The Mechanical Devil

by Kate Ellis

  ‘That’s still to be decided,’ said Gerry with uncharacteristic caution. ‘Can we speak to Jocasta? Promise we won’t keep her long.’ He gave the MP a hopeful smile but Wesley knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  Without a word Ovorard showed them into the living room before returning to the hall and shouting up the stairs, ‘Jocasta, darling. The police want a word with you. Nothing to worry about. Can you come down, please?’

  The words sounded normal and reasonable but Wesley caught the tension in his voice, as though he was expecting his daughter to tell him to get lost.

  To Wesley’s surprise she entered the room half a minute later, head bowed meekly, as though she was embarrassed by the whole incident. Her father touched her arm as she entered and Wesley saw her pull away as though his touch had caused her pain.

  Gerry gave her his best avuncular smile. ‘We’re glad to see you back home safe and well, love.’

  ‘Yes,’ Wesley said. ‘Everyone was very worried about you.’

  Jeremy Ovorard was hovering by the door, as though he was reluctant to leave. At a nod from Gerry, Wesley went over to him and whispered in his ear. ‘If we could have a word with Jocasta alone, Mr Ovorard…’

  Ovorard looked as though he was about to object but eventually he left the room. As soon as Wesley closed the door behind him Jocasta looked considerably more relaxed.

  ‘Sorry to be a nuisance, love. You must be shattered.’ Gerry was doing his best to sound sympathetic.

  ‘Luke won’t get into trouble, will he? I mean, he didn’t abduct me or anything. I wanted to go. I needed to get away from all this crap.’ With a sweep of her hand she indicated that she considered the crap to be her parents’ house and everything – and probably everyone – in it. ‘My father says he wants to bring charges but…’

  ‘You’re not a minor below the age of consent,’ Wesley said. ‘And you went of your own accord. Am I right?’

  There was no mistaking the relief on Jocasta’s face. ‘I thought it would be great to be with Luke and we planned it all down to the last detail.’ She suddenly frowned. ‘Although I hadn’t imagined it would be so boring in Newquay – working in that shop day in day out and Luke stuck in the chip shop all evening. I thought we’d be surfing all the time. Luke said it would be cool.’

  ‘Life isn’t all champagne and roses,’ Gerry mumbled.

  ‘Where is Luke?’

  ‘He’s at Morbay Police Station answering some questions,’ said Wesley. ‘Although I don’t think he’ll be there long – unless you want to press charges.’

  As he’d expected, she shook her head vigorously.

  ‘In that case I think we can put the whole incident behind us,’ he said. ‘But we’d still like a chat if that’s OK.’

  Her expression turned defiant. ‘So I went off with Luke and we lived off the grid for a while. I know that sort of thing gets up the authorities’ noses ’cause they like to keep track of everyone. I hate the bloody establishment.’

  ‘Your father’s part of the establishment,’ Wesley said, watching her face.

  ‘Too right he is.’

  ‘So this was a way of getting back at him?’

  There was no answer but Wesley knew his words had hit home. Jocasta’s disappearance had been a political statement born of personal animosity.

  ‘Can we move on to something else?’ he said, glancing at Gerry. ‘You were seen getting out of a red Mercedes in the village of Lower Torworthy on Friday the fourteenth of September.’

  She suddenly looked uncomfortable. ‘Yeah, I was meeting Luke there.’

  ‘Lower Torworthy seems an odd place to meet.’

  She smiled. ‘Me and Luke had been holed up just outside Holne in a cottage belonging to a friend of his but the friend was coming back so we had to shift. Luke stayed to see his mate but he said it was best if I made myself scarce. I said I’d go on ahead and meet him later. At first I thought I’d get a bus then I realised I might be spotted and besides, they have CCTV on buses these days. I decided to hitch-hike.’

  Wesley was about to point out the risks then thought better of it.

  ‘I was only going to accept lifts with women. I’m not stupid,’ she said as though she’d read his thoughts.

  ‘The woman who gave you a lift to Lower Torworthy…’

  ‘Andrea. She saw me by the road and recognised me.’

  ‘You made a lot of trouble for her when she arranged that party for you – caused her to fall out with your father. How did the journey go?’ Gerry asked, curious.

  ‘She was cool. She stopped and asked me what I was doing. I made her swear not to tell Dad she’d seen me and she said that was no problem ’cause there was no love lost between them. She told me she was on her way to some spa I think it was. Said she was meeting someone there.’

  ‘Have you heard she was murdered shortly after you saw her?’

  ‘Yeah, I heard,’ she said after a short silence.

  ‘So you might have been the last person to see her alive,’ said Wesley, letting the words sink in.

  She shook her head as though she didn’t believe what he was saying.

  ‘Were you aware of a car or motorcycle following her car?’

  She shook her head again. ‘When Andrea told me she wasn’t going on much further I spotted this old red phone box and told her to drop me off outside the pub. I called Luke right away. It only took him a quarter of an hour to get there.’

  ‘I thought you were doing without phones,’ said Wesley.

  ‘We did… but Luke’s mate’s cottage had a landline.’ She wrinkled her nose as though a landline was some strange relic of the past.

  ‘Anything else you can tell us?’

  ‘When me and Luke set off on the Norton I saw Andrea’s car parked on a grass verge just outside the village. I told Luke to pull over just out of sight because I wanted to see what she was up to.’

  ‘So you saw her?’

  ‘Yeah, but she didn’t see me.’

  ‘What made you curious?’

  Jocasta blushed. ‘I wanted to see if the person she was meeting was my dad. He was screwing her, you know.’

  ‘I didn’t know.’ Wesley glanced at Gerry. This was something new.

  ‘It started while she was arranging my party. That’s why I pulled out. I couldn’t stand seeing him all over her.’

  ‘I was under the impression they fell out when she presented him with the bill for a party that hadn’t gone ahead.’

  ‘She did and they had a big row about it – or at least that’s what I was told. If you ask me, there was more to it.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t know. I wondered if they’d made up since. My mother thought they had.’

  Wesley sighed. Tabitha Ovorard had only given them half a story. It also gave her one of the oldest motives of all for the murder of Andrea Jameson – jealousy.

  Wesley leaned forward. There was a lot riding on the answer to the question he was about to ask.

  ‘You say you and Luke parked by the field. Can you tell me exactly what happened?’

  ‘When we drove past Andrea was standing near her car so we went on a bit and stopped round the bend. It was then I heard a bang and then another. Luke said it sounded like shots but he told me lots of farmers use guns in the country so it was nothing to worry about.’

  ‘Are you telling us you saw Andrea being shot?’

  ‘No. We’d parked out of sight and I hid behind some bushes so I could see what she was up to. She was standing by the gate staring into the field as though she’d seen something interesting.’

  Wesley’s heart beat faster. ‘Was this before or after you heard the shots?’

  ‘After. Luke said we should go ’cause it was none of our business. He went back to the bike and started revving the engine.’

  ‘Did you hear any more shots after that?’

  ‘I told you, Luke was revving the bike and I got on the back. I couldn’t hear anything ove
r that racket.’

  ‘You should have come forward with this information, love. It could be important,’ said Gerry.

  ‘And let my dad know where I was? Anyway, I didn’t see anything.’

  ‘But you definitely heard two shots while Andrea was standing there alive and well?’

  ‘Yes. Is it important?’

  ‘It could be very important. I’ll send someone round to take your statement.’

  She gave a resigned shrug and Wesley knew it was time they left.

  When they opened the living-room door Tabitha Ovorard was standing in the hall as though she’d been waiting for them to leave. She ignored them and dashed towards her daughter, arms outstretched, but Jocasta dodged her embrace and Wesley saw a look of devastation on Tabitha’s face. It seemed wrong to intrude on her pain so he hurried out after Gerry.

  ‘What if we’ve been looking at this case the wrong way round?’ he said as they walked to the car. ‘If we believe Jocasta – and we’ve no reason not to – Andrea was alive when the first two shots rang out. What if Ian Evans was the target? What if Andrea Jameson saw him being killed and she was the collateral damage?’

  Letter from Oswald DeTorham to Sir Matthew

  9 June 1533

  By your good prayers and thanks be to God I am recovered from the fever that afflicted me. I would know the true nature of this new machine of which the whole village speaks, for in my fever I was unaware of its presence.

  The ‘little monk’ has brought much comfort to your flock in their afflictions but I hear word that people fear this new miracle, and Peter my steward says that Mistress Rowland has not spoken since you left her alone with it and is sore afraid to leave the confines of the farm. Some say Peter is wont to defy the Holy Church and yet I trust his word in this and would speak with you on the matter for some are saying the ‘big friar’ is Satan himself.

  Letter from Oswald DeTorham to Henry Dyce

  20 June 1533

  Cousin, Sir Matthew showed me the ‘big friar’ many say they fear. It was a figure dressed in the plain grey habit of a Franciscan and upon examination I found it to be nought but wood and cloth with a wooden mask of gentle countenance and I am satisfied that the tales told to you were born of the fevered imaginings of the sick.

  This was no man but a mere machine.

  34

  A subdued Luke Wellings confirmed Jocasta’s story. He too had heard two shots ring out, around half a minute apart, while Andrea Jameson was standing near her car but he’d thought little of it.

  Every farmer in the area had been questioned during the initial house-to-house inquiries, along with anybody else who owned a legal firearm of any kind, but nobody had admitted to having been out shooting that day.

  ‘What will you tell the chief super?’ Wesley asked as they returned to the station in Tradmouth.

  ‘I’ll boast about our success in reuniting Jocasta with her worried parents,’ Gerry said with a grin. ‘That should get her in a good mood for the rest of it.’

  ‘I think Jocasta’s statement changes everything, don’t you?’

  ‘Unless she’s lying to protect someone. Her father perhaps? Or even her mother? If Ovorard was involved with Andrea it opens up a load of possibilities.’

  ‘Ovorard was at a constituency meeting. I’ve already checked. Besides, I don’t think Jocasta would lie for him. As for Tabitha, somehow I can’t see her murdering a love rival in a jealous rage.’

  ‘But if he was going to leave her for Andrea – or maybe if Andrea knew something that would bring everything crashing down around her ears: a major scandal for instance.’

  Wesley knew this was a possibility – but his instincts still told him that Ian Evans should now become the focus of their investigation.

  When they reached the CID office Wesley was greeted by an eager Rob Carter, who looked as though he had news.

  ‘There’s a cottage practically next door to Belinda Crillow’s. It’s a holiday home and it’s empty at the moment but the owners installed CCTV. I’ve got their permission to go through the footage.’ As Rob often did, he sounded pleased with himself.

  ‘Good. Keep me posted,’ Wesley said. The problem of Belinda Crillow had been festering in the back of his mind. Perhaps now they’d make progress at last.

  Neil Watson knew he was in danger of becoming obsessed with Manor Field’s tantalising lumps and bumps and remnants of wall. Now that Charlie Perks had swept the field with his metal detector and the team had begun the geophysics survey, the prospect of a dig on the site was beginning to excite him; and he knew Lucy was feeling the same. It was so good to have her back from Orkney.

  He called Wesley but there was no reply so he tried his home number, wondering if it was one of Pam’s days off work. She answered after two rings with a wary ‘hello’. Then he remembered the anonymous calls she’d been receiving.

  ‘It’s Neil. How are things?’

  ‘I’ve just had a particularly nasty call.’ The words came out in a rush as though she needed to tell someone. ‘Told me I was a bitch and I was going to get what was coming to me.’

  He could hear the panic in her voice. ‘Where is Wes?’

  ‘At work and he’ll be late back tonight. Della’s here but she’s going out in an hour – one of her Arts Committee meetings.’

  ‘OK if I come over later?’

  ‘That’d be great. Thanks.’ She sounded relieved.

  As soon as he’d said goodbye his phone rang again. This time it was Annabel from the county archives – and she sounded excited.

  ‘I’ve located Lower Torworthy’s parish records at last. They weren’t where they should be,’ she added sadly, as though this was a failure on her part. ‘I must say the priest at the time kept them meticulously. Sir Matthew, his name was. He says: “I oft times carry with me to the sick and dying my little monk who says prayers for their souls”. Earlier he says he paid for it out of his own pocket and made it with the help of a clockmaker from Exeter. There are records of donations made by grateful parishioners.’

  ‘It’s the big monk I’m most curious about.’

  ‘I’m coming to that,’ said Annabel with an uncharacteristic hint of impatience. ‘There’s no mention of it in the parish records.’

  ‘Nothing at all?’

  ‘Odd, don’t you think?’

  ‘Mmm. Funnily enough I’m standing on the site of the DeTorhams’ old manor house at the moment. A metal detectorist I know has gone over this field. I was hoping the big friar would be buried in lead like his little counterpart but there’s nothing.’

  ‘I’ll get these records scanned and send them over to you.’ She paused. ‘Do you think there was something dubious about this big friar?’

  ‘That’s what I intend to find out,’ said Neil.

  As yet there’d been no word from Rob about the CCTV which, he claimed, was in a perfect position to capture any comings and goings at Belinda Crillow’s cottage. Wesley was waiting impatiently for the result. Whoever was terrorising Belinda might also be threatening his family so a picture of the tormentor might help clear up the business once and for all. All the threats had been made to Pam and not directly to himself so perhaps they saw her as his vulnerable spot.