Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
M ac
I give Shari a nod when she informs me that Levi has arrived to give his statement, and tell her to go on ahead as I take a few deep breaths, trying not to preempt how it’s going to go. I’ve taken hundreds of witness statements over the years, but none from anyone who’s been on my mind so much, and definitely not for the reasons he’s been in my thoughts and dreams. I rise and make my way down to the interview rooms, and find Shari waiting for me outside, and she follows me in when I enter.
He’s sitting in the chair, arms resting on the table, dressed in jeans and a black hoodie. The hood is up, obscuring his face as he plays with a loose thread on his cuff. He looks up as we enter and I see a depth of pain and vulnerability in his soft grey eyes that makes my chest go cold. He looks up at me then it’s gone. Steel shutters slam down on that glimpse into his innermost self.
His eyes, now dark and unyielding, narrow as he sits back.
“Hello Levi, I’m Detective West, and I believe you’ve met Detective Dhutta,” I begin, for as far as Shari’s concerned, I’ve never met Levi before.
He leans back further so the front legs of the chair leave the floor. His shoulders tense squarely and his mouth is a thin line as he juts his chin out defiantly.
“How’s the jaw?”
Fuck!
I curse inwardly, not only at his opener but because getting anything out of him might be difficult. He did come here voluntarily, though, so he obviously has a story to tell. But first I need a talk with him. I turn to Shari.
“Detective Dhutta, have you offered Mr Burton a drink yet?”
“No sir. I’ll rectify that straight away,” she says, and I see she understands my meaning. She’s smart and she’ll not ask any questions, not now anyway. Heaven knows what I’m going to say to her later, because I don’t think for a minute she’s not going to want to know what’s going on. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. Now all my attention is on the young man in front of me who looks like he’s going to make a bolt for the door, and if he does, he might never come back.
Shari asks what Levi wants and leaves us alone.
Levi is on one side of the only table in the small room; it has a couple of chairs arranged on either side.
I pull a chair away from the table, to create a little bit of distance, and sit down on the opposite side from Levi so I’m not looming over him.
“It’s healing,” I say, my hand involuntarily rubbing the place where he hit me, just like it has for the last couple of days. I see his eyes flick to track the movement, but other than that he doesn’t move a muscle. I need to make a few things clear, but I don’t want to scare him off.
“Levi, I get the feeling you have something important to tell us, and if it’s something that’s going to help my case, I’m grateful. All interviews are recorded and transcribed, so we’re going to video this one, but if you make mention of anything outside of the evidence you’re giving it might cast doubt on the reliability of your statement.”
“Or you.” His words cut through to my core, and any thoughts I had that maybe I hadn’t already fucked it all up crash at my feet.
“Nothing like that can ever happen again,” I say bluntly.
“The punch or the kiss?” His grin is almost feral. It awakens the same fire in me that he did in the alley, and it takes all my restraint not to climb over the table and wipe it off his face. How I’d do that is debatable at this stage. He reminds me so much of a younger me, though if my reactions are anything to go by, I haven’t grown up much. I breathe deeply, trying to find a calm place, Something my mentor Wren has spent time trying to teach me. I still have no idea why she took such an angry young man under her wing, what potential she saw in me, but I’m forever grateful. I recall her words. “A lot can happen in ten seconds. When you feel yourself about to do something you might regret, count to ten in slow breaths. Things might not seem so bad on the other side . ”
I do exactly what she advised and after I feel calm enough to answer, I reply.
“Both.”
Only the silver gleam in his eye gives away that he’s enjoying how much he’s getting to me. I should be annoyed with him, but instead, a spark of respect takes roots. He’s too similar to me. We’re both angry men with a grudge against the world. Only luck has kept me on this side of the tracks or mine could have been a different story. I have secrets I’d rather never revisit.
“We’re both on the same side here,” I say softly. He keeps my gaze but only a slow blink gives me any indication he’s taken that in.
We both jump when Shari opens the door, and she enters carrying three coffees.
She sets the tray down on the table and puts one of the take-out cups in front of Levi.
“I apologise in advance for our canteen coffee,” she says flashing her trademark smile, and I have an idea. I grab my coffee and rise, moving away from the table.
“Detective Dhutta, you can lead this one.”
Her head whips round to me. “Sir?”
I understand her surprise. I’ve had her lead interviews a few times, but in each case we’ve talked about it beforehand. I’ve never just dropped it on her like this before.
“You heard me, Detective,” I say without emotion, and I see her straighten her back and take a deep breath. If she’s fazed by it, she’s certainly not going to let anyone else know. I feel a flush of pride in her and I think my plan might actually work.
She pulls the chair I’d vacated closer to the table and sits, and I leave them and enter the adjacent room where we have a camera set up to record the interview. I nod to the other officer and take a seat, watching Levi on the monitor screen.
She starts her opening speech, explaining about the interview process before she begins.
“You said you wanted to share something with us that could be useful information about Gerald Winstanton. Can you explain what it is?”
Levi shoots a quick glance around, as if he’s making sure I’m not there, before speaking.
“Do you know I’ve been in prison?” he says, his voice holding a challenge as if he’s expecting to be judged. I can’t see his face fully, but from the set of his shoulders it’s probably something he’s encountered regularly. As if he has to defend himself against people’s poor opinion at best and hostility at worst. Something warm glows within me which I can’t interpret. I ignore it.
Shari confirms and he continues.
“He’s the reason I was there.”
Shari holds up a finger to stop him. It’s a technique to decide whether or not to interrupt the interviewee, but I know what she’s doing.
“For the sake of the interview, by ‘he’ are you referring to Gerald Winstanton?”
“Yes,” Levi confirms.
“Okay then, please continue.”
“I served two years inside for stealing his car.”
My interest immediately ramps up. I didn’t know this about Winstanton. I mentally curse myself for not being aware of it, but more importantly, I can sense there’s something more to the story. Two years is a long sentence, and even being put away at all is unusual for car theft. It would be more normal to be given a suspended sentence... unless there were a lot of previous offences, or Levi was considered dangerous. I desperately want to know why. What prompted him to take Winstanton’s car? I’m sure Shari will ask him. But instead of jumping straight in, her next question takes us both by surprise.
“What car was it?”
Levi pauses for two seconds before answering, and between them they launch into a discussion on cars. I don’t take in what they’re saying, my attention is wholly taken by the change in Levi. In a few minutes of discussion his shoulders drop and his whole posture softens. Even his voice is less forced and he sounds more natural, like he’s not trying to keep up an act.
Along with Shari’s knowledge, which I’ll be asking her about later, I want to know how she knew to engage him like that, so he’d relax. When she returns to the usual questions, Levi answers concisely, and not once does he look around, which I take as a good sign.
I listen to his story, which makes my body cold, though the blood running through it is boiling. I knew Winstanton was a corrupt cop and a leader of organised crime, but sexual harassment... Fuck, that’s a new low. The way Levi describes it—and I don’t doubt the truth of it for a second—we could bring charges of indecent exposure as well. I’m glad Shari’s doing the questioning and not me as I don’t think I’d be able to contain myself.
“Wasn’t any of this included in your trial?” Shari asks, and I see Levi’s head snap up.
“Do you think they’d believe me, over him?” he spat. “I told them what I’ve said to you, but nothing happened. They said they didn’t have enough evidence.”
I’m not surprised. I know there have been times where evidence has gone missing or was discredited, I just didn’t know any specifics, but you can be sure I’ll be investigating this too. This is the police force; we have forms for everything. There’ll be an admin trail somewhere, and if there isn’t, in theory the prosecutor’s office should have a record.
Shari finishes up the interview and thanks Levi, and I leave the next-door room and return, standing just inside the door. He rises, and only then does he turn my way. His face closes down, his eyes turn almost black, and he drops his head, pulling his hood up further.
I unclench my fists, and pain floods through my palms from where my nails had dug in hard enough to draw blood.
Shari opens the door and steps out into the corridor. As Levi passes me he pauses.
“I’m going to do everything I can to put that bastard away forever,” I say, and he turns his head to look at me, his lips tightening into a thin line.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
I release a breath. He has no reason to trust me. Then his mouth twists sardonically and his eyes shine like coal.
“Your mum seems nice.”