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
‘Why would she be asking you?’
‘She’d come to ask Derek about him, really, because Derek was the barrister in Penfold’s case. But I saw her first and mentioned knowing a little about the guy. Just stuff Derek had told me back in the day. Anyway, what’s the news? They’ve got him?’
‘They’ve got Penfold, yeah. But he’s not a suspect any more.’
‘Really?’
‘Turns out he had the perfect alibi. He was under police surveillance when both Longman and Blunt were killed.’
For just a moment Michael seemed deflated. Sarah thought she knew why. The arrest of Longman’s killer would be the surest way to lift Reid’s spirits. It made Penfold’s innocence a disappointment.
‘Where does that leave Levy’s case?’ Michael asked.
‘Square one.’ Sarah felt dejected. As if the failure was somehow hers. ‘They’re no further forward than they were on day one. Penfold was the only viable suspect with a link to Longman and Blunt. With him gone, it’s back to finding someone with a motive from Longman’s past.’
‘That’s a lifetime of suspects,’ Michael said. ‘It could take them weeks to track every case.’
‘Maybe not weeks,’ Sarah replied. ‘Levy said they have a filter system. Criteria to let them concentrate on the most likely first. But there are no other links between the two. Longman didn’t act as judge for any of Blunt’s other clients. Not in cases that turned out badly, anyway. So it’s still a big job and her team is already stretched to breaking point.’
Michael nodded his understanding, but Sarah could see that his sharp mind was already moving on. It got there quickly.
‘Hang on,’ he said, looking at her quizzically. ‘What you just said about Blunt’s clients. What about the other defendants where Longman was the judge? The ones Blunt arrested?
‘What?’ Sarah was growing confused. ‘What do you mean arrested? Who did he arrest?’
‘Plenty of people, I’d have thought. Blunt wasn’t always a lawyer. Certainly not when I first knew him. Blunt used to be a cop.’
Sarah sat bolt upright. Michael’s revelation changed everything.
‘Which means it could be a case Blunt investigated. Rather than one he defended?’
‘Exactly,’ Michael replied. ‘I would have thought the police knew that, but if Levy wasn’t aware he was a cop then the parameters of her search could be excluding the wrong people. Her team might have found this guy already, only to dismiss him because Blunt wasn’t the lawyer.’
‘Jesus.’
Sarah thought for a moment. What Michael had told her could be the key to the case. A key that Levy would expect to be given. That was the arrangement. Sarah would help where she could, in exchange for an exclusive when the time came.
It was an arrangement that Elton had instructed her to end, but to hell with him. There were more important things than exclusives. More important things than her career.
Michael got to his feet while Sarah was still thinking and pulled on his jacket.