Free Desperate Measures by Cath Staincliffe

performance, all relayed through Stroud. I never met them. But I couldn’t do it. Stroud kept threatening me. I said no. Then yesterday … I got home and saw the house ... I knew it’d be me next. I didn’t know where to go. I got in the car. Don’s death was on the news.’ His voice shook, ‘I panicked, I lost control of the car. It was stupid.’
    ‘The crash was an accident?’ Richard said.
    ‘Yes,’ McKee said.
    ‘And the black 4x4?’ Richard said.
    McKee shook his head. ‘Doesn’t exist.’
    Janine was sick of his lies and half-truths, the way he had confused the lines of inquiry and wasted their time and resources.
    ‘So no one ran you off the road?’ she said.
    ‘No – but they killed Don,’ McKee’s voice broke.
    ‘Why would they do that?’ Janine said.
    He threw his arms out. ‘As a warning. I wouldn’t agree to help them with the burglary so they killed him.’
    ‘Bit extreme,’ Richard said.
    ‘Or in mistake for me, then,’ McKee argued. ‘Look, if they find out ...’ He was still pale but beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead. ‘Can you … please, what sort of protection do I get?’
    ‘We want all this in a written statement,’ Janine said, failing to keep the irritation out of her voice. ‘I advise you not to return home and we can refer you to our witness support scheme.’
    ‘But if I make a statement, if they know, they’ll come after me …’
    ‘That’s the point of the witness protection scheme,’ Janine said. ‘You act as a witness for us and we protect you.’
    McKee moved to stand up and Janine said, ‘There’s just the matter of the charge.’
    ‘Charge?’ he stammered.
    Janine nodded to Richard who said, ‘Fraser McKee, I am charging you with conspiracy to commit theft. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’
    McKee sat there, open-mouthed, aghast. What did he expect, Janine thought? A pat on the back? A free pass? Not going to happen. Even if the case came to court and the prosecution decided to grant him immunity he would still be expected to testify and witness protection was no joyride. He could kiss goodbye to his work as a doctor, he’d rarely see friends or family again. What a waste.

Chapter 16

    The boards in the incident room had been updated to reflect what they now knew: McKee’s involvement in the previous burglary, his financial problems, the Wilson Crew flagged up as behind the attack on his house. On the left, in the surgery section, there was a note about Dr Gupta’s sighting of a black Range Rover and this was linked to the attack on Halliwell’s car. Beneath a list headed ‘grudges’ were several names, including Adele Young, furnished by Butchers. The post-mortem results had been added.
              ‘There is no connection between our murder case and the McKee incidents,’ Janine said, ‘separate inquiries. The investigation into the previous burglary we’ve passed over to serious crime. McKee’s given his statement, he’s out on bail and under the care of witness protection.
    ‘The GMC?’ Richard said.
    ‘Notified,’ Janine said.
    ‘They’ll have to strike him off,’ Richard said.
    ‘All that training,’ Janine said, ‘down the drain. Now, the post-mortem holds no surprises: our victim is in good health. There was nothing recovered that could lead us to the identity of the assailant or assailants. And I’ve had word through that the formal identification was made by Dr Gupta. So, looking afresh, what do we think? Is a botched robbery still the most likely scenario?’
    ‘It doesn’t explain the attack on Halliwell’s car several hours earlier,’ said Shap.
    There were murmurs of agreement. ‘For that,’ Shap went on, ‘we’re looking for a black vehicle with a powerful engine, and the Range Rover seen by Dr Gupta on the Monday evening fits the