Read Online Hail and Farewell (The Lakeland Murders) by J. J. Salkeld - Free Book Online
Authors: J. J. Salkeld
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file, Andy. You can see that the kid came up clean. Just a hard-working young lad, who’s never been in any trouble, and who came from a loving home. It was a terrible, terrible accident.’
‘You’re probably right, of course you are. But a couple of things still don’t feel quite right.’
‘Like what?’
‘Let’s start with the lads who were hospitalised. All gang members, right?’
‘Yes, absolutely no doubt about it.’
‘So it seems like a bit of a co-incidence that Chris died within minutes of it all kicking off in the middle of that scrum, doesn’t it?’
‘Like I say, it was just an accident. He wasn’t connected to either gang.’
‘Or maybe we just haven’t found the connection yet.’
‘So you’ll tell the ACC that we need to keep going? She’s already hinting that she’d support an early no-crime conclusion.’
‘Yes, I thought she’d be doing that. I’ll email her and put my foot down.The good one, anyway.’
Jane laughed.
‘So let’s stay positive, Jane. You’ve got masses to go at yet. And look at it this way. Even if you end up confirming that the death was an accident then at least you’ll be able to give the family some comfort. It’s not much, I know, but it’s still something.’
‘I suppose so. And you’re right, we do have more evidence to review. For a start we’ve got that video shot by the film crew that was at the game, and then there’s Hayton and Moffett themselves. They’ve got to be worth a chat, even if all we do is piss on their chips.’
Hall laughed. ‘OK, so what’s your plan for tomorrow?’
‘Well, I’ll take a look at all the background again, like you said. And I’ll just suggest to Ian that we review each other’s work from yesterday.’
‘Nice one.’
‘And then I’ll arrange for us both to see Hayton and Moffett. Like I say, even if it ends up getting no-crimed it wouldn’t do any harm to let those two know that we’re interested in them.’
‘Agreed. Apart from anything else there’s another game tomorrow night. We don’t want some sort of major public order problem, if the two tribes decide to go to war again.’
‘I’ll talk to the divisional Super about how we deal with that. I want to have plenty of bodies on the ground.’
Hall laughed.
‘You know what I mean, Andy. Our bodies, looking for witnesses. We could certainly do with them.’
‘Sounds good. Make sure you get a decent night’s sleep, Jane.’
‘Do as I say, not do as I do.’
‘Always.’ She could hear the smile in his voice, and she missed him.
‘Have you thought about that other thing, Andy?’
‘Of course. I need a bit more time. But I’m not against the idea, not at all. How are you feeling about it?’
‘The same. I’ve made up my mind, but if you’re not in complete agreement, then….’
‘I know, don’t worry. So you get some rest, yes? Don’t stay up ’til all hours working on the files.’
‘I won’t. Goodnight, Andy.’
Tuesday, 22nd April
Jenny Walker was waiting for Jane Francis when she and Ian Mann reached the incident room at just after eight, and the three of them stood in front of the big monitor.
‘There’s hours of footage’ she said, ‘but here’s the bit we’re interested in. It starts at 10.45pm. Look, there’s Pete Crone and his mates getting stuck in.’
The quality of the footage was remarkably high, especially when the game was on the well-let council office car park. It was perfectly possible to make out many of the faces, especially when the camera moved over the centre of the scrum, and some of the players looked up.
‘There’s sound as well’ said Jenny, turning up the volume. There were shouts, mostly indistinct and muffled, so Jane gestured for Jenny to turn the volume down.
The three of them stood and watched the footage in silence.
‘Did this bloke keep filming right through to when Chris Brown was seen in the water?’
‘Yes, ma’am. Apparently the idea
‘You’re probably right, of course you are. But a couple of things still don’t feel quite right.’
‘Like what?’
‘Let’s start with the lads who were hospitalised. All gang members, right?’
‘Yes, absolutely no doubt about it.’
‘So it seems like a bit of a co-incidence that Chris died within minutes of it all kicking off in the middle of that scrum, doesn’t it?’
‘Like I say, it was just an accident. He wasn’t connected to either gang.’
‘Or maybe we just haven’t found the connection yet.’
‘So you’ll tell the ACC that we need to keep going? She’s already hinting that she’d support an early no-crime conclusion.’
‘Yes, I thought she’d be doing that. I’ll email her and put my foot down.The good one, anyway.’
Jane laughed.
‘So let’s stay positive, Jane. You’ve got masses to go at yet. And look at it this way. Even if you end up confirming that the death was an accident then at least you’ll be able to give the family some comfort. It’s not much, I know, but it’s still something.’
‘I suppose so. And you’re right, we do have more evidence to review. For a start we’ve got that video shot by the film crew that was at the game, and then there’s Hayton and Moffett themselves. They’ve got to be worth a chat, even if all we do is piss on their chips.’
Hall laughed. ‘OK, so what’s your plan for tomorrow?’
‘Well, I’ll take a look at all the background again, like you said. And I’ll just suggest to Ian that we review each other’s work from yesterday.’
‘Nice one.’
‘And then I’ll arrange for us both to see Hayton and Moffett. Like I say, even if it ends up getting no-crimed it wouldn’t do any harm to let those two know that we’re interested in them.’
‘Agreed. Apart from anything else there’s another game tomorrow night. We don’t want some sort of major public order problem, if the two tribes decide to go to war again.’
‘I’ll talk to the divisional Super about how we deal with that. I want to have plenty of bodies on the ground.’
Hall laughed.
‘You know what I mean, Andy. Our bodies, looking for witnesses. We could certainly do with them.’
‘Sounds good. Make sure you get a decent night’s sleep, Jane.’
‘Do as I say, not do as I do.’
‘Always.’ She could hear the smile in his voice, and she missed him.
‘Have you thought about that other thing, Andy?’
‘Of course. I need a bit more time. But I’m not against the idea, not at all. How are you feeling about it?’
‘The same. I’ve made up my mind, but if you’re not in complete agreement, then….’
‘I know, don’t worry. So you get some rest, yes? Don’t stay up ’til all hours working on the files.’
‘I won’t. Goodnight, Andy.’
Tuesday, 22nd April
Jenny Walker was waiting for Jane Francis when she and Ian Mann reached the incident room at just after eight, and the three of them stood in front of the big monitor.
‘There’s hours of footage’ she said, ‘but here’s the bit we’re interested in. It starts at 10.45pm. Look, there’s Pete Crone and his mates getting stuck in.’
The quality of the footage was remarkably high, especially when the game was on the well-let council office car park. It was perfectly possible to make out many of the faces, especially when the camera moved over the centre of the scrum, and some of the players looked up.
‘There’s sound as well’ said Jenny, turning up the volume. There were shouts, mostly indistinct and muffled, so Jane gestured for Jenny to turn the volume down.
The three of them stood and watched the footage in silence.
‘Did this bloke keep filming right through to when Chris Brown was seen in the water?’
‘Yes, ma’am. Apparently the idea
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