A Knot of Sparrows

by Cheryl Rees-Price

  ‘Did he give you any indication of what was bothering him?’

  ‘No, his grades were good at school, he was predicted to get As. He was going to go to university to study psychology.’ Cerith’s voice broke.

  ‘Was Donald your only child?’

  ‘Yes,’ Anwen said. ‘We had Donald later in life than most couples. But we were happy just the three of us.’

  ‘Did Donald speak about Dr Rowlands?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Was he a patient?’

  ‘Yes, I wanted him to go and see the doctor when he was being sick, but he wouldn’t go. In any case, Dr Rowlands was gone by then. It was about the time we all thought he had run off.’

  ‘So Donald’s behaviour changed at the same time the doctor went missing.’

  ‘I guess so, why?’ Anwen asked. ‘Do you think Donald saw something and that’s why… but he would have told us.’

  ‘We don’t know yet if Donald was a witness to what happened to the doctor, but it would be really helpful if we could see his room now.’

  ‘I don’t see how it will help,’ Anwen said. ‘I don’t like the idea of you going through his things. He wouldn’t like it.’

  ‘It may help us to find the person responsible,’ Edris said. ‘We will treat his things with respect and sensitivity.’

  ‘Fine, if it’s really necessary,’ Cerith said. ‘Come on, I’ll show you.’

  Meadows followed Cerith upstairs with Edris following. The landing was only a small area with three doors. They all stood cramped together. Cerith paused before opening the door to Donald’s room and stepping inside where he stood staring at the bed.

  ‘We won’t be long,’ Meadows said as he snapped on latex gloves.

  ‘Okay,’ Cerith said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

  There was a smell of stale body odour and old socks in the room. The bed was unmade, and a pile of clothes were heaped on the floor. A desk with a screen and games console stood against the wall and was littered with sweet wrappers. There were no posters or any form of memorabilia in the room. Meadows stepped over to the bed and picked up a rucksack that was sat next to the pillow. Inside he found various clothes.

  ‘Looks like he may have been planning on running away before Valentine and Hanes called around.’

  They worked silently, looking through drawers and in the wardrobe. Among a pile of school books, Meadows found a notebook with a picture of Erin taped to the front. He flicked through and saw dates and notes on Stacey’s movements.

  ‘He was following Stacey for a while,’ Meadows said as he handed the book to Edris.

  ‘But why?’ Edris said as he scanned the contents.

  ‘Maybe he wanted to find something out about her he could use to cause embarrassment.’

  ‘Well, he certainly did that by posting the video online, but this carries on after that,’ Edris said. ‘He was stalking her.’

  ‘Which means he could have been aware of who killed her. He would have known everyone she talked to, or if someone else had been watching her. Better bag that up as evidence.’ Meadows picked up the bible from the bedside table and opened it up on the marked page. ‘He was reading up on forgiveness.’

  ‘Poor kid was really messed up,’ Edris said.

  They didn’t find anything else in the room and when they returned to the living room Cerith and Anwen were sitting silently.

  ‘We’ve found a notebook which may be of help,’ Meadows said. ‘It is the only thing that we have taken.’

  ‘Will we be able to see him?’ Cerith asked.

  ‘Yes but not just yet. A family liaison officer will be here shortly and will answer any questions you may have. I am so very sorry for your loss. We will do everything in our power to catch the person responsible for this. We’ll see ourselves out.’

  * * *

  Only Paskin was in the office when Meadows and Edris walked in.

  ‘Valentine’s gone to visit Blackwell. I told her to get off home after that. Hope that’s okay,’ Paskin said.

  ‘Yeah, that’s fine. You should get off too, it’s been a long day,’ Meadows said. ‘Find anything interesting on Sarah Kelly?’

  ‘No, not even a parking ticket. One sister who lives in Kent. Both parents alive and living in Gaer Fawr. She doesn’t use social media. Here’s a copy of her phone records.’ Paskin handed Meadows the sheet.

  Meadows looked down the columns and noted the names Paskin had written next to the numbers. ‘Interesting.’

  ‘I also contacted her work. She wasn’t working the night Dr Rowlands went missing, or last night. They were very complimentary about her. Said they would be sorry to see her go. Apparently she handed in her notice last Saturday.’

  ‘After the doctor’s body was discovered,’ Edris said.

  ‘Yes, that and the packed cases – it looks like she is planning on leaving,’ Meadows said. ‘Good work, Paskin. I’ll see you in the morning. We better get on and interview Sarah Kelly.’

  ‘She’s in interview room one and not very happy,’ Paskin said.

  ‘I don’t expect she is,’ Meadows said with a smile.

  Sarah was sat with her arms folded across her chest. She glared at Meadows when he entered the room.

  ‘Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here? You better have a good reason for dragging me away from home.’

  ‘I’m sorry we kept you waiting, we were delayed.’ Meadows turned on the recording device and noted the time, date, and those present. ‘Did DC Valentine explain this will be a formal interview and that you are entitled to legal representation?’

  ‘Yes, just get on with it. I can’t be bothered to wait for you to get someone who has never met me to sit here and give advice. I think enough time has been wasted.’

  ‘Good, if you’re happy to proceed and understand you can change your mind.’ Meadows opened the file on the desk and waited a moment. ‘When we spoke at your house earlier today you said that you had received a call from Donald Hobson on Saturday evening.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Will you tell us what that phone call was about?’

  ‘I told you he just wanted someone to talk to.’

  ‘I would like you to tell us exactly what that phone call was about.’

  Sarah huffed. ‘And I told you that is between Donald and me.’

  ‘Did he ask you to meet him?’

  Sarah looked down at the desk and didn’t comment.

  ‘He called you because he was worried,’ Edris said.

  Sarah looked up. ‘Yes.’

  ‘About talking to the police?’

  ‘Yes, he’s just a kid, of course he would be worried. I think anyone would be concerned about being questioned about a murder.’

  Meadows noted that she talked about Donald in the present tense. He wondered if she was just being clever or it was the case that she really didn’t know.

  ‘You went to see him up the quarry.’

  Sarah looked surprised at the mention of the location but didn’t say anything.

  ‘You took him a coat, a blanket, and some food. We know someone did. It would be easy to test the blanket and the containers. I’m pretty sure any fingerprints found would show that they belong to you.’

  ‘Okay, fine,’ Sarah said. ‘He was cold and hungry, so I took him some things. If you’ve found Donald why are you bothering to ask me? You can tell Donald it’s fine, that I won’t get into trouble. What are you going to do? Charge me with stopping the kid freezing to death.’ Sarah sat back and folded her arms.

  Meadows glanced at Edris and could tell he was thinking the same: Sarah was acting very cool if she had killed Donald, but then again, she had time to prepare.

  ‘You phoned Tomos John after you had spoken to Donald.’ He pushed a piece of paper towards Sarah and indicated the number.

  ‘Yes, so?’

  ‘What is your relationship with Tomos?’

  ‘We’re friends.’

  ‘Why di
d you call him?’

  ‘Because I was worried about Donald.’

  ‘Why not call his parents?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘Because Donald asked me not to.’

  ‘Did Tomos go with you to the quarry?’

  ‘No, I went alone.’

  ‘But you told Tomos that is where Donald was hiding.’

  ‘No, I didn’t tell anyone.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So Donald calls you, you talk to Tomos and then you go up alone.’

  ‘Yeah, why would I take Tomos with me?’

  ‘And you went back the next night.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Really?’ Meadows raised his eyebrows.

  ‘What did you talk about on Saturday night?’ Edris asked.

  ‘Not much. I told him he was better off going to the police.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He didn’t want to go home.’

  ‘Did he tell you why?’

  ‘No, I guess because he knew your lot would come.’

  ‘You didn’t think it odd that he was hiding away if he had done nothing wrong?’

  ‘Like I said, he’s just a kid. He is frightened of getting arrested by the police.’

  ‘But we didn’t arrest him,’ Edris said, then looked at Meadows.

  ‘Perhaps he was frightened for another reason,’ Meadows said.

  Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘How long did you stay with him?’

  ‘About half an hour.’

  ‘And you just left him there in that small cave. Frightened and alone.’

  ‘I didn’t go up to the cave with him.’

  ‘There were flowers up the quarry. Did you leave them?’

  ‘Yes, I took them up on Friday morning for Erin.’

  ‘You called Donald on Sunday afternoon,’ Meadows said.

  ‘Yes, to check on him.’

  ‘Then you went up again Sunday night.’

  ‘No, I told you I only saw him on Saturday.’

  ‘I think you went up on Sunday. Did you walk to the top of the quarry with Donald?’

  ‘No, I told you I saw him on Saturday and that was it. I didn’t want to go again in case I was seen and gave him away.’

  ‘Someone went to the top of the quarry with Donald. By your own admission you didn’t tell anyone else where he was hiding.’

  ‘Why don’t you ask Donald? I don’t know who else he saw.’

  ‘That’s the thing, we can’t. We found Donald at the foot of the quarry this afternoon, in exactly the same place Erin was found. But you know that, don’t you?’

  ‘What! No, he wouldn’t have.’ The colour drained from Sarah’s face.

  ‘Who wouldn’t have done what?’ Meadows asked.

  Sarah opened her mouth then closed it again and shook her head. ‘I mean Donald wouldn’t go up the top of the quarry. He wouldn’t jump. Is he going to be okay?’

  ‘No, I’m sorry, Donald died sometime yesterday.’

  ‘No, it can’t be.’

  Meadows watched as Sarah became more and more distressed. Edris left the room and came back with a glass of water and handed it to her. She took a sip and set the glass down.

  ‘Are you okay to continue?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘Yes. It’s just a shock. I don’t understand. Why would he do it? He knew the pain I went through with Erin. He wouldn’t do that to his parents.’

  ‘Oh, he didn’t jump of his own accord. It looks like someone persuaded him to go to the top of the quarry then pushed him off. You must see how this looks. First you omit to tell us that Donald phoned you. Then you claim that you didn’t know where he was.’

  ‘I didn’t want to give him away.’

  ‘But you knew how worried his parents were. You of all people should have known what they were going through, yet you didn’t tell them that he was up the quarry or even that he was safe.’

  ‘His father would have gone up to get him. Donald would never have trusted me again. Oh God, this is my fault.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Because if I had told his parents he would still be alive.’

  ‘Who did you tell?’

  ‘No one.’

  ‘Sarah, if no one knew he was up the quarry, that just leaves you.’

  ‘I would never hurt Donald.’

  ‘Who else did he call?’

  ‘I don’t know. I told him to call Vicar Daniels. I thought he might persuade Donald to come back.’

  ‘Who else?’

  ‘There is no one else.’

  ‘We think Donald knew Stacey’s killer. He may have been a witness. I think that is why he was afraid. If you know what Donald was hiding or who he was protecting, you need to tell us. If you are afraid we can offer you protection.’

  ‘I don’t know anything.’

  ‘Why have you packed up your house?’

  ‘I told you I’m having a clear out.’

  ‘It looks like more than a clear out. You also handed in your notice at work.’

  ‘I’m fed up with doing the night shift.’

  ‘You could have asked them to move you to day shift. They are very complimentary of your work, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem. Do you have a new job?’

  ‘No, not yet.’

  ‘So you leave your job with no other form of income.’

  ‘I have savings. I just wanted a bit of space to have time to think about what I want to do with my life.’

  ‘You told us you were working the night Dr Rowlands went missing. We checked with your employer. You weren’t on duty that night.’

  ‘So? I told you I couldn’t be sure.’

  ‘Where were you?’

  ‘If I wasn’t at work then I would be home. Alone. It’s not like I have a great social life. I have answered all your questions so unless you are going to charge me, I’d like to go.’

  Meadows closed the folder on the desk. ‘You are free to go but I would advise you to stay in the area. Aiding and abetting murder is as serious as if you committed the crime yourself. Secondary liability carries a lengthy sentence. If you know anything it would be in your best interests to tell us now.’

  ‘I have nothing to say.’ Sarah stood. ‘I’ll find my own way out.’

  The door shut behind Sarah and Meadows leaned back and rubbed his hands over his face.

  ‘Do you really think she is involved? She looked devastated when you told her about Donald,’ Edris said.

  ‘She knows something. If she didn’t kill Donald then I’m sure she knows who did.’

  ‘But why keep quiet? She must know the danger she is in.’

  ‘Maybe she doesn’t think she is in any danger. If she is protecting someone then she trusts them. That could change now. I think she would have happily stayed quiet about Stacey and the doctor’s murder. By her own admission, she wasn’t sorry that they were dead. It’s different with Donald. He was Erin’s friend, and he also visited her to make sure she was okay. When I told her about Donald she said, “he wouldn’t have”. I don’t think she meant that Donald wouldn’t have jumped. I think she meant that the killer wouldn’t have murdered Donald. That wasn’t part of the plan.’

  ‘So what now?’

  ‘We find out who Sarah is protecting and hope that she doesn’t turn up as the next victim.’

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Meadows was sat at his desk looking through statements before the briefing. The rest of the team had gone to get a morning coffee. Mike from forensics came into the office carrying a file.

  ‘Morning, Mike,’ Meadows said. ‘What can I do for you?’

  ‘Got the results on the limestone found with the doctor. Thought I’d come up and go through it. Get out of the lab and stretch my legs.’

  ‘I hope it’s something interesting. So far it’s a bit of a mess with nothing solid to tie any of the suspects to the crime scenes.’

  ‘Not sure it will hel
p but we do have a partial thumb print and we got a match.’

  Meadows felt a fizzle of excitement. ‘You got a name?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid not. The partial matches a print that came off the brick from Ryan Phillips’ house.’

  ‘What brick?’

  At that moment, Edris, Paskin, and Valentine came in followed by Hanes.

  ‘What did we miss?’ Edris asked.

  ‘We’re about to find out,’ Meadows said. ‘Go on Mike.’

  ‘Uniform attended a call from Jean Phillips the night before the fire. She said that a brick had been thrown through the back door window. To be honest it wasn’t top priority. After the fire I got one of the interns to run the test, we were snowed under with the fire and then Stacey Evans. The results went to Blackwell. Then of course he was taken ill, so I guess it was passed on. It was only when we ran the test on the limestone that we hit a match for the prints taken from the brick, so I took another look.’ Mike pulled a photo from the file and handed it to Meadows. ‘I’m sorry this wasn’t brought to your attention earlier.’

  ‘Shit,’ Edris said as he peered at the photo.

  A coldness crept over Meadows as he stared at the letters and numbers. ‘Thanks Mike, and don’t worry. There is no error on your part. It’s a good job you picked this up now, otherwise we wouldn’t have had a clue.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to it. I’ll move quickly on the evidence from Donald Hobson. I should have the initial reports by this afternoon,’ Mike said then left the office.

  ‘Right.’ Meadows walked over to the incident board and picked up a marker. ‘Edris, what have you got?’

  Edris read from his phone. ‘EX23, Exodus. It’s one of the ten commandments. “Do not lie, bear false witness.” It goes into different forms of lying. The first one, “Put not your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.”’

  ‘Jean Phillips covered for her son saying he was home the day Ella died,’ Meadows said. ‘I think it’s safe to say that one was meant for her.’ He wrote on the board.