‘Oh, I hope all is ok.’ Ruby replied. ‘Tell you what; I’ll meet you over there too.’
James marvelled at how he felt better at just hearing her voice. It helped balance out the negative energy he got from talking about scumbags like Mal Wickham.
He should have told her he loved her, he thought when he hung up the phone. Because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was in love. But saying it on the end of a phone wasn’t really romantic, maybe it was better that he kept it to himself for a bit longer. He thought she felt the same way, but maybe he was wrong. He felt slightly panicked just thinking that she didn’t feel the same way about him.
He shook the feeling away quickly. He dialled Sarah’s number quickly to check up on her.
‘Paul?’ Sarah asked when she answered the phone.
‘Nope, it’s James.’ He replied. ‘All ok?’
‘Where the hell are you?’ Sarah answered sobbing. ‘Tommy is missing.’
James nearly dropped the phone he got such a fright from her words. ‘I’m on my way. Have you rung the Gardaí?’
‘Yes.’ Sarah replied. ‘Please hurry,’ she ended in almost a whisper.
He buckled up and drove as quickly as he could to her house.
Chapter Twenty Eight
‘How long more is this going to go on for?’ Mal demanded. ‘I have rights you know. I’m entitled to make a phone call!’
‘I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with that.’ Roger replied. ‘Once we’ve finished this interview you are free to make that call.’
‘My wife will be concerned.’ Mal responded. ‘She worries about me.’
Roger once again marvelled at the gall of this guy. ‘Don’t worry about Marie, she’s perfectly fine.’ Roger said.
‘You’ve been speaking to her? Is she here?’ Mal demanded.
‘She was here earlier, yes.’
‘Why wasn’t I told? She must be beside herself.’ Mal said.
‘She was upset, but that’s to be expected when you find out that your husband has been having an affair with one of your friends.’ Roger replied dryly.
‘You had no right to tell her that!’ Mal exploded. ‘It’s not what you think!’
‘Tell us what we think? Enlighten me.’ Roger said.
‘You think I murdered Rachel Finch, go on, and just say it!’ He said. ‘But I didn’t and you’ve no proof. If you had, you’d have arrested me by now!’ He looked triumphantly at both Roger and Johnny.
‘Patience, Mr Wickham.’ Johnny said quietly. ‘All good things and all that.’
‘What did you tell my Marie?’ Mal said. ‘If you’ve upset her I’ll be talking to your superiors!’
‘I’m shaking in my boots!’ Johnny said to him.
‘I mean it, if you’ve done anything to damage my marriage, I’ll…’
‘You’ll what? Bludgeon us to death with a piece of driftwood?’ Roger shouted at him.
‘No, of course not!’ He exclaimed. He looked from one of them to the other, then fell silent, obviously pondering his next move.
‘Marie has been most helpful in our investigation. I’m sure that will please you.’ Roger said to Mal.
‘What do mean by that?’ Mal asked. Roger watched him closely. He could practically hear his brain ticking over as he went through possible scenarios.
‘Let’s cut the bullshit and talk about what really happened the night of 3rd October. We have finally all agreed that you had something to eat in the Seafield Hotel with Rachel Finch. Tell me what happened next.’
‘I went home and watched TV, then went to bed.’
‘Really? That’s very strange because we have a signed statement from your wife stating that you didn’t come home until almost 3 am that night.’
‘You’re looking a bit peaky there, Mal.’ Johnny decided it was time to start poking the bear again.
Mal picked up his water and took a sip. ‘She must have gotten it wrong; she probably muddled up her days.’
‘I’m not surprised considering the amount of times you’ve hit her!’ Roger shouted at him.
Mal recoiled back from him. ‘I’ve never laid a hand on her, if she said anything different she’s lying!’
‘I don’t think so somehow or other. Do you want to know why she is so certain about the time you got home at on that night? It’s quite simple really – you see that date is imprinted on her brain. Do you have any idea why that date is so unforgettable for her?’
Mal shook his head.
‘Well it seems that you were a busy boy on the 3rd October. After you murdered Rachel, you went home and beat the crap out of your wife, on the barn floor.’
‘Nice guy.’ Johnny said raising his glass of water to Mal.
‘No! I most certainly did not!’ Mal exploded.
‘What are you saying no to? Just out of curiosity which of the two things are you denying? Is it the murder of your mistress or the beating up of your wife?’ Roger asked him.
‘I deny both! I never laid a hand on either of them.’ He protested. ‘She’s making it all up just to get back at me because I had an affair!’
‘Well somebody sure as hell laid more than a hand on Rachel Finch.’ Johnny remarked. ‘Who do you suppose that was?’
‘I never touched her! She was fine when I left her.’
‘Unfortunately Rachel is not here to back up that story.’ Roger said to him mildly. ‘Your wife Marie however is very much here and she had some interesting things to say to us about that night.’
‘It’s all lies. She’s always been venomous!’ he spat at them.
‘Make you mind up, dude.’ Johnny said to him. ‘One minute you say that she’ll be beside herself with concern for you, the next she’s a right evil cow. I’m getting confused here!’
Johnny turned to Roger then and said, ‘If looks could kill…’
Roger smiled at Johnny; he was playing a blinder. ‘Well, you’ll have to let me know exactly where you were between 5pm and 3am that night, Mal. Because right now from where I’m sitting, it’s not looking too good for you! So far you’re the last person to see Rachel alive. And despite saying you went home after you said goodbye to her, your wife states that this is absolutely not true.’
‘I can’t remember where I was.’ Mal said lamely. ‘I think maybe I went for a drive. The more I think about it that’s what I did do. I was just feeling so guilty about my indiscretion with Rachel, I needed time to think, to sort my head out.’
‘I suppose there’s nothing quite like a long drive for hours and hours to help clear a conscience.’ Johnny remarked. He was happy to see that his little needles were really irritating Mal. He intended to continue poking the bear until he got a reaction.
‘So while you were having this long drive, where did Rachel go?’ Roger asked.
‘She said she was going to get her dog and then go for a walk.’
‘That makes sense.’ Roger said to him. ‘And you didn’t feel like a walk yourself?’
‘No, I told you I said goodbye to her at the hotel.’
‘So you said. But I’m finding that hard to believe somehow.’
‘It’s true; you’ll have to take my word for it.’ Mal said defiantly.
‘I’m afraid I won’t be doing anything of the kind.’ Roger replied. ‘You see you’ve lied to me at least three times that I can recall so far today.’
‘More like four times.’ Johnny piped in.
‘So you can see where I have a dilemma. If you’ve lied to me so much already, why should I believe you now? So on this long drive of yours, you say you drove continuously for hours and hours?’
‘Yes, right up to nearly 3am.’ Mal answered quickly.
‘Did you stop anywhere for coffee or something to eat maybe? There could be somebody who could come forward and confirm your whereabouts then?’
‘No, I didn’t stop anywhere. I just drove and then I went home.’ Mal replied.
‘So you drove from roughly 5pm till roughly 3am. That�
��s a lot of driving.’ Roger said to him.
‘I had a lot of thinking to do.’ Mal responded, sarcasm beginning to edge its way into his voice again.
‘So it appears.’ James replied. ‘But in this long drive of yours, surely with all those miles you must have clocked up, you’d need to get petrol.’
Mal looked up startled at this.
‘You hadn’t thought of that had you?’ Johnny said with a smile. ‘If you’re going to go making things up, you’re going to have to get a little bit cleverer with your lies mate!’
‘I did get petrol, I’ve just remembered.’ Mal answered.
‘Where and what time did you get this petrol?’ Roger shouted back at him.
‘I can’t remember.’ Mal said to him, lifting his chin defiantly. ‘Do you remember every petrol station you ever go into?’
‘That’s a valid point.’ Roger replied. ‘However, the great thing about modern technology is that it’s not necessary to remember every detail such as that. We have things like bank statements and mobile phones and they can paint quite a picture when we start to look into the secrets they hold. I have your bank statements, Mal. And the thing that really puzzles me is that on the 3rd October there isn’t a mention of you buying petrol anywhere.’
‘I must have paid cash.’ Mal responded.
‘Oh that would clear that one up. That’s very plausible.’ Roger said amicably.
Mal looked relieved to hear the detective say that.
‘I have a slight problem with that though. Do you know what the definition of a pattern is Mal?’
Mal looked confused and shook his head.
‘For the benefit of the recording, Mr Wickham said no. Well, let me illuminate you. A pattern is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects. And these elements always repeat in a predictable manner.’
‘Very interesting.’ Johnny said to Roger.
‘It is because I have Mal Wickham’s bank statements here in front of me and I can see quite a pattern in the entries here.’
‘I’m on the edge of my seat.’ Johnny responded.
Mal looked more and more worried as the exchange continued.
‘He always pays for his petrol with his laser card. Isn’t that correct, Mr Wickham?’ he shouted to him, throwing the statements down in front of him.
‘So I’m surprised that you broke your usual routine and paid for your petrol on this occasion with cash. The very time that you need some proof of your whereabouts.’
‘Sounds a bit dubious to me.’ Johnny remarked to Roger.
‘I thought so too.’ Roger replied. ‘What do you think Mal?’
‘What can I say?’ Mal said sarcastically. ‘I fancied a change!’
‘OK so where did you buy this petrol? We’ll send someone off immediately to check their CCTV and we’ll clear this whole misunderstanding up. We can have you home in a few hours. I’ll even drive you myself.’
Mal didn’t answer.
‘You take a sec there; we have all the time in the world.’ Roger responded.
‘I can’t remember the name of the garage.’ Mal whispered back.
‘What was that?’ Johnny said. ‘You’ll have to speak up.’
‘I said I didn’t remember the name of the garage.’ He shouted back. ‘I’ve had enough of this, it’s harassment!’ He pounded on the desk with his fist, his face purple with rage.
‘That’s some temper you have on you.’ Johnny said to him. ‘It’ll get you into trouble one day.’
‘Is that what happened with Rachel?’ Roger said to him. ‘She made you lose your temper? Something snapped and you just went for it. Maybe it all got out of control?’
Mal took a deep breath and smiled sweetly at them both. ‘I don’t remember the name of the garage; I’ve nothing else to say on the matter. It’s the truth,’ he said, smiling at Johnny. ‘what would you have me do, make up the name of a garage just to appease you?’
‘Well let’s try to narrow it down a bit. What time did you stop for petrol at? What town were you in? Help me help you.’ Roger said.
‘I can’t remember, how many times do I have to tell you?’
‘Maybe you don’t remember where you stopped for petrol because it’s another lie.’ Roger said raising his voice again. ‘Let’s just cut the crap. We all know that you went to Ballyaislinn beach with Rachel Finch and you murdered her there. Just be a man and admit it and then we can all leave this bloody interview room!’
‘I told you, I didn’t go to Ballyaislinn beach and I didn’t murder Rachel Finch.’
Roger stood up and leaned over the table. ‘I’ve another question for you Mal. When you stopped at this unknown garage to buy this imaginary petrol, at a time that you can’t remember, in a place you don’t remember driving to, did they sell you firewood too?’
Mal looked startled at this line of enquiry. ‘No. I didn’t buy any firewood. What kind of question is that?’
‘The regular kind.’ Roger answered tersely. ‘I just wondered where you bought the firewood.’
‘I told you I never bought any firewood.’
‘Well that’s very strange, because in the statement we obtained from your wife, she stated that when you returned home at 3am, instead of going inside straight away, you went to the barn and put something on the wood pile.’
Mal slumped back in his chair.
‘Lost for words for once, I see.’ Johnny said.
‘Would you ever just shut the fuck up?’ Mal shouted at Johnny jumping to his feet. ‘I’ve had enough of this harassment!’
‘There’s that temper again.’ Johnny said, smirking back at him. ‘I did warn you it would get you into trouble.’
Mal sat down again and said, ‘I’ve had enough of this. I’ll not say another word until I get my lawyer here.’
Chapter Twenty Nine
Rita and Joey arrived at Sarah’s house. ‘Any sign of them?’ Rita asked immediately.
Sarah shook her head. ‘I’m expecting James any minute. This is Art, Tommy’s principal.’
‘Has Paul arrived back in London yet? Sarah asked.
‘No. I’m starting to get worried now. I rang Michelle earlier after I spoke to you. I couldn’t get any answer on Paul’s phone. She said he wasn’t home yet and to be honest she gave me short thrift. She didn’t seem too worried about the fact that he’d not arrived home.’
‘She was bloody rude to you!’ Joey interjected, annoyed on Rita’s behalf.
He threw his eyes up to the ceiling.
‘I didn’t think too much about it at first, thought the flight he was on must have been delayed. As Michelle didn’t seem worried, I thought no point in me fretting. But then Michelle rang me back.’ Rita went on. ‘She was extremely irate, shouting that she wanted to speak to Paul. I told her that he’d left here hours before, but she kept screaming abuse down the phone. It was as if she thought I was hiding him in the house or something.’
‘She seems a bit unstable if you ask me.’ Joey said.
‘I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was just upset.’ Rita replied.
‘You always think the best of people, love.’ Joey said with a note of pride in his voice.
Rita smiled at the intimate use of the word love. Sarah noticed it too but right at this minute didn’t have the inclination to acknowledge their happiness. When her little boy was safe at home with her, then she would.
The doorbell rang and this time it was James, followed closely by Ruby. ‘What’s going on, Sarah?’
‘Tommy is missing and I think that Paul is missing too.’
‘Paul’s missing again?’ James said incredulously. ‘Sure, we’ve only just found him!’
‘I think Paul could be hurt.’ Sarah whispered to him, pulling him away from Ruby and the others. ‘I had one of my visions today.’
Sarah filled him in on what she’d felt when she fell on the ice. ‘But right now I’m more worried about
Tommy.’
‘Is there any chance that Tommy is actually with Paul?’ James asked.
‘I don’t know.’ Sarah responded. ‘But if he was, surely he’d have called me to tell me? Why would he keep that from me, he would know I’d be frantic?’
‘It doesn’t make sense for it to be anything else though. Tommy leaves school at lunchtime to talk to Paul and now Paul and Tommy are both missing. Was Paul acting weird? Would he snatch Tommy?’ James asked.
‘Never!’ Rita exclaimed, walking over to them. ‘I know my son and I know he’s got a lot of faults, but he’d never take Tommy from Sarah or his sisters.’
Sarah agreed with Rita. Something didn’t feel right.
‘Trust your instinct. Listen.’ She heard Edward whisper.
She glanced over at Art who was playing Guess Who with Katie. He glanced up at her and held her gaze. It was good of him to stay.
She walked towards Tommy’s bedroom. Sitting on his bed she closed her eyes and concentrated, thinking of her son. And then she saw him. And she knew where he was.
Paul is smiling as he drives out of her driveway. He is oblivious to the fact that Tommy is crouching down on the floor of the back seat, out of sight.
‘Tommy is with Paul. He’s with Paul.’ She shouted as she ran back into the living room. ‘He hid in the back of Paul’s car. Paul didn’t know he was there when he left here to go to the airport.’ She started to shake.
‘How do you know that?’ Rita asked.
Sarah ignored her question.
‘That’s good.’ James said. ‘Now we know where he is. He’s safe with Paul.’
Sarah screamed. ‘You don’t understand. He’s not safe. Paul is in danger. I told you that. And that means so is Tommy. Edward where are they, god damn it, just tell me where they are?’
‘Who’s Edward?’ Joey asked looking around.
Rita shrugged in response, tears in her own eyes. ‘What do you mean Paul is in danger and Tommy too, Sarah? I don’t understand what she’s saying.’ Joey put his arm around her.
The Life You Left Page 24