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

‘I’d say four out of ten for enthusiasm,’ observed Traynor quietly.

‘They need some thinking time to get their heads around it,’ said Watts. ‘What matters is that you’re fully committed to it as the only way Molly Lawrence is going to give us more information.’

‘That’s exactly what it is.’

They came into the office, Watts’ eyes fixed on him. ‘What would you say, Traynor, if I said that I’ve got a feeling that you’re on to something in this case?’

‘I’d say that all I have is a theory, and that theories have no value unless tested.’

‘Come on, Will.’ He watched Traynor shake his head and walk to the door.

‘It might give us nothing.’

As Traynor left, he reached for the phone. Barely a minute later, Reynolds appeared, looking apprehensive. ‘You want to see me, Sarge?’

‘Yes. I’ve got a job for you.’ He outlined what he wanted. ‘When you’ve done what I’ve asked, I want a detailed account which shows me that what I said to you the other day about authority struck home.’

‘Yes, sir!’

Scarcely a minute after Reynolds’ departure, the door flew open and hit the wall. Judd came inside, dropped onto her chair, jumped up again. ‘I’ve just been ranted at by Brophy, I’ve had enough. I’m going home!’

‘You’re still on duty and you will be for a while.’

‘The way he went on at me! You should have heard it. He said—’

‘That being bolshy wasn’t your best bet for progressing in the force and phrases like “my arse” are inappropriate from an officer, particularly one who’s female and young, such as yourself.’

She gave him a look. ‘Sexism and ageism, is what that is!’

He had to tell her. She had to know that, whatever she’d learned from life so far, it didn’t give her carte blanche to say what the hell she liked. Not in the force.

‘You want to get on here?’

‘You know I do. I will.’

He looked directly at her as the door opened and Chong came inside. ‘Advice time, Judd.’

She rolled her eyes.

‘Policing has moved on a lot in the last few years but you’re missing a key point. It’s got traditional values, conservativism with a small “c” running straight through the middle of it and it won’t change, so it’s you who has to.’ He watched her swing her bag onto her shoulder and head for the door.

‘Bloody old fashioned is what I think of it,’ she snapped, walking past Chong and out.

Chong looked in the direction she’d gone, then back to Watts, brows raised. ‘Anarchy in the ranks?’ She came to him and put her hand on his arm. ‘Hey.’

‘I learned something today. She’s just turned twenty-one.’

‘Which seems to be adding to your mood, because?’

‘I’ve seen too many cases involving kids growing up in situations which most people couldn’t imagine and wouldn’t believe. I doubt Judd ever had a birthday card or anything else to mark the day. I’ve checked. I suspect the date she uses for official forms is one her parents thought would do and stuck on her birth certificate when they could be bothered to get around to registering it. That’s what years in this job tell me happened.’

He got to his feet. ‘And now you’ve come to take me from this to something better?’

She put her arms around him, something she’d never done at work before. ‘That’s the general idea,’ she whispered. ‘Where do you fancy?’

‘Anywhere you are, and close enough for us to be back in about an hour.’

7.15 p.m.

They were seated around the table, Traynor outlining his plan.

‘The objective is to create a situation in which Molly Lawrence feels as relaxed as possible, able to tell us all she recalls of the attack on her husband and herself. As a victim-witness, she has information no one else can give us. Without that, we have nothing except the gun, a problematic fingerprint, the value of which is uncertain and circumstantial at best.’

He searched their faces. ‘Witnesses to extreme violence invariably experience anxiety as a consequence. They often need considerable therapy to assist them to move beyond the experience to a point where they can talk about it. Unfortunately, we don’t have that time. There’s a violent individual out there who needs identifying. The re-enactment is our only chance of doing that.’

‘You sound pretty sure, Will.’

‘As sure as I can be, Adam. I provided Molly Lawrence with the freedom to say whatever she wished. It failed. There’s too much we don’t know. We need her focused on the practical side of her thinking. She’s an accountant. That kind of thinking, that clarity is the norm for her.’ He glanced around the table.

‘I’ve agreed with Dr Chong and Adam that the Forensic Test Area is an ideal setting for a re-enactment. It’s large, featureless, a space Molly has never seen and which has zero emotional significance for her. It is an ideal situation in which she can move around and guide us through her recall. We can’t exclude emotional responses but the aim is to reduce them to a minimum as she physically guides us through the events of that night and shows us what happened, where it happened and how. I’ve used it on other cases in the past. It worked.’ He paused. ‘My next task is to present the plan to Molly. She may refuse. If she does, it looks increasingly likely that no one affected by those shootings will get justice. There’s nothing harder to bear than that.’

Judd broke the silence. ‘Forge Street, the actual scene, won’t be part of this at all?’

‘No. It’s too emotive.’ He turned to Adam. ‘Can your department produce a replica of the Lawrences’ Toyota?’

‘You’re talking life-size.’

‘Yes, but featureless. A stand-in for the actual car which needs to be moved somewhere out of sight. Can you do that?’

‘No problem.’

Traynor looked to Judd. ‘Molly remembers you very positively from your visit to the hospital. If she agrees to this plan, you’ll have a central role alongside her, prompting her with brief, non-emotive sentences such