Murder in Time Page 9

  ‘No, indeed.’ Ellie grinned, recalling Vera’s accurately aimed knee. ‘I expect he remembered enough about her, too, to realize he might need more than money. In consequence he employed a private investigator to dig up some dirt on her. The man claims to have discovered a witness to Vera killing the doctor. Abdi says that he’ll give the private investigator’s report to the police if she doesn’t hand the boy over to him.’

  A frown. ‘But that’s not possible. Or so unlikely that …’ Jack shook his head. ‘From what I saw, from what I remember, Vera was in no position to …’ He looked away. ‘But perhaps you don’t know about that? I mean, if that got out, it could embarrass a lot of people.’

  ‘By “embarrass” you mean “seriously upset”, perhaps “damage reputations”?’

  ‘Yes.’ He considered his fingernails. ‘I mean, after twelve years. People have moved on. They are in positions of trust, perhaps even standing for election.’

  ‘Aah. Someone who was involved is standing for election to the council? Or for Parliament?’

  He winced, didn’t reply.

  She said, ‘Yes, I see. There’s no statute of limitations on rape, and you don’t want to drop any of your friends into it. But, you did agree to talk to me.’

  ‘Ever since Dan rang, I’ve been trying to think what to say. I’ve always felt so guilty about … Perhaps I do need to confess. Oh, not to rape. No, I didn’t. Wouldn’t have. No way. Only, if I can do something to help Vera, who out of all of us that night … But without dropping any one in it …’ His eyes dropped away from hers. ‘Listen to me. I sound like a child … “It wasn’t me, missus.” But I cannot tell on the others. They’ve all got too much to lose nowadays.’

  ‘Do you think it right that Vera lost so much, and that none of the others should suffer?’

  ‘Life isn’t fair, is it? If only …’

  ‘If only what? What did you do, exactly?’

  He set his mug down, avoiding her eyes. ‘It’s what I didn’t do that counts. You see, when I got there … Well, it was too late.’

  ‘Start at the beginning. You were all in your last term at school together. Were you one of those who thought Vera and Dan were mismatched?’

  ‘Mismatched?’ He stared into the past. ‘We all, or most of us, paired off in our last year, but it wasn’t supposed to be a lifelong commitment. Mine definitely wasn’t. Dan and Vera were floating around on cloud nine, but if I’d thought anything about it – which I didn’t – I’d have said their romance probably wouldn’t last their going to different universities. It was the same for everyone, wasn’t it? I mean, I had fixed myself up with a girl, but by Christmas she’d moved on to someone else, and so had I.’

  ‘You liked Vera?’

  ‘What’s not to like? She was as straight as they come. Hard working. We called her, taking the mickey, “the Lippy from the Chippy”. She didn’t know how to dress, and her accent was definitely “Sarf” London, but she was a bit of all right was our Vera. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.’ He shook his head. ‘That night changed the course of many of our lives.’

  ‘Beginning with you?’

  A sigh. ‘Not as much as Vera, but yes. I was supposed to go to uni to do media studies but, after I’d recovered, I took a reality check. I was no longer so happy-go-lucky. I realized I didn’t want any more years of study. I decided to be practical, instead, and to learn how guitars are made. Eventually, I opened this shop, on a guitar string and a wave of generosity from my father. And never looked back.’

  Ellie said, ‘Returning to that night, can you bear to tell me what you saw? I’m hoping that if I can only get enough statements to prove Vera had left long before the doctor was killed, we can tell Abdi to get lost.’

  ‘I told you, I can’t give you names.’

  ‘I understand, but you’ve already admitted to feeling some guilt about what happened. I’m giving you a second chance to help her.’

  He wiped his face with his hands. ‘You’re right, of course. But even so. No names.’

  Ellie thought about that. ‘Dan mentioned someone. A Raff Scott. Was he one of those who raped Vera?’

  He gasped. ‘Who told you about Raff?’ He recovered himself. ‘Dan doesn’t know. For pity’s sake, don’t tell him. They were good friends.’ He bit his lip. ‘Ouch. I see. You were just guessing. I’m not saying any more.’

  Which meant that Raff had definitely been in on it? ‘What was he like?’

  ‘All right, I suppose. Not particularly academic, practical joker, curly hair. Fifty push-ups before breakfast, that sort. He always dreamed of going into the Army. The tragedy was that he didn’t last long when he got there. Killed in Afghanistan.’

  Oh. One down, and how many to go? ‘I believe three boys took part in the rape. Abdi was one. Raff was another. I believe the third was the one who brought Rohypnol to the party.’

  ‘Nonsense.’ But his eyes switched away from hers.

  ‘Dan says drugs were being sold at the school gates. He said he didn’t know who was involved, but I think he did. You knew, didn’t you?’

  A long sigh. ‘It might have been … Not that I have any proof. This is purely gossip, and I’d deny it if you say I told you. It might have been someone called Spotty Dick.’

  ‘“Spotty Dick”?’

  ‘Acne. We called him Spotty Dick. Dick Prentice. He’s an accountant, quite high up, works for the council, no children, divorced.’

  He’d given up Dick’s name without a struggle. Perhaps he didn’t like Dick much?

  ‘What was he like?’

  A shrug. ‘No friend of mine. A hanger-on to whatever group would have him. Brilliant with figures. He smelt a bit. Anxiety.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘He used to paw the girls. Ugh.’

  She considered his answer. He hadn’t liked Abdi much, had he? Or Spotty Dick. And Raff was dead. Jack hadn’t minded talking about them, but … ‘There was a fourth?’

  ‘No, no.’ His eyes dropped away from hers.

  Ellie thought he knew very well that there had been a fourth and who it must be, but for some reason he didn’t want to say. ‘How much of the action did you see that night?’

  He didn’t mind talking about that. ‘It was a good party. Parents out for the evening, not a bad disco, plenty of beer, plenty of girls. And then, crash, bang and wallop. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Dan stood up to them. I tried to phone the police and was sent airborne. I tell you, my feet left the ground. I hit my head on something, don’t know what, landed in a tangle of bodies. Everyone shouting, disco thundering, Dan yelling for us to get out, girls screaming … hell on wheels. I couldn’t see straight. Concussion. Caroline half carried and half dragged me out of the house and into the garden.’

  ‘Caroline who?’

  ‘Caroline was my girlfriend at that time. She made me sit down and put my head between my knees. Nice girl. No looker, but kept her head. I could hear the panic in her voice, but she kept it down.’

  ‘What became of her?’

  ‘Um? Oh. She’s a professor of literature somewhere north, prestigious uni, you know. Durham? I think. I looked on Facebook once, and she was there. Married, two sprogs.’

  ‘Good for her. So you ended up … where?’

  ‘Behind one of the hedges. Some of the gang followed us into the garden, but we lay down in the shadows and kept quiet. They didn’t see us. Then, every time I tried to stand up, I got dizzy and had to sit down again. The wonder of it was that Caroline stuck by me. Eventually, I’d recovered enough to stand. I’d been to the house before and knew there was a side gate on to an alley at the bottom of the garden. Caroline hoicked my arm over her shoulder, and we set off down the path. And that’s when we came across them, on the lawn beside the pool. Four of them, on their knees around Vera. And she wasn’t moving.’

  Silence. Ellie thought about it. ‘Were her eyes open?’

  ‘She looked asleep.’

  ‘Drugged.’

  He shrugged. ‘I thou
ght so.’

  ‘It was Dick Prentice who brought the drugs to the party, wasn’t it?’

  A swift glance away. ‘I don’t know.’ Was there the slightest emphasis on the word ‘know’? Probably.

  Ellie said, ‘You tried to stop it?’

  ‘It was too late.’ His eyes implored her to forgive him. ‘Abdi had just finished, and Raff was about to … But yes, I did try. I disentangled myself from Caroline and lurched over to them and said something stupid like, “You can’t!” and, “Leave her alone!” They laughed. I could hardly stand upright, and I was telling them to … Caroline grabbed my arm. She said there was nothing we could do and got me going down the path. The door to the alley was open. She said it was no good knocking on doors asking for help at that time of night. She said probably someone else would have done it, but she’d ring the police when she got home.’

  He bit his lip. ‘Poor Vera. She didn’t deserve … Caroline got me home somehow, rang the bell to summon my father and handed me over. We could hear police sirens and knew help was on its way. We were so relieved. By that time I was about ready to pass out again. My father assumed I was legless from drink. He was not amused, but he helped me into bed. I was sick an hour later and, after that, every time I tried to stand upright I’d throw up again. My father rang for an ambulance and got me to hospital. And yes, I had concussion. I surfaced some days later to find that Dan was coping all right, but no one wanted to talk about what had happened. The papers said it was druggies who’d killed the doctor. Vera was nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t ask.’

  There was the source of his pain. He hadn’t been able to stop the rape, he hadn’t asked about Vera afterwards, and he hadn’t gone to the police about it, either.

  Ellie said, gentle-voiced, ‘You couldn’t have done anything much at the time, could you? But because you didn’t do anything then, you’ve lived with the feeling of guilt ever since. Is that right?’

  A long, long sigh. ‘Yes, Mrs Quicke. I’ve lived with it ever since. I went to see Vera some time later. She was pregnant and desperate. Her father had sold the business, and she had nowhere to go. The council put her into a hostel, but soon after she got a one-bedroomed flat. I helped her move. It was pretty awful, but she’d cleaned it up nicely, so later, when a friend of my mother’s was looking for someone to help her with the housework, I told Vera, and she got the job. I ought to have done more, but I didn’t. For months at a time I’ve managed not to think about it, and now …’ A helpless gesture.

  ‘You never talked to Dan about what happened to Vera? He thinks she was a willing participant in what went on.’

  He flushed. ‘It seemed best to let him think that. She didn’t want anything to do with him afterwards, got her father to tell him it was over. Dan was bitter about it at first but, as I told him, it wasn’t as if their relationship had been going anywhere. She was never going to wait for him to train as a doctor, was she?’

  Jack met Ellie’s eye and flinched. He said, ‘You think I ought to have told him about her being raped? What good would that have done? If she’d decided not to see him again, he was better off not knowing. Look, this is just wasting time. I’ve decided not to give you a statement after all. And if you try to quote what I’ve said, I’ll deny it.’

  A disappointment. ‘I can try your Caroline.’

  A grim smile. ‘I doubt if she’ll help. She went off on holiday immediately after the party. And then to uni. I don’t think I ever saw her after that night. Oh, in the distance, once. In the park. With someone else. I started going out with one of the nurses from the hospital. A year later we married, and now we have three children and a hefty mortgage. Story of my life.’

  ‘Not a bad story. Not a bad life. Better than Vera’s.’

  ‘Yes … well. I’ll see you out, shall I?’

  Home again and, oh dear, news of fresh disasters. Rose met Ellie in the hall with a long face. ‘Mikey came back half an hour ago. Playing truant. Got one of his dumb fits on him. I gave him some lunch, and he pushed it aside. Wouldn’t eat.’

  Now that was serious.

  Rose shook her head. ‘Then there was a courier, delivery special to Mikey, and it’s one of those expensive jobs that’s a phone and a computer and an I don’t know what. He took it off to the Quiet Room and he’s just sitting there, looking at it. So I told Thomas, and he was on the phone, so goodness knows if he took in what I said, and then I thought about phoning Vera, but she’s got enough on her plate as it is, so I’m really glad you’re back, even if you have forgotten to get the mince for tonight’s supper.’

  Ellie hadn’t forgotten. She hadn’t known it was needed. But there was no point worrying Rose about it. Rose was worried enough already. ‘I’ll deal with it.’

  Ellie shed her coat and went along the corridor to their Quiet Room. This was where Thomas did most of his praying. Sometimes Ellie joined him, but she was more likely to send up an arrow prayer in the middle of doing something else, rather than set aside definite times to be with God.

  Mikey was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, an expensive iPad before him. Staring at it. He looked up when she opened the door, and then looked down again. Ellie understood that he was waiting for Thomas.

  Fair enough. She went along to his study at the end of the corridor to fetch him. He was busy at his computer and on the phone but, when he saw her face, he brought the conversation to a close and put his programme on hold.

  ‘Mikey needs you. He’s gone dumb and refused food.’

  Thomas got up and stretched. ‘Not surprising, is it?’

  ‘Abdi has sent him an expensive present.’

  ‘Par for the course. Did your research turn up anything helpful?’

  ‘Complications. Neither Dan nor his friend Jack can or will give Vera an alibi. More work needed.’

  He led the way to the Quiet Room and took his usual seat. Ellie sat beside him. Mikey held up the iPad for them to see, and then dropped it, quite deliberately, on to the floor.

  ‘Ah,’ said Thomas. ‘Bribery and corruption, you think? Your father showing you that all the treasures of the world can be yours, if you only agree to his terms?’

  Narrowed eyes. A nod.

  ‘The life he’s offering could be an adventure. Fast cars, luxury hotels, no need to work for a living. Seventh heaven to some. You could go to Eton or Harrow. A first-class education with tutors.’

  Another nod. Mikey had worked that out already.

  ‘Beware of pride,’ said Thomas. ‘You know perfectly well that you have a good brain, and you understand that, with luck, you can get anywhere you wish by your own efforts. Pride, and a quick brain. You get both of those from your father.’

  A face of stone.

  ‘Then there’s integrity. Courage. An equable temper. Love. You get that from your mother. But you can’t measure that in terms of iPads, can you?’

  A dark look.

  Rose inched into the room, holding a plate of sandwiches in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. ‘He ought to eat something. He didn’t have any breakfast, either.’

  Thomas pulled up a chair for her. ‘Join us, Rose. Put the food down. He’ll eat when he’s sorted this out. Mikey, some people think that a person has no choice in life but to copy the traits they’ve inherited from their parents. If that is so, then you are going to be a battleground between arrogance and love.’

  Mikey started at the word ‘arrogance’ and frowned.

  ‘But,’ said Thomas, ‘there’s another theory which says that character is formed by influences during upbringing. You’ve picked up all sorts of other influences since you were born. Your mother’s love, of course. The teachers at your schools, who’ve encouraged or discouraged you. The friendships you’ve formed. The enemies you’ve made. The boys you’ve fought with. The kindness and the cruelty that you’ve observed along the way. And there you were, Mikey, with no father, conscious of having a good brain but unsure how to use it. You must have felt cramped, stifled. Then along
came Edgar Pryce, your stepfather …’

  The boy seemed to have stopped breathing, his eyes fixed on Thomas.

  ‘A gentle soul. I think we can say “a gentle man”. Some people wrote him off because he failed in business, ended up working as a caretaker in schools and died early of cancer. You and I know different, don’t we? Edgar loved you and taught you a lot. You hadn’t been exposed to an educated mind before. He opened doors for you, and for your mother. Edgar recognized your mother’s good qualities. She in turn took heart from his encouragement, realizing she didn’t need to stick to dead-end jobs, realizing it was not too late for her to get more education. To grow, to get a better job. She sorrowed when he died. As you did. Your mother has a big enough heart to love everyone, hasn’t she? But then love doesn’t weigh very heavily in the scales against a life of wealth … or does it?’

  Another frown. Mikey had to think about that.

  Thomas sighed. ‘Then there’s the influences that you’ve come under in this house. Books that you’ve read. Computers offering you a glimpse of the big, wide world. A school where you’re being stretched. You’ve got yourself into scrapes and out of them. Sometimes you’ve been headstrong and needed help getting back to safety, but you’ve learned something about yourself. You’ve learned that justice is important to you, and that it is worth fighting for. If you’d ducked those opportunities to fight for justice, then you’d have a little worm of self-disgust crawling around at the back of your mind. Am I overstating the case? No, I don’t think so. You know the difference between right and wrong – which is one thing – and you are prepared to do something about it if you perceive injustice is at work – which is another. What else have you learned here, Mikey?’

  Thomas leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his stomach.

  Mikey looked at him with narrowed eyes.

  Ellie wondered what he was seeing. Wisdom and comfort? Thomas had accepted Mikey’s forays into the library, had helped him choose books to read, had answered his questions on everything from infant mortality to death ray guns. Thomas had taught Mikey that man could live by Christian principles. A good influence, yes. How much had Mikey understood about what had made Thomas the man he was?