The Wrong Man by Adam Croft

Author:Adam Croft [Croft, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Adam Croft

16

Kempston Hardwick made his way from Tollinghill Country Park towards the police station, by now certain that Terry Cox could not have killed Veronica Campbell.

The evidence against him was all circumstantial, whereas that in his favour was overwhelming. And now that Hardwick had visited the scene of the crime in relative peace and quiet, without the continual noise and distraction of Ellis Flint, he’d been even further convinced of Terry Cox’s innocence.

There were things which DI Warner was shrugging off as irrelevant because they didn’t prove Cox’s guilt, whereas Hardwick concluded that they went one huge step further and proved his innocence.

For example, there was no way Cox could have killed Veronica without splattering himself with blood. They now knew he didn’t change his clothes, so the clothes he was known to have worn that night would have contained blood spatters. None, so far, had been found.

By now, the case in Cox’s favour had gone beyond Hardwick’s initial instinct that Terry Cox was not a killer, although he did take some not insignificant pride in being able to say that he’d been right.

But there was something else he’d noticed at Tollinghill Country Park which hadn’t crossed his mind until then. And that was something he now intended to bring up with DI Warner.

The receptionist’s face dropped as Hardwick walked into the police station. ‘I’ll go and get him,’ she said, before disappearing through a door and down a corridor.

A minute or so later, the door opened and DI Warner beckoned him through.

‘You’ll have to keep this quick, Hardwick. I’ve got a lot on today.’

‘Yes, I should imagine you do. By my reckoning you’ve got, what, just under four hours left to charge or release Terry Cox. Even after the extensions you’ve had, you must be starting to get a little nervous.’

‘I don’t get nervous,’ Warner replied. ‘I don’t have time for it. Anyway, if you think this is the trickiest job I’ve ever worked on you can think again. It’s perfectly normal practice for us to want to get all our ducks in a row before going to the CPS.’

‘Must be an awful lot of ducks,’ Hardwick said, ‘How did you get the magistrate to swing the final extension? That takes quite some doing.’

Warner pushed open the door to his office. ‘Magistrates are very busy people. We find they’re becoming more and more receptive to taking the police’s word for it when it comes to issuing warrants and stuff. Shame you’re not capable of doing the same.’

Hardwick smiled. ‘On the contrary, Detective Inspector. I’m perfectly capable of believing the truth. But I’m also more than able to gather and collate evidence, piece together a meticulous picture of what happened or didn’t happen and come to a conclusion which accurately reflects the truth. It’s a shame you’re not capable of doing the same.’

Warner sighed and sat down in his chair without offering Hardwick a seat. ‘Let’s not waste my time playing word tennis, Hardwick. I can use a thesaurus as well as anybody.

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