feels as if he’s being treated like one. Asked to come to a police station. Of course my client wishes to cooperate, but his rights must be respected. If he is a suspect then he needs to be informed.’
‘Mr Hellier is not a suspect,’ Sean told him. ‘That’s why we’re in the witness room, not an interview room. If Mr Hellier was a suspect, he’d have been arrested by now.’
Sean knew the solicitor didn’t believe a word he was saying. He would have realized the police suspected his client was involved in the murder of Daniel Graydon and he would do all he could to protect Hellier, but he wouldn’t want to force Sean’s hand. Wouldn’t want to precipitate Hellier’s arrest.
‘I don’t know how much your client has told you, Mr …’ Sean looked at the business card the solicitor had handed him ‘… Mr Templeman, but from my initial conversation with Mr Hellier I know he had sexual relations with a young man who was found murdered some days later.’
‘My client’s sexual orientation is not an issue here,’ Templeman intervened. ‘It’s no longer illegal to be gay, Inspector.’ He was being deliberately provocative. He knew the best way to defend a client, whether they were guilty or not, was to be aggressive towards the investigating officers. Show no signs of cooperation. Never be civil. Always attack.
‘Mr Templeman,’ Sean said, ‘I have no interest in Mr Hellier’s sexuality. What I do care about is that a young man has been murdered. Mr Hellier is an important witness. Possibly the best I have. I need a full witness statement and full forensic samples for elimination purposes. And his fingerprints.’
‘A witness statement is out of the question.’ Templeman still spoke for Hellier. ‘The body samples we agree to. We understand the need to eliminate my client from the investigation as quickly as possible.’
Donnelly joined in. ‘This isn’t a shoplifting we’re investigating. This is a murder inquiry. Mr Hellier will give a full written statement and he’ll do it today.’ His voice was calm.
‘My client has not witnessed any offences in relation to the death of Mr Graydon. He can provide no useful information, therefore he will not be providing a witness statement. Such a statement would be of no use to the police, yet it could be both embarrassing and damaging to my client.’
‘Embarrassing?’ Donnelly said. ‘I don’t care how embarrassing it could be. Maybe you would like to meet the boy’s parents. You could explain to them how your client is more concerned about being embarrassed than he is about helping to find their son’s killer.’
‘No statement.’
Sean knew Templeman meant it. ‘I’ll have Mr Hellier summonsed to court to give evidence if necessary.’
‘Then that’s what you’ll have to do, Inspector.’
‘Fine,’ Sean said. There was more than one way to skin a cat, but why wouldn’t Hellier make a statement? Sean didn’t believe the bullshit about public embarrassment. Hellier didn’t want to say anything the police could prove was a lie. Best to keep his mouth shut. Hide behind his expensive solicitor.
‘So, no statement,’ Sean said. ‘Samples, you agree to?’ He was looking directly at Hellier, who remained dumb.
‘I’ve already said we agree to body samples,’ Templeman informed him.
‘And fingerprints. For elimination purposes.’ Sean waited for the answer, hoping he sounded casual enough.
‘Why do you need my client’s fingerprints?’ Templeman asked. ‘I thought Mr Hellier had made it quite clear that he’d never been in the victim’s flat. Unless you found prints on the body, which is most unlikely, I don’t see why you would want my client’s fingerprints for elimination.’
Sean spoke quickly. A delay would have alerted Templeman and probably, maybe more so, Hellier. ‘Not on his body. On some cash we found in his pocket,’ he lied. ‘Your client paid for sex. So unless he used a credit card, the cash could be Mr Hellier’s. It’s already been chemically treated and we’ve been able to recover a number of prints. If the prints aren’t your client’s, then they could be the killer’s.’
‘Very well,’ Templeman said. ‘My client is prepared to provide a set of elimination prints.’
Hellier nodded his agreement to provide his fingerprints.
‘Good.’ Sean called a young detective constable into the room. ‘This is DC Zukov. He’ll take you to the surgeon’s room where a doctor will take your body samples, then he’ll take your prints. Understand?’
Hellier didn’t reply.
‘I need a full set, Paulo,’ Sean told DC Zukov. ‘Palms and fingertips too. And the side of his hands.’
Zukov nodded and looked at Hellier. ‘If you’d like to come this way, sir.’
Templeman and Hellier followed DC Zukov from the room. Donnelly made sure they were out of earshot.
‘That was a bit of a porky-pie, boss. We don’t have any fingerprints on any cash that I know of. Could cause us problems if anyone discovers we tricked our suspect into giving his prints – like the CPS, for example.’
Sean wasn’t concerned. ‘Fuck ’em. I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it. Right now, I want his prints in case we get lucky at the scene.’
‘He seems pretty confident he’s never been inside Graydon’s flat,’ Donnelly reminded him.
‘Yeah, but we only need him to have made one mistake, just one mistake and we’ll be able to put him in the flat, and then I’ll have him.’
‘You’re sure it’s him, aren’t you?’
‘I don’t know. The more I see him, the more I’m next to him, the more sure I am he’s hiding something. But it’s almost as if this is a game to him – as if he’s somehow enjoying it. I don’t know, but there’s something …’ Sean didn’t finish his thought.
‘Maybe you just really want it to be him?’ Donnelly argued. ‘Maybe you just don’t like the smug bastard with his expensive brief.’
‘No,’ Sean answered quietly without looking at Donnelly. ‘I can feel his guilt.’
‘Guilt, aye,’ Donnelly agreed. ‘But guilt for the death of Daniel Graydon?’
‘I don’t know,’ Sean admitted, ‘but I’ve got a very strong feeling James Hellier and I are going to cross swords again, and soon.’
9
James Hellier left Belgravia police station two hours later, only slightly annoyed at being kept longer than necessary. Feeling pleased with himself, he indulged in a little smile. He hoped his solicitor hadn’t noticed.
They walked along the road a short way. Hellier felt certain he was being followed by the police. No matter. No need to tell Templeman. No need to tell anyone.
So the police had samples from his body. The detective constable had made sure the doctor was thorough: blood, saliva, semen, hair
