He was twisting his big hands, saying that it was making him sweat, because if Sonja was to meet her and got chatting, she’d find out he had picked her up, but more important, she would find out about Dillane’s van and also about his earning extra money on the QT.
“So I had to get rid of her. I had too much to lose.”
Smiley described how he had driven past the service station and Estelle had started to get into a panic, asking him over and over why he hadn’t stopped there, as she had asked. He told her that it was a mistake and he knew a slip road he could take and they could drive into the back of the service station. By this time Estelle was crying because she was frightened and didn’t believe him.
“She was really getting on my nerves, screeching to get me to stop to let her out, and no matter what I said to her, she wouldn’t stop. We got close to where Margaret used to hang out by the caravan and the old barns. She started to grab at the handle of the door, and I went crazy. I had one of the cords I use for the blinds, and I just put it round her neck.”
“Still in the van?” Langton asked.
“Yeah. She had her back to me, ’cause she was trying to get out, but the door was locked.”
Smiley lifted his hands to demonstrate how he had placed the cord around Estelle’s neck and tightened it until she fainted. He then carried her into the caravan and raped her before he tightened the cord around her throat and strangled her to death.
“I’m not into that sickness — you know, fucking a corpse — but I think she was dead when I fucked her, and it wasn’t all that pleasurable. It was the first time I knew I’d made a mistake. Anyone could have driven past, and I had to get rid of the body fast. I turned the van around and drove into a field a short distance away, and I threw her body out by a ditch. The traffic was going past on the motorway, and I got the hell out. I didn’t feel the same buzz. I felt sick.”
Langton laid out the victims’ photographs. “You have admitted, John, that you killed each of these women: Margaret Potts, Anika Waleska, Estelle Dubcek, Dorota Pelagia, and now you have also admitted that you murdered Chrissie O’Keefe.”
Smiley leaned back. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Langton looked at his watch. “We will now take a lunch break and reconvene here in one hour. We will need to verify dates and times and clarify a few more details. You will be returned to your cell, and if you require to discuss anything with your lawyer, Mr. Smiley, you may do so.”
Langton then addressed Gregson. “Your client will be charged later with four murders, and we will be consulting with the criminal prosecution service regarding Chrissie O’Keefe. If there is time, he will be taken before the magistrate this afternoon; if not, the following morning. Do you understand, Mr. Smiley?”
“Yeah, I understand.”
Langton stood and thanked him for his cooperation as Anna stacked the files in order. They left as uniformed officers took Smiley down to the station’s holding cells.
In the incident room, the team gave a round of applause. It had been a very long, tedious, and wretched investigation that at last had a conclusion. Langton held a briefing requesting that Anna and Mike Lewis handle the next session to finalize all the details.
Anna could see how tired Langton was; yet again he had impressed her with how he had handled Smiley. She had hardly said two words, but being privy to Smiley’s admissions left her feeling exhausted as well as sickened. She needed to eat to keep up her energy, so when Langton went off to oversee another case, she and Mike had some sandwiches and coffee in his office. They went through the tape of the interview, making copious notes.
“A lot of coincidences,” Mike murmured.
“According to Langton, there are never any, but even Smiley admitted to it being a big one with Estelle Dubcek, her being Polish, and not only that, about to work in a bakery close to his home.”
“Yeah, well, we always reckoned Estelle’s murder was a hurried kill; at least we got that right, but when you think of the hours we’ve put in chasing the wrong facts — like we were told Estelle would never hitch a ride, and not only did she do that, but she had a notice up asking for a lift to Manchester.”
“What about the Polish connection? Yet another lengthy wrong avenue, tracking all through the embassy. What a waste of time.” Anna gave a rueful smile.
Mike leaned back in his chair. “Do you think Welsh really did know anything about the murders, or was he manipulating us in order to get to you?”
“I think it’s half and half, really. He was genuinely interested in the case, and he’s gained a lot of self-knowledge during his time in prison, and he was always insistent about Margaret Potts being the link. So in some ways, I suppose, though I’m loath to admit it, he did trigger a response.”
“He’d have triggered one if he’d torn up the files.”
“Come on, they were all copies, and he was never left with them, they were always removed when we left. By now I think he’ll also be removed, as he’s been acting up, gone stir crazy.”
“Langton does take risks, though, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does. Can we get on now? I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s been a very long day.”
It was not until three-thirty that Mike and Anna returned to the interview room. Smiley was morose and often belligerent as he tried to recall the exact dates. Gregson remained silent throughout, and they finished the interview at six o’clock. They still didn’t have full details regarding Chrissie O’Keefe, but due to Smiley’s admissions, the CPS gave authority to charge him with all five murders.
Before being returned to his cell, Smiley was formally charged by the custody sergeant and informed that he would be taken before the magistrate’s court the following morning. The team was going to the local pub for a drink to celebrate, but Anna was too drained to join them. She just wanted to go home.
She had just left the station when Langton returned with a press statement already prepared. Even though he had been working flat out since early morning, having such a positive result had energized him. He was about to leave with the team when Barbara took a call. It was for Anna. Barbara said that she was not available, but then she hesitated and asked the caller to hang on. “Gov, it’s a Mr. Hudson for Travis, says it’s urgent. Is that the name of her boyfriend?”
Langton held out his hand. “I’ll take it. This is James Langton,” he said. “Can I help at all? DI Travis has just left the station and—”
Langton listened and sat down in Barbara’s desk chair. No one was paying that much attention, as they were all getting ready to leave. It was a call he wished he had never agreed to take. The incident room was almost empty by the time he replaced the receiver.
“You coming, Gov?” Mike Lewis asked as he closed his office door.
“No. I have to go and see Travis.”
“Something wrong?”
Langton could hardly speak; he simply nodded.
“Anything I can do?”
Langton picked up his coat. “No, there’s nothing anybody can do. Give my apologies to the team, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mike didn’t know what was wrong, just that Langton’s face had drained of color and he was visibly shaken.
“Good night, then.” Mike walked out.
Langton slowly pulled on his coat. He was dreading what he had to do, but he wouldn’t have trusted anyone else to do it.
Chapter Nineteen
I was just going to bed,” Anna said into the intercom.
“Let me in, Anna. I need to see you.”
There was something about his voice. Again he had used her Christian name, which he so rarely did. She opened the front door and returned to her bedroom to put on a wrap over her nightdress. She wondered what could be so urgent that he had called without, as she had requested, ringing her first. She sighed, hoping it wasn’t connected to Smiley. God forbid if he had managed to hang himself in the cell.