this is news to him. ‘Who told you about that?’
A shrug. ‘Oh, you know. The grapevine.’ She leans closer. ‘When’s it all happening, do you know? Cos if we could feature that in the series as well, it would be amazing.’ She smiles. ‘Have you ever done any TV work? Because I can tell you now, the camera would really love you –’
‘Investigations like that – they’re confidential. They’re not entertainment.’
She’s shaking her head. ‘It’s not about that. Don’t people have a right to know what’s being done in their name? And with their taxes? And now there’s new evidence –’
‘You don’t know that. We don’t even know that.’
She sits back again, eyes him, cooler now. ‘And then there’s Adam Fawley.’
Quinn’s eyes narrow. ‘What about Adam Fawley?’
‘Well, he was on the case, wasn’t he?’
Quinn tries to play dumb, and manages it rather better than he probably intended. ‘You tell me.’
There’s a small sharp smile now, at the edge of her mouth. ‘As I’m sure you know, he was the DS on the original case. Same rank as you. Or rather, as you were.’
She picks up her glass of sparkling water. Quinn stares at her. This woman shouldn’t know that – what else does she bloody well know? If she’s found out he was demoted for sleeping with a suspect –
Bowen is clearly finding his discomfiture distinctly amusing. A sly smile curls her lips. ‘I’m sure the public would like to know why Adam Fawley was assigned to the Sasha Blake inquiry, given it’s such a clear conflict of interest.’
Quinn frowns. ‘I don’t know what you’re getting at.’
She looks at him disbelievingly. ‘Oh, come on. You aren’t seriously telling me you don’t know? About Fawley?’
But apparently he is. She gives him a meaningful look. ‘Well, I suggest you have a good look at the trial transcripts.’ She leans forward and puts a business card on the table. ‘And when you have, give me a call.’
* * *
THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT
The Old Bailey
London EC4M 7EH
BEFORE:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEALEY
R E G I N A
v.
GAVIN FRANCIS PARRIE
* * *
MR. R. BARNES Q.C. and MISS S. GREY
appeared on behalf of the prosecution.
MRS. B. JENKINS Q.C. and MR. T. CUTHBERT
appeared on behalf of the defendant.
* * *
Wednesday, 10th November, 1999
[Day 19]
ADAM FAWLEY, recalled
Examined by MRS. JENKINS
Q. Sergeant Fawley, I’d like to return to the incident you were describing to Mr. Barnes yesterday. Specifically the sequence of events which led to the arrest and detention of my client. You told us that you received a telephone call from Ms. Sheldon at 11.45 on January 3rd this year.
A. Yes, I did.
Q. She rang you on your mobile, I believe?
A. Yes.
Q. One might have thought that she would have called 999, in the circumstances.
A. I couldn’t say.
Q. Someone in her situation would normally do so, surely?
A. I was the officer who interviewed her after the attempted assault. I would imagine that’s why she chose to call me, but you’d have to ask her.
Q. And the reason for this call was that she believed she had identified the man who attacked her.
A. That’s correct.
Q. But how could she have done that, if, as you have already told us, she never saw his face?
A. She had recognised his smell. She was queuing up to pay for petrol at a garage on the ring–road and noticed a distinctive odour. A sweet smell, like overripe fruit.
Q. From the man standing behind her?
A. Yes.
Q. And she recognised this?
A. Correct. She said she suddenly became extremely anxious while standing in the queue but it took a few moments for her to realise why.
Q. Had any of the other victims mentioned a smell?
A. No. But they had plastic bags tied tightly over their heads. In Ms. Sheldon’s case, the perpetrator fled the scene before he was able to put the bag fully in place. We concluded that this would account for it. We also ascertained that Mr. Parrie suffers from type 1 diabetes. If the condition is not well-managed it can sometimes lead to a distinctive smell on the breath. A smell very much like what Ms. Sheldon described.
Q. What did Ms. Sheldon do next?
A. She followed him back out to the forecourt and started to follow his van in her car.
Q. She was putting herself in considerable danger, was she not?
A. She was. She was very brave.
Q. What happened next?
A. She saw Mr. Parrie park outside a garage off the Botley Road, open the door and go inside. She called me from her own