The Camera Lies: a gripping psychological thriller

by AB Morgan

  ‘We’ve had no luck in finding her current pseudonym. Her health records stop when she was in care, as if she doesn’t exist,’ Joe explained. ‘Mike and I did manage to find out why she ended up having to leave her grandparents’ home. There’s a record which dates back to when Tessa was about fifteen, when she was hospitalised with injuries that required reconstructive surgery; lacerations to her genitalia, cuts to her breasts, horrific stuff. No one was charged and there was never a court case or inquiry, nothing. It’s detailed in the reports we printed off. Mike and I felt it had Helena written all over it.’

  ‘Christ, does it ever.’ Konrad confirmed his agreement with their hypothesis. He suspected as much when Joe described Tessa’s injuries.

  Joe continued. ‘She ended up in local authority care but was ultimately admitted to an adolescent mental health unit for a period of over twelve months under a Section.’

  Mike picked up the story. ‘We had a hell of a job locating any of this information, and mostly its sketchy because the social services child care records were almost impossible to access, but the snippets from the healthcare system helped us to piece together a rough chronology. It’s not perfect by any means. If the local authority covered up this assault, and she ended up sectioned, then it’s no wonder she doesn’t want you to find her. Helena is dead and, therefore, Tessa can finally get on with her own life.’

  ‘If I were Tessa I’m sure I would either have hidden from my past or found a way to take revenge,’ Joe said, sounding confident. He seemed to have grasped the intricacies of the situation. ‘Maybe both.’

  ‘This may explain what Matthew Hawley was trying to hint at,’ said Konrad. ‘But he didn’t have enough of his own evidence. He killed Helena, but what if it was Tessa who put him in an impossible position, and to protect Josh, Matthew had to do as he was ordered?

  ‘Take a look at the most recent text from Tessa that I received this morning. She’s furious with me for trying to expose her existence. See what she has threatened to do. Imagine what she may have threatened Matthew with.’

  ‘Bloody hell, we may be getting nearer the truth at last.’ Annette was clearly delighted with the progress and already considering how the abuse history could be woven into the documentary. ‘We’re limited on time, boys, so let’s keep digging. Oh, and avoid the press, they’re going to be fishing for information on why Konrad is getting divorced. It should blow over soon, but no idle gossip please. Not a peep.’

  Konrad took the paperwork from Joe with a mind to create a narration piece over the weekend. ‘It shouldn’t take too long. By the way, before you go back to your skulduggery with computers, did we get any other photos of Naomi and Josh?’

  ‘Not yet, sorry, we got side tracked with this stuff.’ Mike wafted sheets of scribbled notes in the air.

  ‘Not the court photos, they’re useless. Dressed in black and looking understandably distraught. I’d like natural ones if we can get them.’

  That morning, Konrad was keen to revisit a certain part of his interview with Matthew. He asked Annette for her patience. ‘I’m certain he gave us a clue, even if he didn’t know it himself… Can we pick up where I bring Naomi into the equation?’ He said looking again at himself and Matthew Hawley on the screens in front of them, psychological horns locked.

  ‘Did Josh tell Naomi that your wife had propositioned him?’

  ‘Apparently so, Mr Neale, and he also had a long discussion with me about it.’

  Konrad couldn’t help the surprised look on his face. ‘That must have been extremely awkward. What did you learn?’

  ‘More than I wanted to, if I’m honest. Helena had always appeared to appreciate having Naomi on the team and she’d spent the previous two years training her up to take more responsibility, just as she had done with Richard. It was jealousy that changed the dynamics. Helena saw Josh as hers. She had assumed ownership as part of the package that came with me, I think. On one hand, she watched as the relationship with Naomi and Josh grew, and she was fascinated by every detail of it, while on the other, she showed signs of envy; dreadful, damaging envy. Her way of hurting Naomi was through Josh.’

  ‘Yes, I understand that, but it backfired.’

  ‘To a degree it did. When Josh broached the subject he was angry with me for not believing him. This put me in a difficult position, as I had to tell him that Helena had done it as a dare, to test his loyalty to me. He was furious at that suggestion and called Helena all the names under the sun. During out discussions, he tried to make me believe that she had led him on more than once. Josh was citing sexual harassment. I was told to get control of Helena before it ruined his relationship with Naomi and his future.’

  ‘How did Naomi react to this? And more importantly, how did you deal with Helena?’ None of this information had been revealed during the court case and Konrad was now blindly seeking out fresh facts. The script had not been written for this section, nor had the research revealed anything of the hidden dynamics.

  ‘Naomi is the calmest most rational young lady I have ever met, Mr Neale. She did nothing to rile Helena. She carried on as if nothing had happened. But because what Helena had done drove Josh away from her and towards Naomi, the result was a fascinating crescendo of suspense. Do you know the most interesting part of all this?’

  ‘Let me guess. Helena didn’t fire Naomi in order to split them up that way, she found more painful methods?’ Konrad was getting the measure of Matthew and thus, vicariously, an understanding of Helena’s twisted mind.

  ‘You are the man I’d hoped you to be, Mr Neale. Helena tried to find information to discredit Naomi. She even attempted to set her up by making it look as if she was defrauding the business, but Naomi was too clever for that. She had the backbone to speak up in front of Richard and myself to announce that she’d found unusual discrepancies in the accounts, and wanted to bring it to Helena’s attention before the accountant arrived that same day.

  ‘The trouble was, the longer Naomi survived Helena’s deviousness, the tighter the relationship between Naomi and Josh became. It came to an explosive conclusion when they moved in together.

  ‘Helena could not be reasoned with. Josh had betrayed her and all hell broke loose. Naomi was sacked instantly, Josh resigned, and they set up in direct competition with Chawston Recruitment. Guess what name Josh and Naomi went for…? Hawley Recruitment Solutions and then they lit the blue touch paper before retiring to their own lives. They sent my wife a birthday message via a DVD recording. It featured them having the most outrageous orgy of sex with toys and gizmos that you will ever see. They spoke to the camera and waved at the end, saying something about having the freedom to have sex without it being filmed by her and that they hoped she found the final show a turn-on.’

  To Konrad’s astonishment, Matthew was smiling and wore pride as he recounted this episode.

  ‘A bold move on Josh’s part. How did you fair in all of this? You were piggy in the middle of course.’ He wanted to push the storyline along.

  ‘Helena used me against my own son at every opportunity.’

  Annette was rubbing her hands together. ‘There’s the motive for everyone to see. How poetic. Is that what you were getting at?’

  Konrad was deep in thought as he let out a long breath. ‘No, but I now understand what’s been niggling at me since we filmed this. Naomi. How did she survive when Helena eats people like her for breakfast? She ruins them with blackmail or sexual enticements or both. She gets what she wants.’

  ‘Helena didn’t want to ruin her relationship with Josh though, so maybe she kept her hands off Naomi because she thought she could still have her cake and eat it. Or in her case, father and son in the same bed. Filthy cow.’

  ‘Do you think that was her goal?’

  ‘Don’t you?’

  He was stunned. ‘I’ve been so thick. It never occurred to me that she would stoop so low. That’s sick, isn’t it? Is it Annette? Please help me with this one…’ Konrad was bewildered by Anne
tte’s revelation. He had not understood what Matthew had been trying to tell him all along. Matthew Hawley had acted to save his son, by killing his wife, the woman who wanted him and his son for sex and to do her bidding and play her endless games.

  ‘Josh knew though, didn’t he?’ Annette said quietly to Konrad who was now sitting with his head in his hands, rubbing his fingers back and forth through his hair. ‘I did mention that you’d been away with the fairies since you and Lorna split.’

  ‘Yes, I appreciate I’m not at the top of my game. What you said makes sense, but why does Matthew insist that he cannot remember killing Helena? That doesn’t fit. He says he was in the police station and they told him what he had done.’ Konrad sighed. ‘At least I know what to talk to Josh Hawley about on Monday.’

  ‘According to the transcript, the next discussion is about Tessa Carlton and her letters, which ties in with Josh leaving to live with Naomi. Shall we look at that quickly before lunch?’ Annette asked as she helped herself to a handful of peanuts. She caught her colleague looking at her and tried to justify her need for more calories. ‘I only had one Danish earlier and I like peanuts, they help me to think.’

  Konrad was staring intently at Matthew Hawley, waiting for him to expand on the details of how Helena used him against his son. ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘Our exposure in the press increased when they got hold of the story of the rival company and were keen to see pistols at dawn. “Stepmother and stepson in bitter business feud,” that sort of headline.

  ‘As a result, I left my job to join Helena’s recruitment company. In other words, I was forced to take sides and had committed myself to Helena and to try to keep her reined-in, for Josh’s sake.

  ‘Her strategies and tactics for undermining Hawley Recruitment Solutions were not unexpected. First, she tried the legal route to force them into changing their company name. When that was unsuccessful, she used more devious tactics. If a new customer happened to be a man she was likely to win the contract. I didn’t ask too many questions.’

  ‘Why didn’t Helena use the films of Josh and Naomi to blackmail them?’

  Matthew tutted and frowned. ‘Disappointing, Mr Neale. Think about it. If Helena published those pictures it would be revealed that she had recorded them and saved them, and let’s face it, they’re of her stepson and his girlfriend doing what comes naturally. No leverage there. She would have been labelled as a voyeur, nothing more.’

  ‘I see,’ Konrad paused.

  Pay attention, Konrad. That was obvious and you looked stupid. You must listen to what he says. Watch his body language and stay focussed. There has to be more.

  Konrad stood up. ‘Right that’s enough, let’s collect George and have some fun and games with the press.’

  Annette was happy to play along with his jolly jape. She walked with him to reception and gave her apologies for not being able to join Konrad and George for lunch after all.

  ‘I’ve been called to a meeting with the big bosses at Channel 7 but you go ahead. Lillian, I’ll take you next week, how about that?’ Lillian looked thrilled and accepted the unexpected offer.

  George had slapped on fresh aftershave for the occasion and powerful fumes were left in his wake as he walked from behind the reception desk. Konrad took him by the shoulders to prepare him for what to expect while they were out. George stood, back straight and eyes shut.

  ‘No, George, open your eyes, I’m not about to kiss you. Not here, not anywhere, not ever. Right, pay attention. Remember, we are going for a business lunch and representing the company so be on your best behaviour. If we are approached by anyone they could be a reporter and might want a comment. I would really appreciate it if you could step in and ask them to respect our privacy. We’ll go to the pretty Italian place up from Poncho’s Deli. I think it’s run by the same family. They’re very thoughtful and the food is great. Ready to go?’ George scampered along next to Konrad as if he was the happiest boy in town, beaming with pride, as Konrad held the door open for him when they arrived at the restaurant. Franco, the owner, showed them to a booth in the far corner away from the front window, and produced a menu before awaiting their drink order.

  ‘Just a jug of water, Franco. I have a long drive ahead of me later. George what would you like?’

  ‘Water will be fine. I’m on duty. Thanks, Mr Neale.’

  ‘I tell you what. How about you call me Konrad, just while we eat lunch, it sounds too formal having you say “Mr Neale” all the time while I’m eating. Franco, we’ll have two bowls of your finest Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca, please. There’s nothing like a bit of prostitute’s pasta to fill you up.’

  ‘Is that what it means? I hope it tastes better than it sounds.’ George giggled, visibly swelling with pride that he was being paid attention to. Being distracted, he had failed to notice two men who had asked to be seated diagonally across the room. The two were joined by a casually dressed young lady and it was no time at all before the three of them were pretending to take selfies, obtaining as many photos of Konrad and George as they could get away with.

  George, meanwhile, was chatting in an animated fashion, telling Konrad about his pets. ‘There’s Fluffy the tortoise, and Lulu-May, my black pussy – she’s a sweetie.’ All of a sudden, he stopped talking and sprung into action when the girl, who Konrad strongly suspected was a journalist, approached the table.

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Neale. I just wanted to say how sorry I was to read about you and your wife separating. It must be hard for you.’

  Konrad shot a meaningful glance at George before pretending to be embarrassed, looking sheepish. George raised his hand and announced in his campest voice, ‘Thank you for your concerns, but this is a private matter and we don’t wish to be disturbed at this difficult time, isn’t that right, Konrad?’

  Konrad forced himself to keep a straight face by looking down at the table, ignoring the girl and trying half-heartedly to hide his features. He had spied the two men taking more photos, as did Franco who moved them to another table, asking them to stop interrupting the private lunches of his customers.

  ‘Well done, George. Excellent job. Now shall we finish our pasta and get back to the offices before too many more people find us?’ He knew from bitter experience that photographers with long lenses would be waiting outside and he kept up a light-hearted banter with George so that when they stepped into the street the photographers would capture a joyful scene.

  ‘Well?’ Annette asked. ‘How did it go?’

  Konrad was still chuckling to himself. ‘It was the finest performance of my career. George was being his natural self and the media will have a field day. He swears on his black pussy’s life that he will not say a word to the press. I did suggest that he could brush off their questions by telling the truth and confirming that he and I are work colleagues.’

  ‘Do you think it will make Saturday’s paper? Or will they dig about for more and turn it into a Sunday saga? I think you’d better warn Delia about your smoke screen just in case the silly cow takes it seriously.’

  ‘Good plan.’

  Fortunately for Konrad, Delia found the whole idea of deceiving the press quite amusing. ‘It’s a brilliant plan. Once they’ve been made to look foolish they’ll give up on our divorce story as soon as we’ve announced how disgusted we are with their assumptions and false accusations. Well done, Kon. You must have learnt something from me after all our years together. I can’t wait to read what they say. And while you’re on the phone, I’ve told Barney I want our old car back, so you owe him money.’

  She giveth and she taketh away.

  20

  Konrad had never been driven so speedily by Zachary before, but the man had been given a special task to get him out of the city and back home in record time, and was rising to the challenge. ‘Watch out for the average speed cameras,’ Konrad advised, trying to read his emails and messages as the car weaved its way through the traffic and onto the motorway.

  Eliza had ph
oned to confirm that she was packed and ready to go whenever he was, and was cheering him on, ‘C’mon, Dad, the faster you get here the more likely we’ll miss the Friday motorway chaos.’

  He had given up concentrating at work. The demands from the press had increased throughout the day and although this was dealt with through the Channel 7 PR machine, it resulted in endless interruptions to his concentration and to the work in the editing suite. He was determined to ignore the requests for interviews and arranged for Zachary to collect him from outside a fire exit at the side of the building shortly after two o’clock.

  ‘Thanks for this Zachary, I hope I haven’t messed up your timetable for the day.’

  ‘No problem, Mr Neale, it’s what I’m here for. You seem to have hit a few of the national radio stations with news of your divorce. I’m sorry. It must be a dreadful day for you.’

  ‘I expect the media will be full of wild speculation,’ Konrad said, smiling to himself. ‘I’m like anyone else, Zachary. My marriage is at an end and that’s how it is. No great scandal, no shameful traumatic scenes. Life goes on.’

  ‘You’re so right, Mr Neale, it’ll be yesterday’s news before tomorrow.’ Konrad smiled in response. He had trouble working out what the last sentence actually meant, but nevertheless Zachary’s philosophical moment had made him chortle.

  A trip to Wales would seem to be the perfect response to the announcement of his divorce, and he would be expected to disappear for a few days in the circumstances. No doubt the press would park outside his house, but their stay would be unwelcome, and Konrad was sure they would seek better and more exciting news elsewhere by Monday, at the latest.