Scrap CH TWO part 43

CH TWO 43
Since the newspaper reports on the Great Train Robbery, when the phrase: ‘the accused made no comment’ when a question had been asked during interrogation it has become the favoured reply from any criminal during interview. However, instead of simply making no comment when asked a question the interviewee now responds with the phrase ‘no comment’ which annoys DS Staples more because of its inaccuracy than its uselessness.
Dave Cameron sits smirking at the policeman whose facial tic gives away the fact that he is getting nowhere with his inquiries. The duty solicitor has told his client to say nothing and Dave is happy to oblige. His father is Master of the Lodge this year and it seems whatever scrape his youngest son gets into the matter can be smoothed over, but the newly appointed detective sergeant has his values. He does not appreciate being confronted by a scrawny villain who thinks he is untouchable and continues asking the same questions over and over again, despite the obvious opinion of his junior colleague DC Ward who had the misfortune of going to school with this person and knows him all too well.
‘Mr Cameron,’ Staples begins for the umpteenth time, ‘you were stopped on the Sheppey Way at two forty five this morning and a search of your vehicle found a considerable amount of cannabis resin, to whit forty pounds in weight, hidden in the boot and door panels. You have the right to remain silent but you are not helping your case by doing so. The vehicle is registered in your name and you were alone in the vehicle when it was stopped. Now, we would like you to tell us how the said drugs came to be in your vehicle and where you got them from.’
Cameron has been inspecting his well-manicured nails, occasionally pausing to rub them against his expensive Levi jeans to enhance their polished sheen. He briefly turns his attention away from this task to stare into Staples’ eyes and utter his only reply: ‘no comment.’
Duty solicitor Brian Braddock puts down his pen and closes his notebook. ‘We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with this, do we?’ He asks, folding his arms and looking pointedly at the clock on the wall, which is testament to the fact they have been sitting here for nearly three hours. ‘Take him back to the cells,’ says Staples, ‘we’ll see if a few hours reflection helps your memory.’
As he is escorting Braddock to the exit, Staples says he will phone when they want him back but it won’t be for some time as the accused needs time to stew. ‘You won’t get anything out of him,’ warns Braddock, ‘I know his family of old and they won’t want me on the case; they’ll bring in their own man, Maurice Freeman. Good luck with your inquiries, you’ll need it with him on board.’ He shakes the detective’s hand and goes on his way.
Jim Staples is hoping that after a few hours in the cell Cameron will be more apt to talk. He returns from lunch in the canteen to find a note on his desk: ‘See me NOW’. The note is not signed but DI Roberts’ scrawl is unmistakeable. Staples adjusts his tie and knocks boldly on the door of his boss’s office. ‘Come in Jim,’ calls the familiar voice on the other side. Roberts indicates for his junior colleague to sit opposite him at his paper-strewn desk. ‘I understand you’ve brought David Cameron in for questioning in connection with a quantity of cannabis found in his car.’ Staples confirms that this is so, adding that the suspect is in custody waiting for his family ‘brief’ to arrive from London. ‘Yes, I had a telephone call from Mr Freeman half an hour ago; he should be here about three o’clock. The thing is,’ Roberts leans forward across the desk and lowers his voice, ‘he wants me to sit in on the interview. Do you have any objection to that?’ Staples is somewhat puzzled to hear this but says of course he has no objection. ‘Actually,’ adds Roberts, ‘Mr Freeman would rather prefer if I take over the case.’ Jim sits upright tries not to show his reaction but is obviously not happy to hand over the collar. He knows better than to argue with his senior however and says that will be fine.
Fuming, DS Staples returns to his office and calms himself by meticulously tidying every piece of paper, sharpening pencils and untangling the cable on the telephone. His first big case and his boss has stolen it from under his nose. The phone rings, making him jump. He composes himself and picks up the receiver. ‘A lady here to see you sir,’ announces the desk sergeant, ‘a Mrs Gloria Short, says she is the mother of a missing woman, Pamela Barton. Can you spare her a few moments?’
Jim almost runs downstairs to the waiting room where Gloria has been directed, proffers his hand and asks how he can help. ‘Well it’s my Pam, her old man said she went off after a row but I don’t believe him. I think she has come to some harm and I think it’s him what’s done something to her.’
‘What makes you believe this, Mrs Short?’ The woman hands over a green cardboard folder which he opens to reveal several sheets of A4 paper. ‘Each one of them is a statement from different people who know Pam and they all give different versions of what Barton would have people believe about her disappearance. Nobody has seen her since last August, she hasn’t been in touch with anyone, not a birthday card or Christmas card, nothing. It’s just not like her to go off anywhere; if she’d had enough of that brute she would have come home to me rather than simply disappear.’
Jim glances through the carefully typed sheets before closing the folder. ‘Can I hang on to this, Mrs Short? I’d like to make a few inquiries of my own and these could prove most helpful.’ The woman bursts into tears and she says between sobs: ‘thank you so much for believing me. I was afraid you’d dismiss my fears out of hand like that other fellow did, that posh bloke Roberts.’ Jim assures her he will take her concerns very seriously and thanks her for bringing in all the information and the photographs. ‘Don’t worry,’ he assures her as he shows her out, ‘if your Pamela is out there somewhere we will find her.’
Back in his office Jim sorts through the evidence Mrs Short has collected. She has been very thorough, tracking down anybody who has worked with Pam since she left school twelve years ago, noting all the necessary names, addresses and telephone numbers and, crucially, the various reasons for the young woman’s disappearance which have been offered by her husband. It makes intriguing reading and Jim is somewhat surprised to find it has taken up most of the afternoon.
He gets up from his desk to stretch his legs, looks out the window and sees his boss shaking hands not just with Maurice Freeman, but with his client David Cameron.