‘They said on the news they don’t know who the cut-up body in the park is... I reckon it was the same person done it who killed them women.’
Simmonds didn’t seem interested in that line of conversation. ‘Can you tell me which tooth it is that’s causing you pain?’ he asked, picking up a small dental mirror and probe.
‘It’s one of them back ones.’ Edwards pointed with a grubby finger.
Simmonds put the probe into Edwards’ mouth. ‘I’m going to tap your teeth, George. I want you to tell me if you feel any pain.’
Edwards grimaced as he felt the probe touch his back tooth. ‘Yeah, that hurt.’
‘Looks like you’ve got some decay there.’
‘Do I need a filling?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so. I’ll give you an injection to numb the tooth, hollow it out, remove the decay and put a filling in. I can assure you it will be quick and painless.’
Edwards was trying to stop himself shaking. He was terrified of having the procedure, but even more worried that he hadn’t got Simmonds to let slip anything incriminating. He knew everyone in the surveillance vehicles would be listening in and counting on him to get more out of Simmonds.
‘If it’ll stop me toof ache then I guess you’d better do it.’
Edwards watched nervously as Simmonds filled the dental syringe with novocaine. He knew he had to try and unsettle Simmonds before the injection numbed his mouth.
‘Who at the hostel recommended me?’ Simmonds asked.
‘Eric, the warden. He said you treated the bloke whose room the dead woman was found in. He said he used the name Ben Smith, but he was actually called Aiden somefing.’
Simmonds didn’t react as he squirted a little of the novocaine from the syringe. ‘I have so many patients, I can’t remember all their names.’
‘Some lady detective was back at the hostel this morning, lookin’ in his room and asking questions.’
Simmonds stopped as he was about to put the needle in Edwards’ mouth. ‘Did she find anything?’
‘I reckon so. She was carrying a little blue and red thing in a plastic bag.’
Without warning, Simmonds pushed the needle into Edwards’ gum.
Edwards gripped the arms of the dental chair as he felt a sharp pain. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed Moran to talk him into doing this.
Simmonds waited for a minute or so, then used the probe again, tapping it against Edwards’ tooth. ‘Can you feel that?’
Edwards tried to say he couldn’t feel anything, but his words were slurred. Simmonds picked up a dental drill and turned it on. Edwards’ knuckles turned white as he gripped the chair, the horrible sound filling him with fear. As Simmonds drilled into his tooth, he was relieved not to feel any pain, but the sound of the drill still caused his heart to pump so fast he thought was going to have a heart attack.
Simmonds didn’t say anything else as he finished off the filling, and the whole procedure was over in twenty minutes. He helped a still-shaky Edwards down the stairs and showed him to the door.
‘You’ll feel some discomfort when the injection wears off, I’m afraid. Take some painkillers if you need to.’ Simmonds opened the front door.
‘’anks for yer ’elp, mate,’ Edwards replied.
Simmonds put a hand on his arm. ‘The lady detective you mentioned — was her name Tennison?’ His voice was cold.
Edwards tried not to look surprised. ‘Yeah, I fink it was. You know her, then?’ he added casually.
‘We’ve met socially. She’s a very interesting lady. You could say we share a common interest.’ Simmonds gave him a chilly smile and closed the door.
Edwards returned to the station feeling miserable as the novocaine began to wear off. He made his way to Moran’s office but was finding it hard to focus his thoughts because of the pain.
Moran seemed pleased with him. ‘Well done, Edwards. I heard you actually had a filling done.’
‘Yes, sir. I’d like to say it was worth it, but my jaw hurts like mad. Did they manage to record everything?’ His speech was no longer slurred, but he still didn’t quite sound himself.
‘Yes. Gibbs radioed in with the basics. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the actual tape recording yet. The surveillance team is waiting to tail Simmonds when he leaves. Gibbs said they were feeling your pain as they listened. Apparently one officer nearly threw up when he heard the sound of the drill.’
‘He wasn’t the only one, sir.’
‘Do you think Simmonds sussed you were Old Bill?’
‘I don’t think so. He didn’t really react to anything. Apart from when I said a lady detective had been back to the hostel. That got a reaction, like he knew it was Tennison I was talking about.’ Edwards sighed. ‘I can’t help feeling like I haven’t achieved anything that helps us, sir.’
‘Don’t be silly, Edwards. You should be proud of what you did. Go on, get yourself off home and get some rest.’
‘If this tooth stops hurting I might,’ Edwards grumbled.
Halfway to the door, he realized he’d hadn’t told Moran what Simmonds had said at the door.
‘I forgot to mention, sir: as I was leaving, Simmonds mentioned Tennison by name. He said they’d met socially. Then his parting words about her were weird.’
Moran looked concerned. ‘What did he say?’
‘That Tennison was a very interesting lady... and they shared a common interest.’
Moran’s face turned red with anger. ‘The conceited bastard is talking about the murders!’
Chapter Twenty-Five
Arriving at work on the Tuesday morning, Jane went straight to Moran’s office. She knew the surveillance team had tailed Simmonds from his Peckham clinic back to his residence at Harley Street. Simmonds had left the premises at 7:30 p.m., but only to dine alone at a local restaurant, and Gibbs’ team were stood down at 10 p.m. whilst other officers took over the surveillance for the night.
‘Morning, sir. Lawrence told me the coroner wanted further enquiries to be made to trace Lang’s dental records.’
‘Yes, Lawrence and Professor Martin re-examined the severed hand and confirmed the clasped thumb. Lawrence also shared the odontologist’s findings with the coroner. But the coroner’s not willing to issue a death certificate in Aiden Lang’s name without conclusive evidence. So we need his dental records. It’s a long shot, but I’ve got some of the team making discreet enquiries at other dental practices in Peckham and other areas we know Lang frequented or lived.’
‘I could contact Hilary Peters. She might know if he had any fillings and which dentist did them.’
‘Not at the moment. Until the coroner allows for a death certificate to be issued in Lang’s name, we can’t tell anyone we suspect the body may be his.’
‘Doesn’t she have the right to know we think it might be Aiden?’
‘I understand your sentiments, Jane, but think what would happen if she went to the press. We’d have to say we don’t know if it’s him and the coroner would be livid. Get the team to help you compile a list of dentists in the areas we know Lang frequented.’
The surveillance operation continued at Simmonds’ Harley Street clinic all day and night on the Tuesday. As before, he left the building at 7:30 p.m. and dined alone at the same local restaurant. The detectives watching Simmonds began to wonder if he knew, or suspected, he was under observation. A frustrated Moran called for a full office meeting at ten o’clock on the Wednesday morning.
The team had a dejected air as they gathered in the CID office. Moran entered the room and called for attention.
‘Thank you for all your hard work and long hours on surveillance over the last two days, even though it didn’t get the result I’d hoped for. On the positive side, if it wasn’t for Tennison’s dogged determination, we’d still be looking for Lang and David Simmonds might never have become a suspect. DCS Blake spoke with the Commissioner, and they agreed we have grounds to arrest and interview Simmonds on suspicion of murder. A magistrate has also issued search warrants for Simmonds’ Peckham and Harley Street surgeries.’