Page 67 of Artful Deceit
The sergeant joined them a few minutes later and unbuttoned his shirt collar as he launched straight into the interview. Having been caught red-handed, Len didn’t hold back, but described his crime spree over the past week, including giving the details of his contact on the mainland who he’d been selling the goods to. Mostly, he was unemotional and unremorseful.
“Why did you do it?” Flynn asked eventually.
He flexed his fingers. “My hands are shot. Arthritis. I won’t be able to work for much longer, and how will I manage then?”
“So you thought you’d steal from people you’ve known for years?” Flynn said contemptuously.
“Me?” he scoffed. “What aboutthem?They’ve been robbing me blind for years! They slip me cash and make out as though they’re doing me a favour. What they really did was shaft me when it came to my pension.”
Shaking his head, Flynn leaned back in his seat and let the sergeant take the lead again.
After a few more questions, he drew the interview to a close by charging him with burglary and theft, then left to make some phone calls.
“I bet you feel really high and mighty,” Len snarled at Flynn when they were alone. “Sitting there judging me.”
“If things were really so bad, you could have applied for benefits.”
“Benefits wouldn’t be enough to live on. Not around here.”
Flynn leaned back in his chair. “So you thought you were entitled to just take what you wanted?”
“Too right. I’ve worked myself to the bone all these years andbarely get by. The people I’ve cleaned for, they have it easy in their big houses. And what about your little friend? Talk about getting everything handed to you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Lily Larkin, or whatever her real name is. She leased that ice cream shop for an absolute steal. I asked about leasing it years ago and was sent on my way. That would have been a nice little earner for me, but no, it goes to some prissy rich girl. Now that was a prize – robbing her.”
Flynn squinted in confusion.
“I hope you’ll be asking her a few questions too,” Len added.
The door opened again, and the sergeant approached the table.
“You can leave on bail,” he said, sliding the papers across and informing Len of his court date in Truro the following week, as well as the consequences for not showing up. He heaved in a breath and looked at Flynn. “Make sure he understands the conditions of his bail before you let him go.” He trudged to the door and left them alone again.
“Let’s get this over and done with,” Flynn said, taking the papers to go through everything with Len, explaining that he shouldn’t go near any of the properties he’d burgled or anyone he’d stolen from. He also gave him the friendly advice to keep a low profile, since word was bound to get out that it was him who’d committed the burglaries and thefts.
With the paperwork signed, he escorted him through the station and watched him go, then he ventured back to the sergeant’s office.
Sergeant Proctor was sitting at his desk. On the floor was one of the boxes of stolen goods. The other was on the desk, obscuring Flynn’s view of the sergeant.
“If you need to go home, I can deal with this,” he said, clocking the weariness in his superior’s features.
“Do you know about this?” The sergeant’s voice was oddlyaggressive as he flicked the back of his hand at the backpack on his desk.
Flynn registered the blue flower embroidered on the black material. “I think it’s Lily’s.”
“So you knew about it?”
“She told me Len had stolen a backpack from her. I don’t know the details.”
“Do you know what’s in it?” the sergeant asked through gritted teeth. “I’d think carefully about your answer if I were you.”
“What’s going on?” Flynn asked.
He pulled a bundle of clothes from the bag, then tilted it in Flynn’s direction.
His eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money.”
