Линда Ла Плант - Unholy Murder

‘Durham must have put her body in the suitcase to get her out to the car,’ Jane said.

‘DS Johnson can bag the body and arrange for it to be taken to the mortuary,’ Stanley said. ‘We’ll do the post-mortem first thing tomorrow morning. You two go home and get some rest. I’ll go and tell PC Rogers and his wife we found Becky,’ he added in a sombre tone.

Walking to the car, Jane could see Boon was struggling to hold himself together. She had dealt with grieving parents, friends, and relatives too many times to remember, but at this moment she couldn’t think what to say to him.

As Jane drove back to Orpington Boon sat quietly staring out of the passenger window. She parked the car in the station yard and switched the engine off.

‘I know how you’re feeling, Simon...’

‘I don’t think you do, sarge,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m cut out to be a police officer anymore.’

‘I lost two colleagues during a bank robbery explosion when I was a probationer at Hackney,’ Jane said. There was a catch in her voice.

Boon turned and looked at her with an expression of surprise.

‘WPC Kath Morgan was my best friend. I was in a relationship with the other officer at the time. His name was Len Bradfield.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Boon said. ‘It must have been a terrible time for you.’

‘It was. And I still miss them both. But I came to realise you can’t change what’s happened and have to move on.’

‘But how did you do that?’ Boon asked.

‘Through my work, and helping to bring those who caused their death to justice. You’re a good detective, Simon, and have the potential to go a long way in the CID. I think Becky would have wanted you to carry on.’

He let out a deep breath. ‘Thanks for the advice, sarge, I appreciate it.’

‘If you want to take a few days leave, I’m sure Stanley won’t mind,’ Jane said.

He shook his head. ‘I’d rather carry on working the investigation for now.’

‘OK, but don’t bottle things up. If you’re feeling down or want someone to talk to, I’m always here for you.’

‘OK,’ he said, smiling. ‘I appreciate it.’

Inside the station, Jane spoke with the duty sergeant and asked what hospital Thomas Durham had been taken to.

‘Queen Mary’s in Sidcup,’ the sergeant replied.

‘Has Nick Durham been informed about his father’s heart attack?’ she asked.

‘I’ve just spoken with the officer who’s guarding Thomas Durham. He’s in the intensive care ward and his son is with him.’

‘Is he expected to live?’ she asked.

‘The doctors don’t know at present. He’s in a coma.’

‘A coma?’ Jane gasped.

‘He took a turn for the worse on the way to the hospital. The doctor said the coma was due to a lack of oxygen to his brain after the heart attack.’

‘Does Nick Durham know it happened during our search?’

‘Yes, but I didn’t give him details of who you were looking for or why. The PC at the hospital said he’s very distressed and has been asking a lot of questions.’

‘What did the PC tell him?’

‘Nothing, other than what I told him to say.’

‘Which was?’ Jane asked.

‘That he didn’t know anything about the search as it was a CID matter, and DI Stanley was in charge. I hope that didn’t give away too much for you,’ the sergeant replied brusquely.

Jane could see her questions were irritating him. ‘I only ask because I may have to interview Nick Durham.’

‘I’d leave that for a while as you suits ain’t his favourite people at the moment,’ the sergeant said, before walking off.

Jane wanted to go to the hospital and speak with Nick but knew a heated confrontation with him wouldn’t do anybody any good.

It was nearly two in the morning by the time an exhausted Jane got home. After a large glass of wine and a sandwich, she went to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Jane woke to the sound of her bedside phone ringing. Worried it might be an angry Nick, she was relieved to hear Lloyd’s voice.

‘Morning, Jane. Sorry to bother you so early.’

‘It’s six o’clock, Lloyd. What do you want?’ she yawned.

‘You should moan. I’ve been up all night working on the bleach bottle. Thomas Durham’s prints weren’t on it.’

‘He must have wiped them off, then,’ she said. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Durham’s in a coma so I can’t question him. I’ll call you back when I get to work.’

‘God, you are crabby in the morning. Hear me out, will you?’

‘All right, I’m listening,’ she yawned.

‘I found two prints on the bottle, which didn’t match any of the ones I took from Durham’s house.’

‘They’re probably the cleaner’s then.’

‘For Christ’s sake, let me finish! I asked the fingerprint bureau to check them against criminal records. They just rang me with a result.’

‘Whose were they?’

‘Lee Holland’s. I thought I best let you know ASAP in case Holland tries to do a runner.’

Jane swung her feet out of bed and perched on the edge. ‘My God, the two of them were involved in Becky’s murder.’

‘It looks that way. Durham might have committed the murder and got Holland to help him clear up the mess.’

‘What’s Holland’s previous?’ Jane asked.

‘He’s got a conviction for Actual Bodily Harm in 1972. He broke a bloke’s nose after he drove into the back of Holland’s car.’

‘Can you ring Stanley while I get dressed. Tell him I’ll be in the incident room in half an hour.’

Stanley, Jane and Boon parked up a street away from Lee Holland’s house, along with four uniformed officers in a marked police van. Stanley told two of the officers to cover the back of the premises and two to join him.

‘Boony, you can have the pleasure of nicking Holland,’ Stanley told him.

‘Thanks, guv,’ Boon said.

‘How is your leg this morning?’ Jane asked.

‘Still sore, but it hasn’t affected my ability to kick a door in if I have to,’ Boon said.

‘Good, because I don’t intend to announce our arrival,’ Stanley said.

Once the uniformed officers radioed that they were around the back, Boon ran at the door, jumped in the air and kicked it open. Lee Holland was in the hallway tying a luggage label to a large suitcase. He casually slipped the tag into his jacket pocket.

‘Going anywhere nice, Lee?’ Stanley asked him.

‘No. I’m taking a load of old clothes to the charity shop,’ Lee said nervously.

‘Bit early for that, isn’t it?’ Stanley remarked. He nodded to Boon.

‘Lee Holland, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Rebecca Rogers. You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, but what you say may be given in evidence,’ Boon said as he handcuffed Lee.

‘I swear I didn’t kill her. It was an accident,’ Lee said.

‘Is your wife upstairs?’ Stanley asked.

‘I’m single,’ he said.

They took him through to the living room and made him sit in an armchair. Stanley said he wanted a word with Jane and Boon and they all went into the hallway.

‘It’s better you interview him here, Jane, if he’s willing to talk, which it appears he is. If we take him back to the station and he requests a solicitor, we could end up with a no-comment interview. Boony, make sure you write every question and answer in your pocketbook. Get him to sign every page if he confesses. I’ll tell the uniformed officers they can go. I’ll search the house.’

Jane and Boon returned to the living room.

‘Would you like a drink, Lee?’ Jane asked him.

‘Could I have a glass of water, please?’ he sniffed.