Gina stood, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Fabien’s violence for the second time that day. ‘You’re a violent man, would you say so, Mr Stone?’
‘No, no, no. You lot are framing me.’
Gina had a flashback to Briggs threatening to frame Stephen a few years back, but that was to protect her. Knowing that Briggs had done something wrong was filling her head with thoughts, and she didn’t like them. Briggs was forensically aware and he’d been in some sort of trouble and Brodie couldn’t go into detail. But they had let Briggs go, for now. He had an alibi for the kidnapping of Lindy. She tapped her feet nervously on the floor. Briggs still hadn’t messaged and she shouldn’t call him. Her mind bounced to the article they’d found under Craig and Justine’s bed. Briggs could not break into two separate buildings to plant evidence and be involved in killing two people and organising the kidnapping of another. Or could he? ‘Did you murder Kain Pickering?’
‘No.’
‘Where’s Lindy Pickering?’ It had to be him, not Briggs.
‘I don’t know.’
His solicitor stood. ‘Stop, my client needs a break. He’s been more than cooperative with you. Either charge him or let him go.’
‘We still have twenty-two hours left and he will be charged for assaulting a police officer after hitting me in the jaw earlier. Do you need a break, Mr Stone?’
‘No.’
‘What happened when Kain came by to speak to Sheena? Did you tell him that a real man will do anything it takes? Are you a real man? Did you permanently remove Kain from Sheena May’slife? Did Craig Crawford help you? Where is he?’ She was going over it all again in the hope that he’d slip up soon.
There was a knock at the door. Jacob spoke for the tape. ‘Interview paused at twelve thirty-eight.’
She stood and opened the door to Wyre, and stepped out, letting the interview room door slam before speaking quietly to Wyre. ‘What is it?’
‘We’re interviewing Sheena at the moment and she slipped up and told us that when Kain came to hers verbally attacking her and Mr Stone, Mr Stone punched him in the chest then kicked him to the floor. She started crying, saying she didn’t want to get him into trouble as in her words “he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”’ Wyre raised her brows. ‘Anyway, she said some of the neighbours came outside and it would only be a matter of time before someone told us what had happened. She said Mr Stone shouted that he was going to kill Kain and anyone else who dared to upset his wife-to-be and that he should also tell his piece of shit friend Zed to not pop by theirs looking for him again.’ Gina raised her brows at the mention of Zed. ‘Then she said he went on about how Kain’s family needs to keep out of her life now they’re not together anymore. Sheena got upset and they argued after Kain had gone because she said she regards Lindy as family. I’m heading back in there to resume the interview. I just thought you’d like to know all that.’
‘Thank you. That’s brilliant.’
Jacob started the tape again. ‘Interview resumed at twelve forty-three.’
Gina sat back, pausing for a moment and looking directly at Fabien Stone. ‘Tell me about when you assaulted Kain. You hit him and then you kicked him to the ground.’ Gina relayed everything Wyre had just said.
‘No comment.’ Fabien calmly sat back and bit the insides of his mouth but Gina could tell he was worried. ‘I’m endingthis farce now. No fucking comment.’ He paused and shouted at the top of his voice. ‘No comment, no more comments, no comment!’
FORTY-THREE
Gina sipped on a warm cup of chamomile tea in the hope that it would calm all her nerves. She’d tensed up while interviewing Fabien Stone and she was glad that he was back in his cell. On passing by she’d heard him hitting and kicking the door, claiming it was all a set-up and that he knew nothing about a blue metal bar. Exhaling, Gina knew that Fabien was well and truly in the picture but was he in it enough to take Briggs completely out of it. She needed to talk to him whether he wanted to talk to her or not. She had to know if he was involved.
O’Connor stepped into the kitchen. ‘Guv, I’ve just finished interviewing the girl, Keri. Her mother sat in on the interview and they’ve just left. Keri claims that the blood on Fabien’s coat was from a rat. She came in and screamed when she saw the creature escaping the broken trap under the boardroom table. Mr Stone apparently hit it with a hardback book, killing it. Apart from that, she didn’t tell us anything useful. Stone keeps himself to himself on the top floor of the building and the other debt collectors quite often work from home.’
Gina frowned. Keri had backed up Stone’s claim about the blood on his coat and she now had no doubt that they’d come across the blood-splattered hardback. The case was getting moredeflating by the minute. ‘Thank you for the update. Is Sheena still being interviewed?’
‘Wyre has just finished with her. I saw her heading to the incident room. As suspected Sheena is providing an alibi for Fabien Stone on the night of Kain’s murder and the other incidents.’
They’d partially ruled out Fabien with the rat blood but tests would still be done to corroborate his and Keri’s version of events, however Gina had no reason to mistrust what Keri had said. Fabien did know all their victims and the levels of violence he’d displayed couldn’t be ignored. There was still so much to untangle, none of it helping them to find out where Lindy was. Her stomach jumped at the thought of what the previous victims had been through. Both drowned within a short period of time after their attack. They needed a proper break in the case and she had to find it before it was too late. She thought of Lindy, just a few years younger than her. She couldn’t help but picture in her mind the terror she must be going through. She imagined being plunged into a tub full of water and not being able to breathe, then she gasped before carrying on down the corridor.
She headed to the incident room where Kapoor typed on a computer in the corner of the room. Wyre stepped in holding a pile of files that she placed next to Kapoor. ‘I’m just popping to the shop to grab some lunch. Do you want anything?’
Gina’s stomach churned with nerves and worry for their missing person but it was also screaming for her to eat more than a pear. She pulled a ten-pound note from her pocket and gave it to Wyre. ‘A tuna or egg salad would be great. Thank you.’
Wyre grabbed her coat and left.
On glancing at the names of the friend group and their husbands, Gina made separate notes on another board. There had to be another link she was missing. Their cropping up allover the investigation was no coincidence. She called Kapoor. ‘Anything from the appeal?’
‘Nothing, guv. Someone called about a red-haired man in Tesco car park but it wasn’t Craig, sadly. He’s like a ghost. Do you think he could be hurt? It just seems strange that no one has seen him.’
‘If I hadn’t seen those photos in his rental apartment, I’d have considered that.’ Again, she thought of Briggs. He’d know exactly how to get into an apartment to plant evidence. He could easily work out how to frame Fabien, too. A wave of nausea flashed through her body. No, there had to be something else she was missing. Actually, she had to speak to Briggs now and sitting around trying to make sense of everything without having that conversation was holding her back. She hurried outside and stood at the other end of the car park with her personal phone held to her ear while she hoped he’d answer. A chilly breeze whipped past her legs and up the back of her jumper. She shivered.
‘Gina. What is it? You’re not meant to call me on this phone. I told you.’
