‘I find it hard to believe,’ she said and he nodded. He began to unnerve her even more as he moved behind her, still with his hands in his pockets. She was sure this was now going to be a reference to the knife.
‘Make you feel positive, does it?’
‘On the one hand, yes, that we caught him. On the other, very confused that the trial will get him on one set of charges and that he could then be free unless we have the evidence to get him on something else.’
‘Right, because his legal team will not allow the new charges to be read at the same time, so the jury will not be privy to them. There will have to be a completely new trial.’
She swivelled her head round to see him because it sounded unbelievable.
‘What do you feel about Janet Brown? Or Angie as she calls herself?’
She was taken off guard and shrugged. ‘I don’t know what I feel about her.’
‘She saved your life?’
‘Yes.’
‘She has agreed to give evidence at Peter Allard’s immediate trial, but I am unsure if we will need her. What do you think about that?’
‘If it will jeopardize her as an informer, and it is possible to keep her identity safe… then she should not be called.’
‘But you know she blackmailed Marie Allard?’
‘Yes, but in reality if she hadn’t we might never have got the details and information about Susie Luna.’
He nodded and moved back to the desk. ‘So that is something you would not deem necessary to expose?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Good, OK, WDC Tennison. I think we’ve cleared up a lot, apart from…’
Oh God, she thought, now it’s coming, but he leaned down behind the desk and brought up a large package wrapped in a Hamleys carrier bag. ‘This is for you. I don’t think it is necessary to put it in the report. DC Gibbs organized it, and we all chipped in.’
He swung the handles in his fingers. ‘WDC Tennison, you are one of us. So take it and we’ll see you tonight for a good knees-up.’
Jane left with the carrier bag, and went into the ladies’. She opened it up and took out a very large, very expensive replica of a red double-decker bus. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face, tucking it under her arm, loving the fact he had said that she was one of them. It made up for everything she had been through. She’d make sure Peter Allard was put away when the time came, and if that failed, she would make sure that she would be the one to arrest him for murder.
Shortly before the trial of Peter Allard began, DS Lawrence had a meeting with Moran. The newspaper was still wrapped around the black woollen balaclava, and as he carefully opened it to reveal the hood, he placed it onto a sheet of white paper on the lab table.
He leaned in closely and sniffed, as he could detect a strong sweet smell.
‘I can smell some kind of aftershave.’
Moran nodded. ‘Yeah, I know, it’s Aramis… I use it, but I won’t be as from today… Anything else? Any bloodstains?’
Lawrence used a spatula and took his time examining it, turning the hood around, pressing it down and checking every inch. He detected that on the area where the assailant’s mouth would have been, the wool was in part stuck together.
‘This could be his saliva, but I can’t detect any blood. I can test if there is a residue but I doubt it, and with it being black nothing shows up. Your rape victim wasn’t cut, was she? Besides, you won’t get it into the trial now – how long ago was this found?’
‘He was wearing it on the night of the rape, so it’s quite a substantial time, although it was kept wrapped in that newspaper. But I’m certain his defence council won’t accept it… I just needed to know for certain.’
‘Sorry, but like I said I can do some tests…’
Moran shrugged and checked his watch.
‘I got to go. Thanks for your time, Paul.’
Just as Moran reached the double doors leading out from the lab, Paul called out to him.
‘Hang on… come back.’
Moran hurried to the table. Lawrence was using a pair of fine long tweezers and had placed onto the white paper a thin, pale blue woollen strand. He now teased out a second strand and held it up.
‘Is that blue rabbit fur?’ Moran asked.
‘No, it’s wool, just caught inside the rim of the hood. What was your rape victim wearing?’
Moran took a deep breath. ‘A shaggy blue mohair jacket.’
‘Shit… it’s a pity this wasn’t brought in earlier because I could have checked it out with the actual jacket.’
‘Thanks, Paul, but I don’t hold out much hope that we can use it.’
By the time Moran returned to Hackney he was anxious to discuss the findings from the balaclava. He felt that the results confirmed, without doubt, that Peter Allard had committed the rape. But he was concerned about the late discovery of the vital evidence and after a heated discussion with the defence lawyer they were refused permission for it to be used in court.
Disappointed, Moran put more pressure on confirming that the body found at the Allards’ rented house was Susie Luna. The body had still not been formally identified when the trial began. All he knew was that they were hoping to gain a result from dental checks, and there had been delays caused by trying to trace a dentist in Maidstone who had had Susie Luna registered as a patient.
As the trial commenced Jane witnessed the hidden depths of Peter Allard’s sick mind. He constantly made direct eye contact with the jury and said very clearly that he pleaded guilty to the assault charges. When the rape charge was read out he said loudly, ‘Not guilty.’
Jane held her own in the witness box. She was controlled under questioning by the defence council, who accused her of deliberately encouraging the defendant by wearing sexually suggestive attire that would have been an attempt to lure the defendant into making a sexual approach. Jane denied the allegations and said that her intention was to safeguard any other women from being attacked. It was all very uncomfortable and by the time she returned to sit in the court to listen to the rest of the trial she could hardly contain her anger. Moran winked at her to indicate that she had held her own. He then sat with his head bowed, refusing to look at Allard who stood in the witness box looking very handsome, wearing a suit and a pressed shirt his mother had brought into the prison for him to wear for his court appearance. Allard had the audacity to keep his head held high, and then lower it in a gesture of submission when he said softly that he was ashamed of having assaulted the women but he was under such stress because of his wife’s medical predicament.
The defence were able to argue that his confession was taken under duress and was therefore not admissible evidence. They argued that his signature and that of WDC Tennison were also not acceptable.
The prosecution asked why, as innocent as he professed to be, he was wearing a stocking mask and Allard bowed his head.
‘Because I am a foolish, stupid man. I was desperate for some kind of satisfaction, and I am deeply sorry.’
The jury filed out as DC Edwards approached Moran and passed him an envelope. He ripped it open and then leaned back, closing his eyes. Jane was sitting directly behind him and he turned to face her whispering, ‘We just got confirmation… Susie Luna’s dental records match the body found at Allard’s house. We bloody got him!’
The jury returned half an hour later. The foreman handed the judge the result and there was a palpable tension in the courtroom. When the judge read out the verdict there was an audible murmur from everyone present. Peter Allard was found not guilty of rape and, as he had pleaded, guilty of the assaults. As he had already spent time in prison on remand he was released and free to leave the court.
Allard walked out into the marble reception area of the Old Bailey. He was smiling as he shook the hand of his barrister. It was extraordinary and it felt as if he was in total denial about the second knife attack on Jane and Janet Brown, and the brutal assault of the young boy Ginger. But he suddenly straightened and looked afraid, his eyes like a trapped animal.