Moment of Truth, page 15
‘We don’t know for sure she’s done anything yet. It could all just be another big coincidence for all we know.’
Dexter started to shake his head. ‘Nah. I think we both know what’s happened. Toni got involved with Clive, who Kelly then recognised as the man who’d abused her when she was younger. She tells her mum, who reacts by killing him.’
‘But why?’ Caroline asked. ‘Why not just report it to the police and let us deal with it? Committing pre-meditated murder is a pretty drastic response for someone with no history of a violent past whatsoever.’
Dexter shrugged. ‘Because she knew nothing would come of it. We all know how difficult it is to prove historic sex offences. You throw a girl with special needs into that mix as the victim, plus the likelihood of a defence barrister angling that the daughter’s just jealous Mum has another man, and the chances of getting any sort of result are close to nothing. What jury’s going to convict on that? It wouldn’t even get past the CPS.’
‘Toni Scott’s DNA was found at the scene.’
‘Yeah, on and around Clive. Which is where she’d spent most of the past few months anyway, by the sounds of things. It certainly doesn’t place her at the scene beyond reasonable doubt.’
‘Well, we’ll have a better idea once we’ve spoken to her. But listen Dex, please don’t worry about Kelly. You absolutely did the right thing. Everyone will be better off for it. If Toni is guilty, justice will prevail. The universe has a wonderful way of making things right.’
‘You’re not the first person I’ve heard say that,’ Dexter replied. ‘But there’s no way to prove that, is there?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘The universe always making things right, I mean. It makes things as they are. What happens happens. As humans, all we do is adjust to what’s happened and make that our new normal. And after a while it feels normal, too. It doesn’t mean it was the “right” chain of events, or that an alternative outcome wouldn’t have been better for everyone involved.’
Caroline let out a deep breath. ‘I think we’re getting a little too philosophical for work, aren’t we?’
Dexter shrugged. ‘Our work is life. It’s people’s lives. Their fates. Their futures are in our hands. I think a lot of people in the job forget that.’
‘I don’t,’ Caroline replied.
‘No, I know. It wasn’t a dig at you. And I know I shouldn’t, but I carry these sorts of things pretty heavily. They weigh on my mind sometimes. Even little things, like the fact we could be about to ruin Christmas for Kelly. And not just this Christmas, either. Every Christmas after, for years to come, will be a reminder of what happened this year.’
‘You can’t think like that, Dex.’
‘I know, but I do.’
Caroline was silent for a moment. ‘You’ve got a good heart,’ she said eventually. ‘That’s a rare thing, believe me.’
Before Dexter could reply, he was interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone. He answered it. The voice on the other end of the line was clear and to-the-point.
‘Sir, we’ve had a report of a female threatening to jump from the roof of an industrial building on Lands End Way. We believe the woman is an Antonia Scott — you’ve got a marker out on her.’
49
‘How the bloody hell did she get up there?’ Caroline barked, with only Dexter as her audience.
‘Christ knows. But it definitely isn’t walkable from Aldi. Not in that time. Someone’s taken their eye off the ball.’
‘Try and get hold of Elijah and Sara,’ Caroline said as she swung her Volvo around yet another tight bend. ‘They had eyes on. She was in the supermarket, they had sight of her car. There’s no way she could have got there in that time unless she’s given them the slip. Find out if her car’s still there.’
‘Will do.’
Caroline took some deep breaths and concentrated on her driving whilst Dexter phoned Sara. It would do her no good to lose her cool now. More than anything, she needed to keep a calm and level head. Even though Dexter was in charge of the case, she would always ultimately feel the responsibility, and as far as she was concerned it was still her team. More than that, though, a woman’s life was now at stake. If Toni Scott jumped to her death, too many people would lose out on answers and closure. She appeared to be the only person who knew everything. Even though Caroline was convinced of her guilt in murdering Clive Thornton, and that would have to be proven, the undeniable fact was that Toni Scott was the missing link. Although identifying and apprehending a killer was always of vital importance, a lot of people missed what that represented. It provided answers. It filled in gaps. It gave closure. And whichever way Caroline looked at it, Toni Scott was the person who held all those cards.
‘They hadn’t even noticed,’ Dexter said, having ended his call.
‘What?’
‘Toni’s car. They hadn’t even noticed it’d gone.’
‘How the hell can they not notice a car’s just disappeared from right under their noses?’
‘They got distracted, apparently. A very similar car’s now parked in the same space, and they didn’t clock it at first.’
Caroline tensed her jaw and tried her hardest not to explode. ‘They got distracted? All they had to do was sit in a supermarket car park, one of them watching the door to the supermarket, and the other one watching a car. How on earth do you get distracted from that? Where are we getting these people?’
‘We all make mistakes occasionally,’ Dexter replied, seeming to be trying to force himself to stay calm, too. ‘And you know that’s not Sara’s style. She doesn’t do cock-ups.’
Caroline couldn’t argue with his summary, but she could also read the subtext. There you are. I told you Drummond would mess up eventually. Although she hadn’t been overly keen on Elijah Drummond since he’d arrived, she didn’t see any reason to let Dexter’s personal vendetta get in the way of proper management.
‘That doesn’t mean she wasn’t bound to make an error at some point,’ she said. ‘At the very least, they’re both responsible. They’re sitting in that car right next to each other, with the simplest of jobs. There’s no excuse for losing sight of her. I mean, come on. The woman might have jumped to her death by now, for all we know. How the hell is anyone going to explain that to the family? Would you fancy standing up in court at the inquest and telling everyone a woman died and countless people went without justice and answers because you got “distracted”? I hear what you’re saying about Sara, Dex, but it just doesn’t wash.’
Dexter nodded silently. He clearly still had a lot to learn about managing a team effectively. In any case, when Caroline was in a mood like this, he knew there was nothing to be gained by arguing back with her. Sometimes it was better to just let things lie.
‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘True. What do you reckon? Another few minutes?’
Caroline instinctively looked down at the centre console of her car, even though the sat nav wasn’t on.
‘Something like that,’ she replied. ‘Fingers crossed, Dex. Every second counts.’
50
Caroline’s Volvo came to an abrupt halt as she and Dexter took off their seatbelts and got out of the car, heading over towards the industrial unit as hurriedly as they could. They introduced themselves to the uniformed officers at the scene, who guided them up an unlocked external staircase and onto the roof.
In moments like these, a trained negotiator would usually be called, but it was evident they didn’t have the luxury of time. In any case, it wasn’t the first time Caroline had been in this sort of situation, and her instincts were that she needed to act fast.
‘Toni? It’s DI Caroline Hills,’ she called out. ‘We met at your house. My colleague, DS Dexter Antoine is with me. Do you remember? Kelly took a bit of a shine to him.’
The mention of Toni’s daughter had been deliberate. The hope was that it would ground her back in reality for long enough to remember she had a daughter who doted on her, and who she’d dedicated her life to.
Caroline hadn’t expected Toni to reply, and she’d been right.
‘Why don’t you step away and come and sit with me?’ Caroline called out. ‘You’re not in any trouble. We just need to make sure everything’s okay.’
‘It isn’t,’ Toni replied, just loud enough for Caroline to hear. ‘It never will be okay.’
‘I know it feels like that now, but it will be. There is a better way through this.’
‘All I wanted was justice,’ Toni called back. ‘If he did what he did to Kelly, then how many others were there? How many would there have been in the future?’
‘I can’t answer those questions right now, Toni. But I can tell you that a lot of other people would have felt and done the same in your situation.’
‘He lied to me. He deceived me. He knew what he was. He knew what he’d done. All he wanted was to preserve his own reputation. His own reality. And you know what? That’s where I agree with him. I’ve always had to fend for myself. I’ve had no-one. It’s just been me, looking after me and everyone else. And I’m not about to stop now.’
‘What do you mean, Toni? Can you explain a little more?’
‘I’m not going down for this. Not when he got away with what he did for so many years, and never had to spend a day in prison. He should be the one in a cell. Not me. This way, I get to go the same way he did, but at least my conscience will be clear. The same can’t be said about him.’
‘That’s not the right answer, Toni. You can still have a clear conscience without having to take that step. Clive’s gone now. He can’t harm or hurt anyone anymore. That’s the main thing.’
‘And why should I listen to you?’ Toni barked back. ‘You’re part of the same crooked system that got us into this mess in the first place. People like him, allowed to roam the streets and harm innocent children, getting away without ever being found guilty of a single thing, and all the while it’s someone else who ends up bearing the brunt of it.’
Dexter put a hand on Caroline’s shoulder, and called out to Toni.
‘Toni? It’s DS Dexter Antoine here. Please, think of Kelly. I know you did what you did because you wanted justice for her. I know how much you care about her. I can see that. I saw it at your house when Kelly took a shine to me. She’s a lovely girl. She’s an absolute credit to you. And she still needs you around. Believe me.’
‘She clearly doesn’t,’ Toni replied. ‘She’s already shown she’s able to fend for herself. She stepped up to the mark. She spoke up for herself. She went to you lot. She’s a far stronger person than I gave her credit for, and a far stronger person than me. I always thought she needed me, but I was wrong. It was me who needed her.’
Caroline clenched her jaw involuntarily. She didn’t like the way Toni was talking, putting everything in the past tense. It always struck her how somebody intending to end their own life could go about their normal daily routine right up until that moment. She’d known people leave home in the morning wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, before throwing themselves in front of a train — having left a suicide note at home half an hour earlier. Toni spending the day at work and then doing the weekly shop wasn’t an unusual run of events in the lead up to what Caroline was now witnessing, but it never failed to shock her.
‘Of course she needs you,’ Dexter replied. ‘You need each other.’
Toni shook her head, but didn’t look at Dexter. ‘She was my crutch. But after finding out what he did… It just changes everything. Everything. I got justice and vengeance for her. That’s what matters. That’s the important thing. Nothing else matters now. The story’s done, and this is how it has to end.’
‘Toni, please,’ Dexter called back, as he watched her take another step forward. ‘What about Run Home?’
Toni appeared to be frozen to the spot. Dexter felt much the same.
‘How do you know about that?’ Toni said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
‘Kelly told me. She said it was her favourite thing in the world.’
For a few moments, Dexter couldn’t tell what would happen next. He could see the internal battle Toni was embroiled in, caught between the unshakeable love for her daughter and her determination to end her own life.
‘She can play that with anyone,’ she eventually replied.
‘No. No, she can’t. It’s you, Toni. It’s you she wants.’ Dexter could feel the lump rising in his throat, but he knew he couldn’t stop now. ‘You’re the only person who can provide that for her. Truly, I mean. Authentically. You’re the only mother she’ll ever have. Yes, someone else can play a board game with her, but it’s not the board game she loves, is it? It’s playing it with her mum. And you’re the only mum she’ll ever have. She’ll never get that feeling anywhere else, no matter how hard she tries to replace it. Once something like that is missing — once it’s gone — there’s no replicating it. Even if she tries, she’ll only ever be comparing it to you. Maybe not consciously, but she will. And it will always come up short. You can replace a person, Toni, but you can never replace the person.’
It was impossible for Dexter to know whether she’d been truly listening to him and was now processing the words as they began to sink in, or if she’d completely zoned out and was steeling herself for her final jump. Either way, he was out of options. He looked to Caroline.
‘Not now, Toni,’ Caroline gently called out. ‘Let’s sit down and get our heads around this properly, shall we? And if you still decide this is what you want to do, no-one can stop you forever. All I’m suggesting is not right now.’
Caroline watched as Toni bowed her head a little, then slowly shook it before turning round.
She waited for Toni to come towards her, and once she was close enough she put her arm around her, giving her crucial human contact and physically ensuring she wouldn’t be able to change her mind.
A uniformed police officer approached and guided Toni towards their marked car, informing her that she was under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Clive Thornton.
A few yards away, Caroline watched as Dexter sank slowly onto his haunches and tried to steel himself.
51
The visit to Susan Thornton and her family gave Caroline mixed feelings. It was a crucial part of the process, ensuring the victim’s loved ones were updated and helping to provide some element of closure, but she knew it would be some time before the book could finally be closed.
There would be a lengthy and painful court process to come first, in which every detail of Clive’s secret life would be disclosed and examined in front of a room full of strangers, in an attempt to determine what had happened and who was responsible. Caroline found this was often the most distressing part for families, and that not only did it drag out the pain of their loss and make it worse, but that it could even taint the happy memories they had of their loved one. Missing a family member who’d been taken from you too soon was one thing, but to discover they’d actually been a monster who’d been living a double life and ruined others? That was the sort of experience that would take a lifetime to even begin to get over.
All of that aside, Caroline still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that there was something not quite right about Susan Thornton. As was so often the case, it was impossible to put her finger on what it was, but over the years she’d come to trust her intuition and follow it. More often than not, it yielded results.
She and Dexter were sitting in the living room of the Thornton family home, Ross and Emma — Clive and Susan’s children — still in temporary residence.
‘Emma and I were saying we’ll have to stay until after Christmas and New Year,’ Ross murmured aside to Caroline as Susan finished making cups of tea in the kitchen. ‘She can’t be on her own at this time of year. Not this soon. But then after New Year’s not much better, is it? They talk about Blue Monday and all of that. Dark winter’s nights. It’s meant to be the bleakest time of the year for people anyway, without all this going on. But when’s the right time? We can’t stay forever.’
‘It’s a tricky one to navigate,’ Caroline replied. ‘To be honest, I don’t think there ever is a right time. Grief’s one of those situations where you can easily get it wrong, but there’s no real way to get it right. Not one that anyone else can advise on, anyway. Everyone deals with it in different ways. The best thing I could offer you is to suggest you talk about it. Talk about your dad. Talk about what happened. That way you can all process it in your own ways. Just speaking about it and putting it into words can be really therapeutic. It can take the sting out of it, certainly in the long run, even if it makes it more painful right now.’
Ross slowly nodded. ‘Yeah, you’re right. It’s just so difficult to see when you’re in the middle of it all. People say “it’ll get easier”, “please talk to me”, “time is a great healer” and all of those things. And deep down you know it’s true. They’re exactly the things we all say to everyone when they’re going through stuff. But it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference when you’re on the receiving end. You don’t want it to heal. You don’t want it to get easier. You just want things to go back to the way they were.’
Caroline gave a sympathetic smile. ‘I know. But accepting that change has happened is key. That’s what moves you out of denial and desperation and into acceptance. It’s the only way through. Sorry, I’m aware I’m probably not helping. Like you said, it’s the same trite stuff everyone else has been saying.’
‘It’s okay. I appreciate the sentiment.’
Susan Thornton re-appeared carrying a tray laden with mugs of tea, and put it down on the coffee table before sitting down in an armchair the others had left vacant. As she did so, Ross and Emma exchanged a glance that Caroline and Dexter couldn’t quite decode.
‘What?’ Susan asked, spotting the look. ‘It’s not as if he’s going to be wanting it, is it?’
