Edris looked at the pigs. ‘It’s not the mud I’m afraid of.’
‘Really?’ Meadows grinned. ‘They won’t hurt you.’ Meadows opened the gate. ‘Quick we don’t want to let them out.’
‘They bite,’ Edris said.
‘Only if they are hungry. They can smell carnivores. I’ll be alright, but they may want to take revenge on you.’
‘You’re not helping.’ Edris moved through the gate and stayed close to Meadows as they walked across the field, his eyes watchful of the pigs.
A line of new fence posts ran across the top of the field and Rhodri and Anthony were hammering them in with sledgehammers. Both men wore only jeans and T-shirts despite the cold and Meadows could see Rhodri’s toned muscles and the tattoo on his arm. He thought Rhodri would easily have the strength to overpower both Dr Rowlands and Donald.
Anthony put down his sledgehammer when he saw Meadows and Edris approach and Rhodri stopped work and moved to join them.
‘Have you brought news of an arrest?’ Anthony asked as he wiped his brow.
‘No, we’ve come to talk to Rhodri.’
‘What about?’ Rhodri asked.
‘We’d like you to come to the station to answer a few questions,’ Meadows said.
‘You!’ Anthony shouted. He grabbed the sledgehammer and lifted it in the air as he moved towards Rhodri.
Meadows stepped between the two men and caught the sledgehammer as it came down, he felt the impact through his wrist. Anthony tried to pull the weapon back.
‘No,’ Meadows said. ‘Don’t be stupid, Anthony. We just want to talk to him.’
‘I didn’t touch her,’ Rhodri said backing away.
‘We need to speak to him about Dr Rowlands,’ Meadows said as Edris stepped beside Anthony and tried to restrain him.
Anthony was breathing hard, his eyes wide and nostrils flaring but he relaxed his grip. ‘What have you done, Rhodri?’
‘Nothing,’ Rhodri said. ‘Tell him.’
‘Anthony, please,’ Meadows said. ‘You need to let us do our job. Rhodri may have some information.’
‘If I find out you had anything to do with Stacey’s murder there won’t be no need for a trial.’
‘You know I wouldn’t hurt Stacey,’ Rhodri said. ‘Come on, I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.’
Anthony allowed Meadows to take the sledgehammer. ‘If you know who did this, you better tell them.’
‘I don’t know anything,’ Rhodri said.
‘Come on, let’s calm things down. Rhodri, you better come with us,’ Meadows said.
Rhodri nodded. ‘I’ll see you later, I’ll come back to finish the fence.’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Anthony said.
‘But I–’
‘Let’s just give Anthony some space, shall we,’ Edris said taking Rhodri by the arm and leading him away.
When Meadows felt certain Anthony wasn’t going to attack Rhodri again, he moved away.
‘Just because we take someone in for questioning it doesn’t mean that they are guilty,’ Meadows said. ‘There is a process that we have to follow, and speculation and rumour doesn’t help. I promise you that I will tell you personally when we charge someone with Stacey’s murder. Rhodri has a family, you know the situation with his son. It’s not fair on his wife if people start coming to their own conclusions. I would ask you to keep this to yourself for the time being.’
‘Fine, are you gonna give me back the sledge so I can get back to work?’
Meadows figured Rhodri was far enough away, so he handed back the sledgehammer and followed Edris and Rhodri.
Edris had put Rhodri in the back of the car and was sat next to him when Meadows got in. He turned around in the seat and looked at Rhodri.
‘When we get to the station, you will be formally arrested. I didn’t want to do it in front of Anthony so I hope you will have the courtesy to behave yourself while I drive.’
‘Arrest?’ Rhodri paled. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘It will all be explained to you. I suggest you keep quiet now and wait for legal representation.’
Rhodri remained quiet on the journey and when they arrived at the station Meadows formally arrested him and left him with the custody sergeant to explain his rights.
After a cup of tea and something to eat, Meadows ran a background check on Rhodri and put together a file. The incident board was now crowded with information and while lines could be drawn to join Stacey, Donald, and Dr Rowlands, there didn’t seem to be anything that linked Ryan and Jean Phillips other than the Bible verses found on the brick.
‘Rhodri’s solicitor is here,’ Edris said. ‘He’s had a chat with Rhodri, and they are ready now.’
‘Good, let’s see if he’s ready to talk.’
* * *
Meadows entered the room and laid the file on the desk. The duty solicitor that had been assigned to Rhodri was one that he had met on several occasions.
Edris sat down, switched on the recorder, and noted the details of the interview.
‘Shall we start with the murder of Dr Rowlands?’ Meadows asked.
Rhodri remained silent and Meadows hoped he wasn’t going to take the no-comment stand. He looked closely at Rhodri’s hair. It was dark brown and cropped short. Easy to fit a wig over the top to disguise himself, he thought.
‘We spoke to your wife this morning and she told us what happened to your son, Harry. Following Harry’s illness you made a complaint against Dr Rowlands.’
‘Yes, it’s no secret,’ Rhodri said.
‘You must have been very angry when he was cleared of negligence by the GMC. It’s understandable,’ Meadows said.
‘Of course I was angry, you’ve no idea of what it feels like. I’m supposed to protect my family. I had to watch my son fight for his life, make decisions to remove his fingers to stop the spread, and again his feet. Every day I watch him struggle, every time he fits, it could be the one that takes him. I wake up angry every morning. It festers away and feels like there is a hole in my stomach.’
‘Did you talk to Dr Rowlands after the tribunal?’
‘Yeah, I saw him outside church, the first Easter after Harry was sick. I told him what I thought of him.’
‘How did he react?’
‘He said he was sorry about Harry, but it wasn’t his fault. That I would have to accept that it was a virus and unpreventable and we should move on with our lives. Then he gave me that smug smile of his.’
‘You felt he had got away with it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘So you decided to take matters into your own hands?’
‘No, but he had it coming to him. I’m not sorry he’s dead.’
‘Where were you on the evening of Monday, the 28th of September?’ Edris asked.
‘I don’t know. Probably at home, I am most evenings. Gemma and me did go out for a meal on a Monday night a few weeks ago. I’m not sure if that was the 28th. You’ll have to ask Gemma.’
‘Well, it would have been late in the evening. After nine, so enough time to have a meal and ambush the doctor,’ Edris said. ‘Do you know Iris Hawkins?’
‘Yes, I’ve done a little work for her. Repaired a couple of fences and done some odd jobs around the house. She can’t manage now.’
‘So you know the property and I expect you know Iris pretty well.’
Rhodri shrugged his shoulders. ‘I suppose so.’
‘I’m guessing she’d make you a cup of tea while you were working. Tell you her troubles.’
‘Yeah.’
‘So you knew she wasn’t well?’
‘Where is this going?’ the solicitor asked.
‘Someone made a call claiming that Iris was ill and needed a doctor. They knew the details of her illness,’ Edris said. ‘Dr Rowlands was abducted from Iris’s property and taken to the church graveyard. You knew Iris well, you had motive for killing the doctor and you’re a strong man. I would imagine you would have no pro
blem overpowering him.’
‘It’s been over two years since Harry was in hospital,’ Rhodri said. ‘If I was going to kill the doctor I would have done so then.’
The solicitor put his hand on Rhodri’s arm as if to calm him. ‘My client has told you his whereabouts on the 28th of September and, as you are aware, he comes from a small community where any number of people would know Iris Hawkins and her ailments. Do you have any evidence that links my client to the murder of Dr Rowlands? A complaint against the GMC is hardly strong motive for murder.’
‘This isn’t just about the murder of Dr Rowlands,’ Meadows said. ‘It also concerns the murder of Stacey Evans, Donald Hobson, and Jean and Ryan Phillips.’
‘What the fuck?’ Rhodri’s eyes narrowed. ‘I didn’t kill them. Do you think I’m some sort of psychopath?’
‘Let’s talk about Stacey Evans,’ Meadows said.
‘What about her?’
‘You knew her quite well.’
‘I work for her father, so I’ve seen her around the farm. She also looked after Harry a couple of times, but I wouldn’t say I knew her that well.’
‘Really? So that’s the only time you saw Stacey? At the farm or babysitting.’
‘Yeah, well, and in the shop sometimes.’
‘Do you have a tattoo?’
‘Yes.’ Worry flitted across Rhodri’s face.
Meadows took a picture out of the file and slid it towards Rhodri. ‘Can you confirm that this is your tattoo?’
Rhodri looked down. ‘It looks like it.’
‘Would you agree that it’s quite unique?’
‘Gemma has one.’
‘Yes, we saw it: it’s of your son’s handprint. Were you having an affair with Stacey?’
‘No.’ Rhodri shifted in his chair.
‘The thing is, Rhodri, you were seen with Stacey on more than one occasion in a compromising position. We also have film footage that shows you together.’
‘Okay, yeah I had sex with her a few times. I made a mistake.’
‘Was she going to tell your wife?’
‘No, she wasn’t like that.’
‘You wouldn’t want Gemma finding out, or did she find out?’
‘No, she doesn’t know. No one knows.’
‘Where were you on the evening of Tuesday, the 20th of October?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘It was the night Stacey was murdered. I would have thought you’d remember that night.’
‘Erm, yeah. I’m not good with dates. I was at home looking after Harry. Gemma had gone to the vicarage to watch a film.’
‘Did you leave the house at all?’
‘No, Harry can’t be left alone. Unless you are suggesting that I took my son out and murdered Stacey while he watched.’
‘I understand your mother-in-law sometimes looks after Harry.’
‘Yes.’
‘So, did she come over that night to watch him?’
‘No, it was just me.’
‘We will be checking.’
‘Fine.’
‘What about Sarah Kelly?’
‘What about her?’
‘Does Sarah ever look after Harry?’
‘No.’
‘Did Sarah know about your affair with Stacey?’
‘No, no one knew.’
‘Someone knew as you were filmed. We know of at least two people who saw you together. You would have a lot to lose if Gemma found out about your affair. Did Stacey threaten to tell her? Maybe she wanted more from you.’
‘No, I broke it off months ago.’
‘The footage was taken last month.’
‘Okay maybe it wasn’t that long ago. Things have been difficult lately at home. Harry takes up a lot of Gemma’s time. He has to have constant care and she’s tired all the time. We have a carer come in twice a week for the night so Gemma can get some sleep but that’s all she wants to do, if you get my meaning. Stacey was a bit of fun, it was like I was free from all the worry for just a few hours. It doesn’t mean I don’t love my wife.’
‘Donald knew about your affair with Stacey,’ Edris said.
‘Bloody Donald.’ Rhodri rubbed his hand over his chin. ‘Yeah, he was always following Stacey. She’d complain about it, but I think she liked the attention. I had no idea he was following us when we met. We tried to be discreet.’
‘Did he confront you?’
‘No, not at first, he put the video on Facebook and Twitter. I was terrified Gemma would see it.’
‘Did you talk to Donald about it?’ Edris asked.
‘He talked to me. Told me he knew about the affair and that it wasn’t fair on Gemma and Harry. He said he didn’t blame me as he knew what Stacey was like. He told me to end it with Stacey and if I did he wouldn’t tell Gemma. So I did. I met up with Stacey and told her I couldn’t see her anymore.’
‘Did she get angry?’
‘No.’
Meadows sat forward and placed his hands on the desk. ‘Rhodri, I have to be honest with you. Things don’t look good. You blamed Dr Rowlands for what happened to Harry, and you don’t have an alibi for the night he was killed. You were having an affair with Stacey and after you claim you broke it off she was murdered. Donald knew about your affair and now he’s dead.’
‘You think that I killed Donald?’ Rhodri shook his head in disbelief.
‘Where were you on Sunday evening?’
‘At home with Gemma.’
‘We will be checking with her.’
‘You’re not going to tell her about the affair, are you?’
Meadows thought that Rhodri looked more concerned about his wife finding out about his infidelity than he did about being arrested on the suspicion of murder.
‘You’re a religious man. Tell me about Leviticus,’ Meadows said.
‘What?’
‘You must be familiar with the Bible verse “an eye for an eye.”’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
‘Is this relevant?’ the solicitor asked.
‘Yes, it is,’ Meadows said.
‘How about Revelation 17.’
Rhodri looked blank.
Meadows took a photo from the file and slid it towards Rhodri.
Rhodri looked down at the photo showing the writing on Stacey’s stomach and recoiled.
‘Someone wrote that on Stacey’s body. And this one.’ Meadows took another photo from the file. ‘The same writing was found on Dr Rowlands; this time, a different Bible verse.’
Rhodri turned his head away refusing to look at the image. The solicitor took a quick peek and curled his lips in disgust.
‘You must have come across these verses in the Bible.’
‘I don’t read the Bible. Can you put them away?’ Rhodri waved his hand at the photos.
Meadows wondered why Rhodri was afraid to look. Could it be that he knew what to expect from the doctor’s photo, maybe it brought back the memory of brutally killing him.
Meadows returned the photos to the file. ‘You go to church every Sunday.’
‘Yes, for Gemma and Harry.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘When Harry was in hospital we thought he was going to die. There was a vicar there, you know a hospital chaplain. He came to sit with us. Every day he came and sat, talking in this soothing tone. He even prayed with us and it helped. I can’t tell you why. Gemma and me would go to the hospital chapel, just sit there and pray. We prayed so hard for God to save our son. God answered our prayers. The more we prayed, the stronger Harry got until he was out of danger. Gemma has never forgotten that time. I figured we owed God. When we brought Harry home from hospital we started to go to church. Most of it goes over my head. For me it’s simple, we go to church to give thanks, it doesn’t matter that half the time I don’t understand. Vicar Daniels said it’s what lives in our hearts that’s important, not being able to quote the Bible or read it cover to cover. When I enter the church on a Sunday morning I
feel peaceful. All the anger drains away and the gnawing in my stomach disappears. For an hour or so I can be still. I don’t suppose you can understand that.’
‘Yes, I do understand it. Believe me, I have respect for all religions, but when those ideals and beliefs are taken to the extreme, then I have a problem with understanding. In this case, from what I can understand, some archaic form of justice has been carried out. Jesus is about love, wouldn’t you agree?’
‘Yes.’
‘And forgiveness?’
Rhodri shrugged his shoulders.
‘Did you forgive Dr Rowlands?’
‘No, I could never forgive that man.’
‘Some would say that’s not a very Christian view. Now the doctor is dead. Do you feel that justice has been done? Do you now feel peaceful?’
‘It hasn’t changed anything for Harry.’
‘So why kill him?’ Edris asked.
‘I didn’t. The man had it coming. There are other people whose lives have been destroyed because he couldn’t be bothered to do his job.’
‘Like Sarah Kelly?’
‘I suppose.’
‘What is your relationship to Sarah?’
‘We are friends.’
‘Is that all?’
‘Yes.’
‘You had an affair with Stacey, perhaps you also had an affair with Sarah. She’s a lonely woman, you had a lot in common. Both of you were filled with anger and hate for Dr Rowlands,’ Edris said.
‘No, I told you I made a mistake with Stacey. I don’t make a habit of sleeping around.’
‘Did you know Ryan and Jean Phillips?’ Meadows asked.
Rhodri looked confused by the sudden change of question.
‘No, well… I’ve heard of them. Mary Beynon lives next door to me. Everyone knows what happened to her granddaughter and who was to blame.’
‘Yes, her daughter is in prison serving time for negligence which resulted in her daughter’s death.’
‘Yeah, but they were Ryan’s drugs the child got hold of. He was just as guilty for her death.’
‘How do you know that? You weren’t there.’
‘Mary told me everything.’
‘Do you feel sorry for Mary?’ Meadows asked.
‘Yeah, I know what it feels like to almost lose a child so I imagine the pain must be unbearable.’
‘Did you think that Ryan and Jean Phillips dying would bring her some peace? You figured you’d got away with killing the doctor so why not those two.’
A Knot of Sparrows Page 16
