Contents ( 83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
‘Wad’ you fink? Did I look like I fancied a fuckin’ swim?’
‘Then what was it, Mr Penfold?’ Levy asked. She could not believe the direction this had taken, but she was determined to follow it to the end. ‘You were so desperate to get off of that boat that you nearly killed two people. One of them probably will die. And you jumped from the top deck. Nearly one hundred feet. What was all that for? What were you running from?’
‘Oh, tha’s clever.’ Penfold’s voice had dropped. It was deeper. Almost conspiratorial. ‘Is that what this is? You accuse me of somefin’ massive so I’ll start talkin’? So I use somefin’ else as an alibi? What kind of a mug d’you take me for, eh? Eh?’
Levy glanced at Chadwick, who again shook his head. Penfold’s last question had clinched it. The man was telling the truth and it felt like a punch to the gut.
‘I’ve no interest in anything else you might or might not have done, Mr Penfold. We’re here to find whoever killed Longman and Blunt. If we’re to count you out as a suspect then we need to know. What were you running for if it wasn’t Phillip Longman and Adam Blunt?’
‘YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT IT WAS ABOUT!’
Penfold bellowed the words, slamming his cuffed hands on the table as he shouted. It must have sent an agonising jolt through his injured shoulder, Levy observed.
‘THEY WERE YOUR PEOPLE THAT TRIED TO STOP ME. YOU KNOW WHY THOSE COPPERS WERE THERE. SO DON’T TAKE ME FOR A FOOL!’
Levy looked towards Chadwick. It was her turn to be confused, and Chadwick had no explanation to offer; he seemed even more bewildered.
She turned back to Penfold. Her heart had started to race with the implications of his last words.
‘What “coppers”, Wisdom? The two people you hurt on the boat? Or someone else?’
Levy could not hide her concern or her confusion. She heard it in her voice, and from the ugly smile that now tugged at Penfold’s lips she knew that he could read it on her face.
And she could tell that he was suddenly enjoying every moment.
‘Are you saying that the man and woman were police officers? Or have you hurt someone else?’ The desperation was still there, impossible to hide. And Levy did not even try. The entire agenda had shifted. Longman and Blunt were no longer Levy’s first concern. The safety of other police officers had taken their place.
‘Have you hurt someone else?’
Penfold’s smile only widened in response to Levy’s raised voice. He shook his head in amusement and fixed his eyes on Levy’s. But he made no attempt to answer.
And nor will he, Levy thought. Not when he thinks he has the upper hand.
‘This interview is suspended.’
Levy reached across Chadwick and pressed ‘stop’ on the tape machine. She stood up and opened the door to the interview room where two Essex Police officers stood guard. They were big men. Neither as large as Penfold, but enough for an injured, handcuffed man.