The colour drained from the man’s face and he took his time answering. Finally he replied, ‘Well, if you know all that, then you’ll know that I’ve never been convicted of any crimes.’
‘Good at his job was he?’ Annie asked.
‘Not everyone who is accused of a crime is guilty, Detective,’ the clergyman shot back.
‘Look, you might as well level with us. We’ve found lots of images on Father Bannister’s computer and his emails are also being examined. If there was file sharing going on between you, we’ll find out.’
The clergyman leaned back in his chair and then faced Ellison squarely. ‘I don’t have any comment to make on that information, Detective. Are you accusing me of something?’
Ellison pushed himself further forward in his chair, his arms now resting on the table. ‘You might want to consider who would be associating Father Bannister, Patrick Mearns and Matthew Lansdowne with each other. We certainly know that you have connections with at least the first two victims. The perpetrator might have linked your name as well, as it keeps cropping up in our investigations.’
Annie noticed a slight quiver of his lips, yet Brother Jonathan didn’t respond.
‘You knew the first two victims very well. What about Lansdowne? No more games, because if you say No and we find out you did, we’ll have you for obstructing an investigation,’ Ellison warned.
‘The mayor and I have never been personally acquainted. He was a parishioner of Brian’s at one time and I saw him at the funeral. Apart from that, I didn’t know the man, personally or professionally.’
‘What about Bannister or Mearns? Did they ever mention a connection to Matthew Lansdowne?’ Annie asked.
‘Not that I recall, Detective. I knew Brian for a number of years, so it’s possible the mayor’s name came up. Nothing specific I can recall.’
Ellison stared at the man for a few minutes before continuing. ‘We’ve met your niece, Frances Amato. Her husband thought that Father Bannister had tried to molest his son, your great nephew. In fact, he wrote a letter of complaint to the bishop, only your niece never put the letter in the mail. Did she tell you about it? Ask you to have a word with Father Bannister?’ The clergyman shook his head and Ellison continued. ‘Tony Amato doesn’t know that his wife never put the letter in the mail. Then he turns up at the burial with John Merton in tow and the two of them are carrying a wreath, which spelled out the word Pervert. Maybe you even saw them throw it on top of the casket.’ Ellison paused.
There was no response so Ellison continued. ‘The mayor and the chief of police, who both witnessed it, were not amused. When we went to see Tony Amato at home to discuss it with him, only Frances Amato was there. Suffice it to say that her makeup wasn’t good enough to hide the bruising around her eye.’
Brother Jonathan splayed his fingers out on the table and then rose from his chair and walked over to the window. ‘The man’s a brute, an animal. He doesn’t deserve her. He never has and never will.’
‘Does he know about the past accusations against you?’ Annie asked.
‘No, of course not!’ the man practically screamed.
‘And he doesn’t know that a photo of your great nephew, his son, was on Father Bannister’s computer? He might wonder how it got there.’ Annie continued.
‘Oh, my God,’ Brother Jonathan muttered, as he almost fell back down on his chair. ‘I have no idea how that got there.’ He put his head in his hands. ‘Does Tony have to know?’
‘Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how relevant it becomes to our investigation,’ Ellison answered.
‘I don’t know how much more Frances can take.’ The man started to wring his hands.
Ellison and Annie glanced at one another, neither prepared to engage with that. ‘Did Tony Amato know of your connection to Patrick Mearns?’ Ellison asked.
The man looked up, wide-eyed. ‘Of course not.’
‘Are you absolutely sure? Only we’re aware that his friend, John Merton, assaulted you when he was a teenager, accusing you of molesting his brother. It’s possible, isn’t it, that John Merton told Tony Amato about it. Maybe they associate you with Bannister and Mearns. If that’s the case, then you could be in danger yourself. Has Tony Amato ever given you reason to think he knows about the Merton case?’
The man blanched noticeably. ‘I hadn’t seen John Merton since the assault all those years ago. I dropped all charges against him at the time. He was so young. I didn’t even realise it was John Merton with Tony at the funeral. I left when I saw them walking to the plot, mostly because I didn’t want to engage with Tony. I don’t think either of them saw me.’
Ellison stared at the man. ‘Maybe there would have been more of a scene if Merton had spotted you.’ Brother Jonathan stared back at Ellison but didn’t reply.
Annie broke the silence with a further question. ‘Another name has come up in our inquiries and also links to you: Martin Brantingham.’
Brother Jonathan clenched his fists on the table, his knuckles turning white. ‘Nothing came of that accusation as you’ll find out if you delve further.’
‘And you’ve not seen him since he was a child?’
‘Not that I know of.’
Annie decided she might as well cover all the bases while they had the clergyman worried. ‘Have you ever heard of a Father Paul Benedict from Our Lady of the Saints parish?’
The older man hesitated a moment. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever come across him.’
Annie had finished what she wanted to ask and looked across at Ellison who came in again. ‘One final question, Brother Jonathan, do you think Tony Amato is capable of the murders that have taken place?’
Without hesitation the man looked Ellison straight in the eye. ‘Yes,’ he said in a very firm voice.
A few minutes later the older man let them out the door. Annie turned back to him. ‘You need to be very vigilant and ring us if you have any concerns. We’ve three victims already.’
The man just stared at her. The colour had drained from his face.
Ellison looked at his watch as they returned to the car. ‘I’ll call Bronski and let him know where we’re up to.’ Annie checked her notebook while the two detectives spoke on the phone. A few minutes later Ellison was finished. ‘He’s briefing the captain now. The press are outside the station waiting for another statement. The Lansdowne autopsy is definitely on for tomorrow and Jordan Prentice is hoping to bring his daughter in tomorrow afternoon, if her doctor agrees.’
‘Does he want us back at the station?’ Annie asked.
‘No, he said we might as well get on home. So what are you planning tonight? Want me to drop you at your apartment or do you want to do something?’
‘I was thinking of catching a taxi to the mall. Christine James has invited me out with her mom and sister on Saturday night for a meal and I need a new dress. I can get a bite to eat while I’m there.’
Ellison didn’t make a move to start the car. ‘Want some company? I could help you choose. My sister says I have great taste in dresses.’
Annie laughed. ‘You want to prove your sister right, do you?’
‘Something like that.’
‘I warn you I can be pretty indecisive.’ Annie laughed.
Ellison started the engine. ‘I think you’ll suit blue.’
Chapter 58
The phone started ringing as Annie was about to leave the house. She debated for a moment whether to leave it or not. Turning back, she answered it.
‘Morning dear, did I wake you?’ her mother asked.
‘No Mum, I was just getting ready to leave for work. How are you? Everything OK?’ Annie put her keys back down on the hall table.
‘We’re all well,’ Margaret Macpherson replied. ‘I was just a little worried. Paul says that the
American exchange detective has told him there have been three murders where you are. Is that true?’
‘Honestly, Mum, Paul has no business telling you what’s happening over here.’ Annie was annoyed that her ex-fiancé was passing such news on.
‘We were talking and it came out in the conversation. I think he was concerned about you.’
‘Mum, it’s my job. You know what police work involves. You lived with a detective for years.’ Annie started pacing the floor.
‘I know and your father kept so much from me. You know I worry about you.’
‘Mum, don’t. I’m working on the three investigations but there’s a team of us and my colleagues are keeping an eye on me. I’m working with Detective Bronski again and another detective, Dave Ellison. And we do get time off. Dave even came shopping with me last night and helped me pick out a couple of dresses.’
Margaret Macpherson laughed. ‘Your father and I were married for over thirty years and he never did that.’
‘Dave is quite accommodating and made some really good choices for me. I’ve been invited to have dinner with some women on Saturday night. One of them, Christine, I met previously. She used to live near me in Didsbury, but has moved back here. I’ve also been invited to her wedding a week on Saturday.’
‘Oh, that’s lovely. I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing an American wedding. Are you going with Charlie? You haven’t mentioned him for a while.’
Annie sighed. ‘No Mum, so far I’m going on my own. Charlie and I aren’t together any more.’ She wasn’t in the mood for this conversation, especially knowing that her mother still harboured the belief that she and Paul would get back together. Annie decided it was time to change the subject. ‘Anyway, how’s my big brother?’
‘He’s fine. Let me put him on.’ Annie smiled as Andrew made some excited squeals and then tried to tell her about something which had happened earlier in the day. She made out a few words. It was difficult over the phone. A few moments later her mother took the phone back. ‘Please tell me you’ll be careful, Annie.’
‘Of course Mum, and stop worrying.’
*****
Ellison was in early. Spread out on his desk were all the phone records from Bannister, Mearns and Lansdowne. He was prioritising the calls they’d made to each other. His phone rang as Annie entered the room. ‘Thanks for that. I’ll pick it up in a few minutes.’
‘What’s up?’ Annie asked, as she took her jacket off.
‘That was the fingerprint technician. She’s been examining the letter found in Lansdowne’s pocket. His fingerprints are on it, of course, and another unidentified set, probably belonging to Sheila Holmes. We should be able to eliminate hers soon. There’s also a third print …’ Before he could finish the sentence, Bronski walked in. Ellison stood up and quickly reprised the conversation for Bronski’s benefit. ‘The third print belongs to Patrick Mearns.’
‘So the letter must have meant something to them both,’ Annie said, as she opened her notebook. ‘The date it arrived was the same day that Lansdowne met Mearns for lunch. That night Mearns was murdered. So that whole story about meeting Mearns for a job creation scheme was …’
‘Fabricated,’ Bronski filled in. Then he turned to Annie. ‘Can you remind us exactly what it said?’
Annie found the page in her notebook and read the letter out again.
‘Shame about Father Bannister, wouldn’t you say? Who could do something like that to a priest? But he wasn’t always a priest, was he? Maybe he had something to hide. Sometimes death purges people, wouldn’t you agree? Do you have anything to hide, Mr Mayor? After all, most of us do.’
‘So, Mearns isn’t mentioned and yet the implication is that Bannister had something to hide and that maybe the mayor did too. Then Lansdowne shows the letter to Mearns as a matter of urgency. There has to be a link between the three of them that goes back to before Bannister was a priest. Let’s see if Monica Lansdowne knows the other two names. By the way, have we heard from Prentice yet?’ Bronski asked.
‘Not since I’ve been in. It’s still early. You said last night that the doctor has to see her first.’
‘True,’ Bronski said. ‘Go get the report on the fingerprints so we can add it to the file. There may be more in it.’
Fifteen minutes later, Ellison was reading the report out loud to his two colleagues. When he finished, he concluded, ‘So now we need to trace back what Bannister was doing before he became a priest. The letter is quite clear this is about the past. Let’s go back to the bishop’s file. There’s probably a potted history in there.’
‘I also have some notes from when we first interviewed Brother Jonathan about Father Bannister,’ Annie said. She went to get the bishop’s file notes and the relevant part of her notebook. The other two waited for her to return. ‘Let’s see,’ she murmured, skimming the notes. ‘We’re only interested in what he did before being ordained.’ She flipped back several pages. ‘He graduated from the University of Westford, having majored in sociology with a minor in religious studies.’
‘What year did he graduate?’ Bronski asked.
‘1980,’ Annie read out.
Ellison got his cellphone out and made a call. Annie and Bronski busied themselves until he finished a couple of minutes later. ‘Just checked with his law firm. Mearns was at the University of Westford, too, majoring in law and politics; graduated the same year.’
‘How many in a graduating class?’ Bronski asked Ellison.
‘I reckon it must be eight hundred to a thousand.’
‘That sounds about right. Let’s hold on to those facts for now. They may never have come across each other during college. However, given their disparate professional lives, it has to be a possibility. We’ll ask Monica Lansdowne, if we get to interview her today.’
The three detectives returned to their desks. Ellison looked up the phone number for BCConn Alarms and a few minutes later had the receptionist on the phone. ‘Yeah, I’ll speak to the owner. What’s his name?’
‘Bruce Crawley,’ the woman replied. ‘He’s the owner and chief executive. The company’s name is his initials, with Connecticut added, as this is where he started the company.’
Ellison made a note. Seconds later a man answered. ‘Detective Ellison, how can I help you?’
‘Good morning sir. I hope you can. I’m working on the team investigating the three recent murders in Westford: Father Brian Bannister, Patrick Mearns and Matthew Lansdowne. One common feature at all three scenes is one of your company’s alarms.’
‘I’ve read about the murders in the newspaper. Dreadful business. Your information doesn’t surprise me, Detective. We fit hundreds of alarm systems every week. We’re one of the leading suppliers.’
‘I appreciate that, sir. We’re trying to cover all the bases. We’re wondering if there’s any way of detecting whether an alarm system has been tampered with. In the first case, the priest was likely to have switched it off. The second is less clear. With Lansdowne, we’re wondering if the alarm was actually deactivated on the night of his death.’ Ellison realised that he was probably grasping at straws with this inquiry. If there were that many BCConn customers, then this lead could be purely a coincidence.
‘Well, our engineers can check the control box. What show up are faults. Say for instance, someone sets off the system accidentally and then it has to be reset using a code number.’
‘OK,’ Ellison responded, wondering if the guy was going to go into great detail.
Fortunately the man tuned into the request. ‘Do you want all three systems checked? What’s your timescale?’
‘Yeah, we need all three looking at, to be thorough. Although, Lansdowne’s house is the most urgent. Today would be good.’
Bruce Crawley laughed. ‘So no hurry then. It means I’ll have to divert staff
as they’re already on the road. How will my engineers access these places?’
Ellison explained how he could arrange access to the vestry at the church and to Mearns’ apartment. ‘We still have a team at the mayor’s house so I’ll let them know that someone from your company will turn up today. As long as they have ID, the officer will let them in.’
‘Are any family in the mayor’s house or in Mr Mearn’s apartment? I need to brief my staff what to expect. One or two might be a bit disconcerted thinking they’re going to a crime scene and might be facing a grieving family.’
‘Mrs Lansdowne won’t be returning until we clear her to, so it’ll only be the forensics team for that one. Mearns’ apartment is empty.’
‘OK Detective, leave it with me. I can look up the addresses on the computer or you can give them to me to save a few minutes.’
‘Sure.’ Ellison read the three addresses out.
‘Shall I drop a report into you in the morning?’ Bruce Crawley asked.
‘That would be very helpful. Thanks.’ Annie looked up as Ellison put the phone down. ‘The CEO for BCConn Alarms is arranging for all three to be checked today and will drop us in a report tomorrow morning.’
‘Good co-operation,’ Annie remarked.
Bronski’s phone went and he answered. ‘Thanks, we’ll be there.’ He glanced across at his colleagues. ‘That was Fogarty’s office. The autopsy on Lansdowne is at two p.m. So who’s volunteering for this one? Macpherson, you’re already volunteered.’
Annie acknowledged the instruction and then Ellison replied. ‘Well, I need to be here for Monica Lansdowne and Jordan Prentice, in case they come. Plus I’ve got the phone records to search. As you’re the designated TV representative, Bronski, it might be best if you do it.’
Det Annie Macpherson 02 - Programmed To Kill Page 25