I Fought the Law (Dead Reckoning series - Part 37)

Continued from Episode 36 (Drive)

The story so far:  Josiah's 'on the rebound' romance with the woman he thought was his old flame, Jeanette DeVille, proved to be with her twin sister, Nenette, and led to him and Archibald being left for dead in the rapidly rising waters of the cellar of Evanley Hall.  The reappearance (very briefly) of Precious, the supposed daughter of Nenette, at the local chippy, has reenergised the police investigation, as has the discovery that the apparently mad old woman in the Estate cottage is actually the real Jeanette DeVille, heiress to Evanley Hall.  Meanwhile, on a 'rehabilitation' exercise, Josiah and Archibald have discovered the bodies of a man and a woman, apparently a joint suicide, who could well be Nenette DeVille and her 'butler' Hames, much to the interest of Detectives Wood and Stone:

D.I. Wood looked up from careful study of his Caribbean holiday brochure to see D.S. Stone hovering in the doorway to his office, clutching a file.  He looked like someone who was awaiting a particularly daunting dental procedure.
“Come on in, Stoney!” D.I. Wood bellowed, cheerfully, “You can make my day if you tell me that those two in the car are definite suicides”
“I’m sorry, sir” D.S. Stone said, mournfully, “it doesn’t look like it.  Both were very heavily sedated, meaning they would have been unlikely to be able to even get into the car without help, let alone restrain themselves…”  D.S. Stone consulted the file before him.
“This is the official S.P. from the Pathologist, right?”
“Yes, sir.  On top of which, they had both been restrained in an identical manner and whilst it would be possible for one to have restrained the other…”
“…It’s just not possible that the second occupant could have tied their own bonds in the exact same way” D.I. Wood completed, dismally.
“Yes, sir, it’s just…well, a non-starter.  I’m sorry, sir, that’s what it says in the report” D.S. Stone closed the file and looked a picture of misery.
“Oh, bugger!” D.I. Wood sighed, “I’ll have to tell the gaffer”
“There’s also the possibility that we may be looking at a serial killer, sir” D.S. Stone ventured, timidly, edging back out toward the door.
“WHAT?” D.I. Wood looked at him open-mouthed, “How the heck do you come to that conclusion, and for God’s sake don’t let the gaffer hear you say that?”
“Well, look at it this way, we think the murder of the lad in the reservoir, Jimmy, might have been connected to that Precious DeVille, the one who went missing from the chip shop…”
“Yes” D.I. Wood agreed, slowly.
“And she’s a known associate of Nenette DeVille and that bloke, Hames…”
“Go on, Sergeant” D.I. Wood frowned.
“Well, if she did do for ‘Jimmy’ and now these two (if it is them) turn up dead…”
“Oh God!” D.I. Wood put his head in his hands, “I can’t tell the boss that, he’ll have a seizure”
“It’s just a possibility, sir” D.S. Stone attempted to soften the impact of the news.
“Yeah, well, it’s one I don’t want to think about, not just at the moment, thank you very much, Sergeant!”  D.I. Wood snapped.
D.S. Stone edged out of the office, gratefully.
Sometime later, as he was happily absorbed in checking off the few items they had recovered from the bungalow on his spreadsheet, he became aware of his boss looming over his desk.
“You’re not going to like this, Stoney” D.I. Wood began.
“What’s the problem, sir?” D.S. Stone responded, with trepidation.
“The boss wants us to bring our friend Josiah Oakshott and his oppo in for questioning”
“But, we’ve got their statements, sir, I don’t see what else they could add” D.S. Stone pointed out.
“No, Stoney, not as witnesses, as ‘persons of interest’” D.I. Wood looked thoroughly miserable.
“You’re having a laugh, sir!  On what basis?”
“On the grounds that they’ve got motive and opportunity” D.I. Wood shrugged, “Look, I’m no happier about it than you are, Stoney, but the gaffer says we should always look hard at whoever makes the discovery, and that applies even more to these two.  Plus, he says the public will expect to see someone brought in for questioning.”
“I’ll do it, sir” D.I. Stone snapped, dragging his jacket from the chair and struggling into it, “but I want it noted that I disagree, strongly”
“Duly noted, Sergeant”

* * * *

Josiah Oakshott sat on one of the hard chairs, in the sparse Interview Room, and gazed around at the blank walls.  There had to be a good reason as to why he was here, but, at the moment, he was at a loss to think what it might be.  At that moment, D.I. Wood stalked into the room, accompanied by a younger, female colleague.  He sat down heavily on the chair opposite Josiah, threw a file on the table between them and nodded to his colleague to start the tape recorder.
“The time is 15.02, this is an Interview with Josiah Oakshott” He intoned, “Present: Myself, Detective Inspector Wood, my collegue…” He nodded to the companion,
“Detective Constable Ryecroft” She supplied, leaning slightly toward the tape recorder.
“And…” D.I. Wood looked at Josiah, expectantly,
“Oh, erm, Josiah Oakshott” Josiah said, looking thoroughly confused.
“Thank you.  Now the purpose of this interview is…” D.I. Wood began, but was interrupted by a knock on the door, “Yes, what is it?”  He snapped.
“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Mr. Oakshott’s legal representative is here” D.S. Stone grinned and nodded amiably to Josiah.
“Legal rep…you never told me you had asked for a brief!” D.I. Wood said, “I wouldn’t have started this, if I’d known that”
“In all honesty, Inspector, it is news to me, too” Josiah said, “but, I must say, I was somewhat surprised at the formality of this interview for what is, surely, simply an evidence-gathering exercise”
“Ah no” D.I. Wood shifted in his seat, uncomfortably, “I thought you had been informed.  Your position in our inquiry has changed somewhat.  You are no longer just a witness; we are now treating you as a ‘person of interest’”
“I’m a what?” Josiah looked shocked.
“Your brief will explain” D.I. Wood got up from the desk and gathered his papers, “shut the recorder off, Constable, we’ll resume when Mr. Oakshott has had chance to catch up with his legal bod”
The door opened to admit an elderly man who, Josiah thought, looked remarkably like the actor Alistair Sim, only an Alistair Sim who was suffering from a severe hangover.  He tiptoed into the room as if afraid to make the slightest noise.
“Detective Inspector, I am Arnold Threadready, I will be acting for Mr. Oakshott in this matter” Mr. Threadready held out his hand and managed a thin smile.
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure, Mr. Threadready” D.I. Wood said, shaking the proffered hand.
“Ah no, this is not my preferred area of expertise, but needs must, Inspector, needs must” He produced a business card, “should you ever need assistance with any matter of conveyancing or probate, Threadready & Partners would stand ready to assist”
D.i. Wood took the card, shook his head and, with D.C. Ryecroft, filed out of the door.
“Now, Mr. Oakshott…” Mr. Threadready began, taking a seat beside Josiah and neatly placing a large A4 notepad and pen, on the table.
“Forgive me, Mr. Threadready, but I was unaware that I had a legal representative”
“Ah yes, indeed” Mr. Threadready nodded, “I too was surprised.  I was contacted by a colleague of yours, a, erm…” He consulted his notepad, “…a Ms. Knight.  She informed me that she had found our card in your address book”
“Threadready?” Josiah frowned, “Threadready? Oh, was it your firm that dealt with my late father’s probate”
“That was, indeed, the case sir.  Your late father and mine went back a very long way” Mr. Threadready nodded and smiled.
“And now you’re dealing with criminal law?”  Josiah looked surprised.
“Well, no, not exactly” Mr. Threadready squirmed in his seat, “to be entirely honest, Mr. Oakshott, probate and conveyancing are my ‘bread and butter’ as it were.  I have precious little experience of criminal matters but, we shall prevail, sir, we shall prevail.  Now then, with what have they charged you?”  He sat with his pen poised over the notepad.
“Charged me?  They haven’t ‘charged’ me with anything” Josiah replied, indignantly, “I have, however, been informed that I am considered to be a ‘person of interest’”
“Ah, is that so?” Mr. Threadready nodded and made a note.
“What would your advice be?” Josiah asked.
“Why sir, I would say…nothing”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing at all, sir.  You see, they will seek to lure you into saying something that might incriminate you”
“But, I can’t incriminate myself.” Josiah shook his head, “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Ah, indeed, sir” Mr. Threadready gave Josiah an exaggerated wink, chuckled slightly and made a further note.
“I haven’t!” Josiah protested, “Just a minute, Archibald was brought in at the same time as me, does he have legal representation?”
“Ah, that would be Mr. erm,” Mr. Threadready consulted his notes, “Thurble, yes, that’s it.  Yes, I can confirm that he has the good offices of my nephew, Jasper”
“Oh really?  Well, that’s all right then” Josiah groaned, with his head in his hands.

* * * *

In an adjoining Interview Room, Archibald was staring in wonderment at the young man sitting beside him.  He had, so far, covered most of the table with ring folders and books, periodically knocking some onto the floor as he repositioned others.
“You’re my legal wotsit then, are you?” Archibald asked.
“Yes, yes, indeed” The young man nodded, vigorously, “Threadready & Partners, Jasper Threadready at your service” He held out a somewhat worn-looking business card.
“It says ‘ere, probate and conveyancing, what’s all that when it’s at home?”
“Erm, well, probate is Wills, in short, and conveyancing is dealing with property sales and purchases” Jasper explained.
“What about murders?”
“To be absolutely honest, I have had little experience of criminal law since I qualified…” Jasper began.
“When was that, then?” Archibald asked, studying the business card.
“March of this year” Jasper admitted, “but, actually, you are in luck!  As I have only just finished my studies, the topic will be so much fresher in my mind than, say, that of my Uncle, for example, who is representing the interests of your Mr. Oakshott”
“Oh, right” Archibald cheered up a bit.
“All I’ve got to do is find my Course Notes” Jasper said, scrabbling through his collection of ring folders, “Ah, here we are!” He announced, turning a section divider over, “Oh!”
“Problem?” Archibald asked, with foreboding.
“Yes, a little” Jasper nodded, “it would seem that Criminal Procedure was dealt with in the term when I was hospitalised with appendicitis” Jasper indicated the ring folder with a paltry single sheet of paper in that section.  “However, nil desperandum, as they say!”
“Was it?  Who were they playing?”  Archibald asked, now thoroughly confused.
“By which I mean, Mr. erm” Jasper managed to sneak a look at his notes, “Mr. erm Furball, that there’s bound to be something in one of these text books” He began rooting through the pile of books, causing a partial landslide.
“Would it be easier to just plead ‘guilty’?” Archibald asked, looking very concerned.
“Good heavens, no!” Jasper shook his head, vigorously, “Wherever would the legal profession be if we all took that attitude, eh, Mr. Furball?”

You can find a lot more from Josiah and Archibald, including the prequel novel to this series, in The Undertakers collection.

Now read Part 38