171260.fb2 Above Suspicion - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 53

Above Suspicion - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 53

‘Didn’t it go well, then?’ Lewis asked.

‘No. I’ve come back empty-handed, Mike.’

‘Shit. But Daniels was in all three places, right?’

‘Yep. But since not one witness puts him in the frame, it’s circumstantial. I’m starting to cool off on him.’

‘Jesus Christ, that’s one hell of an expensive cool.’

‘Yep.’

Langton told Lewis to take himself home to the baby. There were only four people working the late shift in the incident room. Since he was too tired to start up a conversation with anyone, Langton went straight to his office, stacking his receipts and ticket stubs in a pile. He put the video down on a desk already piled high with outstanding memos and paperwork, then opened his bottle of Scotch and poured a heavy measure. If they took out Daniels, they were back to square one. No witness. No suspect.

Back home, Anna bundled her dirty clothes into the washing machine. She pottered around for a while; she didn’t feel sleepy yet. She checked her answerphone. There were four messages, but when she pressed play, there was nothing there. Whoever had called had hung up.

Though she made sure her father’s photograph was in the same position, she was not comforted: in fact, the opposite. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that someone had moved it, before. She couldn’t sleep, from all the tossing and turning. If Daniels had been in her bedroom, how in God’s name had he got in? She knew there had been no forced entry. Since no one but she herself had used the flat, she decided that she would take the frame in for fingerprint tests. The plan comforted her and she fell asleep.

Though he had changed his shirt and shaved, Langton looked like he had slept in his chair. By the time Anna arrived the next morning, he was already in his office with Barolli and Lewis. Moira gave her a welcoming smile and asked if she’d had a good trip.

‘Yes. But with three cities in three days, I didn’t get to see much.’

Jean held up the video. ‘This doesn’t play on our machine. We’re sending it over to the lab to get it converted.’

Anna began work on her American report. She picked up a pile of files from her desk. Beneath them were the photographs taken from Alan Daniels’s flat.

‘Shit. Did anyone want these?’

‘What?’

‘The photos from Daniels’s flat. They were on my desk.’

Jean wagged her finger at Anna. ‘Naughty, naughty. Barolli was looking for those.’

‘I’m sorry. I’ll give them to him.’

Moira sat on the edge of Anna’s desk.

‘So, what was it like?’

‘You know, mostly hard work.’

She arched her eyebrows. ‘I mean being alone with him for three days and nights?’

‘Oh, Moira! I was just the chauffeur.’

‘No candlelit dinners?’

‘Give me a break. No! I’ve got to get my report done.’

‘Your details about driving him around will make very interesting reading.’ Moira was teasing her. Anna took a pretend swipe at her.

‘I need expenses for both of you and receipts,’ Jean called out.

‘He has everything,’ Anna replied, starting work. Moira wandered back to her desk.

It was after ten o’clock and Langton still had not come out of his office. Lewis was updating the board with the US murder dates, while Barolli stood beside him reading Langton’s notes aloud. Arrows joined Daniels to each location.

Anna picked up the envelope containing the photographs. She hesitated and took them out, skimming through one after the other. They were all in social settings: Daniels lounging under a sunshade with a group of people in swimsuits; Daniels toasting someone with champagne at a candlelit table; Daniels leaning against a car. Only part of the car was visible.

Anna turned to the filing cabinets, overflowing with paperwork again. She read the statements from the Cuban waiter, then checked Red Leather’s (Yvonne Barber) before returning the statements to the cabinet.

She tapped on Langton’s door.

‘Yes!’ he snapped.

She went in to find him sitting at his desk in front of a mound of receipts, bits of paper and ticket stubs. ‘Can you sort this crap out for me? And they have to be in order. Did you keep a record of everything you spent?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, attach it to this lot. Jean’s got to get it agreed, otherwise it’ll be out of my pocket.’

‘OK.’

He swept everything into a folder.

‘Can I just show you something?’ She handed him a magnifying glass and placed the photograph of Daniels leaning against the car in front of him. ‘The Cuban couldn’t say what make, but he thought it was a pale-coloured car. The other witness said it was a light colour. When we brought the Cuban in, he was shown a number of vehicles. He couldn’t pick one of them out, but that tiny bit of the rear bumper we had on the CCTV footage wasn’t one of the new Mercedes, but a Mercedes about thirty years old, according to Mike.’

‘So?’

‘Well, look at this photograph. You can’t see much of it, but it’s a Mercedes, isn’t it? And it’s a light, creamy colour.’

Langton looked at the photograph with the magnifying glass.

‘Fuck!’

He leaned back, frowning. ‘We’ve got him down as owning a Lexus when Melissa was murdered, haven’t we?’

‘Yes. Maybe that’s not his Mercedes, but we know he hired one in the States. So he must like them.’

Anna continued: while they had confirmed that Daniels had been driving a Lexus for the last nine months, they had not thought to check on other vehicles Daniels owned before that period.

Langton walked to Anna, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

‘I love you, Travis.’

He bellowed for Lewis and Barolli.

Anna returned to her desk, where she continued typing up her report. Simultaneously, both Lewis and Barolli were checking with the DVLA, the MOT register and Daniels’s motor insurance company.