Speak No Evil: A Midlands Crime Thriller (Detective Sebastian Clifford - Book 2)

by Sally Rigby

  ‘That’s yet to be decided.’

  ‘What’s going to happen to Patrick?’

  ‘We can’t discuss that with you. Before we end the interview, we’d like to know more about the card Emily was wearing around her neck which said Speak No Evil.’

  ‘This was something Patrick believed in because he’s very religious and we had to study the Bible for hours at a time every day. The card acted as a reminder to Emily of how she was expected to behave.’

  ‘Interview suspended,’ Twiggy said as he stopped the recording.

  ‘You’re to stay here, in case we need to interview you further. I’ll ask the officer on the front desk to bring you something to eat and drink,’ Birdie said.

  Chapter 39

  Birdie and Twiggy met Seb in the corridor and stopped for coffee on their way to the office.

  ‘When I said, I’ll be taking the lead, I didn’t just mean the formalities,’ Twiggy said as they were in the queue at the canteen.

  ‘I didn’t ask all the questions. We shared, like we always do. And that’s how we get results. No point in changing that now, is there?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Twiggy agreed.

  They bought their coffees and returned to the office.

  ‘What was your take on Tessa Casey’s interview?’ she asked Seb once they were all seated at her desk.

  ‘There’s more to the woman than she’s showing and she wasn’t being completely truthful.’

  ‘How did you work that out?’ Twiggy asked.

  ‘Her body language. Her blink rate slowed right down when Birdie asked about her phone.’

  ‘But why would she have done that?’ Birdie asked.

  ‘That’s what we need to discover. It’s my belief that she told you what she thought you wanted to hear to make sure her brother was incriminated for everything that had happened to her and Lacey. She also implied that her brother had sexually abused her when she was younger but that didn’t take place.’

  ‘What about the physical abuse. Do you believe that took place?’

  ‘It would appear so, but we can’t take her account at face value. Once you’ve interviewed her brother, you’ll have a fuller picture.’

  ‘That will be as soon as his solicitor arrives,’ Twiggy said.

  ‘Are you going to recommend charging her for assaulting you?’ he asked Birdie.

  ‘She did it under duress and has been through enough. Although after what you’ve said … am I being too easy on her?’

  ‘Not necessarily. But if you want to get anything out of him, I suggest you take the softly-softly approach. If you go in heavy-handed, he’ll dig his heels in and say nothing. Especially to you, Birdie. He’s used to being the domineering one, if Tessa’s account is to be believed.’

  ‘I witnessed it myself, so I’d say she was spot on.’ Birdie picked up her mug and took a sip of coffee.

  The phone rang on Twiggy’s desk. ‘DC Branch. Thanks, we won’t be long.’ He replaced the receiver and turned to them. ‘The duty solicitor has arrived.’

  ‘Our goal for this interview is for Casey to admit to the physical abuse of both Lacey and his sister, as well as kidnapping me,’ Birdie said.

  ‘He’s very protective of his sister, so you can use it to your advantage,’ Seb said.

  ‘Even though she’s hung him out to dry.’

  ‘He doesn’t know that.’

  ‘We can handle this,’ Twiggy said.

  ‘I can’t stop thinking about your view of Tessa. The fact my phone was turned to silent is still niggling at the back of my mind. She said she didn’t know how it happened, and I know these things can happen accidentally. But what if she did it on purpose? What if she really is playing us?’

  ‘That’s what we’ll find out when we speak to her brother,’ Twiggy said.

  They headed to the interview room, and Seb left them to observe in the adjoining area. Sarge would’ve gone mad if he’d known. But he wasn’t there, and Birdie wasn’t going to tell him.

  They entered the room, and she pressed the recording equipment. ‘Interview on Tuesday 19 May. Those present: DC Bird, DC Branch, and please state your names for the recording.’

  ‘Matthew Black, solicitor.’

  ‘Patrick Casey,’ he said, his eyes focussed on Twiggy and not on her.

  ‘Mr Casey, there are several issues we’d like to discuss. First, your kidnapping of DC Bird. Why did you do this?’

  ‘It wasn’t intentional. I was angry because she’d come into our home and upset my sister. I’m sorry.’ He looked directly at Birdie. ‘I shouldn’t have done it.’

  That surprised her. His whole demeanour was at odds with how he’d been before. Was it an act to get him out of being prosecuted?

  ‘Intentional or otherwise, do you admit to doing it?’ Twiggy asked.

  The solicitor leant in and whispered something to Casey, who nodded.

  She knew what was coming next.

  ‘No comment.’

  As expected. That could wait. She’d move on.

  ‘I’d like to talk to you about your daughter, Emily, who is known now as Lacey.’

  ‘I’m not her father.’

  ‘Why would your sister say you were?’

  He shifted awkwardly in his chair. ‘Okay, I am. We had sex the one time when we’d both been drinking. It was while I was a priest. I broke my vow of celibacy.’ He bowed his head. ‘It’s not something I’m proud of but I resolved to take care of them.’

  ‘And that responsibility involved physically abusing both of them, did it?’

  His eyes widened. ‘I never laid a hand on either of them.’

  ‘How do you account for the bruising on your sister? I saw it myself.’

  ‘Did she say it was me?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter what Tessa said. I’m asking you.’

  ‘My sister is a little … temperamental. She’s always been that way. She has so much pent-up emotion that sometimes she can only release it by harming herself. She’d bang her head on the wall, or she’d throw herself down the stairs. Sometimes she’d squeeze her own arms until they bruised. I stop her when I can, but it’s not always possible.’

  Birdie exchanged a glance with Twiggy. Had the woman totally fooled them?

  ‘Are you a violent man?’ Birdie asked.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Yet you slapped me hard across the face and we fought. Do you not consider that to be violent?’

  ‘Yes. It was. I was provoked. Under normal circumstances, I’m not like that. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Going back to Tessa. You maintain that she self-harmed. Did she ever harm Emily?’

  ‘Occasionally she’d get angry with her.’

  ‘Whose decision was it not to send Emily to school?’

  ‘It was joint because of our situation. I regretted it because Emily would’ve enjoyed the company of other children.’

  ‘And when the child went missing, why didn’t you do anything about it?’

  He laid his hands flat on the table and leant forward slightly. ‘It was hell not having her around, but I knew it was for the best. I’d come back several times and found Tessa had locked Emily in her bedroom for hours without food and water, for not behaving.’

  ‘I’m confused,’ Birdie said. ‘Why are you telling us this now? I thought Tessa was your priority and you would do anything to protect her. But now you’re blaming her.’

  ‘I can’t go back to prison. Not again. It almost killed me.’

  ‘So, what you’re saying about Tessa is to protect yourself.’

  ‘No.’ He drew in a breath.

  ‘What is it then? You might not want to go back to prison, but I can tell you now, it’s looking extremely likely after what has happened. Tell us the truth.’ Birdie locked eyes with him, ignoring Seb’s request that she should tread carefully because she sensed it wasn’t necessary.

  Patrick stared ahead, and the solicitor sat with his arms folded.

  Birdie knew not to speak. T
wiggy did, too. They’d often discussed the sales technique he who speaks first loses in police interviews. But she nudged him with her foot, to make sure.

  After at least a minute had passed, Patrick cleared his throat. ‘When I was put inside, it was for having pornographic images of children on my computer. I lost my job and my freedom. Except they weren’t my images. They belonged to Tessa. I took the blame. I couldn’t let her go to prison because she needed to be with our daughter. It was a mess, and that was the best way of solving it. I hadn’t realised how awful my time in prison would be. Nonces are fair game for everyone, and some guards turned their back and let it happen.’

  Whoa. She hadn’t expected that. Surely it couldn’t be true.

  ‘And you expect us to believe this? Are you sure you’re not covering your back?’ Twiggy said.

  ‘It’s the truth.’

  ‘Did you ask Tessa why she had these images?’

  ‘She told me it was for research because she wanted to write a book about child exploitation.’

  ‘And you believed her?’ Twiggy said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And if we ask her, would she tell us the same?’ Birdie asked.

  ‘She might be too scared, in case she was then charged with the offence.’

  ‘That aside, we have a very different picture of events regarding Emily from your sister. She told us she abandoned the child because she was frightened about what you might do to her. What you’d already done to her.’

  He raised his hand to his mouth, and behind it said something to his solicitor.

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘Why no comment if you have nothing to hide?’

  ‘You don’t want to believe me. I didn’t touch Emily. Not physically or sexually, as you’re implying.’

  ‘We don’t think you did sexually abuse her, although your sister was worried that it might progress to that. But we know you’ve physically abused her. In the same way as you did to your sister.’

  ‘I’ve already explained that it didn’t happen. Why won’t you believe me?’

  ‘Is it true that you delivered Emily into the world?’

  He frowned. ‘Yes. Why?’

  ‘But you refused to register the birth?’

  ‘We couldn’t because I would’ve lost my job if it was discovered that I was the father.’

  ‘How convenient. Did you threaten to harm Tessa if she told anyone the truth about Emily’s father?’

  ‘No. Did she say that?’ He sucked in a breath, resignation showing in his eyes. ‘You don’t understand what she’s like.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell us, then,’ Birdie said, sitting back in her chair and folding her arms, keeping her eyes on him.

  ‘My sister paints a picture of herself as being frail and helpless, and in a way, she is. But she’s also manipulative.’

  Exactly what Seb had said. Birdie went on full alert. ‘In what way?’

  ‘Why do you think I’ve never left her? Because she threatened that if I did, she’d tell the police I raped and abused her. She knew I’d do anything not to go back to prison.’

  ‘Why should we believe you? Do you have any proof of how your sister is?’

  ‘I have a text on my phone but I can’t show you because it was taken when I was arrested.’

  Birdie arranged for the phone to be brought to them, and she handed it to Casey.

  He called up the text and then slid his phone across the table. ‘This is from her when you turned up at the house today.’

  Birdie stared at the message on the screen. ‘For the benefit of the recording, the text reads: The bitch is here again. Come home now.’

  ‘So, let’s get this straight,’ Twiggy said. ‘You maintain that you’re the father of the child, but you didn’t abuse her. Your sister did. And when your sister abandoned the child, you didn’t do anything about it because you thought it was best. Which is the total opposite to what your sister said.’

  ‘Yes.’ Patrick drew in a breath and exhaled loudly.

  ‘Two weeks ago, last Saturday, you were in town and Emily saw one or both of you. Who was it?’ Birdie asked.

  ‘It could have been when Tessa went to the ATM while I was in the car.’

  ‘When I spoke to Tessa about the incident, she thought Emily had seen you and got scared.’

  ‘That’s not true. She was the one who was out of the car. Emily couldn’t have seen me.’

  ‘Is it true that you made Emily pray all the time?’

  ‘No, it’s not. Tessa was more insistent on the prayers because she said it reminded her of our father. He was obsessive about praying.’

  ‘Yet it was you who went into the priesthood.’

  ‘I know. My upbringing rubbed off on me. But I didn’t make Emily recite prayers. I don’t believe that religion should be used as a threat like that.’

  ‘I saw the Bible you gave to Tessa on the sideboard in your kitchen. It was a strange inscription, implying there was more than a brother and sister relationship between the two of you.’

  ‘Apart from when we conceived Emily, there was nothing sexual between us. I’ve lived with the guilt since it happened. But …’ His voice faded away.

  ‘Continue,’ Birdie said.

  ‘For all my regret, having Emily was the best thing in my life. She was a lovely little girl. Can I see her? It’s been so long. I miss her every day.’

  ‘That’s a decision for social services to make, and nothing will happen until we have resolved this case.’

  ‘That’s what I expected you’d say. But I had to ask.’

  ‘How do you manage for money, as you’ve been living off the grid?’

  Again, she wanted to compare his story with Tessa’s.

  ‘We had an inheritance from when our father and Tessa’s mother were killed in a boating accident. It’s enough for us to rent the cottage and live basically.’

  ‘If this is all true, why did you tie me up and put me in the barn?’

  ‘That was to protect you, because I didn’t know what Tessa was going to do. She can be volatile.’

  ‘It didn’t seem like you were protecting me when we were struggling, and you slapped me.’

  ‘I wanted Tessa to believe that I would sort it out. If she saw me being weak then she’d try to take over.’

  ‘Why did you let her come to the barn with some water, then? She certainly wasn’t acting volatile then.’

  ‘I monitored things from a distance.’

  ‘And when you came into the barn after my colleague had arrived, and then tried to escape, what was that about?’

  ‘I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I’d planned that Tessa and I would leave and head for the New Forest.’

  ‘What were you going to do with me?’

  ‘We’d have left you. I assumed that your colleague would come back, and it would all be fine.’

  Who to believe? Or were they both lying? But …

  ‘Before we end the interview. I’d like to know about the Speak No Evil sign.’

  ‘The what?’ he replied, frowning.

  ‘Do you know this saying?’

  ‘Yes. It’s common enough. Some people think it has religious connotations, but it doesn’t.’

  ‘Is it something your sister would say?’

  ‘I’ve heard her use it.’

  ‘Who wrote it on the sign?’

  ‘What sign?’ he repeated. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I remember one time Tessa making Emily write it out twenty times for being naughty. But this was on paper, not a sign.’

  He genuinely didn’t know.

  ‘Interview suspended.’

  ‘Is my client being charged?’ the solicitor asked.

  ‘Not at the moment. But he’ll remain in custody. I’ll arrange for someone to collect him.’

  Chapter 40

  Birdie and Twiggy left the interview room, and Seb joined them in the corridor.

  ‘Well?’ she asked him.

  ‘You ha
ve an interesting conundrum.’

  ‘You can say that again. We need to reinterview the sister. Nothing is as it seems, and we need to get to the bottom of it. Do you have any thoughts on who’s telling the truth?’

  ‘My money’s on her.’ Twiggy said.

  ‘But remember, Seb had misgivings about her even before we interviewed him. What made you suspicious?’

  ‘Her body language seemed a little contrived and not as natural as I’d have expected, and she displayed signs of lying as I mentioned earlier.’ Seb said.

  ‘What about Patrick?’ Birdie asked.

  ‘He was trickier to read, but I didn’t spot any inconsistencies. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t telling the whole truth. He has a lot more to lose than she does.’

  ‘Okay. Let’s go back and reinterview Tessa, Twig, and get this sorted once and for all.’

  She could usually rely on her gut to know when someone was playing her. If Seb was correct, Tessa had been very clever.

  ‘Watch the timing of her reactions,’ Seb said.

  ‘Will do.’

  ‘May I observe again?’

  ‘There’s no Sarge here, so it’s fine by me,’ she said.

  They returned to the room, and Tessa was sitting in the same position as when they’d left her, with her head bowed and looking like a victim. An untouched cup of tea and a plate of biscuits were on the table.

  Was it all an act?

  She pressed the recording equipment. ‘Interview with Tessa Casey resumed. Those also present: DC Bird and DC Branch. Tessa, we have just interviewed your brother.’

  ‘Does he know what I said about him? Because if he does, he’s going to come after me. I know he will. You have to protect me. I’m not safe.’ Her eyes darted from Birdie to Twiggy and back again.

  ‘We have a difference in opinion between the two of you as to what’s been going on.’ Birdie ignored the woman’s pleas.

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He’s covered for you over the years, hasn’t he?’

  ‘No. That’s rubbish. He’s a good actor. But you don’t know him like I do. You haven’t seen what he’s capable of when he’s crossed.’

  ‘Even if that is true, can you explain to us why you sent a text to him when I was there saying: The bitch is here again. Come home now.’