‘This way!’ he yelled to the constables.

Tomek was the first to go. First to take the plunge and race up the steps. He jumped them two at a time until he came to the top and burst through the door at the top of the stairs.

There he was, Johnny Whitaker straddling his wife, pinning her down, crushing the life out of her.

Tomek didn’t hesitate. He approached the man from behind, wrapped one arm around Johnny Whitaker’s neck, then locked it in place with his other arm and began squeezing. Hard. Giving him a taste of his own medicine. Surprisingly, the man lasted longer than Tomek expected – ten seconds instead of five – before he eventually released his grip on Rose’s throat and fell to the floor. Tomek held onto him until the man blacked out and the muscles in his upper body relaxed.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Four hours later, and Johnny Whitaker was finally ready to be interviewed. A quick test of his blood levels and a look at some CCTV footage had shown that since his discharge from the hospital, the drag star had ventured into The Broadway, a pub that was situated immediately opposite Rose’s jewellery shop. From there, he had found a table beside the window, ordered himself five pints, and sipped them patiently, biding his time, keeping a watchful gaze on the shop entrance. When Rose had got rid of her last customer, and Johnny had summoned enough disdain and frustration towards his wife, he had staggered across the road, stumbled into the shop, and locked them both in.

Tomek knew the rest.

With him in the interview room was Rachel, Johnny, who looked worse than he had the last time Tomek had seen him, and his solicitor, sitting on a single chair at the back of the room. In the corners of the room, video cameras recorded the meeting, and a digital recorder sat on the table against the wall. Rachel pressed the On button and began recording. After she’d completed the formalities, it was Tomek’s turn to question Johnny.

‘What were you doing at Whitaker’s jewellery shop this afternoon?’ Tomek said, struggling to stifle a yawn that had come from nowhere. It had been a long day, and he needed a drink at the end of all this.

‘No comment.’

‘What happened inside your wife’s shop, Johnny?’

‘No comment.’

‘Why did you lock the door?’

‘No comment.’

‘How did you gain access to the flat above the shop?’

‘No comment.’

‘What happened in the flat above the shop?’

‘No comment.’

Johnny’s face was one of resolve, screwed into a tight ball of indignation and contempt. His arms were folded across his chest and his shoulders hunched upwards, almost into his neck. The man had changed significantly since Tomek had first met him. He had become a shell, broken. He looked as though he hadn’t eaten in weeks, and had relied solely on alcohol as a source of sustenance.

‘Why did you strangle your wife, Johnny?’

The man didn’t flinch.

‘No comment.’

Tomek sighed internally. This was going to be a long evening.

‘We have evidence to prove you did it. Several police officers’ witness statements. I saw it with my own eyes. Why don’t you answer the question? Why did you try to kill your wife?’

Johnny poked his neck out and hissed, ‘No comment,’ then recoiled backwards.

‘Is it because she outed you, found out your secret?’

‘No comment.’

Tomek looked down at his notes, found the conversation he’d had with Johnny in the hospital bed.

‘You said to me the other day, and I quote, “I swear to God, the next time I see her…” What did you mean by that, Johnny? The next time you saw her, you were going to kill her? Did you want to kill her because you think she ruined your life?’

Nothing. The man’s expression was blank.

‘Because from where I’m sitting, it seems like you did all that yourself.’ Tomek eased himself into the seat, mirroring Johnny’s posture. ‘You’re the one who lied to her all these years. You’re the one who lied to your parents… your sister.’ Tomek let the last comment hang in the air before continuing. ‘Tell me about the time she found out you were a drag queen.’

Before responding, Johnny slowly turned to his solicitor, gave the man a look, then turned his attention back to Tomek. ‘She went to one of my shows,’ he said. ‘It was a complete fluke, a total coincidence. She didn’t know I was going to be there, and I had absolutely no sense she would be there either. It was… it was a shock.’

‘Who saw who first?’

‘Why’s that relevant?’

Tomek shrugged. ‘Curious.’

‘She saw me,’ Johnny replied with a sigh. He began rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. ‘Came to find me out back once I’d finished. Fortunately, she saved me the embarrassment of coming backstage with her friends.’

‘What did she say?’

More rubbing. More aggressively this time, as he relived the events in his head.

‘I expected more from her, you know. She was the younger one, the freer one. The one who’d managed to get away from all of Mum and Dad’s bullshit, despite them virtually hating her for it. She didn’t have the same religious shackles that they’d tried to place on me. She didn’t have to attend church every Sunday like I did. She didn’t have to deal with any of that, and I thought, out of everyone, she’d be more understanding. But she was disgusted with me. Said what I was doing was immoral and unethical. That she was going to tell Mum and Dad. That she was going to tell Rose.’

There was a steeliness in his voice, as if he was choking back the tears.

‘And did she?’

Johnny shook his head.

‘Because you made sure she couldn’t, didn’t you?’

‘No! Absolutely not.’ The man slammed his hand on the table. Tomek had seen enough cretins to know when a move like that was imminent, so didn’t flinch. ‘I know where you’re going with this, but I had nothing to do with what happened to Angelica. I convinced her not to say anything to anyone – money, it was always money with her, and lots of it – but she always held it against me. Like siblings do. She promised she wouldn’t say anything, and I believed her. I had no reason to kill her.’

Tomek pulled out a sheet of paper and slid it across the table. Curious, Johnny leant in and inspected the document. Tomek prodded the sheet with his forefinger.

‘That says otherwise,’ he explained.

‘What is it?’

‘That there is evidence linking your DNA to the DNA sample that was found at your sister’s crime scene.’

‘What?’

‘Which bit do you need clarifying? How long your sentence might be, because⁠—’