Collins stood up. ‘What do you want from me? Everything you tell me rips me further apart. I refuse to be subjected to any further questioning. I came here to help, not to be interrogated like this. I would like to go home now, please. Surely you have the decency to understand that all my wife and I want to do now is bury our daughter? Everyone here refers to her as Julie Ann but we always called her just Julie . . . Sometimes it feels as if you are describing another girl, but it isn’t . . . She was my beloved child and now all we want is to be left alone to grieve for what could have been . . .’
‘Excuse me a moment, Mr Collins,’ Bradfield said, then got up and walked out into the corridor, closing the door behind him. He gave a short whistle to attract DS Gibbs’s attention, who came out of the incident room and joined him in the corridor.
‘Spence, bring Eddie Phillips into my office as Tennison takes Collins out.’
Bradfield returned to his office. ‘Thank you for coming in, Mr Collins. I will inform you of any developments in our investigation. WPC Tennison will show you out.’ He gestured for Mr Collins to leave as Jane followed.
As Mr Collins opened the door Eddie entered, and they had to squeeze past each other through the narrow space. Bradfield watched closely and was sure he saw an expression of surprise on Mr Collins’ face, as if he’d seen Eddie before. As the door closed Bradfield pointed to the seat Collins had used and told Eddie to sit down.
‘Fuckin’ hell, this is like musical chairs from one room to another. You got me coming in and out of here – it’s not right when I ain’t done nothin’.’
‘Shut up and stop moaning,’ Gibbs said and dragged him across the room by the collar before banging him down onto the chair.
Bradfield stood over him. ‘Right, you piece of scum, I want some answers, and by that I mean the truth . . . no lies. Do I make myself clear?’
Eddie pointed at DS Gibbs. ‘He’s just given me a hard time in an interview and I don’t know nothing more than I already told ya. I wanna speak to a solicitor. I know my—’
Eddie’s head flew forward from the unexpected slap Bradfield gave him to the back of his head.
‘Don’t start quoting Judge’s Rules and arrest rights to me or next time it’ll be more than a gentle tap I give you. Do you understand me?’
Eddie was rubbing his whiplashed neck. ‘Yes, all right.’
‘That man in the suit who just left, you know him?’
‘No.’
‘He acted as if he’d seen you before.’
‘I’ve never seen him in me fuckin’ life.’
Gibbs, who was taking notes, leant over to Bradfield and whispered that the detectives who visited Mr Collins yesterday for a statement had shown him a picture of Eddie.
‘Why the fuck didn’t they tell me in the meeting so I didn’t waste my time!’ Bradfield snarled.
Eddie was still rubbing his neck. ‘This is all makin’ me grandmother sick, you lot showing up in yer patrol cars is frightnin’ the life out of her – she’s seventy-eight years old and got angina . . . it’s doin’ her head in.’
‘That the same granny that told my detectives to fuck off, is it? Taking in a junkie like you must be what’s doing her head in. Did she also take in Julie Ann, did she stay with you at your grandma’s?’
‘No. Me gran don’t like drugs and I respect that so I never does them in her flat. I also don’t take other addicts in cos I know they’ll try and nick stuff.’
Gibbs laughed. ‘Yeah, like you never have, Eddie.’ Gibbs explained to Bradfield that Eddie had told him Julie Ann either used squats or slept rough, and that the squat on the Pembridge was where he’d ‘shoot up’ heroin and had first met Julie Ann. He had only known her for a few months and never seen her around Hackney before that. Bradfield asked Eddie if he knew where she’d been staying before he met her and he said that he didn’t know, but from what she did say he thought she had run away from home.
‘Did she speak about her parents?’
‘Her mum sometimes. She said she missed her but didn’t want to go home.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know and I didn’t ask.’
‘Did she ever talk about her dad?’ Bradfield asked and
Eddie shook his head.
‘Who did she call from the doctor’s office on the last day you saw her?’
‘I don’t know.’
Bradfield nodded to Gibbs who slapped the back of Eddie’s head. ‘That’s a lie – you were keeping lookout while she was in the office and got caught,’ Gibbs said.
Eddie squealed. ‘OK, OK, lay off with the slaps as I can’t think straight.’
He admitted that he was keeping watch, walking up and down and checking round the corner that no one was coming, so he didn’t hear who she called or what was said, and then O’Duncie the tea lady had caught them.
Bradfield asked if Julie Ann had ever mentioned anyone called Paddy who she wanted money from.
Eddie said the name wasn’t familiar and Bradfield asked if it could be a drug dealer or pimp she was using.
Eddie paused and looked nervously at Bradfield who could sense he was hiding something.
‘Cough it up, Eddie.’
Eddie picked at his spots, refusing to look up. ‘I can’t.’
‘Then I’ll charge you for withholding evidence in a murder investigation, you’ll be remanded in custody and do cold turkey in prison. I’ll also make sure your cell mates think you’re a grass and use you as a punchbag.’
Eddie was shaking like a leaf and couldn’t look them in the eye.
‘Not to mention some inmates like to shag young boys,’ Gibbs added.
Eddie looked up at Bradfield. ‘There was a dealer she spoke about called Big Daddy, but I don’t know if it was him she called. Sometimes she paid him cash and other times she let him have sex for drugs.’
‘What’s he look like and where can I find him?’
‘Honestly I don’t know . . . I’ve never met or seen him. She said he had a mate called Dwayne and Big Daddy made her do sex with them both at the same time. I’m being honest – that’s all Julie Ann told me.’
‘Did Big Daddy or Dwayne drive a red Jag like the one you saw her get into?’
Gibbs interjected and said that Eddie had been looking through the Jag brochures just before he brought him into the office. Bradfield asked if the car was like the XJ6 or 12.
‘Shit, I only saw it for a few seconds. I dunno now for sure if it was a Jag, but it was definitely red and as I’ve said over and over I didn’t see the driver and I’ve never seen Big Daddy or Dwayne. It’s not like me and Julie Ann was together all the fuckin’ time.’
Bradfield rocked back in his chair, lit two cigarettes and handed one to Eddie who thanked him and took a long slow drag.
Bradfield stood up and indicated for Gibbs to join him in the far corner of the room. Eddie puffed on the cigarette, hunching his shoulders and staring at their backs, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.
‘What you reckon, Spence? Is Big Daddy real or a name he’s made up to appease us?’
‘Probably real, but I think he knows more about him, and understandably he’s scared shitless . . . especially if Big D murdered