‘I assume you’re not going to deny that that’s you?’
He remained silent and several seconds passed.
‘What’s this?’ Claire said. ‘You’ve got nothing to say?’ She glanced at Stefan. ‘How unusual.’
He threw her a dark look.
‘That is you on the footage, isn’t it?’
Crowley nodded. ‘Am I under arrest?’
‘You saw him, didn’t you?’ Claire said, recalling the wound on Knox’s hand. Crowley just looked at her. ‘Knox had cuts to his right hand, an injury he sustained before he died.’
Crowley saw the look she gave him, then parted a section of his hair, pulling it to the side, revealing a dark scab of a cut that disappeared into the hairline. ‘He swung at me, nearly knocking me to the floor.’
Claire and Stefan exchanged a look with each other.
‘I know what you’re both thinking, but I haven’t done anything wrong. I never touched him, and walking in a public place isn’t an offence.’
Claire gestured towards the door. ‘You’re free to leave whenever you wish, as I’ve already said, but it’d be in your best interests to tell me what happened, because right now, you were the last person we know of to see Knox alive.’
Crowley seemed to weigh up her words. He leaned back in his chair. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘How about you start at the beginning,’ Claire said. ‘Why were you there?’
Crowley looked at her as if the answer should be obvious to anyone. ‘For the story, for Knox. I wanted a chance to get an exclusive with the man himself.’
Claire exchanged an exasperated look with Stefan.
‘Raymond Knox was a convicted, violent sex offender,’ Stefan said. ‘What were you thinking of?’
Crowley shrugged.
‘About furthering his career, I should imagine,’ Claire said.
Crowley’s shoulders were hunched. He took a full minute before he spoke again. ‘I went into the woods to find Knox. It didn’t take me long to find him.’ Crowley bit his lower lip. ‘I should’ve given up then, but I just couldn’t pass up the chance of a lifetime. He was just standing there, in this clearing, like he was waiting for me to show myself.’ Crowley paused and sipped the warm water from the cup beside him on the table.
‘I tried to talk to him, introduce myself. I realise that was my first mistake.’ He began to mime his actions. ‘I reached in my bag for my recording device and he just rushed me.’ Crowley stood then and shrugged off his coat, slinging it on his chair. He started to pull his shirt up, exposing his narrow waist.
‘He slammed me back against a tree,’ he said, arching around to show them his back and the dark blue and green hues of a nasty-looking bruise that covered one side of his lower back.
He watched their reactions when they inspected the bruising.
‘And the second?’ Claire said, her eyes meeting his.
He gave a nod of recognition that he’d been foolish. ‘My second mistake was to ask why he was in the woods.’
He let the bottom of his shirt fall and sat back down.
‘Knox stared at me, and it was like I could see all the hate, all the evil that was inside him, and he just…’ He broke off, shaking his head. ‘He just gave me this look, like a little smile, then he swung at me.’ He gestured to his head. ‘Nearly knocked me out with one punch.’
After a few moments, Crowley looked at them. ‘You can say I was asking for it if-’
‘You were,’ Claire cut in.
He paused, eyes searching hers. ‘Call me stupid, call me irresponsible, call me anything – I don’t care. I think I stopped him from committing another crime.’
That surprised them both. Crowley could see it in their faces.
‘If you believed Knox was in that wood to commit another crime,’ Stefan said, gaining Crowley’s attention, ‘then you should’ve called the police, not confronted him yourself.’
Crowley pointed to his head wound. ‘Yeah, I know, but I didn’t. I ran out of that wood as fast as I could. I don’t mind admitting I was shit-scared of him.’ He pointed at Stefan. ‘You would’ve been, too… It’s true what they said about him, that he was a monster. No matter how many times I’d seen his picture in the news, nothing prepared me for facing him up close in the flesh.’
Claire looked away from him, weighing his words in her head.
‘You think me a coward?’
When Claire looked his way, Crowley was staring at her, as if daring her to argue with him.
‘I think you were incredibly stupid,’ she said. ‘Foolishness aside… I have questions.’
‘I’m not hiding anything,’ he said.
‘How did you know Knox was out?’
The colour drained from Crowley’s face and he avoided her stare.
‘Only a select few knew he was out already,’ she said.
‘I got lucky, I guess.’
Claire gave him an icy look.
‘I took an educated guess that if he was to end up anywhere, it’d be that hostel,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure I’m buying in to that. You’re telling me you just got lucky? At the precise moment Knox was in the wood?’
‘I’ve followed this case for years, done my research, okay?’ he said, becoming more agitated. ‘None of the victims or their families live in Haverbridge any more, Knox’s mother was in a hospice here; it made sense. I got lucky.’ He looked between Stefan and Claire then. ‘Lucky for you I did… God knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.’
‘You’re not the hero here, Crowley,’ Claire said.
‘I disturbed Knox.’
‘You don’t know that for certain. In any case, if I were you, I’d be more concerned for yourself here.’
He paused a beat. ‘What? Why?’
‘As I mentioned before,’ Claire said, ‘you were the last person to see Knox alive. There are no witnesses that we know of… Come on, Crowley, throw me a bone here. Help yourself. Were you watching Knox?’
He clasped his hands together on the table in front of him, shoulders hunched. He stared at the laptop screen, frozen on the image of himself.
‘I got a tip-off,’ he said at length. ‘At the office a few days before Knox was due to be coming out, we got a phone call. Told us Knox’s unofficial release date. Then we got another the morning of the day he was supposed to be in the wood.’
He looked at Claire. She looked sceptical.
‘That’s the God’s honest truth!’
‘A call to your mobile?’
‘No, the office line, my direct-dial line.’
‘Did you recognise the voice?’
He shook his head. ‘No. It was a male voice, quite deep, but he could’ve been changing his voice on purpose.’
‘Say I believe you,’ Claire said. ‘They told you he would be in the wood, at that precise time?’
He nodded.
‘Do you record calls?
‘No,’ he said, realising where she was going with her questions.
‘So we just have your word for it then?’ Stefan said.
Crowley shrugged. ‘Believe me or don’t believe me. It’s what happened, it’s the truth… He was alive when I left him.’
He drained the last of his water from the plastic cup, and squashed it in his palm. Beads of sweat had formed at his hairline and his cheeks were flushed.
‘Where did you go after Knox hit you?’ Stefan said. ‘You were bleeding, I assume.’
Crowley nodded. ‘Everything was just a blur at first. I had blood and sweat in my eyes – stung like hell.’ He paused, making a show of thinking back to that day. ‘I ran. I didn’t make a conscious decision which direction. I just knew I had to get away. I used a tissue to clean up the blood as best I could and I walked home.’
Claire was sceptical. ‘Anyone see you?’
‘I don’t think so. I kept to the side streets on purpose. I didn’t want an
yone to see my face.’ He paused then. ‘I knew I’d messed up. I got home and patched myself up as best I could.’
Claire nodded, and weighed up his explanation. ‘You entered the wood from the scrubland, we have that on CCTV,’ Claire said.
‘After the disused industrial estate, yes,’ he said, nodding.
‘You can’t have left that way,’ she said.
‘No, I eventually came out opposite the hostel.’
Claire paused a beat. ‘Outside the hostel?’
‘Yes.’
‘How come you’re not on the CCTV?’
Crowley paused, trying to take in what she was saying. Then he grew angry. ‘What are you on about?’ He leaned forward towards her. ‘I was there; you can see me running away like a fucking idiot.’
Claire remained unfazed by his outburst. ‘The hostel’s CCTV footage. It looked directly at that entrance to the wood. You’re not on it.’
His face turned serious then. ‘I was there. Why would I make that up?’
Stefan cast Claire a look. They’d have to go through the hostel’s CCTV footage again, but Stefan was pretty sure. Crowley hadn’t been on it.
‘Could you have exited another way? You said yourself, you were running, not really thinking straight and you were bleeding. Is it possible you were mistaken?’
‘No,’ Crowley spat and stood up. ‘I’d like to leave now.’
‘Just a couple more things,’ Claire said. ‘Where did you go after you left the wood?’
‘I went home, changed my shirt and went to work. Ask Shelia – she’ll vouch for me and we have CCTV.’
She nodded and made a mental note to get one of the DCs to check. ‘I also wanted to ask you about Tilly and Helena…’
‘It’s the same MO, isn’t it? Helena and Tilly?’ Crowley said. He watched both of their faces. They weren’t about to give anything away.
‘Rumour has it, though, that poor Tilly got it worse. Poor, pretty Tilly… at least she was before she was made to look like the Joker.’
‘They were both prolific on social media, pro-Knox,’ Claire said, refusing to be drawn on his provocation. ‘You’re on these sites a lot, too. They must have shown up on your radar?’
A look passed over Crowley’s face, as if he was debating whether to lie or just come clean. ‘Knew of them. I sent them a few emails. I can show you,’ he quickly added when he saw the look on her face. ‘I did want to interview them a few months back but they were too much even for me.’
‘So were they up for that?’ Stefan said.
‘Yeah, of course they were. Knox’s champions? Practically chomping at the bit when I suggested a piece on them, but in the end I decided it wouldn’t do much for my career to be associated with them.’
Claire feigned mock surprise. ‘Worried about your career and not their welfare? Why am I not surprised?’
‘We’ve yet to get through their email accounts,’ Stefan said to Claire.
Crowley cut in then. ‘I’ll forward you the emails when I get back to the office.’
Claire and Stefan both looked at him, but didn’t speak.
‘Look,’ Crowley said, ‘I sure as hell am not going to feel guilty about them. They brought it on themselves, supporting a monster.’
Realising he’d probably said more than he needed to, he gave Claire a look, before making to leave.
He pulled his record bag over his head and positioned it across his body.
‘Before Knox attacked you,’ Claire said, ‘what was he doing?’
Crowley stopped dead in his tracks then slowly turned to look at her. ‘Just walking.’
‘What was his reaction when he saw you, before you went into your bag?’
‘One of amusement,’ he said. ‘He didn’t look threatened. I’m not the most imposing of figures.’
‘We’ll need a statement from you,’ Stefan said, coming up beside him.
Crowley nodded but he looked angry. ‘Okay, but I never touched Knox. I left him very much alive,’ he said as he left the room.
After a few seconds, Claire followed after him.
She rounded the corner and saw him about to get into the lift. He rolled his eyes when he saw her.
‘I want you to map out the journey you took to the hostel and the route you took when you left the wood,’ she said.
He looked at her, face serious. ‘Sure.’
He stepped into the lift.
‘I feel I should congratulate you,’ she said.
He frowned.
‘Well done,’ she said, bitterness in her voice. ‘You got your story in the end, at least.’
‘Excuse me?’ he said, and pressed the button to hold the lift doors when they started to close.
‘Rupert Knox.’
Crowley’s face looked stony. ‘Rupert Knox hanged himself on my property deliberately. He knew it’d raise questions about me…’
‘Hmm… and you were the last person to see Knox alive.’
‘Besides the killer, you mean, Chief Inspector?’ he said, cocking an eyebrow. He scratched at the cut to his forehead unconsciously. ‘You know, I never wanted this. He didn’t just hang himself; he left me a bloody message… a literal one.’
Claire nodded. ‘Should have been right up your street – just what the ghouls want, isn’t it?’
‘Regardless of what you may think, I am not to blame for Rupert Knox’s suicide. It’s just that. A suicide and, as you know, the coroner won’t be investigating any further, and you know why?’
Claire just stared at him.
‘Because there’s nothing to investigate.’
‘You hounded him, Crowley.’
‘I was doing what I’m paid to do, what hundreds of others in my kind of work do. We need to make a living like anyone else.’
‘Some living.’
Crowley stepped out of the lift then, and when Claire saw the twist at his mouth, a hint of a smile, she felt a wave of unease.
‘Shall we have a discussion about apportioning blame?’
Claire’s brow furrowed.
‘I know about Peter, your father.’
As soon as he said the name, Claire felt her legs aching to buckle from underneath her. She crossed her arms firmly across her chest.
‘My personal life is none of your business.’
‘Straight razor, wasn’t it?’ he said, looking to the ceiling, making a show of recollecting the details. ‘Opened up his veins because you abandoned him. A cripple in the end, wasn’t he, yet surprised many with his strength? He still had enough fight left in him to make that final phone call to you.’
He watched her face, saw the blood drain from it.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, winking an eye, ‘your secret’s safe with me.’
She shook her head. ‘My father’s death has never been a secret.’
‘Sure, it was in the news – assuming there was anyone left to care to read about it. Didn’t he only have you left in that short time before you shipped him up north? How many know he blamed you for it, though? What he did? That’s your secret, right? That and your guilt. He thought about you right up until the bitter end and you’ll carry that with you until the day you die, and that’s why you’re in so deep with this investigation.’
‘You think I feel guilty about Tilly and Helena?’
‘I know you do… You feel you let them both down in failing to find Knox’s killer in time. Finding their killer is as much about putting right the failings of your past and ridding yourself of the guilt you feel.’
Claire turned her back to him. ‘I am not responsible for my father’s death, Crowley, or Tilly’s or Helena’s. Best you leave now,’ she said.
He called after her. ‘Let’s not forget Simon, too.’
Claire stopped dead in her tracks but kept her back to him.
‘He was SIO on the Dahlia investigation, so naturally I wanted his story. Can’t say he was too forthcoming about
talking to me, but you? You owe him, too, don’t you? After what you did.’
Claire turned then, stared hard at him, tried her best to keep her face neutral and give nothing away.
‘We’re more alike than you think,’ he said as he stepped back into the lift. ‘We share a common fact; we’re both morally responsible for the death of another, and deep down that scares you and you’d do anything to put that right.’
Claire regarded him for several seconds but he didn’t waver under her glare. ‘One day, Crowley,’ she said, ‘someone’s going to wipe that smile off your face.’
He tipped his head at her. ‘Until next time,’ he said, holding her stare until the doors closed on him.
Then his lips broke out into a smile.
CHAPTER 39
He had seen her. On the floor. Hurt. He’d done that. Brought it on himself, many would say when they found out. It would be better if he was out of the way for a while. Hopefully it would all calm down.
Sean felt his anger and adrenaline racing through his body but he was too tired to fight sleep for much longer.
He felt tears prick at his eyes and the enormity of what had just happened pulled at his insides. He shouldn’t have done that to Raja, and he knew it, but a profound sense of pride had driven him on, not helped by the alcohol.
It’d dulled his senses, made him clumsy, too.
He wished he’d gone to Dubai a week early as he’d originally planned; the company, the only thing in his life that made sense to him right now. The only thing that was going well. Too late for all that now.
Hindsight was a bitch; a cruel mistress.
His situation was a hopeless one, and by God didn’t he know that now, after all that had happened.
Raja… my precious Raja.
The knuckle on his hand stung then. A reminder of how he’d hit her, knocked her down. How could he have done that? How can he make sense of everything as it is now, in the cold hard reality he was now living in?
His world wasn’t just falling apart – it’d been torn to pieces the moment it was decided Raymond Knox was going to be released.
His head swam, felt like cotton wool, all soft and heavy.
His head fell forward and in his drunken stupor he pushed aside what had happened, what this all meant.
Trial by Execution Page 21