by Wonny Lea
Martin sat down and deliberately stared hard at Dan Painter. The man looked as if he was struggling with a recurring nightmare and Martin’s first question brought it into sharp focus.
‘Where is Susan Evans?’
There was no response and so the question was repeated.
‘Where is Susan Evans?’
Painter stared into space, space that mercifully for him was not occupied by a vision of Susan Evans.
Martin shrugged his shoulders and looked towards the solicitor. ‘Well, I’ve got all day if necessary but I was under the impression that you need to be somewhere else.’
‘My client has no idea where Susan Evans is.’
‘Well, would he like to tell me that?’ suggested Martin.
Painter picked up on the conversation and said that it was true.
‘Just for clarification,’ continued Martin. ‘You say you have no idea where Susan Evans is?’
‘Yes.’
‘I don’t believe you – I think you know exactly where she is.’
‘Where are you going with this?’ asked the solicitor. ‘Mr Painter has already told you he doesn’t know the whereabouts of Susan Evans.’
‘Yes, and as I have already said, I think he does, so are we going to go round in ever-decreasing circles or is he going to tell me what happened in the caravan? I’m anxious to know if your client left her there dead or alive.’
Martin’s words were not lost on the solicitor, who had clearly not been as well briefed as he’d imagined. The words were not lost on Dan Painter either, who felt physically sick, which brought back memories of his vomiting over the dead but still-warm body of Susan Evans. He felt a burning sensation as acid bile entered the back of his throat and he swallowed hard to keep it down.
Surely this detective hadn’t found the caravan? Surely if they had found Susan’s body he would now be under arrest for murder? He could feel the eyes of everyone including his solicitor staring at him and willing him to speak, but his voice had forsaken him and all he could do was keep swallowing.
‘I would like some time alone with my client. This line of questioning is not something we had anticipated and I need to be sure he understands his legal position and his rights.’ The solicitor stood up and Martin spoke into the tape. ‘Interview suspended at 12.10.’
‘We will re-convene in ten minutes, that should give you more than enough time to advise your client to make a clean breast of things. In spite of your lack of trust you must tell him that it will be in his best interests. Be assured we will find Susan Evans and we have very grave concerns regarding her safety.
‘With Mr Painter’s cooperation it could take us a few hours to find her, but if it takes weeks or even months then so be it. Most judges will look favourably at an accused who has saved the police force that level of unnecessary work. You should advise your client to think carefully about that.’
After what was considerably less than the agreed ten minutes Matt re-started the tape and the interview recommenced.
‘My client wishes to withdraw his original statement and to give a full and honest account of the kidnapping. He still maintains that Susan Evans pushed him into it and that were it not for her he would never have contemplated taking the boy.
‘The caravan that you mentioned is the place where they had always intended to take Jason and his mother would have been given directions to find him there. I cannot express sufficiently that Mr Painter never intended the boy to come to any harm and it was when he believed the boy was at risk that the accident happened.’
Before the solicitor could continue DCI Phelps set out the rules. ‘I would like Mr Painter to tell me everything from start to finish and in his own words.’
Nearly two hours later Matt systematically recorded the time the interview was terminated and sat back in his chair.
Everyone looked a bit shell-shocked and if anything it was Dan Painter who was now the most relaxed. Matt considered the expression ‘confession is good for the soul’ and concluded that there was some merit in it.
He and Martin had a busy time ahead of them and Matt excused himself to make calls to the SOC team and Professor Moore.
‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ grumbled Matt as for the second time that day he and Martin were being driven in one of the squad cars. ‘Well so much for my desire to have an easy day. I thought we would just be sweeping up all the details of the kidnapping, not adding murder to the list. Mind you, when this case came in I had visions of finding the body of a child, but thank God that didn’t happen. Painter has certainly painted himself into one hell of a messed-up picture. Do you believe his final version of events?’
Martin was looking through the window of the marked police car as it left the main traffic routes and headed down a little-used coastal road. ‘Yes I do. It’s tragic really because I don’t think he is intrinsically an evil man. I think he was flattered by the attention of a much younger woman and one who would apparently do almost anything for money. I certainly believe he wouldn’t have harmed the boy, and as we know from the hospital Jason was made ill by a particularly nasty virus, and that wasn’t something Painter could have predicted.
‘So leaving aside the kidnapping you think this body we are about to find is basically the result of a domestic that got out of hand?’ Matt shook his head. ‘What a bloody mess, and there definitely won’t be any young women to console him where he’s going.’
The car bumped over some rough ground and the driver swerved to avoid some large stones. ‘I’m not sure this road is taking us anywhere,’ he complained and brought the car to a standstill. The three men got out and scanned the area and the detectives agreed with the driver.
Matt stared at the ground ahead. ‘It looks as if it comes to a full stop just up there and there’s no sign of any caravan. If this is a wild goose chase …’
Martin was looking back at the ground they had covered and thought there was a chance they had missed a turning to the left of the make-shift road they were on.
‘I can’t see anything,’ responded the driver ‘but jump back in and I’ll reverse back to where you think it is.’
‘Bingo,’ shouted Matt as simultaneously all three men spotted a small a dirt track. ‘Painter forgot to tell us we had to turn off the original road, but it’s clear to another vehicle’s been here very recently.’
‘Double bingo – I spy a caravan.’
The rain that had been coming on and off throughout the day suddenly returned with a vengeance. It lashed against the windows of the car as the driver pulled up alongside the caravan. No one really wanted to get out and fortunately there was no real hurry.
‘I suggest you give Alex a ring,’ Martin told Matt. ‘Get him to pick up Prof. Moore and bring him here in the SOC van. I don’t think my budget will run to paying the bill for repairing the suspension on his Lexus if he drives it up here.’
Matt grinned and phoned the head of SOC. ‘They’re all on their way,’ he relayed to Martin after ending the call. ‘Alex and his team are ahead of the Prof so they’ll wait at the start of the side road and give him a lift from there. Brains seems to think the Prof’s biggest decision for today will be whether to leave his beloved car unattended on the road side or risk the suspension, but he’ll offer the choice.’
Martin smiled at Matt’s use of Alex Griffiths’ nickname. He could remember a time when everyone knew Alex as ‘Brains’, but now only a handful of close friends occasionally slipped back to using it.
Staying dry was not going to be an option and Martin was the first to brave the elements. He walked up a slope at the side of the caravan and looked out towards the coast. Painter had told them as much as he knew about the house that had been planned and even on a wet late afternoon in October it was easy to see the attraction of the site.
PC West, the officer who had driven the car, offered to go back to the main track and ensure that the SOC van didn’t miss the right-hand turn. Martin and Matt walked past the caravan and
looked at a seemingly innocent pile of building rubble – one they knew covered a dark and guilty secret.
‘It’s exactly as he described. I guess Susan Evans’ body is in there somewhere. Come on, boys, let’s get to the bottom of this – in more ways than one.’ Martin had barely finished his sentence when the familiar SOC van pulled in, followed by another squad car.
Alex jumped out and nodded in the direction of the other car. ‘Sgt Evans seemed to think a few extra pairs of hands wouldn’t go amiss and I didn’t argue. From what Matt has told me we could be digging for a body.’
Before he answered Martin went around to the passenger side of the white van and spoke to the Professor. ‘There’s no point in you getting soaked to the skin at this stage so I suggest you stay where you are until the body has been found.’
Prof. Moore looked over the top of his half-rimmed glasses, and, as was his way, looked very directly at Martin. ‘What you really mean, Chief Inspector, is that you don’t want an old fogey like me getting in the way, but I will take your words kindly and stay where I am until I’m needed.’
Matt had overheard the exchange and raised an eyebrow towards his boss. ‘Hold on, you nearly got a thank you there, the old git is definitely mellowing.’
Alex was quick off the mark and in no time a canopy had been erected over the pile of rubble and his team, helped by the welcomed uniformed officers, were carefully removing pieces of wood, bricks, and general rubbish from the area. Everything was photographed and documented and it wasn’t long before one of the officers jumped back startled. Although he was expecting it, he was still taken aback by the sight of a hand that by now was a mottled grey colour but still displayed the chipped scarlet nail polish. ‘Over here, sir,’ he called to Alex.
‘Stand back, everyone,’ Alex called out. ‘You can leave that end and careful remove things from around this area.’
Martin and Matt were partially sheltered from rain picked up by a wind blowing from the coast, and held on to one another as they leaned forward to get a better view of the proceedings.
‘You can come around the other side now,’ shouted Alex. ‘Just be careful where you tread, there appear to be a lot of stones and bricks but there are some big holes that you could fall into – and it’s very slippery.’
In order to reach the space that Alex had indicated would provide a better view, both men had to leave the shelter of the canopy and walk through longish grass that was soaking wet.
‘This is fun, my feet are wet through,’ complained Matt, ‘and he’s right about it being slippery.’
They picked their way carefully over pieces of wood and rubble and then there was an almighty cracking sound and Matt seemed to have shrunk to being just four feet tall. In reality more than two feet of his physical frame had dropped through one of the holes that Alex had warned them about.
‘Bloody hell!’ shouted Martin. Are you alright? For God’s sake don’t move – I don’t know how safe things are.’
Everyone had heard the sound of something giving way under Matt’s weight and stopped what they were doing in favour of a more urgent rescue.
Several pairs of strong arms soon got Matt back on his feet and Alex declared the ground around the subsidence a no-go area. Matt brushed off any suggestion that he was hurt, declaring that it was only his pride that was damaged, but agreed that it had been a scary moment.
Alex brought Martin up to date with the recovery of Susan Evans’ body. ‘I know that you and the Prof both like to see the body as it was found but this case is a bit different to most. You know who killed the woman and you also know how the body was hidden, so there’s no real purpose in either of you risking life and limb to clamber over that lot.
‘If you agree we’ll erect a small tent at the side of the caravan and get the body moved there. We have masses of pictures to show everything as it was found.’
‘That suits me perfectly,’ replied Martin. ‘What about the caravan, can we have a quick look inside?’
‘Sure thing, we’ve finished with it.’
Whilst the body was being moved Martin had a quick look around the inside of the caravan and saw the one-legged table that Jason had worried about kicking over. Everything fitted with Jason’s description and there was little to keep Martin’s interest. He was more concerned by the fact that Matt had hobbled up the step of the caravan and noticed that his sergeant was rubbing his left leg. There had been a time when the two of them had been at the mercy of a particularly evil killer and Matt had sustained a life-threatening injury. A knife had pierced an artery in that same left leg and Matt had been lucky to survive. ‘Are you sure your leg is OK?’ he asked Matt.
‘Fine, guv, no need for you to worry this time, and don’t forget I’ve now got my own personal nurse to look after me.’
‘Yes and I’ll be getting Sarah to ensure you get checked out when we get back.’
Matt raised his eyes to heaven but if anything now seemed to have more difficulty with walking than he was willing to admit.
The professor was already under the most recently erected canopy and studying the body of Susan Evans when they ventured back out into what was now torrential rain. ‘If you don’t already know, Chief Inspector, I can confirm that this woman was strangled and unless I find something else on post mortem then that will be the cause of death.’
‘That fits in with what I’ve been told,’ responded Martin. ‘When do you think you’ll have the results of the PM?’
‘Not today for certain as I already have an unexplained death waiting for me and there are people who have been waiting for answers since yesterday. Best I can do for you is an early start in the morning so if you want to see the full show it will be knife to skin at 8 a.m. How does that suit you?’
‘Perfectly, thank you,’ Martin replied but Prof was already back examining the throat and neck of the victim and simply assumed his suggestion would be acceptable.
Martin turned to Alex. ‘Unless you want me for anything I’m going to head back and make it my business to ensure that Matt gets checked out.’
Alex looked across to where Matt was walking gingerly towards the patrol car and nodded in agreement. ‘The last thing he needs is to open up old wounds; it’s not worth taking any risks.’
‘We’ve got the usual to do here and then we’ll be moving the body back to Goleudy and sealing off the area. For the moment the likelihood of people trespassing onto the crime scene is as remote as the site itself but it never fails to amaze me how word gets out.’
‘Well you know my views on that,’ added Martin. ‘I’d love to know who leaks information to the press, they deserve to lose their pensions, and it would give me great pleasure to boot them out of the force.’
‘See you later, but if you could do one thing for me I’d be grateful. I’ll need to inform Diane Evans that we have most likely found her sister and if she is up to it I’ll get her to make a formal identification. Will you ensure the body goes first of all to one of the viewing rooms and make her look as best you can?’
Alex responded. ‘Of course I will. We should have her back at Goleudy by five o’clock so any time after five thirty will be fine.’
Their driver set off and Martin gave instructions for Matt to be dropped off at the A&E Department of the University Hospital and silenced his sergeant’s protests. ‘Get on the phone to Sarah and I’m sure she’ll come and hold your hand. You’ve probably just twisted your ankle but that hole you fell into contained all sorts of rubbish and I won’t take no for an answer.’
They were not to know that at that moment one of the SOC officers was clearing up next to the hole that Matt had crashed into and he called his boss over. ‘Take a look through there, Alex. Ignore the beer cans and takeaway cartons. What do you think that is?’
Chapter Fifteen
Macabre find
For the second time in one day Martin found himself in Gower Road, Ely, and this time it was DC Helen Cook-Watts who accompanied him. Word had
obviously got around that Diane Evans had been in some way involved with the finding of Jason Barnes because the road was ten times more busy than usual and neighbours and journalist were on the lookout for any titbits of information.
At least the rain had stopped and Martin had been able to dry out whilst waiting for Helen to come from the hospital. She had brilliant news regarding Jason and told Martin there was every chance the boy would be allowed to go home tomorrow. Some other news she had was more disturbing but Martin couldn’t see a way of avoiding its publication.
En route to Ely Helen had talked non-stop and in the main Martin just listened.
‘I’ve been amazed by Tina Barnes in all of this, and I think she’s been more than a little surprised by her own strength. She hasn’t smoked a cigarette since we got the call to say Jason was found and being taken to the hospital.
‘Claire Masters, one of the teachers from Jason’s school, has been a huge support to Tina and she’s the one who warned her to prepare for the news I told you about earlier. I suppose schools are a bit like police stations in that they’re hotbeds of gossip, and at the moment the talk has moved on from the kidnapping to the shock that Dan Painter is Jason’s biological father. If I were Tina I’d be asking for an inquiry into how this information got into the public domain. Tina told us but she is absolutely certain that she has not revealed her secret to another living soul. Have we got a leak, guv?’
‘I don’t think our ship is as watertight as we’d like it to be, but on this occasion I think we could look towards Tina’s father. He’s definitely been talking to the press about his daughter’s one-time infatuation with his friend Dan Painter. It’ll be interesting to see if the headlines announce that Jason was kidnapped by his father or if they ask “Could the kidnapper be the boy’s real father?” That will tell us if they actually know or are just putting two and two together.’
