Copeland gasped as she landed heavily on her back. She turned over and scrambled to her feet, picked up her baton and gave chase again, her trainers slipping on the wet grass.
‘You little shit,’ Copeland muttered, striking her baton hard against Elliot’s arm and pushing him to the ground. She dropped to her knees and turned a wittering Elliot around as the police liaison officer ran towards her.
Copeland straddled Elliot and grabbed hold of his left arm. ‘Elliot Fonseka, I’m arresting you for murder,’ she said.
‘Ow, you’re hurting me,’ screamed Elliot, his Manchester accent broad.
‘Shut up,’ Copeland ordered, grabbing his right arm and placing the handcuffs on his wrists as she cautioned him.
‘Tell her to let me go. She’s made a mistake,’ Elliot shouted as Copeland pulled him to his feet and handed him over to the police liaison officer.
‘I told you to shut up,’ Copeland repeated. She winced as she bent down and picked up her phone which had fallen out of her pocket and dialled Henley.
52
Elliot Viran Fonseka’s custody photo filled the smartboard. His thin-rimmed, black glasses were sitting unevenly on a face that looked resigned to its fate. Broken blades of grass were in his wavy salt and pepper hair.
Henley stepped back and took in all the contours and heavy jowls of Elliot’s face. She’d learnt a long time ago not to make assumptions about what a person would look like based on the crimes alleged against them, but Elliot surprised her. There was nothing striking about his appearance. He was someone who’d been born to walk through the world unnoticed.
‘He reminds me of Penfold fromDangermouse,’ said Stanford, who was perched on the edge of his desk with tea in hand.
‘He does a bit,’ Eastwood agreed.
Copeland walked into the room. A raw graze was visible on her left cheek and her eye was bruised and swelling.
‘How are you feeling?’ Henley asked.
Copeland removed the cold compress from her face. ‘I wasn’t expecting him to come out swinging like that,’ she said. ‘I shouldn’t have been surprised. He did make a run for it. So where are we with him?’
‘Right now, Fonseka is sitting in the cells at Lewisham. He’s been booked and samples have been taken,’ said Henley. ‘His fingerprints haven’t been matched with any of the prints that were retrieved from the crime scenes.’
‘DNA?’ Eastwood asked.
‘We’ve asked for the lab to deal with it urgently but you know how it is. We can ask but we may not necessarily get,’ Henley replied, turning towards Copeland. ‘So, about Elliot Fonseka.’
‘He’s fifty-four years old and has been working for the Crown Court Service for twenty-six years.’ Copeland winced as she sat down. ‘We’re still waiting for a breakdown of his full employment history from HMCTS but according to colleagues he started working at Wood Green Crown Court nearly two years ago. He has no criminal record.’
‘Working for the court, that wouldn’t be a surprise,’ said Ramouter.
‘No, it wouldn’t, and it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see him accessing confidential information on the court’s database because that is literally his job,’ said Copeland. ‘He didn’t make any comments on arrest or during the drive from Wood Green to Lewisham. Spent the entire time sniffling in the back and staring out of the window.’
‘What about the wife?’ asked Eastwood.
‘Mikaela Elizabeth Fonseka. Maiden name Colbert,’ Henley replied, turning back to the smartboard, she brought up a driving licence and zoomed in on the photograph. ‘forty-nine years old, no previous and little is known about her employment history, other than that she’s a volunteer for the witness support service.’
‘Where is she now?’ asked Ramouter.
‘No idea,’ said Copeland. ‘The witness service manager gave us her phone number but she didn’t pick up. I have a feeling that her husband may have contacted her just before I arrested him. She was scheduled to work this afternoon but there’s been no sign of her.’
‘Her description has been circulated to all units and we’re going to release her image to the public this afternoon. We have to find her,’ said Henley.
‘List of possible targets is down to three,’ said Ramouter. ‘The list officer at Harrow Crown Court called and confirmed that Primrose Welch’s case was adjourned because there was no jury available. The judge amended her bail conditions and she’s booked on a flight to Dubai, leaving tonight. She won’t be rushing back anytime soon. Her trial has been moved to June.’
‘June,’ Stanford exclaimed. ‘I don’t know why I’m surprised. The criminal justice system is completely broken.’
‘We can discuss the broken criminal justice system at a later date. Our priority is the Fonsekas,’ Henley said firmly. ‘Ezra has been given remote access to Elliot Fonseka’s work computer and his login for CCDCS. A Section 18 search has been carried out on his desk at Wood Green Crown Court.’
‘What about his home?’ asked Eastwood.
