murmured after Franklyn had replied ‘no fucking comment’ to the first three questions. ‘I’m going to
deal this one straight, Bobby, so that you know where I’m coming from. I think, then, you might decide to give me some answers. I’m not interested in your credit card fraud. As far as
I’m concerned that’s a separate issue. What I am interested in are the two people named on the cards, Mr Leo Wallader and Miss M. S. Harris, and the reason I’m interested is
because I have two corpses I can’t identify who were found in Ardingly Woods yesterday afternoon. Now, guesswork tells DS Fraser and myself that our couple could very well be Mr Wallader and
Miss Harris and it would save us a great deal of time and effort if you could confirm that for us, Bobby. We think the chances are you stumbled on the bodies a week or so ago and did what any
normal red-blooded male would do, and removed their wallets.’ He smiled amiably. ‘What the hell, eh? They were dead, not by your hand, no question about that, but they weren’t
going to need their credit cards any more, were they? How about giving us a break on this one? It really would help us to know who they are.’
‘Sod off,’ said Bobby. ‘No fucking comment.’
Maddocks glanced towards the young solicitor. ‘What say the Sergeant and I leave the room for five minutes and you discuss options with your client? It’s worth pointing
out, I think, that we might very well decide to bring additional charges against Mr Franklyn if and when we identify our dead couple as Wallader and Harris, and I should add that perverting the
course of justice will be the least of them.’
Fraser watched Bobby’s involuntary masturbation with marked distaste. ‘If we’re forced to go house to house on the Hawtree Estate, I wonder if we’ll turn up
someone else, a young girl perhaps, who was in the woods with Bobby.’
‘There weren’t no one wiv me,’ said Franklyn in a rush, ignoring his solicitor’s warning hand on his arm. Shit, if they ever found out he’d screwed a
twelve-year-old.
‘OK, OK, so I did find them two bodies and, Jesus, they were sodding ’orrible. Smashed bloody faces and bluebottles everywhere, but I was on me own. D’you fink
I’d ’ave been able to lift them cards if I’d ’ad someone wiv me? Use yer fucking brains. They’d ’ave wanted an in on the goods, wouldn’t they? But it was
like you said, them two was dead and they wasn’t gonna use their sodding cards again. Couldn’t see no ’arm in taking them and doin’ a bit of business.’
‘You had a duty to report it, Bobby,’ said Maddocks mildly, his habitual aggression cloaked in an encouraging smile which said: Don’t worry about it, lad,
we’re men of the world, you and I, and we both know rules are made to be broken.
‘Fuck that! It weren’t none of my business. If I were a bit keener on you lot, then maybe, but you’ve never done me no favours so why should I do one for you? They
was so bloody dead, you wouldn’t believe. Couldn’t see what difference it’d make to them if they was found a week ago or if they was found today. They’d still be dead,
wouldn’t they?’
Maddocks couldn’t argue with that. ‘Are you sure you were on your own, Bobby? If you had a girl with you we need to know now. It is important.’ He was thinking of
the skid marks on the bank, made by a woman’s heel.
‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ He pondered for a moment. ‘I’ll tell you this for free. If a girl ’ad seen what I saw, she’d still be puking all over the
sodding shop. I’m not thinking about it too much meself.’ His skin grew even more unhealthy-looking. ‘I ’ad to ’old me breath to search them. It was that bloody
disgusting. Reckon there was a million bluebottles in that ditch. You gonna charge me? It weren’t me what did them in. I don’t do that kind of stuff.’
Maddocks glanced at Fraser, who shrugged. The lad’s story certainly had the ring of
deal this one straight, Bobby, so that you know where I’m coming from. I think, then, you might decide to give me some answers. I’m not interested in your credit card fraud. As far as
I’m concerned that’s a separate issue. What I am interested in are the two people named on the cards, Mr Leo Wallader and Miss M. S. Harris, and the reason I’m interested is
because I have two corpses I can’t identify who were found in Ardingly Woods yesterday afternoon. Now, guesswork tells DS Fraser and myself that our couple could very well be Mr Wallader and
Miss Harris and it would save us a great deal of time and effort if you could confirm that for us, Bobby. We think the chances are you stumbled on the bodies a week or so ago and did what any
normal red-blooded male would do, and removed their wallets.’ He smiled amiably. ‘What the hell, eh? They were dead, not by your hand, no question about that, but they weren’t
going to need their credit cards any more, were they? How about giving us a break on this one? It really would help us to know who they are.’
‘Sod off,’ said Bobby. ‘No fucking comment.’
Maddocks glanced towards the young solicitor. ‘What say the Sergeant and I leave the room for five minutes and you discuss options with your client? It’s worth pointing
out, I think, that we might very well decide to bring additional charges against Mr Franklyn if and when we identify our dead couple as Wallader and Harris, and I should add that perverting the
course of justice will be the least of them.’
Fraser watched Bobby’s involuntary masturbation with marked distaste. ‘If we’re forced to go house to house on the Hawtree Estate, I wonder if we’ll turn up
someone else, a young girl perhaps, who was in the woods with Bobby.’
‘There weren’t no one wiv me,’ said Franklyn in a rush, ignoring his solicitor’s warning hand on his arm. Shit, if they ever found out he’d screwed a
twelve-year-old.
‘OK, OK, so I did find them two bodies and, Jesus, they were sodding ’orrible. Smashed bloody faces and bluebottles everywhere, but I was on me own. D’you fink
I’d ’ave been able to lift them cards if I’d ’ad someone wiv me? Use yer fucking brains. They’d ’ave wanted an in on the goods, wouldn’t they? But it was
like you said, them two was dead and they wasn’t gonna use their sodding cards again. Couldn’t see no ’arm in taking them and doin’ a bit of business.’
‘You had a duty to report it, Bobby,’ said Maddocks mildly, his habitual aggression cloaked in an encouraging smile which said: Don’t worry about it, lad,
we’re men of the world, you and I, and we both know rules are made to be broken.
‘Fuck that! It weren’t none of my business. If I were a bit keener on you lot, then maybe, but you’ve never done me no favours so why should I do one for you? They
was so bloody dead, you wouldn’t believe. Couldn’t see what difference it’d make to them if they was found a week ago or if they was found today. They’d still be dead,
wouldn’t they?’
Maddocks couldn’t argue with that. ‘Are you sure you were on your own, Bobby? If you had a girl with you we need to know now. It is important.’ He was thinking of
the skid marks on the bank, made by a woman’s heel.
‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ He pondered for a moment. ‘I’ll tell you this for free. If a girl ’ad seen what I saw, she’d still be puking all over the
sodding shop. I’m not thinking about it too much meself.’ His skin grew even more unhealthy-looking. ‘I ’ad to ’old me breath to search them. It was that bloody
disgusting. Reckon there was a million bluebottles in that ditch. You gonna charge me? It weren’t me what did them in. I don’t do that kind of stuff.’
Maddocks glanced at Fraser, who shrugged. The lad’s story certainly had the ring of
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