‘Harder for you,’ Susan said.
‘I’m hoping ballistics can give us a steer,’ Janine replied.
‘Any motive?’ Susan asked, beginning to stitch the incision closed.
‘Not sure,’ Janine said. ‘We’ve someone we’re talking to, parted from the doctor on bad terms, shall we say.’
‘Good luck,’ Susan said.
‘Thanks.’ Janine replied, ‘I’ve a feeling I’m going to need it.’
It was clear from the formality of the opening procedures and from Janine’s tone that Fraser McKee was no longer simply being regarded as an innocent witness. Janine wasn’t clear yet whether he had committed any crime but he had lied to the police, by omission, and that was a serious matter in the light of a murder.
‘I’m concerned that you’ve been keeping information from us,’ she said.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Fraser McKee said.
‘What can you tell me about the shooting of your colleague, Donald Halliwell?’
‘Nothing,’ McKee said. He looked at the solicitor by his side then back to Janine, though she noticed his eyes slid over hers.
‘You’re hiding something. Something about the shooting?’ Janine said.
‘No!’ McKee looked terrified. ‘Nothing. I’ve nothing to do with that. Honestly.’
‘‘Really? On Tuesday afternoon you and Don Halliwell argued about your future at the practice,’ she began. ‘A couple of hours later he was dead.’
‘That has nothing to do with me,’ he said.
‘Prove it,’ Janine said, ‘stop lying to us. The row with Don Halliwell?’
He looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath. ‘OK,’ he said, ‘I wanted to talk about being made a partner, I needed a rise. Don said they were going to let me go, that I wasn’t right for them. I wasn’t right!’ He said derisively.
‘Why was that?’ Janine said.
‘He couldn’t stand the competition, that’s what it was. I could see he was making mistakes and I let him know about it,’ McKee said, an edge of malice in his tone. ‘He didn’t like that. Dissent in the ranks.’
‘What mistakes?’ Janine said.
‘Marcie Young for one.’
‘Dr Halliwell was fully exonerated at the inquest.’
‘Not everyone thinks that was the right verdict,’ McKee said.
‘Including you?’ Richard said.
‘That’s right.’ McKee raised his chin.
‘So yesterday you argued about your future at the practice, you claim that you left and went home. There you find that someone has done over your house and you flee in your car, you crash and then you come to us for help. What’s all that about?’ Janine said.
McKee hesitated, pale lashes blinking.
‘This is a murder inquiry,’ Janine reminded him. ‘You’ve been less than honest with us. Now’s the time to start.’
McKee said nothing, the muscles round his jaw jumped and flickered.
‘Or perhaps,’ Janine said, ‘you actually returned to the surgery and waited for Dr Halliwell, furious that he was blocking your promotion, taking your job.’
‘No, I didn’t, I swear.’
‘Tell me,’ Janine said.
He pressed his lips together still reluctant.
‘Traffic investigators have not found any evidence of another vehicle involved in your car crash,’ Richard said.
‘Omissions, inconsistencies,’ Janine said, We could just send you on your way, you’ve not been honest with us so why should we believe you when you claim you’re at risk of harm?’
Fear darted through his eyes. ‘You can’t do that,’ he said.
‘Try me,’ Janine answered. ‘You start talking, you stop wasting our time.’
McKee’s shoulders dropped and he slumped back in his chair. ‘I’m in debt, serious debt. I owe thousands. I got into a mess: student loan, credit cards, bought the house at just the wrong time. So,’ he drew a breath, ‘I went to this loans office, Barry Stroud, you know him? Sold him my debts but I couldn’t keep up the instalments, it was crippling.’ He stopped, closed his eyes.
‘What then?’ Richard said.
‘Stroud offered me a way out, payment in kind. If I helped some friends of his break in to the surgery.’
‘Yesterday?’ Richard said.
‘No, the time before,’ said McKee, ‘I had to make sure the alarm was off.’
‘The alarm rang,’ Richard said.
‘Yeah, they set it off as they were leaving, to throw people off the track, so they wouldn’t know they’d had inside help. These friends of Stroud’s,’ he curled a lip, ‘I didn’t know they were bloody gangsters.’
‘Yesterday?’ Janine said.
‘They’d been on about organising a repeat performance, all relayed through Stroud. I never met them. But I couldn’t do it. Stroud kept threatening me. I said no. Then yesterday… I got home and saw the house… I knew it’d be me next. I didn’t know where to go. I got in the car. Don’s death was on the news.’ His voice shook, ‘I panicked, I lost control of the car. It was stupid.’
‘The crash was an accident?’ Richard said.
‘Yes,’ McKee said.
‘And the black 4x4?’ Richard said.
McKee shook his head. ‘Doesn’t exist.’
Janine was sick of his lies and half-truths, the way he had confused the lines of inquiry and wasted their time and resources.
‘So no one ran you off the road?’ she said.
‘No – but they killed Don,’ McKee’s voice broke.
‘Why would they do that?’ Janine said.
He threw his arms out. ‘As a warning. I wouldn’t agree to help them with the burglary so they killed him.’
‘Bit extreme,’ Richard said.
‘Or in mistake for me, then,’ McKee argued. ‘Look, if they find out…’ He was still pale but beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead. ‘Can you… please, what sort of protection do I get?’
‘We want all this in a written statement,’ Janine said, failing to keep the irritation out of her voice. ‘I advise you not to return home and we can refer you to our witness support scheme.’
‘But if I make a statement, if they know, they’ll come after me…’
‘That’s the point of the witness protection scheme,’ Janine said. ‘You act as a witness for us and we protect you.’
McKee moved to stand up and Janine said, ‘There’s just the matter of the charge.’
‘Charge?’ he stammered.
Janine nodded to Richard who said, ‘Fraser McKee, I am charging you with conspiracy to commit theft. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’
McKee sat there, open-mouthed, aghast. What did he expect, Janine thought? A pat on the back? A free pass? Not going to happen. Even if the case came to court and the prosecution decided to grant him immunity he would still be expected to testify and witness protection was no joyride. He could kiss goodbye to his work as a doctor, he’d rarely see friends or family again. What a waste.
Chapter 16
The boards in the incident room had been updated to reflect what they now knew: McKee’s involvement in the previous burglary, his financial problems, the Wilson Crew flagged up as behind the attack on his house. On the left, in the surgery section, there was a note about Dr Gupta’s sighting of a black Range Rover and this was linked to the attack on Halliwell’s car. Beneath a list headed ‘grudges’ were several names, including Adele Young, furnished by Butchers. The post-mortem results had been added.
‘There is no connection between our murder case and the McKee incidents,’ Janine said, ‘separate inquiries. The investigation into the previous burglary we’ve passed over to serious crime. McKee’s given his statement, he’s out on bail and under the care of witness protection.
‘The GMC?’ Richard said.
‘Notified,’ Janine said.