The Body in the River (28 page)

The police were often treated as whipping boys. So often, decisions were made by police in good faith but in the heat of the moment, whilst the lawyers had months to scrutinize and pick holes in those decisions, and to rehearse all that they would say and do later in court. As a result, police officers
’
reputations were often torn to shreds in court despite the fact that they
had
acted in good faith.

The principle of innocent until proven guilty was a noble one. But excluding evidence on a technicality that had no bearing on its validity favoured the guilty. If they were not guilty, the evidence would not be there in the first place. And the decision to exclude that evidence was made by a judge without the jury ever hearing the debate which made a mockery of the principle of being tried by twelve good men and true. If you were selective about what was put before them it was hardly surprising many of their decisions were misguided. It was not a perfect world; if the evidence was sound, the jury should decide whether it should be accepted or not.

Police actions were under intense scrutiny and the rules under which they operated strictly enforced. On the other hand, barristers often made totally unsubstantiated comments aimed at influencing a jury and, having planted the seeds of doubt in their minds, got no more than a gentle reprimand from the judge. Judges were a law unto themselves and were allowed to get away with murder. Cases such as that of O.J. Simpson didn
’
t only occur in America. What was laughable was when they say that allowing the odd one to get away protected the innocent; laughable because they enabled evil men to remain free to kill and injure more innocent people.

Things were then made worse by the so-called fourth estate, the press. Their objective was to sell newspapers; integrity amongst reporters was more a rare surprise than a requirement. When a scapegoat was demanded by the public for a lost case, the police were fair game, being at the bottom of the feeding chain and having their every move under the closest of scrutiny later in the cold light of the court room.

With this in mind, Brookes was both thorough and meticulous in making his notes, even to the point of his use of the firearm. It had been sitting on Inspector Holmes
’
desk and only picked up by Brookes when in imminent danger.

By the time the plane was coming in to land, he was confident he
’
d kept strictly to procedure and recorded every step he
’
d taken in proper detail.

It was late in the evening by the time Brookes completed the paperwork on Fleming and got home to his flat. The reverse jetlag was playing havoc with his body clock, and he fell immediately into a deep sleep.

Fred Middlemiss went home to his wife and family. They were more than pleased to see him, not least because he
’
d bought each of them a memento of his trip. A shell necklace for his wife and a voodoo mask for each of the children, all purchased in Martinique.

Rose returned to her comfortable flat in Hampstead, feeling content with her decision to make policing her career. If things continued on this vein, she would have no complaints. She too had suffered the aftershock of being under fire, but the optimism of youth and the excitement of the moment outweighed the fear. She slept soundly that night.

*

Next morning, all three were in the office early. Brookes spent an hour preparing a report for his boss on their activities in the Caribbean. When their colleagues arrived, Middlemiss and Rose received ribbings from them and comments on their tans, but it was all good-humoured.

Short brought Brookes up to date with events in London. Aitcheson had detailed the team to continue to concentrate their efforts on gathering evidence of the murder and finding a way to incriminate Silver. The commander wanted to see Brookes at The Yard later that morning for a debriefing. Short then presented him with the murder docket he
’
d compiled on Fleming, which Brookes would later go over with a fine-tooth comb. Satisfied that everything else was in order, he set off for Scotland Yard in a car, with Rose driving as usual.

*

Aitcheson rose to greet him with a handshake.
‘
John, good to have you back. By the sound of it you had a few hairy moments.
’

‘
You could put it that way, sir. Sadly it cost the life of a local policeman.
’

‘
Yes, I was sorry to hear about that.
’
Aitcheson paused to add weight to the words. Then he said,
‘
I hear Fleming is singing like a bird.
’

Brookes nodded.
‘
Yes, but we will need more than his evidence to nail Silver for anything. Fleming
’
s testimony about laundering money will not be enough; we need hard evidence of Silver
’
s criminal activities that I
’
m sure Fleming can
’
t give us.
’

‘
Let
’
s see what Richard Mann comes up with. There must be something that will trace the path of the cash into Silver
’
s pocket.
’

Brookes did not share his confidence but said no more.

Then Aitcheson said,
‘
OK, let
’
s move on. DI Short will have told you that your team is now concentrating all their efforts on Silver. I want you to take over that task and see what you can come up with. Have you any fresh ideas on how we might get at him?
’

‘
Off the cuff? No, sir. But give me twenty-four hours to think about it.
’

*

Brookes and Rose left The Yard and headed west to Paddington Green to interview Fleming. He was determined to strike whilst the memory of the attempt to kill him and the murder of his father was fresh on Fleming
’
s mind.

He knew that their best weapon, yet at the same time, their biggest threat, was the fear that Fleming had of Silver. If they could convince him that they were able to ensure his safety, he might tell all. The fact that a London detective and the Royal Cayman Islands Police had already saved him once was evidence of their determination and might act in their favour. Fleming was in fear for his life; that fear would either cause him to open up or disappear completely into a shell.

In the interview room, Brookes and Rose sat on one side of a table. Fleming sat opposite, with his solicitor. The killer had the look of a broken man, gaunt and pale beneath his tan. Gone was the arrogance of old; now he was a pathetic figure.

After turning on the tape recorder and introducing each of those present, Brookes reminded Fleming that he was under caution.

He then said,
‘
We wish to question you about the death of Alison MacPherson and your handling of money that is the proceeds of crime.
’

The solicitor said,
‘
Is it possible for us to talk less formally first, Superintendent?
’

Brookes reached across and turned off the tape recorder.

The solicitor cleared his throat, then said,
‘
My client wishes to give his full co-operation on these matters. What can you offer in return?
’

‘
We can afford him protection from those who are trying to kill him.
’

‘
But will you reduce the charges?
’

Brookes shook his head.
‘
The murder charge is not negotiable. There might be room for manoeuvre on the money laundering charges, depending of course on what he tells us.
’

The lawyer cleared his throat again.
‘
My client has instructed me to tell you that if you guarantee his safety and drop any charges relating to other matters he will co-operate fully.
’

‘
I
’
m sure that if his testimony enables us to gain convictions for the other principles and get forfeiture of the proceeds of crime, the Crown Prosecutor will allow me to strike a deal.
’

‘
Please give me a moment to confer with my client, Superintendent.
’

The two detectives left the interview room.

Within five minutes, the solicitor invited them back in. He said,
‘
On that understanding, my client will co-operate fully and tell you everything he knows.
’

Restarting the tape, Brookes said,
‘
Mr Fleming, did you kill Alison MacPherson?
’

After a long pause, Fleming said,
‘
Yes, I had no choice. Silver would have killed me if she told the police what she had found out about my business.
’

‘
How did you kill her?
’

‘
I strangled her with her tights.
’

‘
Where did this take place?
’

‘
At her flat in Limehouse.
’

‘
Then what did you do?
’

‘
I threw her body into the river.
’

Brookes asked,
‘
What exactly had she found out about your business?
’

‘
She discovered how my business was financed and where the profits were going.
’

‘
How was the business financed?
’

‘
Raymond Silver is a criminal; his profits were used to buy many of the properties we rented out. The rental payments made went through the business and were paid to Silver. That way the money appeared to have been legally earned.
’

Brookes frowned.
‘
Was that all of the money that was paid to him?
’

‘
No, some of the payments were for rentals that didn
’
t actually take place. Payments through the books were actually made by Silver himself under other names.
’

‘
Why was this done?
’

‘
That way it appeared that the money was real business profit earned by the company and therefore clean.
’

Brookes nodded.
‘
And where was the money sent, Mr Fleming?
’

‘
The money was paid into Silver
’
s Swiss bank accounts. He has several, each under a different name. This way it appeared that there were several property owners.
’

‘
And do you have details of those accounts?
’

‘
Yes, they are on my office computer.
’

Brookes knew that DI Richard Mann had that computer, so he asked no more on that subject. Instead he moved on.

‘
You say that Silver was a criminal; what can you tell us of his criminal activities?
’

‘
I don
’
t know anything about his businesses.
’

Brookes stared at the man. The killer
’
s face had a worried expression; he squirmed in his seat.

‘
Really, I don
’
t know.
’

Brookes remained silent.

Fleming insisted,
‘
I
’
d tell you if I knew, but I only dealt with the money.
’

‘
Exactly how much money was involved?
’

‘
Over sixty million pounds if you include the money used to buy the properties.
‘

‘
Where are the deeds to the properties you purchased on behalf of Mr Silver?
’

‘
They are in a safe deposit box in Silver
’
s London bank.
’

‘
Who has the key?
’

‘
Silver.
’

Brookes nodded.
‘
Is there anything else you wish to tell us, Mr Fleming?
’

‘
Yes, I witnessed Silver kill someone with his bare hands.
’

‘
Who was that?
’

‘
It was one of his men; he had been stealing from him.
’

‘
What happened exactly?
’