Page 106 of Killing Mind

‘You and me both,’ he said, looking pointedly at the screen.

‘Yeah, I’ll leave you to it. Just wanted to ask, how’s Penn? I hear his mother is quite close to…’

‘Penn’s Penn,’ he said, honestly. He didn’t bring his problems to work.

Bryant noted the way she looked down at her feet when she mentioned his name.

‘You know, you should probably ask him yourself. I’m sure he’d appreciate—’

‘Hey, Lynne, we’re up,’ Travis called from the other side of the room.

The man’s tie was now tightly fixed against his shirt collar and his jacket had been retrieved from the back of the chair.

‘Yeah, maybe…’ she said, grabbing a folder from her desk, and following her boss from the office.

He pressed play and watched the screen spring into life.

Travis and Lynne entered the room and Travis offered the detail to the camera.

Travis: Mr Drake, at this time you have waived your right to counsel?

Drake: Nodded.

Travis: Please answer.

Drake: Don’t want no lawyer. Just a smoke.

Travis: You understand you’ve been arrested for the rape and murder of Alice Lennox?

Drake: Yep.

Travis: What would you like to say?

Drake: I done it.

Travis: Wh… what?

Drake: I done it. I killed her. You got me.

Ten seconds of silence.

Travis: Mr Drake, are you confessing to the murder of Alice Lennox?

Drake: Sure am. That’s what you want to hear, right?

Lynne: Yes if it’s the truth.

Drake: Course it’s the truth, yer dumb bitch. I killed…

Travis: Mind your mouth, Mr Drake. Now do you want to expand on the admission?

Travis knew his stuff. He wanted the detail that would hold up in court when Peter Drake changed his mind and pled Not Guilty.

Drake: Look, she was a prostitute. She ain’t no loss. I approached her when she left the others. She followed me happily to make a few quid.

Travis: She followed you voluntarily?

Drake: Offered her seventy quid for a blow job. Course she followed me. I took her to Spinners Corner and smacked her one to get her down.