by AB Morgan
Table of Contents
Also By AB Morgan
Praise for Divine Poison:
Praise for A Justifiable Madness:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
A Justifiable Madness
Divine Poison
A Note from Bloodhound Books:
Acknowledgments
The Camera Lies
AB Morgan
Copyright © 2018 AB Morgan
The right of AB Morgan to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2018 by Bloodhound Books
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
www.bloodhoundbooks.com
Contents
Also By AB Morgan
Praise for Divine Poison:
Praise for A Justifiable Madness:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
A Justifiable Madness
Divine Poison
A Note from Bloodhound Books:
Acknowledgments
Also By AB Morgan
A Justifiable Madness
Divine Poison
Praise for Divine Poison:
"The pace is great for the plot, which is well thought out and planned thoroughly to give it an added edge..." Donna Maguire - Donnas Book Blog
"I would highly recommend this book to so many readers. And I’m definitely going to be reading so much more by this author." Ami-May Smith - Shyla's Uncensored Opinions
"This story was full of intrigue and mystery that kept me turning page after page." Lorna Cassidy - On The Shelf Reviews
"Divine Poison has a tangled web of lies and secrets lurking within the pages along with a few surprises thrown in to make things interesting." Rachel Broughton - Rae Reads
"DIVINE POISON is thrilling to read and a book to keep you on your toes!" Sooz Barthorpe - The P.Turners Book Blog
"Again AB Morgan has used her own career experiences to add her own unique style to this story." Yvonne Bastian - Me And My Books
Praise for A Justifiable Madness:
"I was in my element here it was like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest." Susan Hampson - Books From Dusk Till Dawn
"This is a fascinating and insightful thriller about psychiatric treatment and diagnosis." Caroline Vincent - Bits About Books
"This is a really well written and unique storyline. As an avid blogger I crave unique storylines and I applaud the author on such a brilliant debut novel." Philomena Callan - Cheekypee Reads And Reviews
"A fantastically gripping read that I struggled to put down!" Kate Noble - The Quiet Knitter
"This story will make you wander who is the madman and what goes on within the system...A dark little twister of a read..." Livia Sbarbaro - Goodreads Revewier
"This is a great book that will keep you gripped throughout" Julie Lacey - Goodreads Reviewer
For Andy, You bring me sunshine.
1
Turning slowly, Konrad Neale faced the film crew and directed his words at the watching audience behind the large lens of the TV camera.
‘If Matthew Hawley were a woman would his sentence have been so harsh? The answer, in this case, is probably yes, for the simple fact that the level of premeditation could not in any way support the suggestion that he was of an unstable mind. Unbelievably, this was the case strongly argued by his barrister in court, but how on earth can we accept his story? Based on what we are about to show you, how is that possible?
‘If you are of a delicate disposition, I strongly advise that you look away. What you will see next is graphic, brutal and sickening.’
There was a momentary pause before a series of still colour photographs appeared on the television monitor, and were commented on in finite detail.
‘Here we see the mutilated body of Helena Chawston-Hawley, on the expensively tiled floor of her substantial kitchen. It is the morning of the first of March 2014 and her own blood surrounds her. The skid marks that we can see in the lake of red, we are told, were made by her husband, Matthew, as he carried out the deliberate surgical removal of certain appendages and organs. Not, as you would suppose, to make life easier for himself in the disposal of his wife’s body, and not even to aid his attempt to hide her, because Matthew Hawley made no such attempt. He killed her, neatly laid out her remains, and dialled 999.
‘He mutilated her, as is plain to see from these police photographs, by removing her eyes with the implement pictured to the left of her head. The eyeballs are on the right, on the floor amongst the blood, and quite difficult to distinguish. The order in which these disfigurements were carried out is not known but we have to ask ourselves why would he do that at all? Why did he cut off her breasts? And bizarrely, why did he make careful incisions to remove her lips?’
The camera cut back to a shot of Konrad leaning forward earnestly as he sat to one side of a functional desk in a prison interview room, where the stark grey walls contributed to the slightly hollow sound when he spoke, ‘Welcome to another case of “The Truth Behind the Lies” with me, Konrad Neale.
‘Over the four days that I interviewed Matthew Hawley, here at HMP Longlees, I have probed into the unbelievable chain of events that led to the brutal murder of his beautiful wife. If what he has told me is
the truth, it does not change that one simple fact. Matthew Hawley did murder his wife, Helena Chawston-Hawley. He remains guilty of a heinous crime and he accepts that, so why are we here if there has been no miscarriage of justice? I’ll leave you to decide for yourselves once you’ve heard what he has to say.’ Konrad leant back in his chair with his hands together, as if in prayer, placing the tips of his fingers to his lips.
The scene changed, although the room remained the same.
Sitting on a plain plastic chair was a slim, almost gaunt, Matthew Hawley.
‘Yep, I’m happy with how the intro is looking, Konrad. What do you think?’ asked Annette the editor, as they sat together with two other members of the production team, beginning an initial run of the material recorded by Konrad and the film crew at the prison.
The first thing that had struck Konrad about Matthew Hawley was that the greying hair and prison pallor could not belie the man’s underlying distinctly handsome features. A strong jaw, chiselled nose, intense but alluring green eyes and not a tattoo in sight. His modest intelligent air coupled with his good looks shattered the stereotypes that could potentially define him as a monstrous killer. When Matthew spoke, he did so with consideration, careful with his choice of words but he didn’t shy away from answering questions. He was believable.
‘Yeah, good. I guess we can get hold of a recording of Matthew’s call to the emergency services if we need to make use of it, but overall, I’m comfortable that our outline plan is a sensible order of events. Goodness me, he comes across frighteningly well on film…’
‘Doesn’t he just. You know, watching this and transcribing every word freaked me out quite a bit, I can tell you.’ Annette brushed cake crumbs from her enormous trouser-clad thighs. She hadn’t stopped eating so far that morning and this was irritating Konrad, who had to suffer the endless moaning about her weight, for which she blamed her thyroid. His own eating habits were overshadowed by the constant fear of putting on the pounds. The slightest weight gain would be magnified in front of the television cameras where he earned his living, when he wasn’t writing newspaper columns, or fronting chat shows. He had thought his best days were behind him as far as fame and fortune in the fickle world of television was concerned, but his move into documentary and real crime had reignited the nation’s interest in what he had to say.
‘I can’t believe how lucky we were to get the green light on this one. It’s a hell of a story,’ Annette said as she stood up, gently patting the presenter’s designer-dressed shoulder. ‘Great interview. Do you realise he could be your younger brother, in appearance I mean? Similar features. You make quite an attractive pair, which will please our female audience members, I’m sure. What would you say, there are five years or so between you and Matthew Hawley? Good looking man, but shit, I can’t quite comprehend what sick and twisted stuff he told you, you know.
‘So, what do you want to do now?’ Annette turned to ask her team. ‘Shall we let it roll as usual, and get this firmly into our heads before we finally identify the selects?’
A young intern, by the name of Joe, bravely interrupted to ask what that turn of phrase meant.
‘Slow Joe, you didn’t do your homework, otherwise, you would know what the selects are.’ Annette had been ironic in nicknaming him Slow Joe. Konrad knew that she was impressed by how swiftly an enthusiastic Joe absorbed information and by the intelligence with which he used the latest sound technology.
‘Actually, that’s a fair question, Joe,’ Konrad interjected before Annette had a chance to enlighten her protégé. ‘The art and craft of producing, and especially editing, a documentary is entirely different from a fiction film. Although there’s a chronology to the interview itself, it has to be edited with the viewer in mind. We don’t change what has been said, but we do develop a working structure and identify scenes, ideas, thoughts that can be separated out. The selects. We can trim the long pauses or the repetition of the same argument, do you see?’ Joe mouthed his thanks and received a thumbs-up in return.
Annette had obviously decided to ignore the interruption, and she continued without needing to contribute to the response. ‘This transcript’s a long one. Mind you, having looked at it again, I’m beginning to think we have enough juicy solid material to make a two-parter and I’m loathed to bin anything. What’s your feeling, guys?’
‘I don’t think we can argue for two episodes of the same case,’ Konrad replied. ‘The executives won’t agree to a change in the fundamentals of the contract, so let’s watch and aim to eventually edit to the required sixty minutes. I can précis certain parts to camera if necessary or as voice-over material during those odd shots around the prison that we bagged. It’ll provide atmosphere and break up the face-to-face sections.’ The assistant editor, Mike, signalled his approval. Konrad was explaining in more detail than was strictly necessary just for Slow Joe’s educational benefit.
‘To be frank with you, this one’s had me awake at nights ever since we started filming. I wasn’t expecting to like Matthew Hawley, but he’s so bloody convincing on camera, and the viewers are in for a rough ride when they see and hear what he has to say. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn’t. Anyway, let’s crack on before the coffee goes cold.’
2
Konrad waited patiently for Matthew Hawley’s reply to his first question. When it came he sensed the pain and anger in the words, although the man sitting in front of him appeared, on the surface, to be focussed and in control of his body language.
‘My legal representatives didn’t fabricate an unbelievable story, as you suggest, Mr Neale. What I told them was the truth, most of which was deemed inadmissible. How the evidence was perceived and twisted by the prosecution made the truth appear to be a lie.’
‘But you must be aware, Matthew, that what the public heard during your trial was that you had a fantastic life with a beautiful, kind-hearted woman, who worshipped and doted on you. She even accepted your son to live with you both. You were a phenomenally well-off family, and willing to share that wealth you raised thousands of pounds for charity. When you have a life of stable privilege it simply doesn’t make sense that you would murder your wife.’ Konrad left a three-second pause before asking his question. ‘What can you say to help us understand why you snapped and killed her? Did you snap?’
He couldn’t read Matthew. He could usually pitch his questions in a particular way by watching for signs of discomfort in his interviewee, but Matthew Hawley was giving nothing away. The man was distant: cut off but not aloof.
‘I didn’t snap, Mr Neale, that much is obvious.’
‘I see your point. Of course, it can’t have been impulsive or an act of self-defence. You took your time to mutilate Helena and, from what we have seen from the evidence, there appears to have been a reason behind how you laid out her body. Tell us then, if you would, how you came to the decision to kill your wife. Try to build a picture that will serve to detail the events leading to your actions, two years ago, when you deliberately killed and mutilated Helena.’
‘Mr Neale, I believe that is what we agreed. I’m happy to recount my story because this is for my son. I want, above anything else, for him to hear and know the truth that the court failed to examine. But please don’t expect me to tell you, in gory detail, every incision I made.’
‘Your son, Josh, was how old when you left your first marriage?’
‘Let’s straighten out the facts, Mr Neale. I did not leave. Amy had an affair and I went through the painful process of a divorce, being obliged to leave the home I had worked so hard to build for my family. Instead of a contented life, I had my heart broken. I vowed to do whatever I had to in order to keep alive the relationship with my son who was only twelve. Unlike my ex-wife and her exaggerated claims of irreconcilable differences, I remained adult and compliant with Amy’s wishes in order to keep the peace. Somehow, I even learnt to tolerate “Pete the wanker”. No apology for referring to him in that way, the bloke is a twat, and I still hate h
im for decimating my family. If you have to cut that bit then so be it, but he’s still a wanker.’
Konrad was supposed to be listening hard to pick up a cue for his next question. He didn’t worry about the fruity language as it made for a gritty edge to the documentary and revealed a small glimmer of emotion breaking through from Matthew Hawley’s well-guarded inner feelings. Instead of concentrating on the words being spoken, he had found himself wondering which idiot researcher had got the facts wrong about Matthew Hawley’s first marriage, and in doing so he almost missed the opportunity for a swift winning question. Almost.
‘Can I ask you to think back to that time and explain to me why you didn’t kill your first wife, Amy? Or her new lover Peter? You say they “decimated” your family and it sounds like a desperate time for you. So why not kill them?’
Matthew sighed. ‘I’m not a serial killer, Mr Neale. I was an ordinary man whose wife did the dirty, and I had to live with the consequences of not paying her enough attention. She wasn’t the only one at fault. Just because I speak my mind about hating what they did, doesn’t mean I would kill them.’
‘What made you kill your second wife then, if a painful divorce and betrayal wasn’t enough to drive you to any sort of violent reaction, what did?’ Konrad had floundered. He hadn’t expected Matthew Hawley to be so grounded, rational and implacable.
