reinvestigate only if you were happy about it.’
‘Well this is all news to me and, to be honest, it’s sort of pulled the rug from under me slightly. If he was unhappy about the way I’ve been conducting my investigation—’
Anna, wanting to diffuse the situation, interrupted him. ‘Mike, he’s not. He feels that you have too much onyour plate running all three investigations together. To ease your workload he wants me to look at the Jordan case and you to deal with Fidelis Flynn and see what similarities we find that may link Oates to their disappearance and murder.’
Mike mulled Anna’s comments over in his mind before replying. ‘Oates thinks I will try and fit him up so independent investigations would help counter that type of allegation,’ he conceded.
‘Mike, you are the senior DCI and it’s your team so I understand if you are uncomfortable with me being here. I want to assist you in any way I can and will do whatever is necessary so that we can work together rather than in any competitive manner.’
‘As you can see my office is tiny with just the one computer terminal.’
‘I know that. I’m quite happy to work in the team office.’
He shrugged, and again she waited for his response.
‘Okay by me, but so far we have been unable to get any admission from Oates that what he said in his original statement about killing two other girls was the truth. He claims he made it up or we are trying to fit him up with murder. I interviewed him this morning at the prison and the reality is I’m no further forward.’
‘Kumar’s representing him, isn’t he?’
‘Yeah, and straight up I can’t stand him. I think he’s schooling Oates but I can’t see why as he’s bang to rights for the murder of Justine Marks.’
‘Which he has admitted to?’
‘Well he’s lying, trying to say it was an accident. I went to the pathology and forensic labs after the prison visit and there’s a load of evidence against him for murder.’
‘Do you think Kumar might go for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility?’
‘There’s no medical history to show Oates is mentally unstable and Kumar hasn’t asked for pre-trial psychiatric reports.’
‘It’s early days, Mike. If you have evidence against Oates only for Justine Marks then Kumar knows there’s a good chance the CPS may accept a manslaughter plea on diminished.’
‘That’s Kumar and the court’s problem, but if that situation arises …’
Anna pursed her lips and put up her hand to interrupt.
‘What was he like during the interviews?’ she asked.
‘His moods changed. At the station he went from calm to belligerent then visibly anxious, chewing his lip and tapping his foot.’
‘What about at the prison?’
‘He seemed depressed and avoided eye contact until I confronted him about how he knew Fidelis Julia Flynn was an exchange student.’
‘He may not have killed her. He could have met her legitimately and be frightened to say so as he thinks it would implicate him in her disappearance.’
‘You really know how to brighten up my day, Anna.’
‘Sorry, Mike, just being devil’s advocate. If Oates did kill Rebekka and Fidelis then he had to dispose of the bodies somehow, somewhere. If it wasn’t for the uniform officers stopping Oates Justine Marks could have been just another “Misper” statistic.’
‘We know he’s done some work on building sites but where and when is proving difficult to find out. He’s been virtually unemployed for ten years and claiming benefits, so anything extra was probably cash in hand.’
‘Well he can clearly drive so maybe he disposes of his victims locally.’
‘I know that, Anna, but with the length of time since both girls went missing and no confirmed locations it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. I had a search unit check Hackney Marshes but they found nothing.’
‘Not much to go on then?’
‘You said it.’
Anna stood and picked up her empty
‘Well this is all news to me and, to be honest, it’s sort of pulled the rug from under me slightly. If he was unhappy about the way I’ve been conducting my investigation—’
Anna, wanting to diffuse the situation, interrupted him. ‘Mike, he’s not. He feels that you have too much onyour plate running all three investigations together. To ease your workload he wants me to look at the Jordan case and you to deal with Fidelis Flynn and see what similarities we find that may link Oates to their disappearance and murder.’
Mike mulled Anna’s comments over in his mind before replying. ‘Oates thinks I will try and fit him up so independent investigations would help counter that type of allegation,’ he conceded.
‘Mike, you are the senior DCI and it’s your team so I understand if you are uncomfortable with me being here. I want to assist you in any way I can and will do whatever is necessary so that we can work together rather than in any competitive manner.’
‘As you can see my office is tiny with just the one computer terminal.’
‘I know that. I’m quite happy to work in the team office.’
He shrugged, and again she waited for his response.
‘Okay by me, but so far we have been unable to get any admission from Oates that what he said in his original statement about killing two other girls was the truth. He claims he made it up or we are trying to fit him up with murder. I interviewed him this morning at the prison and the reality is I’m no further forward.’
‘Kumar’s representing him, isn’t he?’
‘Yeah, and straight up I can’t stand him. I think he’s schooling Oates but I can’t see why as he’s bang to rights for the murder of Justine Marks.’
‘Which he has admitted to?’
‘Well he’s lying, trying to say it was an accident. I went to the pathology and forensic labs after the prison visit and there’s a load of evidence against him for murder.’
‘Do you think Kumar might go for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility?’
‘There’s no medical history to show Oates is mentally unstable and Kumar hasn’t asked for pre-trial psychiatric reports.’
‘It’s early days, Mike. If you have evidence against Oates only for Justine Marks then Kumar knows there’s a good chance the CPS may accept a manslaughter plea on diminished.’
‘That’s Kumar and the court’s problem, but if that situation arises …’
Anna pursed her lips and put up her hand to interrupt.
‘What was he like during the interviews?’ she asked.
‘His moods changed. At the station he went from calm to belligerent then visibly anxious, chewing his lip and tapping his foot.’
‘What about at the prison?’
‘He seemed depressed and avoided eye contact until I confronted him about how he knew Fidelis Julia Flynn was an exchange student.’
‘He may not have killed her. He could have met her legitimately and be frightened to say so as he thinks it would implicate him in her disappearance.’
‘You really know how to brighten up my day, Anna.’
‘Sorry, Mike, just being devil’s advocate. If Oates did kill Rebekka and Fidelis then he had to dispose of the bodies somehow, somewhere. If it wasn’t for the uniform officers stopping Oates Justine Marks could have been just another “Misper” statistic.’
‘We know he’s done some work on building sites but where and when is proving difficult to find out. He’s been virtually unemployed for ten years and claiming benefits, so anything extra was probably cash in hand.’
‘Well he can clearly drive so maybe he disposes of his victims locally.’
‘I know that, Anna, but with the length of time since both girls went missing and no confirmed locations it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. I had a search unit check Hackney Marshes but they found nothing.’
‘Not much to go on then?’
‘You said it.’
Anna stood and picked up her empty
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