by Bill Kitson
They were in luck, he was told, as the flat hadn’t been occupied since Katy Morgan moved out. His next call was to the Forensic department, whose officers were already beginning to consider putting in for overtime rates due to the work they had been given.
As he was putting the phone down, Clara reappeared. ‘I’ve just taken a call from Netherdale General. Dale Harvey is going to be released. I thought we should give him a lift home — via the interview room at Netherdale.’
‘That’s two good ideas within a quarter of an hour. Are you sure you’re feeling well?’
‘Somebody around here has to do some thinking,’ Clara told him, ‘and you don’t seem to be doing too much.’
‘Speaking of Dale Harvey, have you heard back from Mexican Pete about the DNA sample you asked him about?’
‘Not yet, shall I call him and see if he’s made any progress?’
‘Don’t worry, I think we can manage without it.’ His smile baffled Clara for a while. The reason didn’t become clear until they were interviewing the suspect.
* * *
Dale was expecting to be quizzed further about his own captivity and his father’s absence. He came along without protest, and once he’d been installed in the interview room, began thinking through the questions he expected them to ask, and preparing his replies.
It was some minutes before the door opened. Nash introduced himself and DS Mironova for the benefit of the tape she had set running. His first question sent Dale’s brain reeling. It was totally unexpected and equally unwelcome. ‘Tell me about Jack Burrell’s murder,’ Nash said. ‘And when you’ve finished with that, you can tell me about the murder of Wes Stanton and the rape of Denise Potter.’
‘I don’t know anything about the rape of that girl, and you can’t get me on Stanton’s murder,’ Dale responded after he recovered, ‘because of that double jeopardy thing. Chad and I were acquitted about that. Ask him.’
Nash turned to address his colleague. ‘I find it sad that the younger generation fail to keep up with developments. For example, if our friend here had read and listened more, he would be aware that the double jeopardy clause was scrapped years ago.’
He turned back to Dale. ‘Even if it was still in existence, the double jeopardy ruling would not have covered the murder of Jack Burrell. Nor would it have covered the rape of Denise Potter that you and your late friend Chad Wilkinson committed. Are you aware that Denise was pregnant? And did you know that it is possible to establish the identity of the father via DNA taken from the embryo?’
‘Late? Did you say late? Is Chad . . . ?’
Mironova took out a photo of Wilkinson that had been taken in the garage at the scene and laid it on the table in front of Dale, who stared at it in horrified silence.
‘There he is, as dead as a doornail, in the back of your father’s car with an inflatable dummy. The only female that’s safe around the likes of you,’ Nash told him cheerfully. ‘Now Chad’s laid out on the pathologist’s slab awaiting cutting up. Of course, he’s already been cut open, when whoever killed him removed his heart.’
Nash had summed Dale Harvey up within seconds of seeing the man. He guessed that Dale was weak, like most bullies. As he continued, relishing and embellishing slightly the gory details of Wilkinson’s death, he could tell that with enough pressure Dale would fold and tell him everything he wanted to know. It required only a couple of sentences, and the macabre thought they contained, to do the trick. Gambling that the central influence in Dale’s life was Gus Harvey, Nash told him, ‘Perhaps they’re planning to do the same to your father. Who knows, they might even be doing it as we speak.’
As Nash walked away, leaving Mironova to attend to the arrest and charges, and to instruct Tom Pratt to get the interview tape of Dale’s confession transcribed, Nash wondered if interrogating the father might be as easy in securing a confession to the crimes he’d be accused of. That was one problem. First, however, they had to find him — alive, if possible. As days passed without any sign of Gus Harvey, it seemed increasingly unlikely. Nash sent Mironova and Pearce to interview Fiona Potter.
It took them several visits to the house before they found her at home. The neighbour told them she worked shifts, and was often out. When eventually she answered the doorbell, she denied knowing that her sister was pregnant when she walked in front of that express train. Further to that, she denied being the occupant of the flat below Georgina Drake’s, pointing out that she had a perfectly good house of her own, so what use would she have for a furnished apartment only a few miles away?
Reporting back to Nash, Clara told him, ‘I’m convinced she was lying from start to finish. I am certain she knows everything, from the Wes Stanton and Jack Burrell murders, to who fathered the baby her sister was carrying, all of it. I believe she knows about the perjured jury, and I am certain she’s the same woman that we met at Georgina Drake’s house. She may be slimmer, and her hair is definitely a different colour and cut shorter, but that’s easily achieved. I’m positive it’s the same person.’
‘I feel sure you’re right, Clara. I trust your judgement on this. The problem we have is that, like everything else in this case, we have absolutely no proof. If we could locate Gus Harvey, or even find out where he’s being kept, that would be a major step forward.’
* * *
The forensic team reported that the fingerprint they had lifted from the note sent to the Gazette matched those found at the flat occupied by Katy Morgan in Georgina Drake’s building, but as Nash pointed out, that alone did not constitute proof of anything. ‘It isn’t a crime to use an assumed name, or to live in a furnished flat next to a murder victim. Nor is it a crime to send an anonymous note to the newspaper, so even if we were to prove that Fiona Potter and Katy Morgan are one and the same person, we wouldn’t be able to charge her with an offence. We may have suspicions, and they could be accurate, but proving them before a court of law is another matter entirely.’
‘What about the fact that her sister killed herself after being raped; and that Dale Harvey confessed to having committed the rape? Surely that must count for something.’
‘Again, it’s all circumstantial. We may believe it, but that’s not strong enough. We must concentrate on trying to find Gus Harvey. If he is still alive, the knowledge that his precious son has confessed might be enough to break him.’
The questions that were also at the back of Nash’s mind centred on where Gus Harvey might be imprisoned, and where the others had been kept before their final journey to the abattoir. From Mironova and Pearce’s description of the house Fiona Potter had inherited from her father, that was ruled out. Like certain of the other aspects of this case, the solution was so plain that he couldn’t see it.
Using Jack Binns, their station sergeant, as liaison, Nash had asked uniform branch to visit Gus Harvey’s mansion on a regular basis in the hope that the missing millionaire might turn up safe and well. It was over a week after his conversation with Clara when a patrol car passed the house, and the officer reported a light inside, even though it was daytime.
Nash called Mironova and Pearce, and the detectives assembled at the house along with the uniformed officers who had made the report. Using the keys confiscated following Dale’s arrest, and with a warrant secured in his pocket, Nash and his colleagues entered the building. The ground floor looked pristine, untouched, but when they went upstairs, it was a different story.
Gus Harvey was lying on his four-poster bed, his body spread-eagled over the quilt, his wrists and ankles secured to the bed posts with duct tape. At first sight, Nash feared that the man was dead, but after a closer inspection, saw that his chest was moving slightly. He was deeply unconscious, however, and his breathing was shallow enough to cause real concern.
As they waited for the paramedics to arrive, Nash checked the unconscious man. The figure on the bed bore only a passing resemblance to the strong, ebullient character Nash had met earlier in his investigation. He appeared older, wizene
d by malnutrition and, in some way, shrunken almost.
Mironova summed up what Nash was thinking. ‘He looks defeated. Whoever did this to him achieved what they were after, they broke his spirit.’
‘That someone can’t be Clyde White. Gus Harvey has been placed here after White died. We’ve been assuming for some time this has to be the work of someone else, someone with as strong a reason as White to destroy the Harvey family, harm the people surrounding them, and ruin everything they stand for.’
‘Judging by the enemies they made, that could be quite a long list,’ Clara pointed out.
‘True enough, but we have to start somewhere. First of all, let’s hear what the paramedics have to tell us. It would be useful if he survives, because a living witness might help us enormously. So far, pretty much all we have are dead bodies.’
‘It didn’t help in his son’s case,’ Pearce pointed out. ‘Dale Harvey wasn’t able to tell us much, apart from confessing to the rape and murders he and Chad Wilkinson committed.’
‘That’s true, but there is something about what Dale told us that I feel certain I’ve missed. The problem is I can’t for the life of me work out what it might be.’
Chapter Twenty-four
Back at the station, Fleming and the other detectives listened in mounting horror as Nash recounted what the medic had told him. ‘You could say that Gus Harvey is lucky to be alive, but from what the consultant told me about his condition, that sounds like a wild exaggeration. I know we believe he has done some terrible things, but I’m not sure even he deserved to be punished the way he has. Harvey is heavily sedated and would have been totally unaware of anything that went on, or even his surroundings, since that sedative was administered. He certainly wouldn’t have been capable of returning to his house of his own volition. Prior to being sedated, or so the doctors believe, Harvey had been tortured by someone attaching electrodes to his genitals.’
‘Wasn’t that how the other victims were tortured?’ Fleming asked.
‘It was, but in addition, Gus Harvey was extremely malnourished, and had lost, by my guess, almost twenty percent of his body mass. The specialist is only guessing, but he believes that Harvey was denied food and any other form of sustenance apart from the fluids necessary to keep him alive — barely alive,’ Nash added grimly.
He paused before continuing, as if the first part hadn’t been harrowing enough. ‘The effects of the torture and dehydration are likely to be as much mental as physical, even if he does pull through, which is by no means certain. The medic reckons that there could be extreme psychological damage similar to the type experienced by survivors of brainwashing, but the full extent of the damage won’t be ascertainable until, and if, there is some semblance of recovery.’ Nash underlined everything he’d said by adding, ‘There is a huge question mark over how total the recovery, both physical and mental, might be.’
‘What you’re saying is that Gus Harvey might never be fit enough to give evidence against whoever did this to him, or to stand trial for the offences he committed, is that it?’ Fleming asked.
‘That’s pretty much it. But whether the outcome is good or bad, we won’t know for a considerable time. For the moment, Harvey is being kept sedated to give his mind and body chance to heal. The medics have placed him on a drip to induce nutrition, building it up gradually to avoid his system rebelling and shutting down.’
‘All in all that’s a fairly depressing diagnosis, but considering the dreadful things he has done, forgive me for being less than sympathetic,’ Fleming responded. ‘Does the specialist give any indication when Harvey might be fit enough to be interviewed?’
Nash spread his hands in a gesture of frustration. ‘It could be a week, a month — or never. It’s anyone’s guess. In the meantime, I will have to visit the remand centre and tell his son that his father has been found alive and extremely unwell.’
‘That reminds me,’ Fleming said, ‘I took a phone call before I left Netherdale. Mexican Pete has confirmed that the DNA from the embryo removed from Denise Potter confirms that Dale Harvey was the father.’
* * *
A couple of days later Nash made an unusual request of Clara. ‘My car’s in for servicing and it won’t be ready tonight. Will you pick me up and bring me to work in the morning?’
‘No problem, Mike. Will eight-thirty be soon enough?’
‘That’ll do fine.’
Next morning, when Clara pulled up outside Smelt Mill Cottage the front door was open. Nash appeared at once and signalled her to come inside. Puzzled, Clara went in, to find Nash lying down on the hall carpet. He looked up, seemingly unconcerned by the bizarre appearance. ‘What are you doing, Mike? Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?’
‘Get hold of my ankles, will you?’
‘Only if you tell me what the heck is going on.’
‘I’ve had an idea.’
‘And it was so momentous that you had to lie down to recover?’
‘Let me explain. I wondered how Gus Harvey managed to find his way up to the first floor of his mansion. At a guess, I’d say he was either not sedated at the time, which seems unlikely, or there was more than one person lifting him. To prove my point, I want you to see if you could drag or lift me upstairs.’
Although Clara was stronger than most, the effort was too much for her. ‘I reckon I weigh less than Harvey, even after his enforced diet,’ Nash told her, ‘which tends to prove my point.’
‘So you think there must have been two people lifting him?’
‘I do, and if one of them was Fiona Potter, to judge by this trial we’ve just carried out she would definitely need someone else, preferably someone strong and fit — like Toni Chandler. Which still leaves the burning question of where they kept their victims prisoner.’
‘I thought we’d checked everywhere and ruled them out?’
‘We have, but I have this niggle at the back of my mind.’
‘Regarding what?’
‘Something I heard, or was told, and I think it was early during the investigation.’
‘Perhaps you didn’t keep it in mind because you thought it was irrelevant.’
‘Possibly, especially if I hadn’t connected whoever said it with our case. Like, for instance, when Toni told me . . .’
Nash stopped for a second and when he spoke again his voice was little more than a whisper. ‘Oh, you blithering idiot,’ he murmured.
‘What?’
‘Not you, Clara, me. I said it was right in front of me, didn’t I? “After she died, I inherited my grandmother’s house in Bishop’s Cross”.’
Clara was baffled. ‘You did what?’
‘No, I didn’t. I was repeating something Toni told me. She said that she used to stay with her grandmother a lot because her parents were abroad with competitions, and after the old lady died, Toni inherited her house in Bishop’s Cross, where she now lives. It all ties in, Clara. Living near Bishopton would be where she met and became friends with Fiona Potter, and probably Jack Burrell, too. And the house in Bishop’s Cross is one that none of us thought to check. At a guess, I’d say that house has a cellar.’
‘Shouldn’t we find out if Fiona Potter’s returned home from her “shift work”?’ Clara asked.
‘I bet she has.’ Nash nodded his agreement. ‘I think we should bring her and Toni Chandler in for questioning. If we do, and “accidentally”,’ — he gestured with his fingers — ‘arrange for the suspects to see the other one during the process, they might be persuaded to talk.’
‘I’m not sure that alone would fool them into confessing.’
‘I vote we try it, because the way things stand we’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose, and if we get even a limited response, it might prove sufficient for us to apply for a search warrant to examine Toni Chandler’s house — and for good measure, Fiona Potter’s as well,’ Nash added.
‘You don’t need one, as long as they’re at home when you call,’ Clara pointed out.<
br />
‘That only works in a limited way. We might need a detailed forensic search to establish beyond doubt that some, if not all, of the victims were kept there. If we can obtain backup evidence that can’t be contested, it will be worth the effort.’
As it transpired, what they found in the cellar of Toni Chandler’s house was far more than they could have wished for. Likewise, parked on Fiona Potter’s drive was a white Transit van.
Their first interview was with Fiona Potter, sporting short blonde hair as seen in the old photograph, without spectacles, and without the Welsh accent of the Katy Morgan they had met. She proved difficult to dislodge from her original statement, that she knew absolutely nothing of the crimes. Denying constantly that they had met and she was Katy Morgan. Her attitude was so defiant that Nash had to re-think his strategy before the next interview with Toni Chandler.
* * *
After some consideration, he consulted with Detective Superintendent Fleming, who agreed to DS Mironova conducting the interview in his place. Prior to going into the room, Clara listened carefully as Nash coached her in what to say and how to phrase the most relevant part of the meeting.
‘I want you to ask her why her cellar is made out like an operating theatre. Ask her what use she has for items that could be used as torture implements. Add that we feel sure they will reveal a match to our victims. Then, for good measure, find out why the fridge in the corner, along with an assortment of drugs, contained three human hearts, two human fingers, and a tongue. Once you’ve got that out of the way, I want you to change tack, be sympathetic. You can tell her that Dale Harvey has been charged with Jack Burrell’s murder. From there, talk about Jack Burrell, and make a point of stressing how sad you feel that such a promising young boxer with so bright a future should have been murdered, sacrificed to other men’s greed. Tell her that once we found Harvey and got him to hospital he responded well to treatment, and was able to tell us all he remembered about where he was kept prisoner, and the people who held him and later moved him. Whatever you do, don’t mention a first name. Let her believe you’re referring to Gus Harvey, not Dale.’