by Sally Rigby
‘Stay where you are in case Casey comes to check. If we hear the door creak, I’ll hide behind one of the hay bales in the corner and you put your hands behind your back.’
‘Okay.’
‘Except it won’t creak, because I didn’t close it. I’ll do it now.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Patrick Casey’s voice boomed out.
He was by the entrance, glowering at them.
‘There’s no point in trying to get away with this.’ Seb stood to his full height and marched over to the man. ‘You’re coming with us to the station.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Casey snarled.
‘The police will be here shortly. It’s pointless you trying to go anywhere.’ Birdie jumped to her feet and rushed over to where the two men stood. ‘You might as well admit the truth and come with us to the station.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ He turned around and Seb made a grab for him, holding onto his shirt. Casey shook himself from Seb’s grasp and ran out of the barn.
Seb and Birdie chased after him as he made a beeline for the house. Birdie caught up with him, grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back.
Casey wrenched himself out of her grasp and pulled back his arm with his fist clenched.
Seb threw himself at the man, determined not to let him harm Birdie. But Casey was too quick, and he avoided Seb’s clutches. Casey ran to the back of the house and into the kitchen, with Seb and Birdie in pursuit. He grabbed his car keys from the table and headed out of the front door towards his car.
Seb slowly gained on him and pushed him away from the door. Birdie followed closely behind, and they took hold of Casey’s arms and pushed him against the car so he couldn’t move.
Out of the corner of his eye, Seb caught sight of Tessa running from the house holding a saucepan. She went straight for Birdie and whacked her on the head.
‘Arrrgh. What the fuck …’
‘Leave him alone,’ Tessa shouted.
Birdie grabbed the saucepan from the woman’s hand and twisted her arm around her back.
‘Why are you sticking up for him?’
‘He’s my brother, and I love him. I want to be with him.’
‘But he abused you. He beat you. You told me what he was planning to do to Emily.’
‘It’s not true,’ Casey shouted.
‘Save it for when we’re at the station,’ Seb said, pushing the man to the ground and sitting on him. ‘We’ll stay like this until the police arrive.’
Chapter 37
Birdie stood beside her car while Tessa and Patrick were escorted from the farm in two separate police vehicles. She’d stayed out of the way during their arrest, as she wasn’t on duty and she didn’t want to cause any issues down the track. Barristers were well known for using whatever technicality they could for getting their clients off charges.
What a mess the whole thing had become. Had she done the right thing in reopening the case? Would they ever tell Lacey about her parents? How would she react when she found out? How would everyone react? She shuddered at the thought.
‘There you are,’ Twiggy said as he approached.
‘Where did you think I was?’
‘Stop it, Birdie. You’re not funny.’
‘I wasn’t trying to be,’ she lied, deciding it was the best option, as Twiggy looked about ready to explode.
‘You’ve got some explaining to do. Why did you come here on your own? You had no idea what was going to happen. Call yourself a detective. I can’t believe your stupidity. You could’ve been killed.’ He turned his head, but not before she witnessed tears fill his eyes.
She swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry, Twig. But, in my defence, Casey had gone out and Tessa was on her own. We had it all planned. Seb was following him and was going to let me know when he was on his way home so I could leave. It was unlucky the way things turned out.’
‘Bloody Clifford. I can’t believe how he let you down.’
‘I’m sure he feels guilty enough without you adding to it. It wasn’t his fault.’
She glanced around. Where had Seb gone?
‘Did you even think about the potential outcomes before you went to the house? What if Casey hadn’t tied you up and put you in the barn? What if he’d killed you and then scarpered?’
‘That ridiculous. Why would he kill me? I accept I put myself in a difficult situation, but—’
‘Difficult. Is that what you call it? You wait till I see Clifford. Where is he?’
She caught sight of Seb walking towards them and nodded in his direction.
‘Where have you been?’ she asked him.
‘Back to my car. Did you want me?’
‘Yes, I did,’ Twiggy said, turning to him. ‘I can’t believe you let this happen to Birdie.’
‘You don’t have to remind me, DC Branch. I’m fully cognisant of what might have happened.’
‘It didn’t stop you stuffing up though, did it?’
‘I resent that remark.’
Seb and Twiggy glared at each other. They’d be threatening to fight a duel if she didn’t step in. For grown men, they could be extremely childish.
‘Look, boys, stop it right now. Seb saved me, and that’s what counts. We’re all put in dangerous situations, sometimes. It’s part of the job. It turned out alright, didn’t it? But let’s keep this between ourselves. I’m on annual leave so Sarge needn’t know what went down here.’
‘What planet are you on?’ Twiggy said. ‘Of course, he’s going to know. He does already.’
She sighed. ‘Great. What did he say?’
‘I’m sure you can work that out for yourself.’
‘He’ll be pleased when I tell him we’ve located Lacey’s parents.’
‘He knows that, too. Did Casey actually admit being her father?’
‘Tessa told me.’
‘Did he abuse Lacey?’
‘It’s unclear whether there was any physical abuse, but according to Tessa, the reason she abandoned Lacey a year ago was because she could see the direction in which his feelings towards the child were heading.’ Her stomach churned at the thought.
‘The dirty bastard,’ Twiggy said.
‘Tessa was concerned he would sexually abuse Lacey. She wouldn’t let the child go through what she’d been through herself with him. I didn’t get the whole story from her, but I know that she’d lived with him from when she was twelve after her parents died in a boating accident. I don’t know when the abuse started.’
‘Yet she ended up fighting you so he could escape,’ Twiggy said.
‘It’s complicated. I tried to get Tessa to come with me to the station and she was about to, but then he turned up and she changed her mind. She’s so scared of him, she believed it when he said if she left he’d find and kill her.’
‘Did she talk much about Lacey?’
‘She wanted a better life for her. One that they couldn’t give.’
‘Does she want her back?’
‘I told her that social services would have to be involved. That they will make a decision that’s best for Lacey. Tessa will have to be interviewed by them. She didn’t actually say whether she wanted her back. I’m going to text my aunt to let her know what’s happened.’ She reached into her pocket. ‘Crap. My phone’s still on the kitchen table. I’ll get it, before forensics arrives. They’re on their way, I assume?’
‘Yes, and you shouldn’t be going inside.’
‘My prints are already in there.’
She dashed off before he could say anything else. Her mobile was where she’d left it, and her bag on the back of the chair. She picked them both up and checked the side of her phone. The sound was off.
Twiggy and Seb were standing next to each other when she got back, but not talking.
‘My phone was on silent, that’s why I couldn’t hear you, Seb. Tessa must have done it when we were talking? Which begs the question, why?’
‘Maybe she isn’t quite the victim she’s
made herself out to be. Could she have alerted her brother that you were there?’ Seb asked.
‘We’ll find out later. Let’s get back to the station. You both need to make statements, and I’ll be interviewing Tessa and her brother,’ Twiggy said.
‘I’ve cancelled my leave, from now. I want to interview with you,’ Birdie said.
‘You can, but only because no one else is available.’
‘Thanks.’
‘But let me take the lead.’
Chapter 38
Seb sat in the observation area waiting for Birdie and Twiggy to go into the room to interview Tessa Casey.
The woman sat there, her head bowed, and didn’t even look up when they walked in. She was a pitiful sight. What would happen to her in the future, and how would Lacey fit into the picture?
Twiggy pressed the recording equipment. ‘Interview on Tuesday 19 May. Those present: DC Branch, DC Bird and …. please state your name for the recording.’
‘Tessa Charlotte Casey,’ she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
‘Could you speak louder so the recording can pick up your voice,’ Twiggy said.
‘Tessa Charlotte Casey. Am I under arrest?’
‘No, but we’d like to talk to you about your little girl, who you abandoned in Market Harborough just over twelve months ago.’
She glanced up and looked at Birdie, stark tension in her eyes. ‘I’ve already told you about this back at the farm.’
‘We’d like to discuss it now, in an official setting,’ Birdie said. ‘How old is your little girl?’
‘Emily’s now seven. Her birthday’s 20 August.’
‘Before you left her, where did she go to school?’
‘I taught to her at home with my brother. Half-brother,’ she corrected.
‘Did you inform the local authority of how she was being educated?’ Birdie didn’t know what the regulations were for homeschooling, but assumed there would be some.
‘According to the legislation, we didn’t have to notify anyone of our intention to teach Emily ourselves. But the local authority can check up on anyone if they discover a child is being homeschooled. That won’t happen for us because …’ Her hand flew over her mouth.
Seb frowned. Tessa’s action appeared contrived in that she raised her hand a fraction of a second after he’d have expected from a person who believed they’d spoken out of turn. He might have been incorrect in his assumption, but he would scrutinise her further for other signs. It was entirely possible that she was manipulating the situation, but he couldn’t interrupt and let Birdie know. Then again, the woman now had the chance to escape from the clutches of her controlling brother. Perhaps she wanted to make sure he would be dealt with severely.
‘Because of what?’ Twiggy asked.
‘Emily’s birth was never registered.’
‘So, no one is aware of her existence. Are you registered with a GP?’
‘None of us are because Patrick thought it was best not to. If Emily was ever ill, we’d look after her ourselves. She wasn’t exposed to germs, so it rarely arose.’
‘Did you agree with his decision?’ Birdie asked.
‘We managed,’ Tessa said, shrugging.
‘I’d like to ask you more about Emily. How would you describe her?’
‘Quiet, but very inquisitive. She’s always asked a lot of questions.’
‘How did Patrick react to this?’
Tessa glanced to the side and grazed her mouth with the fingers on her right hand. ‘Um … sometimes he got irritated by it.’
‘Did he ever strike her?’
She looked away and then nodded. ‘Yes, he did. But … not all the time.’
‘When exactly did he hit her?’
‘He’d get angry if he thought she wasn’t doing as she was told, or if she didn’t remember the prayers, he taught her. If she got any of the words wrong, he’d slap her hard on the leg. I tried to stop him, but then he’d turn on me.’
‘How often did this happen? Once a month? Once a week?’ Twiggy asked.
‘Most days,’ the woman said, her voice dropping in tone.
‘Would you say that your daughter was scared of your brother?’ Birdie asked.
‘Yes. We both were.’
‘Going back to the day when you abandoned Lacey. What prompted this action?’ Birdie asked.
‘I had no choice. I could see by the way my brother had begun looking at her that she wasn’t going to be safe.’
‘Can you describe this look?’ Birdie asked.
‘Um … the way he did to me when I was younger. I’d catch that same longing expression on his face when he watched her … I had to get her away from him and this was all I could think of doing.’
Seb shifted in his chair. Was he being too suspicious? He didn’t doubt that there had been violence in the relationship. He’d seen the bruising for himself. But the entire way she was orchestrating the interview and little by little feeding in aspects of her brother’s behaviour. Had she also been involved in Lacey’s abuse? Was she ensuring that the blame fell squarely on her brother and not on her? It wasn’t uncommon for abused people to become abusers themselves.
‘Why didn’t you leave with her, then you could have been together?’ Twiggy asked.
‘What would I do? Where would I go? I knew that if I left Emily in town, she’d have a better life than the one I could give her. My money alone wouldn’t have supported us. And Patrick would have found us. We’d never have escaped him.’ She pulled out a tissue from her sleeve and wiped her eyes.
‘I’m sorry we have to put you through this, but it’s important that we have the whole picture,’ Birdie said.
‘I understand.’
‘Can you tell us how you felt when you left Emily in the town centre?’
‘Like I’d lost a part of me. It was the worst day of my life. But it was the best thing for her. Every day I think about Emily. She’s never far from my thoughts. It helps that I know she’s being well looked after and that she’s doing well.’
‘Returning to your fear of what your brother might have done to Emily, do you suspect anything had happened before you took her away?’ Birdie asked.
‘No, I would have known. I made sure never to leave her alone with him. But I couldn’t have protected her forever.’
‘You told me you left Emily in town when your brother was away. How did you explain it to him once he’d returned home?’
‘I said she’d run off and I couldn’t find her.’
‘And he believed you?’ Twiggy asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Why didn’t he call the police?’
‘We were in hiding. That was more important to him.’
‘Was he angry?’ Birdie asked.
‘Not as much as I thought he’d be. I expected to have been beaten for it, but it didn’t happen.’
‘Why not?’
‘I think deep down he was glad to see her go. He saw her as baggage. A stone around his neck.’ She looked at Birdie and then Twiggy, a single tear rolling down her cheek. ‘Am I under arrest for leaving Emily?’
‘Child abandonment is only illegal if the child is under two. So no, you’re not,’ Twiggy said.
‘It was hard but for the best.’
‘Tessa, we need to ask you some personal questions,’ Birdie said.
‘Okay.’
‘When did you go to live with your brother?’
Tessa leant forward and rested her face in her hands. ‘After my parents died when I was twelve, I lived with him at his house in the parish where he was a priest.’
‘Was he strict with you then?’
‘Yes. I would be smacked for anything I did wrong.’
‘Your brother is Emily’s father. Did you have a consensual sexual relationship?’
‘We only had sex once, and I got pregnant. It didn’t happen again.’
‘And yet you told us you were worried about Patrick and Emily because of the looks he gave her? Yo
u said he looked at you in the same way, too, when you were young. Did anything happen between you then?’
‘No but that was because he restrained himself, because of being a priest. He’s not a priest now, which is why I thought Emily was at risk.’
This wasn’t making sense.
‘When Patrick went to prison, what did you do then?’
‘I already had Emily, and we went to live with a friend of his until he got out. The house we were living in went with his job, so we had to leave.’
‘When Patrick, or Sean as he was known then, was working as a priest, how did he explain the birth of Emily to his employers and parishioners?’
‘He said the relationship I was in hadn’t worked out.’
‘When Patrick came out of prison, you both changed your names and moved to Holcot without informing the authorities. Why did you do this?’
‘He thought it would be better. A fresh start. We moved here, and that’s where we’ve been. Renting the cottage.’
‘Did you go to hospital when you had Emily?’
‘No. Patrick delivered the baby. It was a straightforward birth.’
‘So while Emily lived with you, she’d never been checked, vaccinated or had any medical treatment?’
‘No.’
‘Tessa, my phone had been put on silent when I was with you. Do you know how that happened?’ Birdie asked.
Seb focused on Tessa’s face, looking for any telltale signs she was lying.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘If you remember, I gave it to you so you could look at a photo of Emily.’
‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘But I did nothing to your phone unless it was by accident, when I was holding it.’
The woman’s blink rate had slowed. She wasn’t telling the whole truth.
‘Why did you hit me with a saucepan, when we were arresting Patrick?’
‘I’m not sure. I panicked because everything was about to change and I got scared. I wasn’t thinking straight. Are you okay?’
‘Yes, I’m fine, but that’s not the issue. Attacking an officer is illegal.’
‘But I didn’t mean it. Am I in trouble? What’s going to happen now?’