Devil in the Detail by A.J. Cross (love letters to the dead .TXT) 📗

zero confirmation of anything of interest. I’ll continue with what I’ve got, plus those still to come. If there is anything which looks interesting, I’ll let you know.’

‘Thanks.’

His eyes moved over them, picking up tiredness on most of the faces and disengagement from Jones. He had his back half-turned to Julian, who was sitting next to Judd. ‘The thinking behind that line of questioning was Will’s. The recovery of Molly Lawrence’s handbag plus valuables has strengthened his view that this investigation needs to reconsider motive.’ He paused, seeing heads turn, some of the facial expressions increasingly downbeat. ‘He’s now going to tell you why.’

Traynor came and sat on the edge of a nearby table, looking directly at each of them.

‘The finding of the Lawrence valuables indicates that the shooting of Mr and Mrs Lawrence was not motivated by theft. The taking of their belongings was intended to confuse and conceal the true intent.’ He paused. ‘I think this gunman was well known to one if not both of the Lawrences.’

The impact on the room was immediate. He waited for the tumult to settle. ‘Which means that the search for sightings of people and vehicles unfamiliar to the area round Forge Street and beyond remains very relevant. Whoever he is, he does not belong to the Bristol Road–Forge Street area, either as a resident or a worker. We need to look closer at the Lawrences’ family and friends, colleagues and associates of Molly and Mike Lawrence. As Detective Inspector Watts said at another briefing, a number of them have already been spoken to. What has been learned about Brendan Lawrence suggests he needs to be considered a person of interest.’ He glanced at Watts. ‘You’ll want to come in here?’

Watts nodded. ‘I want intel to compile a list of names and contact details for all of the people Will has just mentioned. I’ll put together a rota of who goes where. It won’t be a case of talking just to the names on that list. It’s about talking to people they name, no matter how incidental they might seem.’

Jones’ hand shot up. ‘It might help if we have an idea of the type of individual we’re looking for.’

Watts looked to Traynor. ‘Will’s got a profile.’

‘It’s based on limited available indicators,’ said Traynor, ‘but it suggests that he’s a confident individual who’s comfortable managing and directing people, including those under duress. It also tells us what he isn’t: a young, urban offender. I would re-estimate his age range to be twenty-five to forty, probably the higher end. That profile fits a security guard who has already featured in the investigation. He fits the personality, attitude and age criteria I’ve described and he works and lives in the area. He’s a person of interest. He will be spoken to very soon.’

Watts stood. ‘As already said, those of you who are out there talking to people in the extended area need to keep at it. Whoever this individual is, it’s highly likely he was in that inner-city area prior to the shootings, checking it out. I want to know ASAP if any of you get so much as a hint from anybody who remembers an individual or a vehicle that caught their attention for whatever reason.’

‘Sarge?’ Jones stood. ‘All we’ve got from the people Kumar and I spoke to is that they’re shocked at the attack on the Lawrences and fearful that some nutter is on the loose.’ He glanced quickly around the room, getting confirmatory nods along with dispirited looks. ‘Some of you will soon be talking to friends, colleagues and so on of the Lawrences,’ said Watts. ‘Judd and I will be doing some of it. I haven’t got time to feel tired or fed up. Neither have you.’

He and Traynor exited from the room, Traynor on his phone. As he ended the call, Watts asked, ‘When are you seeing Molly Lawrence again?’

‘I’ve just agreed it for this afternoon.’

They walked into Watts’ office. ‘How optimistic are you?’

‘Given the picture her mother just gave me, I’m not, but I’ll see how it goes.’

Watts handed him the details of what they had from Gemma Lawrence. ‘I’ll leave you to phrase it, but if she’s up to it, ask her about her brother-in-law, Brendan.’ He frowned. ‘Where’s Judd got to?’

‘She was in the incident room just now.’

‘So I saw. If you get anything from Molly about Brendan Lawrence, phone me.’ He sat and looked at the sea of paper on the table. ‘You do know that Miller’s waiting for you to show up with your shorts over your trousers and the solution to this whole mess? She’s probably not the only one.’

He looked up. Traynor was gazing at him with a look of utter incomprehension.

‘Forget it. I’m expecting our person of interest in ten minutes. If it produces anything, I’ll phone you.’

Coming into the busy reception area, immediately seeing who he was looking for, Watts raised his hand and pointed to a small room nearby. The big man got up and followed him to it. ‘Thanks for coming in. Have a seat.’

The chair creaked as Nigel settled himself on to it. ‘What’s this about?’

‘The shooting of two people, close to where you work.’

Nigel shrugged, his gaze drifting away. ‘I already told you all I know.’

Watts sat back, tapping his pen on his notebook, eyes fixed on Nigel’s face. ‘This game makes most of us good judges of people. Tell me what else happened.’

Nigel shifted, causing more creaks. ‘Like I told you …’

Watts sat forward. ‘I’ve been in this job more years than I like to count. It’s told me a lot about people and how they are, what they are, how they might respond to things that happen around them.’ He paused. ‘You said you heard two gunshots at around nine twenty or nine thirty that night. You’re a security operative. You know that area well. Know what I’d have done in your place, in that situation?’ He did a slow count to ten. ‘I’d