‘Even though the bullet would have lost velocity when it passed through the windscreen, the officer was lucky it didn’t hit him straight in the forehead and kill him.’
He opened the boot of the car and looked inside. He had a big smile as he photographed the bullet, then picked it up and showed it to Jane.
‘That one’s in even better shape than the bullet we recovered under the car,’ she observed.
She took the bullet from him and put it in a plastic container and then an exhibits bag.
After speaking briefly to the bank manager, who couldn’t help much as he didn’t see the robbery, Kingston left the Colonel, Stanley and Bax to take the Securicor guards’ statements. He crossed over the High Road to the Crown public house to speak to the landlady, Fiona Simpson, who’d initially called the police. He knocked on the pub door and it was opened by a small, slim, buxom woman in her mid-forties, who had shoulder-length, black curly hair. She was dressed casually in a blue velour jumpsuit and slippers, and had an orange dustcloth in her hand. He held up his warrant card.
‘I’m DI Kingston, from the Flying Squad. Is the landlady Mrs. Simpson in?’ he asked, thinking she was the cleaner.
‘The name’s Fiona and you’re looking at her. You come about the robbery at the bank?’
‘Yes, I was told you were a witness. Can I come in and speak to you, please?’
She opened the door to let him in, then closed and bolted it shut.
‘Excuse my attire, Inspector, but I haven’t had time to shower, change and put on my make-up yet,’ she said as she went behind the bar. ‘You want something to drink or is that a silly question to ask a detective?’
‘You get a few “coppers” in here, then?’
He thought she looked attractive, even without make-up.
‘Yeah, CID from Leytonstone drink here, so do the uniform, but only when they’ve finished a shift, unlike the CID who like a pint at all hours.’
‘I’ll have a Scotch, thanks. Some publicans think having the police in damages their trade,’ he remarked.
She poured a large measure from the optic.
‘It also helps to keep the arseholes out. I’ve run the place on me own for three years since my husband died, and there’s been a few occasions where officers have helped me out with drunk or obnoxious punters — and I’m grateful for that... Plus I don’t get done for serving afters.’
She smiled as she handed him his whisky.
‘Cheers.’
Kingston opened a blue folder he’d brought with him and took out some statement forms and a pen from his jacket pocket.
‘I was told you saw the face of the driver involved in the robbery.’
‘Yes, briefly when he got out of the car and then returned.’
‘I’ll need to take a detailed statement off you...’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘Detective inspectors take statements now, do they?’
He grinned. ‘When it’s in a pub with a generous landlady, yes.’
‘You’ll need to be quick as I’ve got to get dressed and open up for eleven.’
‘I can make notes for now in my pocket notebook and take the statement later, if that’s easier for you.’
‘I can do it early morning before I open, or after three as we don’t reopen until six. I’m pretty busy with this place and don’t get much time for relaxing.’
‘Do you never take a day off?’
‘Rarely. The last person I had in to look after the pub while I was away had his fingers in the till, which has made me a bit wary of leaving bar staff in charge. Mind you, I could ask one of the girls to do an extra shift this evening and make the statement then — if you’re free...’
‘That would be helpful, thanks, but tomorrow would probably be easier as I’m not sure I’ll have time today. I’ll take your phone number and ring you later to let you know.’
She borrowed his pen and wrote ‘Fiona’ and the pub number on a beer mat, which he then put in his pocket.
‘I was told you first saw the Cortina in Aylmer Road. Can you tell me what time it was and exactly where it was parked?’
She pointed to the pub’s side entrance. ‘Opposite the door there, on the far side of the road. It was around 9:20 or 9:25.’
‘What drew your attention to the car?’
‘I was upstairs in the living room, ironing my skirt and blouse for today, when I looked out of the window at the heavy rain and saw the car. Because I was looking down I could only see the nearside and two people in it — one in the front passenger seat and another person sitting behind him. There were fumes coming out of the exhaust, so I knew the engine was running, and the windscreen wipers were on. At first I thought they were maybe just waiting for someone.’
‘Can you describe any facial features of the first two men you saw?’
‘No, the door windows were covered in rain and misted up on the inside. They were wearing dark clothing and the man in the front must have been tall as I could see his shoulder pressed against the middle of the passenger door window. About ten minutes before the robbery the driver got out of the car and nearly hit Betty with the door as he opened it—’
‘Sorry, who’s Betty?’
‘She lives alone round the back of the pub at Dacre Road. She’s been a regular here for years and comes in most days at six on the dot, apart from Sundays. She has two bottles of Mackeson Stout then goes home for her tea.’
‘She’d have seen the driver’s face close up, then?’
‘Yes. She was upset and pointing her finger at him. I didn’t hear what she said, but knowing Betty she’d have called him a few choice names — that even I would be too embarrassed to repeat. What made me suspicious was the fact he ignored her, pulled his cap down and walked off up the road. That was when I phoned the police.’
‘Do you know Betty’s surname?’ Kingston asked, ready to write it down, as she’d be a crucial witness.
‘Do you have to speak to her? She’s just turned eighty and not been well lately — she’s very frail and her eyesight’s not so good. I doubt she’d even remember the incident.’
Kingston thought for a second. ‘I’ll leave her be for now, but I’ll still need her details.’
Fiona wrote Betty’s full name and address down on another beer mat and gave it to Kingston, who slipped it in his pocket.
‘Would you recognize the driver if you saw him again?’ he asked.
‘I think so...’
‘On a scale of one to ten, what’s a “think so”?’
‘Six, maybe seven... I got a slightly better look at him when he returned to the car, but most of the time his head was down, and the pouring rain didn’t help.’
‘If we make an arrest would you be willing to attend an identity parade?’
‘I’d be willing, but as I said I didn’t see his face clearly, so I’m not certain I could pick him out.’
He wondered if Fiona was scared after witnessing the robbery.
‘Do you think the driver saw you?’
‘No, he never looked up. I know what you’re thinking, Inspector, but believe me I’m not afraid of people like him. I got robbed at knifepoint by a spotty-faced kid who forced his way in here on a Friday night. I was on my own closing up and he forced me to open the till. He took his beady eyes off me while he was stuffing the night’s takings in his pocket — that’s when I hit the thieving little bastard as hard as I could over the head with a brandy bottle. He ran off, but the police saw him staggering up the High Road with blood pouring down his face. At first they thought he was drunk and had fallen over, but I’m pleased to say he got nicked and I got my money back.’