Chapter 41
Thurstan wandered into the quiet room, mug of coffee in hand. “We all here? Good. Let’s get started.” He sat down at the table.
“First, Derek, good job out at St Helens. How did the interview go?”
“I think it’s called ‘full and frank’.” Degsy smiled. “Although I have to say, I feel sorry for him really. As I thought, it wasn’t the result he intended. He said he only wanted to put the shits up them and it was all he had to hand. Spur of the moment decision after a few pints. The forensics on the wire, tools and gloves looks good and the jumper as well.
“Understandably, he’s very worried about his wife and kids so I’ve arranged for Area to give some passing attention to the house in case there’s any reprisals, one of the reasons we kept him in custody, and there’s a covert camera going to be fitted to the front.”
He sat back then added. “Oh, and his pigeons. I spoke to his brother in law who said he’d sort them out. To be honest, I’m not sure which concerned him most, them or the family.” They all laughed.
Thurstan then congratulated Chalkie on the Southport rape case result whilst his oppo feigned embarrassment and waved him away with his free hand.
After a mouthful of coffee, he continued. “Now. Back to the matter in hand. Brannan. For those who don’t know, Mike came up with some interesting info yesterday whilst on the surveillance. The result is, we had McAvoy re-arrested and Devon and Fred are currently interviewing him. What we saved on the St Helens searches is currently being used on the search teams who are doing his Mum’s place and two others we’ve since found he uses. McAvoy hasn’t got the brains to come up with this himself so we’re now looking at Fenton’s wife, Sharon. I’ve underestimated her, I think. A classic case of still waters run deep. Anyway, I’m not at all sure McAvoy is so dim he’d do this just for love or a few shags so we’re looking, amongst other things, for money. He’s no known bank accounts or anything of the like, therefore, he’s hidden it somewhere. Hence the searches and why we’re digging up his Mum’s back garden.” Another sip.
“I’ve spoken to the DSU and the end result is we’re combining their McAvoy team with ours and we’re now focusing on Sharon. Maybe Darius being locked up will spook her, who knows. I’ve spoken to the Chief Super and, at his suggestion, we both went to see the Chief. Consequently, we’ve money in the budget but I’m hoping for some worthwhile developments within two weeks or I’m going to have to go cap in hand again. The more times I do it, the more excruciating it gets.
“Michael, you’ve got the connections. Speak to the DSU and get copies of their logs for McAvoy and for when they followed Sharon. I’ll also want the logs for our surveillance and we’ll go through them with a fine-toothed comb. Alright with you, Chalkie? Can you spare him?”
“No problem, Thurstan. We’ll get by.” He smiled.
“Sammy? Alison? You’ll need to rejig your teams to accommodate the surveillance so sort it out between you. Derek, how’s it going on the exhibits front, by the way?”
“Eddie’s doing fine but you know how meticulous he gets. The Bone’s on top of all the St Helens stuff so I’ll have him lend a hand if we start collecting too much.”
“Right. That’s all I’ve got for now. Anybody?”
They scanned each other and shook their heads.