Chapter 52 #2
‘Two years. That’s not long at all is it, Inspector Henley?’ asked Ramouter. ‘Especially when two years doesn’t even mean two years.’
‘The man who killed your dad would have been out of prison after serving half his time,’ said Henley.
‘It’s wrong,’ said Elliot.
‘Did your wife, Mikaela, or Mika, feel the same way?’
‘No comment.’
‘You answered questions about your dad, but you don’t want to answer questions about your wife?’
‘No. I won’t talk about her, and you can’t force me,’ Elliot said petulantly.
‘You’re right, we can’t force you, so let’s talk about your time at Manchester Crown Court and Douglas Mantell.
This is a copy of the first page of the trial transcript.
You will see that it states who was present at court before the prosecution opened their case,’ said Henley, handing a copy to Elliot.
‘You’re listed as the court clerk assisting His Honour Judge Keir. ’
‘That’s right,’ Elliot confirmed.
‘And it’s correct that your wife, Mika, had started working for witness services at the same court six months earlier?’
‘Yes she—’ Elliot pressed his lips closed, prematurely ending his answer.
‘It takes a certain type of person to sit there day in, day out listening to the prosecution tell the jury how a man sexually abused his daughter and allowed others to do the same. Twenty-six years is a long time. It must take its toll,’ said Henley.
‘It’s my job and I do my job. I’m not paid to have an opinion. My job is to assist the judge, diary management, liaise with counsel. I don’t take the job home.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Henley, producing a short stack of prints from a folder. ‘This is a log of all of the cases you accessed on the Crown Court digital case system since you transferred from Manchester to Wood Green Crown Court. Now that’s a lot of cases.’
‘But what is most interesting about these cases is that you accessed cases that weren’t taking place in Wood Green,’ added Ramouter, tapping his pen against a name highlighted in yellow.
‘For example. R v Christopher Hayes. Isleworth Crown Court and we go down a bit. R v Bolade Yesufu. Snaresbrook Crown Court and there’s more.
Pick any Crown Court in London and we’ll find a defendant’s case that you tried to access. ’
‘That’s not against the law. I have the right to access the system,’ said Elliot unconvincingly.
‘But do you have the right to download case papers and upload those papers to your personal Google drive?’
‘I didn’t do that.’
‘It’s not a good idea for you to lie to us especially when the evidence is right in front of you. Highlighted.’
‘I accessed papers, but I didn’t download them.’
‘Can you explain why you downloaded not only the case papers but the court file and the DART recordings from trials.’
‘DART? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Stop playing games, Elliot,’ Henley snapped.
‘The digital audio and recording transcription and storage system that every court uses. The system that records every single word uttered in a court hearing. You downloaded the recordings for Tabitha Ashcroft’s trial at Croydon Crown Court.
Nathan Hall’s trial at Southwark, Sian Fox-Carnell didn’t have a trial, but you downloaded the court file which contained her bail address. What did you do with them?’
‘I was doing my job.’
‘It wasn’t your job to take this information home. Whose idea was it to take actions into your own hands?’
‘No comment.’
‘Was it your wife’s idea?’
‘No comment.
‘Was it Don’s?’
Henley watched the recognition spread across Elliot’s face as she put the composite image in front of him. ‘What’s his full name?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘How did you meet him?’
‘I never met him. I don’t know who you’re talking about it.’
‘We’ve found fingerprints and DNA at the crime scenes. We know it doesn’t belong to you. You’re not the one who injected fentanyl into Sian Fox-Carnell’s blood stream or broke Nathan Hall’s legs with a sledgehammer.’
Elliot’s cup fell from his shaking hands and water spilled onto the table. ‘What?’ he exclaimed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘In your job you shouldn’t really be surprised that a pre-meditated murder is usually the worse kind,’ Henley said soothingly as she blotted away the spilled water with a tissue.
‘The planning that goes into that type of murder. The decision to not only murder but to desecrate a body by, DC Ramouter, why don’t you enlighten, Mr Fonseka? ’
‘Oh, you mean the scalping?’ said Ramouter.
He opened a blue, spiral-bound A5-sized photo album and placed it in front of Elliot.
Nathan Hall’s broken body – the Y incision visible on his chest was the first photograph.
Ramouter turned the pages before stopping at the photograph of the back of Nathan’s Hall’s head.
‘Thankfully Hall was already dead when Don – or maybe it was Kaiden Longley – cut away a piece of his scalp.’
Elliot put a hand to his throat as he audibly heaved. ‘I didn’t … didn’t. Oh my God.’
‘What was that? You didn’t know?’
Elliot shook his head vigorously and pushed the photo album away.
‘You’re involved in the murder of five people. You’re the one in the middle of all of this. None of this is possible without you. Did your wife introduce Don to you?’ asked Ramouter.
‘I told you that I’m not talking about her,’ Elliot said shakily.
‘Are you scared of her?’
‘Of course not but I’ve told you I’m not talking about her. She’s not involved.’
‘I don’t think that’s true. Do you know Gareth Humphreys and Karim Messenger? They’re both serving sentences in Strangeways but they’ve both given descriptions of you and—’
‘Stop. Stop. I need to talk to my lawyer. I’m allowed to stop the interview to have a consultation with him. You said it,’ Elliot said, standing up and pointing at Ramouter. ‘You said I could.’
‘Aye, I did say it. Calm yourself and sit down,’ said Ramouter as Arthur grabbed Elliot’s arm, forcing him to sit. ‘I’m suspending the interview at 4.24 p.m..’
‘How long do we keep on pushing him?’ Ramouter asked as Henley walked away from the closed door of interview room four.
‘We’ve only been in there for twenty minutes and look at the state of him. He’s ignored his lawyer’s advice and he’s talking,’ said Henley.
‘Except when it comes to his wife. He refuses to talk about her.’
‘Because he doesn’t want to incriminate her, but I reckon that if we keep pushing with the questions about Don he’ll crack. Are you happy to take the lead with the rest of the interview?’ Henley asked as the interview door opened and Arthur stepped out.
‘Inspector Henley, can I have a word?’ Arthur asked.
‘Feel free,’ Henley said.
‘Mr Fonseka wants to make a deal,’ Arthur said unenthusiastically.
‘A deal,’ Henley repeated. ‘He’s in no position to make a deal.’
‘Well, Mr Fonseka thinks that he is. Section 72 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act allows for the prosecution to give an undertaking that any information a person gives will not be used against them.’
‘He wants us not to take further action against him if he grasses? Is that what you’re telling me? That he wants immunity from prosecution?’
‘Something along those lines. If you agree he would become a co-operating witness and not a suspect.’
‘Wow. He’s delusional,’ Ramouter said.
‘Your words not mine,’ said Arthur as he pulled out a packet of Nicorette gum from his pocket and popped a piece into his mouth.
‘He’s a court clerk. He must know that only a prosecutor can make that decision and not me?’ said Henley. ‘And to be honest, he’s in this up to his neck. There’s no way—’
‘Those are my instructions,’ Arthur said, holding his hands up in defence.
‘Tell him that the best I can do is put the offer to the prosecutor once he’s charged.’
‘I will pass on the message, but I will be repeating my advice to him to answer no comment to any questions that you put to him.’
‘We’ll see how long that lasts,’ Ramouter muttered as Arthur went back into the interview room. ‘I can’t believe he’s asking for immunity.’
‘That’s because he knows there’s no way out for him,’ said Henley as Arthur poked his head out of the door and waved at them to return.
‘You push him,’ Henley said. ‘And make sure Elliot Fonseka breaks.’