by David Beard
‘I did not,’ Smalacombe lied but then continued to justify his position. ‘Later, my sergeant pointed out that I had mentioned Mrs Lynley’s will. It was a slip of the tongue; I meant Henry Crossworth’s will. We could have arrested Mr Battle at that time as all our information pointed to him being at the scene; the DNA has now proved it. Frankly, we didn’t want the hassle of going for a court order as it would serve no purpose and this way it was done, may I say, amicably. By the way, we are not accusing your client of murder but this arrest may concern the matter of disturbing a murder scene and possibly manslaughter. If three people are at the scene and only one remains alive there are questions that person needs to answer.’
‘Thank you but I will not be dropping the other point.’
Smalacombe returned his attention to Battle, ‘How long had you been seeing her again before that fateful day?’
‘We were always friendly but just that for many years. However, as you know, my wife died two years ago. Heather came to the funeral. She was very supportive and contacted me regularly. I kept myself to myself for more than a year, if you know what I mean, but time heals and we began to get closer again. As you know, she fell out with Crossworth and our relationship blossomed.’
‘Did you know why she fell out with him?’
‘She kept me up to date. No doubt you know as well.’
‘And you were supposed to have spent that weekend with her at the Woodlands?’
‘Yes, she was going to pick me up; she was a bit concerned about explaining to the Woodlands folk that she had changed her partner but that was something she could handle. In fact, I felt more uneasy about it than she did. As you know, events took over and I couldn’t make it.’
‘The tenant’s fire. But you made it on the Sunday.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Your intimate activities and tea drinking with Mrs Lynley have confirmed you were with her at the murder scene.’ Smalacombe expressed the next ten words in a staccato fashion, ‘And even more so, you are her daughter Samantha’s father.’
Battle took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. This news was startling; he struggled to respond. He looked to his brief, who shrugged; he glanced to Emily who gave him a broad smile. ‘My wife and I were childless; I never knew I was a dad. I must get to see Samantha. Why didn’t Heather tell me? It would have changed my life completely and now it’s too late.’
‘I doubt Heather knew you were the father. How did you arrive at Two Crosses?’
Battle looked to his solicitor and she spoke up on his behalf, ‘I don’t think he can divulge that.’
‘Does that mean you drove down illegally? If so, then where was the car?’
‘No comment!’
Emily intervened, ‘I think you are protecting someone.’
Smalacombe continued, ‘You were at the scene of these crimes so may I ask you, who killed Heather?’
Battle looked to his solicitor once more and she nodded. ‘Crossworth did,’ he confirmed what the two had already concluded.
‘What was he doing there?’ Smalacombe asked.
‘I wish I knew. I can only conclude that he had set a plan to murder her, and me, probably. But, why me; I don’t know?’
‘Then how was it that you survived?’
‘I ran off and hid.’
Emily decided to interject. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Battle but it doesn’t make sense. In the first place we are quite sure that Crossworth would have been watching you before you saw him. Secondly, the terrain around that area makes it very difficult to hide from someone stalking you with a gun; it is open moorland. There wasn’t secure cover within the gun’s range. And thirdly, as you witnessed Heather’s murder, then in Crossworth’s interest you would have had to go as well. But, you didn’t. So, we must ask again, why not?’
‘He shot himself.’
‘He didn’t I’m afraid. Forensics explained to us that he would have needed exceedingly long arms to have managed it. So, what happened?’
‘I can’t answer that question.’
Emily decided to ask another question he would be unable to answer. ‘Why did you text Johnny Addleson on Mr Crossworth’s mobile?’
‘I don’t know a Johnny what’s his name.’
‘That doesn’t answer my question.’
‘Then, it’s no comment.’
Smalacombe returned to the action. ‘You were not alone were you? There was a fourth person there and you are protecting him. We have made progress but, if you are not prepared to divulge who this person is, then we must stop this interview now. We can detain you for twenty four hours before we charge you and in the meantime it will be our role to find this other man.’
*
Back in the office both felt satisfied with the progress but they realised that the other person had to be found and within twenty four hours.
‘Dexter, he had to have a chauffeur or a car would have been left there. That conundrum has been bothering us all along…’
‘But whoever it was,’ Smalacombe interjected, ‘he didn’t stay around with his car either. Wait a minute! I have just had a thought. The Addleson brothers went back to the car park but made no reference as to whether there was another car there. To be fair, we never asked and to them it would have been incidental.’ He looked across and Emily was already on the phone. She rang A Gate Services who gave her Jamie Addleson’s mobile number and she was soon speaking to him.
‘Jamie, it is Sergeant Corndon here. I must ask you, when you went back to Two Crosses in the evening, was the car park empty?’
‘Hmmm. Let me think. Johnny is beside me; just a minute.’ Emily could hear a discussion but not audible enough to decipher it. She waited patiently. ‘Sergeant, you still there?’
‘I am.’
‘Yes, and Johnny has confirmed it. There was, because it was untidily parked and it was awkward for us to turn around there in the dark. As you know the park is quite small. In fact I backed out.’
‘Can you remember anything about it: its make, its colour, I expect its number will be far too much to ask?’
‘Let me have another chat with my brother and I will ring you back. It was in our headlights so we had a good sight of it. You’re fortunate, because Johnny is a bit of a car freak and notices a lot more about them than I do. I will be back shortly.’
The two carried on updating their clerical responsibilities but soon the phone rang and it was Johnny Addleson. ‘Hi. Jamie has asked me to contact you as this sort of thing is more in my line. The car was a Kia Rio.’
‘Thank you, Johnny. Can you give me any more details?’
‘Yes, it was blue and I remember, because I was curious, noting the year on the number plate: it was thirteen.’
‘Just the one car?’
‘Yes.’
‘That is extremely helpful. Many thanks.’
She reported back to Smalacombe and he decided that a search should be made, and as quickly as possible. He ordered that the records of all such cars sold in Devon and Somerset should be found. The team immediately set to work. Emily was too worked up at this point to return to her desk as she was sure a conclusion was very close. ‘I can’t concentrate at the moment, Dexter. I’m too wound up.’
‘You’ll get used to it. It will take about twenty years though,’ Smalacombe observed. ‘Go down to the canteen and have a coffee.’
Later in the day Sheldon came to Smalacombe with a list and Emily was called in. ‘There were quite a few of these sold, sir but I am pretty sure one will interest you. Battle’s brother bought one in May two thousand and thirteen.’
‘Brilliant.’
‘He is Hastings Battle and…’
‘What? You’ve got to be joking…’ Smalacombe exclaimed.
Emily added her observation, ‘You’re not telling me his middle name is “of” are you?’
‘I’m not making it up. You are not going to believe this. His middle name is William.’
‘Were his parents v
ery funny people or prats?’ There was amusement all around. Smalacombe collected his thoughts. ‘He must be brought in, first thing tomorrow. Arrest him on suspicion of being an accessory to murder. We will interview him and have another go with his brother. I will want to see how the two stories hold up. No weekend break I’m afraid.’
CHAPTER 17
On the Saturday morning Smalacombe planned to conduct the two interviews simultaneously with him interviewing Hastings and Emily interviewing his brother. However, after some discussion he relented and realised it would be better to interview Herbie later.
Hastings looked very different to his brother: he was not so finicky about his appearance. He was lithe and fit but his hair was long and his stubbly beard made him look unkempt.
Smalacombe began the interview. He acknowledged Hastings’ solicitor and moved on to the matters in hand. ‘May I call you Hastings, to avoid confusion on the tape?’
Battle agreed.
‘Hastings, we know you were at the scene of the murders because your car…’
‘Not quite, I wasn’t there. Look, I wasn’t involved.’
Emily interrupted, ‘But you were involved in moving the bodies.’
Smalacombe was annoyed with her interjection as he didn’t want to discuss that at this at point. ‘We’ll discuss that later,’ he commented testily. This was her first error and at a crucial time. ‘Can you enlarge on your comment, “not quite”?’
‘I’m prepared tell you all I know, and yes, I was involved in moving the bodies, but the damage had been done and…it will all come to light if you give me time. This is why I have not come forward. It was a big mistake but I think you will understand the terrible position myself and Herbie found ourselves in.’ He leant across and whispered to his brief who responded quietly. ‘This is a long tale, Mr Smalacombe. Frankly, I’m relieved to be here. You have no idea the traumas we have suffered. Herbie is very good at covering up his emotions but he is in turmoil I can assure you.’
‘I am in no hurry.’
‘I hope I can clear this up now and begin to live again. I haven’t been able to think of anything but that terrible afternoon. It has come close to destroying me. Herbie rang me on that Sunday morning. He knew of my routine. My wife is a nurse and often works nightshifts at the local hospital. When she does at weekends, I take off on Sunday afternoons and visit our daughter in Ashburton; close by from where this all happened. He asked if I could give him a lift as he wanted to meet an old friend for a picnic on the moors and she would take him home. He was a bit distressed after the debacle of Friday afternoon and he needed a break, so I agreed.’
‘You took him to Two Crosses?’
‘I did. I met Heather, we had a short talk and they wandered off. Herbie indicated to me where they were going and, uh…he winked and said, “Please don’t follow”.’
‘So you left?’
‘No, it was such a beautiful day I decided to take a walk in the other direction to the tor. I managed to get one bar on the mobile reception, so I texted my daughter and told her I would be late. I sat on the tor for a while and then I walked down over the moor to get a view of the village. I looked down to where the road leaves the open moorland and there were two cars there and some people. Nothing extraordinary about that and I carried on. I had taken my binoculars with me and being nosey I took a closer look.’
‘And you saw people you recognised?’
‘Crossworth was there. I knew him, not well, but enough to recognise him. He was fiddling around at the back of one of the cars and he looked weird. He had a long coat on. It disturbed me. I sat down to make myself less obtrusive: indeed I laid down and watched.’
‘And what happened then?’
‘Well, I know the area well enough to understand the geography and he took off, walking in the direction of Hambledown. The other two drove off in the two cars. Put yourself in my position. What was he doing there and why was he walking up to where my brother was with his ex-girlfriend? Why did both cars go? Herbie had told me Crossworth had fallen out with Heather. It worried me.’
‘So you stalked him.’
‘I did, and very, very carefully as I had to be sure he didn’t see me; it is difficult on open moorland. I texted my daughter again and told her I couldn’t make it. I doubt Crossworth would have recognised me but it was clear that something was wrong and he would not have wanted anyone to see him, let alone follow him.’
‘I see. And he ended up with your brother and Mrs Lynley.’
‘I was some distance away but I followed him using my binoculars. He was making a beeline to where I considered they were. Frankly, Mr Smalacombe I was deeply concerned by this time. I could see Crossworth but I couldn’t see the couple as they were lying down. Obviously, I wasn’t sure exactly where they were but suddenly I heard a woman screaming. Then there was a shot and silence again. My brother appeared and he looked naked. He threw something and Crossworth fell. I couldn’t see much as they were on the ground but I guessed there was a tussle going on, to get the gun off him no doubt, and then there was another shot. By this time I was running hell for leather over to them.’
‘Your brother shot Crossworth?’
‘I don’t know; couldn’t see. Look, Herbie had to go as well didn’t he? He had just witnessed Crossworth murder Heather. I am sure, whatever happened, it was self-defence.’
‘Mmm, so you arrived at the scene. What was the first thing you did?’
‘Herbie was naked but for his shoes and with Crossworth’s blood all over him. He was walking around in a circle sobbing and throwing his arms around. He saw me but carried on. He was too distressed to wonder what I was doing there but then he saw my mobile. He screamed at me about what was I doing? I said I was ringing 999. He shouted at me through his tears that I couldn’t, as we were alive and they were dead and where would that leave us with the police? I protested but he came over to grab my phone. I really couldn’t argue with him. Can you imagine my position? Indeed, can you imagine Herbie’s?’
‘I accept it must have been pretty horrendous for both of you,’ Emily acknowledged.
‘I didn’t ring. Well, not then.’
‘So you decided to move the bodies.’
‘Not right away. Herbie was not rational. I had to get him dressed first. After a while he began to calm down. I told him we must go and contact the police. My God! There was blood everywhere and the mutilation was unbelievable. I still have nightmares every night. I don’t think you realise just how relieved I am to be here spilling the beans. He said we couldn’t leave Heather’s body there. He couldn’t leave it to rot or be eaten by the wildlife. He explained that she had to be left where she would be found quickly.’
‘Well, I understood that but if I had contacted the police they would have retrieved her. He wasn’t thinking clearly and I didn’t know how to solve it. He was the one in difficulty; he was in too much of a mess for me to argue with him. I couldn’t take control.’
‘So what did you do?’
‘Before we decided anything the light failed. Herbie covered up Heather and he took Heather’s keys and Crossworth’s; they were his house keys by the way. I don’t understand about the car.’
‘We are well aware of all that, Hastings. Who went back to fetch Heather’s car?’
‘Herbie was still not capable of anything; he was shaking all over. He needed time to sit down quietly but I was also worried about leaving him. He insisted on moving Heather. To make matters worse Crossworth’s phone rang. What the hell were we to do? We didn’t answer it of course. I went back and brought the car up as far as I could. I had a torch app on my mobile; it wasn’t wise to use the headlights. We carried Heather down to the car.’
‘And put her on the back seat.’
‘I wanted her in the boot for obvious reasons but Herbie wouldn’t hear of it; he was screaming at me whenever I made a suggestion he didn’t like.’
‘He was panic stricken?’
‘Without a doubt. H
e was close to breaking down. He then went back and dragged Crossworth down by his ankles and we put him in the boot.’
‘And you drove back to the car park.’
‘Yes, without lights. Herbie walked ahead; it took ages, bloody difficult.’
‘What about the shotgun?’
‘Oh I forgot that. Herbie brought it down to the car and he tore off a piece of Crossworth’s shirt. He removed the cartridges whilst holding the rag. He walked a little way out of sight and threw them away. He wiped the gun thoroughly and put it in the boot with Crossworth.’
‘There is one other thing. Who sent two texts from Crossworth’s phone?’
‘You’ve got to be joking.’
‘Someone did.’
‘Well, it wasn’t me. I can’t imagine Herbie could in his condition but he might have done when I was fetching the car.’
Smalacombe considered that comment and accepted that it fitted with the time scale. ‘There is something else. Mrs Lynley’s phone? What do you know of that?’
‘Herbie did explain that, oh, days later. Apparently she suddenly saw Crossworth watching them but it was too late of course. Herbie rolled away and she took her phone to take a photo of Crossworth. That’s when he shot her.’
‘And then your brother threw the stone at him.’
‘By what I saw from the distance, yes.’
‘I must say thank you, Hastings as you have endorsed much of what we had concluded. Now, why didn’t you leave Crossworth where he was?’
‘Herbie said that people had to know the bastard was dead and had to see him as such. I wasn’t happy but the poor lad was beside himself. I couldn’t walk out on him could I? He laid Heather out, as you know. He got into her car and told me to meet him at Ebear in order to take him home.’
‘So you did but on the way you made an anonymous 999 call from a kiosk.’
‘Not on the way back. After I went home and cleaned myself up I went out and did it. Remember, my wife was away at work. I knew where there was a kiosk; they are pretty difficult to find these days. I didn’t want to use my mobile or landline for obvious reasons. But I did phone my daughter on the way back and apologised; I pulled in at a lay-by. I told her I had been waylaid. I did think about using the motorway breakdown service to pass on a 999 call but I have never used it and I wasn’t sure how it worked. I sat in my car for ages; I was absolutely exhausted, confused and totally distraught. When I arrived at Ebear, Herbie was sitting quietly in Heather’s car. I checked the boot, much to his annoyance and I noted that Crossworth and the gun had both been removed.’
