Shadows: The gripping new crime thriller from the #1 bestseller by Paul Finch

Author:Paul Finch [Finch, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007551347
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-10-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

‘You sure you don’t want a solicitor present, Leon?’ Lucy asked.

At the other side of the table, the underworld enforcer, still a menacing figure even now in his custody whites and with his hands cuffed behind his back, shrugged.

‘Don’t need one,’ he said. ‘Gonna come clean with you.’

‘I imagine that’ll be some kind of first,’ she replied. ‘Especially after the way you held out on DI Beardmore earlier.’

Royton shrugged again.

As Lucy had already told herself, she knew what the suspect was up to here. Beardmore, an experienced DI, had given him the third degree, looking for anything he could find on the wider crime wave that had recently struck Crowley. Lucy was in no doubt that Royton possessed information about that, but guessed he’d have resisted talking about it to protect all those others involved, finally requesting a younger, newer detective – an ‘eager young lass’, like herself – who he could give half a story to, maybe confessing to the assault, in effect chucking her a crumb, which she’d consider a result and which the likes of Beardmore would grudgingly accept in lieu of having anything else.

Lucy glanced sidelong at Kirsty Banks, who nodded that she was ready.

‘You realise you’re still under caution, Leon?’ Lucy said.

‘Sure,’ he replied. ‘Look … I’m sorry about them two coppers. I didn’t mean to hurt ’em. But they came at me first, you know.’

Lucy pursed her lips to consider this. Given that Royton beat people up for a living, such remorse was most likely as big a pretence as his seeming willingness to co-operate. He knew he was going down, and was now trying to mitigate the severity of it. But if nothing else, it would make the interview less stressful.

‘You’re referring to Police Constable Don Cooper and Detective Constable Harry Jepson,’ she said, ‘both of whom you assaulted today, yes?’

‘If you say so.’

‘Well, I wasn’t witness to the incident involving PC Cooper, Leon, but I certainly was present when you clobbered DC Jepson into semi-unconsciousness. So, I do say so, yes.’

‘Old habits.’ Royton shrugged a third time; it seemed to be his preferred gesture. ‘Like I say, they both got into my face. I had to put them down.’

‘So, just to be clear,’ Lucy said, ‘you admit you assaulted both officers?’

‘Yeah, like I say. It’s all on me, this.’

So far, this was just as Lucy had predicted.

‘What about the two men you assaulted at O’Halloran’s?’ she asked him.

‘Yeah, that was a bit naughty too.’

‘Why don’t you tell me about it?’

‘We were having a game,’ Royton said simply, ‘and these two tearaways started giving us a bad time.’

‘We have witnesses who will strongly refute that, Leon,’ Lucy said. ‘In fact, we have at least two statements which will assert – as in the witnesses are absolutely sure! – that you and your two associates came into the snooker hall, made no effort whatsoever to start a game – even though there were plenty of tables free – and immediately started what’s been described as a “shouting argument” with George and Charlie Benton.

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