HIDDEN SECRETS

by Catherine Lambert

  “I don’t think so Inspector,” Pat shook his head.

  “I hate to be rude, but I have to leave in twenty minutes,” Alex began to fidget.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can,” Stanley assured him.

  “Can I just ask one question?” Pat asked.

  “Yes, what is it?” Stanley was annoyed at yet another interruption.

  “You identified your daughter’s body after the car accident didn’t you?”

  “Yes, why do ask?”

  “I’ve seen the report on her injuries, and I’m sorry to be insensitive, but she received severe facial lacerations from shards of glass. How can you be certain it was Anne and not Judy who died?”

  “Don’t be absurd man; do you think I don’t know my own daughters?” Stanley was offended by Pat’s remark.

  “No he’s right. If her face was disfigured, and you said she’d altered her hair colour, how could you be certain of her identity? You said yourself when you last saw her you thought she was Judy,” Ben agreed with him.

  A flicker of doubt flashed across Stanley’s face.

  “I can’t have made a mistake, I can’t.”

  “Who told you about the accident?” Pat continued to question him.

  “Judy, she phoned me. I couldn’t understand what she was saying though, she was hysterical.”

  “So Judy told you Anne was dead? So when you went to the morgue it was already in your mind that it was her body you’d see? So when you saw her face you identified her? You didn’t really look that closely at her did you?” Pat chose his words carefully.

  “I couldn’t look at her; her beautiful face was cut to pieces and there was dried blood in her hair. I could have made a mistake it’s possible,” he admitted, as tears of grief flowed.

  “Let’s say that it was Judy who died in the accident, why would Anne lie? What had she got to gain?” Ben asked.

  “It wasn’t an accident though, was it Stanley? Oh you made a mistake alright, you killed the wrong daughter didn’t you? It was Judy who came to see you that day at your showroom, not Anne. It was Judy who’d had a change of heart, she didn’t want any more to do with the group, they'd become too violent and radical. She found out that Anne was having an affair with Toby, didn’t she?” Pat revealed the truth.

  “This can’t be true Stan. You wouldn’t kill your own daughter,” Alex was astounded.

  “It’s all lies; nothing but lies,” Stanley protested his innocence.

  “If you deliberately lied Sir, you could be charged with perverting the course of justice,” Inspector Salt spoke up.

  Stanley’s expression was a combination of anxiety and fear, as beads of perspiration pricked his wrinkled brow.

  “Just tell the truth Stan. You interfered with the brakes on Anne’s car. You thought she was driving the car that day; but Judy borrowed it didn’t she?” Pat was relentless.

  “Judy was coming back to me after all those years apart. She’d finally realised what a big mistake she’d made. She said Toby was insane; he threatened to kill her if she left. He’d already killed two people, and he and Anne were planning to kill more. I really thought it was Anne who’d died.”

  She was the oldest and would have inherited all my wealth; I changed my will after Judy came to see me. I left everything to her,” Stanley confessed

  “Anne knew what you were planning; that’s why she let her sister borrow the car that day,” Pat continued to press him for the truth.

  “Toby followed her; she’d made the mistake of telling him what she intended to do. She was deeply hurt when she found out that he’d been sleeping with her sister. When Judy left, he came into the showroom and demanded to know what she’d said to me. I lost my temper and told him she was leaving him. He became extremely violent and grabbed me by the throat threatening to kill Judy. It wasn’t me who tampered with the brakes, it was Toby Lawrence. He and Anne killed Judy, and I was forced to identify her body as Anne’s because the police were closing in on their activities; and because Anne was livid when she found out I’d altered my will in Judy’s favour. I’m not going to let Anne have my business or anything else I’ve worked damned hard for. I started that business with one car; an MGB, I’ll never forget it. The registration was BMG 11H and it cost me £300 in 1970. I worked day and night until it was completely over-hauled; it was a beauty. I sold that car for £8,500 but not before I commissioned a photographer to capture the beauty of the machine in all its glory. That framed photograph still hangs in the very first showroom I opened. That’s how my empire began Inspector, and no murdering daughter of mine is going to take it from me,” Stanley fell silent.

  CHAPTER 17.

  THURSDAY AFTERNOON

  Simon Van de Feltz opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. Blurred images flashed in front of him. He could hear voices, but they were distorted and distant. Where was he? The last thing he could remember was riding his bike. He was on his way back to Exeter in an attempt to reconcile his differences with Alex.

  Someone was approaching him now; someone dressed in white.

  “How are you feeling Mr. Van de Feltz?” a man asked.

  “I can’t see properly what’s happened to me?”

  “You’re in hospital you were involved in an accident on your bike, don’t you remember?”

  “An accident? I don’t understand,” Simon replied vaguely.

  “I’m Doctor Sheridan. You were in a collision with a car yesterday. You’ve received a severe injury to the side of your face, that’s the reason your vision is blurred. There’s also a lot of swelling and internal bleeding in your left eye. It’s only a temporary, when the swelling subsides your vision will return to normal again I promise,” he explained.

  “The driver of the car was he hurt?” he asked.

  “No surprisingly, he was treated for shock and a few cuts, but nothing serious.”

  “He was lucky,” he paused, “when can I go home Doctor?”

  “Not yet, you have other injuries which we need to assess.”

  “What other injuries?”

  “I don’t really think you’re well enough to discuss them at the present time.”

  “Let me be the judge of that. Please tell me what other injuries I’ve received,” Simon raised his voice.

  “You were in a serious accident you’re lucky to be alive,” he evaded the truth.

  “Just get to the point Doctor,” Simon demanded.

  “Alright, your spinal cord was crushed in the accident,” he began.

  “And?” Simon prompted him.

  “Until we have the results of the tests we don’t know for certain if you’ll ever walk again,” he replied softly.

  Simon stared at the doctor hoping he would give him some hope, but nothing was forthcoming.

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “You must have made a mistake,” Simon searched his face for a hint of optimism.

  “We should have the results later this afternoon.”

  “Leave me alone please,” he turned away and buried his head in his pillow.

  “I understand how you feel, but when you’ve accepted it you’ll feel better.”

  ”I don’t think you do understand. How the hell can you know how I’ll feel? Has this happened to you?”

  “It’s normal to be angry, but it will pass. I’ll leave you now; perhaps you should try and get some rest.”

  The doctor walked away and then turned around.

  “You have a visitor coming to see you shortly,” he informed Simon who was totally unresponsive, and continued to stare at the wall.

  Tears of self-pity and anger flowed freely from Simon’s swollen eyes, as images of his pathetic future trapped in a wheelchair flashed before him. It would have been better if he had died. He couldn’t expect Alex to spend the rest of his life pushing him round and washing and dressing him, seven days a week. They would both be confined to a life of misery. It wasn’t fair to put this on Alex; he deserved to live his life w
ith someone else.

  Simon lifted the sheet that covered his legs and stared at his useless limbs. They looked normal but when he tried to move, nothing happened. It was as if his legs weren’t there; he could see them, but he had no sensation of their existence, and he let out a cry of sheer terror. A nurse rushed to his side.

  “What’s the matter are you in pain?” she asked anxiously.

  “My legs, I can’t feel my legs,” he cried out in panic.

  “I’ll get you something to calm you down, just try to relax.”

  Simon wept unashamedly as the nurse hurried away in search of assistance. She returned a few minutes later with Doctor Sheridan, who promptly administered an intravenous sedative. The effect was almost immediate; Simon became light-headed and drifted into a drug-induced sleep.

  “It’s very difficult to know how patients are going to react to such devastating news.” Doctor Sheridan spoke to the nurse.

  “It’s very sad, he’s so young,” she replied sympathetically.

  “He’ll come to terms with it, but for now he’ll need to be sedated until he calms down. Let me know when he wakes up will you?”

  “Yes Doctor,” the nurse replied pulling a cover over Simon’s exposed shoulder.

  ***********************

  Stanley Austin’s disclosure had shocked his enthralled audience.

  “How did you know it was Judy and not Anne who died in the car accident?” Kate questioned Pat.

  “I didn’t, but a certain lady by the name of Lilly Greensmith put doubt in my mind. I didn’t even know that Anne Parish had a twin sister until Lily told me. Just after the ‘so called accident’, Judy phoned her to tell her about Anne’s death. Lilly knew Anne’s voice, and she was certain she was speaking to her and not her sister, but without seeing her she couldn’t be certain. Anne wore a veil over her face for the entire funeral service, and went out of her way to avoid Lilly. This confirmed her suspicions, but she couldn’t prove anything. Shortly after the funeral, Lilly suffered a massive heart attack and was hospitalised for several months. When she was discharged, she was advised to rest and took a holiday. After she returned home, she put the matter out of her mind until I went to visit her,” Pat explained.

  “You seem to have a special touch with the old dears Pat; if my memory serves me well, it was another old lady you charmed into solving the Dorkings case wasn’t it?” The inspector’s words were tinged with sarcasm rather than acclaim.

  “Do I detect a hint of sour grapes Inspector; or are you embarrassed by your incompetent police force? Pat returned the cynicism. Alex’s mobile phone interrupted the imminent altercation.

  “Excuse me,” Alex glanced at the screen. “I’ll have to take this.”

  Inspector Salt looked directly at Pat and glowered.

  “I resent your remarks Hinds. Your investigative methods were unlawful, and you paid for information.”

  “It was a means to an end,” Pat replied.

  “Can you save this discussion for another time?” Stanley was tiring of the bickering.

  “I was merely pointing out,” Pat’s words were cut short by Alex’s return.

  “I’m sorry for the interruption; if you want to continue Stan my appointments been cancelled so there’s no rush.” He had been advised by the doctor not to visit Simon as he was heavily sedated. Glad of the reprieve, Alex sighed and sat down.

  “What’s wrong Alex?” Stanley asked.

  “Everything’s fine; can we get back to the conversation now?”

  “There really isn’t anything else to say. I just wanted you to know the truth about Judy’s death.”

  “It’s a shame you didn’t think to tell us sooner. If we’d have known Anne hadn’t died in that accident, we could have prevented these deaths. Have you any idea how irresponsible you’ve been Mr. Austin,” Inspector Salt reprimanded the old man.

  “I didn’t come here to help you Inspector, and as far as I’m concerned I was a victim. Toby Lawrence threatened me; believe me I didn’t have a choice and I resent your remarks.”

  “Have you any idea where Anne and Toby are living?” Inspector Salt enquired.

  “They were living on the outskirts of Exeter; but that was a couple months ago. Anne rents a flat or whatever’s available. It’s only a temporary arrangement, every few months they move on to somewhere else. The last place I know for certain was Ashburton,” Stanley explained.

  “Ashburton; that’s where Anne took me, it’s about twenty miles from here,” Ben suddenly recalled the location.

  “It’s quite a big place Mr. Preston; it’s not much use if you can’t be more precise.”

  “St. Margaret’s Court; I don’t know the number but I’d know the house. It was an old Victorian one with steps leading down to the cellar.”

  “I’ll get someone to check it out,” Inspector Salt stood up and left the room.

  He returned a few minutes later, and Kate turned to him.

  “What are you going to do now?” she asked.

  “We’ll just have to wait for Anne and Toby to make the next move and hope it’s not in the form of another body. I’m afraid your hotel will have to be kept under close surveillance,” he turned to Alex.

  “I’ll need to know exactly who comes and goes, and all internal phones will have to be tapped. His mobile rang.

  “Inspector Salt,” he listened then said, “good work Sergeant, keep me informed of any progress.”

  He dropped the phone into his pocket, and glanced up to find all eyes trained in his direction.

  “That was an unexpected piece of good news. It appears that Mr. Toby Lawrence is currently under arrest at Scotland Yard.”

  “What about Anne?” Ben asked.

  “She’s still at large, but Lawrence was in Ireland when he was arrested. I have to interview him, so I’ve been taken off this case for a few days. Chief Inspector Bissell is sending a replacement.”

  The Inspector left and the room fell silent. Pat fumbled around in his jacket pocket in search of his cigarettes.

  “I’m going outside for a smoke.”

  “I’ll join you,” Stanley followed him.

  The two men stood in silence on the hotel car park. Stanley leisurely smoked a huge cigar as Pat drew nervously on his cigarette, discarded the butt and proceeded to light another.

  “Do you have any idea where your daughter might be?” he asked Stanley.

  “No, but when she finds out about Toby she’ll probably keep a low profile; she may even disappear altogether.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right.”

  “Are you ready to go back in yet?” Stanley asked.

  “I just need to get something from my car,” Pat said as he made his way towards the battered Mondeo where he unlocked the passenger door, and reached into the glove compartment. He secreted a small item inside his jacket pocket, but Stanley couldn’t make out what it was.

  “Shall we go?”

  “What’s happened to your car?” Stanley asked noticing the huge dent in the car’s bonnet.

  “An accident on the way here, a motor bike appeared out of nowhere. It was my fault I took my eyes of the road for a couple of seconds at the most. I was trying to light a bloody cigarette when I heard an almighty thud. I didn’t tell the police that though. Not that it would have made much difference though; he was driving like a madman.”

  “The bike rider didn’t die, did he?” Stanley asked.

  “No, but he might as well have done; he’ll never walk again. I feel really bad about it but there’s nothing I can do is there?”

  “You could visit him.”

  “And say what? Hi, I’m the man who put you in a wheelchair? I don’t think so pal,” Pat discarded his cigarette butt.

  “Well at least phone the hospital and ask how he is?”

  “Yeah you’re right; I’ll do that. Come on let’s go back in its bloody freezing out here.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THURSDAY EVENING

&nbs
p; Having heard the news of Toby Lawrence’s’ arrest, Anne Parrish paced nervously up and down contemplating her next course of action. Toby knew what she was planning to do next and if he decided to talk, she could spend the rest of her life in prison. The police would be unable to pin any of the murders on him, but he could be charged as an accessory. Her biggest concern was whether he was prepared to betray her in exchange for his freedom; this was a question she did not know the answer to.

  To carry on without him was risky; but she needed the money and she wasn’t prepared to give up now. She would have to rethink her plans and make adjustments; but this time there could be no mistakes. Her only hope was Glen Meadows, she grabbed her mobile and quickly keyed in his number. He answered almost immediately, surprised to hear from her again.

  “It’s Anne; we have to meet as soon as possible, Toby’s been arrested and I need to talk to you. Half an hour at the usual place and don’t tell anyone else.”

  Glen didn’t get chance to speak as Anne ended the call; but she knew he would turn up. Picking up a jacket and handbag, she locked the front door and drove the short distance to the small bar to await his arrival. A few minutes later, his familiar white van turned into the car park. Anne got out of her car and followed Glen into the bar. He ordered their drinks and took them to an empty table in the corner of the shabby room.

  “What’s happened to Toby?” he asked.

  “He’s was arrested in Ireland; I told him to be careful but you know what he’s like. They must have been watching him. We’ll have to be extra careful now, I don’t know if he can be trusted or not,” she warned.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “The meeting will have to be cancelled. I don’t want anyone else involved in this. Can you see to it that the other members are told? We must not be seen together; do you understand?” she emphasised her words.

  “I’ll see to it; but what about the next job?”

  “We’ll stick to the plan, but now you’ll have to take Toby’s place.”