years ago.’
‘That’s a long way to move. Do you know why?’ Imogen said, watching his face for any sign of reaction.
‘Sorry, no.’ Chilton said.
She believed him.
‘I bet you’ve seen some things over the years,’ Imogen said.
‘I can’t help you.’
‘It’s not us you would be helping. We could walk away; we don’t have enough evidence to prosecute. You could all go back to whatever is going on at that construction site, in that world you all live in. Until the next person dies … might even be you,’ Imogen said.
‘There’s nothing to tell.’ Jimmy squirmed.
‘How does a man like him get so powerful?’ Imogen said.
‘I don’t know what you want from me.’
‘I was talking to Leon Quick when he killed himself. Picked up a knife off his kitchen counter and stabbed himself in front of me because of something that happened while he was working for Corrigan Construction. Why would anyone do that to themselves without good reason? Considering how close Corrigan usually keeps you, I am going to bet you know a lot about the kind of things he does to people who cross him. How about I just tell him that you’ve decided to talk to us? I could go back there now and say you were giving us a statement,’ Imogen said.
She stared straight at Chilton, who was visibly sweating. She made a move for the front door.
‘Wait!’ Chilton said.
‘What is it?’ Imogen said.
‘Don’t. I don’t know anything. I’ve got nothing to do with any of it,’ Chilton said desperately.
‘If you don’t know anything then what exactly is it that you have nothing to do with?’ Imogen said, staring at him, making it almost impossible for him to look away.
‘I was away when Quick left. He didn’t get fired, though, that’s all I can tell you. Corrigan made me put that in his and Glover’s file. I made up all the stuff about them being shit workers, too. They weren’t. Glover did something that pissed Corrigan off. I swear, I don’t know what it was. I would wager it was something to do with Angela, though. She is a real trigger for his temper.’
‘So we’ve seen,’ Walsh said.
‘What about Leon Quick?’ Imogen said.
‘I really don’t know any specifics. But he left suddenly. I overheard Reece on the phone talking to someone about teaching him a lesson, though. I think all he did was make a couple of jokes that Reece didn’t approve of. If it was something else, then I didn’t hear about it. As for what lesson he taught him, I have no idea what it was.’
‘And you have no idea why Quick killed himself?’ Walsh said.
‘He used to make a lot of jokes around the site; one of those people who always goes for the gag, if you know what I mean. He said a couple of things about Angela that got back to Reece. I genuinely don’t know what happened, but Quick took a week off work. He only came back for a few days before leaving and moving back in with his parents.’
‘How was he when he came back?’ Imogen said.
‘He wasn’t cracking jokes anymore, that’s all I know. After he left I assumed it was something to do with Reece. I saw Angela around that week, too. She had her arm in a sling,’ Jimmy said apologetically, looking down at his feet.
‘I’d like you to come in and make a statement about Glover and Quick,’ Walsh said.
‘I won’t. If Reece finds out about this …’
‘So, we tell him you told us anyway. What do you think will happen to you then?’ Imogen said.
In many ways, Chilton was on the brink of telling them everything they wanted to know. He clearly wasn’t as strong as Angela, or as conflicted. Imogen just had to find the right button to push. In this short time of questioning she had already cracked him a little.
‘Come on, that’s not fair.’
‘Life’s not fair, Mr Chilton. That’s why we have to stop people like Corrigan from getting away with it. He’s literally ruining other people’s lives. How long before he turns on you?’ Walsh said.
‘I swear to God, I don’t know anything about what happened to Glover or Quick. I’ve told you everything. I had nothing to do with that. I only deal with stuff to do with work. I don’t get involved in any of Corrigan’s extra-curricular activities.’
‘But you must know something. Was he always like this? Has he been like this since you started?’ Imogen said.
‘He doesn’t like being told he can’t have something and the only people who say no to him get hurt. I think maybe he’s come to think that he is untouchable and to be honest with you, it certainly seems that way.’
‘What if that was your daughter? Don’t you think Angela’s father wanted more for her than this?’ Imogen pointed to the picture on his wall.
‘We will still need a statement from you,’ Walsh said.
‘If he finds out then I’ll lose my job. He is really big on loyalty. He can make it so no one else will hire me again.’
‘By orchestrating an accident so you lose a limb?’ Imogen said.
‘I don’t know anything about those accidents, I swear. He doesn’t come to me about things like that.’
‘Who does know about those accidents? Who might Corrigan confide in aside from you?’ Imogen asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘That’s not good enough.’ Imogen moved towards the door again.
‘I can find out!’
‘How?’ Walsh said.
‘I spend most of my days in the Portakabin on the main site going through admin and making calls, but I could ask around. See who he’s been talking to.’
‘How do we know we can trust you?’ Walsh asked.
Chilton hesitated for a moment before glancing at the picture of his daughter again.
‘She deserves better than him, you’re right. It might take a while; I don’t want him to get suspicious.’
‘OK, we’ll give you some time to get the information and then you need to tell us everything you know,’ Walsh said.
‘I will. I’ll try.’
‘I wouldn’t tell anyone about this arrangement, if I were you. Not even Angela. You could get hurt and we need you to help us build a case against him.’
‘I’m not stupid. Please, you had better go.’
‘Don’t leave town,’ Walsh said.
They left the house and walked back to the car. Imogen looked back over to Chilton’s house and saw the curtain moving. He was watching them, waiting for them to leave. Had he really decided to help them out or was it all just an act to get them off his case? Was he going to run straight to Corrigan and tell to protect himself? Or was he going to do what they asked? Only time would tell.