Rose arrives barely two minutes after the receptionist has gone. He has a tan, pale-cream chinos, a button-down pink shirt and an iPad. It's the same model as Quinn's. Ev suppresses a smile; boys and their toys. Rose smiles at them both, holding steady eye contact. `Good morning, officers. I hope you're being well looked after?'
Ev reaches for her coffee. The mug is blue. The same blue as the vans and the logo and the receptionist's tie. Diane Appleford would give her eye teeth for colour coordination of that calibre. And the coffee is `“ predictably `“ very good. Everett also has a weather eye on the biscuits. She isn't going to get caught eating one in public but she might try to snaffle a couple as they leave. It's always worth having something in your back pocket for the next time you need a favour from Baxter.
`My assistant said it was something to do with our vans,' begins Rose. `But I've done a quick check and everything is definitely up-to-date. Road tax, MOTs `“'
`It's nothing like that,' says Quinn quickly. `It's about a young woman who was attacked on Monday on Rydal Way.'
`I'm not with you.'
`She was forced into a van and taken to the allotments on the Marston Ferry Road.'
Rose blinks. A frown is forming. `But there are hundreds of vans in Oxford `“'
Quinn nods. `No doubt. But we have reason to believe one of your vans was in the vicinity at the time.'
Rose looks a little pale under his tan. `I see.'
`Buying petrol at the BP on the roundabout, to be precise.'
Rose reaches for his iPad and turns it on. `If you bear with me a moment I'll run a quick check on exactly where our crews were last Monday.'
`Seriously?' says Quinn, unable to contain the surprise in his voice. `You can do that?'
Rose shrugs; if you hold as many cards as he does you can afford to be gracious. `The vans are tracked by satnav. And we keep all the records. This is a premium-priced operation, Officer. I can't afford complaints so I need to know where my people are. What time was it you were interested in?'
`First thing in the morning,' says Everett, watching the flush spread over Quinn's face. `Before 11.00.'
Rose taps the screen for a moment or two, then puts the iPad down and slides it across the table.
`As you can see, one of our vans did travel along that road that morning, but he was en route to a job in Wallingford. Apart from buying petrol, he made no other stops between leaving home and arriving at the site. I also have the receipt for the fuel on his company card. Would you like me to print it out for you?'
* * *THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURTThe Old BaileyLondon EC4M 7EHBEFORE:THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEALEYR E G I N Av.GAVIN FRANCIS PARRIEMR. R. BARNES Q.C. and MISS S. GREYappeared on behalf of the prosecution.MRS. B. JENKINS Q.C. and MR. T. CUTHBERTappeared on behalf of the defendant.Transcribed from the Stenotype notes ofChapman Davison Ltd.,Official reporters to the courtMonday, 25th October, 1999[Day 7]ALISON DONNELLY, recalledExamined by MR. BARNESQ. Miss Donnelly, I would like to return to the events we were discussing yesterday. Specifically the assault that took place on 29th November last year. I appreciate this is a distressing subject, but it is important that the court is clear about exactly what happened. And you will be aware, I am sure, that you are still under oath. You said the incident occurred at approximately 5.40 p.m. that day?A. Yes. I was on my way home from work. I got the 5.15 bus.Q. And that's the bus you usually got?A. That's right.Q. Did you have any sense in the previous few days that you might have been being followed?A. One of my flatmates said she'd seen a van parked down the street a few times, but we didn't think anything of it.Q. What colour was the van?A. Just one of those white ones.Q. Your flatmate didn't notice if there was anyone in it?A. No, it was too far away.Q. On the night of the assault, did you see a van?A. No. I mean, that doesn't mean it wasn't there. I just didn't see it.Q. So you got off the bus, and started to walk towards your flat. What happened next?A. It'd been raining, and this big truck came past really close and sprayed water all over me. I had my new coat on and I was really annoyed. I suppose I just stopped for a minute. That's when it happened.Q. You felt someone behind you?A. Yes, first he grabbed me and then I felt a bag going over my head and he was dragging me off.Q. Do you know where he took you?A. He put me in the back of a van. He'd tied my hands with something that was digging into my wrists and I felt as if I couldn't breathe.Q. Do you remember anything else about the van?A. There was plastic or something on the floor. Some sort of sheeting.Q. And what happened after that?A. He took me to a car park off the ring road. I didn't know that then. But that's where it was.Q. What did he do then?A. I heard him get out of the van and walk round to the back. He dragged me out and pushed me along a few steps. I couldn't see anything because of the bag. Then he threw me on the ground. And then he pulled off my knickers and raped me.Q. A subsequent medical examination confirmed that you also received internal injuries from some sort of blunt object. Is that correct?A. Yes.MR. JUSTICE HEALEY: I appreciate this is extremely difficult for you, Miss Donnelly, but I must ask you to speak a little louder so that members of the jury can hear what you are saying. Do you feel able to go on?A. Yes, sir.MR. BARNES: Thank you, my Lord. Miss Donnelly, was the rape you described the full extent of the assault?A. No.Q. What else happened?A. He beat me up.Q. I'm afraid I must ask you to be more explicit.A. He did it to make me shut up `“ I was trying to scream so he took hold of my head and beat it against the ground.Q. That was how you sustained the injuries you have now? The injuries visible to the court?A. Yes.Q. You suffered a fractured skull?A. Yes.Q. And loss of sight in one eye?A. That was when he kicked me. After he'd finished.Q. And he removed your jewellery and some of your hair?A. My earrings. He pulled them out.Q. Ripping one earlobe, I believe?A. Yes. And he ripped out some of my hair too.Q. And where was that?A. Just here, behind my ear.Q. How long was it after he left before help arrived?A. They told me afterwards it was about an hour. I think I must've passed out because it didn't seem that long. But then suddenly there was an ambulance and the police were there.Q. How long did you spend in hospital, Miss Donnelly?A. Five weeks.Q. And have you been able to return to work since the attack?A. No.MR. BARNES: I have no further questions.MR. JUSTICE HEALEY: That seems a convenient moment to break for lunch. Members of the jury, we will resume at 2.15, please.* * *`Shall we ask this lot if their vans have satnav tracking, too?'
Ev slides a glance at Quinn. She knows she's probably pushing it, but it was irresistible. He's so easy to wind up.
He's frowning now, knowing she's taking the piss. Because if Mark Rose Co is a premium service, the second firm on their list has to be the construction equivalent of Ryanair. Judging by the rather endearingly amateurish logo on their website they certainly haven't invested any of their hard-earned cash in a graphic designer, and the offices aren't even offices at all, just an eighties bungalow at the end of a cul-de-sac with paving down one side of the building and a double garage on the other. Ev had to check twice when they arrived, just to make sure it was the right place.
The door is opened by a middle-aged woman in a jumper and baggy track pants. There's a strong smell of cigarette smoke.
`Can I help you?'
`We're from Thames Valley Police. Is this the offices of Ramsgate Renovations Ltd?'
`That's right.' To the woman's credit she doesn't look immediately wary, which is the usual reaction to an unexpected visit from the police.