They sat in his office, around the conference style table that Church seemed to prefer to a desk. Hazel said, “I have practical things to tell you. I don’t know if you consider them good. If you want my honest opinion.”
“I always want your honest opinion.” Church said. “What do you think?”
“I think we should charge Harry Sanford and be done with this whole pointless idea.” Hazel said.
“Charged with….what?” Church said, “Exactly?”
“We have him for at least accessory to murder. Probably conspiracy as well. That’s for the CPS to decide isn’t it?”
“They have decided.” Church said, “Which is why we have this ‘whole pointless idea’ that you were just complaining about.”
“I think Michelle is wrong to do this.” Hazel said, “and not just with Dean Hudson having a fit in the reception area.” Hudson was a solicitor. His firm wasn’t as large or well known as, say….Ruthven Varney or Hawkins Harker and Morris, but it was well known to the police. Hudson tended to represent a lot of minor criminals. He didn’t do much in the way of legal aid, but, in truth, very few solicitors did these days. Legal aid not being so easy to come by as it once was. “Michelle wants Sanford to be the new supergrass and spill all the secrets of Eddie Symes and his brother. The problem is, when it comes to all he knows, it will take about five minutes. With four and a half of them being Sanford complaining about everything. He doesn’t know anything. Nothing worth telling us anyway. The man’s an idiot.”
“That may well be.” Church said, “But Michelle is convinced he can tell us a lot. Enough to have Eddie Symes put away.”
“She’s deluding herself.” Hazel said, “Eddie wouldn’t tell a halfwit like Harry Sanford the correct time of day unless he absolutely had to,”
“What did you tell Hudson?” Church said, not committing himself to the matter of what Eddie Symes would tell his own employees.
“I told him I just arrest people.” Hazel said, “What happens after that is none of my business.” In the strict sense of the term this was true. Once a suspect was picked up and arrested he (or, increasingly, she,) would be handed over to the charge sergeant who would do the actual work of placing them in a cell and filling out the paperwork. “He asked if it was part of my job to throw his clients into the pavement.” Evidently Hudson had already seen the social media posts that showed Hazel performing a near perfect circle throw on Harry Sanford. Several in slow motion. Hazel wasn’t sure how that effect was carried out. But, then. She had no idea how to upload a video to social media either. “I told him his client ran me down and what happened next was the result of his own stupidity.” She had pointed out that Sanford wasn’t the brightest person she’d ever met. “After that I asked him if Sanford actually was his client.”
Bill Church grinned, “You know, Hazel, that’s a very good point.” He opened printed file and glanced inside, a glance so brief, Hazel suspected it was for effect. He already knew what was there, “Hudson has represented Sanford for some years and his firm have represented Sanford’s family for quite a while.”
“The firm is also representing Eddie Symes.” Hazel said. “Hudson isn’t here for the good of Sanford’s health.”
“We both know that.” Bill Church said, “They want him out so they can hand him over to Victor Monk. Though whether Hudson knows about that I have no idea. He probably does. By now he’ll have known that a couple of Monk’s men were killed, it’s on all the news media. Eddie will have told him the details. If Charlie Harris hasn’t been handed over and killed already Eddie’s people will be looking for him. They want Sanford so he can be handed over to even up the score.”
“Before Monk decides to take two of Eddie’s men at random.” Hazel said, “That’s how it seems to be. If it was anything we’d certainly be aware of it because Eddie, his brother, and his whole gang would be dead by now.”
“Makes you wonder how the rest of Eddie’s people see this deal.” Church said, “It can’t be very reassuring to know your boss not only can’t protect you but isn’t even willing to try. And that he sees you as totally dispensable.”
“When word gets out Eddie is going to have trouble replacing those men.” Hazel said, “Who’s going to want to work for someone like that?”
“I agree. But it doesn’t solve our immediate problem of Dean Hudson.” Church said. “We can’t turn Sanford over. I am interested by the idea of who represents Sanford though.”
“It looks like we do at the moment.” Hazel said.
Church nodded, “Right, well let’s go break the bad news to the man.”
Hudson was down in the reception area when they walked in through the near riot proof security door. He was a small, neatly dressed man who clearly kept himself in good shape despite being the wrong side of sixty. He wasn’t having a fit or looking red faced or furious. But he did look pretty determined.
“Superintendent Church.” His voice was calm and civil, “I expect you have come to tell me I can see my client.”
Bill Church was equally calm and civil, “I’ve come to tell you that you don’t have a client, Mr Hudson.”
Hazel felt a touch of guilty pleasure as she watched the confident smile on Dean Hudson’s face fade to a confused frown, “Harry Sanford is my client, Superintendent Church.”
“Not today he isn’t.” Church said. “Today, and for the near future, his solicitor will be Jimmy Rangan.” Jimmy, or to give him his real name, Jibrail Rangan, was Michelle Russo’s assistant. Church had picked him as the solicitor because, in all practical matters, Jimmy Rangan would be the one who would be dealing closely with Harry Sanford.
To be fair to Hudson he didn’t react more than the puzzled frown. Which very soon cleared up as he understood the situation. “I see what you mean.” He said, and he did see. He knew who Jimmy was. He knew Jimmy represented the CPS. So he knew if, or when, Harry Sanford came to court he would be arriving as a witness for the prosecution, not a defendant. “I must say, Harry’s poor father will be very disappointed in him.”
“He’s dead.” Hazel said. “He’s been dead….how many years now?”
“I was talking metaphysically, Sergeant Vernon.” Hudson said, “As in spinning in his grave.”
“I thought he was cremated.” Hazel said, being deliberately obtuse. “Six years ago, wasn’t it?”
“That’s not the point.”
“He fell….” Hazel paused deliberately, “…..down stairs following an argument with his son. Died of head injuries at the scene.” Hazel had familiarised herself with the case. Such that it was. The pathologist of the time was Doctor Graeme Land, who had since retired. He’d signed the death certificate. Accidental causes, then the body had been released and cremated. The release order had been signed by Doctor Land and the cremation seemed to have been carried out quite quickly. “You were the family solicitor at the time.” Hazel said.
“Yes, I was.” Hudson said, “You were a detective constable in the vice squad, Sergeant Vernon. Spent all your working hours dressed as a tralk, That was before you were disciplined for unprofessional behaviour.”
Touché. You couldn’t’ accuse Hudson of not doing his homework. He wasn’t kicking up a storm about not being able to represent Harry Sanford either. Hazel had a bad feeling about that. It meant Hudson had expected, or at the very least, considered, this as a possibility. He’d be away very soon, she predicted, now he’d found out that, from Eddie Symes’ view, the worst was about to happen. Now he’d run back to Symes, not only to tell him Sanford had turned informer, but to discover what Harry knew, how damaging it would be, and