Collingwood only made it a little further down the corridor before the superintendent slammed out of Morrison’s office. He walked past, fuming with hands still clenched as he headed towards the incident room. Collingwood took the opportunity to make his way down to the cells. Sliding back the viewer, he saw Jack was sitting on the bunk bed. He stood up quickly, moving to the door.
‘Morrison has been given a right dressing down and is now very jumpy. He’s letting you make a phone call. I don’t know if I’m going to be in the interview, but if the super decides he wants to be there he’s maybe on your side. OK?’
Jack nodded. ‘Is it just about withholding evidence?’
‘So far, I think that’s all he’s going for, so he’ll probably go back over the interview you had at your station.’
‘Has he got any connection between me and Norman O’Reilly?’
‘No, O’Reilly just said he cleaned the murder site for fifty grand, never got paid and he kept the victim’s clothes as leverage.’ Collingwood turned as the custody officer appeared.
‘I’m to take him to make his phone call.’
‘Right, I was just letting him know DCI Morrison will be interviewing him.’ Collingwood left the cells, feeling less tense after overhearing the rollicking Morrison had taken. He knew it would be down to Jack to get himself off the hook, but he was now confident Jack would not implicate him.
Penny told Maggie what had happened as soon as she arrived home, and Maggie had been anxiously waiting for Jack to call ever since. It didn’t help that Hannah kept on telling her excitedly that Daddy had been on TV.
Penny had recorded all the news programmes she could find, using her newly acquired technical abilities Marius had taught her.
‘Good heaven, how many have you taped?’ Maggie asked.
‘As many as I could find, I’ve watched some on catch-up, and I’ve got recordings set for the late-night news programmes as well.’
‘You are brilliant, thank you. Would you mind if I watched them by myself?’
‘No, dear. I’ll go and read to Hannah. She’s so excited now that her father’s famous.’ She shook her head, knowing it was not good news at all.
Maggie had just sat down when Penny returned with a large glass of wine, quickly leaving again without a word and closing the door behind her.
Chapter 34
Maggie perched anxiously on the edge of the chair, watching all the footage, even pausing to go back and repeat some sequences, especially the interviews which had references to the mysterious man who had taken charge.
First there was the doorman. He had been shaken by the arrival of the police but had been warned by a young man to expect them and told to assist in ushering as many guests as possible from the premises.
Next came a young student who had been hired as a waitress. She recalled being told to lead guests out from the main reception area by one of the security guards and another man who she thought was working there. She said she became frightened when some guests left without claiming their coat tickets.
Maggie could not believe how many times Jack was visible, either shepherding guests down the staircase or standing at the top of another staircase shouting for people to get back. He seemed to be on virtually all the videos taken on mobile phones.
The most striking thing was that despite all the chaos, he always looked calm and in control, quietly assuring and encouraging the panicked guests. Together with the fact that they kept referring to him as ‘the hero’, it made her want to break down in tears. It shocked her that when he arrived home, he had not even mentioned the trauma he had been through, and it made her wretchedly sad and then angry. It reminded her of the feelings he had concealed during the period of his near breakdown.
Sometimes, it felt that she really didn’t know him, how much he held in, how much he kept hidden from her and she felt not just hurt, but frightened. Their jokes about James Bond suddenly didn’t seem funny anymore.
Maggie heard the landline ringing and ran down to the kitchen to pick it up.
‘Mags, it’s me.’
‘Jack, are you all right?’
‘Not too bad. They’re holding me here at Fulham, and I wanted to tell you that I might not get home tonight, so don’t worry.’
‘Don’t worry? Jack, I am worried sick. I’ve been watching all the footage...’
‘Listen, I can’t talk long, but I want you to check the pocket of my dinner jacket. There should be something in the side pocket. Don’t say anything about it, not now... just keep it safe. It might be very important.’
‘Jack, is this something to do with—’
He interrupted her before she could say Adam Border, his voice firm, almost angry. ‘Don’t say any names now, Mags. I know who you’re referring to. Just wait until I call again, and in the meantime do the one thing for me.’
‘Of course, but please don’t protect him. This is serious, isn’t it?’
‘Just know I love you, and I’ll be home soon.’ He ended the call.
Maggie stood holding the phone in her hand for a moment, before slowly replacing it. She wanted to scream or shout or do something because she felt so useless. She went into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, took out his dinner jacket, felt in one pocket after another, and finally found, stuffed into the inside pocket, the folded gold-embossed invitation. She took it into his office and was about to put it in one of the drawers, when she hesitated and decided to find a better hiding place.
A corner of the office, much to Jack’s annoyance, had a stack of old toys and other items they intended on taking to the dump, unless she could sell them on eBay. Maggie picked up a broken plastic duck with a small trolley attached, which only had two wheels. The duck’s plastic head had a hole in it, so she rolled the invitation up and stuck it down inside. She placed the duck among other broken toys then went back to the desk to shut the drawer. One of Jack’s large brown envelopes, which he used to stash notes and memos to himself, was open. She eased it out of the drawer, tipping out everything onto the desk. Stapled together were several articles cut out of magazines like Tatler, Vogue and Elle, all featuring Detmar Steinburg at glamorous society events. There was also a Post-it note in Jack’s handwriting with the words ‘dealer’ and ‘forgeries’ on it.
Penny peeped into the room and Maggie physically jumped. ‘There’s more news on — was that a call from Jack?’
‘Yes, he’s being held at Fulham police station. He said he won’t be home tonight but will call again when he can.’
‘You mean he’s been arrested?’
‘Just being questioned, Penny, nothing to worry about. Jack’s not worried.’
‘Should I call Marius and ask him to come over?’
‘No, you carry on watching the TV.’
‘They never said his name on all the news and interviews.’
‘Please, Penny, just record anything else you see.’
‘Yes, dear.’ Penny left. As Maggie looked through the clippings, she heard her mobile. For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she had left it. She was about to go and search for it, but the next moment the landline on Jack’s desk rang. She snatched it up, hoping it would be Jack. It was Laura.
‘Maggie? I just tried you on your mobile. I’m really getting worried because of all the news. I’ve tried to find out what’s going on, and all I’ve found out is that Jack has been taken to Fulham station.’