Once in the interview room, Janet had done the preamble, explained to Noel why he was being interviewed and what his rights were. Then she asked him to tell her what he had done on Wednesday evening.
‘I was at my nan’s,’ he said.
‘Where’s that?’
‘Langley, 43 Perkins Close.’
‘And how long were you there?’ she said.
‘Stayed over.’
‘What time did you get there?’
‘About five.’
‘Anyone else there?’ Janet said.
‘Neil was.’
‘Right. What did you do while you were there?’
‘Watched telly.’ He stretched and scratched his ribs, making the disposable suit crackle. Indifferent: a good act or was he actually unconcerned because he’d nothing to fear?
‘What did you watch?’ Janet asked.
He shrugged. ‘Dunno, can’t remember.’
‘Did you go out at all that evening?’
‘No.’
‘You’re sure? Maybe to run an errand?’ she said.
‘No.’ That same vacant nonchalance.
‘If I told you that someone had seen you in the vicinity of the Old Chapel that evening, how would you explain that?’
‘They’re wrong.’
‘They are sure it was you, you and your brother,’ Janet said.
‘Can’t have been.’ The dull expression in his eyes hardened into something more intense, more acrimonious.
‘Did you know Richard Kavanagh?’
‘No.’
‘He looked a little like this.’ She passed him a photo, one created using software to age the original image and show how the subject would appear when he was older. ‘I am now showing Mr Perry exhibit PR31.’
‘No.’ He shook his head several times over.
‘You might have known him as Rodeo Rick. He wore a leather cowboy hat.’
‘Never seen him.’
According to Liam Kelly, Richard Kavanagh was a familiar figure, walking around in all weathers, sometimes begging. Anyone who lived in the area would know him by sight.
‘You were charged with arson and spent time in a young offenders’ institution, that right?’
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘And in that incident an accelerant was used to spread the fire. The same method as was used in the Old Chapel this week.’
‘You can’t put that on us.’
It was common for Mancunians to use ‘us’ instead of ‘me’. Leave us alone, get off us. But Janet suspected from his last words that Noel was talking about himself and his twin. It was important to focus on him and him alone, even if it messed with his mindset. Important from a legal standpoint.
‘Even though a witness saw you there?’
‘They’re lying,’ he said. He stared at her as if he’d stare her down. Janet smiled, deflecting his attempt to threaten her. The ideal situation in an interview was to try to create a bond, forge some connection, however unlikely that seemed. Given time and her skills, it was usually possible. But she’d a sense it might elude her with Noel Perry.