‘But he won’t formally identify him,’ he sighed.
‘There’s more,’ I said, ‘if I can…’
‘Yes.’ He made notes as I talked.
‘There are doubts about whether Sonia Siddiq was even there that night. I had an anonymous phone call telling me she was making it all up. She became very uncooperative when I asked her to recall any details about the event or the venue. I’m sure she’s lying. Someone, probably Rashid, has rehearsed her. It would also fit with the delay in them coming forward as witnesses; they couldn’t do it immediately. I think they’ve discussed it all with Rangzeb Khan as well. He came to threaten me.’
Mr Pitt stopped writing and raised his eyebrows at me.
‘It was the day after I’d challenged Sonia Siddiq. And Zeb has got this story about seeing the two lads arguing, which no one else saw, and everybody else I’ve spoken to thinks is laughable.’
‘He threatened you?’
‘Told me I was making a big mistake, that I was trying to whitewash it all. Mouthed off, got quite abusive. And since then I think I’ve been followed. This white van, they trailed me to Prestatyn – they might be after Joey D. And they followed me again last night.’
‘Did they follow you here?’
‘No – at least I didn’t see anything.’ Maybe they’d made their point and that would be the end of it. ‘Will this get Luke out?’
‘I can’t promise anything but I’ll be making an application for bail on the basis of what I’ve just heard. If the CPS have any sense they will look again at the case and discontinue; they may even refer it back to the police as it implicates someone else. Of course, they can hold on and fight it out at trial but I’d be surprised if Luke
Wallace isn’t bailed until then. I must admit I am concerned that Joey Deason is not prepared to make a formal identification. It would make our case significantly stronger, but…’
‘There’s no way,’ I said, ‘you heard him, he was adamant. But even if you can’t prove that Siddiq was the one who stabbed Ahktar, you can show that it’s very unlikely that Luke did. He had hypnotherapy, you know, and the therapist says there was nothing to suggest he was present at the scene; everything indicates that he was still in the club and out of his box when Ahktar was attacked.’
‘Tricky area, hypnosis.’ He leant forward and took his second biscuit. There was one left on the plate.
‘Yes, but it fits with everything else.’
‘And you think Luke was deliberately placed at the scene of the crime? Why? Why not just quit the scene?’ He spoke irritably, as if it was my fault that all the pieces didn’t fit. ‘If he was incapacitated, what propelled him to that side alley – round the back of the building, out of sight? He wouldn’t have known Ahktar Khan was there.’
He echoed my own queries.
‘I don’t know. Chance? If he stumbled upon them, it may have just seemed like a good idea at the time, to confuse the issue.’ I couldn’t bear it any longer. I grabbed the biscuit. ‘Unless he was told. Or they found Luke practically comatose and put him there, hoping the police would jump to conclusions. Which they did. It worked. They find Luke covered in blood, his prints on the knife, unable to remember anything. Once Zeb comes forward with his report of the quarrel and the Siddiqs give a complete eye-witness account, then it’s a cinch. Look no further.’
‘It’s possible. But Siddiq and the other assailant, they didn’t know Luke Wallace, did they?’
‘No, I don’t think so. But Zeb did; he knew him as his cousin’s best friend.’
‘There’s nothing on the tape to suggest Zeb Khan was present.’
‘I don’t think he was, not during the murder. But maybe after…’ I was speculating. ‘You’re right,’ I conceded. ‘I don’t know how Luke came to be there, or why. I bet they were panicking at the time. The murder was a mistake. For some reason they left Luke at the scene, or put him there, or he found his way there, but it was later they worked out that providing eye witnesses would stitch it up. Rashid Siddiq had been present so his account would fit all the forensic evidence perfectly. He just put Luke in his own shoes. They were safe.’
‘And the warning?’
‘I think Jay, Janghir, must have been behind it; after all, he employs Siddiq. The other possibility is Zeb. He was in a foul mood that night, he was desperate to get hold of some money, he knew Luke. When it all went wrong and Ahktar was stabbed he decided to set Luke up. And report the supposed argument to the police.’
Pitt seemed to be considering what I’d suggested. He nodded a couple of times.
‘The other way of looking at it,’ I said, ‘is to think about what would have happened if Zeb and Jay were both innocent. The security guy from the family firm kills their cousin. How would they react? Not like this, surely.’
‘Unless they actually believe Luke Wallace did it.’
‘No,’ I was clear, ‘Zeb has invented evidence, I’m sure. They got together after it had happened and worked it out. The Siddiqs picked Luke out of a line-up. They didn’t know him, so how did they identify him? They’d been briefed.’
‘Not easy to describe someone…’
‘But with a photo…’ I thought of the postcard picture of the band. They’d had hundreds done – all Ahktar’s family and friends would have had them. Zeb or Jay could have shown the Siddiqs.
‘As for the warning, both Zeb and Jay were involved in some serious criminal activity, you know. It could be connected to that. Maybe Ahktar stumbled onto something or was threatening to inform on them.’ I told Dermott Pitt all I’d learnt about the suspected drug trade that the Khans were mixed up with.
‘Zeb seems to be the feckless one. He has a drug habit himself and he’s a gambler. Jay’s in charge. I’ve not met him yet.’
‘I wouldn’t advise it at present,’ Pitt observed dryly. ‘And the accomplice, the man who was with Mr Siddiq?’
‘Don’t know anything about him.’
He checked his watch and drew our meeting to its conclusion. ‘I will do what I can with this today,’ he said. ‘My first step will be to make an application for bail. That’ll put the wind up the prosecution, and I am very hopeful that Luke will be released some time in the next few days. Whether they discontinue or press for trial is a matter for the other side. Now,’ he rose, obliging me to do the same. Held out his hand. Smooth and cool.
I was deflated. I should have felt pleased. In all likelihood Luke would soon be out of Golborne. All down to my efforts but there was no elation. I tried to work out why as I returned to my car in the multi-storey. Had I expected praise perhaps? A ‘Well done’ or a ‘Bloody brilliant!’ from somebody? Was it the remaining uncertainty that undermined my sense of satisfaction? There was no definite outcome yet. And the thought that they would still take Luke to court and try him for Ahktar’s murder rankled with me. Hadn’t he been through enough?
When I got back to Nana Tello’s, I found Maddie asleep. Proof, if it were needed, of her sorry state. If she’d had a cough or a cold or even sickness I wouldn’t have bothered taking her to the doctor, knowing that she’d get well by herself. But earache was another matter.
Our doctor Moira, who is also an old friend, has no appointment system. It leads to long waits but at least you get seen the day you need to, rather than some time the following week. We were sixth in line. Not bad really. Maddie wanted to sit on my knee. I found a dog-eared Beano comic which we looked at together. She was subdued. Half an hour crawled by. I was hot and tired and Maddie was whining about her ear again. My stomach growled and gurgled. It had started eating itself.
‘Sal, Maddie, come in. Sit down,’ barked Moira. ‘What’s up?’
I explained and Moira told Maddie she was going to look into her ear with a special torch.