Читать книгу Forgive Me Father - Paul Gitsham - Страница 23

The decision the day before to change the cause of death for Father Nolan from suicide to homicide, led to an immediate shift in tempo. Murder investigations didn’t come with a blank cheque – nothing did these days – but requests, in particular for forensics, were more likely to be granted than for suicides. Appeals for support from headquarters in Welwyn Garden City would typically be approved, and more colleagues could be co-opted to help speed up and expand enquiries.

However, Warren had already been assigned as Senior Investigating Officer to Nolan’s suicide and DSI Grayson wasn’t going to change that.

‘Mags, I know that there is precious little CCTV on the site, but I want you to extend the seizure to cover all the cameras available, including internal areas. We have reliable sightings of Father Nolan, apparently alive and well, from after the evening meal that night. At some point he met his killer or killers. Did that happen in his room, or did they meet elsewhere in the grounds? Did he know them? They could have been waiting on site for him, so cross-reference visitors arriving that day with those leaving. There is a camera near the main entrance. It’s unlikely that the murderer came in that way, but let’s not miss the low-hanging fruit.’

‘Could be a big job, sir. Ticket sales were a couple of hundred that day, and the cameras aren’t great,’ warned Richardson. ‘The good news is that most visitors either have English Heritage membership or pay with a card. The regular parishioners coming to worship at the chapel are all known to the staff, and are let in for free. That should make identification of any unknowns a lot easier.’

‘I’ll authorise support from Welwyn. Focus on the day of the murder initially, look for anyone who comes in but doesn’t leave. There’s only one public entrance. The killer may also have visited before to recce the site, so pull in footage from the month preceding the murder, if it’s available – that way we’ve got it if we need it.

‘If they didn’t use the entrance, then the killer had to get on site somehow, so widen the net around the abbey site to a mile, check if any of the nearby residential properties or businesses have CCTV. If the killer accessed the abbey by climbing over the wall, they may have been caught on camera. Prioritise video from immediately adjacent to the abbey and work backwards from the day of the murder. Again, we’ll look at the wider area if needed.

‘Get traffic to pull in ANPR cameras from the previous month and have them cross-reference the plates with locals. If the killer did arrive by car, he or she may have parked a few streets away.’

‘Got it,’ replied Richardson.

‘Hutch, I need you to go back and re-interview all the residents, staff and volunteers from the abbey. It looks as though somebody may have spiked Father Nolan’s drink with his own medication. That person may well have been in his room with him, which suggests that he may have not only known them but will have been comfortable enough with them to have them in his room. I’ll get DSI Grayson to authorise some extra bodies and sign off on any overtime. This murder wasn’t some chancer, or a robbery gone wrong. It took planning and forethought; whoever did it is not only smart, they also had a motive. Nobody is universally loved – not even the Chief Constable – so let’s see who might have had a grievance with our victim.’

‘I agree, sir. But what if the motive has nothing to do with Father Nolan himself?’

Warren could see where the experienced detective was headed.

‘That’s where DS Pymm comes in. Rachel, I want you to trawl the records and see if there is anything beyond Father Nolan. Perhaps a person with a grievance with somebody else at the home, or a wider upset with the church as a whole.’

‘Take a ticket, and join the queue,’ grumbled Sutton. ‘That list grows longer every day.’

Pymm nodded. She already had her notepad out, scribbling down ideas.

‘Have a look at the PNC and see if anyone associated with the abbey has a file on the system. Whilst you’re at it, cross-reference with the probation service and see if anyone interesting has either been released recently or moved to the area. Be creative, contact the Social Media Intelligence Unit for assistance.’

With that, the meeting broke up. Warren watched his officers leave with a touch of envy. Most investigative work was a repetitive, long slog. He knew from experience that the twentieth person he interviewed would become muddled up with the thirtieth, unless he took scrupulous notes. Similarly, a day staring at grainy CCTV footage would leave him with a headache – a week of it and even his dreams would take place in a jerky, faded world.

But there was no denying the sense of purpose that it brought. The feeling that you were at the very heart of the investigation, an essential part of a team and that what you stumbled across might just be the vital clue that moved the case forward.

Warren supposed he should count himself lucky. So many of his peers, upon reaching the rank of inspector or above, retreated into their offices, their time filled with meetings, budget reports and people management. That came with the job, and it was an essential role in modern policing. But he’d seen the wistful looks on his fellow DCIs’ faces as he left the latest management away day, and headed back to his team, whilst they scurried to their next meeting.

This unusual position was a result of Middlesbury CID’s unique history. Tucked away in the very north of the county, about as far from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City as it was possible to be and not cross the county borders, Middlesbury CID had remained a local first-response unit dealing with issues as they arose in Middlesbury and the surrounding towns and villages. The unit had survived the consolidation when Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire moved all of their major crime units into a single building in Welwyn Garden City.

Maintaining Middlesbury’s independence had been the personal mission of Warren’s predecessor, DCI Gavin Sheehy. Unfortunately, the man’s uncompromising attitude had won him as many enemies as admirers, and when he was arrested for corruption, many saw that as vindication of the view that Middlesbury needed to be disbanded and absorbed into the main unit in Welwyn.

Whether DSI John Grayson had been appointed to save or bury Middlesbury CID was still unclear four years on. Tony Sutton maintained that the fate of Middlesbury CID was directly related to its usefulness in securing Grayson’s next promotion and corresponding final salary pension; Warren felt that whilst his theory wasn’t entirely without merit, it was a bit unfair to the man.

Of course, none of this was made clear to Warren as he was parachuted in to fill the vacancy left by Sheehy. Warren’s first weeks as a newly promoted DCI had seen him walk unprepared into a maelstrom of politics that he’d been forced to deal with as he headed up his first major murder investigation. Over the next few months, Warren had found himself chasing a serial rapist and murderer, and embroiled in a cold case that had soon become all too personal. That investigation had led to the resolution of many of the issues surrounding the death of Warren’s father when he was a teenager, but had led to new and unexpected betrayals.

When he had been interviewed for the role, Warren had made it clear that he wanted to use his time at Middlesbury to segue from an active Senior Investigating Officer to the more managerial role that a senior officer such as a DCI would typically fulfil. Grayson, it turned out, was more than happy to pass over anything investigative to Warren, assigning him as SIO to everything that came their way. Grayson, for his part, spent much of his time down at Welwyn.

On a good day, Warren was grateful that his Superintendent shielded him and his team from much of the administrative side of policing; on a bad day, Warren wished the man would do a bit less schmoozing, play a little less golf and actually get his hands dirty, instead of simply taking all the credit for the team’s hard work.

That aside, there was one aspect of the job that Grayson could keep to himself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be possible today. With a sigh, Warren slipped on his best jacket, checked his hair in the mirror, and headed for the car park.

He hated press conferences.