Page 111 of The Scene of the Crime

‘No. He gave me a couple of days to get the money and said to ring him when I had it and then come and collect the stuff, which I did.’

‘How much did you pay for it?’ Chapman asked. ‘Three hundred and fifty quid.’

‘Did you think it was stolen property, or was that a fair secondhand price?’ Chapman asked, deliberately giving Palmer a chance to sound good, but he didn’t twig.

‘When I gave him the money, he poked me hard in the chest and told me I wasn’t to tell anyone. That’s when I thought it might be stolen. Then one night, I was just coming out of my flat and I saw him in the road, and he was just standing there staring at me. It freaked me out because it meant he knew where I lived.’

‘Did he ever try to sell you any jewellery?’

‘No. Not interested in that stuff, just video games, like what he sold me.’

‘Did you have any dealings with Wheeler after that?’ Chapman asked.

‘No, he scared me, the way he was outside my flat. Somebody told me he’d done this bloke in at some place he was living, so I didn’t want to go near him. I know the landlord of the pub wasn’t keen on him being around and . . .’

Jessica interrupted him by holding up her hand. ‘Listen, Liam, we’ve examined your mobile phone. Wheeler called you on Monday around six p.m., and you spoke with each other for a couple of minutes. Is that right?’

A worried-looking Liam nodded. ‘I only did what he asked because I was scared of him.’

‘I understand, but we need to know what he asked you to do,’ Chapman said briskly.

‘He said he had a car he needed to get rid of and claim the insurance on. He wanted a can of petrol but was worried he might get seen on the cameras. It was me who turned them off. He paid me five hundred quid for doing it and letting him have the petrol and a can.’

‘Did you not think that was a lot of money for a can of petrol and switching the CCTV off?’ Chapman asked.

‘I wasn’t going to argue.’

‘Did you see the car?’ Chapman asked.

‘No. He must have parked it up the road somewhere and walked to the garage.’

‘Did he threaten you?’

‘When he gave me the money, he said if I told the police or anyone about the car, he’d come after me. I was shit scared. That’s why I didn’t tell you about him.’

‘Do you know anyone Wheeler’s close to?’ Chapman asked.

‘No. Will I have to give evidence against him in court? What if he finds out what I’ve told you?’

‘I couldn’t tell you this earlier because I didn’t want it to influence your answers. We found Wheeler at his flat, but he was dead. He can’t hurt you.’

Palmer gasped. ‘He’s dead! What the fuck happened to him?’

‘The postmortem will determine the exact cause of death. However, it looks like he was tortured, possibly to extract information,’ Chapman said.

‘Oh my God, will they come after me as well?’ He suddenly looked terrified.

‘No, they won’t, because whoever else is involved with Wheeler doesn’t know what you told us and never will,’ Chapman said calmly.

‘What will happen to me now?’

‘We will speak to the CPS, and I’m confident they will drop the charges regarding the De Klerk case. As I said before, I’m going to ask that the attempted rape charge be dropped to indecent exposure. However, you’ll still have to go to court for that and the burglary charge you were wanted on a warrant for.’

‘But you will protect me, right?’

‘Of course I will, but I can’t make the decision to release you right now. You’re going to have to go back to your cell and you’ll appear in court later this morning. I’ll let Mr Baldwin, your solicitor, know what’s happened. He can apply for bail on your behalf, but it’s up to the magistrate.’

The interview door suddenly burst open, and a red-faced Anderson entered the room with the custody officer in tow. ‘This interview is terminated,’ he shouted, leaning over and turning off the recorder. ‘Take him back to his cell, immediately!’ he told the custody officer. He turned to Chapman and Jessica. ‘The pair of you in my office now!’ The custody officer grabbed a terrified Palmer by the arm and lifted him from his seat.