by Tom Bale
Be careful, a voice in her head warned. It could be some type of trap.
But she didn't think so. Her instinct was telling her he had something important to say, and while she might not be ready to trust him, she knew there was no way she could ignore him.
The lobby was empty when she got downstairs. Kate was probably in the kitchen, or maybe her private quarters. Julia walked gingerly over to the main door and waited, leaning against the wall. The pose gave a sense of exaggerated nonchalance, but it was actually because she'd succumbed to vanity and left the walking stick in her room.
A minute later the man jogged into view. He was taller than Julia expected, around six feet, with the sort of lean, triangular frame that suggested a swimmer's physique beneath the jacket. His thick brown hair was in need of a trim, and as he reached the steps she could see a torment in his face as acute as anything she'd suffered in the past few weeks.
She opened the door but blocked the entrance, making it clear he wasn't welcome to come any further. He stopped and gave her an uncertain smile. His eyes were a rich dark brown, deep and liquid and full of hurt.
Before he had a chance to speak, Julia said, 'If you're a journalist, you're wasting your time.'
The smile turned ironic. 'I am, actually. Freelance sports and features, but that's not why I'm here.' He stuck out his hand. 'Craig Walker.'
'Craig . . . ?'
'Philip Walker's son.'
Julia clutched the door for support. It took her a moment to regain her composure. She shook his hand and said, 'He saved my life.'
'I know,' he said, and she wasn't sure if there was a slight coldness in his voice. There was no trace of it when he added, 'Sorry about earlier, in Rye. I wasn't sure how best to approach you.'
'How did you find me? No one's meant to know I'm here.'
'I have a contact in the police.'
'And he leaked the information?'
'He didn't have much choice.' Seeing her frown, he said, 'It's a long story, and now's probably not the right time.' He offered her the envelope. 'He also gave me this. The preliminary report into the massacre. I'd like you to read it and then discuss it with me.'
She hesitated, a little riled by his tone: it was more of a demand than a request. But she took the envelope, unaware that she was trembling until it rattled in her hands. She clutched it tight to her chest.
'What did you mean, I'm not him?'
Craig looked taken aback. 'You know, don't you?'
'Do I?'
'Carl Forester didn't dream up that massacre on his own. Someone put the idea into his head, and that person is just as guilty.'
Julia said nothing for a moment. She tapped the envelope. 'Is that what it says in here?'
'No. But I don't believe that,' he said simply. 'I believe you.'
He told her he was going for a walk on the beach. Said he would wait as long as it took. He shook her hand again and thanked her for listening to him. Again she caught a brusque note in his voice.
She returned to her room and sat down on the bed. As she peeled the envelope open she was conscious of her thudding heart, and told herself not to be so ridiculous. It was an official document, and nothing more. Just words on paper.
After everything she'd been through, what harm could it do her?
Thirty
STRICTLY PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
SHOOTING INCIDENT AT CHILTON, EAST SUSSEX
ON 19 JANUARY 2008
PRELIMINARY REPORT PREPARED BY CHIEF SUPT
MALCOLM ELLIS
FOR THE CHIEF CONSTABLE
8 FEBRUARY 2008
INTRODUCTION
On Saturday, 19 January 2008 a series of shootings occurred in and around the village of Chilton, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people and injuries to a further four. This report has been prepared with the agreement of the Chief Constable of Sussex to cover all the events of 19 January. Certain inquiries are ongoing and will be covered in more detail in the final report, due for completion on 1 May 2008.
CHILTON
The hamlet of Chilton is situated ten miles north-west of Lewes. It lies approximately one mile along Chilton Way, a no-throughroad which provides the only vehicular access. An unadopted access road, Hurst Lane, runs north from the village to Chilton Manor and the neighbouring farm.
Prior to January 2008, the population of Chilton was sixty-three people, including fifteen children, resident in twenty-eight properties. Most of the buildings are Georgian or Victorian, with a handful of Tudor cottages and a twelfth-century Norman church.
Chilton's residents work hard to maintain the village's unspoilt appearance, and to this end they have fought many campaigns against local development, recently defeating a proposal to build several hundred homes on adjacent farmland. They also successfully opposed plans to site a mobile-phone mast on the tower of St Mary's church, a move which had significant implications on 19 January.
There are few local services other than the church, the Green Man public house and one shop. Responsibility for policing lies with Burgess Hill police station, approximately four miles away, but historically crime in Chilton has been practically nonexistent.
CARL FORESTER
Carl Brian Forester, aged twenty-five, had lived all his life in the neighbouring village of Falcombe. An only child, Carl lived with his mother, Peggy, aged fiftythree. His father, Albert, walked out on the family when Carl was five and had no further contact with his son. Inquiries revealed that he died of a heart attack in 2001.
Forester's mother is a chronic alcoholic with a long record of public-order offences. She served several prison sentences, during which time her son was placed in care. The family was well known to social services, and Forester was a persistent truant from the age of seven.
Leaving school with no qualifications, Forester's most stable period of employment began at the age of nineteen, working as a groundsman for George Matheson at Chilton Manor. His duties included assisting with pheasant shoots, and it is thought his fascination with firearms stems from this period. He also helped out on a seasonal basis at Hurst Farm, owned by Matheson but managed by Mr Keith Caplan.
His employment was terminated two years ago, following an alleged assault on Mrs Laura Caplan. According to George Matheson, Forester had been spying on Mrs Caplan, as well as stealing her underwear and other personal items. Forester entered the house by stealth and exposed himself to Mrs Caplan in the presence of her daughter, Megan, then aged seven. After that, Forester did no further work for Matheson, although the incident was not reported to the police.
It is believed Forester subsequently nursed a grudge against both the Mathesons and the Caplans. Whilst it cannot be stated with certainty that this led directly to the events of 19 January, it must be considered an important factor.
Inquiries have revealed no close friends, but there were a number of individuals with whom Forester drank on a regular basis, usually in the King's Head public house in Falcombe. Most have alcohol and/or drug dependency issues. They all describe Forester as a loner, incapable of forming proper relationships. His drunken approaches to women frequently saw him ejected from the King's Head, and as a result he was regarded as a rather pathetic figure
During our inquiries, however, two of the females from this group made allegations against Forester, ranging from indecent exposure to attempted rape. Once again, these offences were never reported at the time, possibly because of the aforementioned drug use.
There was unanimous agreement that Forester was terrified of his mother, and frequently beaten during his childhood, an allegation that met with frankly unconvincing denials from Peggy Forester. During the police investigation, Mrs Forester was often violent towards the officers interviewing her, and on one occasion stabbed a female officer with a kitchen knife.
Even allowing for her heightened emotional state following her son's death, it suggests Forester grew up in a volatile environment. He had a number of criminal convictions, mostly relating to minor a
cts of vandalism and theft, as well as a range of vehicle offences, but prior to 19 January Forester's potential for violent or sexual assault was unknown to the authorities.
FIREARMS
The principal firearm was a Walther P22 semiautomatic pistol, fitted with a suppressor and firing .22 subsonic ammunition. Indications are that it was part of a small consignment of arms smuggled into the UK in 2003 by individuals with links to Russian organised crime. Despite extensive inquiries, it has not yet been established how or where Forester made the sort of connections necessary to source such a weapon.
The other firearm was a Purdey doublebarrel twelve-bore shotgun, used for two killings. This was a legally held weapon, purchased by George Matheson from a registered firearms dealer. Matheson holds a valid shotgun licence, and the weapon was stored in an approved gun safe.
The following section covers the events of 19 January in more detail.
Julia threw the report aside and got to her feet. She felt dizzy and nauseous. She opened the window and took a huge gulp of air. On the beach a woman in a green puffy anorak was walking her Labrador. There was no sign of Craig.
However much she dreaded it, she knew she had to read on. But first she opened her suitcase and rooted around in it. When he'd dropped her off at the hotel, her brother had presented her with a couple of small gifts: a CD and a half-bottle of brandy.
She poured a small measure and took a sip. It was her first taste of alcohol since before the massacre, and its burning warmth felt comforting in her stomach. A little rush of courage.
She would need it.
Thirty-One
EVENTS OF 19 JANUARY
It must be stated that there is a considerable degree of conjecture in the sequence of events stated here. Immediately after the incident, a team of twenty-four detectives and almost fifty other officers was employed to conduct the most thorough possible investigation. However, the lack of eyewitness evidence means that in some cases it was necessary to make educated guesses about Forester's movements.
We know Forester rose early, at around 0530, in the house in Falcombe where he lived with his mother. She estimates he left the house at approximately 0600. He was dressed in camouflage trousers and a blue denim jacket, and armed with a crowbar purchased from a builder's merchants in Burgess Hill on 15 January. It is believed he also had the Walther P22 in his possession at this time.
From Falcombe he made his way on foot to Chilton Manor, approximately two miles away, gaining access to the house by breaking a ground-floor window. The owners, George and Vanessa Matheson, were at their London home, and appear not to have set the alarm the day before. There is no evidence that Forester had any knowledge of the security codes or could have disabled the alarm.
Forester used the crowbar to break into Matheson's gun cabinet and removed the Purdey shotgun. He also ransacked the house and defecated on a dining table, before moving on to Hurst Farm. Keith and Laura Caplan were eating breakfast in the kitchen, but it appears their nine-year-old daughter, Megan, was still in bed.
It is thought Mrs Caplan answered the door and was led back to the kitchen at gunpoint. Mr Caplan rose from his chair and was shot in the stomach with the shotgun. It is likely he was forced to watch as his wife was stripped and subjected to a savage sexual assault, and at some point he died from his injuries. Mrs Caplan was also shot and killed with the shotgun. Forester then went upstairs and attempted to smother Megan with a pillow. She suffered serious oxygen deprivation, and as of the date of this report remains in a coma.
Forester left the farmhouse at approximately 0720, heading along Hurst Lane towards Chilton. As he passed the Green Man public house he saw the publican, Mr Barry Johnson, attending to his pet rabbits in the garden. Mr Johnson appears to have been running for shelter when he was shot three times and killed.
Telecommunications in Chilton are routed via a BT cabinet 'green box' situated on the corner of Hurst Lane. Forester forced entry to the box and severed the wires at 0733, rendering the village without landline communication. As previously mentioned, Chilton does not have mobile-phone coverage.
Forester then approached the Old Schoolhouse, the residence of seventy-twoyear- old widower Philip Walker. Mr Walker was shot in the chest and left for dead in the hallway of his home.
It appears Forester crossed Hurst Lane again and made for St Mary's church. Here he found the vicar, the Reverend Mark Armitage, and a Mrs Dorothy Poplett, aged sixty-three, who was employed as a cleaner. Both were shot several times. Mrs Poplett died immediately, but Rev. Armitage appears to have lived for another twenty-five minutes, and was possibly still alive when one of the few surviving witnesses, Ms Julia Trent, sought help in the church at approximately 0800.
Forester moved on to the terraced cottages south of St Mary's. At No. 18 High Street he killed Ms Samantha Todd, aged thirtyfour, and her six-year-old son, Frankie.
The occupants of number 16 were away, so Forester went to number 14, where he killed the only resident, eighty-one-year-old Audrey Wheeler.
At number 12 he killed Mr Geoffrey McBride, fifty, and then stopped to reload. His wife, Rose McBride, fifty-two, managed to warn her two children, who were able to hide. Forester shot and wounded Mrs McBride as she fled upstairs, then moved on to number 10, where he shot and injured Mrs Doreen Collins in the hallway of her home. Mrs Collins, seventy-seven, survived the incident but was left paralysed from the waist down.
Forester then retraced his steps, possibly in response to the appearance of a Royal Mail van driven by Mr Trevor Fox, aged thirty-seven. Mr Fox had opened the rear doors of the van when Forester appeared from his left and shot him twice in the face.
The murder was witnessed by Mr Ian Sorrill, at number 5 Arundel Crescent. Mr Sorrill shouted to his wife and children to get up and called 999. Finding the landline dead, he attempted to call on his mobile phone but without success. He then led his family through their back garden and across farmland for approximately one mile, until they reached the main road. Eventually Mr Sorrill got a signal and made an emergency call at 0809.
Gaining entry to number 1 Arundel Crescent, Forester killed fifty-nine-year-old Tom Bradbury and his wife Mavis, fifty-eight, who had just sat down to breakfast. He also killed their dogs, two red setters, then remained in the home for some ten or fifteen minutes, eating their breakfast.
At this point, around 0800, Julia Trent discovered the body of Trevor Fox and went into St Mary's church to raise the alarm, only to find the Reverend Armitage and Mrs Poplett. She made her way to the footpath that runs parallel to the High Street and entered number 18, where she discovered the bodies of Ms Todd and her son.
Meanwhile, at 2 Arundel Crescent, Mrs Alice Jones had also witnessed the murder of Trevor Fox. She bolted her front door and went upstairs with her three young children, where they barricaded themselves in the master bedroom. Mrs Jones focused on keeping the children calm and quiet, but occasionally looked out. At approximately 0813 she glimpsed Julia Trent running on to the green with Forester in pursuit.
From the living room of number 18 High Street, Ms Trent saw Forester emerge from number 1 Arundel Crescent and walk towards number 2. Receiving no answer there, he moved on to number 3, whose occupants, Mr and Mrs Granger, had been to a party until the early hours. Mr Granger believes he was vaguely aware of the doorbell, but decided to ignore it. He and his wife continued to sleep through the incident, and did not stir until wakened by the noise of the police helicopter at 0840.
It is thought Forester may have grown frustrated by the lack of response, for he ignored the remaining houses and instead made for the village store. Unfortunately, Forester entered the shop and killed the proprietor, fifty-seven-year-old Mrs Moira Beaumont, before Ms Trent could alert her to the danger. Forester then pursued Ms Trent back along the path to the church. Her recollection is somewhat unreliable, as will be noted later, but she alleges Forester engaged in this chase for his own amusement.
Trent fled through the churchyard and on to t
he green, as confirmed by Alice Jones, and was brought down by a long-range shot which grazed her leg. At this point, Ms Trent's life was saved by the intervention of Philip Walker. Despite being severely wounded, Mr Walker distracted Forester, who returned to the Old Schoolhouse and shot him dead. Ms Trent used this diversion to reach the yew tree on the green, which she managed to climb to a height of approximately ten or eleven feet.
It is thought Forester returned to the green and discovered the trail of blood leading to Ms Trent's hiding place. Possibly by now he could hear the first police siren. In any event, he raked the tree with fire from the pistol, hitting Trent in the side and causing her unconscious body to fall from the tree.
Finally, Carl Forester took his own life, with a shot to the temple. It is thought he died just a minute or two before the first police officers arrived on the scene, at 0822.
Thirty-Two
The report became progressively harder to read. Without knowing it, she began muttering, 'No . . . No . . .' A cry to ward off the horrors of that day, but also a protest at the report's conclusion.
Carl Forester took his own life. There was the confirmation, in stark black print, that she was on her own.
She quickly scanned the next section. Under the heading 'Police Response', it detailed the actions taken by the emergency services to secure the scene and provide aid to the victims, including Julia. It went on to give a summary of the huge investigation launched on that morning, and then touched on the country's reaction to the tragedy, including a visit by the Home Secretary on the Monday.
Julia went on reading, but at some point stopped taking it in. All she could see was that one dreadful sentence. The official verdict.
Carl Forester took his own life.
Carl Forester killed himself.
End of story.
She hadn't realised she was crying, or that it was loud enough to be heard in the corridor. Gradually she became aware of a tapping on the door, Kate asking if she was all right.
