THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist

by Joy Ellis

  Jackman’s question took even Marie by surprise.

  Benedict just sat, white faced, and said, ‘She died. She got sick, and died. Why on earth do you want to know about Fleur?’

  ‘Because we found her body in the chamber below Windrush.’

  ‘What? Our father told us she had been cremated!’ Benedict Broome pushed back his chair and stared at them.

  ‘Fleur was one of the thirteen young women found there, Benedict,’ said Jackman.

  Benedict put his hands to his mouth. ‘That’s impossible!’

  ‘I think you should tell us about Windrush.’ Jackman was unrelenting. ‘It wasn’t really going to be some swanky retreat, was it?’

  ‘Oh, but it was, although not for everyone. It was for us.’ Benedict’s voice was low and husky. ‘Our retreat! Our home. Somewhere we could be together again, where we belonged.’

  ‘And the bodies? All those dead girls, Benedict? Where did they fit in?’

  ‘I know nothing about them, I swear.’

  ‘Your brother Philip has been arrested for their murder. Did he forget to mention what he was up to beneath your precious retreat?’

  ‘Philip? Oh come now. Forgive me, but you are very wrong there.’ Benedict began to laugh. ‘DI Jackman, Philip is the gentlest man I’ve ever known.’

  ‘He has confessed.’

  Benedict shook his head. ‘I think you need to speak to him again. I can’t tell you why he’s done such a stupid thing, but believe me, Philip is not your killer.’

  * * *

  ‘We are going to have to move our suspects to different stations, now we know they are related.’ Jackman rubbed at an aching shoulder. ‘But from past experience, and knowing what we know unofficially, I’m loath to let them out of my sight for five minutes.’ He frowned. ‘We will have to let Asher go. We have nothing to hold him on now we know he had the key to Toby Tanner’s place legitimately.’

  He and Marie were waiting for Philip Groves to be brought to an interview room.

  Marie kept her voice low. ‘No one other than the team and the professor knows anything yet. Let’s hang fire until we’ve spoken to Philip again.’

  ‘Ah good, I’m in time.’ Professor O’Byrne hurried towards them along the corridor.

  ‘May I still sit in? We have permission from Mr Groves, I mean Mulberry.’

  Jackman lifted a finger to his lips. ‘It’s Groves, okay? And yes, we’d be grateful for your opinion. I’ll just ask you to keep quiet and observe, that’s all.’

  * * *

  Philip Groves — Marie still found it hard to think of him as Mulberry — sat across the table from them. He looked hollow, as if all the life had been drained out of him.

  Jackman told him what they knew of his past, and about his brother Toby’s death.

  Finally he said, ‘You are right, I didn’t kill the girls. I found their bodies and took them to a place of safety.’ His voice was soft, gentle, and terribly tired. ‘That’s all I ever did. I took them from a world of hurt, where people didn’t treat them right. I looked after them.’

  ‘They had families, Philip, people who loved and missed them.’ Marie spoke softly.

  ‘No they didn’t, Sergeant.’ He spoke calmly. ‘If they had cared so much, their children would not have run away or been left so vulnerable that some man could take them, defile them and kill them. I was their real family. I loved them, and in the end, I was all they needed.’

  ‘How did you find them, Philip?’ Jackman asked. ‘You don’t just find dead bodies.’

  ‘Whoever killed them left them in the old ruin on the marsh. In the small cellar room that leads to my tunnel.’

  ‘Who was it? You must have seen him leave the bodies. And he must have known what you were doing, mustn’t he? He dumps a dead body, then when he returns a few months later with the next one, lo and behold, it’s gone!’

  Philip shook his head. ‘I never saw him, and I have no idea what he thought about the girls disappearing, if indeed he even realised. You saw that derelict building, Sergeant. As far as I could tell, he just opened the door and pushed them through into the darkness.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Philip, but I suggest that you did know who it was. You may not have seen him, but from the things he did to those girls, you knew.’

  Philip stared down at the table.

  ‘Come on. You are an educated man, Philip. You and your brothers and sisters suffered terrible, terrible hurt at the hands of your parents. You knew that one of your brothers was so damaged that he had the capacity to kill. Didn’t you?’

  ‘You were just cleaning up after him, weren’t you? Protecting him, like you and Benedict have always done,’ Marie added.

  ‘I didn’t know who killed my lovely girls, and I didn’t want to know. I simply took them home and gave them back their dignity.’

  ‘And is that what you did to Fleur? You took her home?’

  Philip’s eyes flew wide open and his head came up sharply.

  After a moment he said, ‘I saw him. I saw our father digging the hole in the family graveyard. He was digging it where we used to bury the animals.’

  ‘You saw him bury your sister?’

  Groves nodded. ‘As soon as he had finished filling in the grave, I promised Fleur that I would take her home one day. I told her that she’d sleep in soft sheets, in a proper bed, with sweet-smelling flowers at her side. She would never spend another night on the cold floor of a stinking cage.’

  Jackman glanced at Marie. She was forcing back tears.

  Why would you dig up a body? Gary had asked. Now he knew.

  ‘And you did go back for her, when you knew that Alderfield was about to be bulldozed?’

  ‘I went back as soon as Benedict acquired Windrush. I was going to do it earlier, but I had nowhere to take her that was safe and permanent.’

  ‘You did it alone?’

  Philip mumbled, ‘Yes, alone. I never told the others about her grave.’

  ‘Why not? You were all so close, surely they would have understood,’ said Marie.

  ‘I couldn’t add to their distress. How could I give them even more heartbreak to bear? They had been told she was ill and had died. That was enough, especially for the little ones. Only I knew that she had died at our father’s hand. It was one burden I had to carry alone.’ Philip looked at Marie. ‘We have secrets, Sergeant. Each one of us is troubled. We are different from other people and always will be. That is why we needed to have a place of our own. A place where no matter what we did, we would not be judged. The world would be safe from us, and we would be safe from a world that could never understand what our parents had turned us into. Windrush was to be that sanctuary.’

  There were things Jackman did not understand. ‘But, Philip, you went through university! You are a veterinary surgeon. That takes a lot of doing, many years of study. You are a professional, intelligent, full of compassion and . . .’ He ran out of words.

  ‘I’m not an evil man, Inspector, but I grew up in a house of evil. I am a freak.’

  ‘If you didn’t kill those girls, what about the name tags over the beds? How did you know their names and their dates of birth? How did you know they were all born on a Wednesday?’ Marie spoke so coldly that even Jackman was taken aback.

  Philip swallowed. ‘I . . .’

  ‘I’ll fill in the gaps, shall I?’ Marie leaned forward. ‘You are the mender, aren’t you? You are the healer. You know everything there is to know about your brothers. You knew exactly which one of them had lost control, and you knew why. But this time you couldn’t fix him. As he grew up, he became more and more dangerous, didn’t he?’ Marie’s eyes bored into Philip’s. ‘And he was fixated by girls, little ones and older ones, as long as they were born on a Wednesday, like him and his sister. Fleur.’

  Jackman looked at her with astonishment.

  ‘Toby killed them, didn’t he? He wasn’t fragile, as Benedict would have us believe, he was psychotic and an incredibly dangerous preda
tor.’

  Philip heaved a sigh and Marie sensed relief in it. ‘You have to understand that Toby suffered more than any of us, other than Fleur. I knew that he would never be able to integrate back into society. Benedict and I worked ceaselessly to keep him out of harm’s way. Micah lived at the farm in order to watch out for him, but we needed to get him to Windrush. And we were almost there.’

  He looked at Marie, tears in his eyes. ‘Now he’s dead, and it’s the answer to a prayer. I’d like to believe that he is up in heaven singing for his Maker, but I doubt that very much. You asked me before if I sing, and I do, we all could, but Toby had a voice that would make angels weep. Sadly, that was the only beautiful thing about Toby. I should have put him out of his misery years ago. After all, I have the knowledge and the wherewithal, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.’

  Marie thought about the flowers. She could believe that.

  * * *

  Marie left to get Philip some water, and Jackman asked him about Asher and his perfect fiancée.

  ‘Asher? He’s not a bad boy really. Somehow he managed to come out of our personal hell with a sort of mixed-up, old-fashioned moral code, even if he does have a problem with sex. He adores his girlfriend and respects her wishes, but because of his obsession with sex, he regularly visits prostitutes.’

  ‘And goes to sex clubs?’

  Philip shook his head. ‘No. Not Asher. The clubs were Toby’s hunting ground.’

  ‘Can you tell us anything about them, Philip?’ Jackman asked. For the sake of the recording, he added that DS Evans had just come back into the room.

  ‘Not really, other than a few old locations. I tried to stop him, but he was too secretive. He would get a text or a call, and disappear.’ Philip sighed. ‘I just prayed that none of the girls he met were born on a Wednesday.’

  Jackman decided to bring the interview to a close. He told Philip that whatever he was charged with, it wouldn’t be murder.

  Philip didn’t seem to care. He was a husk, emptied out. As they stood up to leave, he said, ‘What will they do with my sister?’

  ‘Fleur? When it’s over, she will be buried properly, and with dignity.’

  ‘That’s good. And, Inspector, my other sister, Elizabeth. Is she safe?’

  ‘She’s in a psychiatric hospital. Yes, she’s safe.’

  ‘She self-harms. That’s her problem. But Benedict looks after her.’

  Of course, thought Marie. Those long sleeves pulled tightly down over her hands. That full-length skirt, down to her ankles, even in the stifling heat of the hospital room. She should have known.

  Jackman had his finger on the recorder button. ‘Philip? How much did the others know? Especially Benedict.’

  Philip looked up. ‘About?’

  ‘The Children’s Ward? The abductions? The drugging of Wednesday’s Children? And what Toby did to them in that caravan out on the marsh?’

  ‘Nothing, Inspector. They knew nothing. Ben’s whole life was devoted to keeping Elizabeth safe and working on ways to finance the rebuilding of Windrush.’ Philip gave a little shrug. ‘Although I’m sure he won’t be surprised when you tell him what happened.’ He let out a long sigh. ‘It would have been kinder to put us down when they found us, like a litter of kittens. They should have known that we would never survive in the world. Especially when some of them began to suspect what might really have happened at Alderfield.’

  ‘To your parents?’ Jackman asked.

  Philip nodded.

  ‘The police believed that you were responsible for both your parents’ deaths?’ added Marie.

  ‘After what my father and my mother put us through, we were no longer responsible for anything.’ Philip gave a humourless laugh. ‘But yes, they suspected as much. The problem was, the police saw things that no one should. The horror of what they found in that house clouded their judgement. We were damaged then, Detectives, and it was too late to do anything about it. They should have locked us away and allowed us to rot. Then twelve girls would not have had to die.’

  One small detail still bothered Marie. ‘Can I ask one last question, Philip? We never found any photographs of Toby. Not at the farmhouse or anywhere. Why was that?’

  Philip gave a small smile. ‘There were very few pictures ever taken of any of us, Sergeant, but Toby had strange eyes. They were so pale that in some lights he looked as if he had no pupils, and the camera always picked that up. He looked either blind or dead.’

  Dead eyes.

  As Jackman and Marie walked away, from behind the locked door came the sound of the purest voice singing a lullaby. This time it didn’t turn their blood to ice, it melted their hearts with sadness.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  ‘It’s tonight! Ten thirty, location to be advised.’ Rosie snapped the phone shut. ‘We’re on!’

  * * *

  Rosie and Max slipped out of their car and moved away into the darkness of the tree-lined lane. As she watched them go, Marie felt a surge of emotion. Two of their own were walking into a very dangerous situation, but another woman she cared about might finally be about to get some justice.

  Jackman was fastening his stab-proof vest. ‘Ready?’

  ‘Everyone is in position.’

  ‘You seem much more relaxed about this now, Marie’.

  ‘I’m fine. Sometimes you need to take extreme measures, especially when you are dealing with someone who thinks they are above the law. If Rosie and Max are up for this, then so am I.’

  ‘Me too.’ Jackman moved away from their vehicle and towards the ramshackle collection of huts and outbuildings that were scattered around the old grain store.

  Marie came up beside him. ‘Max has produced some very tasty spyware for this operation,’ she whispered.

  ‘That lad has left nothing to chance. Those designer glasses have a camera embedded in one of the arms, and everything he sees is relayed to the lads in the van. They have an HD digital video recorder and everything is being backed up, along with anything we hear on Rosie’s wire.’

  ‘Well, we’ve sent in the bait. We just have to hope that the big fish will swim in the pool tonight.’

  * * *

  The grain store had been abandoned years before, and Rosie guessed that it had been chosen because there were no neighbours for miles around.

  She smiled lasciviously at the man on the door, and whispered, ‘I said, I’d be back, didn’t I?’

  He nodded and openly stared at her cleavage.

  ‘Hope you don’t mind, I brought my boyfriend.’ She nodded at Max, who was staring with apparent disinterest at the weird surroundings. ‘It seems to me you get more fun here if you have someone to play with.’

  ‘You should have come and found me, sweetie.’ He ran a finger down her bare arm. ‘We could have had some fun.’

  ‘You were far too busy, handsome.’ She leaned closer to the doorman and whispered, ‘Should I leave him behind next time, what do you think?’

  ‘I think that’s a really good idea, babe.’

  ‘Petra,’ she said.

  ‘Nice name. I’m Lenny.’

  ‘I’ll remember that.’ Rosie blew him a kiss, draping her arm over Max’s shoulder.

  After half an hour of drinking and trance music, the partygoers were beginning to loosen up. Max had found what he decided was the optimum spot for people watching, especially the older men that were collecting in the shadows.

  ‘Sorry, Detective, but we need to either dance or snog, unless you want people to notice.’ Rosie put her arm around his waist and pulled him towards her. ‘You choose.’

  ‘No offence, flower, but dancing will give me more chance to see who’s coming and going through that back door.’

  ‘None taken. Groove away.’

  ‘Shit, was it like this last time?’ asked Max, watching a couple of kids who looked about twelve, getting busy on a wooden bench.

  ‘You’ve seen nothing yet, Maxie-boy,’ Rosie took a sip from her can of lager. ‘
Just like I’ve seen nothing of our bloody target.’

  ‘Maybe he won’t show. He knows Toby Tanner is dead, and that he was linked to the parties.’

  Rosie leaned over his shoulder. ‘No, he’ll be relieved that Tanner’s out of the picture. Harlan Marsh is under his thumb, and he thinks we are far too busy tidying up Windrush to worry about anything else.’

  Rosie moved to the thumping beat. ‘He won’t be able to stay away from his dirty little enterprise.’

  Another twenty minutes went by, and Rosie began to wonder what they could do that wouldn’t be the talk of the mess room for the next five years.

  ‘Jackpot.’ Max moved closer to her, turning her slightly, as if in an embrace. Two men were standing just inside the back door.

  ‘Cade,’ muttered Max. ‘And bang in my sights. Hope you’re seeing this, guys?’

  Rosie wound herself around to Max’s side. She recognised him immediately. The greased back hair and the glasses were no disguise at all. ‘All we need now is to get something on him that he can’t wriggle out of.’

  The music pulsed and the ravers gyrated around them. ‘Rosie! Watch him!’

  Rosie leant down, ostensibly to pick up a can from the floor. She knelt for a moment, her eyes trained on Cade, seeing him take a roll of notes from the other man and push them into his pocket.

  Rosie saw Cade beckon to a dancing teenager, talk to her for a few moments, and then gently push her towards the man beside him. The girl, with the older man’s hand on her shoulder, left through the back door.

  ‘Do we go now?’ asked Max edgily.

  ‘Hang fire.’ Rosie had seen two girls, who looked totally wrecked, approaching Cade.

  ‘Oh lovely! Keep it up, kids, let’s see what he does. Have you got him lined up, Max?’

  ‘Centre stage. This couldn’t have gone better if we’d set it up.’

  As they watched, the two teenagers flirted with the older man, and to Rosie’s delight, he began to reciprocate. First, a kiss, then a hand on a buttock. The hand slid around the girl’s tight miniskirt and began to slide beneath the shiny material.

  ‘Gotcha, slimeball! Time to go! All units!’

  Rosie and Max threw their beer cans to the ground and, side-stepping the dancers, hurried forward directly towards Cade.