Adrian was sitting in the incident room waiting for DCI Kapoor; she had asked him to meet her a few minutes before the briefing started. Getting in trouble came naturally to Adrian.
DCI Kapoor walked into the room and sat opposite Adrian.
‘I’m sure you know what I am about to say to you, DS Miles.’
‘Corrigan called you?’
‘No, Corrigan’s solicitor did. He said if you continue to harass his client then you will have to take the consequences.’
‘So, investigating someone is considered harassment now, is it?’
‘It’s a fine line and it’s not one I am sure you know how to walk.’ She raised her eyebrow at him.
‘Thanks.’
‘Your instincts are rarely wrong, but that’s not enough. We have to follow the law. If we don’t, the system breaks and then where would we be? That’s a rhetorical question; you don’t need to answer. You need to learn to colour inside the lines.’
‘Corrigan is bad,’ Adrian said. ‘I pulled his wife’s broken and bloodied body from the water; I watched his employee drive a knife into his own heart rather than speak out against him. What kind of man instils that kind of fear in people? Who else has he hurt? What other hideous things has he done?’
‘Let’s pull his life apart: legally, financially, any way we can. If he is doing something bad, we will find it. You are not a stupid man, Adrian. You must know that going at this all gung-ho isn’t going to help. Every time you have done that before it’s landed you in trouble. Learn from your mistakes.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t make me regret trusting you,’ Kapoor said.
Imogen, DI Walsh and Gary walked in. Gary linked his computer to the magic whiteboard display screen and started typing, pulling up reports too fast for anyone to read them. Imogen sat next to Adrian.
‘I have some information,’ Gary said.
‘Don’t keep us in suspense, Tunney,’ DCI Kapoor said.
‘Fiona Merton’s DNA sample confirms that without doubt, the body recovered from the River Exe is in fact Simon Glover, so that’s one question off the list. Forensics went through his flat and said that it was most likely the crime scene. They got no evidence from it, not even Glover’s fingerprints, which is highly irregular. As you suggested, it’s been cleaned, but the black light showed some trace blood in the creases of the laminate floor. Not enough to test, but enough to signify that it was there. After looking at Glover’s financials we found that he removed all of his savings from the bank three days before we found him.’
‘How much was that?’ Adrian asked.
‘Seventeen grand; he had been saving that since he was a teenager by the looks of it. Probably for a deposit on a place; his flat was rented.’
‘Angela Corrigan said he was trying to help her. We didn’t recover any money at the scene, so where do you think that might be?’ DCI Kapoor said.
‘Either whoever physically assaulted them took it, or Glover had it stashed somewhere,’ DI Walsh said.
‘Well, it wasn’t in his flat. That place was cleaner than a hospital. Karen Bell said there was no trace DNA at all. Nothing. That’s very difficult to achieve,’ Gary said.
‘Corrigan has swathes of employees and plenty of money to boot. We know he can get people to do what he wants. We also know that people are literally terrified of him. He has more than means – he also has plenty of opportunity. I think Glover’s death was a message to anyone thinking about crossing him,’ Adrian said.
‘Or, specifically, anyone thinking about helping his wife,’ Imogen said.
‘Do you think you could speak to Angela Corrigan again, DS Miles and DS Grey? If you go when he is out, then a confrontation should be avoidable. He has already started to make some unpleasant noises about being investigated, so we need to tread carefully. I think if we keep pushing gently, we might be able to get her in to make a statement. We absolutely need to get her to cooperate. If we don’t, then there is only one other way this ends and I don’t think any of us want that. I’ve seen enough domestic assault cases that end with a dead wife to last a lifetime. Speak to her again before it gets to that; we have to keep trying. Gently is the key, though. She’s scared and she doesn’t trust us.’
‘Thanks to PC Jarvis,’ Adrian said.
‘I looked at the BWV content and Jarvis did everything he was supposed to do,’ DCI Kapoor said.
‘And not a single thing more,’ Adrian said. He wanted to tell the DCI that Jarvis had switched off the camera and dropped the matter, but you didn’t win any points for grassing on your colleagues, especially without evidence.
‘I also looked into Leon Quick,’ Gary said. ‘He had money saved up, too – more than Glover – and I spoke to his former landlady in Exeter, who said he was a model tenant. Always paid the rent on time, kept the place spotless, even did some odd jobs around the building for her. When he told her he was leaving, she offered him a reduction in rent to stay on. He told her his mother was gravely ill and he needed to be home with her.’
‘Is his mother ill?’ DCI Kapoor asked.
‘Nope, she’s fine. He lied. The landlady said he didn’t even serve out his notice, but he paid until the end of the month of November. She said it was like he couldn’t get away from the place fast enough. We know his motive for leaving wasn’t financial, either, because he had some savings.’
‘I cornered Jimmy Chilton for five minutes while DS Miles was speaking to Corrigan and I think he might be softening,’ Imogen said. ‘He didn’t give me anything except the same old flannel, but there was something about his demeanour that was different. He confirmed Corrigan’s alibi, so they are both covered. But I don’t think we should cross him off as completely unhelpful just yet.’
‘So, to summarise,’ DCI Kapoor said. ‘We have no idea why Simon Glover was killed, but we think it was because he helped Mrs Corrigan, who possibly may have been trying to escape her husband. Then we have Leon Quick, who, to all intents and purposes, took his own life to stop us from learning the truth about something that happened at that bloody construction company – except we have no idea of what it was or who was involved. Then, of course, we have Angela Corrigan herself, who is less than cooperative. Are you following me so far?’
They all nodded and a few murmured yeses lingered in the air.
‘Our biggest problem is why. Saving Angela Corrigan is nice and all, but I just feel like there is more to it. Why do we think she went back to her husband?’
‘She could be scared of him, or she might feel the lifestyle she’s got used to isn’t worth jeopardising,’ Imogen said, raising her eyebrow.
‘She genuinely seemed scared of him when we spoke to her,’ Adrian said, annoyed at what Imogen was implying.
‘Unfortunately, your perception of the situation doesn’t really matter, Detective Miles. We need evidence. We need sworn testimony. Hunches don’t work in cases like this.’
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ Adrian said.
‘Miles and Grey? Take another run at the wife, see if you can get her to open up about what’s going on there. Tread carefully, please. DI Walsh, I would like you to coordinate with Tunney. Go through the construction company’s financials and any public information that could be of use to the investigation. Feel free to delegate.’
‘Thank you, Ma’am,’ DI Walsh said.
‘Let’s get this bastard and let’s make sure that once we have him, he is going nowhere. I have seen too many domestic abuse cases in my career where the victim goes back to the perpetrator, only to be found dead later down the line. Chop-chop.’ DCI Kapoor clapped them into action.
Adrian got up and walked out, feeling a little personally attacked, as if everyone thought he couldn’t hold his temper and be professional about this. Like he somehow needed a babysitter.