‘Ma’am, you look awful,’ Patel said, as he entered the incident room, removing his coat and scarf. ‘Don’t tell me you were here all night?’ But he didn’t need her to confirm it. ‘Coffee?’
Kate gave him a nod as she continued to file the pages before her. ‘I’m going to need you downstairs this morning. I’ve finally figured out what’s been going on, but whatever happens in there, I need you to back me.’
He passed her a fresh mug of coffee. ‘You don’t need to ask. We’ve only got a couple of hours until we have to release Jackson.’
‘Forget about Jackson. We have bigger fish to fry.’
Patel gave her a curious look, but followed her out of the room, as she carried the box of papers down to the interview room.
* * *
Imelda Watkins looked far from impressed to find herself seated across the table from Kate and Patel. The duty solicitor who had been called to attend the police station didn’t look too pleased by the early wake-up call either.
‘The first time we met,’ Kate began, ‘you told me that people have been taking advantage of Neil’s kind nature all his life; that people assumed because he struggled to communicate, there was something wrong with him. And then when those vandals defaced his property you told me you blamed yourself for putting him in harm’s way. I thought you meant by helping him get the job at the school, but that wasn’t what you meant, was it, Mrs Watkins? What you meant was you blamed yourself for asking him to clean up your mess. The only thing I don’t understand is how you wound up in such a mess to begin with.’
‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about, or why you have detained me—’
Kate raised a hand to cut her off. ‘We have your computer, Mrs Watkins. We found the conversations you conducted online with Maria Alexandrou and Petr Nowakowski. Unless you’re going to pretend that Neil was the individual offering them ten thousand pounds each a kidney? I’ll be honest with you, Mrs Watkins, I can’t prove for certain that you are Guardian Angel, and that it wasn’t Neil involved from the outset. My team are currently requesting access to your bank account information, which should quickly establish whether you have been paying out large sums of money to desperate people, so it’s only a matter of time until we know everything.
‘But,’ Kate paused, ‘I don’t believe you will allow Neil’s name to be dragged through the mud any more than it already has been. Why did you involve him?’
The duty solicitor leaned in to talk to her client, but Imelda brushed her away. ‘I plan to sue you for wrongful arrest and I will be having a very stiff word with your Superintendent. I am a grieving mother! You cannot arrest me and start throwing accusations.’
Kate removed the lid of the box she’d brought into the room, pulling out the pages and dropping them onto the table in front of Imelda. ‘These are printed copies of what we have recovered from your hard drive, Mrs Watkins. More than a dozen conversations with individuals in which you – or Neil – clearly offer money in exchange for their organs. Just because you deleted it from your computer, doesn’t mean it disappears forever. This alone is sufficient to allow us to turn your world upside down. It’s over, Mrs Watkins.’
Imelda’s eyes fell on the pages.
Kate softened her tone. ‘I don’t believe you did this by yourself; neither you nor Neil could have surgically removed the kidneys adequately enough for transplant. Who are you working with?’
Imelda looked up and met Kate’s eyes and something in her broke. ‘Can I see him? I’ll tell you everything if you allow me to see my son one final time, to say goodbye.’
‘I give you my word.’
Imelda nodded in acknowledgement. ‘For a long time I refused to accept that what had happened at St Bartholomew’s had anything to do with Neil. I suppose he thought he could do it there because the old building was going to be torn down. He probably didn’t think that anyone might go inside in the meantime. I should have been clearer in what I asked of him.’ But then she shook her head. ‘No, what I should have done is not involved him at all. That day in the school when you were talking to him, as we left he told me he was going to tell you what had happened, and I told him he couldn’t as we’d both get into serious trouble. I swear I was less worried about myself than I was about him. He couldn’t have coped with going to prison, not understanding why. It was my fault, but I thought that if I could just keep him quiet, everything would blow over. I knew if you found any of his DNA at Abbotts Way that we could explain why, given he used to tend the gardens there, but I could see he was struggling with something. You need to understand that Neil was only acting upon my instructions, and that he did not kill either Petr or Maria.’
Kate’s eyes widened at the mention of their names. ‘You admit to knowing Petr Nowakowski and Maria Alexandrou, then?’
Imelda nodded. ‘Yes, I knew them. I only met them the one time when I handed over their payments, so you can imagine how shocked I was when Petr contacted me days after the surgery to complain of abdominal pain and nausea. I knew he couldn’t go to an NHS doctor for care because then the whole situation would be exposed, so I contacted the men responsible for the operation. I told them they needed to help him, but they told me they had what they wanted and it was up to me to deal with him. I didn’t know what to do. They said if I didn’t take care of matters they would sever our partnership and make Neil suffer.
‘So, I invited Petr to my house. I was going to call a doctor and just hope for the best, but before I got the chance, he died, right there in front of me. I swear I didn’t kill him, but I fear my indecision indirectly led to his passing.’
‘Who are your partners?’ Kate asked.
‘We never use real names, for everybody’s protection.’
‘But how did you become mixed up with them?’
Imelda closed her eyes. ‘It was only after my Graham passed that I learned just what a terrible situation he’d left us in. He used to deal with all the finances, and I assumed everything was okay until I discovered the truth. The bank was threatening to sell our family home. I tried selling the place in Abbotts Way, but nobody wanted the dilapidated building. I was about to lose everything, and I knew Neil would need continued financial support. I was desperate, and that’s when I stumbled across a couple of emails Graham had received shortly before his death. He was a retired surgeon, you see, and they were asking if he would be interested in performing surgeries off the books. They were offering enormous sums for what amounted to a few hours’ work.
‘All I did was vet the seller, check their medical history and then organise where the exchange would take place. I was just the go-between. And it was going well: we were helping to save lives. People can live with one kidney, so why not allow those willing to sell one do so. Petr and Maria were handsomely rewarded for their donations, and those kidneys went on to grant a new lease of life to those in need. I know what you must think of me, but I really never thought anybody would suffer because of what we were doing.’
‘Until Petr contacted you.’
Imelda wiped a stray tear from her eye. ‘When my partners threatened mine and Neil’s lives, I felt like I had no choice but to cover up the crimes. I panicked and told Neil that I needed him to dispose of the body: burn it, bury it, or whatever it took. I never had any idea he would take Petr to Abbotts Way and dismember him.’
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