‘Thank you, and give my regards to Beth,’ she said sarcastically. He gave a soft laugh.
‘Very funny. Call me and let me know what happens. Okay?’
‘Okay,’ Anna said, but in truth, she was unsure if she really would call back, at least not for a while.
Anna managed to get a few more hours’ sleep before she woke and got ready for the day ahead. She imagined life with Don Blane in Virginia, blissfully happy and fending for themselves in the log cabin, just the two of them with no pressure. However, she knew deep down she was not ready to make a serious commitment, especially to someone who lived thousands of miles away. It had been a lovely dream, one that she had briefly felt possible, but in truth she wasn’t convinced Blane was ready to make a commitment either.
Dressed now, in black tights, crisp white shirt, black fitted pencil skirt and a single-breasted jacket, Anna’s personalized uniform was in place. She used little makeup, and just applied some lip gloss. Lastly she coiled her thick red hair into a pleat, and stood staring at her reflection in her dressing-table mirror. She had no family alive, no ties, nothing that was really holding her back. This could be the most challenging day in her professional life, might even be a big career move, and she would take on board all of Don’s advice. She was more determined than ever to bring Gloria Lynne down, and prove she was right. She wouldn’t mind giving Beth Jackson a kick up the arse! she thought, and then laughed at her crassness, telling herself it was better to have Don as her friend and mentor than as a lover. But there was plenty of time, and who knew what would happen? Life had a way of surprising you. She slipped on her black high-heeled shoes, and she was ready.
Chapter Thirty-Five
As Anna drove to work it struck her that Donna, and to a lesser extent Aisa, were both blind to how evil their mother really was. She controlled their behaviour by rewarding them, most frequently with money. Donna had briefly turned against Gloria and behaved in a manner that was clearly designed to annoy her, but there was little doubt that she had genuinely loved Josh Reynolds. Aisa on the other hand was totally spoilt and wanted for nothing, other than her sister’s husband, whose affection she gained by lavish gifts of cash and a Ferrari, a trait she had clearly inherited from her mother. Anna wondered if Josh had actually loved Aisa and really been about to leave Donna for her, or was it just the access to large sums money that he desired. Sadly he had taken the answers to that and so many other questions to his grave.
At the station, Anna arranged for a uniform constable to go to the hospital to have Marisha Peters moved to a single room, and to stand guard. Following that, she continued work on the disclosure she needed to serve on Ian Holme before the interview with Aisa. Holme was a formidable advocate, and having watched the video of Mike Lewis and Dewar’s interview with Donna she was aware of how astute and ruthless he could be. Her fear was that Holme would unwittingly pass on information to Gloria Lynne, which she could then use to twist or lie her way out of the evidence Anna had uncovered. She decided that it would be best to drip-feed the disclosure by interviewing Aisa, taking a break, serving further disclosure to Holme and then a further interview before repeating the process.
Anna had moved on to preparing a list of questions to ask Aisa when Jessie Dewar walked in and mumbled good morning in a disgruntled tone of voice.
‘Thanks for sitting with Aisa while we searched Lynne House and also for helping Barolli to book her in at the station,’ Anna said.
Dewar sighed. ‘Barolli and I have been to Josh’s old flat in Bayswater and two of the keys on the set recovered from Samuel Peters’ property at the mortuary did fit the locks.’
‘Good work. We now have evidence to prove that Samuel had access to both Josh and Esme’s flats.
‘Is it really all worth it?’ Dewar asked.
‘Worth what?’ Anna enquired, unsure what the woman meant.
Dewar looked at Anna and shook her head. ‘Turning your nose up at the FBI course and coming back here just to show me up?’
Anna could understand why Dewar was annoyed with her, but wanted her to know that she couldn’t be further from the truth. Don Blane was right. Anna needed Dewar on her side, especially when it came to having a better understanding of Gloria Lynne and her sociopathic behaviour. Anna asked Dewar to sit down, which she did.
‘Look, I know we’ve had one or two disagreements about the Reynolds investigation, but your input with the suicide note and Josh Reynolds’ death scene has been invaluable. Your knowledge of cars led directly to recovery of the Ferrari.’
‘Well it doesn’t feel that way,’ Dewar said with a sullen look on her face.
‘You have to believe me, Jessie, I’m not back here to belittle you in any way. I totally understand why you are annoyed with me, but right now I very much need your support, professional advice and assistance.’
Dewar leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, her expression unchanged. ‘Why now?’
‘While in the States, I became privy to information about Gloria Lynne that nobody here was aware of,’ Anna explained. ‘That information led to the discovery of Samuel Peters’ body and the arrest of Aisa Lynne. I will go into everything in detail in the office meeting, but what I uncovered at the time was not through the proper legal channels. It is highly sensitive and would have been impossible to convey in a phone call to you, Mike Lewis or anyone else on the team.’
‘Did you tell Jimmy Langton this sensitive information or is he in the dark as well?’ Dewar asked petulantly.
‘He knows everything and he approved my return to London. Because of the explosive nature of the evidence he is on his way back from Quantico to take command of the investigation,’ Anna said. To prove her point, she showed her the text Langton had sent the previous evening. Dewar unfolded her arms and sat upright and Anna knew that she had her attention.
‘If Jimmy’s back then it must be serious,’ Dewar said.
‘It’s all very complicated, but Gloria Lynne is more involved in the death of Josh Reynolds than any of us imagined. If it hadn’t been for the guidance and input of your colleague Don Blane then I would never have been able to put what is a very complex puzzle together. Blane himself said that your knowledge and skills would be invaluable in cracking the case against Gloria Lynne,’ Anna said, deliberately pandering to Dewar’s ego.
‘Can you at least give me a brief insight before the meeting?’ the agent asked inquisitively.
Anna told Dewar that she had uncovered marriage and birth certificates found hidden in Samuel Peters’ jacket that showed he and Gloria Lynne were married and Joshua Reynolds was their legally conceived son, but his birth name was Arum and Gloria gave him up to Esme when he was a baby.
Dewar’s eyes lit up. ‘Holy shit . . . INCEST. Josh was screwing his sister.’
‘Half-sisters, to be precise, but incest nevertheless, and they didn’t know.’
Dewar let out a loud whistle of surprise before she picked up on what Anna had said.
‘Wait a second, you just said sisters, plural, as in two?’
‘Yes. Aisa isn’t adopted, she’s Gloria’s real blood daughter and Donna’s blood sister.’
‘Jesus Christ, all we need now are Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince to make this a really complicated story!’ Dewar exclaimed, making Anna laugh.
‘I think Samuel was blackmailing Gloria,’ Anna said.
‘Was Marisha involved?’ Dewar asked.
‘Not directly, but I’m sure from the phone records she had knowledge of what was going on and benefited from the blackmail.’
‘I’ve been racking my brains about Marisha’s behaviour in the interview Barolli and I had with her. The “bitch” she was talking about was obviously Gloria Lynne, not Donna.’
‘Yes, and Marisha wasn’t drunk, she was suffering from atropine poisoning.’
Dewar raised her hands, needing Anna to slow down as she digested all the new information. ‘So let me try and work this out. Do you think Gloria poisone
d Marisha?’
‘Yes, and forensics also found atropine in Samuel and Josh’s bodies as well. I know it was her, but the problem is, I don’t as yet have a shred of hard evidence to prove it.’
‘I always knew there was something not quite right about that woman,’ Dewar said, but Anna suspected she was just trying to jump on the bandwagon.
‘Will you help me try to break down Gloria Lynne?’
Dewar rubbed her hands in anticipation. ‘Of course I will, but I need to know everything you know about her.’
Anna looked at her watch. It was just after eight and she had further work to do before the interview with Aisa.
‘I’m pushed for time right now, so can I give you the full story along with the rest of the team at the nine a.m. office meeting?’
‘Yeah, fine by me. When you arrest Gloria, I’d like to sit in on the interview.’
It was a request Anna had anticipated but hoped Dewar wouldn’t make as the answer would probably offend her.
‘That will be up to DCS Langton, but with Ian Holme representing Aisa it could be tricky,’ she said tactfully.
Dewar sighed. ‘Did you see the interview with Donna? Now I know how he got his nickname Andrex.’
‘Yeah, but if it’s any consolation I thought he was showing off and a bit hard on you. There’s a viewing room you can watch from.’
‘Actually, that would be better – I’ll be able to scrutinize Gloria Lynne without any distractions,’ Dewar conceded.
‘Thanks, Jessie, I’ll show you the room right after the office meeting.’
Dewar seemed deep in thought as she grabbed her wallet from her handbag. ‘I’m going to the canteen, you want anything?’ she said as she got up, then sat back down again. ‘Did Don Blane say anything about Gloria Lynne having sociopathic tendencies?’ she asked, much to Anna’s surprise.
‘Have you spoken with him?’ Anna asked.
‘No, but that’s the niggling feeling I had about her ever since I met her and her daughters.’
‘Why didn’t you say so?’
‘It was just a gut instinct, nothing more. I had no evidence to support it, so who’d have believed me?’
‘Blane thinks she’s a sociopath, and I agree with him,’ Anna admitted.
‘Good, now I know what we’re up against and once I hear all the evidence you’ve uncovered I’ll prepare an interview strategy.’
Anna realized how astute Dewar really was and that her earlier mistakes in the investigation had probably all been down to a burning desire to impress her colleagues.
The agent stood up again and headed towards the door, stopped and turned to Anna. ‘Gloria Lynne will be the greatest adversary you have ever faced in your career, Anna. As psychologists we advise people involved with sociopaths to leave, run don’t walk, and never ever go back – it’s the only option for survival,’ Dewar said, emphasizing her concerns yet relishing the challenge.
As the agent left, Joan entered, and Anna wondered if she’d ever get any peace and quiet to get on with her work. The constable informed Anna that Barolli had just picked Langton up at Heathrow and the officer guarding Marisha had called to say that she had briefly come out of her coma. Before Joan could finish what she was saying, Anna was out of her seat and hurriedly putting on her jacket to go to the hospital.
‘If I can turn Marisha then I can really nail Gloria,’ Anna said excitedly, grabbing her notebook and handbag.
‘The officer said that her condition is still serious and her heartbeat’s irregular,’ Joan warned, but there was no stopping Anna now.
‘Joan, there’s a folder on my laptop I’ve named “Nightshade”. Everything I and Don Blane uncovered about Gloria Lynne and Samuel Peters is in it. There’s a lot in there, print it off for Langton and Dewar to read while I’m out and give them everything you got for me as well,’ Anna said as she headed for the door then turned back and handed Joan a list from her desk.
‘Here’s the initial disclosure list for Ian Holme. That’s all he’s to be given for now and he can have a private consultation with Aisa.’
In the main office, Anna noticed Barbara sitting at her desk tucking into her first bite of a bacon and egg sandwich.
‘Barbara, grab your coat and come with me.’
‘But I just got my—’
‘NOW!’ Anna shouted, causing Barbara to drop her sandwich and take a quick swig of her coffee to wash the mouthful down.
Anna got one of the uniform cars to rush her and Barbara to the hospital on blue lights and sirens. Arriving at the ward she spoke with the attending doctor who informed her that Marisha Peters’ condition was worsening by the minute and she might not have much longer to live. Anna could see Marisha through the internal window, her eyes closed and lying motionless with a myriad of tubes and heart monitor wires connected to her body, and a ventilator tube extruding from her mouth. Anna felt deflated for all the wrong reasons; she sympathized with Marisha’s pitiful condition, but so wanted her to be able to speak, to provide her with the evidence she needed against Gloria Lynne.
Anna asked the doctor if she could go into the room and he opened the door for her and Barbara to enter. The serenity of the room was broken by the soft rhythmic pumping of the ventilator and the heart monitor with its erratic beep reminiscent of a reversing sensor in a car.
Anna walked over to Marisha’s side and turned to the doctor. ‘Will she be able to hear?’
‘She’s no longer in a coma, but it’s impossible for me to say,’ the doctor replied politely.
Anna leaned forward so she could speak quietly. ‘I’m sorry it came to this, Marisha, but I promise you I will do everything in my power to see Gloria stands trial for what she has done to you and Samuel.’
There was a sudden change in the rhythm of the heart monitor as the beeps slightly upped in tempo and Marisha’s eyelids flickered.
‘I’m Anna Travis, Marisha, do you remember me?’ she asked and again the monitor changed tempo.
‘She is incapable of answering you, detective, and the heart arrhythmia is due to her deteriorating condition,’ the doctor insisted.
Slowly, Marisha’s bloodshot eyes opened, not fully, but enough for Anna to feel that she was awake.
‘If I ask her questions will she be able to move her head or squeeze my hand?’ Anna hurriedly asked the doctor.
‘No, she suffered a serious stroke while in the coma.’
Anna removed her iPhone from her jacket pocket and started to press the screen, causing the doctor to rebuke her as he reminded her that phone calls could interfere with the medical equipment. Anna assured him she was not about to call anyone and took him to one side, out of his patient’s earshot, leaving Barbara wondering what on earth Anna was doing and feeling most uncomfortable standing next to a woman who looked as if she was about to die.
Anna held her phone up in her hand, with the back of it pointing towards the doctor. ‘In your professional opinion is Marisha Peters’ death imminent?’
‘Yes, I’ve already told you that, and why are you pointing your phone at me?’
‘Because I’m video-recording our conversation and I need you to tell Marisha that she may be about to die,’ Anna said firmly.
The doctor looked stunned. ‘Are you out of your mind?’
‘As you know, Marisha was poisoned with atropine and I believe she knows who was responsible. I want to take a dying declaration from her, and for that to be valid in a court of law she needs to understand that she may be about to die.’
‘Really, officer, this is preposterous and apart from that she can’t even speak.’
‘She can move her eyes, though, but if you want her death to be in vain then so be it, doctor, it’s your conscience not mine,’ Anna said tactfully.
The doctor looked at Marisha for some moments and eventually nodded in submission. Anna handed Barbara her phone to record the dying declaration. Barbara held it in both hands to keep it steady as Anna crouched down beside the bed and took
hold of Marisha’s hand, which felt cold and clammy. ‘Marisha, if you can hear me, I want you to blink three times for yes and twice for no,’ Anna said and Marisha’s eyelids opened and closed slowly three times.
Anna looked at the doctor, who stepped forward and told Marisha that her heart was failing and she might be about to die. The acceleration in her heart rate was mirrored by the increased beeping of the monitor.
‘Marisha, do you understand what the doctor just said?’
Marisha moved her eyelids three times, indicating, yes.
‘You understand that you may be about to die?’ Anna repeated, followed by three slow blinks from Marisha.
‘Is your sister Esme alive?’ Anna asked, to a response of two blinks. ‘Was Josh Reynolds Esme’s birth son?’ Again Marisha blinked twice. At first, Barbara was confused, but then realized that Anna was testing Esme’s ability to respond in the negative – however, there were some single involuntary blinks between questions. Anna signalled for Barbara to move in a bit closer to film everything.
Anna fired a volley of questions, each receiving three blinks: ‘Did Samuel marry a woman called Gloria Rediker?’ ‘Is that woman now Lady Gloria Lynne?’ Anna looked at Barbara to make sure she was recording it all before asking her next question. Barbara nodded and Anna continued.
‘Was Samuel blackmailing her?’ Anna asked, but Marisha didn’t move her eyes. The beeps of the heart-rate monitor intensified and the ventilator pump worked harder. The doctor leaned over Anna and pressed the emergency button on the wall and within seconds two nurses entered the room and he raised his hand for them to wait.
‘Please, Marisha, I need you to tell me the truth, and it doesn’t matter now if you were involved.’
The look in Marisha’s eyes was pitiful.
‘Did Samuel tell you how Josh Reynolds died?’ Marisha blinked twice. ‘Did you know about his death before I came to your flat?’ Two blinks, but with each progressive question Marisha’s ability to respond was becoming slower, while the heart monitor and ventilator were going into overdrive.
Wrongful Death Page 43
