Maggie opened her notebook. ‘I first came across some random dates scattered throughout the journal. When Bethany did some digging, we learned that most of these dates coincided with police call outs to the property – domestic disputes it seems – though no charges were brought against the DCI and no detailed account of what was actually said was recorded. I’m assuming, until I am told otherwise, that once the officers learned it was a fellow officer, the matters seemed to disappear – though they still remain on record.’ Maggie paused to let that information sink in. She could see the look of disbelief on her colleagues’ faces; however, some nodded as if they agreed that was the right thing to do. As if being a police officer should let DCI Hastings have a free pass to commit a serious crime. ‘I then came across vague entries from Sophia Hastings which alluded to physical and emotional abuse, and although DCI Hastings wasn’t named as the perpetrator, the entries, coupled with the call outs, leads me to conclude that she was being abused by Hastings. Interestingly – it wasn’t Mrs Hastings who called the police, it was their daughter. Mrs Hastings never pressed any charges and she didn’t support her daughter’s claim that Hastings was abusive to them both. That’s pretty much it. I still need to read the journal in full once forensics have finished with it.’
‘Thanks, Maggie. So that leads us perfectly into sharing a bit of background to the police call outs and hopefully ease any concerns about a police cover-up. DI Rutherford and I had been looking into Hastings’s background and there is evidence to suggest that Olivia was making malicious calls due to a history of mental health issues. Olivia was adopted by the Hastings when she was five years old. She herself came from a very abusive background, but we can’t get any details on the birth parents at the moment because the records are sealed. We did find out that Olivia is emotionally disturbed and goes through periods where she is very difficult to control – so much so that up until a few weeks before this all happened, DCI Hastings had disclosed to his seniors that he was looking at having Olivia sectioned for long-term psychiatric care.’
‘I guess killing them was easier,’ Kat mumbled.
‘What was that, PC Everett? Comments like that aren’t helpful. I know that I’ve just come onboard, but I’ll have no problem removing you from the case. That goes for everyone. We have to be objective and follow the evidence. Am I clear?’
‘Yes, sir. Sorry.’ Kat sank in her chair, and Maggie felt sorry for her. She had a similar thought in her head but was working hard at keeping thoughts like that to herself, or at least only sharing them with people who would know what she meant.
She nudged Kat’s shoulder and whispered: ‘We’ve all been there before, it’s a learning curve and quite different from the DAHU. You’ll be okay …’
DCI Meechan stopped talking. ‘Oh, I’m sorry DC Jamieson – would you like to take over the briefing?’ He stepped aside and actioned for her to come forward.
‘Apologies, sir. I won’t interrupt again.’ Maggie could feel her neck redden. No wonder DI Rutherford divorced this bastard. Her initial feelings about the DCI were fading.
‘Like I said earlier, what I’d like to do is run these investigations separately. Kat and Bethany, I want you to focus on Tim’s case – go back and speak with the Dodd fellow at the college – DCI Hastings was actively involved on the college board. So once the news goes out, we might get more people willing to talk to us. Students who knew him – maybe he told them something and it only makes sense to them now? Nathan and Maggie, I’d like you to focus on Sophia Hastings’s murder – try and get the family we have spoken to, to share more. I have a feeling that Sophia’s relatives may be more forthcoming now that this is a murder investigation. She volunteered somewhere, might be an idea to find more out about that and speak to her colleagues. I know we were told that she didn’t work, but it looks like she spent a bit of time outside the home. DI Rutherford and I are working with Missing Persons, as it frees up some resources and also that’s all Olivia is at the moment – we have no evidence to suggest she has come to any harm yet.’
DI Rutherford interrupted. ‘Before any of you start questioning this strategy amongst yourselves, although they are being worked as separate cases, we’ll all still meet and brief each other on progress – we can then map out where things cross over and ensure that all available resources are allocated accordingly.’
She turned to DCI Meechan. ‘Is that everything, as I’m sure the team would like to make a start before the day ends.’
Maggie couldn’t tell from DI Rutherford’s tone whether she was being sarcastic or serious but smiled inwardly anyway. DCI Meechan closed down the briefing and the rest of them finished their notes before packing up and returning to their desks.
Has DCI Meechan just made this case more complicated than it needs to be?
Chapter Fifty-Five
When Maggie arrived home from work that evening, all she could think about were the journal entries. Something just didn’t sit right with her. She pulled out her phone and texted her brother to see what time he would be in; she didn’t really feel like cooking and although he never expected her to cook for him, it had become a habit between the pair of them. Whoever got in first would make the meal while the other did the dishes. She preferred the dishes if she was honest: she wasn’t the best cook.
Working till 2am so nothing for me. A. X
Well, that solved one of her problems; she decided she’d see if she could work out the other one.
You up for a Skype chat this evening? I have a bit of a puzzle I’d love your help on – but no pressure if you want to avoid work stuff at the moment. X
While she waited for a response, Maggie went to the kitchen to feed the cats. She opened the tin of food and laughed when she heard the patter of feet coming down the stairs. ‘Both of you napping during the day? Lazy kitties. Here you go.’ She left the bowls on the floor and made herself some soup, with a few slices of bread. The crusty kind which soaked up the soup perfectly.
Maggie went to the dining room table, placed bowl and plate of bread down and began to set up her laptop on the table. Even if Kate wasn’t available this evening, Maggie knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until she tried to work out some of the minor niggles gnawing at her brain.
Maggie had recalled that DCI Hastings had appeared in a few newspaper articles which included his family. She wondered if there would be any information about Sophia Hastings in the articles. Maggie had considered contacting Julie Noble to see if she could find out for her, but quickly shook the thought out of her head, as Julie would ask more questions than Maggie was prepared to answer. It was still too soon. Thankfully, Nathan and Rutherford had dropped the idea of using her to feed Julie information about the case – but she knew the door would now be open for this to happen in the future. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
She opened up her browser and began her search. Five articles popped up and she went through each one meticulously. The first three talked about Hastings’s policing initiatives and contributions he had made to the community. The final two were more interesting: one mentioned his daughter but seemed to quickly move on – the picture had only DCI Hastings and his wife and there was an odd look on Mrs Hastings’s face. Maggie scrolled to the bottom of the article and noted the journalist’s name. He would be someone that she and Nathan should speak to; even though the article was nearly a year old, the journalist may remember something to help with their enquiries. It was the final article that was a gold mine of information. It hinted at the awkwardness felt, probed a bit about Olivia Hastings but didn’t seem to get too far and mentioned that Sophia Hastings was a regular volunteer at the local hospice. When Maggie scrolled to the bottom of the page, she wasn’t surprised to see that Julie Noble had written the article.
She resisted the urge to call the journalist, knowing what Julie would read into things and she didn’t want to have to go through their usual battle of ‘tell me’ and ‘you know I can’t’ before both of them
ended up frustrated and annoyed with the other. DCI Meechan had asked her to go and speak to Sophia’s colleagues at the hospice, and if nothing came of that, she’d think of a way to get the information out of Julie without raising her suspicions.
It was getting late and Kate still hadn’t responded. Time to pack up for the night and look at things from a fresh perspective in the morning.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Maggie had to drag herself into the office that morning and a big yawn escaped from her lips. Sleep was not something she was getting much of lately, but she knew she wasn’t the only one going home for a few hours to catch some shut-eye before having to return to the office. Maggie looked up from her screen to see Bethany and Kat walking with purpose out of the office and down the corridor. They looked like they were heading downstairs to the interview suites.
Maggie turned her chair and called through Nathan’s doorway: ‘What are those pair up to?’
Nathan looked at his watch. ‘Shit! I didn’t realize the time. They’ve asked that guy from the college to come in for further questioning and I’d like you to go and observe if—’
‘What? They don’t need babysitting. Anyway, the room will be cramped if I join them. Dodd didn’t take too kindly to me the first time around and might clam up if all of us are bombarding him with questions.’ Maggie frowned.
‘You really need to stop jumping to conclusions before you speak. Had you let me finish,’ he smiled, ‘I was going to say that I want you to watch him on the video monitor. See if you and that brain of yours can spot any tells – does a certain question affect him? Does he pause when the answer should come easily? That sort of thing. It’s easy to miss these things when you are directly involved in the questioning, and with the stakes so high in this investigation, we can’t afford to miss out on anything.’
‘But—’ Maggie wasn’t given the opportunity to finish.
‘But nothing. Get down there. Hopefully, we can either charge him or rule him out of further enquiries.’
Maggie picked up her notebook. Only a few interview suites had video cameras installed and were used where there were concerns about violence when being interviewed. The monitors were located in a room just off of the enquiry desk. If anything kicked off, the alarm was raised and officers responded in a matter of seconds.
Maggie walked into the office and was led to an area set out for her to observe. She sat and placed the headphones on so she wasn’t disturbed by her surroundings.
Mr Dodd had his solicitor present, and Maggie watched as Bethany cautioned him and explained the purpose of the meeting before diving right in with her questions.
‘You’re married, Mr Dodd, is that right?’ Bethany was easing him in, and Maggie noticed his shoulders relax.
‘Well, yes. What’s that got to do with anything?’ He looked to his solicitor, who shrugged.
‘Good marriage? No problems?’ Bethany persevered.
‘We’re fine. Yes. I thought I was here to help with your enquiries, and I don’t see what business it is of yours how well my wife and I do or don’t get on,’ he huffed.
‘You’re relatively new at South Staffordshire Academy, aren’t you?’ Bethany looked down at her notes. ‘Says here, just over a year. Where were you before that?’
‘Down south. At another college. I’m sure you must already have this information – are these questions going anywhere?’
‘Why did you leave your last teaching position?’ A smile crept on Bethany’s face. She’d have to work on that if she didn’t want to give her game away.
Mr Dodd’s eyes widened, and he turned to his solicitor. ‘Can they ask me these questions?’ There was a whine in his voice. Bethany had unnerved him. ‘What does my previous employment have to do with Tim?’
Bethany shuffled through some paperwork and pulled out a piece of paper which she passed to Mr Dodd and his solicitor, allowing them a moment to read the contents. ‘Do you recognize this?’
Mr Dodd paled, and Maggie noticed his fist clench under the table. She zoomed the camera in on his face.
‘Lies! All lies!’ His solicitor touched his arm. ‘Get off me.’ He shrugged the hand away. ‘What games are you playing, PC Lambert? Why don’t you just get straight to the point?’
Kat interjected. ‘For the benefit of the tape, PC Lambert has just shown Mr Dodd and his solicitor an email that was sent to the Chief Executive of the college from Tim Griffiths, stating that Mr Dodd had touched him inappropriately.’
‘This is outrageous!’ Mr Dodd’s face grew red. ‘The matter was dropped. All fabricated. Haven’t we been through all this already?’
‘Well, that’s not strictly true, is it? You were spoken to by DCI David Hastings, who cautioned you, as it seems there were other students who backed Mr Griffiths’s claims. Surely your solicitor explained to you that by accepting a caution, you were admitting your guilt?’ Bethany leaned back.
‘What? No, that wasn’t explained to me. I spoke to DCI Hastings – he’s on the board. Everyone agreed it would be the best way to resolve the situation. I didn’t have a solicitor at the time. I was told I didn’t need one. Had I known what I was agreeing to, I never would have signed that!’
Maggie hadn’t realized that Mr Dodd was also a board member, but she guessed it came with his position at the college.
‘Surely a man of your intelligence would have dug deeper and found out? How are you allowed to continue working at the college?’
He blushed. ‘I was told that if I agreed to the caution, I could work the remainder of the year as long I handed in my resignation and only had contact with students in the presence of another. That was my suggestion, by the way, to avoid any further false claims. The college said they would give me a reference. Now you’re telling me my life is ruined.’
‘What about all those students who made allegations? Do you think their lives weren’t ruined?’ Kat eyed him, daring him to say something more.
His head dropped into his hands and his shoulders shook. The solicitor jumped in. ‘Do you have any more questions for my client? As you can see, he is clearly distressed and wasn’t expecting his past to be dragged up. We’ll need a moment.’
Kat reached over and turned off the recording. ‘Interview suspended. We’ll be back in fifteen minutes.’ They left the room. Maggie muted the sound as per protocol but continued to watch the body language of Mr Dodd and his solicitor. His hands were flying everywhere, and his eyes bulged. He had not been expecting the questions that were thrown at him.
Kat and Bethany joined her.
‘He’s one pissed off fella, eh?’ Kat motioned to the monitor.
‘Yes. A little too pissed off, don’t you think?’ Maggie tapped her pen on the table. ‘Might be worth finding out exactly how DCI Hastings cautioned Mr Dodd. If he made it seem like nothing, that could well be motive for revenge … even murder, wouldn’t you say?’
Chapter Fifty-Seven
With their strategy discussed and agreed, Kat and Bethany returned to interview Mr Dodd. He stared straight ahead as Kat resumed the interrogation.
‘Have you had some time to think things through?’ Kat leaned forwards.
He inserted his finger inside his collar and shifted it about. ‘Yes. My solicitor has advised I should proceed with no comment, but I haven’t done anything wrong.’ Maggie could have sworn she saw his eyes glisten.
‘How about I tell you what we think happened? It might jog your memory.’ Kat opened her notes. ‘You said that DCI Hastings gave you a warning, which actually turned out to be a caution and that you didn’t understand what you had agreed to at the time. Is that correct?’
‘That’s exactly what happened. I met him here, at the police station, and we discussed the situation. I explained exactly what happened. That young man – Tim – claimed I touched him inappropriately, but it was all an innocent matter. There had been some trouble between him and a group of lads. I spoke to them all in my office on a one-to-one basis. Tim was ver
y upset. I just squeezed his shoulder … like a reassurance … there was nothing inappropriate about it. But then he sent that email, egged on by Olivia Hastings, accusing me of leering at him as I did it. Okay, I shouldn’t have touched his shoulder, but for God’s sake, this could ruin my career.’
‘DCI Hastings would have verbalized the caution, explained it in detail to make sure you understood the meaning before you signed anything. Are you saying that never happened, as we can go through the records to find that out easily?’ Kat waited for the response, and Maggie noticed Mr Dodd’s shoulders tighten.
‘I don’t know, okay? I can’t remember exactly. I was shocked at the time, but your boss said it was nothing to worry about. I believed him. Why would he lie to me?’
‘And then when you found out, you got angry? Confronted Tim Griffiths and things went too far? Where did you get the hammer from?’
‘What are you talking about? What hammer?’
‘The hammer used to bash Tim’s skull in. Did you follow him to the woods after college? Confront him? Things got a bit heated and when he tried to run away you hit him? Then you realized he wasn’t dead, watched him drag himself to safety before delivering the final blow? When you heard the other people in the woods, you ran off, dropping the hammer as you fled? Is that what happened?’
‘Oh my god, no! What is going on here? Stop this now!’ He looked at his solicitor.
‘Back up, DC Everett. Do you have any evidence to support this ridiculous story you have concocted?’ the solicitor challenged.
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