The Camera Lies: a gripping psychological thriller

by AB Morgan

  ‘Having worked so well, Tessa used a similar strategy to enrage her mother on endless occasions, always implicating Helena, who until then had preferential treatment as the well-behaved child. I think Tessa told me she was less than three when she worked out that blaming Helena was not only a satisfying form of entertainment but guaranteed attention from one or both parents. She hated her parents for their stupidity and they too became the target of her frustrations. Helena was the tool, the weapon she used towards their social destruction.

  ‘Nobody cottoned on that Tessa was the one with the brains, Konrad. So, she carried on blaming Helena for the decimation caused. I know just how brilliant that feels. It’s the ultimate power trip. Helena was assumed guilty because she was the oldest child and “should have known better…” She was held responsible for the fire in the shed and the death of their cat, Mr Tibbs; he was old, Konrad, and he smelt, so Tessa dispatched him with some garden wire while practicing how to set snares. She managed to convince her parents and teachers at nursery school that Helena would dare her to carry out these acts and had threatened Tessa or tortured her if she failed or refused.

  ‘She made a bed of nails once. Actually, it was a short plank of wood and the nails were pointy end down, but the principle was the same. Waiting until her dad was on his way up the garden to find the two girls, Tessa lay on it wrapped in strips of bed sheet screaming at Helena to “stop” and “let me get up!” She had persuaded Helena to stand over her, hold a pair of garden sheers, whilst wearing a tea towel headdress. Tessa had told her that they were ancient Egyptian priests carrying out an important ritual. Helena was so stupid that she fell for it and had played along. Hearing the noise, their dad ran to open the door and dragged Tessa up from the nails, at the same time as swiping Helena with a vicious backhand. “It was a dare, Dad,” Tessa told him. “We were playing Egyptians and I had to, she made me.” Pretending to cry to her dad, he accepted that Helena was the instigator and that Tessa was nothing other than the poor victim of Helena’s vicious assault. Those bloody ignorant psychologists and psychiatrists became fixated on the issue of sibling rivalry and Helena’s sweet veneer was described as being part of a complex adjustment disorder. They may have had a point. It would explain why she was so eager to fit in and be liked. She clung onto friends like a strangulating ivy plant until they tired of her demanding ways and need for assurances.

  ‘Tessa had counselling and lied her way through each session. When she was no more than eight, she became quite adept at giving herself rope burns, bruises and on the odd occasion she would cut herself. Nice little slashes or nicks. She wasn’t one of those psycho self-harmers. This was planned. The reasons were purely practical, you understand.

  ‘Did you know she had a younger brother, Konrad? Little Dickie. Tessa said he was a delightful child and so easy to influence. Wasn’t it thoughtful of her to give Helena a break now and again and blame Dickie for so many wrongdoings? Helena was apparently a bloody nuisance, spending most of her waking hours protecting Dickie from Tessa and spoiling her entertainment. Bitch.

  ‘Tessa hated Helena. She hated her parents and hated her grandparents. Nanny and Granddad Carlton were as uninteresting as her parents were, and as gullible. They tried to understand, even when Tessa raged at them, smashed up the house and ruined the seedlings in the greenhouse out of spite.

  ‘At those endless social services meetings her grandmother would lie and say how well Tessa was coping with their house rules. The old bat must have been quite insane. Tessa made their life a misery and exhausted them until her granddad had a heart attack. Then social services sent her home to play with Dickie again because Helena had gone to university. Without Helena, he had no one to help him.

  ‘Tessa was fucking furious when she caught him on the phone to Helena. He begged her for help… “please, Helly, come and get me. I could live with you,” he whimpered. He was a pathetic excuse for a ten-year-old boy.

  ‘If he hadn’t created such a fuss then he wouldn’t have been taken into care. Tessa wouldn’t have tried to set-up Helena and, therefore, she wouldn’t have been sectioned. It’s his fault. He told the police that he’d seen Tessa cutting herself and, because they’re stupid, they believed his word against hers. Still, Dickie probably had a miserable time in care. Good. I hope he was rogered by a pervert. Serves him right.

  ‘Anyway, that’s all in the past. I have to think about you now, Konrad. On one hand, you have annoyed me. You interfered. On the other, I have enjoyed the game we’ve played. It occurred to me as I was contemplating whether or not your wife should die, that after Helena’s death I was missing the thrill of the chase.

  ‘You haven’t worked that bit out yet, have you? How Helena was killed…’

  She paused. There was the sound of several pairs of boot-clad feet stomping down the corridor. Gruff voices of two men could be heard making arrangements to meet in reception after they had showered and changed. Doors closed with an inconsiderate bang. She relaxed back into the chair and continued.

  ‘You’ll be interested to know, the police have arrived at home to speak to Josh. They wanted a few words with me but I’m not back yet. He’s just phoned me again to check how long it would be before I could join him at the police station to meet a Detective Inspector Bevan from Bangor. I would have been back with Josh much sooner, Konrad, but I took a detour.

  ‘After I left Dorset, I stopped off at your house to see your wife, the stiff and starchy Delia. The stupid bint thought I was really worried about Freddie and she even tried to comfort me. I’ve been having so much fun. I told her that Freddie and I had arranged to meet but that he failed to show up and I couldn’t get hold of him on his phone. Delia didn’t question my version of events. “Never mind dear, we all have lovers’ tiffs now and again. It’s part of relationships. I’m sure he’ll soon be begging for forgiveness,” she said. How quaint.

  ‘She phoned his friends while I had a good snoop around your house again. I didn’t have much chance when I came to the barbecue, but this time I checked your office. You have been busy trying to find out about Tessa, haven’t you?

  ‘For an intelligent man you’re remarkably slow to pick up the clues, but I have to assume you know that I’m Chloe by now. No one can be that thick.’

  She brushed her hands through her hair and adjusted her position in the chair, leaning forwards, glowering in the direction of the video camera.

  ‘A lot of hard work has gone into securing my future and you, Konrad, have screwed things up. Getting close to Helena took years to achieve and I prepared as thoroughly as I could for the task ahead.

  ‘When the time was right, I applied for a job with Chawston Recruitment. My predecessor had disgraced herself by turning up for work under the influence of drugs. Despite swearing that she never touched illicit substances, she was dismissed for gross misconduct. Richard told me she was delightfully disinhibited and had said the most inappropriate things to Helena on the day of her instant sacking. I wish I could have witnessed her antics for myself. It took a fair while to plan that one.

  ‘Anyway, to cut a long story short, Helena employed me because I was the best candidate. I excelled at recruitment, Konrad, and what’s more I completed my apprenticeship and learnt everything about Helena. There wasn’t that much to know. She was a success, a rich ambitious businesswoman who was desperately lonely, mostly because she frightened every single man away with her insecurities and her habit of attaching herself like a limpet to anyone who showed her some affection. Then she would predict that they would leave her, so she would push them away by testing their loyalty. In a series of self-fulfilling prophecies, they all left her one after the other, after the other.

  ‘Then along comes Mr Fucking Teflon. Matthew Hawley. He tolerated everything she put him through. It was sickening to watch. He was even nicer than she was pretending to be. I tried to scare him off until I realised what an asset he could be. As for his son, Josh, he was my gold medal, my pinnacle, my reward. />
  ‘Helena loved that boy, so I took him.’

  She switched off the camera and put it away, only to unpack it again as soon as she had the opportunity to complete the video diary of the day’s events.

  Breathless excitement arose in her voice and her eyes darted from the lens of the camera to a plain white door to her right.

  ‘I’m back at home now with Josh and he’s been in a good mood since you called him earlier. You shouldn’t have done that, Konrad. He told me straight away. I was on a business trip at the time you see, assessing Freddie’s potential. He had his uses, but you showed your hand, Konrad, and sentenced your son to an early departure. Don’t worry, he was in a state of exceptional euphoria when he died. What a lovely way to go.

  ‘I phoned Josh before I left your son gasping for breath in that fancy car of yours. “Hello Josh, it’s me,” I said. “I’m leaving for home in the next few minutes. Our potential new team member didn’t work out, I’m afraid. He wasn’t really up to the job. Not nearly enough experience and it showed during the interview. It doesn’t matter, I have another candidate in mind.”

  ‘I was thinking about you, Konrad. I do that a lot lately, as you’ve probably guessed.

  ‘Freddie was so useful to me for a time and out of respect for you and to him, I took great care in becoming Chloe. Now is the right time to tell you that I was saving my best wig and contact lenses for you originally, Konrad. Chloe was going to be your honey trap, but that would have been a poor performance in comparison to the one you and Lorna gave that Saturday night.

  ‘Freddie helped me to get so much closer to you, to Delia and your lives. He served his purpose. However, Eliza has not been such a pushover, she was far more awkward and she didn’t fall for my charms; in fact, I suspect she hated Chloe. No hard feelings, I like Eliza, she has a toughness I admire in a woman.

  ‘Your Freddie, on the other hand, was so young and eager. He fell into my bed and never have I witnessed anyone so keen to learn about sex. I must say I found the lessons enjoyable myself. That’s the beauty of youthful men; they assume to know so much and are shocked to find the opposite. I had him simply begging, Konrad. You’ll be pleased to hear that I was with him teaching him how to avoid premature ejaculation when I sent those texts to you. He was blindfolded, with me astride him, so he couldn’t see the phone in my hand. He couldn’t restrain himself either and, unfortunately, he required punishment and a few more lessons before he obeyed me. When I say “don’t come yet” I mean it.

  ‘I’m a good teacher, Konrad. I taught Helena everything I know. She trusted me to show her how to ensnare a man, you see. Naomi Woods, friend and confidante, that’s me. I had to because she had no idea how to pleasure a man and who else was going to help her? Did you know that, Konrad? She had not a clue until I showed her. I was invaluable. Without me, she couldn’t have kept Matthew interested enough. I’m not boasting. It’s a gift I have. One shouldn’t be selfish about sharing one’s abilities to those less fortunate, I always say.

  ‘That reminds me; the police arrived at your house as I was leaving in a taxi to get on a train. I was standing at the station, in one of your baseball caps. You won’t mind that I borrowed it; in fact, you may never even notice that it’s missing. You forgot to pack it. I was watching the crowds milling about, but I dithered a bit before buying a ticket because I couldn’t decide whether to go home or to visit you in hospital. It was such a tempting thought to spend time sitting and chatting with you, and at least that way I could have admired Lorna’s handiwork on your face. No doubt the police will be there guarding you, and I wouldn’t have had much time alone, just the two of us, but it was worth considering the risk. I wanted to see your fear. Never mind.’

  Naomi let out a long dramatic sigh.

  ‘Thanks for this chat, Konrad. I’ve found it helpful to clear the air, and it’s helped me to realise that rather than making the job of the police too easy by walking straight into their arms at the hospital. I was right to make my way home and convince Josh that there has been a dreadful error on your part. Mistaken identity in the face of trauma. He believes what I tell him, you see, because he’s been conditioned to, like Helena was.

  34

  He was beside himself with frustration. He had his catheter removed, he was mobile again and yet the doctors seemed reluctant to support his discharge. Sheila took the brunt of his foul mood as she and Leah were making his bed.

  ‘When is Mr Wells coming to see me? I have to get out of here tomorrow at the latest and I either do that with his agreement or against medical advice. Either way, I am packing my meagre belongings and going to Eliza’s flat.’

  Sheila maintained a calming steady tone as she tried to placate a pacing Konrad. ‘He’s in surgery, Mr Neale, and you of all people should appreciate the priority he has to give to that. He’ll be with you when he is able. Why don’t you try phoning your friend Annette again and see how things have gone in Gloucestershire instead of taking your impatience out on the NHS staff.’ Sheila gave him one of her scary teacher glares. Grunting, he walked out of his room, along a corridor and into a small empty office. He shut the door and prayed for privacy.

  Annette answered almost immediately. ‘I was about to call you.’

  ‘Sorry, I couldn’t wait. What’s the news? How is she? Is she well? Has she remembered anything else? What’s her lawyer like, did she say?’

  ‘Kon, for goodness sake shut up and let me speak, then you might get an answer to the endless stream of questions.’ Annette took a moment to compose herself. ‘Lorna is a resilient woman and she’s making the most of her time in the remand centre. She’s been talking to some of the other detainees and has probably furnished us with enough documentary material to last a decade.’

  ‘Not interested.’ Konrad dismissed Annette’s opening remarks.

  ‘Well, she is. She’s been speaking to a woman who was at Willow Hall with Tessa Carlton, so she’s as up to date as we are on Tessa’s family history. However, she has found out something that we didn’t know. Are you sitting down?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good. Pin your ears right back and get ready to phone your pet detective chief inspector because this is a shocker.’

  ‘I’m listening.’

  ‘When Tessa Carlton absconded from Willow Hall, she was with another girl.’

  ‘Yes, we know that.’

  ‘The other girl was called Naomi Woods.’

  Konrad took a moment to think about the information.

  ‘Which means that either there are two Naomi Woods’ floating about somewhere or Tessa Carlton took the other girl’s identity knowing that she wouldn’t be resurfacing.’

  ‘Correct. If that is the case it explains why Tessa was never seen or heard of again. She became Naomi.’

  ‘What did Lorna find out about the girl called Naomi when she was in Willow Hall. What sort of girl would run off with Tessa and become her first murder victim? That’s what we are saying, isn’t it? The real Naomi was murdered.’

  ‘I think it is, Kon. It would explain how Tessa was able to live as someone else. The information that Lorna gleaned from her informant indicates that the real Naomi was a damaged child, easily influenced, mother had died of a drug overdose, father was in prison and not interested. It’s a classic case of Tessa identifying who best to use for her escape plan from what I can gather. It sounds as if she groomed Naomi, befriended her, gained her trust, helped her and made herself an indispensable friend. With no family to bother about her and not being under a Section, the effort to recover both girls was minimal. They were sixteen at the time.’

  ‘Bloody hell, Annette, the case against Tessa is stacking up. I’ll contact DCI Anwell and let him know. What’s Lorna’s solicitor like? Any good?’

  Annette was pleased to let Konrad know that Lorna’s solicitor was on the ball. ‘She rates him. He’s planning to propose that a case is made to the CPS that both you and she were the victims in this case. If I’m right, that’
s what your snobby barrister suggested too.’

  ‘Yes, he did.’

  ‘In that case, if the police and CPS can produce enough evidence to put Tessa Carlton at the scene and as the perpetrator, then you’re both in the clear. If the forensic evidence proves the two of you were drugged at the time of the incident, then Lorna cannot be said to have full intention to cause serious bodily harm. Without the presence of intent, she can’t be held liable for the crime. Do you see?’

  ‘Only out of one eye at the moment.’

  ‘Very amusing. I’m glad your sense of humour is holding up because frankly I thought they would have carted you off to the funny farm by now.’

  ‘I don’t have time. I want Lorna out of there and I’m determined to see Tessa Carlton locked up permanently.’

  ‘Where’s Naomi Woods now, still at the nick?’

  ‘I hope so. I haven’t had an update. What else did Lorna say?’

  ‘Don’t sound so anxious. She misses you and is worried sick about how you’ll cope with the psychological fall-out from the physical injury and public humiliation. She hasn’t seen your face since the night of the assault, remember, so her imagination has run riot. I tried to tell her how dashing you look in your fetching eye patch but she thinks I’m appeasing her.’

  ‘You are. Did you tell her about Freddie?’ Konrad had difficulty in asking this without emotions getting in the way. He had almost succeeded in putting up psychological barriers to help him remain rational and focussed, but Freddie’s death had produced seismic cracks in his protective armour. With only his own strength and that of his friends to call on, he was feeling vulnerable.

  ‘Kon, she already knew. It was all over the news. She wanted confirmation of the funeral arrangements and she’s desperate to be with you. I know she’s a tough old stick but it’s solely her strength of character that’s getting her through each day. She’s lost weight, you have too, but you haven’t lost each other, so hang on in there. I’ll be visiting her again when I can, and she has my number when she needs to talk or get messages to you.’