Dead or Alive (36 page)

‘I didn't kill Johnstone, sir. His death was not my fault.'

‘So, when you're in the witness box and you're asked why you left the force so suddenly, you'll tell them you were kicked off the force for something that wasn't your fault.'

‘Of course I will – it's the truth.'

‘Cope will have given them his version of the truth, which they'll twist beyond recognition. When their barrister's finished with you the jury will be wondering why
you're
not up for murder.'

‘But it'll be out in the open why Johnstone was arrested that night.'

‘Will it really? How come?'

‘There was a certain amount of publicity in the papers about me being responsible for his death. I expect Cope gave them that.'

‘I expect he might have.'

‘Well, I was approached by a reporter called Suzanne Hogan of
The Mail
, for my side of the kidnapping story.'

‘Yes, I've read all about your heroics. The story did the police no favours, I might add.'

‘That was all her doing, sir. I just gave her the facts, she put her own interpretation on it.'

‘I know, it's what reporters do. So, what has this to do with Johnstone?'

‘Well she knew about me being involved in his death and she asked me for a statement giving my side of that story.'

‘I do hope you didn't give her one.'

‘I didn't sir. All I told her was that he died in custody.'

‘Did you tell her
why
he was in custody?'

‘Of course not, but she does have the names and addresses of many of Johnstone's victims.'

‘Oh hell! And where would she have got those from?'

‘Difficult to say, sir. Where these reporters get their information from is a mystery to me.'

‘Is it really? Would she tell us if we asked her?'

‘I hope not, sir.'

‘Yes, so do I. Still, if the stories don't come from us I don't see that we have anything to worry about – but I'm not sure what good it will do you in court.'

‘Why's that?'

‘Because him being a paedophile actually makes it worse for you. It gives you a motive for wanting to kill him, the same as you have a motive for setting Formosa up. It's a big chink in our armour. We're up against a high-power defence team here. A top barrister would come at us with all guns blazing. The whole case is on a knife edge. It could go either way. What we needed was something else to sway things in our favour.'

‘Well, at least we got the kids back,' said Sep.

‘
You
got the kids back,' said Ibbotson, ‘and you got all the glory. The police didn't come out of that part of things too well.'

‘I don't feel very glorious.'

‘As it happens,' said Ibbotson, ‘I think we have that something else.'

The superintendent opened a drawer in his desk and took out a plastic evidence bag, inside which was what looked like a sheet of notepaper, which he pushed across to Sep.

‘Don't open it. I don't want it contaminating. It's a note that was found on a body of a man discovered under a bridge in Adel Woods. I have a transcript of what it says. He took out another sheet of paper and gave it to Sep:

My name is Gilberto Battaglia, I am from Florence in Italy and I am a diamond dealer and a thief. If my dead body is found, I will have been killed by a man who is by the name of Vincent Formosa who lived in London in England but now lives in Leeds in England. He has an associate in the Leeds police called Detective Inspector Cope who also worked for Formosa when he was detective in London. Cope is the man who always gives me my instructions when I work for Formosa. I was part of the team who did the robbery at the Antwerp Diamond centre in 2003. My share was three million euros worth of diamonds. I have been selling these to Formosa over the years and I am about to sell him the last half a million euros worth but I feel my life is in danger because after this I will have nothing left to sell him and I will be of no further use to him. I am also suspicious because he has offered me a much higher price for these diamonds than he did for the others, which I think means I will not be receiving anything as I will be dead. If you know of Formosa, you will know he is a ruthless man who disposes of people who are of no further use to him. I expect he will take the diamonds and have me killed, but no matter, I am dying anyway. It is my wish that the man who had me murdered should be caught and punished.

Gilberto Battaglia

‘Bloody hell!' said Sep.

‘Bloody hell indeed,' said Ibbotson. ‘Back then the Antwerp Diamond Centre robbery was the biggest heist ever – somewhere between twenty and a hundred million dollars.'

‘Don't they know exactly?'

Ibbotson gave a dry laugh. ‘No, they don't. The people who owned the security boxes were a bit cagey as to how much they had in there. The people behind the robbery were connected to the Sicilian Mafia and all but one were caught. The loot was never found and I'm guessing our friend Gilberto was the one who escaped scot-free.'

‘Lucky for us he did. If he was connected to the mafia I doubt if he held Formosa in too much esteem.'

‘Obviously not if his dying act was to grass him up to the police. We certainly do know what Formosa does to people who are of no further use to him. Our people discovered the whereabouts of all of Formosa's offices in Leeds and found a bag of diamonds in a safe in one of them. They've been valued at around half a million euros and have been checked and confirmed as coming from the Antwerp robbery. So, that's Mr Formosa signed, sealed and delivered.'

‘I wonder what he meant by
I am dying anyway
?'

‘The post-mortem showed him to be a man with terminal pancreatic cancer,' said Ibbotson. ‘A bullet to the brain's an easy way to die. It saved him months of pain. We think it was a suicide note.'

‘When was this body found?'

‘Only a few days ago. A couple of kids with a dog found him, although I believe it was the dog that sniffed him out. So many people walk their dogs in those woods it's a wonder he wasn't found weeks ago. The note was in one of his boots.'

‘How long has he been dead?'

‘About three or four months, apparently.'

‘So, I've been taking God knows how many risks trying to nail Cope and all the time this body was lying under a bridge, just waiting to nail him for me.'

‘Not necessarily. This letter alone wouldn't have convicted him, but it is the final nail in Formosa's coffin and, according to the CPS, along with all the other stuff, this letter really firms up the case against Cope. It'll wipe out any doubts the jury might have about the corrupt bastard.'

‘I hope so.'

‘Sep, Cope hasn't a prayer of getting off,' said Ibbotson, ‘although he obviously thinks he has, judging from the money he's spending on a top criminal defence team he's hired from one of the Inns of Court in London. They've made him change his mind about giving Queen's Evidence and they got him out on bail – but that's as much as they'll do for him.'

‘Who's doing the investigating?'

‘That side of things is being investigated by the Met and the Belgian police … Oh, and Formosa's blown the whistle bigtime on Cope to the Met's corruption team. He's implicated in two capital charges, both of them conspiracies to commit murder down in London as well as the stuff he's done up here.' Ibbotson held up a warning finger and added, ‘and, no … you cannot be the one to tell him about the letter.'

‘So he doesn't know yet?'

‘No, I'm going in to see him today with a view to tying up some loose ends with his charges up here. He'll have his brief with him.'

‘And will you be telling him about the letter and the Met's charges?'

‘Erm, yes. I'll be taking details of the additional charges for his solicitor to peruse.'

‘And who will you be taking with you?'

Ibbotson stared at Sep with narrowed eyes as Sep added: ‘If I was reinstated, it could be me.'

‘Who says you're going to be reinstated?'

‘Fair enough. Oh, my wife got herself tangled up with Cope as well, sir. He had her fooled, the same as he fooled a lot of people here, sir.'

‘Including me, I suppose? Done up like a kipper I think you said.'

‘I was indeed, sir, and I can't deny how great it is to prove you all wrong and get my life back.'

‘If it's any consolation, I don't feel good about my part in all this. A lesser man than you would have sunk without trace. In view of this, is there any favour I might do for you?'

‘There is, sir. Cope coerced my wife into swearing a false affidavit saying I assaulted her. I'd appreciate it if you could use your influence into not having her charged with perjury.'

‘Is this because you're going back to her?'

‘No, sir. It's because I promised my daughter I'd do what I can to keep her mother from going to jail. Losing her mother would damage my daughter, sir.'

‘Well, I think Cope's done enough damage to children recently. I expect I can swing that.'

‘And what about me being granted immunity from prosecution?'

‘You might not need it. I thought it better to simply ask the CPS if they could see any value in prosecuting you under these circumstances – with the lives of two innocent children being at stake. You're officially off the hook.'

‘Thank you, sir.'

‘Well, is that it?'

‘Sir?'

‘I mean is there anything else you want me to do for you, now I'm in a good mood.'

‘Reinstatement would be good.'

‘I've already suggested to the CPS that you receive a severe reprimand and loss of promotion.'

‘Loss of promotion to what, sir?'

‘Loss of promotion to DCI. I recommended that if you come back, you come back at your old rank of detective inspector. I would normally have recommended that you come back as DCI to make up for the unfair hardship you have suffered.'

‘Do you think that will work, sir?'

‘It's already worked. Consider yourself severely reprimanded and fully reinstated.'

Sep was suddenly thinking back to the time when he was in his house with Phoebe and Cope – the man who had lied to make his daughter hate him; the man whose lies had turned the world against him and almost destroyed his career; the man who had threatened to arrest him; the man who Sep had promised to catch up with, and now he had, but Cope really needed to know it, and there was only one way.

‘Now that I'm a copper again, sir, I will need a look at Cope's additional charges if I'm to break the bad news to him.'

‘Sep, you've been a copper again for less than a minute and you're telling me what to do.'

‘I imagine he'll be going down for life without parole and it'll have more impact coming from me.'

‘Impact?'

‘Yes, sir. These villains need a bit of impact to make them see the error of their ways.'

‘You really are a cheeky sod, Sep!'

‘It's what gets me through, sir.'

‘Gets you through? Since you've been free of the bonds of normal police procedure you've managed to break up two major criminal gangs and the CPS are more than aware of this. I was extremely tempted to put in a request to the Home Office to employ you as a freelance criminal investigator.'

‘Will I be given licence to kill, sir?'

‘Don't push it … Detective Inspector Black.'

‘But I
will
be the one to give Cope the bad news?'

‘Jesus, Sep! I'll get you the bloody charge sheets.'