Say You're Sorry(103)
“He’ll stonewall you,” I say. “He isn’t fazed by police interviews because he’s been here before.”
“I’m a patient man.”
“That won’t be enough. You have to shake him up. Keep him off balance. I can help with that. Let me sit in.”
The DCI doesn’t dismiss the idea. “Make your case.”
“Right now Kroger doesn’t know why he’s been arrested, but he must suspect this has something to do with the photographs. People get nervous around psychologists. They think I’m going to mess with their heads or read their thoughts. It might be enough to unsettle him.”
Drury ponders this for a moment. Makes a decision. “Let’s do this.”
Kroger doesn’t look up as we enter. I take my chair and move it around to his side of the table. He looks at me sideways and then to Drury.
“What’s he doing here?”
“Professor O’Loughlin is a psychologist. He’s here to observe you.”
“Can he do that?”
“Relax, Toby.”
“But why is he here?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Kroger looks at me again. The clock ticks through half a minute.
“I want him to stop doing that,” he moans.
“Doing what?”
“Make him stop staring at me.”
Ignoring him, Drury opens a folder and shuffles pages. Kroger picks up his chair and moves it further away from mine, crossing his arms. Enclosed. Defensive.
Another minute passes.
“What are you waiting for?” he asks.
“I’m giving you time to compose yourself,” says Drury.
“Huh?”
“I’m giving you time to come up with a story. It helps to have a good story when you’re going to be charged with sexual assault.”
“I didn’t touch anyone. If she said I did, she’s lying.”
Drury pauses. “Who do you think we’re talking about, Toby?”
Kroger hesitates. “I don’t know. Some bitch.”
“Natasha McBain. We found footage of her on your computer.”
Kroger falters and takes a moment to recover. “That’s not my laptop.”
“We found it in your flat. It’s linked to your email account.”
“A guy sold it to me.”
“When?”
“A few weeks back.”
“Where?”
“In a pub.”
“Which pub?”
“The Ox.”
“The Ox has been closed since March.”
“Must have been another pub. I can’t remember.”
Drury shakes his head. “I gave you extra time, Toby.”
“It’s true! A guy sold it to me. He was blond, fat, about forty. I think he was one of them problem gamblers you hear about, because he only wanted sixty quid.”
“And all the porn on the computer?”
Kroger grins, his gold tooth gleaming. “That’s not illegal.”
“The photographs you sold of Natasha McBain, who took them?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We have CCTV footage of you collecting the money from a journalist, who has just identified you as being the source.”
His grin fades. He glances nervously at me. “I found them on the computer. The guy didn’t wipe his hard drive.”
“You recognized Natasha McBain?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I saw an opportunity to make a few quid.”
“She was being sexually assaulted.”
“I didn’t watch the whole thing.”
“Maybe you think she deserved it.”
“None of my business.”
“Who took the footage?”
“I told you.”
“Some fat guy you met in the pub?”
“Yeah.”
“Last chance, Toby. I want the truth.”
Drury signals to the mirror. Moments later there is a knock. Dave Casey enters holding a mobile phone.
“Is this your phone, Toby?”
Kroger hesitates.
“It’s a pretty straightforward question,” says Drury. “It’s registered in your name. You took out the plan. What’s the security code?”
“I don’t have to tell you that.”
“Don’t worry—we’ve unlocked it already.”
Kroger is staring at the phone like it might detonate. “That’s my private property. You need a warrant or something for that.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
The DCI slides his finger across the screen.
“We’ve searched the memory. We found the footage.”
He turns the screen longways. Footage begins playing. Natasha is dancing on the small screen. Kroger won’t look.