The Silent Quarry

by Cheryl Rees-Price

  Yeah, I can just imagine me and Blackwell having a heart to heart over a pint. Meadows nodded, he didn’t trust himself to comment.

  ‘Teamwork is important,’ Lester continued. ‘I know Blackwell can be a bit gruff at times but he is a good detective. Just give him a chance. How is Edris working out?’

  ‘Good, he’s very keen to learn.’

  ‘Well, he’s certainly been singing your praises. Blackwell on the other hand is not a happy man. I hear you’ve had him manning the phones.’

  Meadows smiled. ‘Edris and I were out interviewing potential witnesses.’

  ‘It should be one of the sergeants out on interviews with you, but as you seem comfortable with Edris we’ll leave it for now.’

  ‘I would like him to see the case to its conclusion.’

  ‘I agree.’ Lester stood to indicate the meeting was over. ‘Keep me updated.’

  ‘Will do.’ Meadows left the office and walked over to his desk where Edris was hovering.

  ‘David Collier is downstairs. I put him in an interview room.’

  ‘Right, well let’s not keep him waiting. Do you want to sit in?’

  Edris grinned. ‘Hell yes, I want to see you in action.’

  Meadows rolled his eyes. ‘Next thing you’ll be telling me is you want to play good cop, bad cop. Well, I am afraid you are just going to observe today.’ He picked up the file with David Collier’s statement and headed for the stairs.

  David Collier was seated in the interview room, a cup of tea untouched on the table.

  ‘Sorry to have kept you waiting.’ Meadows sat and placed the file on the table. He saw Edris take a seat in the corner of the room and place his hands on his knees.

  ‘I suppose these rooms are designed to make you feel nervous.’ David Collier glanced around.

  Meadows followed his gaze and tried to see it through the other man’s eyes. There was a small window with frosted glass set high up in the wall; two fluorescent lights in the ceiling gave off low buzz. The walls were painted beige with no pictures or notices. Not designed to make the occupant feel comfortable.

  ‘We’ve asked you to come in today to go over the statement you provided at the time of Gwen’s attack. Before we begin I would like to ask you if you would be happy to provide us with a voluntary DNA sample. It’s just a swab of the inside of your cheek. Completely painless.’ Meadows watched David pale. ‘It would help eliminate you from our enquiries.’

  ‘I see. So you would be just checking it against samples found at the scene?’

  ‘Yes.’ And the paternity of Bethan’s child. What else does he think we will be checking for? He’s nervous about something. ‘Does this concern you?’

  ‘No, why should it? I have nothing to hide.’ David folded his arms.

  Meadows opened the file and read through the notes. He was aware of David fidgeting in the chair, he took his time before looking up. ‘On the morning of the twentieth of June 1987 you were in the home of Sue Collier.’

  ‘Yes, I often called on Sue to help her out. I went around to cut the lawn.’

  ‘There was an argument that morning between Gwen and her mother.’

  ‘There was some sort of disagreement, yes.’

  ‘Can you tell me the nature of this disagreement?’

  ‘No, I don’t recall, sorry.’

  Yet you remember going to mow the lawn. ‘You were angry with Gwen that morning.’

  ‘No, why would I be angry with Gwen?’

  ‘You chased after her and at the garden gate you grabbed her roughly by the arm.’

  ‘I just wanted to make sure she was OK. She was upset when she left the house.’

  ‘What is your relationship with Sue Collier?’

  ‘She’s my sister-in-law. We’re friends.’

  ‘Now there’s a coincidence, she said exactly the same thing. Are you sure you’re not more than friends?’

  ‘Look, I don’t see what this has to do with what happened to Gwen –’

  ‘Did you know Bethan Hopkins?’

  ‘Not well, sometimes she was at Sue’s house with Gwen. I gave her a lift from school with Gwen on a few occasions.’

  ‘You never married.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘No children?’

  David hesitated long enough for Meadows to sense he was hiding something. ‘No, I don’t have any children.’

  ‘You went looking for Gwen that afternoon.’ Meadows could see Edris shift in his chair. There was a quizzical look on his face at the sudden change of direction with the questions.

  ‘Yes I was worried about her.’

  ‘You were seen on several occasions throughout the day and as late as eight o’clock.’

  ‘I told you, we were worried about her. It was raining and she didn’t have a coat.’

  ‘Did Gwen often run away?’

  ‘No, not to my knowledge.’

  ‘It must have been difficult for Gwen, losing her father then having you step in to take over.’

  ‘It wasn’t like that.’ David reddened.

  ‘Oh, really? It sounds like you were around the house often. Picking up Gwen from school, even attending parents’ evenings.’

  ‘I was there to support Sue, it wasn’t easy for her bringing up Gwen alone.’

  ‘It must have been quite an argument that day for Gwen to run off. Did she accuse you of something?’

  ‘No! She argued with Sue.’

  ‘Yet both you and Sue claim not to remember what the argument was about.’ Meadows let the silence lengthen in the room. He watched David closely. Beads of perspiration had gathered on his forehead and his hands were folded and placed on the table, but his thumbs constantly rubbed together. He’s definitely nervous about something.

  Meadows leaned forwards and locked eyes with David. ‘I think you were angry with Gwen that day. You followed her up the quarry, maybe you argued some more. Was she screaming at you? Did she hit you? Was she upset about you and Sue or was it the fact that you liked younger girls? Did she find out about you and Bethan?’

  ‘No! What sort of man do you think I am?’ David stood up.

  ‘Did she threaten to tell Sue?’

  ‘I don’t have to listen to this crap.’ David turned and walked towards the door where Edris jumped to his feet.

  ‘Sit down, Mr Collier,’ Meadows ordered. ‘You are of course here voluntarily but I could arrest you.’

  David spun around. ‘Arrest me? What for?’ He clenched his fists, but it didn’t disguise the tremor.

  ‘Sit down,’ Meadows repeated.

  David sank into the chair.

  ‘Did you follow Gwen up to the quarry that day? You probably didn’t mean to hurt her, things got out of hand, you pushed her and she fell over the edge. Bethan was screaming and you were afraid, you had to stop her from telling what you had done. Is that how it happened?’

  ‘No! I went out looking for her, and later Jack Hopkins called looking for Bethan. We assumed the girls were together, hiding somewhere. Then it got late, we were worried, Sue was in a state. That’s when I decided to call the police and report Gwen missing. I thought your lot would be able to find her and bring her home.’ David put his head in his hands.

  ‘You can see how it looks. Gwen remembers running from someone that day. She would have known you were looking for her.’

  David looked up, his eyes glistening. ‘I would never hurt Gwen. I love her.’

  Meadows felt a surge of anger, he lent in further. ‘Love her?’

  ‘Not like that!’ A venomous look crossed David’s face. ‘Gwen is my daughter.’ His shoulders slumped as he sighed.

  ‘What?’ Meadows took a few moment to process the information. He can’t be, Gwen’s father died when she was ten years old.

  ‘It’s true. If you are going to take that DNA sample you can confirm it. That’s what the argument was about that day. Gwen caught us together. We weren’t doing anything, just having a cwtch. I wanted to tell Gwen the truth. Sue’
s marriage was never a happy one, my brother could be a right bastard at times. I tried to be a friend to Sue and I guess we fell in love. Sue got pregnant, she worked out quickly that it was mine, and if my brother suspected he didn’t let on. Gwen idolised her father and Sue didn’t want to spoil the image she had of him. I just wanted things out in the open, I wanted to be a father to Gwen and not just Uncle David.

  ‘I told her that day; she was in such a rage when she left the house. I suppose it was too much for her to take in. We thought she would calm down and come home so we could talk it over. After the attack she had no recollection of the argument and we didn’t want to risk upsetting her after what she had been through. We were just glad to have her back.’

  ‘And you kept on seeing Sue in secret.’

  ‘No, Sue broke it off after Gwen was found. She still feels guilty for what happened.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before?’

  ‘We didn’t want to risk Gwen finding out. She has been through so much. Please don’t tell her. I want to do it myself.’

  Meadows sighed. This certainly wasn’t the way he expected the interview to go. He stood up and picked up the file. ‘DC Edris will organise the DNA swab, you are free to go afterwards.’ He left the interview room and returned to his desk. Poor Gwen, it’s no wonder she has blocked it out of her memory.

  Meadows sat at his computer and started updating his notes. It was some time before he noticed the message placed on top of the files.

  ‘When did this call come in?’ He waved the note in the air.

  Blackwell looked up from his desk. ‘About an hour ago. She didn’t leave a message, looks like she only wanted to talk to you,’ he smirked.

  ‘Any other calls come in?’

  ‘No.’ Blackwell turned away.

  Meadows picked up his phone and punched in Gwen’s number, then changed his mind and ended the call. I better wait until David has had a chance to talk to her.

  Edris walked back into the office, plonked himself down in his chair and turned to Meadows. ‘DNA swab has been taken. Do you think he’s telling the truth?’

  ‘Yes, I think he is, or at least he believes he is, Gwen’s father. It makes sense that they’d want to keep that information from her and I can understand their guilt over what happened.’

  ‘So what now?’

  Meadows leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. ‘We give it a couple of days, see if that witness calls back about Epworth. Gwen called when we were interviewing Collier. I’m going to go up to see her shortly, I imagine she’s remembered something else and wants to discuss it. Meanwhile I think you should continue looking into Matt’s background and chase up the group that was with Steven Powell that day. David Collier was a long shot. Let’s see what comes back from the DNA sample then we will have another crack at Epworth.’

  When Gwen opened the door, Meadows could tell that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and swollen. When she stepped back to let him in he saw her take a quick glance in the mirror.

  ‘If this is a bad time I can call back tomorrow.’

  ‘No, it’s fine, to be honest I need to get my act together before the kids come home. I’m not ready to explain to them why I am upset.’ She led him into the sitting room and sat on the sofa.

  ‘I got your message.’ Meadows chose to sit in the armchair. ‘I take it you’ve had a visit from your uncle.’

  ‘Yes, Uncle Daddy and my mother just left.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Gwen, it must have come as a bit of a shock.’

  ‘I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me sooner. Again, I mean. I know I would have been upset as a teenager, but to leave it this long …’ She ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

  ‘I guess there was never the right time.’

  ‘I feel so sorry for them both. They quite clearly love each other but didn’t continue the relationship because of me. All those wasted years.’ She looked wistfully at Meadows.

  He felt a sharp tug at his heart, like an old wound opening up. ‘Now there’s a chance for them to start again.’ Maybe for us too. A tingle of excitement rippled across his skin. ‘Do you think they’ll get back together?’

  ‘I hope so. I’m not upset about them, or even about David being my father. I guess I’ve just had all the illusions about my dad shattered.’

  ‘You shouldn’t think that way. Whatever went on between your mother and David, your dad, well, he’s still your dad, and from what you’ve told me he loved you very much.’ Meadows felt like reaching out and holding her hand, but instead he leaned forward and smiled. ‘So what was it you wanted to tell me?’

  ‘Giles Epworth. I remembered being in Beth’s bedroom and we were dressing up and planning to go to his house.’ Gwen’s cheeks flared and she looked away. ‘I’m sorry, this is really embarrassing.’

  ‘Please don’t be embarrassed. Did you have a crush on him? You wouldn’t be the first to fall in love with a teacher.’

  ‘No!’ Gwen locked eyes with him. ‘It wasn’t like that. I thought he was creepy. Beth wanted to go to his house and get him to, well, you get the idea. She was going to take photos for evidence.’

  ‘Blackmail?’

  ‘I guess so. I don’t know what you must think of me now. It looks like we wanted to trick him so he must have done something to upset us. Maybe he tried it on at school.’

  ‘Do you remember going to his house?’

  ‘No, only talking about it, but I remember not wanting to go through with it. Beth could be very persuasive.’

  ‘Do you think it’s possible that Epworth is the lover Beth kept secret?’

  ‘I don’t know. It didn’t seem that way. She said that he fancied me, she was the one who was going to take the photos.’ Gwen twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

  ‘But it would make sense if Epworth was the one to have got her pregnant. Maybe she wanted to get back at him.’

  ‘I’m sure she would’ve told me. I think I should go back up to the barn, I’m certain something happened there.’

  ‘Wait until I can go with you. I don’t think it is a good idea that you go alone.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s better that I do. I’ll have Blue with me.’ She reached down to stroke the dog who lay at her feet. ‘I saw Sam Morris today. He looks so old and weary. I just want this over.’

  ‘I have a feeling it soon will be.’ Meadows stood up. ‘I’d better go. Thanks for the information. I’ll talk to Epworth again and let you know how I get on.’

  Back at the station Meadows found Edris furiously tapping away at the keyboard. He took a seat and waited for him to finish his input. ‘I think we should bring in Epworth. See what reaction we get when we ask for a voluntary DNA sample.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we wait to see if that witness calls back?’

  ‘No,’ Meadows filled Edris in on his conversation with Gwen.

  ‘Well that changes things. Why don’t we just arrest him?’ Edris grinned. ‘I’d like to see the look on his face. You know, he used to make up excuses to come into the boys changing rooms after PE. I’m sure he was perving on us. You could feel his eyes creeping over your body.’

  ‘I think young girls are more his thing, but who knows, he might swing both ways. Shame we don’t have anything solid on him, we can’t really justify an arrest. You got anything for me?’

  ‘Not a lot. Wayne Allen, Gary Lane, and Dai Roach all confirm Steven Powell’s story about seeing Sam Morris that day and Matt Thomas persuading them to keep quiet. Sam’s mother vouched for him from six o clock, so there wouldn’t have been enough time for him to go to the quarry, attack the girls and get home again for dinner. Unless his mother lied for him.’

  ‘His mother died a year ago so we can’t question her again. I think we should concentrate on Giles Epworth.’

  ‘I’ve had a quick dig around on Matt Thomas. Nothing on him apart from the fact he likes to play around.’

  ‘OK, you can go and see your favou
rite redhead again. She if she recalls Epworth being free with his hands when she was a schoolgirl. You’re going to have to use your charm to get information, Epworth is her boss and she will be worried about her job. Meanwhile I’m going to ask Epworth to come in.’ Meadows grabbed his jacket and headed for the school.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Giles entered the police station and gave his name at the desk. He still didn’t have a clear idea why he had been called in. He looked around the station and felt a twinge of anxiety. Maybe I should’ve called a solicitor. No, that would look suspicious. Better I’m alone and look like I’ve nothing to hide.

  He took a seat and tried to make his body relax; his shoulders felt knotted and the anxiety made him feel nauseous. It was half an hour before Meadows showed up. He led Giles to the interview room and placed a file on the table before taking a seat. Giles pulled the chair close to the table and clasped his hands together, placing them on his lap, before looking at Meadows. He doesn’t have anything on me, he’s just bought me here to intimidate me. It’s not going to work. He watched as Meadows slowly shuffled through the papers in the file. I play this trick myself, let the silence fill the room and rack up the tension.

  Meadows looked up from the file and smiled. ‘Before we start, I would like to offer you the chance to give a voluntary DNA sample.’

  Fuck. Giles felt his stomach clench and had a sudden urge to ask for the toilet. Why would they want a DNA sample?

  ‘Just for elimination purposes,’ Meadows smiled.

  ‘And what happens if I refuse?’

  ‘You are quite within your right to do so, but it would be in your best interest to provide us with a sample.’

  ‘I see. Does that mean that you are treating me as a suspect?’ Giles crossed his legs beneath the table, hoping to ease the pressure in his bladder. ‘I feel that I’ve been more than helpful with your enquiries. If there’s something that you feel implicates me then please do get to the point. I’m a busy man.’