A Room Full of Killers

by Michael Wood

‘No, of course not. The more the merrier. I have a sofa and two armchairs. There’s enough for us all to sit down.’

  Debbie beckoned them all in and led the way into the living room. Again the television was off. It was as if she had been waiting for someone to arrive.

  ‘Take a seat wherever you want.’

  ‘Debbie, let me introduce you to my friends,’ Pat said. ‘This is Adele, she’s a doctor, and this is Matilda, she’s a detective. The one I told you about.’

  ‘Oh my God. You’re Matilda?’ she asked, as if she had been introduced to an A-list celebrity. ‘Are you the one who tried to find little Carl Meagan?’

  Matilda smiled through the pain she felt every time she heard his name. ‘Yes. That’s right.’

  ‘I bought the book this morning,’ Debbie said. She grabbed it from a coffee table beside her armchair and held it aloft. ‘I remember Pat here telling me about you, and when I saw this in Sainsbury’s I had to buy it. It was half price too. Will you sign it for me?’ She handed the book out for Matilda.

  ‘What?’

  Adele stifled a laugh and tried to turn it into a cough.

  ‘Go on, please. For me. I’ve never met anyone famous before. Well, I walked past Carol Vorderman in town once but that’s not the same thing, is it?’

  ‘I didn’t actually write this book, Debbie.’

  ‘No. I know, but your photo is inside it. You could sign your picture for me. I won’t put it on eBay, I promise.’ Debbie began frantically flicking through the pages to the photos section.

  ‘Debbie, I don’t really think it’s appropriate for Matilda to sign a book about a missing child, do you?’ Pat said, leaping to Matilda’s defence.

  ‘Oh. No, you’re probably right. It is a bit morbid, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t offend you.’

  ‘No. That’s fine,’ Matilda said, smiling through gritted teeth again.

  ‘I’m not a very fast reader so it might take me a while to finish it but it’s started well. I hope he gets found in the end.’

  Matilda looked at Pat with a frown. Could Debbie really be relied upon as a vital witness to get Thomas out of prison?

  ‘Debbie, is there any chance we could have a drink? It’s really cold outside.’

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ she replied. ‘Where are my manners? You can tell I’m not used to having company, can’t you? I’ll make us all a nice hot chocolate. That’ll warm you up. I’ve got plenty. Sit down and make yourselves comfortable.’ She ran out of the room like a child eager to please.

  ‘Her heart’s in the right place,’ Pat said quietly by way of an excuse.

  ‘If the Hartley case gets reopened she will get slaughtered on the witness stand,’ Matilda said.

  ‘You should have seen your face when she asked you to sign the book,’ Adele laughed.

  ‘It’s not funny.’

  ‘It is. I wish I’d taken a photo.’ Adele picked up the book and flicked through the pages. ‘She really thinks this is a story, doesn’t she? Bless her. Oh dear, Mat, not a very flattering picture of you here.’

  ‘Mat, look in that drawer over there. That’s where the passport was in a different woman’s name.’ Pat whispered. She went over to the door and kept a lookout for Debbie returning.

  Matilda opened the drawer. It was full of old bills and bank statements.

  ‘Next one down,’ Pat whispered loudly.

  The next drawer contained letters and receipts. At the bottom she pulled out a passport. She opened it at the back and saw the name Catherine Downy written in block capitals. The date of birth was 12th March 1977. The photograph showed a chubby, blonde-haired young girl who looked like she was trying her hardest to suppress a smile. The passport had expired years ago.

  ‘Catherine Downy,’ Matilda said.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Adele asked.

  ‘Catherine Downy. Catherine Downy,’ Matilda repeated to herself. ‘Why do I know that name?’

  ‘I’ve never heard of it,’ Adele said.

  ‘I have but I can’t think where from.’

  ‘She’s coming back,’ Pat said, running from the door to the sofa.

  Matilda quickly threw the passport back in the drawer and returned to the sofa just in time as Debbie kicked open the door. She carried a tray with four mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and tiny marshmallows.

  ‘I thought I’d give us all a nice treat.’

  SIXTY

  The sleuthing team of Matilda, Adele, and Pat walked silently back to the car. Matilda didn’t moan about having to sit in the back. As soon as they pulled away from Debbie’s house, Matilda took out her phone and began scouring the internet. It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for. She told the others and they asked her to read aloud.

  IDENTITY OF MYERS KILLERS FINALLY REVEALED

  The identity of the killers of 13-year-old Felix Myers can now be revealed after a judge lifted a reporting ban.

  Felix Myers was beaten, mugged, and stabbed before his body was set on fire last June in an unprovoked attack which shocked the country. His killers were caught following an extensive search of CCTV footage within the area and painstaking work from police forensic officers at the scene of the murder.

  In a trial that lasted six weeks, the court heard how Felix was subjected to a prolonged and sustained abuse by two boys in his class at school.

  The trial was delayed on several occasions due to a juror fainting upon hearing the forensic evidence and the breakdown of the police officers giving evidence. The jury eventually took just forty-five minutes to find the two schoolboys guilty.

  At the time, Mr Justice Kent said identifying the killers was not in the public interest and would lead to their families receiving adverse publicity. However, the national press has lobbied for their names to be made public, arguing that people living locally already know the identity of the killers and officially revealing them would stop the worldwide press from making the lives of locals difficult.

  After months of court wrangling, the boys can now be identified as Wesley Brigstone and Thomas Downy, both thirteen at the time of the killing. From St Austell in Cornwall, they were well known in the local community as being bright and friendly boys. Their acts came as a complete shock to everyone.

  Brigstone and Downy were sentenced to life in prison to serve a minimum of twelve years.

  Cornish Guardian, Wednesday 4th June 1986.

  FELIX MYERS’ KILLERS RELEASED EARLY

  The killers of 13-year-old Felix Myers have been released early from Youth Detention Centres.

  As the release date of killers Wesley Brigstone and Thomas Downy approached, family members of Felix Myers called for their sentence to be increased, particularly in light of stories in the press about the luxury they lived while in prison.

  Earlier this year we exclusively revealed that Thomas Downy, now aged 22, had received one-to-one tutoring, gained four A* passes at A-Level when he was 17, and received a first class degree in English Literature.

  The date that Brigstone and Downy were released has not been revealed but it has been confirmed by the Home Office.

  ‘Thomas Downy and Wesley Brigstone were released from detention earlier this year. They were sentenced to life in prison and will remain on licence for the rest of their lives. They will be closely monitored and will return to an adult prison to serve the remainder of their sentence should they commit any further crime.’ A Home Office spokesperson said in a statement.

  A representative for Felix Myers’ family said: ‘It is inconceivable they have been allowed an early release. We find it disgusting that we were not even informed of this decision. They have only served nine years and if the stories in the newspapers are true they’ve hardly suffered for their crime in that time. We’re still living in agony. Our lives have been ruined by those two evil boys.’

  Wesley Brigstone and Thomas Downy have been given new identities upon release. However, there are strict instructions
to which they must adhere. Neither of them are allowed to contact family and friends from their former lives, they are not to contact any member of Felix Myers’ family, and must not return to St Austell in Cornwall where both were originally from and where they committed their crime.

  Brigstone and Downy are now free. Aged just 22, they can return to normality and rebuild their lives. The Myers family continue to suffer.

  The Sun, 10th August 1995.

  WHERE IS CATHERINE DOWNY?

  Mystery surrounds the “disappearance” of Catherine Downy who has not been seen since July.

  Catherine Downy is the younger sister of Thomas Downy, who was released three years early from a twelve-year prison sentence for the brutal killing of Felix Myers in 1986.

  When Thomas was convicted with Wesley Brigstone, the Downy family moved to Birmingham to be closer to their son. In the nine years Thomas has been in prison, both of his parents have died – father Robert died in 1988 aged 45 from lung cancer and his wife, Wendy, died three years later from a heart attack aged just 44. Catherine lived with friends until she was old enough to live alone.

  Jilly Sanders, a close friend to Catherine said: ‘Catherine lived for her brother and visited him as often as she could. She has been counting down the twelve years until his release. When she found out he was to be released early she was over the moon. I’ve never seen her smile as much. She talked about Thomas being given a new identity. The thought of not seeing him again was very difficult for her.

  ‘I last saw her on 15th July. She was going into her flat and we spoke briefly. She seemed happy and everything was normal.’

  West Midlands Police have said they have received no missing person’s report for Catherine Downy and are not investigating her whereabouts.

  The Sun, August 12th, 1995

  ‘Catherine seemed to have disappeared around the time her older brother was released from prison in 1995,’ Pat said.

  ‘So Debbie Hartley is really Catherine Downy?’ Adele asked.

  ‘Yes. The photo in that passport is definitely of a young Debbie. You could see it in the eyes,’ Matilda said.

  ‘So her brother was Thomas Downy who murdered Felix Myers,’ Pat said.

  ‘It would appear so.’

  ‘And when he was released he was given the new identity of Daniel Hartley. He killed an innocent little boy – his son, Thomas Hartley, killed too. Maybe some people can be born evil,’ Adele mused.

  ‘We don’t know Thomas is guilty,’ Matilda said, sounding less convinced now.

  ‘So, Thomas Downy was given the new identity of Daniel Hartley. He broke the rules of his licence straightaway. He left Birmingham and moved to Manchester and contacted his sister to join him. She changed her name to Debbie Hartley and they continued as brother and sister,’ Pat summed everything up.

  ‘What I don’t understand,’ Adele said, ‘is why did Daniel Hartley then went on to get married and have kids and have a decent job while Debbie continued to live in the shadows?’

  ‘Well, she’s not exactly playing with a full deck of cards, is she?’ Pat said. ‘It sounds like she needed her brother in order to function. Without her parents she latched on to Daniel and spent her life waiting for him to be released.’

  ‘She must have thought all her Christmases had come at once when he came out three years early.’

  ‘Don’t you think it’s a bit sick that Daniel named his son after his previous identity? It’s a bit like sticking two-fingers up to Felix Myers and his family. I don’t think I would have liked Daniel Hartley,’ Pat said. ‘He sounds cocky and, well, to be honest, a complete shit.’

  ‘But he didn’t deserve to be hacked to death. Neither did his wife and daughter.’

  ‘I think we can discount Debbie as being the killer though. Her life was her brother and his family. Without them, she’s nothing.’

  ‘You’re quiet in the back, Matilda. What are you thinking?’ Adele asked.

  ‘I’m thinking that I’d love to know what happened to Wesley Brigstone.’

  The car fell silent. They were all thinking roughly the same thing – If Thomas Downy, now Daniel Hartley, immediately broke his licence and contacted his sister, did he contact his partner in crime too? If so, was he in Debbie’s life now without her knowing it? She could be in danger without realizing it.

  SIXTY-ONE

  Matilda asked Adele to drop her off at the Northern General Hospital. She had sent a text to Scott on the way back from Manchester but he hadn’t replied. She wanted to assume he had simply turned his phone off as he was in the hospital, but her overactive mind had a life of its own. She was worried Rory had died from his injuries, and Scott was dealing with the aftermath all on his own.

  Matilda battled the stiff breeze and light drizzle as she walked up the steep hill to the main entrance of the hospital. By the time she reached the doors she was windswept and soaked.

  She was directed to ICU, where she found a shattered-looking Scott pacing in the corridor just outside the unit.

  ‘Scott, what’s happened?’ Matilda asked, reading his tired expression.

  ‘I’m just having a breather,’ he replied.

  ‘How’s Rory?’

  ‘He’s fine. They thought he might have swelling of the brain but he hasn’t and there was very little internal bleeding.’

  ‘So he’s going to be OK?’

  ‘It seems so. They’re going to run some more tests when he wakes up but they think so.’ He gave a brief smile.

  Matilda sighed and visibly relaxed. She would have jumped for joy if she hadn’t been so emotionally drained. ‘Where’s his family?’

  ‘They’re through there,’ he pointed to the double doors. ‘His parents are livid. They want to know how he managed to be attacked in a police station. I’ve told them to contact the ACC but to wait until Rory is conscious and their emotions aren’t all over the place. I think I’ve managed to calm them down.’

  ‘Scott, you’re a star.’

  ‘I’m bloody knackered.’

  ‘Look, I’ll get off home. I don’t think my presence will help if they’re still at the stage where they’re looking for an argument. Tell them you’re going home too and get some sleep. I’ll get a uniform to come and spend the night here.’

  ‘Are you sure? I don’t mind staying.’ Scott was obviously worried for his friend and colleague but he looked dead on his feet.

  ‘I’m sure.’

  Matilda left the unit and was crying before the lift reached the ground floor. Relief. She was thankful the rain was falling heavier as she left the hospital. It would disguise her tears. She stood in the car park and looked for her car before remembering she had been dropped off by Adele.

  Matilda was sure the taxi driver had been trying to make conversation but she hadn’t registered. He dropped her off outside the police station and she passed a ten pound note through the gap in the partition. He didn’t give her any change, not that she waited for any.

  There were very few staff around as most of the offices were shrouded in darkness. Matilda made her way along the quiet corridors to the CID suite. She turned on the lights and listened as they clicked and flickered into life. She surveyed the open-plan office: the mess on the desks; the mismatched chairs; the dying pot plants; the damp patches on the ceiling, and the nasty, stained carpet tiles. It was still more welcoming than an empty house.

  Her small office was cold so she kept her jacket on. She powered up her computer and looked through the messages left on her desk. She read a brief note from Faith Easter in her scribbled handwriting about a boy called Malcolm Preston (a name she had heard before, but couldn’t remember where) and put it to one side.

  Matilda looked at the blank computer screen and had no idea where to begin. She wanted to know what name Wesley Brigstone now lived under and where he was, and she needed confirmation Debbie Hartley really was Catherine Downy.

  She looked up at the loud, ticking clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. It
was going to be a very long night.

  SIXTY-TWO

  ‘Have you been here all night?’ Sian asked, shaking Matilda awake softly by the shoulders.

  Matilda opened her eyes and sat up in her chair. Every bone and muscle in her body ached from being bent over her desk for the past few hours. She noticed drool on a sheet of paper in front of her and quickly hid it away.

  ‘What? Yes, I think so,’ she replied, dazed.

  ‘Here, have this,’ Sian placed a large takeaway latte from Costa in front of her.

  ‘Sian, you’re a lifesaver. I owe you one.’ She took off the lid and inhaled the creamy coffee. Ambrosia.

  Sian went over to her desk and took a Twirl from her snack drawer. ‘It’s not the healthiest breakfast snack in the world, but it will give you a sugar rush.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘You’re going to make yourself ill. You need to have a proper night’s sleep.’

  ‘I know. I didn’t intend to spend all night here. I went to see how Rory was and just ended up back here.’

  Matilda saw the pad in front of her computer where she had written down everything she had found out about Debbie Hartley’s brother and his former partner in crime. As much as she trusted Sian, she didn’t want her involved in this, so quickly closed the pad and placed it in her drawer. ‘It’s a bloody mess in here,’ she said by way of an excuse.

  ‘How is Rory? I texted Scott this morning but didn’t get a reply.’

  ‘He was at the hospital until late. I suppose he’s still asleep. Rory’s going to be fine,’ she smiled.

  ‘Oh that is a relief. I hardly had any sleep last night worrying about him.

  ‘What time is it?’ Matilda asked, noticing daylight coming through the slats in her venetian blind.

  ‘Almost eight o’clock.’

  ‘Shit. I need to speak to the ACC first thing.’

  ‘She won’t be in yet.’

  ‘No. I’ll have time to go home and shower first.’

  ‘Good morning, ma’am, any chance of a word?’

  An hour later and Matilda was poking her head around Valerie’s door. She had taken a taxi home, had a long shower and a change of clothes, a strong black coffee, and a brief chat with James, telling him all about her maybe breakthrough in the Thomas Hartley case. As she left, she stuck two fingers up at the treadmill and closed the door firmly behind her. A shower and a coffee; that was all it took to give Matilda a fresh perspective.