Read Online Jamaica Plain (9780738736396) by Colin Campbell - Free Book Online

seen.”
    â€œThen what the fuck’s it got to do with anything?”
    Sullivan looked embarrassed and Grant suddenly felt ashamed, like he’d kicked a puppy or something. The smile went out of Sullivan’s voice. “Just saying, is all.”
    Then he brightened. “My brother was an extra. Crossed the street in one scene.”
    â€œHow come he crossed the pond with you? You twins or something?”
    â€œYou know we ain’t. He’s my kid brother. We go everywhere together.”
    â€œOh yeah? What’s Sean doing these days?”
    â€œHe stamps car number plates.”
    â€œIn prison? That’s what they do over here, isn’t it? Like sewing mailbags.”
    â€œNaw. At Delaney’s over in West Roxbury. He don’t do prison. He’s the good brother.”
    That last part came out soft, almost soulful. Grant finished loading the tapes and snapped the caddies shut but didn’t start recording. Instead he took the record of interview sheet and filled in the names at the top. They weren’t the official West Yorkshire forms, but they’d do. This wasn’t going to court anyway. He filled in the spaces marked, location, date, name of interviewee, and interviewing officer. He left the time blank.
    â€œOkay, Freddy. You ready?”
    Sullivan nodded. The look of concentration was back on his face. He looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Like a man with a serious decision to make, and it wasn’t coming easy.
    Grant leaned over and pressed the Record button. He waited for the tapes to spool past the leader before he began the official preamble. “This interview is being tape recorded. The date is …”
    He stated the date.
    â€œAnd the time is …”
    He stated the time and wrote it down on the form.
    â€œI am PC three-six-seven Grant of the West Yorkshire Police and I am interviewing—will you state your name and date of birth for the tape, please?”
    Sullivan gave his name but stumbled over his date of birth. He had to repeat it twice before he got it right.
    â€œThank you. We are in an interview room at District E-13 in Boston, USA. Can you please confirm that there is no one else present?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThat there’s nobody else in the room.”
    â€œThere’s nobody else in the room.”
    â€œThank you. Right, Freddy, I am investigating a report of burglary at Patel’s Grocery Store, Ravenscliffe Avenue, Bradford, between the times of …”
    He stated the time and date of the burglary, then went on to describe how CCTV footage showed a white male approach the front of the shop at night, kick open the front door, then steal money from the cash register and cigarettes from the display. A witness saw this male leave the premises and walk behind the shops, out of sight. The description of this person matched that of Sullivan, leading to him being circulated on suspicion of burglary.
    â€œI thought you said there weren’t no witnesses.”
    â€œThe witness was unable to make a positive identification through personal knowledge or photographic records.”
    â€œOh, right. Yeah.”
    This was more information than Grant would normally give out at the beginning of an interview. Best practice was to simply state what offense he was investigating, then ask open questions about the suspect’s movements at a specific time and date. Get them to commit to a story before producing evidence to prove it was a lie. Even small lies could undermine the best defense. Get them caught in a lie early on, and it made it easier for the bigger lies later on.
    This was the opposite of that.
    This was laying it all out to get a quick denial.
    Only Sullivan didn’t deny it.
    Grant was taken aback for a moment. The confession had been blurted out in one short sentence, and it blew Grant’s strategy right out of the water. Under normal circumstances the