Stephen and his lawyer sat in silence. They both knew this wasn’t going well.
‘There’s no good explanation for any of this, is there, Stephen?’ Prentice said. ‘The only explanation is that you killed your stepdaughter. You killed Rachel, didn’t you?’
‘No,’ he replied in a whisper. ‘No. I never killed her.’
Donaldson brought out some photographs of Rachel’s charred remains and spread them on the table. Numerous disgusting photographs.
‘Look at her. You left her like that. You killed her and left her to rot in those woods. Look at her!’ Donaldson shouted.
Stephen jerked forward and looked at the photographs for a brief moment. Sheer horror engulfed his face. He had gone an unhealthy shade of pale.
‘Oh my God, I’m going to be sick,’ he said.
64
‘Miss Matthews?’ Prentice said, flashing his warrant card, which hung around his neck from a lanyard. Kat opened the door further. ‘I’m Detective Inspector Prentice and this is Detective Sergeant Donaldson. We’d like to talk to you about your ex-husband, a Mr Stephen Armstrong?’
‘Stephen? I thought you’d be here about Rachel Strang,’ Kat said. This was the moment of truth for her. She tried to remain calm.
‘We are,’ Prentice said. ‘If we could maybe do this inside?’
There was no way Kat could get out of this. She opened the door and let the officers follow her inside.
Kat had thought she might get interviewed by the police again, especially when they found out Stephen was her ex-husband. The fact it was by two CID officers and not uniforms was worrying but not entirely unexpected – this was a murder enquiry after all.
The two detectives made for an odd couple. They took a seat on the couch where Rachel had sat just a few weeks before. Kat tried to put that thought out of her mind.
‘When was the last time you saw your ex-husband?’ Prentice said.
‘Thankfully not for a long time. You said you were here about Stephen and Rachel – what’s going on?’ Kat said. She had remained composed so far.
‘We believe Stephen was having an affair with Miss Strang, and we believe he may have something to do with her death,’ Donaldson said.
‘What? Stephen and Rachel?’
‘Let me explain,’ Prentice said. ‘Your ex-husband is married again, to a lady called Laura Strang—’
‘Strang?’
‘Yes, Strang,’ said Prentice. ‘Rachel was Laura’s daughter, and we now know that he was having an affair with his stepdaughter.’
Kat tried to appear shocked.
‘I know this is a lot to take in,’ Donaldson said.
‘You’re telling me. You mean I work in the same place as my ex-husband’s stepdaughter and they were—’
‘Yes. That appears to be the case. We’re gathering as much information about Stephen as possible. We think he is heavily involved in all of this. We’ve been going around his friends and acquaintances and your name popped up in our enquiries. I know you’ve been divorced for a long time, but is there anything you could tell us about him that might help?’ Prentice said.
‘I can’t believe this. Stephen was a lot of things but a murderer? I don’t know. I can tell you one thing though – it doesn’t surprise me that he was having an affair. That’s the reason I left him. He liked younger women. I caught him in the act one time and the girl was lucky if she was old enough.’
The two detectives sat opposite Kat shared a look.
‘I know you’ve not been together for a good while but do you know of any places Stephen liked to go or take anyone?’ Prentice asked.
‘You wouldn’t exactly call Stephen a romantic,’ Kat said. ‘We never went anywhere – we never went on holiday; we barely went out for a meal. One time he took me to some bloody woods—’
‘Woods?’ Donaldson said. ‘Where were these woods?’ Both Prentice and Donaldson had moved to the edge of their seats. Their interest was most definitely piqued.
‘Not too far outside Glasgow; I’m not exactly sure where. I just remember it was a grubby, derelict place. We pitched a tent and everything,’ Kat said. She knew the officers were interested. ‘What is it? What have I said?’
Donaldson looked at Prentice – Prentice nodded as if giving his partner the go-ahead to say what he was thinking.
‘This information hasn’t been released yet,’ Donaldson said. ‘We found Rachel’s body in woods just outside Glasgow this morning.’
‘Oh my God. Stephen did this, didn’t he?’ Kat didn’t have to fake her shock this time. Rachel’s body had been found. Kat hadn’t thought for one minute the body would be found so quickly. It was foolish thinking, as there were probably hundreds of police officers and members of the public looking for her. Plus, the media interest was high. It didn’t change anything though. There was a slim chance Kat’s DNA could be on the body, but after over a month it was unlikely. Over a month in which there had been near torrential rain. A month in which the body would have been left to the elements and whatever wildlife was in that area. This after all the bleach, the white spirit and the fire had ravaged her body. Kat shuddered to think what state the body would be in.
‘We obviously can’t say for sure but it’s looking like Mr Armstrong was involved,’ Prentice said. Donaldson would have been far more forthright in his answer. Kat tried to stop herself from smiling. This was all going according to plan.
*
If Prentice was looking for any inkling that Stephen Armstrong might not be their man, he wasn’t going to find it here. His ex-wife hadn’t exactly given him a glowing character reference. Maybe he was wrong after all? Maybe he was seeing things that weren’t really there. Niggling doubts always existed in cases like these, and even Prentice had to admit that everything he had uncovered so far pointed to Stephen Armstrong being their killer.
65
DCI Brannigan had called the meeting, but his chair remained empty. He was late, as usual. Rumours around the room were that the DCI was caught up watching reruns of himself on the news. The detectives spoke about the case amongst themselves whilst awaiting his arrival.
‘It’s the stepdad,’ Donaldson said, biting into a sausage and bacon sandwich.
‘It’s not looking good for him, I’ll give you that, but we still need to keep an open mind,’ Prentice replied.
‘Stepdad,’ Donaldson said with his mouth full. He wasn’t one to abandon his opinions. He was adamant, and even Prentice had to admit he was probably right. The evidence certainly pointed that way.
‘What about the boyfriend?’ Prentice offered.
‘He’s got a temper – we saw that when he was arrested,’ DS Kelly said. ‘But murdering his fiancée? That’s a stretch. Plus, he seems genuinely too clueless to get away with it.’
‘I’m telling you, Al, it’s the stepdad. It’s absolutely ripping out of him. Plus the evidence is there for all to see,’ Donaldson said, savouring another mouthful of his roll. Donaldson loved to eat but breakfast seemed to be his favourite meal of the day. Prentice had never seen someone consume so many calories in the morning.
‘I’m not saying he’s not a good suspect, and the evidence against him is mounting up, but I just think we need to look a bit deeper.’
‘Why waste our time looking at someone else?’ Donaldson said. ‘We’ve got our man. I’m sure of it. I can feel it in my water. Plus, he’s been helped by that daughter of his.’
Prentice knew he’d have his work cut out trying to convince his friend – and the rest of the team for that matter – to look at some of the other suspects. The evidence had stacked up against the stepdad, Stephen Armstrong. He’d admitted having an inappropriate relationship with Rachel, and he’d admitted sending the texts found on her phone, but he still wasn’t copping to the murder. The forensic evidence against him was the real clincher though. There was no plausible explanation for Rachel’s blood ending up all over his shed. Something niggled at Prentice though – it was just… it was
just all a bit too easy. The text and the subsequent meeting had laid out the suspects on a plate for them and Prentice didn’t like the fact the text had been anonymous.
The problem with Stephen Armstrong – and the reason Donaldson, Kelly and the other detectives were adamant he was the guilty man – was that he’d lied. He’d lied through his teeth about everything and only later, when presented with irrefutable evidence, had he held his hands up. Prentice couldn’t be sure what was truth and what were lies when it came to the answers he gave.
The door opened and DCI Brannigan breezed in without so much as an apology for his tardiness. He took his seat and looked at his squad of detectives.
‘Morning, folks,’ Brannigan began. ‘Short but sweet meeting this morning. I’ve just come from a meeting and basically the gist of it is – we’ve got him. It would have been good if Archie Thomson was involved somehow, but we can’t have everything now, can we? Sterling work from everyone. Absolutely first-class effort. The forensic evidence added to the rest of it means that this guy Armstrong hasn’t got a leg to stand on. We’ve got enough. We’re going to charge him with the murder of his stepdaughter.’
66
Working at the bank had changed completely over the past few weeks. Not only for Kat but for everyone in the office. Rachel’s disappearance had meant nothing was ever going to be the same again.
Kat was allowed to go about her business without fear of any bullying. Rachel was gone, never to return and Kirsty hadn’t been seen since the police took her away at the park. No one was sure what was going on with her – or if she was even still employed by the company. This suited Kat down to the ground. She didn’t want to see her back.
Kat had been given an interview for the manager’s position, along with four other candidates, last week. It had gone really well and she was just waiting to hear if she had been successful. She had prepared thoroughly for it and had even bought herself a new trouser suit. It looked like the one the female detective had worn when she’d interviewed Kat about Rachel. She’d answered all the questions well and there had been no awkward silences. She had come across as confident and assured. She had even highlighted her loyalty to the company and asked a few questions of her own, which the interview panel had seemed genuinely pleased with.
Tony was leaving at the end of the month, but he had already completely given up on the role. He had hardly come out of his office since Rachel’s disappearance had blown up spectacularly, though when he did he looked terrible and always as if he had been crying. He had been questioned thoroughly by the police several times now, thanks in part to Kat pointing out how upset he was.
Everyone in the office had exhausted all questions and speculation as to what had actually happened to Rachel. Every day now, everyone in the office listened to the news on the hour, every hour to see if there were any updates on the case, though there had been precious few updates since Stephen had been charged. However, today was different. Today there was news. Big news.
Everyone in the office was silent as they listened to the news report.
‘Police have today confirmed remains found in woodland near Glasgow are those of missing woman Rachel Strang. The nineteen-year-old has been missing since…’
The news came out of the blue for everyone in the office, apart from Kat.
The place was buzzing with chatter now. Nearly everyone had assumed that Rachel was dead, but it was still a shock for them to have it confirmed. A few of the girls were in tears. Any hopes people had about her being found alive had been extinguished. Kat had to play along and show she was as shocked as the rest of them.
Everyone turned to the office where Tony was in hiding. There was a horrible animal-like noise. Tony was wailing loudly – his worst fears had been realised.
67
It’s all gone wrong.
I can’t believe this.
Rachel’s dead.
Dead.
And the police are trying to blame me and my dad.
I’ve been questioned three or four times now and I can tell they don’t believe me, even though I’m telling the truth. I never killed anyone. I never had anything to do with Rachel dying. It’s like a living nightmare.
They’ll not let me see Dad. I’m not sure I even want to see him at the moment. The detective, Prentice, showed me things that confirm he was having a relationship with Rachel. Messages between the two of them. Photos they sent each other. Photos! I feel so humiliated. Why would he jeopardise everything for her? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Stupid. So stupid.
He would never kill her though. No chance. There’s no way he would do anything like that – I know that for a fact. There’s just no way. No matter how often they keep asking me. There’s no way my dad’s a murderer.
I think the police are going to actually charge him. With murder. Fucking hell. It’s unreal. I can tell they think I knew something or I helped in some way. How could he be so stupid to have an affair with her? He’s ruined everything. And then he lied to my face about it. What else could he be lying about? All that shit about Fat Kat being my mum and abandoning me –I’m beginning to think it’s all lies. Especially when she kept her son. Why would she do that? None of it makes sense anymore. It’s an actual living nightmare all of this.
I don’t know what we’re going to do. What I’m going to do. I really don’t.
It’s all gone to shit.
68
There seemed to be every newspaper for sale that day floating around the office. Tabloids and broadsheets. Every last morsel of news on the case had been digested. Every news website had been read and reread. Refreshed and refreshed some more. The radio was on constantly. No one wanted to miss any developments in the case. There wasn’t much work being done but nobody seemed to care.
Tony hadn’t appeared at work this morning, and it was left to a manager in another department to announce that a counsellor was on site should anyone feel the need to see them. On the whole though, people were being left to their own devices.
*
The work day was nearly at an end when the email appeared in Kat’s inbox. She had been eagerly awaiting its arrival since her interview. It stared at her.
Application for Team Manager Role
Kat’s heart was pounding. She was filled with a mix of excitement and trepidation. She had prepared thoroughly for the interview and knew it had gone well, but there were doubts in the back of her mind – there were always doubts, though not as many as before. If she didn’t get it, was it really the end of the world? Of course not – it showed how far she’d come that she had actually applied for the job in the first place.
Kat had been passed over for promotion years ago and had never applied for another step up since. She had actually gone the other way and been demoted, as the strain of being a single parent and looking after a young boy had impacted her work, and she’d had to just scrape by as her wages decreased – Stephen wasn’t interested in seeing Paul and hadn’t paid one penny towards his upbringing, which was all the more galling after the revelation that he had a daughter of his own. It had been hard. It had been a struggle, but she had managed to get through it. The bullying had killed her already broken confidence but now that too was at an end.
And she had gathered up the courage and applied for the manager’s job to be vacated by Terrible Tony.
She clicked open the email.
Congratulations, we would like to offer you the position…
Kat had done it. As she sat reading the email, her heart still pounding, a small tear fell from her eye. Not a tear of sadness – it was joy. She was so proud of herself, and she hadn’t had that feeling since she was a small girl. For years the life had been sucked from her by a no-good husband, doubters and bullies, people telling her she was no good, she was too fat, too ugly – the list was endless. All of the hurtful comments had dragged her down and taken away every ounce of confidence she had ever had. She had been through so much since the incident with Rache
l. She hadn’t meant for it to happen, but it had and there was nothing she could do about that now. She couldn’t magically go back and undo any of it.
Reading the email, she realised that all these negative feelings had evaporated. Who cared that she was in her fifties now? She believed her life was restarting, she was energised again and she felt great. She felt alive.
69
Brannigan and the rest of the top brass were more than happy to charge Stephen Armstrong. Prentice had to admit that the evidence was good and went far beyond circumstantial. They had listened to him cast doubts on the whole case against Stephen but everyone was quite content that they’d get a result. Prentice was sure they’d get a conviction too. The CPS was also convinced. There was still something niggling away at Prentice though.
Stephen and his daughter Kirsty had a strange relationship, to say the least, and their behaviour had been puzzling, but were they capable of what happened to Rachel? Maybe it was an accident that had spiralled out of control. Prentice didn’t know. He still had doubts, but he seemed to be the only one. In fact, he knew he was the only one.
The thing that didn’t sit right with him about all of this was the text. Who had sent all of the texts to everyone and to the police? Who had arranged for them all to be there at that specific location and time? Brannigan and the rest of the detectives wanted Prentice to leave it alone. They said he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but it felt strange. They’d had tip-offs before, of course, but to his knowledge they’d never had all the suspects in a case delivered to them on a platter like that. It was just too easy.
The rest of the team were quite happy with the outcome. Prentice could hear the whispers every time he entered a room – there’s the guy who wanted to blow this result for them. The whole case had been wrapped up quickly, far quicker than the majority Prentice had worked on. Stephen Armstrong and his daughter Kirsty would likely be jailed for a considerable period of time.
Don't Push Me Page 14