‘By all means.’ Jones bared his teeth in a wolfish grin. ‘What are we keeping you from, Mr Pearson? The opera?’
The man’s mouth curved in a faint smile. ‘I don’t write the rules, Superintendent. I am merely obliged on behalf of my client to remind you that they exist.’
‘Then I suggest you remind your client similarly. As an overworked taxpayer, I presume I’m in the ludicrous position of both investigating this self-confessed thief –’ he gestured towards Ben – ‘and paying you to protect him.’
‘I’m afraid so,’ the solicitor agreed. ‘The French would call it the theatre of the absurd, but it’s the price we pay for living in a civilized democracy.’ He turned an unsympathetic gaze on his client. ‘I do understand your frustrations, however. I’ve never met a policeman yet who would describe what he sees on a daily basis as civilized.’
*
Jones waited until he, Beale and the WPC were clear of the building before he asked the female officer what she’d made of the solicitor’s parting remarks. ‘Did you get the impression Pear-son was trying to tell us something?’
‘Only that he doesn’t like the kid. He doesn’t like the mother either. While you were talking to Nick outside, the pair of them kept whingeing on about compensation for police harassment. I could tell from Mr Pearson’s body language that the whole conversation was making him angry.’
‘What did he say?’
‘That he could see no basis for such a claim but they were within their rights to pursue it through another solicitor if they chose.’ The woman laughed suddenly. ‘He suggested they go to Grabbit and Runn in Litigate Street and keep their fingers crossed that a malicious suit didn’t result in Ben being charged with multiple counts of theft.’
Twenty-one
FOR A WOMAN WHO prided herself on her common sense, Jackson felt a superstitious spike of alarm when she returned after a second patient visit to find her car deserted. Now what? She stared up and down the well-lit road, but there was no sign of Acland anywhere, nor was there a message under the windscreen wipers to indicate where he’d gone or why. She wasn’t even sure what had spooked her unless it was her lingering suspicion about what he’d been doing the previous night.
She called Daisy on her mobile. ‘Hi . . . no, everything’s fine except that Charles seems to have vanished again. Is he with you?’
‘What do you mean “again”?’ Daisy sounded annoyed. ‘Did he come back?’ The noise of customers was loud in the background.
‘He was waiting by the car when I went out. He said he’d been walking all night.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake! You’ve got to stop this, Jacks. It’s ridiculous. He’s not your responsibility.’
Jackson stifled a sigh. ‘We’ll talk about it later. I just wondered if he was there, that’s all.’
‘Not that I know of . . . unless he’s in his room. Do you want me to take a look?’
‘No,’ Jackson said sharply. ‘Let him be.’
Daisy’s voice grew clearer, as if she’d moved out of the bar into the corridor. ‘What’s going on?’ This time her tone was suspicious. ‘Why are you so worried about him suddenly? You’re not his mother, Jacks . . . though I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what this is all about.’
Jackson watched a lean figure emerge from behind a transit van fifty yards away. ‘Forget it,’ she said curtly. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’
‘That’ll be a change,’ came the acid reply. ‘I hardly get a look-in these days.’
Jackson’s expression was grim. ‘Give it a rest,’ she snapped. ‘I hate this kind of thing at the best of times, but it really gets on my nerves when there’s no reason for it.’
‘Then tell him to stop treating me as if I don’t exist,’ Daisy hissed. ‘That’s what’s getting on my nerves . . . in case you hadn’t noticed.’
‘You’re too touchy-feely for him. He feels threatened by you.’
‘Is that what he’s told you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you fell for it?’
‘I certainly took on board that he has no idea how to respond to a sexy lesbian with a cleavage,’ Jackson answered. She lowered her voice as Acland drew nearer. ‘He’s on his way back. I shall have to stop in a minute.’
‘Well, tell him, if he thinks I’m going to dress in a burkha, he’s got another think coming,’ Daisy said crossly. ‘It’s my blasted house, for Christ’s sake. If he doesn’t like the way I do things, he can take himself off.’
‘Which is precisely what he does when he comes with me,’ Jackson murmured, ‘but you don’t like that either.’ She flipped the mobile closed and waited for Acland to come within earshot. ‘I’m not a taxi service, Lieutenant. Another time, I’ll drive away without you.’
‘You should have done it this time,’ he told her. ‘Your next patient’s only two streets away. I’d have met you there if you hadn’t waited.’
‘Thanks for telling me,’ she said acerbically. ‘Couldn’t you have left a message . . . saved me the bother of trying to track you down?’
He gestured towards the transit van. ‘I could see you from over there. If you’d climbed straight into the car, instead of making the phone call, I’d have come running.’
She opened the boot and put her bag inside. ‘Why didn’t you, anyway?’
Humour lines appeared around Acland’s good eye. ‘Perhaps I was testing you. Perhaps I wanted to see how long you’d hang around.’
‘Cut the crap,’ she said impatiently. ‘I’m not in the mood for jokes.’
He eyed the mobile which was still in her hand. ‘Daisy been giving you a hard time again?’
‘No.’ She tucked the gadget into her pocket. ‘What’s with the van?’
‘Nothing. I was using it as cover, that’s all.’
‘For what?’
‘To look into one of the flats in that block.’ He jerked his chin towards a modern brick construction opposite the parked transit.
‘Great! So now you’re a Peeping Tom as well as a stalker?’
The humour lines deepened round Acland’s eye. ‘It’s Jen’s flat, and some of the stuff belonged to me. I wondered if any of it was still there. I moved it in when we got engaged.’ He shook his head at Jackson’s expression. ‘Nothing to see. The curtains are pulled.’
She held his gaze for a moment, recalling his insistence that everything he owned was in his kitbag. Like the police, she’d questioned how anyone could exist on so little. ‘I didn’t think you had any property in London, other than what you carry with you.’
‘I don’t, not any more. Jen appropriated the lot. I was just curious to see if she’d kept any of it. There were some artefacts that I got from South Africa a few years back—’ He broke off, as if he’d said too much.
‘Are you sure you weren’t trying to catch a glimpse of Jen?’ Jackson asked as she took her place behind the wheel.
Acland shook his head. ‘I saw her leave in a taxi about fifteen minutes ago. That’s why I went down for a look.’ The side of his mouth lifted slightly. ‘She had a punter with her . . . fat little fellow about so high –’ he raised his palm to shoulder height – ‘I couldn’t see too well, but it was probably a Jap. She always said Japs were the most gullible.’
‘About what?’
‘The difference between Uma Thurman and a cheap whore.’
*
Jones gave Beale a summary of his interview with Ben as they headed for the Crown. ‘He was ready for questions about the attack on Walter Tutting, jumped in PDQ with reasons why he couldn’t have done it.’ ‘You think he was involved?’ ‘Not necessarily. He may just be scared he’s going to be charged with something he didn’t do. It depends what he thinks he needs to defend himself against. He’s been plugged in to his TV set since he arrived and Walter certainly featured on the news over the weekend.’ ‘Along with a rape in Richmond Park, a stabbing in Leytonstone and assorted brawls outside pubs,’ Beale said reasonably. ‘Why would he expect questions about Walter and not about the other assaults?’ ‘That’s what we need to find out. If he wasn’t responsible for the attack, he may be able to point us in the direction of who was.’ ‘Did you ask him?’ ‘No,’ said Jones with sudden weariness. ‘I need something a lot stronger than guesswork to prise information out of the little toerag.’ He fell silent for a moment. ‘Have we had any luck with Chalky? Any sightings?’ ‘Not yet. Khan located the women that Charles Acland told us about, but they haven’t seen him for weeks.’ ‘Which women?’ ‘Five lesbians who hang around Docklands,’ Beale told him.