Dying Truth

by Angela Marsons

  Saffie shook her head vehemently. ‘There is no one that would want to hurt her,’ she said.

  ‘And yet she is dead, Saffron,’ Kim pushed. ‘Beaten around the head and made to look like suicide.’

  ‘Please, stop,’ Saffie said, as the colour began to drain from her face.

  ‘You’ve already admitted the two of you weren’t that close, haven’t you?’ Kim asked.

  Saffie nodded.

  ‘But you didn’t tell us she was angry with you. Why did she storm into your room the other night and demand to talk?’ Kim asked.

  Saffie’s initial surprise turned to anger as she put two and two together and realised how Kim knew that.

  ‘Yes, I spoke to Eric yesterday after your concert practice. I gather the two of you split up recently, but he definitely recalls Sadie being unhappy with you. What was that about?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t recall,’ she said as a blotch of heat appeared beneath the heart-shaped pendant.

  ‘It wasn’t so long ago,’ Kim pushed.

  Saffie’s chin raised an inch or two. ‘I really don’t remember. She probably felt as though I’d slighted her or something like that. She could kick off for no reason, officer,’ she said, gaining her composure.

  Kim knew she was not going to divulge the reason for Sadie’s anger.

  ‘I suppose she was a bit of an embarrassment, wasn’t she?’

  The colour returned to her face in the form of a blush, and although she shook her head the truth was spreading an ugly red stain across her cheeks.

  ‘Really, the two of you couldn’t have been more different. You must have sometimes wished she would disappear.’

  ‘I didn’t do anything to Sadie,’ she said, horrified.

  ‘I’m not saying you did but you didn’t like her very much, did you?’

  ‘She was my sister. I loved her, but I just didn’t understand her.’

  ‘So, why try so hard to protect her, Saffie?’ Kim asked, sitting back in her chair.

  ‘How so?’

  ‘By removing all of her personal possessions from her dorm room.’

  The colour in her face deepened. ‘I just thought—’

  ‘What did you think? That it was okay to tamper with evidence. You thought it was all right to remove anything you felt was incriminating?’

  Saffron fiddled with her hands and looked to the ground.

  Suddenly, this was not the assured, confident girl they had spoken to the other day. Part of her wanted to tell the kid everything would be okay, but another part knew that there were too many secrets in the space between them.

  ‘I can’t help wondering if it was you that chose to tamper with your sister’s suicide letter that wasn’t a suicide letter at all,’ Kim said.

  Saffie shook her head but didn’t look up.

  ‘Saffron, is there any chance that Sadie was involved in these secret clubs. Was she ever asked to be a Heart or Dia—’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Saffie said, raising her head. ‘Why would she have been chosen?’

  ‘But how can you be sure?’ Kim challenged. ‘You seem to know very little about your sister.’

  ‘I can be sure of that,’ Saffie said. ‘I know every member of both Hearts and Diamonds and I can assure you—’

  ‘Okay, I believe you but there’s something else I need to ask you about, Saffie.’ Kim took a breath. ‘The toxicology report detected traces of Fluoxetine and Clonazepam in Sadie’s blood.’

  There was no reaction, which indicated no surprise.

  ‘Why did you remove her antidepressants?’ Kim asked, pointedly.

  Saffron seemed to open her mouth as if to refute her words and then changed her mind. She simply shook her head.

  ‘Were you trying to avoid the stigma of having a sister with problems? Is your image that important to you?’ Kim asked.

  ‘No, it’s not that.’

  ‘So what is it, Saffron, why did you do it?’

  ‘I was told to.’

  ‘By whom?’

  ‘My parents,’ she whispered.

  Kim was confused. ‘I really don’t understand the problem if your sister had been prescribed…’

  Her words trailed away as Saffie met her gaze for the first time in about five minutes.

  Kim followed the breadcrumbs that the girl had dropped.

  ‘They weren’t Sadie’s tablets, were they?’ she asked.

  Saffron didn’t argue, and Kim finally, fully understood.

  The Winters had been medicating their thirteen-year-old daughter.

  Fifty-Seven

  Dawson pulled up at what must have been the grandest house yet.

  He knocked the front door of the home of Harrison Forbes; the last name on his list. Harrison’s name had appeared on the roster eleven months ago and had simply disappeared for the beginning of the spring term.

  Dawson paced a few steps before knocking again. He heard the sound echo around the hall.

  He stepped back and took a look around. There were no vehicles parked around the property, and there was an air of silence.

  He strode to the three-car garage block and tried the handle. Locked.

  He walked back to the house and knocked again.

  He wasn’t expecting anyone to answer. There was clearly no one home but it was best to check before he began peering in windows. He had no wish to frighten the living daylights out of anyone.

  He stood on tiptoe and glanced in through the bottom left corner of the kitchen window. At first glance, it appeared tidy and organised. Until he took a second look. The kitchen wasn’t uncluttered, it was empty.

  He moved along to the next window, which revealed a grand, spacious lounge area, without one item of furniture.

  Damn it, the Forbes family had evidently moved out, and he had no other address.

  He got into the car and headed back down the drive. He entered the traffic to the main road and then took the next left, leading him up the drive of the next available neighbour.

  Oh, to have your nearest neighbour about a quarter mile away, he thought. But a bugger if you just needed a cup of sugar.

  The blaring lights and three parked cars told him he could at least speak to someone.

  The door was open before he’d even parked the car. Of course, a house like this would have cameras and a security system.

  The man that came towards him was holding a bull mastiff who was slobbering at him disturbingly on a short, tight leash.

  ‘May I help you?’

  The politeness of the question was at odds with the hungry-looking dog.

  The man was dressed in a white shirt and black suit trousers. He guessed he had just come back from work.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you,’ Dawson offered, half talking to the dog. ‘I was just at the Forbes’ property next door and—’

  ‘You want to buy it?’ the man asked doubtfully, eyeing his Renault Megane.

  Oh, how he hated judgemental people.

  ‘No, I’m a police officer and I need to speak to the family. Do you have a forwarding address?’

  The man shook his head as the dog lunged uncomfortably close to his genitalia. His owner tugged him back to his side.

  ‘They didn’t leave an address, and may I know your interest?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. It’s a matter I can only discuss with the family.’

  ‘Then I’m sorry, but we can’t help you. They didn’t tell us where they were moving to, and we just keep a check on the house now and again.’

  ‘So, you have a telephone number for them?’ he asked, hopefully.

  The man shook his head. ‘There is a managing agent and a solicitor, and everything goes through them.’

  ‘All sounds a bit mysterious,’ Dawson said, trying to lighten the mood.

  The man did not respond in kind.

  ‘Not surprising, after what happened,’

  ‘And what was that?’ he asked.

  The man’s face closed completely. ‘Not for me
to say, officer.’

  Too late, Dawson realised that he had not played that very well. If he’d been thinking clearly, he would have used the old trick of pretending to know what had happened to at least elicit some detail. He blamed the fact it had been a long day and he was tired.

  He reached into his pocket, and the dog snarled and growled in his direction.

  ‘Easy, boy,’ the man said, tugging him again.

  ‘It’s just this,’ Dawson said, holding out a card. ‘Could you pass along my details through the communication channel. Just tell them I could really do with talking to them.’

  The man took the card and turned to move away.

  ‘Please, tell them it’s about Heathcrest.’

  The man nodded and stepped away, muttering something as he went.

  Dawson couldn’t be sure, but it had sounded like ‘I wouldn’t hold your breath.’

  He sat back in the car and rubbed at his forehead. He really should call the boss and head home.

  He took out his mobile phone and called up a search engine. Something had happened to Harrison Forbes, and he wanted to know what.

  He typed in the kid’s name and got precisely no matching results. Hundreds of hits for his father who owned valuable rental property in London but not one item for his son. No Facebook account, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Absolutely nothing and not one news report of any kind to corroborate what the neighbour had said.

  And why all the secrecy surrounding the family moving away. Who or what were they afraid of?

  Fifty-Eight

  Kim had done everything she could to distract herself from the nagging thought in her head.

  It was a half thought that had been growing in her mind all day. Ever since her conversation with Ted, which seemed like a lifetime ago.

  She’d made coffee, walked Barney, eaten, and then plonked herself on the floor amongst approximately one hundred parts of Norton Commando. She viewed these components as a chef might view basic ingredients. Alone and separate they didn’t amount to much but bring them all together and the result was pure magic.

  And even that hadn’t distracted her.

  Killing a child was a heinous act in itself but the deaths occurring in a place where students outnumbered adults by fifteen to one she had no choice but to consider the unthinkable, and yet no one would discuss the possibility with her. No one wanted to consider the validity of what was in her head.

  That the murders might have been carried out by another child.

  So, did that mean she was dealing with evil in a person who wasn’t yet fully grown? Was there such a thing as an evil child and would they ever be capable of such a thing?

  Many of the examples Ted had offered had involved children from broken homes or complicated backgrounds. Heathcrest was a place of wealth, privilege and achievement.

  Yes, she supposed the flip side of that was ambition, ruthlessness and power but what the hell had Sadie Winters done wrong? She hadn’t been a threat to anyone.

  And yet there seemed to be an insidiousness surrounding the adults linked to Heathcrest. Many of the staff had been students and had gravitated back to the facility. The majority of the parents had once been students at Heathcrest. Both students and adults were involved with the secret societies that some people were trying to abolish and yet were still going strong.

  She sighed as the thoughts continued to chase their own tails around her mind. She could avoid it no longer. The notion that had been with her all day propelled her to her feet.

  Right now she had no clue who had killed Sadie and Shaun or why, but she needed a better understanding of evil and all its forms.

  She needed someone who wouldn’t shy away from a difficult conversation.

  And for that, there was only once place she could go.

  Fifty-Nine

  Kim dismounted the Ninja and removed her helmet.

  The entrance to Drake Hall Prison had changed very little since her last visit. The grey metal gate adjoined the tall grid fencing designed to contain the prisoners within. But Kim knew evil managed to seep through the gaps.

  The courtesy call she’d placed before leaving home had been met with cooperation at her unorthodox request. An unscheduled visit with an inmate outside normal visiting hours and without their permission had depleted her favours reserve at the prison, and she just hoped it was worth it.

  Warden Edwards greeted her at the door with an outstretched hand.

  ‘Detective Inspector Stone, good to see you again,’ he said, warmly.

  She returned the handshake.

  This man had offered her the courtesy of believing her accusations against Alexandra Thorne when no one else would. Her claims of Alex’s power beyond the confines of the walls and barbed wire had sounded fanciful even to her own ears. That she could concoct a plan for murder and implement it without getting even a speck of dirt on her own hands had not surprised Kim in the least. Warden Edwards had listened, and it had saved lives.

  Twice now Kim had crossed paths with the sociopathic psychiatrist and both times the woman had tried to penetrate her psyche and break her down. And both times she had failed. Just. Seeing her again was a risk Kim had to take, because no one knew evil like Alexandra Thorne.

  ‘Did you do as I asked?’ Kim said as he escorted her to the front desk and handed her a pass.

  He nodded. ‘She’s in the visitor’s room but doesn’t know you’re coming.’

  Kim wanted the element of surprise on her side. Giving Alex the time to plan for a conversation would have been foolhardy.

  ‘And how’s she been?’ Kim asked as Officer Katie Parkes appeared behind the desk.

  ‘Inspector Stone,’ she greeted, warmly. ‘Nice to see you again.’

  Yes, the warden had kept her visit very secret indeed. Even from the staff.

  ‘Officer Parkes will fill you in,’ he said, checking his watch. ‘But, I really have to get on.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, nodding her understanding.

  Parkes came from behind the desk, and Kim noted that she’d lost a few pounds. Her uniform no longer strained in all the wrong places, and her hair was tidily pulled back to reveal clear skin and fresh eyes.

  ‘You’re looking well,’ she observed.

  Katie Parkes had been the recipient of Alex’s manipulation, resulting in trouble for herself. Alex had used the guard’s recent pregnancy to gain sympathy and a mobile phone. Tired and emotional from the challenges of being a new, single mum Parkes hadn’t stood a chance and had found herself trapped and blackmailed for trying to be sympathetic and helpful. Typical traits of Alexandra Thorne were to turn someone’s humanity against them.

  ‘I’m very well, thank you,’ she said, brightly, leading the way along the familiar route.

  ‘And how’s our prisoner been behaving?’

  Parkes shook her head. ‘You know Alex. Always trying to get a rise out of someone. Got her own little bunch of cronies led by her cellmate, a kid called Emma Mitchell, who hangs off her every word.’

  ‘Is there anything in particular that—’ Kim began to ask and then stopped herself. She’d been in the prison less than ten minutes and was already becoming embroiled in Alex’s world, fearing for the safety of everyone she came into contact with.

  ‘We keep a close eye,’ Parkes said, knowingly.

  Kim wished that she felt reassured, and she didn’t doubt the diligence of the staff, but she knew Alex. And much as she would love to keep a permanent eye on the woman there were others that needed her attention more.

  Hence the reason for her visit.

  Kim felt her heart rate quicken as she approached the entrance to the visitor’s room. She almost faltered as she heard Alex’s familiar voice.

  ‘Officer Parkes, is that you? Are you bringing me my surp—’ Alex’s words trailed away as Kim stepped into view.

  In a nanosecond Alex’s irritation turned to confusion followed by a slow smile of pleasure that spread across her face.


  ‘Mitchell, out you come,’ Parkes said to the girl sitting on the tabletop next to Alex.

  ‘Up yours, Parkes,’ she said, looking to Alex for guidance.

  Alex didn’t even glance in her direction.

  ‘Get lost, Emma,’ she said.

  The girl waited for a couple of seconds as though she’d misheard, but Alex’s gaze didn’t falter as she appraised Kim.

  The girl huffed and offered Kim a murderous expression.

  Kim wondered if this was the girl’s first experience of being dismissed by her idol. She was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

  ‘Kim, how lovely to see you,’ Alex said pleasantly, as though they’d met for coffee only last week.

  The woman looked exactly as she had the last time they’d met. Her blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail exposing a face that was stunning despite the absence of expensive cosmetics. The icy blue eyes were fixed on her, and Kim offered her a smile as she sat.

  ‘Those additional ten years look good on you, Alex,’ Kim said. It had been almost two years since her initial sentence and the additional time deemed it unlikely she’d see freedom before her fiftieth birthday. And that was the price you paid for attempting to murder the people that stood in the way of your appeal.

  Kim had learned long ago that the best form of defence with Alex was attack.

  ‘Were you missing me?’ Alex asked, ignoring her jibe. ‘I could always send you a weekly visiting—’

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ Kim said. ‘This is a one-off visit, I can assure you.’ Kim raised her eyebrows. ‘There will be no questions, no games and no attempts at manipulation.’

  ‘So, basically there’s no fun in this meeting for me at all?’ Alex asked, tipping her head.

  ‘Nothing at all,’ Kim confirmed, feeling a little uncomfortable at the ease with which they had both slipped into their battle positions and the feeling of familiarity that surrounded them both.

  Already Kim knew she had to be cautious. This woman could read her better than anyone. Even the slightest deviation from her script or demonstration of emotion would give Alex every bit of ammunition she would need. Alex had once taken her to the edge of sanity and dangled her over the edge. Kim had to make sure she never got that chance again.