Shattered Bones, page 24
Maya thought about what Kym had told them about Hanford. ‘So much for the respectful councillor. He’s actually a potential murderer and has blackmailed someone into having sex with him. Bastard.’
‘And,’ said Sean who appeared in the doorway, ‘according to Jonathan Forbes, he wasn’t popular at the Lodge. In Forbes’ opinion he only joined to try and make new business contacts. That fits in with everything I’ve learnt about how decent the majority of Masons are. Like you said, Maya, they spend lots of time involved in charitable acts, something which Hanford never, or rarely contributed to.’
‘And considering the size of his house and knowing his line of business, he’s not short of a bob or two,’ said Maya. ‘What an odious man. How are you, Sean?’
‘Good thanks. I’ve just been speaking to Adila. We’re going to be charging Laing with the attack on Lisa.’
‘Brilliant news. That’s a huge relief. Did you ask him about Trevor Dawlish?’
‘Yes, he’s got a cast-iron alibi. He’s been working in London and only came back up here ten days before he met Lisa, so the dates don’t fit.’
‘Who’s interviewing Hanford?’
‘Malone and Amy Lund from MIT again. We did think about using another DS in view of his animosity towards Amy, but DCI Chambers seems to think it would be a good strategy to keep her in there. I’ll let you all know how it goes.’
* * *
As Malone and Lund settled down to reinterview Hanford, his solicitor provided them with the information no detective wants to hear.
‘My client strenuously denies all the accusations against him. He does however acknowledge, and is at pains to apologise, for his erroneous actions towards DS Lund…’
‘You provoked me and you know it,’ Hanford interjected. ‘But I apologise for attempting to hit you. It’s out of character for me.’
‘Really?’
The solicitor gave Hanford a warning look, punctuated with a raised eyebrow. ‘For the duration of this interview my client will be providing a “no comment” response.’
Malone resisted the urge to mutter ‘for fuck’s sake’ and they proceeded to start putting the questions to Hanford. Both detectives carefully monitored his body language. Although he repeated ‘no comment’ autonomously again and again, his body was throwing off subconscious clues to his emotions. A pursed lip, flushed face, dilated pupils and the twitch of a jaw muscle were obvious indicators of what he thought to the line of questioning. One thing was clear from their mute detainee, the account provided by Bernadette had really got his back up.
* * *
Maya hadn’t been back to the office long herself when Tara returned, laden down with exhibit bags.
‘How did you get on; did you find anything of interest?’
‘The clothing he was wearing, which Kym gave me the screenshot of from CCTV, was a nightmare.’
‘Why?’
‘The guy must wear some kind of imagined uniform. He has twelve pairs of chinos and five pairs of khaki gilets. Weirdo.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Yes. Take a look at these.’ She spread a collection of evidence bags onto the desk. Maya studied the contents. There were several pairs of cufflinks, two pairs of expensive-looking watches and an 18-carat gold Masonic ring.
Maya and Tara eyed each other. ‘They’re the ones taken from Trevor’s cabinet in the study, aren’t they?’
‘Looks like it.’ Maya grinned. ‘Well done, Tara. I think we’re getting very close to nailing the bastard.’
67
After a lengthy and very vocal consultation with his solicitor, Hanford eventually conceded to answer the questions put to him. Spending time in his cell at Beech Field custody had been all the encouragement he needed to start talking. His solicitor continued to advise him to provide no-comment answers, but that meant taking the risk that he’d be charged and remanded while he waited for the trial to take place. Not only did the thought of prison unnerve him, but he also had his business interests to think of. He concluded the best thing to do was tell the truth.
He arrived in the interview room bristling with discontent, already looking a much older, washed-out version of himself.
‘About Bernadette,’ he said as he jabbed the tabletop with his finger, before either of the detectives even had a chance to ask a question. ‘I want to put the record straight right now on that score. Yes, we were sleeping together, but I was not blackmailing her. If you must know, she came on to me.’
‘Really?’ Lund said as a smile danced in the corner of her mouth. ‘A woman over thirty years your junior, who’s madly in love with her husband and in your own words “wouldn’t say boo to a goose”, seduced you?’ She made no attempt to mask the repulsion in her voice.
Hanford puffed his chest out. ‘It may surprise you to know that I’m not immune to female attention, far from it. I have a high standing within the community, a lot of women find success a real turn-on.’
‘With respect, you’re a local councillor with an antiques business that’s doing okay. You’re hardly Richard Branson. More like a middle-class Derek Trotter. If you don’t mind me saying so.’
Hanford didn’t reply to Lund, choosing instead to glare at her, while he chewed the inside of his mouth.
‘Tell us about it,’ said Malone as he leaned towards Hanford in a conspiratorial man-to-man gesture. ‘How did the relationship start and how long has it been going on?’
Hanford gave a wry smile. ‘About six months. I had to pop to the town hall to meet a business acquaintance. She was heading out for lunch as I was walking back to the shop and we got chatting. She mentioned one of the street lights had gone off outside her house and I said I’d email the highways department and get it repaired.’
‘Did you know her address?’
‘Not then, no. She wrote it down for me, along with her mobile number so I could let her know the outcome.’
‘Have you ever been to her house?’
‘No.’
‘Following the unexplained death of Rose Dawlish, our crime-scene investigators carried out a thorough examination of her house. A lot of forensic evidence was recovered from the scene, so I’ll ask you again, is there any reason why we would find your DNA or fingerprints within that address.’
Tersely, he repeated, ‘No.’
‘When was your next communication with Bernadette?’
‘I texted her to let her know I’d reported the faulty light. She was very grateful, jokingly commented I was her knight in shining armour.’
Malone could feel Lund tense next to him, she was clearly bursting with a retort, but professionalism kept her restrained and silent.
‘I replied saying that, ironically, I had the head from an old suit of armour in the shop. She said she’d love to see it and would also like to look around for ideas for Trevor’s birthday present.’
‘And?’
‘She doesn’t work Wednesdays, so she said she’d come then. And believe me she did,’ he said with a lascivious grin as he cackled at Malone and his solicitor.
‘And the affair started that day?’
‘Yes. I’m sure you don’t need me to provide you with step-by-step descriptions of the events leading up to our, shall we say, consummation?’
‘Not this close to lunchtime, no,’ said Lund dryly. ‘We can always revisit that at a later date if necessary. So how regularly did you see each other after that?’
‘Most Wednesdays.’ He suddenly switched on Lund, a flash of anger in his eyes as he looked her up and down disgustedly. ‘I know what you’re thinking, sat there looking like the judge, jury and executioner. You think I forced her, don’t you? Well, I didn’t. She was more than willing. And it wasn’t just sex. Don’t get me wrong, that was good. Would have preferred her to moan and move a bit more but at my age beggars can’t be choosers.’
‘How romantic. So, what else was there between you?’
‘I genuinely enjoyed her company. She was quiet, but fun. She loved hearing all about me and my business and the history behind some of my stock.’
‘She massaged your ego.’
‘No. She was genuinely pleased to see me and spend time with me.’
‘And did it not bother you, knowing she was going home to Trevor?’
‘That ineffectual arsehole, no. It suited me. I don’t want a serious relationship with anyone. I’m happy to get my back scratched now and then, and Bernadette was doing that. All this bullshit that I blackmailed her, it’s a lie. She was a willing participant. More than bloody willing.’
‘We had our crime-scene investigators search both your home and workplace,’ said Malone.
‘And?’
‘As part of that search, I would like to refer you to close-up photographs of exhibits TC29 to TC36 inclusive. Do you recognise these items?’
Hanford craned forward as Malone displayed the images, fan-shape, like a pack of cards across the desk. ‘Yes, those items were given to me by Bernadette.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘To sell.’
‘When?’
‘A few weeks ago. She brought them to my house, I was surprised to see her at first, as she’d already ended it by then. I thought she’d changed her mind about us sleeping together. But she wanted cash for those things.’
‘She sold you sentimental jewellery belonging to her husband while he was missing?’ Lund asked doubtfully.
‘Bernadette had told me before how she was struggling for money. It wasn’t easy for her, she earned peanuts and Trevor’s wage must have been a joke. Plus, there was the added expense of the old woman. I gave her a nice payout for the lot. I’ve been bloody generous to her. I treated her lots of times when we were together.’
‘To gifts?’
‘No, I’m not stupid, just money. Even someone as naïve as Trevor would notice if his wife started wearing a new dress or necklace. I gave her cash now and then. It’s less effort than having to waste time thinking of what to get or spending time shopping for it.’
‘How much?’
‘Does it matter? A couple of hundred here and there so she could treat herself. I don’t want to brag, detective, but it’s loose change to a man of my worth. And not wanting to sound crass’ – he eyed Lund with a wolfish grin – ‘it wasn’t much more than I’d spend on a decent prostitute. And I genuinely liked her, so…’ He splayed his hands indifferently on the table.
‘When did it go sour? If what you’re telling us is true, and incidentally, we will be going through your phone records, CCTV and bank account with a fine-toothed co–’
‘You can have access to all of that, I’ve nothing to hide,’ Hanford interjected.
‘Why do you think she is now accusing you of blackmailing her and, potentially making you look like the number-one murder suspect?’
‘Guilt?’
‘We need more information than just one-word answers,’ snarled Malone.
‘Okay, so she ended it, out of the blue. Told me she was pregnant and didn’t want to carry on the affair. Guess she didn’t like the thought of my cock nudging her baby’s head if I carried on shagging her. Women can be very irrational and oversensitive at times.’ He eyed Lund, goading her, but her face refused to disclose any disgust or annoyance.
‘And what did you do?’
‘Nothing at first. It didn’t bother me. Then I was heading into the town hall to drop some paperwork off, and I suddenly thought Trevor had the right to know. Maybe it was a guilty conscience on my part, but we’re brothers in the same Lodge, and my loyalty lies there when all is said and done.’
‘Nothing more important than brotherly code,’ said Lund.
Hanford held his palm up in her direction without even looking her in the eye. ‘Women don’t understand. Shut up, I’m talking.’
Hanford sighed as he rubbed his eyes. ‘I wasn’t even one hundred per cent sure at that point that I was going to tell him. I don’t know, it just seemed instinctive. I asked reception to tell me where his room was. He looked pleased to see me. I told him we needed to talk, but somewhere more private. He said he was on his way to the precinct and invited me to join him.’
Hanford sighed. ‘I don’t mind admitting I felt like a total shit. He was babbling away, the most animated I’d ever seen him. Usually, I’d have to instigate a conversation with Trevor, but he was full of it. Told me he wanted to get a few treats for Bernadette as it was their wedding anniversary. I congratulated him, then commented how it would be a double celebration this year. With the baby on the way.’
Hanford suddenly silenced himself as he stared awkwardly at the tabletop.
‘And?’
He turned to his solicitor and then Malone and Lund before he answered. ‘He looked gobsmacked and asked me to repeat myself. Twice.’
Hanford puffed out his cheeks. ‘I apologised and said I hoped I’d not pre-empted the announcement. He asked me how I knew, and I said I’d heard it on the grapevine. I had to make something up on the spot so told him I’d overhead the chat while passing the clerical room where Bernadette worked. Made a comment about clucking hens.
‘It was excruciatingly awkward. He clearly knew nothing about the baby. He soon forgot about the shops. We walked in an awkward silence, he followed me aimlessly as I headed back to the shop, we were near Stour Bridge and he stopped at the canal and sat on a bench.
‘I asked him if he was okay, and he just nodded. Then he asked me what I had wanted to talk about, and I made some excuse about Masons’ business. I told him he seemed distracted and it was nothing that couldn’t wait. By then I just wanted to get away from him to be honest, plus I was meeting a client at the shop so couldn’t stop even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.’
‘Could the baby be yours?’ asked Malone.
Hanford snorted. ‘Doubtful at my age. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got it,’ he said, winking at Lund, ‘but I’m slightly past my prime.’
‘It’s still possible though,’ said Malone. ‘You’ve admitted to sleeping with her and now you’re telling us she was pregnant and Trevor didn’t know, which infers he may not be the dad.’
Hanford shook his head. ‘Not possible. We always used protection.’
‘Always?’
Hanford turned to his solicitor and grinned before leaning towards Malone. ‘Ever heard of the umbrella treatment?’
‘No, enlighten me.’
‘When I was about eighteen, I found out that a girl I’d been with had the clap. These days they’ll just treat you with antibiotics and have done with it. Back in the day, they’d stick a swab in your urethra to check if you had it first.’
‘Thanks, I think I’ve heard enough.’
Hanford laughed. ‘Hurt like hell and I’ve never ridden without a johnny since. That baby is definitely not mine. And if it is Trevor’s, I’m telling you, he knew absolutely nothing about it.’
Then
Trevor
Trevor Dawlish had never been an angry man. It wasn’t in his nature. He was renowned for being mild-mannered. He was studious, polite, thoughtful, dependable, and honest.
Honest? Well, most of the time…
The majority of the time.
He had his “little-white-lies”. Okay, and one black lie. That didn’t make him a duplicitous person, surely.
He protected secrets and held his counsel, but didn’t everyone?
He wasn’t harming anyone with the confidences he kept.
Up until now.
Now he could harm someone.
Now, he was raging with an intensity so strong it was a physical burn. A pain so raw and visceral, nothing he thought or did could shake it off.
He was hurting.
He was shaking, fists clenched so hard, his fingernails buried into the palms of his hands leaving half-moon furrows in the flesh.
Right now, Trevor felt like he could kill.
And, as God was his witness, he’d smile while he was doing it.
As God was his witness, he would sing his exaltations as he squeezed out every last breath of the person who had wronged him. And then he would shatter every single bone in their body.
With shaking hands, he reached for his mobile phone and called Bernadette. She answered straight away. ‘Hi, is everything okay?’ He detected concern in her voice and it made his stomach churn. It was unusual for him to call her through the day.
‘Bernadette, are you pregnant?’
There was a silence on the line, but the pounding of his own heartbeat was deafening. Eventually, in her soft voice, sounding even more timid than usual, she replied.
‘Yes. I was going to tell you this evening. How did you know?’
‘It doesn’t matter how I know. How far along are you and why didn’t you tell me earlier?’
‘I’m twelve weeks. I didn’t want to tell you straight away in case something happened. My first scan is next week. I was going to tell you tonight. It’s my anniversary gift to you.’ She giggled nervously.
‘Look, I know how worried you are about having a baby, but nothing is going to happen to it, Trevor. Everything’s going to be fine. What happened to your little brother, isn’t going to happen to our baby. It’s going to grow up to be strong and healthy, just like its daddy. Try and get away as soon as you can so we can talk about it, okay?’
He had so many questions but couldn’t trust himself to speak anymore. He needed to talk to her in person, to read her face while she answered his questions. ‘Okay, bye. Love you,’ he added habitually before disconnecting the call.
He was still shaking and now bile was rising in his throat. He knew Bernadette wanted a baby despite his reservations. They had been ‘trying’ but with no success. She had suggested they visit the doctor so they could both get checked out, but he had made excuse after excuse to put her off, assuring her it would happen in its own time.
