I Know What I Saw

‘The question we have to ask is how you managed to describe the location of a murder from almost thirty years ago?’

‘No comment.’

‘Because if there is an innocent explanation, we’d like to hear it. Do you have one?’

‘No comment.’

‘Do you think you might have, say, read a news story about the murder?’

‘No comment.’

The questions, each of them, make me cringe. But I expect them – all of them. I am a fish in a barrel being machine-gunned.

They continue like this for almost an hour. I can’t look at Blake. It is as if I have disappointed her.

Eventually the questions lose their power. The repetition becomes bland. I begin to fade in and out of concentration. No comment I say to everything. It becomes so much of a rhythm that I almost miss it when it happens.

‘This photograph of the deceased. For the tape exhibit RG/5. Is that you in the picture?’

‘No comment.’

‘Is there an innocent explanation for you being in a picture with the deceased?’

I want to scream the answer. We were lovers! I look at Jan for permission but she doesn’t give it. The questions grind on.

Were you in a relationship with Michelle? Did you live together? Did you two split up? What was the reason for that if you did? Did she find someone else? Or did you? Did you have any reason to feel jealous about her?

‘We believe that you were both in a relationship before she died. We also believe that you disappeared soon after her death. What was the reason for you disappearing?’

‘That’s not a proper suggestion, Officer. There is no evidence that Mr Shute disappeared,’ Jan snaps, cutting in again briskly.

‘Well, if you didn’t disappear, where did you go?’ Conway continues.

‘Again, Officer, there is no evidence that he went anywhere.’

‘Well, that is for you to answer, Mr Shute. Where did you go? There’s no record of you on any electoral roll.’

‘No comment.’

‘We did some digging into the file and we found that Michelle had a number of bank accounts. Were you aware that she was earning a considerable salary at the time of her murder?’

‘No comment.’ I say the words but alarms are going off in my head.

‘We found some bank account statements in the file. There is this one statement for a dollar account that we found. And we found something quite interesting. And I think you know what that is, Mr Shute.’

Jan looks appalled. Her expression changes as if she is making a decision of some kind.

‘This bank statement, exhibit RG/6 for the tape, shows a dollar account in the name of Mackintosh and Shute. Is the Shute on that account you, Mr Shute?’

The room begins to press in on me. I look to Jan but her face has set hard. Whatever she is deciding has begun to take shape.

‘No comment,’ I say in a whisper.

‘There’s an interesting entry there on that sheet, Mr Shute. It shows that you cleared the entire account, in cash, just a matter of weeks before her murder. Is that the reason she was killed, Mr Shute? That’s a sizeable sum. Just over a quarter of a million dollars. Where is the money?’

‘We are ending this interview now, Officer. This is outrageous. I haven’t been given any disclosure about this. It’s unethical and you know it.’ Jan stands up. ‘Are you charging him or not?’

‘Actually, those are all the questions we have for you at the moment, Mr Shute. We are terminating this interview. The time by my watch is 21:17.’ He switches the tapes off, and turns his attention to Jan.

‘We are still at an early stage with regards to investigating the offence. Obviously, this a serious charge. It’ll be for the custody sergeant now to deal with bail.’

‘But you’re the OIC,’ Jan says. ‘You know he’s going to do what you want him to.’

Blake gets up from her seat and puts her file together. ‘I’m the officer in the case actually. And since we haven’t charged him yet and since he seems to turn up here wanted or not, I’m taking the view that he’s going to surrender. I’m recommending bail to return in four weeks. That’s the 19th of March,’ she says, looking into her phone. ‘Make sure you come back. It’s a long wait in custody for a murder trial.’

Jan looks shocked but manages a curt thank you.

Twenty minutes later I am standing on the pavement, shaking Jan’s hand. She doesn’t react or flinch at having to touch my skin. I can hardly believe they have released me after all those questions. All that insinuation.

‘Thank you,’ I say.

‘Don’t thank me. It’s that OIC. She’s got the hots for you,’ she says, looking up at me. There is a foot in height between us.

I take a deep breath and screw my eyes shut. Did that just happen? ‘What now?’ I say.

‘Now? You make an appointment to see me on Thursday,’ she says, picking up her case from the ground. ‘And when you do, you need a better explanation for what happened to the money than you gave me in the cells after the interview.’

‘But I told you, I don’t know where it is.’