‘It wasn’t me,’ Danny Smedley said, looking panicked at the prospect of being questioned about Ellie Mason’s death. But Ruby knew better than to be lured in by his pleas of innocence. She breathed in the faint smell of cheap paint that hung in the inoffensive room: the result of some recent prison renovations.
Danny was currently being detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure pending trial for the murder of Lisa Caldwell. He was a different picture to the outspoken man she and DC Ash Baker had encountered in Shoreditch police station. Now, as they sat across from him for the second time, Danny’s arrogance melted away. So too had his long hair and shaggy beard. Clad in a grey prison issue tracksuit, a buzz cut exposed slivers of white lines on his scalp as old scars were revealed. Ruby wondered if he was wearing them as a badge of honour now he had returned to prison.
She, on the other hand, had worn her smartest designer suit, teaming it up with a pair of sharp black heels in the hope of being taken seriously. Her work wardrobe usually consisted of blazer jackets, tight-fitting black trousers and whatever blouse was clean on that day. Her Ted Baker tailored suit was reserved for special occasions only, and today she felt as if she meant business. She loosened the single button of her jacket.
DC Ash Baker was by her side, having both gone through the rigmarole of searches and scanners as they arrived. Police officers were checked the same as everybody else gaining entry, much to Ash’s disconcertion. The short first account interview was designed to accomplish the facts quickly while they awaited the autopsy results of their latest murder victim. Timing was everything, although Ruby had been warned it was impossible to ascertain the exact time of death, checking out Danny’s alibi would give them something to go on in the meantime.
Danny’s lips parted in an anguished moan, his yellowed teeth exposed as he pleaded his innocence from across the table. ‘You’re not pinning that on me.’
Ruby had heard of his change of plea. The evidence had mounted up against him, and his solicitor would have advised pleading guilty in the hope of a shorter sentence. Given the crime, Ruby hoped that was unlikely to occur.
‘So where were you on the night of Ellie’s murder?’ she said.
He took a deep breath, exhaling his words. ‘I was in the hostel. This is the honest to God truth. I didn’t kill that girl.’
‘Killed which girl?’ Ruby said, wondering if he could remember the name of the life he had snuffed out.
‘Neither of them.’ He rubbed the bristles of his shaven head. ‘I coughed to that Lisa bird because I was on a promise, but I’m not owning up to this, no way. I’m no serial killer.’
Ruby’s grimace was set by the disgust she felt inside. ‘So let me get this straight. You denied murdering Lisa then pleaded guilty. Now you want to change your plea to not guilty?’
‘Yes. I didn’t kill either of those girls.’ Danny’s voice rose an octave. ‘Speak to the hostel, I. . .’ His voice trailed away and his eyebrows knit together in a frown. ‘Ask the black woman on reception, the one with the dreads – she’ll remember me.’
‘If we find forensics on Ellie after you plead not guilty to her murder, the judge will come down hard.’
‘You won’t find nothin’ belonging to me.’ Danny shifted in his chair. In the distance, a bell shrilled – a reminder of the schedule that would rule his life for years to come.
‘What did you mean when you said you were on a promise?’
‘I came across Lisa in the park. Her body was still warm. At first I thought she was passed out, drunk. I was a bit bladdered meself, you see. . .’ He cleared his throat. ‘I took her jewellery. I figured she didn’t need it anymore. I didn’t kill her, I swear.’
‘Are you taking the piss?’ Ash said. His complexion had taken on a deep pink hue. Up until now, he had seemed happy to remain silent, scribbling Danny’s responses onto his notepad.
Ruby glanced at her colleague, whose knuckles had curled over his pen. Repressed anger oozed from every pore. But Ash had dealt with murderers and abusers many times in his career. Why was he letting it get to him now?
Danny glanced from Ash to Ruby. ‘It’s true.’
‘So why did you change your plea?’ Ruby said, willing to humour him.
‘Because I had a message from someone you don’t say no to. He said he’d look after me if I coughed to Lisa’s murder. I figured I was already in the frame, so I agreed.’
‘Who?’ Ruby said, her brows knitted in confusion. Just what was Danny Smedley playing at now?
‘I can’t tell you who it was. That’ll get me killed.’
‘So you’re telling me you confessed to rape and murder because someone pressured you into it?’
Danny shrugged. ‘I get hot meals, a bed for the night, and that lovely lady from the church comes and visits me.’
Ruby’s face soured. She placed her clenched fists on the table, leaning forward as she stood. It took every ounce of her self-restraint not to smack him in the face. ‘You don’t feel the slightest bit of remorse, do you? How much pain is this going to cause the victim’s family if they’ve got to watch this go to a full trial? The least you can do is plead guilty and put them out of their misery.’
He glanced around the bare walls. ‘I was all ready to, until you tried to pin this other murder on me. I swear, I’m telling you the truth.’
Ruby sat back as she mulled things over. She glanced at Ash, who responded by rolling his eyes. But a small voice niggled at the back of her brain. There was something eerie about the way Lisa’s body had been laid out. Arms outstretched, hair splayed. And then there was the unnatural curve of Ellie’s chest. Latest updates stated she had received stitches, which suggested a recent operation. This was information not yet made public knowledge.
With both Lisa and Ellie’s autopsies due soon, Ruby needed to get back. What if Danny Smedley really was telling the truth? What if the killer was still loose on the streets?