Rod’s interview turned out to be even more frustrating than his wife’s. Each time he said ‘No comment’, he gave a smug little chuckle that really got under Karen’s skin.
Both interviews had been a mammoth waste of time. But the Perrys wouldn’t be so smug once the warrant was granted.
Towards the end of the interview, as Morgan prepared to wrap things up, Karen suddenly said, ‘What did your wife mean by saying I should have learned my lesson last time?’
The smug smile dropped from Rod Perry’s face. ‘She said that?’
He swallowed hard and shot a look at Norris, whose watery eyes focused on Karen as he raised his handkerchief to his nose.
‘She did. She said it in the kitchen just before we went outside and found you.’
Rod shook his head and shrugged. His movements were over the top – exaggerated nonchalance – which told Karen she’d hit a nerve.
‘I’ve no idea what she was going on about. You’ll have to ask her.’
As Morgan asked the last few routine questions, Rod was more subdued and noticeably less smug – but sadly no more helpful than before.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Karen and Morgan had finished interviewing Rod Perry, they returned to the open-plan office area. Karen headed towards her desk but stopped when she saw the superintendent standing by the glass door of Morgan’s office.
She was used to seeing Superintendent Michelle Murray dressed impeccably in her work uniform of sober grey or navy skirt suits, together with her perfectly styled hair. Today, she wore casual clothes – faded blue jeans with a loose-fitting lilac T-shirt – and her hair was pushed back from her face and tucked behind her ears.
‘Ma’am,’ Morgan said with a nod. ‘I didn’t realise you were coming in.’
‘This could be a complicated case,’ Murray said in her soft Glaswegian accent. ‘I wanted to see how you were getting on.’
‘Well, we’ve been busy. We’ve interviewed the Perrys but haven’t got much out of them. They’re insisting they were doing the three men a favour by letting them stay in the garage. They’re also denying the men worked at the pub.’
‘That’s to be expected, I suppose,’ the superintendent said. She nodded to the nearest empty desk, and all three of them went to sit down. ‘I’ve assigned another DI to cover the murder on Canwick Hill. DI Freeman. How far did you get with the murder investigation before you were sidetracked?’
Karen thought she detected a note of frustration in the superintendent’s voice. Was she annoyed that they’d brought the Perrys in and focused on that enquiry at the expense of the murder investigation? Karen believed the two cases were likely to be closely related.
Morgan didn’t protest at his lightened caseload. ‘I think that’s the most sensible course of action, ma’am. We haven’t made much progress. We don’t yet have an ID for the victim. I suspect we’ve stumbled on something that goes deeper than the Perrys.’
‘So do I. We need to tread carefully, because we can’t afford any screw-ups. If we want a strong case that ends in a successful prosecution, we have to do everything by the book. Now, fill me in on what you’ve learned about these three men.’
Karen told the superintendent what she’d managed to find out so far. She supplied the details she’d unearthed in the background checks, informing the superintendent that none of the men had criminal records and she had no reason to believe they were a danger to the public. ‘The only one I’ve had trouble tracing is Vishal Salike. I can’t find any records indicating when or where he entered the country. He says he was born in Nepal.’
‘Then we need to inform border control.’
‘Yes, I’ll do that, but I was hoping to get your approval, ma’am, to keep him at the station overnight,’ Karen said. ‘I’ve arranged accommodation for Aleksy Iskow and Joe Rowland at a local rest centre, but I doubt border control will sanction that if Vishal is in the country illegally. We’ll need to question him, so it makes sense to keep him here temporarily if everyone is amenable.’
The superintendent was silent while she contemplated the request. Then she mused, ‘It would make life easier, wouldn’t it?’
‘It would. Of course, I’d explain the situation to Vishal, and he would be in the custody suite overnight.’
‘That seems like a sensible solution for tonight at least, if all the agencies agree. We’ll need to organise an advocate for him, too. Are you planning to question him tomorrow?’ she asked, turning to Morgan.
‘Yes, ma’am. Vishal and the other two men. After they’ve had a proper night’s sleep and a hot breakfast, we’ll start the questioning.’
‘Good. These men are the best evidence we have against the owners of The Red Lion. Have you let the Perrys go?’
‘Not yet, ma’am, but I don’t think we have enough to hold them or charge them at this stage.’
‘Neither do I. Let them go, and then you should both get a good night’s rest yourselves. You’ll have a busy day of interviews tomorrow.’
The superintendent spun her chair around to face Karen. ‘You’ve had dealings with the Perrys before, haven’t you?’
Karen glanced at her own desk, where she had the case file and her notes detailing the previous run-in with the Perrys. ‘Yes, though I never thought it was as bad as this. The investigation didn’t go well last time. I think we tipped our hand too early. All the evidence pointed to the fact the Perrys were exploiting undocumented workers, but when we searched the premises, they’d covered up before we got there. They must have known about the raid at least a week before it took place. When we visited the pub, we found they’d put staff on the books. Locals had insisted they’d seen Vietnamese women working at the pub, but the Perrys swore it was nonsense, and we never found a trace of the women.’
‘Well, let’s hope we have better luck this time. If we’re right and the Perrys are part of a modern slavery ring, we want to catch everyone associated with it. Plus there will be a lot of public interest on this one and a lot of political points to be scored.’
‘If you’ll excuse me, ma’am, I need to check on the progress of the warrant,’ Morgan said.
The superintendent dismissed him with a nod, and Morgan entered his office.
When the glass door closed, the superintendent got to her feet. ‘Right, I’ll ask DI Morgan to make sure everything is ready to hand over to DI Freeman. I think we should both go home. Busy day tomorrow.’ She made to move but then stopped. ‘Is everything all right, Karen?’
Karen hesitated. ‘Yes . . . To be honest, I was a little unnerved by something Patricia Perry said.’
The superintendent sat back down, resting her elbows on the desk and leaning closer to Karen. ‘What did she say?’
‘That I should have learned my lesson last time.’
Superintendent Murray frowned. ‘What did she mean by that? Did she threaten you last time?’
‘No, not really.’
‘“Not really”?’
Karen shrugged. ‘There were a few vague “you’ll regret this” comments, but no more than you’d expect when dealing with people like the Perrys.’