Vigilante by Kerry Wilkinson Read Free Book Online Page A

at judging how a suspect would react in an interview by the way they held themselves when they first sat in front of her. Some would try to be intimidating, especially as she was female. They would lean forwards and glare at her, almost inviting her to make them angry. A lot of the younger ones, the cocky gang members who still thought being arrested was cool, would slouch back in their seat, legs splayed wide and stare at the floor answering ‘no comment’ to every question. Every now and then, you would get someone who was genuinely scared, either because they were innocent or because they were guilty but terrified of what might happen to them. They would often fidget in the seat, looking to their solicitor for advice and talk far too quickly.
    But McKenna was seated in a way Jessica had never seen before; he was simply relaxed, as if lounging at home watching television or in his local pub with a pint. His wrists were handcuffed but he had interlinked his fingers and put them on the table between them. He was looking at her but not in an intimidating way, he was smiling. It wasn’t even a menacing gaze; he genuinely seemed pleased to be talking to them. Jessica could deal with aggression and thugs who thought they were big-time but a person being nice was something she wasn’t used to.
    Cole formally cautioned the suspect and briefly explained why they were there. The solicitor looked on unbelievingly at the two of them, shaking his head. After her superior had finished speaking, he moved his chair backwards away from the table a few inches.
    She never really planned out how she was going to tackle an interview, instead trusting her instincts. Something about Donald McKenna unnerved her though. He was still smiling and had gone from watching Cole speak to looking at her expectantly.
    Jessica felt off-guard and ended up asking the one question she hadn’t planned to, the one that made her sound stupid. To compound things, she asked it first and instantly felt ridiculous as soon as the words came out of her mouth. ‘So, Mr McKenna, how did you get out?’
    She sensed Cole shuffling nervously slightly behind her but he said nothing. The man’s solicitor instantly started to interrupt but the suspect nodded along, lifting his hands from the table as if to indicate he was happy to answer. ‘It’s okay.’
    His solicitor stopped speaking and the prisoner looked directly at Jessica again. He was still smiling but his light blue eyes had no menace in them. ‘Detective, I really have no wish to escape the punishment I have been given. I sinned and I deserve to pay the price for that.’
    It was definitely not the answer Jessica expected and she was aware he hadn’t really addressed the question. The prisoner’s words were clear, his local accent diminished. ‘Can you explain how your blood happened to end up underneath the fingernail of a man who had been stabbed to death?’
    ‘I’m afraid I cannot.’
    ‘Where were you three nights ago?’
    The inmate could have laughed at her but didn’t. ‘I was in my cell reading until lights out and then I would have been sleeping.’
    ‘Do you have a cell to yourself?’
    ‘At the moment, yes.’
    If the second set of results came back positive, they would return to have a proper look at the area the prisoner was housed in. For now, they were on a fishing expedition. ‘Do you know a man called Craig Millar? Until very recently he was on remand in this prison.’
    ‘I’m afraid I don’t have a great memory for names.’
    Jessica took a photo from an envelope she had been carrying and slid it across the table. ‘This is the man who was killed. Does his face ring a bell?’
    McKenna picked up the image with his cuffed hands and studied it, narrowing his eyes as if to make clear he was concentrating. ‘I don’t believe I know him. We may well have moved in different circles. This is a large establishment.’
    Jessica nodded and took the photo back, unsure if she