"There's still the question why Julian Peters attacked Shaun Gills in the morning," I tell Gail.
"Oh, right. Why did he do that? He couldn't know Mr. Gills had any pictures suitable for blackmail with him. How could he know he would be there at all? Chance?"
"Do you believe in that? Chance?"
"Most times – no. I take it it wasn't chance in this case either?"
"No, it wasn't. But let me tell things in sequence."
***
We had arrested Mr. Peters and it was time to question him. Some pieces of this story didn't fit or were still missing. As Davies had been in on the arrest I had him sit in on the interview with me, too. Thankfully Peters hadn't asked for a lawyer yet.
"Mr. Peters, why did you blackmail Mr. Gills for the coins? Why are they so important to you?"
"They're mine! The crook nicked them from me."
"Yours? Mr. Gills says they belong to him."
"Ha, hell they do. I can prove it. They were stolen from me and I reported that to the insurance. Call them, they can tell you."
"If they were stolen from you, how comes you knew they were with Mr. Gills?"
"'Cause he wanted money for them from me! The bastard. I just wanted back what is mine."
"I take it if you reported the theft to your insurance, you also reported it to us?"
"Sure. Go and look it up, I'm sure you'll have it filed away nicely somewhere. Not like you lot did much about it."
***
"Ah, that's why you asked me to find that file for you. I didn't check what it was about, otherwise I would have made the connection earlier."
"Yes, Mr. Peters had reported the theft and unfortunately he was right about not much being done about it. Someone had taken his statement, description and value of the coins missing and had put the file aside it seems."
"I'm glad that wasn't me."
"None of us in CID ever saw that file, Gail. Uniforms dealt with it – or rather didn't. Anyway...
***
I put Mr. Gills into another interview room and left a P.C. outside the door. I'd have to speak to him later on. But first I had more questions for Mr. Peters.
"All right, Mr. Peters. We indeed have your report of the theft of the coins. So you're telling me Mr. Gills stole them from you and wanted to sell them back to you?"
"Yup." He crossed his arms and leaned back.
"And why didn't you report that to us?"
"What – so you lot would again do nothing? No, I thought it better to deal with him myself."
"Is that why you attacked Mr. Gills this morning? Did you plan to rob him or was that a spontaneous decision?"
"Attacked... we had set up a meeting for this morning so I would get my coins back. Of course he didn't bring them, the bugger."
"So instead you took his camera?"
"Yeah, I thought maybe that would do better for an exchange. But then I found the pictures on the memory-card and they were far better suited than the camera." He grinned wickedly.
"So you left the camera somewhere in town where it would be found."
"Best not to have it around I thought."
"Where did you leave it?"
"Hung it on a fence somewhere."
"Where?"
He threw up his hands. "I don't know. Somewhere in a quiet residential street. I didn't pay that close attention, I just wanted it out of my hands."
"What did you hit Mr. Gills with?"
"What?"
"Mr. Gills has a head-wound that originates from being struck over the head. What did you hit him with?"
"Oh, that. See, I didn't intend to hit him. We were struggling when I tried to grab the camera and I had my umbrella with me..."
"Where is your umbrella now, Mr. Peters?"
"Why, at home. It cleared up, no need to take it along."
"We'll have someone pick it up from your place then. It's evidence."
Davies offered to go round Peters' place later on and pick it up.
***
"Well, he's the local boy. Seems right that he does it."
"Though it also meant he had to come back to Causton afterwards to drop it off."
"Otherwise someone from here would have to drive. And as he offered..."
"Right, and I took him up on it. Any chance on another glass of Coke? All this talking is making me thirsty."
"Of course."