Read Online As The Crow Flies (The DI Nick Dixon Crime Series) by Damien Boyd - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Damien Boyd
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envelope to Jenna Williams?’
‘They were in the alleyway at the side of Rococo’s.’
‘Had you seen Jake in the club earlier that evening?’
‘No, he hadn’t been in.’
‘What was he wearing?’
‘God, I can’t remember that. Jeans and a leather jacket, I think, I don’t know. What does it matter?’
‘How did you know it was Jake in the alleyway?’
‘As soon as he finished with the girl he walked out into the street. It's well lit at the front of Rococo’s and I could see him as plain as day.’
‘What about Jenna Williams?’
‘She followed a few seconds later.’
‘So, if it was dark in the alleyway, Conrad, how did you know a deal had just been done?’
‘Because Jake was stuffing the money in his pocket and the Williams girl still had the bag in her hand.’
‘Did you know Jenna Williams?’
‘No, I didn’t find out who she was until later.’
‘I'm assuming you identified her from a photograph then?’
‘Yes.’
‘One last thing. Did you tell Jake you’d sold him PMA?’
‘What the…?’
‘Don’t fuck with me, Conrad. You have a string of convictions for possession and supplying class A and B drugs. You were Jake’s wholesaler. Right?’
‘Wrong. I’ve been clean for fucking ages now piss off out of it.’
‘PMA is serious stuff, and if I find out you’ve been pushing it, I’ll be all over you like a rash.’
Dixon paused on the landing of the metal staircase outside Benton’s flat. Oddly enough, he believed Benton, at least insofar as Jake had supplied the fatal dose to Jenna Williams. He didn’t believe the line that Benton was clean and suspected that he had supplied Jake with the drugs shortly before Jake had passed them on to Jenna Williams but that didn’t alter his gut feeling that it was Jake who had supplied the fatal dose. He looked at his watch. Time for a walk on the beach.
Benton waited until he was sure that Dixon had gone before he reached for his phone. He was shaking.
‘I just had some copper called Dixon here asking questions.’
‘What did you tell him?’
‘Nothing. I stuck to my statement.’
‘Then you have nothing to worry about.’
‘He knows I supplied the drugs to Fayter, that I was his fucking wholesaler.’
‘He’s not interested in that. He’s investigating Fayter’s death, which we know was an accident. So just forget it.’
Then the line went dead.
Six
Dixon was back in his office at Bridgwater Police Station by lunchtime. He locked Jake’s computer in the bottom drawer of his desk and put the golf ball retriever in the corner of his office behind his filing cabinet. He decided to spend the rest of the afternoon catching up with Operation Magpie. He was pleased to see that the investigation was coming together nicely. Raymond Standish and his two accomplices had been remanded in custody. The three computers and other documents recovered during the raids in Bristol had provided plenty of evidence of the burglaries themselves and subsequent identity thefts. Standish and the others would face multiple counts of burglary, theft and deception. It would make for a long indictment.
Dixon spent the rest of the afternoon on his own witness statement. This was going to be a long job and would not be completed in one sitting. He was not aware of the time until his phone rang just before 5.00pm.
‘There’s a Carl Harper on the line for you, Sir. Says he’s responding to a post you left on a web forum the other day.’
Dixon paused until he heard the usual click.
‘Detective Inspector Nick Dixon speaking. Can I help you?’
‘Yeah, my name is Carl Harper. You left a post on the UKClimbing forum asking about the accident in Cheddar Gorge a couple of weeks ago?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘I was there. I was climbing in the gorge that day with my girlfriend, Helen.’
‘Did you see the fall?’
‘No, I was climbing at the time. I heard the screams and turned round to see the guy land.
‘They were in the alleyway at the side of Rococo’s.’
‘Had you seen Jake in the club earlier that evening?’
‘No, he hadn’t been in.’
‘What was he wearing?’
‘God, I can’t remember that. Jeans and a leather jacket, I think, I don’t know. What does it matter?’
‘How did you know it was Jake in the alleyway?’
‘As soon as he finished with the girl he walked out into the street. It's well lit at the front of Rococo’s and I could see him as plain as day.’
‘What about Jenna Williams?’
‘She followed a few seconds later.’
‘So, if it was dark in the alleyway, Conrad, how did you know a deal had just been done?’
‘Because Jake was stuffing the money in his pocket and the Williams girl still had the bag in her hand.’
‘Did you know Jenna Williams?’
‘No, I didn’t find out who she was until later.’
‘I'm assuming you identified her from a photograph then?’
‘Yes.’
‘One last thing. Did you tell Jake you’d sold him PMA?’
‘What the…?’
‘Don’t fuck with me, Conrad. You have a string of convictions for possession and supplying class A and B drugs. You were Jake’s wholesaler. Right?’
‘Wrong. I’ve been clean for fucking ages now piss off out of it.’
‘PMA is serious stuff, and if I find out you’ve been pushing it, I’ll be all over you like a rash.’
Dixon paused on the landing of the metal staircase outside Benton’s flat. Oddly enough, he believed Benton, at least insofar as Jake had supplied the fatal dose to Jenna Williams. He didn’t believe the line that Benton was clean and suspected that he had supplied Jake with the drugs shortly before Jake had passed them on to Jenna Williams but that didn’t alter his gut feeling that it was Jake who had supplied the fatal dose. He looked at his watch. Time for a walk on the beach.
Benton waited until he was sure that Dixon had gone before he reached for his phone. He was shaking.
‘I just had some copper called Dixon here asking questions.’
‘What did you tell him?’
‘Nothing. I stuck to my statement.’
‘Then you have nothing to worry about.’
‘He knows I supplied the drugs to Fayter, that I was his fucking wholesaler.’
‘He’s not interested in that. He’s investigating Fayter’s death, which we know was an accident. So just forget it.’
Then the line went dead.
Six
Dixon was back in his office at Bridgwater Police Station by lunchtime. He locked Jake’s computer in the bottom drawer of his desk and put the golf ball retriever in the corner of his office behind his filing cabinet. He decided to spend the rest of the afternoon catching up with Operation Magpie. He was pleased to see that the investigation was coming together nicely. Raymond Standish and his two accomplices had been remanded in custody. The three computers and other documents recovered during the raids in Bristol had provided plenty of evidence of the burglaries themselves and subsequent identity thefts. Standish and the others would face multiple counts of burglary, theft and deception. It would make for a long indictment.
Dixon spent the rest of the afternoon on his own witness statement. This was going to be a long job and would not be completed in one sitting. He was not aware of the time until his phone rang just before 5.00pm.
‘There’s a Carl Harper on the line for you, Sir. Says he’s responding to a post you left on a web forum the other day.’
Dixon paused until he heard the usual click.
‘Detective Inspector Nick Dixon speaking. Can I help you?’
‘Yeah, my name is Carl Harper. You left a post on the UKClimbing forum asking about the accident in Cheddar Gorge a couple of weeks ago?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘I was there. I was climbing in the gorge that day with my girlfriend, Helen.’
‘Did you see the fall?’
‘No, I was climbing at the time. I heard the screams and turned round to see the guy land.
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