Devil in the Detail A.J. Cross (read full novel .TXT) 📖

Forge Street and work outwards in the direction of the intersection. You talk to everybody—’

Jones looked at his colleagues, back to Watts. ‘We have, Sarge. Nobody knows anything.’

‘This is different. I want you asking a couple of specific questions of everybody you see: residents, shopkeepers, the homeless, Big Issue sellers, people in workplaces, anywhere else where there’s people. You ask every single one of them to think back to a couple of days either side of the Lawrence shooting. Do they recall seeing anybody around that time who looked like he didn’t belong, whose face didn’t fit for whatever reason. Ditto, for any car seen passing through or parked.’

Jones and Kumar exchanged glances. ‘You want us asking the same of everybody in that whole area, Sarge?’ asked Jones.

‘You’ve got it. You and these four know it well by now. This is a new phase of the inquiry. It’s targeted. Keep your questions brief. You’re not after anyone’s life story. You don’t need more than two or three direct questions. You ask them, you record the responses, you move on.’ He paused, aware that what he was about to say wasn’t part of Traynor’s view of this phase. ‘While you’re at it, ask another, general question. What do they know about street crime such as attempted carjackings around the area? Plus, anybody who might have started carrying a weapon. Any sort of weapon.’

They quickly wrote, Jones looking at Watts.

‘From what Will Traynor said, I thought the idea of a connection to the carjackings had been knocked on the head.’

Watts eyed him. ‘Who’s SIO of this investigation?’

‘You are, Sarge.’

‘Glad we got that sorted. We’ve got no motive for the Lawrence shootings so I’m ruling nothing out.’

‘There’s a lot of weapons about, Sarge,’ said Kumar. ‘People around there will be leery of volunteering anything for fear of reprisals. They stick together in those sorts of areas.’

Watts slow-walked to him. ‘How long is it since you started here, Kumar?’

‘Ten months, Sarge, straight from training.’

‘How much inner-city investigative work have you done?’

‘Not much.’

‘Then you’re in for a surprise, lad. That area is close-knit. The people who live and work there are no different from people in any other area. Yes, some might not give a toss about what’s going on around them, but there’s plenty of others that do. They’ve got homes there that they value, kids they need to protect, they’re as sick of crime as anybody else and a lot of them are public-spirited. Get an early start tomorrow morning on what I’ve just said. Your focus is the Lawrence shootings, but keep alert for anything which might relate to the carjackings. If there’s any problem talking to the Asian population, you lead on it, Kumar.’

Kumar stared up at him. ‘Me? Why me? I know my way around a takeaway menu but that’s about it. Like my mom and dad, I was born in West Brom.’

Watts sighed, rubbed his eyes. ‘Right. Take interpreters with you. Our area of inquiry is now extended to people living and/or working between the Lawrence scene and the Bristol Road.’

Watts came into his office to find Traynor sitting at his desk, long legs stretched, arms folded, looking like he had a lot on his mind. ‘Officers will be out early, speaking to residents like you suggested.’ He paused, then looked across at the maps. ‘It’s not a big area but there’s a lot of people. It’ll take more than six.’

Traynor stood. ‘It could be a good return in terms of the data they collect. When Julian has analysed it, it might throw up motives we haven’t yet considered.’

Watts was reviewing what he’d just told his officers, the order he’d given them to ask questions about carjackings. He had wanted Traynor on this investigation because he was good – he knew what he was doing. Which didn’t mean that Watts would be swayed from the direction he believed it had to go, in the absence of a convincing reason why it shouldn’t. He looked at him. It was time for straight talking. And Traynor wasn’t going to like it.

‘You and me are from different worlds, Will, and very occasionally I get a sharp reminder of it. You can take your time, choose your theories, work to prove or disprove them. It’s all the same to you because everything you come up with might be of interest, might be relevant. That doesn’t work for me. I don’t have the luxury of time to chase whatever appeals, the “what-ifs”. My job is about getting evidence, following it, identifying potential suspects, making a case, and while I’m doing that, the clock is ticking. In the absence of specific evidence to the contrary, I’m continuing to run the carjacking cases alongside the Lawrence investigation.’

Getting no response, he said, ‘And while we’re discussing it, what the Lawrence shootings are still telling me is that whichever cretin is responsible, he did it for one simple reason: the Lawrences were there, they looked well-off, he wanted their stuff and the situation turned lethal. It’s a tragic but common enough story.’

‘What’s needed for both of us to be on the same page with this investigation?’ asked Traynor.

‘Evidence. Something concrete that tells me the Lawrence shootings aren’t what I think they are: mindless acts of physical destruction motivated by greed.’ Watts watched Traynor head for the door. ‘Let me have the date you agree to see Molly Lawrence again. Make it soon, yeah?’

TWENTY

Monday 17 December. 8.45 p.m.

Traynor was at his university window, looking at the inner city far below shrouded in mist, watching ghost vehicles surge, stop, surge again along tangled ribbons of roads. To him, it reflected the progress of the Lawrence case. He had called Molly Lawrence at her home earlier. Her mother had answered, told him that Molly was unwell, that today had been a bad day. He had given Mrs Monroe two possible dates on which he could see Molly again. She had agreed to give them to her. He had rung Watts