Page 41 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)
Jessica laid her notepad, pen and a bottle of water neatly on the table before switching on her computer and opening the link to the interview room at Barking.
She could feel herself getting tense, not knowing how she would react to seeing William Palmer’s face after so many years.
The interview room appeared on the screen, but it was empty.
She opened the water bottle, took a sip and sat back, awaiting Palmer and the interviewing officers’ arrival.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and a tall, well-built, bald male entered the room.
She couldn’t see his face as his head was down, but she knew it must be Palmer.
He was followed by a short man in a dark blue suit, who Jessica assumed was his solicitor.
Anderson and Chapman then entered the room, and they all sat down at the table, Palmer and his solicitor on one side and the officers on the other.
Only then did she get a good clear look at him and instantly felt her heartbeat quicken.
With his completely bald head, large dark eyes with no eyebrows, pointed nose and thin lips, he looked freakish.
She realised she would never have recognised him if she hadn’t known who he was.
Anderson turned on the digital recording machine and gave his name, the date, time and interview location.
He then said the other officer present was Detective Inspector Michael Chapman.
Palmer kept his head down while Anderson asked the others present to identify themselves. The solicitor gave his name as Matthew Baldwin, but Palmer said nothing, and Anderson again asked him to state his name. Jessica watched as he slowly raised his head and scowled at the camera.
‘I am Liam John Palmer,’ he said assertively and pointed to his head. ‘I got these injuries because the officers who arrested me beat me up for no reason!’
Anderson informed Palmer that he and his solicitor were welcome to make an official complaint of assault, which he assured them would be thoroughly investigated. ‘Do you prefer to be called William or Liam?’
‘Everyone calls me Liam these days,’ he replied with a shrug.
Anderson cautioned him and asked him if he understood.
Palmer nodded, and Anderson explained what the police had found at the De Klerks’ house, including graphic details of De Klerk’s injuries.
‘He remains in a coma,’ he added. Palmer remained silent and seemingly emotionless as he listened.
‘Can you tell me where you were on last Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning?’
‘No comment,’ Palmer replied.
‘We made enquiries at the Jet garage, Hollybush Hill, where you work. They told us that you had the weekend off and didn’t start work again until nine p.m. Monday. Is that correct?’
‘No comment.’
‘Is there anyone who can account for your movements on the night of the crime?’
‘No comment.’
‘I appreciate your solicitor may have advised you to give “no comment” answers. However, this is your opportunity to tell us where you were and what you were doing on the night Johan De Klerk was beaten and stabbed. Failure to do so could harm your defence if you are charged.’
‘No comment.’
‘Johan De Klerk’s sixty-thousand-pound Rolex watch was stolen during the break-in. We also believe a large sum of cash was taken. Do you know anything about that?’
‘No comment.’
Anderson put a photograph on the table and slid it towards Palmer, who leaned forward to look at it. ‘We have positively identified the Rolex watch in the photograph from its serial number. It’s Mr De Klerk’s. There’s two thousand pounds in cash next to it. Have you seen these items before?’
‘No comment.’ Palmer slid the picture back and yawned. Jessica could tell he was faking it, trying to appear unconcerned. She also noticed his dirty fingernails when he slid the photograph back across the table.
‘We searched your flat early this morning while you were at work. We found the watch and the money hidden under the kitchen sink. Can you explain how they got there?’
Jessica watched as Palmer’s eyes opened wide with surprise. He shook his head and was clearly about to say something when his solicitor nudged him. Palmer looked desperate as he turned to his solicitor, who shook his head.
He licked his lips, looking nervous. ‘No comment,’ he said quietly.
‘This information was not disclosed to me before the interview,’ Baldwin said with a stern look.
‘We are not obliged to disclose all our evidence to you, Mr Baldwin,’ Anderson replied calmly.
‘Well, I have not had the opportunity to discuss this development with my client, and I’d like to do so.’
‘Certainly. But before we take a break, I’d like to inform you that Mr De Klerk’s Range Rover was also stolen during the aggravated burglary, most likely as a getaway vehicle.
It was recovered on Tuesday morning after being set alight.
The location is not far from your client’s flat and very close to the petrol station where he works.
’ Anderson put a photograph of the burnt-out vehicle on the table.
Jessica saw Palmer take a deep breath and nervously exhale as he looked at the photograph.
‘You just said my client was working on Monday night from nine p.m. He does a twelve-hour shift, so it can’t have been him that set the car alight,’ Baldwin said quickly.
‘You’re right about Liam working that night, but we cannot be sure he remained in the garage all night as he works alone.’
‘Their CCTV should confirm it,’ Baldwin said.
‘We’ve already obtained the CCTV. The strange thing is that it went down during the early hours of Tuesday morning, and nothing was recorded for about two hours.’
‘Between what times?’ Baldwin asked.
‘One to three a.m., which would cover the time we think the Range Rover was set alight.’
‘If the till receipts show sales between those times, my client can’t have left the garage.’
‘I have an officer checking them as we speak, Mr Baldwin.’
‘Is there anything else you’d like to surprise us with DCI Anderson?’ Baldwin asked.
Anderson handed him a photograph of the PlayStation, laptop and Xbox.
‘We found these items in Liam’s flat and checked the serial numbers.
They were stolen during a burglary two months ago in Chigwell, along with jewellery valued at two hundred thousand pounds.
We’d like to know how Liam came to be in possession of the items and if he knows where the stolen jewellery is. ’
Baldwin was about to say something, but Liam spoke first. ‘I didn’t steal the laptop and game boxes. I bought them . . .’
Baldwin nudged Palmer to stop talking. ‘I’d like to use the private consultation room to speak to my client.’
‘Certainly. I’ll get one of the custody officers to organise it. Take your time and let me know when you’re ready to recommence the interview.’ Anderson switched the digital recorder off, and he and Chapman left the room.
As the door closed, Liam turned to Baldwin with a desperate look.
‘The cops are fitting me up! I’ve never even heard of this De Klerk bloke .
. .’ Baldwin pointed to the camera and told him to say nothing more until they were in the private consultation room.
A custody officer then entered the room and asked them to follow him.
Jessica watched as Palmer left the room.
She noticed he was dragging his right foot and assumed he’d injured his leg when he tripped, trying to avoid arrest.
Jessica texted Chapman, saying that she would speak to the rest of her team regarding any forensic results and call him in about twenty minutes. She then went to the main office, where Diane, Guy and Taff were still seated around the computer screen on which they had watched the interview.
‘Underneath all that bravado, Palmer’s shitting himself. He’s clearly lying,’ Taff said, and the others nodded in agreement.
‘I thought Anderson was pretty good in the interview. He didn’t get flustered, and I liked how he sprung the stuff about the car and CCTV near the end,’ Diane remarked.
‘Palmer looked really worried at that point and wanted to talk, but Baldwin shut him off again. What do you think, Jessica?’ Guy asked.
‘I agree Palmer is hiding something. But he could just be an accomplice of the intruder.’
‘I definitely think someone else is involved,’ Guy said, and they all looked at him.
He picked up a mobile phone and his A4 notepad from his desk. ‘This is the phone Taff found in the toilet. The surface had been wiped clean, so no DNA or fingerprints were recovered. Palmer also had a personal iPhone, which I’ve yet to examine.’
‘So, Palmer could have used that burner phone to communicate with someone else involved in the break-in,’ Taff suggested.
Guy held it up. ‘It is a cheap Android with prepaid minutes and no formal contract. I retrieved the number via the SIM card and contacted the service provider. It’s been live for seven days.
No standard calls or text messages have been sent or received on the phone, but internet connections were made, the last one being early Tuesday morning, then it was turned off at eight p.m. that evening. ’
‘What was its last cell site location?’ Jessica asked, opening her notebook and taking a pen from her pocket.
‘A mast in Montague Road E11, the same street as John Walsh Tower. Cell site analysis showed it was used for internet connections on Monday at four a.m. and again on the evening De Klerk was assaulted. The phone has WhatsApp, which allows users to communicate via the internet. Unfortunately, all the data has been erased, and no backup was created. WhatsApp does not store any data relating to messages or calls as everything is end-to-end encrypted.’
Taff sighed. ‘So, we’ll never know what calls or messages were made or received?’
‘I’ve got some data recovery software programs I can use. Fingers crossed, I might be able to retrieve the WhatsApp data,’ Guy said.
‘How long will it take?’ Jessica asked.