ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN EX DETECTIVE?

Very glad people are enjoying this. Here comes the latest instalment.

CHAPTER NINE

The team had gathered back at the George shortly before six. Gerry and Jack had gone to order the teams first set of drinks whilst Sandra and Brian brought each other back upto speed.

"The security guard was little help" Brian said, sounding dissapointed. "The only thing that he was able to say to me was that there was a young girl who Jackson claimed that was his neice.

"Neice?" Sandra mused, "did they get a name?"

"They know she was called Veronica, but they couldn't seem to remember a surname. All the security guard remembers was that either Simon would turn up with his wife, or then he would turn up with this 17 year old girl who was apparently his neice?"

"Any reason why he wouldn't name her in the sign-in sheet?"

"Well apparently the security guard said that Jackson used to have a policy of not signing in any of his guests at all."

"Wouldn't that go against fire regulations?"

"Well that's why Jackson used to put 'plus one' apparently so that they knew to be counting one extra head than what was on the register. Only, I don't buy it one bit."

"Why not?"

"I checked a few of the old sheets from a couple of years before he died and whenever he signed in he would always put in the name of his guest in the column. It was only in the last year or so when he started to produce the plus one's."

"Which he'd do to obviously cover for someone he shouldn't have been with at that time."

"But that wouldn't work on our theory would it?" Sandra remarked, taking a first sip of the wine which Gerry had placed on the table with the kind remark 'on me'

"That's why I think that this teeenage girl that was taking to the studios was the latest in a line of affairs that he'd had right up until the moment that he died."

"What teenage girl?" asked Jack as he sat down. Bitter accompanying him on the table along with a lemonade for Brian.

"This one which explains why there was a 'plus one' next to Jackson's name on the sign in and sign out register."

"Brian says that the security guard claimed that it was his niece but he doesn't believe it" Sandra remarked, bringing both Jack and Gerry up to speed with Brian's foundings.

"Did it have to be an affair?" Jack asked, I mean he could have been taking his wife along with him."

"Jack, it's unlikely, pretty much impossible that he was just having an honest visitor going around the studio with him. I mean he would name his wife on the sign-in sheet when even she turned up for the shows and she'd be one of the most recognizable visitors that the studios would be getting I reckon."

"But that's only circumstantial Sandra" Gerry replied, sounding unusually direct to the book, "It still doesn't mean anything with regards to who was responsible for Simon's death. All it does is provide with us another suspect.

"Or two" Brian remarked

"How do you mean two?"

"Well you said Sandra that Jackson's wife would have been one of the most recognizable visitors that they would have had to the set. So surely she would have picked up something"

"Or someone inform her as to what was going on?" Gerry suggested.

"May be," Sandra said, "tomorrow Brian, call up the studios and try and find out whether they have any of the old tapes from that final show, or some CCTV of the areas that wouldn't have been intended for broadcast." She turned along to Gerry "You go back to Fletcher and see whether she knows anything about this Veronica girl, and me and Jack will try and see whether we can go and get any more out of Bernard before we have to release her."

The team all nodded, Sandra smiled, knowing that she sounded almost like a general, barking orders at her troops who would actually complete every task she asked of them.

"And remember boys, semi-final's tomorrow night, so get to bed early."

"Interview with Miss Bernard resumed at 10:43, Miss Bernard has been joined by her solictor and Jack Halford has joined me in place of Gerry Standing" Sandra explained the following morning as she began to play the tape out. She turned back to Clare Bernard. "Can I ask you, why you have asked for your solicitor to be present in this interview?"

"There's nothing illegal in that is there?" Clare said, sounding much more serious than she had at the start of the interview the day before.

"Nope," Sandra said, "you're perfectly within your rights" Sandra agreed,

"But it does look rather strange when you resisted any offer to have your solicitor present with you yesterday Miss Bernard" Jack said. Aware that he could feel Bernard growing more and more uncomfortable."

"I'm telling you I didn't kill him." Bernard responded, with a voice which sounded more forceful than it had done so the day before.

"Well I don't believe you" Jack said calmly, "Especially considering that you had the motive for wanting him dead."

"But I didn't do it"

"Then tell us what you know. And don't spin us anymore yarns Clare" Sandra said.

"Aren't we supposed to be filming your semi tonight?" Fletcher asked Gerry as she greeted him at the door.

"Yes, but that's not until tonight is it."

"I find this an inconvenient time, come back later please?" Fletcher tried to close the door, but Gerry placed his foot to wedge it open.

"Why later? We've got to finish at three to be ready for the semi tonight.

"I said I don't want to speak with you" Fletcher replied, trying to force the door closed.

"Miss Fletcher" Gerry said, brushing past her and into the corridor. "I think you're hiding something from me."

Fletcher bit her lip.

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN EX DETECTIVE?