Pale Horse, Dark Horse (The Lakeland Murders)

by Salkeld, J J

  ‘That’s a rather Jesuitical answer, if I may say so.’

  ‘It’s a very precise answer, if I may say so’ said Jenkins.

  ‘So do you have certain knowledge that some of the monies allegedly paid to your brother were actually being paid, by whatever means, to other family members?’

  ‘I do not.’

  ‘How about a suspicion then? Do you think it’s possible?’

  ‘It’s possible, I suppose.’

  ‘What makes you say that?”

  ‘David and Barbara seem to be living beyond their means. I know how much their allowance is, since I pay it, and their outgoings seem to be much higher than that, to me anyway.’

  ‘Perhaps one of them has another source of income. A job, perhaps?’

  Plouvin laughed briefly. ‘I don’t think that’s very likely.’

  ‘I see. So would it surprise you to know that some of the money allegedly being paid to your brother is actually helping to fund your nephews’ schooling?’

  ‘It would. But they are his children, remember that. Why wouldn’t he want to pay for their schooling? In fact’ said Plouvin, suddenly looking more confident, ‘isn’t that proof that my brother is still alive and well?’

  ‘Why wouldn’t he pay just pay the school directly if that were the case? The money was routed through a number of accounts in South Africa, and then through an overseas Sterling account.’

  ‘I don’t know, tax perhaps. I’m sure he had his reasons.’

  Hall paused again.

  ‘So you’re saying that you honestly believe that your brother is still alive?’

  Plouvin shrugged. ‘I’ve got no reason not to, no reason at all. But have you, DCI Hall?’

  ‘Oh, yes, Mr. Plouvin. I’m sorry to tell you that I have no doubt that your brother is dead. He died on or about the 10th of June 2010, the day before he is alleged to have packed his bags and decamped to South Africa.’

  ‘What makes you so sure?’

  Hall sat back.

  ‘Tell me, Mr. Plouvin, how long before he left did your brother start talking about his intention of moving away? Of going to South Africa, in fact?’

  ‘I don’t know exactly. Not long. He’d known about David and Barbara for a while, and the situation just became intolerable.’

  ‘Leaving your family, your home, your roots, that’s a big decision, and not one to be taken lightly. So how long before the day he left did your brother first mention it to you?’

  ‘As I said, I can’t be certain. It was a difficult time, I’m sure you understand. Perhaps a week or two, something like that.’

  ‘As little as that? So not more than a couple of weeks, and not less than a week before?’

  ‘Yes, about that. Not very long, anyway. It was all so sudden.’

  ‘But he did talk to you about his intention before he left? You’re sure of that?’

  ‘Yes, of course he did.’

  ‘Did he talk to anyone else?’

  ‘My sister-in-law, and my brother. I’m not sure about anyone else.’

  ‘What about the children?’

  ‘No, he couldn’t face it, I’m ashamed to say. Barbara told them the weekend after he left.’

  ‘And have they seen him since? Spoken to him?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so.’

  ‘And why is that? Surely they wanted to?’

  ‘I’m sure they did, but Rupert just couldn’t hack it, apparently. ‘Never complain, never explain’, he was always saying that. It shouldn’t apply to your own children though, should it?’

  ‘So as far as you know the only people who knew of his intentions were yourself, David and Barbara?’

  ‘He probably spoke to other people too, but they’re the ones I knew of.’

  ‘Actually, he didn’t. We’ve got a list of all the people that we know your brother met or spoke to in the last fortnight of his life, or at least the fortnight before he left the UK, and it’s 74 individuals. And you know what, he didn’t mention his intention to a single one of those people, not one. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?’

  ‘I suppose so. But how did he make the arrangements, buy his plane ticket, all that kind of thing?’

  ‘All done online, from the internet connection in your house. So that doesn’t mean that he actually made those bookings, does it?’

  Plouvin didn’t reply.

  ‘Look, Mr. Plouvin. We don’t need a body to secure a murder conviction, and in the case of your brother we don’t even need a living murderer. We know that it was Cliff Morrow who killed your brother, and disposed of the body too. But that’s not the end of it, is it? Because whoever induced Morrow to kill a man that he didn’t know is guilty of conspiracy to murder, and we believe that those same individuals later killed Morrow, almost certainly when he tried to blackmail them, during last year’s Horse Fair.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, I really don’t.’

  ‘Why don’t you chat with Mr. Jenkins here, and see what he has to say? If you were to co-operate fully, from now on, I’m certain that the courts would take a favourable view.’

  This time Plouvin didn’t hesitate.

  ‘This is all a fantasy, your fantasy. So I met this Morrow once, briefly, and so Rupert may choose to pay his kids’ school fees in a roundabout way. So what? That proves nothing. Nothing at all.’

  David Plouvin spent over an hour with Jenkins before he was ready for his formal interview under caution. When the tape was running Hall asked Plouvin if he needed the doctor, or more time to prepare.

  ‘I’m fine, not that you care. Let’s get this over with, so I can get out of this cesspit.’

  Jane knew that she would have been tempted, very tempted, to put Plouvin in his place, but Hall smiled mildly.

  ‘Your brother has just told us that he did meet Cliff Morrow after all. So I wonder, have you remembered meeting him as well?’

  ‘No. I never met the man.’

  ‘You’re quite sure?’

  ‘I’m certain.’

  ‘Thanks, that’s very clear. Now, let’s talk about your nephews’ school fees. Do you pay them?’

  ‘Mind your own business.’

  ‘I’m afraid it is my business, although I wish that wasn’t the case. I have no desire to interview your nephews under caution, but it may come to that. So, who pays the fees?’

  ‘The boys’ father, of course.’

  ‘And that was agreed before he went to South Africa?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Did your brother talk to you at all about his intentions?’

  ‘No. We weren’t speaking in the months before he left, because of Barbara.’

  ‘And when did he find out? About you and Barbara, I mean.’

  ‘A few weeks before, after Easter sometime.’

  ‘But the affair had been going on before that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘For how long?’

  ‘I don’t see how this is relevant.’

  Hall didn’t reply.

  ‘About two years, perhaps a little longer. I’m not proud of it, but it’s what happened.’

  ‘Love, I expect’ said Hall.

  ‘If that’s what you want to call it. But I didn’t do anything to my brother. I didn’t kill him, I mean. He left, and that’s all there is to it. I know you think I had a reason to want him out of the way, but what about my twin brother? He got plenty out of it too, didn’t he? And from where I’m sitting Chris got the better part of this particular bargain. Much the better part, in fact.’

  Barbara Plouvin kept glancing round the room as Jane started the tape.

  ‘I know,’ said Hall, ‘nothing like the TV, is it? It’s surprising what a bit of dramatic lighting can do. I always think our interview rooms look like especially depressing railway station waiting rooms. Not dramatic at all.’

  ‘I wouldn’t know.’

  ‘So you and David are an item, Mrs. Plouvin?’

  ‘Yes. It’
s a vulgar phrase, but yes, we are.’

  ‘And happy?’

  ‘Blissful’ she replied, without a pause. ‘But what has this to do with anything?’

  ‘I just wondered if it was all worth it, that’s all?’

  ‘All what? I’m sorry, I don’t follow.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I meant was it worth leaving your husband for his brother? Did you think I meant something else?’

  ‘Where the heart leads, Mr. Hall.’

  ‘Everything else must follow. Something like that?’

  ‘Yes, something very like that.’ Hall picked up an edge of sadness in her voice.

  ‘Was David a drinker when you first became involved?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so. It seemed fun, then. Rupert was, I mean is, so conventional. Always under control himself, always trying to keep control of everything around him.’

  ‘So you made the right decision, then?’ Hall didn’t give Barbara Plouvin time to reply. ‘That’s good. Now I’m sure that Mr. Jenkins here has explained the situation to you. We’re currently investigating both the murder of Cliff Morrow and conspiracy to murder your husband, Rupert. Previously you’ve told us that you’ve never seen this man, Cliff Morrow, so can you confirm that for the tape? And if you’d just confirm that the exhibit is marked 17c.’

  ‘No, I’ve never seen him before, and yes, I confirm that it’s 17c.’

  ‘Thanks. Now, let’s talk about your sons’ school fees. Do you know why they were being paid in such a complicated fashion?’

  ‘No, my husband took care of all that. I just knew they were being paid. That’s what mattered.’

  ‘You’ve had no involvement in the arrangements at all?’

  ‘No, none at all.’

  Hall paused. ‘Let’s talk about the time leading up to your husband’s decision to go. Would you say that he acted out of character in those days and weeks?’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘Was he the kind of man who acted impulsively?’

  ‘No he wasn’t. Isn’t, I mean.’

  ‘Do you remember how long before he left he first mentioned his plans to you?’

  ‘A few days, a week perhaps.’

  ‘And did he talk to anyone else, to your knowledge?’

  ‘Chris, of course, but beyond that I couldn’t say.’

  ‘But he would have discussed such a momentous decision with other people?’

  ‘Possibly, but maybe not. Rupert wasn’t the sort of man who made friends easily.’

  ‘In fact he talked to no-one at all. No-one that we can find, anyway. Does that strike you as odd, Mrs. Plouvin?’

  ‘Not especially, no.’

  ‘Perhaps you’re right. But we do know what he was talking about, in the days before he left your lives for good. In fact Rupert talked to a member of Mr. Jenkins’ very own practice, several times, and we know from your husband’s email that he was thinking about divorcing you, Mrs. Plouvin. But in none of those communications did he once even raise the possibility that he might leave his house, let alone the country. Not once. Rather the opposite, in fact. His main concern seemed to be keeping the estate together, for the benefit of your sons. His expectation seems to have been that it would be you who left, rather than him.’

  ‘I’m sorry, was there a question in there?’

  ‘Did you know that your husband intended to divorce you. Mrs. Plouvin?’

  ‘No, I didn’t. He may have mentioned it as a possibility, but that’s all. My husband wasn’t really interested in my opinion, though. That’s half the problem. He had never been interested in my opinion about anything, or anyone else’s, come to that.’

  ‘But he never spoke to your sons about his intention to leave, even though they seem to have been very much at the front of his mind?’

  ‘No, he didn’t.’

  ‘And why was that, do you think?’

  ‘You’ll have to ask him that yourself.’

  ‘We will, if we find him alive.’

  ‘Maybe he doesn’t want to be found.’

  Hall smiled. ‘You think we won’t be able to prove definitively that he’s dead or alive, is that it? You might be right, of course, especially if we can’t find his body, but my guess is that we will. And do you know where I think we’ll find it?’

  ‘Please don’t engage in this tiresome practice again, DCI Hall’ said Jenkins. ‘I was rather hoping that it was a trait that you’d managed to control, finally.’

  ‘I think we’ll find your husband quite near the house, probably close to the family chapel.’

  ‘But there are no burials there.’

  ‘There aren’t supposed to be, no. And later today we will start moving in the people and the equipment that we’ll need to undertake the work, if you’ll pardon the rather grave pun.’

  ‘DCI Hall, please’ said Jenkins. ‘Show a little respect.’

  ‘Of course. So, Mrs. Plouvin, just one question before we finish, for today anyway. Is there anything at all that you can help me with, concerning the death of Cliff Morrow, the disappearance of your husband, and any other matters that you think might interest us?’

  Barbara Plouvin looked calmly back at Hall.

  ‘Yes, yes there is. I think I know exactly what happened, and who is responsible for it, too.’

  Wednesday, 26th June

  Sandy Smith was in her element. ‘Mind the fucking ha-ha, you twat’ she shouted at a civilian mini-digger driver, who was trying to negotiate his way through Plouvin Hall’s formal gardens, on his way down to the chapel. ‘I hear you guessed right, you clever bastard’ she said to Hall, who was hoping that her bad language wasn’t carrying back to the house.

  ‘We’re not absolutely sure he is there yet, Sandy.’

  ‘How does the black widow say he died?’

  ‘She claims not to know, as you’d expect. Said it all came as a total shock to her, the whole thing, but she says that Morrow was covered in blood and shaking when she saw him afterwards.’

  ‘So not poison, then?’

  Hall smiled. ‘No, Sandy, I think we can probably rule that out, along with natural causes. Are you absolutely clear on where to dig? Please remember that the chapel is six hundred years old.’

  ‘I will. In fifty or a hundred years no-one will even know we were here.’ Sandy grinned, and walked off, shouting at a man carrying some tools. Hall had no idea what he had done wrong, and he very much doubted that the poor bloke did either.

  Jane Francis was talking to some of the SOCO team, and then walked over to where Hall was standing.

  ‘It’s almost over. You must feel great.’

  ‘Why is everyone speaking too soon this morning?’ said Hall. ‘Did they put a dose of over-optimism in the coffee?’

  Jane laughed. ‘I don’t know, but it did taste funny. I managed to persuade Sandy to have some tea instead, or she’d have peeled the paint off the truck.’

  ‘Well done. I expect we will find the body, because Barbara Plouvin knows exactly what happened to her husband, and probably Cliff Morrow too. The CPS is pathetically grateful to her for the potential cost saving, especially if the twins go guilty, so they’re rolling out the red carpet for her.’

  ‘The twins know what’s happened?’

  ‘They’re due in at HQ this afternoon, but they must know that Barbara has grassed them up, big style. The fact that she didn’t come home last night, and that Jenkins is suddenly no longer representing them, they must be pretty strong clues, I’d have thought.’

  ‘Is Christopher Plouvin watching now, do you think?’

  ‘I expect they both are. I’ve got a couple of uniformed cars out front this morning, and a dog team round the back, just in case one or both of them tries to make a run for it. Anyway, Amanda Knight, a solicitor from Manchester who I hear makes the CPS suits quake in their brogues, just rocked up, and she’s in with them now.’

  ‘Do you think they’ll go guilty?’

  ‘For which offence? The conspiracy to kill
Rupert, possibly, but the Morrow murder, I don’t know. They might just start blaming each other. Try muddying the waters, especially because they’re twins.’

  ‘Surely not. They’re far too posh and stiff upper-lip for all that, aren’t they?’

  ‘I doubt it. I bet they’ll be as bad as our regulars, maybe worse, when push comes to shove. The same sense of entitlement, the same blaming of everyone else for their own selfish, stupid choices. I bet they’ll be grassing each other up right from the off when we’re interviewing them later on, and even Ms. Knight won’t be able to shut them up. And to hell with the twins’ special bond, and all that baloney.’

  Ray Dixon was calling Jane’s name, and holding up a mobile phone.

  ‘Shit, I must have left my phone turned off. Sorry, Andy.’

  Hall watched her run over to Ray, who mimed someone breaking the tape at the end of a sprint, and then he looked back at the figures making their way down to the chapel. Hall knew he’d have to go and watch the whole process, but he really didn’t want to.

  Hall was just about to set off across the damp lawn for the chapel when Jane came running back.

  ‘That was Ian on the phone. His brother’s just walked into the station. Wants to make a statement, apparently.’

  ‘Oh, shit. Don’t tell me he’s your man?’

  ‘I don’t know. I hope not, too. That would be absolutely horrendous.’

  Hall thought about it.

  ‘Get back and take the statement yourself, Jane. Send Ian up here, it’ll keep him busy. And don’t even mention it to the CPS until we’ve talked, OK? Best case he’s just grassing up Williams, in which case I’m sure we’ll be able to get him off with a caution.’ He saw Jane’s expression. ‘Come on, Jane, don’t be like that. You know as well as I do that people get away with cautions for much worse than that. What’s the point in costing the bloke his job? Plus, he’s our mate’s brother.’

  ‘Can you hear yourself, Andy?’ Jane had dropped her voice, but not far enough for Hall’s liking. ‘At the very least a woman was attacked in her own home because Ian’s bloody brother decided to lie to a Police officer.’

  Hall held out his hands, palms down, in a conciliatory gesture. ‘Point taken, Jane, and I agree. Of course I do. But just do what I ask for now, and let’s talk about it later. I’ve got my hands a bit full here for the next few hours. And as soon as we know that Rupert is there then the twins will be nicked and charged. But I’ll be in touch before close of play today, I promise. OK?’