Reaching over and laying his hand over Mary’s clenched fist, Jim replied, “I’m so glad you decided to come in. I owe you an explanation.”
Mary raised her eyes to meet Jim’s, “Well, you better get on with it.”
“First of all, Mary, I am so sorry about all the Champagne we drank the last time we were here. I was so interested in what we were talking about that I didn’t realize that you had barely touched your meal. I also know that you suspect that I put something in your drink, but I swear to you that I would never do that to you or anyone.”
Mary felt the heat of a blush moving up from her neck to her face, but before she could say anything, Jim held his hand up to silence her. “When I woke up the next morning, I realized that I handled the situation horribly and could have put you in grave danger. All I could think about was finding you and making sure you were okay. When I got to your house, and you weren’t there, I was terrified that you could have gotten into your car when you shouldn’t or gone outside and fallen. My mind was conjuring up awful images of you injured and alone, with no one to help you. I’m so sorry that I left you alone like that, Mary.”
Leaning across the small table, Mary put a finger to Jim’s lips to silence him, “I realize now that I misjudged you Jim, and for that, I’m very sorry.”
“No, Mary, I should have stayed, I could have slept on the sofa, then I would have been there to keep an eye on you and explain that nothing out of line had transpired between us.”
Shaking her head from side-to-side, “It was my fault for drinking too much, Jim. I was just so nervous about going on my first date since my husband died that I made a complete fool of myself.”
Jim’s lips turned up in a slight smile, “Yours too, huh? I hadn’t been on a date since my wife walked out on me over twenty years ago.”
Mary watched pain momentarily flash across Jim’s face before it disappeared, and he regained his composure.
“I didn’t know you had been married, Jim. For some reason, I always pictured you as a confirmed bachelor. Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s not much to tell. I married a former student, much younger than me, and maybe that was the problem, who knows? The long and short of it was I came home from work one day, and she was gone, along with everything of value in the flat. Talk about stupid, I even called the police and reported that my home had been burgled and my wife was missing. Can you imagine my embarrassment when the neighbors told the officers that they had witnessed my wife helping a young man load up my possessions and leaving together, arm-in-arm? Thank goodness, we never had children.”
“Oh, Jim, I am so sorry. That is just horrible!”
“You don’t know the half of it, Mary. She also emptied our bank account and maxed out my credit cards, so I was left with huge monthly bills and no cash to pay them. My credit was ruined, and I was forced to sell my flat and move back into apartments at the university. I guess that’s probably why that I haven’t had the desire to become too close to anyone since.”
Just as Mary was opening her mouth to respond, their waiter approached the table, “Are you ready to order?”
Giving the menu another quick glance, Mary replied, “I think I’ll have the trout tonight and a glass of sparkling water.”
Directing his attention to Jim, he asked, “And you, sir?”
Handing the waiter his menu, Jim replied, “That sounds perfect. Make that two of the same.”
Growing quiet for a moment, Mary gently said, “I had such a wonderful husband, and when I lost him, I knew that no one could ever take his place in my heart, so I never dated. I put all my energy into my little farm and my job. I do miss the companionship, just having someone to share a meal with or sit down to watch television with after a long day at work. I’m not looking to replace him. I hope you understand, Jim.”
Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Jim again reached for Mary’s hand, “Oh, thank you for being so honest, Mary. I feel the same way, not that I miss the ex-wife, heavens no, but I do miss having a good friend who I can go out with to a meal, someone who I can just pop in and visit when I’m in the area. I hope you can be that friend to me.”
Chapter 21
Mary and Jim sat around Mary’s kitchen table reminiscing about university days into the wee hours of the morning, causing her to get a late start to work. She had no sooner sat down at her desk before her phone began ringing. Holding the phone with one hand, while scrolling through her emails with the other, Mary answered the phone, “Mary Hamilton…Oh, hello, Cam….Sorry I was running a bit late this morning….Yes, I’m just checking to see if the results have come back from the lab….Can you hold on for a moment?”
Cam swiveled around in his chair and began doodling with his finger on the steamed-up windows. The room had grown stifling hot, and if the rain hadn’t been thrashing down, he’d have thrown the window wide open. Cam’s doodling on the steam covered window was abruptly interrupted by a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone line, “Cam, these results don’t make sense at all. I really don’t understand.”
Cam’s head tilted to the side, and he wiped his wet finger on his pants, “What don’t you understand, Mary? What does the report say?”
Hesitating, Mary asked, “You remember that I was having dinner with Jim last night, don’t you?”
Nodding his head and rising to his feet, Cam said, “It’s him, then?”
“No! That’s just it Cam, it’s not Jim.”
Pushing his hair back from his forehead, Cam dropped back in his chair, “Well, that’s good, isn’t it? But, what does the report have to do with you having dinner with the Professor last night?”
Still staring at the report, Mary said, “Jim or the Professor, as you insist upon calling him, told me that he was divorced and that his wife left him for another man.”
Growing impatiently, Cam asked, “And what does that have to do with anything?”
“The DNA test reveals partial matches indicating that the murderer shares half his DNA with Jim. The murderer is Jim’s son.”
Hanging up the phone while Mary was still talking, Cam called to his sergeant, “Dan, the murderer is the Professor’s son. Is PC Parks keeping him under surveillance today?
Dan quickly crossed the hall to Cam’s office, “Yes, Sir, I just got off the phone with her.”
“Good, call her back and tell her to bring the Professor in for further questioning. We need to find out where his son is hiding.”
Realizing that Cam had hung up on her while she was trying to tell him that Jim told her that he had never had children, Mary grabbed her raincoat and headed out the door. She knew Cam was going to bring Jim in for more questioning. And she wanted some answers, too!
As she drove, Mary kept turning over a variety of scenarios in her head. Why had Jim lied to her about having a child? Had he known all along that his son committed these murders? Had he only renewed their friendship to try to get information out of her about the case?
The more questions that Mary asked herself, the more nothing made sense. If he knew that his son murdered these girls and buried them at the Castle, then why would he have organized a dig there? If it wasn’t for the dig disturbing the bodies, they could have remained hidden for years with no one being the wiser. No…Nothing made sense.
Mary’s old Land Rover had barely come to a stop when she jumped out of the car and headed for the station door where Cam stood waiting for the arrival of PC Parks and the Professor.
“What are you doing here, Mary?”
Shoving Cam aside as she barged through the door, Mary shouted, “For one thing, Cam Fergus, you hung up on me while I was still talking.”
Cam was shocked; he had never heard Mary speak to anyone like this…especially, not him.
“Mary, I’m so sorry. I just wanted to get the Professor in here as quick as possible after what you told me about the DNA results.”
Bristling, Mary sneered
, “Well, if you hadn’t hung up, you might have waited until you could do some further investigation.”
Totally confused, Cam ushered Mary into his office, “Sit down and calm down Mary and tell me…investigate what? DNA doesn’t lie, the Professor’s son is the murderer, and he needs to tell us where he’s hiding.”
Growing silent for a moment, Mary finally replied, “I am sure Jim would be happy to cooperate if he could.”
“Mary, you’re losing me. What do you mean…if he could? Are you saying that he may not know where his son is?”
“Cam, I don’t believe that Jim even knows that he has a son.”
Leaning back in his chair, Cam let out a groan, “Perhaps, you better tell me why you think that this is possible.”
Over the next ten minutes, Mary told Cam about her conversations with Jim during dinner the previous evening and the questions that had been swirling around in her head on the drive to the station. When she finished, Cam stood up and strode across the hall to his sergeant’s office, “Dan, I want you to run a check on the name that appeared on the Professor’s background report as his ex-wife. Run both her married and maiden name. I need it right away and when Anne gets here with the Professor, have her make him comfortable in the interview room, and don’t mention anything about why we want to speak to him. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir, I’m on it.”
Returning to his office, Cam poured Mary a cup of coffee and positioned himself at his desk so he could watch the parking lot while still speaking with Mary, “I trust your instincts, Mary, and I value your opinion. Dan is going to follow-up on the Professor’s ex-wife, but that’s still no guarantee that he didn’t father a child by another woman, and just didn’t want to share that information with you.”
Nodding her agreement, “True, but if you could have heard the degree of disappointment in his voice at not having children, you might think differently.”
Swiveling around in his chair at the sound of tyres on the gravel drive, Cam frowned, “He’s here. For your sake, Mary, I hope you’re right. I guess we’ll know soon enough.”
Chapter 22
Cam drummed his fingers on his desk as he watched the clock tick away the minutes. Professor Henderson had been waiting in the interview room for twenty minutes, and Cam was still waiting for Dan to complete running the background report on the Professor’s ex-wife.
Jumping to his feet, Cam looked apologetically across at Mary, “I can’t wait anymore. Obviously, Dan is having trouble getting the background report. I need to get in there.”
Walking down the hall, Cam entered the interview room, sat down opposite the Professor, and switched on the recorder, “Interview commenced at 13:30, for the record Chief Inspector Cam Fergus and PC Anne Parks attending. PC Parks will you caution the prisoner?”
Stepping closer to the table, PC Parks addressed the Professor, “You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defense if you fail to mention when questioned anything you later rely on in court. Do you understand?”
“This sounds serious, are you charging me with a crime?” asked the Professor.
Staring into the man’s eyes, Cam responded, “That all depends on how co-operative you are. Now, do you understand your rights, Professor?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you have for me, Chief Inspector.”
Leaning across the table and carefully watching the Professor’s face, Cam was just about to ask him where his son was hiding when a knock on the door, followed by Dan sticking his head in, and motioning for Cam to join him and Mary in the hallway, interrupted the interview.
“Sir, it appears that the Professor’s ex-wife did have a child. The boy was born eight months after she left the marital home.”
“So, it’s a possibility that the Professor wouldn’t be aware that he has a son if the wife chose to keep it a secret. We’ll need to talk to her, Dan.”
Shaking his head, Dan continued, “That’s what took me so long. I’m afraid that won’t be possible. The lady is deceased. That was how I discovered the son. It seems that she was living in Ireland under her maiden name when struck by a car and killed. According to the records, her son claimed the body.”
“Good work, Dan. What’s the son’s name, and do we have an address?”
“Michael Jameson and his address was listed as Hereford University.”
Cam placed his hand on the doorknob to re-enter the interview room when Mary grabbed him by the sleeve, “Go easy on him, Cam. If I’m right, Jim has no idea his wife was pregnant when she left. In all reality, she probably didn’t either, either she didn’t know it was her husbands or she did and tried to pass the child off as her lovers. I guess we will never know.”
Turning back and taking a deep breath as he placed his hand on the doorknob again, Cam slowly opened the door and entered.
Switching the recorder back on, Cam stared into the Professor’s eyes, “Professor Henderson, we need to speak to your son. Do you know where he is hiding?”
The Professor’s reaction was far from what Cam expected. Once the look of utter bewilderment left the man’s eyes, he slowly replied, “There must be some mistake, Chief Inspector. I don’t have a son. I have never been fortunate enough to be blessed with children.”
“Professor, I understand that your wife left you for another man. Is that correct?”
“Why yes, that’s true, Chief Inspector. I expect Mary told you that. I came home one day, and she was gone.”
Peering down at the papers that Dan had given him and not wanting to violate Mary’s confidence, “Actually, no. It’s right here in your application for a divorce. The DNA test revealed that the man who we suspect murdered three people shares fifty percent of your DNA. I’m sure you know what that means, Professor. We traced your ex-wife, and I am sorry to tell you that she died as a result of a motor vehicle accident and that her body was claimed by her son…your son. ”
Professor Henderson held up a shaking hand, “I had no idea that she was pregnant when she left. I never heard from her after she disappeared.”
“Apparently, she was married briefly and the son… your son… was named after him.”
“I’m having a hard time taking all this in, Chief Inspector, but if I didn’t know I even had a son, then how can I help you?”
Looking down at the papers before staring back into Henderson’s eyes, “Do you know a Michael Jameson? Our information indicates he lives at Hereford University, quite a coincidence if you ask me.”
Reaching for his glass of water, his hand jerked, and water flooded the desk as he jumped to his feet, “Michael Jameson? Are you saying that he’s my son?”
“Yes, are you saying that he never gave any indication that you were his father?”
“Good lord, no! I mentored him, and he works with me. He’s the Associate Professor working with me at the dig. As a matter of fact, Michael is the one that recommended the site and did all the background research before we came down here. He’s the one that chose the area for his team to dig, and he’s the one that alerted me to the bodies. Are you sure he’s the murderer, Chief Inspector?”
“I’m afraid so, DNA matching his was found under the fingernails of Tony Lambert and also on the jacket he wore the night he was pushed off the walls of Goodrich Castle. We will need a DNA sample from Mr. Jameson to be 100% sure, but as long as you’re certain that your late ex-wife is the only one who could have born you a child, then I think that is little choice, but to arrest him.”
Wringing his hands, “No, she was the only one. I just can’t believe that I’ve been this close to my own son for years and had no idea. He never gave me any indication. Is it possible that this is all a series of coincidences, and he doesn’t know that I’m his father?”
“I find that highly unlikely, Professor. Where is Mr. Jameson now?”
“I left him in charge at the dig, when your officer asked me to accompany her here.”
Cam pushed up from the table, “We need to get there right away!”
“He’s my son, Chief Inspector, can I come with you? Perhaps, if he sees you bringing me back, then he won’t be alarmed and attempt anything foolish.”
Grabbing his coat, he nodded at the Professor and called to Sergeant Roberts, “We need to get up to the dig. The Professor is riding with us. I want it to look like we are just driving him back. We don’t want to tip-off our suspect.”
Mary stood silently in the hall, waiting for her friend to come out of the interview room. Grabbing his arm as he walked into the hall, “Jim, I know this has all come as quite a shock to you, and believe me when I say, I am so terribly sorry. Please call me if there is anything I can do?”
Placing his hand over hers, Professor Henderson gazed into Mary’s troubled eyes and squeezed her hand before nodding, then followed Cam and Sergeant Roberts out of the station.
As the three men pulled out of the station lot, Cam called Hereford for backup, “The murder suspect is Assistant Professor Michael Jameson. He is currently in charge of the archeological dig at Goodrich Castle. We are on the way there and will wait out of sight until backup arrives. Under no circumstances are you to use sirens or approach the suspect. He has at least a dozen students with him, and we definitely don’t want to risk a hostage situation.”
Reaching over the back seat, and placing his hand on Cam’s shoulder, Professor Henderson said, “Chief Inspector, I’ve had a thought. Perhaps if you drop me off at the welcome centre and appear to leave, I could return to the dig as if nothing happened. I realize that you say that Jameson is my son, but my main concern is for the safety of my students. I would prefer to get him separated from the group before you move in.”
Turning around in his seat to face the man, Cam replied, “That’s a good idea. How do you plan on getting him away from them?”
“I’ll go back and carry on, as usual, then I’ll go up on the castle walls and call Jameson to come up and look at something unusual that I’ve noticed in the topography of the trench. Once he’s up there with me, I’ll put my hand up to my eyes like I am shading them from the sun, and then point down to the trench. That will be your signal to have your men move-in.”
She Lies Beneath Page 8