Moment of Truth, page 17
The solicitor put his hand on the table. ‘Is there anything to suggest that this item was actually purchased or owned by Ms Scott?’ he asked, the question dripping with subtext.
‘It was in her house, amongst her belongings. So yes, I’d say there’s quite a lot that suggests that. Can you tell me what you needed it for, Toni?’
Toni Scott remained quiet.
Caroline decided to launch another curveball. ‘Do you recognise this item?’ she asked, passing across a photograph of a horseshoe. ‘We discovered it buried in one of the flowerbeds in your garden. Can you tell me how it got there?’
Toni’s eyes stayed locked onto the photo, but she didn’t respond.
‘I don’t think Ms Scott will be making any comment at this time,’ the solicitor said.
Caroline ignored him. ‘Okay, well if you don’t want to tell us, the only option we’ve got is to put our own theories out there and see how they land. So how about I tell you what I think happened? I think you broke into Clive Thornton’s house that night. I don’t think it was a burglar who got interrupted before they managed to get anything. I think it was you, and you got exactly what you were after. You wanted to copy his keys — specifically his key to Oakham Castle. That’s how you managed to get into the castle through the back door, and how you managed to hide yourself away without being spotted on CCTV or coming in through the main entrance. You knew you could tell Clive you’d come in the usual way and he just hadn’t seen you. Maybe it was all part of one of your roleplaying games. I don’t know. But I think that’s how you got in. We know you didn’t use the main entrance, and we know you weren’t picked up on CCTV. Then all you had to do was wait for Clive to close the castle for the night, cut the power so you wouldn’t be picked up on the internal CCTV, and then you were free to come out and do what you did.’
‘Do you have anything other than wild theory, Detective Inspector?’ the solicitor asked.
Caroline ignored him again. ‘You see, this all seems to make perfect sense to me so far, Toni. But there was something that didn’t quite seem to fit. Again, it was the break-in at Clive and Susan Thornton’s place. We know the person who broke in didn’t take anything, and the theory was they’d been disturbed and disappeared before they’d taken anything. Strange they got away with absolutely nothing, but not unheard of. But what didn’t quite fit was that Clive reported the break-in to the police the next morning, and when the police called back, Susan answered the phone and was clear that they didn’t want to pursue the matter further. Of course, I understand that nothing was taken and maybe they thought there was no need for any action, but if your house has just been broken into, you feel scared. Unsafe. Insecure. You want the police to catch whoever did it, if only to make sure they won’t come back and try again. You don’t just replace the broken window and carry on as if nothing ever happened. Unless, of course, you knew the person who’d broken it, or if you’d somehow managed to mete out your own form of justice.’
‘What are you insinuating, DI Hills?’ the solicitor asked.
Caroline watched as tears began to form in Toni’s eyes.
‘She didn’t do anything wrong,’ Toni said, eventually. ‘She stood by that man for years. She shut herself off to all his ways, all the things he’d tried to keep hidden behind closed doors. She kept herself just the other side of the door, standing guard over it, never quite knowing what was behind it either. And do you know why? Because she didn’t want to look inside. She couldn’t bear to think about what she might find. She kept herself firmly swept up in the narrative he’d woven for everyone else, too. And why wouldn’t she? If she did otherwise, it meant her whole adult life had been a lie.’
‘What happened, Toni?’
Toni looked away and shook her head as more tears began to fall.
‘What’ll happen to Susan?’
‘That depends entirely on what she’s done.’
‘Nothing. She did nothing. That’s my whole point.’
In that moment, Caroline was pretty sure she knew exactly what Toni meant.
‘When you say she did nothing…’
Toni sighed and leaned back in her chair. ‘I mean she did nothing.’
‘Did you know Susan went to visit Kelly at your sister’s house?’
Caroline watched as Toni registered this — the reaction on her face unmissable.
‘When?’
‘Last night. You might as well tell us what happened, Toni. What was Susan’s involvement in this? Did she put you up to it?’
‘No. Like I said, she did nothing.’
‘But she knew what you were going to do?’
Toni’s silence told Caroline all she needed to know. Caroline leaned forward on her elbows again.
‘Toni, I think everyone’s had enough of lies and deceit for one lifetime, don’t you? This whole sorry saga was all to do with the truth coming out once and for all. It’s not going to do anyone any favours to hide things at this stage.’
‘I know. But I don’t want to see another wronged woman going down and being punished for what that man did.’
‘This has nothing to do with what Clive Thornton did, Toni. It’s to do with what Susan Thornton did or didn’t do. That’s all we’re interested in at this moment in time. When you broke into the house, did Susan apprehend you?’
Toni gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. ‘She had the fright of her life. She heard a noise and thought the cat had knocked something over. I think the only reason she didn’t start screaming was because she could see I was as scared as she was.’
‘And did you talk?’
Toni nodded again. ‘It all came out. It couldn’t not. We sat and talked for over an hour. Clive was out cold. He’s been on sleeping tablets for years. It all adds up now. Who on earth could fall asleep easily with all that on his conscience? So I told her everything. I told her about our affair. I told her what he’d done to Kelly. And I told her I’d broken in to make a copy of his keys, so I could make sure he got what he deserved.’
‘Did you tell her you were planning to murder him?’
Toni shook her head. ‘No. She didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell.’
Caroline registered the meaning of this. Without clear evidence, claiming conspiracy to murder would be difficult, to say the least. But she had no doubt in her mind that Susan Thornton must have at least considered the possibility that this was what Toni had been insinuating. In any case, at the very least, she’d simply sat back and let events take their course.
‘So what, she just said “Sure, take the keys and do what you like”?’ Caroline asked.
‘Not quite, no. Nothing was really said. She just stood up and went to go back upstairs.’
‘And did she?’
‘She was about to. But then I asked her to do something for me.’
‘Go on.’
‘I asked her to keep an eye on Kelly. Check in on her. If I ended up going anywhere. I didn’t say prison. I don’t know if I was even thinking prison. In my mind, I was probably thinking of a wooden box. But I asked her to watch over her from time to time. If she could.’
‘And what did she say?’
‘She didn’t say anything.’
Caroline watched as Toni looked down at her own hands. To her, this was a tale of two women, each remarkable in their own way, dealing with extreme trauma in two very different fashions. And it struck her that Susan Thornton, a woman who rarely said a word, could still so often say so much.
56
Caroline sat down in Chief Superintendent Derek Arnold’s office, having been called in to see him “at her earliest convenience”. She had an idea as to how it might go: he’d congratulate her, point out the levels of funding and resources were clearly proven adequate, mention a couple of things she could’ve done better, then wish her all the best and send her on her way.
The meeting started with Arnold steepling his hands in front of his face as he observed her, like she was some sort of exhibit in a zoo.
‘Not the outcome any of us expected a few days ago, is it?’ he said.
‘Well, no,’ Caroline replied. ‘But with all due respect, sir, if we’d known everything a few days ago, we wouldn’t be sitting here now.’
‘I was referring more to the use of police resources in flying over to Norway to chase a dead end lead.’
Caroline bit her tongue. It had been Arnold’s suggestion to go to Norway — not hers — but she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere to point that out. ‘Bearing in mind the information we had available to us at the time, and the position we were in, I still believe that was the right decision. Of course, had we known what we know now, we would have done things differently. But we didn’t. So we couldn’t.’
Arnold nodded slowly. ‘I see what you’re saying. But that doesn’t mean everyone in the food chain sees it that way. And the problem with food chains is that it’s the next creature down the line that gets eaten alive. If they didn’t, we’d have lions and tigers running around eating wheat and maize. I’ve got to report up the line, just the same as you. It’s easy for me to justify that sort of frivolity if it leads to a result, but I’m going to have my pants pulled down big time over this.’
Caroline wanted to ask him why he felt that was her problem, but she thought better of it. ‘If it helps, sir, I think it can certainly be justified as leading to a result. By effectively eliminating our main suspect, it allowed us to focus our energies elsewhere, which ultimately did lead us to identifying and apprehending the killer.’
‘Yes. About that,’ Arnold replied. ‘This would be the killer you had under tight surveillance, but who managed to escape that surveillance — and almost escape justice — despite being watched over by your officers.’
Caroline pursed her lips. ‘Yes, we have identified some procedural issues which could do with tightening up,’ she replied. ‘But again, ultimately that minor slip-up didn’t lead to catastrophe, and we were able to get a result.’
‘It might not have led to catastrophe, but it certainly isn’t something to be proud of,’ Arnold replied. ‘It triggered a panic response, it led to members of the public being disturbed by seeing a woman about to jump to her death, and more than anything it highlighted a complete lack of professionalism on the part of your officers. What more basic elements of policing are there than just sitting in a car and watching a building?’
Caroline didn’t have an answer to this. As unreasonable as it felt, she knew Arnold was right. She just didn’t see the point in him hammering it home. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know what had gone wrong or wouldn’t be putting measures in place to make sure nothing of the sort ever happened again.
Arnold continued. ‘If I were you, I’d be looking for answers. Because my governors will be. And I can only get those answers from you. Don’t make me look like a tit at the top table, Caroline. We might be lucky. We might not. But sooner or later, if things continue like this, they’re going to be asking for heads. And it bloody well won’t be mine that rolls, I can tell you that. Jesus, what a story for DS Drummond to tell to his pals in EMSOU.’
The subtle meaning behind Arnold’s comment wasn’t lost on Caroline.
‘I still believe that ultimately the result speaks for itself, sir. By hook or by crook, we identified the killer, apprehended her and ensured no further damage was done to people or property. Yes, it may have been resource-heavy. And yes, we could have apprehended Toni Scott a few minutes earlier. But we didn’t, and yet we still achieved the same result.’
Arnold stayed silent for a while. ‘The truth is, we’ll never really know, will we?’ he said eventually and unhelpfully.
‘Quite, sir,’ Caroline replied.
‘Well. Fingers crossed, eh?’
Caroline gave a single nod. ‘Fingers crossed, sir.’
57
The familiar Christmas pop songs were a welcome sound for Caroline, as she sat down at a table in The Wheatsheaf in Oakham alongside Dexter, Aidan, Sara and Elijah. She wasn’t usually keen on hearing the same dozen tracks every December, but this year she’d decided she was going to throw herself fully into the Christmas spirit. After all, it’d provide the distraction and relief she needed after a busy and turbulent year.
It’d become something of a tradition to pull the whole team together for some celebratory drinks after the closure of a case, but tonight wouldn’t be a late one for her — she had somewhere else to be.
For the others, the drinks were already in full flow, and Christmas cheer was certainly in abundance. Elijah, though, seemed a little distracted by his phone, and was firing off text messages to somebody at a rate of knots. Before Caroline could ask if everything was okay, he excused himself and headed outside to make a phone call.
Seconds later, a new song came on and Aidan and Sara both gave a triumphant cheer of recognition, before leaping to their feet and finding a space near the bar they’d now designated as their dance floor.
‘Looks like they’re having fun,’ Caroline said to Dexter, who was now the only other person at the table.
‘Got to let your hair down every now and again,’ Dexter replied.
‘You not tempted to get up and join them?’
‘Can’t say I am.’
‘You still planning to spend tomorrow with your parents?’ Caroline asked, noticing the slight flicker of emotion cross his face as he heard her words.
‘Yeah, hopefully. Just organising times and stuff,’ he replied. Caroline wasn’t fully convinced by his answer.
‘You have got plans, haven’t you?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, just got to sort details, I think.’
‘You think? It’s Christmas Eve, Dex.’
‘Yeah, I know. They don’t live far away, though. It’s just been a bit tricky recently.’
‘Between you and them?’
‘Between me and everything.’
Caroline could see a look on his face that told her all wasn’t well.
‘Dex, talk to me,’ she said. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘I’m alright,’ he replied. ‘Just been letting things get on top of me a bit too much recently, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.’
‘You’re forgetting I’m a copper too, Dex. I know when someone’s not telling me the truth, or hiding something. You’re not okay, are you?’
‘I am,’ Dexter replied.
She realised there was no point pushing the subject too hard, and resolved herself to checking in on him more regularly. He’d talk when he was ready.
Unnoticed by Caroline, Dexter tensed his jaw and closed his eyes.
‘Actually, boss,’ he said, ‘there is something I need to tell you.’
Before either of them could say another word, the door of the pub clattered open and Elijah came back in, sitting himself back down at the table.
‘Alright?’ he asked, clearly having noticed the uneasy atmosphere.
‘Fine,’ Caroline replied. ‘You?’
‘Yeah. Just family stuff,’ Elijah replied, before looking up towards the bar and the makeshift dance floor Sara and Aidan had formed.
Although he’d tried to suppress it, Caroline recognised the look of jealousy and surprise on Elijah’s face. It was one she’d seen before.
‘Looks like they share a favourite Christmas song,’ she said.
‘Looks like it. Anyone for another drink?’
‘I’m alright, thanks,’ Caroline said, looking at the series of full glasses they each still had.
Regardless, Elijah stood up and headed for the bar, stopping en route to ask Sara if she wanted another drink, but neglecting to ask Aidan. A few moments later, he returned with one pint of lager, and sat down in the middle chair of three on the other side of the table. Caroline immediately recognised it as an attempt to make sure Sara and Aidan wouldn’t be able to sit next to each other when they came back. There had been a couple of things at work that had made her wonder, but by now she was pretty certain that Elijah was keen on Sara at the very least. If she’d been a betting woman, she would have put money on them already being in a relationship but having kept it hidden from everyone else.
Sure enough, as the song finished, the pair returned and each took a seat either side of Elijah, having been left with no other options.
‘Having fun?’ Elijah said to Sara.
‘God, yes. It feels so good to kick back and relax. You not coming up for a dance?’
‘Maybe later,’ Elijah replied.
He gave a slight eye roll as his phone began to ring again. Glancing briefly at the screen, he made a brief apology to the others, then headed out towards the garden to take the call.
‘Is he okay?’ Sara asked Caroline and Dexter.
‘He’s fine,’ Caroline replied. ‘Just trying to sort out Christmas arrangements, I think.’
‘Oh? I thought he was— I mean, I presumed he would have already sorted that out by now.’
‘Not everyone’s as organised as you, Sara, more’s the pity,’ Caroline said, pushing her chair back and standing up. ‘Back in a mo. Just heading to the little girls’ room.’
Caroline walked towards the back of the pub and out into the corridor that led to the toilets. As she got there, she saw Elijah standing outside, next to the door, his back towards her. Despite the glass between them, she could hear every word.
‘We can still go to your mum’s,’ he was saying, his voice tight and frustrated. ‘It’ll just have to be a bit later than usual, that’s all. Yeah, I know. I can’t help that. It’s a new job, I can’t just suddenly tell them I’m not going to do it. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Listen, it’ll only be a couple of hours, I promise. I’ll be back by late morning. Alright, we’ll speak about it later. Love you too.’
58
The comforting smell of mulled wine hit Caroline full in the face as she opened the front door of her house, closely followed by the sounds of an indeterminate Christmas film the kids were watching on the telly.
