“Rather drown than be slaves,” Joseph pointed out.
“Exactly.” Derek turned to the water.
“Don’t do it.” Joseph stopped, holding his hand up, pleading, even though Derek couldn’t see him.
“Something in that, I reckon.” Derek turned his head towards Joseph, his feet edging towards the water.
“Don’t, please,” Joseph begged.
Derek looked away and out towards the water. Joseph held his breath. His ribs hurt. His heart raced. Time seemed to stand still. Derek peered over the edge. The seconds passed, stretching on and on as everyone waited for him to jump. But he never did. Finally, he stepped backward, head drooping.
Joseph stepped forward, cuffs in hand. “Derek Nadderley, I’m arresting you for the murder of Gerald Trainer.”
36.
Joseph marched Derek through the dockyard as the workers came out of their warehouses to watch. Their stares, the faint smirks that crossed their faces, said plenty. No one was sorry to see the back of their foreman. He wondered what they might find out now about the reputation of Derek Nadderley, once he was out of the yard and into custody. Maybe people would speak more freely.
They went back up the stairs into the shed. Ray had covered his arm with a wet cloth. “Saw you’d got it covered, so thought I’d best do some evidence collection,” he said by way of explanation. He moved over to the boots, lifting the right one. “Slash,” he said as Joseph saw the cut across the sole.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Derek asked, sounding vexed once more.
“We found a bloodstain in the burnt-out warehouse. Had a partial footprint in it. Work boots with a distinctive cut across the sole. Bet you didn’t know that blood can survive a fire, did you?” Joseph growled. After his speech on the water’s edge, Derek had been revealed for what he really was. A coward. He hadn’t had the courage to jump like those who had done the last thing possible to avoid a life of bondage, yet he still had the nerve to believe that he was in some way superior.
Derek scowled silently back.
“Rights have been read,” Joseph said.
“Lovely,” Ray walked up to Derek. “What was it? Did he get out of line? Call you out?”
“As if he could call me out,” Derek sneered. “No. The likes of him don’t get to call me out. They’re not on the same footing. Silly bleeder never could accept that, and it caught up with him. Still doesn’t mean it was me what done it.”
“But you did though, didn’t you?” Joseph cut in. “When he got the promotion.” He remembered Dziko telling him to think of the positive things about Gerald that might lead to someone killing him. It was all so clear now. Derek had been unable to accept Gerald’s promotion. How it had come to result in murder, though, they still needed to understand.
“How he got that, I’ll never know. It’s insulting. You can’t tell me that no bloody golly can come over here and get to the same level I’ve reached in a matter of months. I worked my whole life for this. Worked bloody hard, and they think they can do the same. They think we’re the same. No. No chance. He never put his life on the line for this country like I did. And you know that.” He turned to look at Ray.
“I know what?” Ray asked, the hand clasping the cold cloth to his arm came away and fell to his side.
“You know what we went through out there. We fought for this country and I tell you now, we both know we didn’t fight for this. To have bloody johnny foreigner come over here and tell us what to do. That’s what the hun wanted. This here, it’s just the same, a bloody invasion only they’re worse than the Nazis. At least they looked like us. If they’d have won, we’d have had none of this.”
Ray’s right hand came up and round quickly, catching Derek across the jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor. Joseph froze, looking at his partner, then down to Derek who groaned where he had fallen.
“If they’d have won…” he began, but he couldn’t finish the sentence. He turned his back on Derek. Whatever he wanted to say, he couldn’t find the words for.
“I’ll have you for that, I will,” Derek exclaimed from the floor. “That’s assault.”
“Get up,” Joseph said, reaching for the man’s cuffed hands and hauling him up.
“I’m going to call for another car to come and take him in,” Ray said, heading for the door. “I don’t think it’s wise for us to take him.” He turned and took one more look at Derek Nadderley, who tried to meet his gaze but couldn’t. He withered away, a husk of what he once was.
Ray walked out, slamming the door as he went, meaning it swung back open, the cold air rushing in. Joseph pushed Derek towards his regular stool and made him sit.
“You saw that,” Derek said as he sat on the chair. “You saw what he did.”
Joseph sat opposite him and said nothing, just wondered what it would be like to have the guts to do what he really wanted to right now, and punch Derek Nadderley square on the jaw, just like Ray had.
*
“Are you okay?” Joseph asked once Derek had been bundled into the back of a car by two uniformed officers, then driven through the gates of the dockyard.
“Fine,” Ray didn’t look at him when he replied. “Let’s collect whatever evidence we need and get out of here.”
“Sure,” Joseph said, not wanting to press the situation any further. Whatever button Derek had pressed to get that reaction, Ray had to reset on his own.
They worked in silence, which seemed to be the right choice, because by the time they drove back, Ray had noticeably relaxed. He even managed a smile when they returned to the station to be greeted by the rest of the shift applauding them as they walked into the office.
With the initial wave of congratulations complete, DCI Banks sauntered over to the two of them, asking them to join him in his office, once they’d got themselves a celebratory cup of tea.
“I wanted to thank you both for your perseverance on this case,” he said once the two of them had taken seats opposite him, drinks in hand. “It hasn’t been easy and I know I’ve placed additional pressure on you that normally wouldn’t come with such a case. I’m glad you’ve repaid my trust in you and delivered.”
Joseph found himself wanting to point out that this case wasn’t one where Banks should be looking to shoehorn himself into a position of credit, but all his bravery for the day, possibly even the month, had been spent. “Thank you, sir,” was all he could muster as he chorused with Ray.
“Now, it is only right of course that I let you know that our suspect, Mr Nadderley, has made a complaint of police brutality during his arrest. Seems to feel that one of you might have struck him whilst he was handcuffed.” Ray went to protest but Claude held his hand up to stop him and carried on. “Naturally, my investigation into the incident will show that all injuries received by Mr Nadderley were consistent with the nature of his pursuit and arrest, and by his own admission, coincidentally for him, there appear to be no witnesses to the event he has described. Which leads me to believe that he’s fabricating the whole story. I can’t for one moment begin to imagine why two upstanding officers like yourselves would ever feel the need to strike a suspect already in custody.”
“The fizzer said it would have been better if the Nazis had won.” Ray stood to attention as he admitted it. Ready to face whatever punishment might come.
Banks nodded. “As I assumed, a total fabrication. Very good, gentlemen.” He smiled at Ray who smiled back. “Very good. You can interview Mr Nadderley whenever you’re good and ready, then when we’re happy, we’ll prosecute.”
Ray began to stand but Joseph didn’t. “May I ask a question, sir?”
