Lost Innocence

by Susan Lewis

  Lisa smiled sympathetically. ‘It’s OK, I’ll be interviewing you,’ she assured her. ‘He’ll be listening in, though. Now, would you like to sit down? There’s a kitchen through there, I can make some coffee if you…’

  Annabelle was shaking her head. ‘I don’t want any, thank you.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Sabrina said, drawing Annabelle down next to her on the sofa.

  Perching on the edge of an armchair, Lisa clasped her hands together and looked at them kindly. ‘I’m going to go through the procedure with you now,’ she said, ‘just so’s you have some idea of what’s about to happen. The doctor’s already here. He’s in the medical room which we passed on our way in. Are you OK about being examined?’ she said to Annabelle.

  Annabelle swallowed and nodded. ‘I think so,’ she answered.

  ‘Can you tell me, have you washed since it happened?’

  Annabelle’s eyes widened. ‘Of course I have,’ she replied indignantly.

  Lisa’s expression remained friendly. ‘That’s fine,’ she said, ‘it just makes the search for DNA a little more difficult, but not impossible.’

  Annabelle stopped bristling.

  ‘The doctor will be checking you over for injuries,’ Lisa continued. ‘Obviously we can see those on your face and neck, but perhaps there are others on your arms or back that you haven’t noticed yet. He’ll work down your body taking wet and dry swabs – this means that he’ll be using distilled water for some, and not for others. He won’t be taking photographs. Everything will be marked on a body map. For the internal exam he’ll use a speculum – do you know what that is?’

  Annabelle shook her head.

  ‘It’s a device that will open you up a little to allow him to take both low and high vaginal swabs which may, or may not, produce DNA that can be matched to the assailant’s.’

  Annabelle seemed to shrink into herself, while next to her Sabrina’s whole body seemed cramped by the strain.

  ‘Because the rape took place in the early hours of Sunday morning,’ Lisa went on, ‘it’s possible that no traces exist any more, but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t go ahead with a prosecution. Your age alone means that any act of intercourse is illegal.’ After watching mother and daughter exchange glances she wasn’t quite able to interpret, she continued. ‘Besides semen the doctor will also be looking for signs of internal trauma, tearing or bruising, that sort of thing. He’ll also take nail clippings and scrapings, and pubic-hair combings – do you have any?’ she asked gently. ‘I know the trend today is to remove it all.’

  ‘She had a bikini wax last Friday,’ Sabrina answered for her.

  ‘Actually, it was a Brazilian,’ Annabelle said in a small voice.

  Sabrina turned to her, aghast. ‘But you’re too young to…’ She broke off, realising this was neither the time nor the place to make it an issue.

  Being too well-trained to show exasperation at the lack of pubic hair, Lisa said, ‘It’s OK. I’m sure there won’t be a problem. Now, I have to ask if you’ve bled since the incident and used a tampon or towel?’

  Annabelle shook her head. ‘I mean, there was a bit of blood, but I didn’t use anything.’

  ‘Did you bring everything you were wearing that night?’ Lisa asked, looking at Sabrina.

  ‘It’s in a bag in the car,’ Sabrina answered.

  ‘OK. Perhaps you can get it while Annabelle’s being interviewed.’

  ‘Won’t I be with her?’ Sabrina objected. ‘I think I should.’

  ‘I’m sorry, we have to talk to her alone.’

  ‘But she’s under sixteen…’

  ‘All the same, we still have to talk to her alone.’ Turning back to Annabelle, ‘Are you OK with that?’ she asked.

  Annabelle seemed uncertain. ‘I’d like my mum to be there for the medical exam,’ she said.

  ‘Of course. Now, the last thing I have to tell you before we go through to the doctor is that he’ll be taking two lots of blood. I know the incident happened over twenty-four hours ago, but you still need to be tested for alcohol and drugs…I can see by your face that there’s a chance something might be found, but don’t worry, even if you used illegal substances it isn’t of any interest to us. This is simply a formality that has to be gone through that might help us to establish your frame of mind at the time of the incident.’

  Annabelle’s nails were digging into her palms. She didn’t know if she wanted to go through with this now, it wasn’t turning out to be anything like she’d expected, with all these tests and procedures and stuff.

  Seeming to read her mind, Lisa said, ‘I know it can seem a bit daunting at first, but once the exam is out of the way and we’ve had our chat, you’ll be able to go home and leave everything else to DS Bevan.’

  Annabelle only looked at her. Then, in a tone that surprised Lisa with its harshness, considering how meek and unsure of herself the girl had seemed up till now, she asked, ‘Has he been arrested yet?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Lisa replied carefully. ‘DS Bevan will be able to tell us when he gets here.’

  Seeing Rachel’s name come up on her mobile, Alicia clicked on straight away. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure in the middle of your surgery hours?’

  With an ironic lilt Rachel said, ‘Just thought I’d keep you up to speed with what’s happening in Holly Wood.’

  Alicia laughed. ‘And you would know because…?’

  ‘Canon Jeffries has just been in with his cat, and you know how he likes a bit of a gossip. So it turns out that a police car was outside your brother’s house this morning.’

  Alicia’s smile died.

  ‘What’s more,’ Rachel went on, ‘according to the good canon, when the police left the house Sabrina and Annabelle went with them, then came back again about half an hour later.’

  Alicia’s mind was firing off in too many directions, and none felt good. ‘So what do we deduce from that?’ she asked, hoping Rachel might have a more optimistic take on it.

  ‘No idea, except whatever the search is about it seems Annabelle could be in some way involved.’

  ‘I’ll give Robert a call,’ Alicia said, and after a quick goodbye she rang off and scrolled through to Robert’s mobile number.

  ‘Now there’s a coincidence,’ he said when he answered. ‘I was just about to ring you. Did you know there’s an art fair in Somerton at the end of August? It’s being advertised in the local paper. There might still be time for you to get your sculptures in.’

  ‘Thanks, but I’ve already tried and the closing date was a month ago,’ she told him. ‘What’s this I hear about the police being at your house this morning?’

  There was a beat of stunned silence before he said, ‘The police were at my house? Are you sure? Do you know why?’

  ‘That’s what I’m asking you. Where are you?’

  ‘At the labs.’

  ‘Well, all I can tell you is that there’s some kind of search going on over in the Copse, and apparently Sabrina and Annabelle went off with the police sometime this morning.’

  There was another baffled silence before he said, ‘I’ll give Sabrina a call and get back to you.’

  As the line went dead, Alicia clicked off her end, and deciding to abandon the new design she was working on, she closed up her laptop and put it back in its case to carry home. Since it was gone two o’clock Nat would surely be up by now, and if he wasn’t she was going to insist he let her into his room, because it wasn’t like him to lie around in bed for so long. If he was ill he might need a doctor, and if he was depressed she needed to know.

  She was just turning into The Close when a dark blue Ford Focus swept past her, followed by a marked police car. To her alarm both drew up in front of the Coach House, and as two suited men got out of the Focus a terrible foreboding came over her.

  ‘Hello?’ she cried, running towards them and trying to keep a rising panic from her voice.

  DC Morley Croft turned around. His striking appearance
, seemingly with African origins, was marred by the gash of a rose-coloured scar across one cheek. ‘Mrs Carlyle?’ he said.

  ‘Yes. Can I help you?’

  ‘Would you be Nathan Carlyle’s mother?’

  ‘Yes.’ Her voice sounded high-pitched and razor-thin.

  ‘I’m Detective Constable Morley Croft,’ he told her, ‘and this is DC Grange. We’d like to talk to your son, if he’s at home.’

  Her mind was spinning so fast she could hardly speak. It was all right, she tried telling herself. They were just doing their job. Everyone was being questioned and Nat had no more to hide than she did. These were routine enquiries, because he’d been at the rave. She tried smiling, as though her friendliness might make them rethink any dark intent. ‘If you’d like to come in,’ she said. ‘He was still in bed when I left, but I’m sure he’s up by now. Can I ask what it’s about?’

  ‘We need to speak to Nathan,’ Croft answered evenly.

  ‘But it’s connected to what’s happening in the woods, I expect?’

  The detective didn’t answer, only followed her in through the front door with his colleague close behind, while the two uniformed officers waited outside.

  Alicia’s chest was so tight she’d practically stopped breathing. ‘I’ll go and get him,’ she managed to utter.

  ‘Mum?’ Nat said from the top of the stairs.

  She looked up, and felt an overpowering urge to push him back into his room, as though hiding might protect him from something she couldn’t even put a name to. ‘You’re up. Good,’ she heard herself say. ‘These gentlemen would like to speak to you.’ She turned to Croft. ‘You can go through there,’ she told him, pointing to the sitting room. ‘Shall I make some tea?’

  Croft was watching Nat as he came to a halt halfway down the stairs. His young face turned so white that Alicia almost sobbed with fear.

  ‘Are you Nathan Douglas Carlyle?’ Croft asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Nat mumbled.

  ‘Can you tell me your date of birth?’

  ‘Tenth of November 1992.’

  Croft nodded. ‘Nathan Douglas Carlyle, I am arresting you for the rape of Annabelle Preston and must caution you …’

  ‘Oh my God!’ Alicia cried over him.

  ‘I didn’t rape her,’ Nat shouted. ‘She…’

  Finishing the caution, Croft said, ‘Hang on, son, don’t say any more. I have to write down your responses and you might want to wait until you have legal representation.’

  Nat’s eyes were so wide they might burst from his head. His mouth was trembling in a way that was shredding Alicia’s heart.

  ‘He didn’t do it,’ she insisted shakily. ‘If you knew him…’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Carlyle. We need to search the house.’

  ‘But she’s a liar,’ Alicia shouted. ‘She’s…’

  ‘Mum, don’t say any more.’

  ‘But you can’t let her get away with this. Do you have a warrant?’ she demanded, turning back to Croft.

  ‘Under Section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, we don’t need a warrant at this stage,’ he informed her. ‘We simply want to take the clothes Nathan was wearing on Saturday night…’

  ‘You don’t need to search for that. We can just give them to you.’

  ‘If you can show DC Grange your room, Nathan,’ Croft said. ‘All communal areas will be searched,’ he explained to Alicia, ‘which will include the bathroom.’

  ‘What exactly are you looking for?’ she cried. ‘If you just want his clothes…’

  ‘We’ll need to take his computer and mobile phone, and anything else we feel might be relevant.’

  ‘But I’m telling you she’s a liar,’ Annabelle almost screamed, as Nat turned backup the stairs.

  ‘Mrs Carlyle, could you come with me, please?’ Croft said, taking her gently by the arm. ‘I know this has been a shock for you. Is there anyone you can call?’

  ‘My husband’s a lawyer,’ she blurted.

  ‘Then perhaps you’d like to contact him.’

  ‘I can’t,’ she said, her voice cracking with despair. ‘He’s …’ She put a hand over her mouth to stop herself sobbing. ‘He died six months ago,’ she managed to say.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Croft responded respectfully. ‘Is there someone else?’

  ‘What are you going to do to him? I’m telling you, he’s …’

  ‘We’re taking him in for questioning,’ Croft explained. ‘Miss Preston has accused him of a very serious offence, so we have to follow it up.’

  ‘Her mother’s put her up to this,’ Alicia told him urgently. ‘She’s been trying to get rid of me…’

  ‘I think it would be best if you took your son’s advice and didn’t say any more,’ Croft suggested kindly.

  ‘He’s a good boy,’ she said, starting to break down. ‘He wouldn’t do anything wrong, I swear it. He wants to be a barrister, like his father.’

  ‘I’m going to assist with the search now,’ Croft told her. ‘If I were you I’d take a few deep breaths and get on the phone to a solicitor.’

  Realising the sense of the advice, she took herself off to the kitchen, but there were so many fears spinning through her mind that when she got there it took her a moment to remember what she was supposed to be doing.

  Her bag was still on her shoulder, so taking out her mobile she began searching for Jolyon’s office number. Her hands were trembling with shock, but on the third attempt she managed to press to connect. ‘Can I speak to Mr Crane please?’ she asked when a telephonist answered.

  ‘I’ll put you through to his secretary.’ A moment later another voice came down the line, asking if she could help.

  ‘I need to speak to Jolyon,’ Alicia gasped. ‘My name is Alicia Carlyle. Please tell him it’s an emergency.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Carlyle, Jolyon’s in court at the moment, but I can get a message to him.’

  Alicia was having to fight back the panic again. ‘Could you ask him to call me as soon as he can?’ she said. ‘Tell him it’s about Nat.’

  ‘Of course. I’ll go over there now and hand him a note myself.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Alicia whispered.

  After ringing off she stood staring at her phone, thinking about Robert and Rachel, but not quite able to call either of them yet. She was waiting for it all to turn out to be a terrible mistake. They were going to find something that would prove Nat could never have committed such a horrible crime.

  However, there was no apology for having got it wrong, nor a miraculous discovery. There was only the sound of heavy treading on the stairs, followed by a thorough search of the kitchen, sitting room and old playroom, with evidence bags being filled and sealed, and finally Nat coming to hug her before they escorted him out to the car.

  ‘It’ll be all right,’ he whispered thickly. ‘Don’t worry.’

  Gazing up into his eyes, she felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. He looked so lost and afraid, so vulnerable, like the child he used to be. ‘I’m coming with you,’ she told him.

  ‘I don’t think they’ll let you. I’m not a minor.’

  Having overheard the exchange Croft said, ‘We’re taking him to the station in Bath.’ He turned round as one of the uniformed officers came back from the unit car. ‘No room at Bath,’ he said. ‘We’ll have to take him to Bristol.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ Alicia said to Nat. ‘I’ve already called Jolyon, so there’s a chance he might be there by the time you arrive. Which station in Bristol?’ she asked the officer.

  ‘Southmead,’ he answered.

  Jolyon would know where that was. She’d call to pass the information on, then she’d get in the car and drive there herself.

  ‘It’ll be all right,’ she told Nat, hugging him hard. ‘We both know she’s lying, so we’ll get this straightened out and you’ll be home again before you know it.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘Annabelle, this is Detective Sergeant Bevan who I told you about,’
Lisa Murray said, as Bevan joined them in a room that wasn’t very different from the waiting area. Except the furniture in this one was brown corduroy and there were two small cameras facing down from the corners, with a couple of microphones strategically placed on the walls.

  ‘Hello Annabelle,’ Bevan said, shaking her hand.

  Annabelle kept her eyes lowered. ‘Hello,’ she said.

  ‘The medical’s been done, sir,’ Lisa told him. ‘It wasn’t so bad, was it?’ she said to Annabelle.

  Annabelle shook her head.

  ‘Do you have any questions?’ Bevan asked her.

  ‘Where’s my mum?’

  ‘She’s in the waiting area,’ Lisa answered. ‘Sergeant Bevan’s just taken a statement from her.’

  ‘Are you sure she won’t be able to hear anything I say? You said she wouldn’t.’

  ‘Absolutely sure.’

  Bevan’s interest perked up. What didn’t she want her mother to know? ‘I expect Lisa has explained that her role is to act as liaison between you and CID,’ he said. ‘She’s been specially trained in this field, so don’t worry, nothing you say can shock her.’

  Annabelle’s eyes travelled to Lisa.

  Lisa smiled. ‘Feel free to use whatever words you’re most comfortable with to describe what happened,’ she told her. ‘As DS Bevan said, I won’t get embarrassed, but before we begin I must stress how important it is for you to tell the truth. Rape is a very serious allegation, but lying is also a serious offence for which you can be prosecuted. Did you know that?’

  Annabelle half nodded and half shook her head. ‘I – I think so,’ she answered. She looked at Bevan and seemed to wither.

  ‘Do you understand that based on what you say here today,’ Bevan continued, ‘you could have to appear in court to undergo a vigorous cross-examination by the defence?’

  Annabelle’s eyes widened with alarm, but she did know, so she gave a small nod.

  ‘Unless Nathan pleads guilty, of course,’ Lisa added.

  ‘He’ll say he didn’t do it,’ Annabelle told her, ‘but he did.’

  Lisa squeezed her arm. ‘Make yourself comfortable on the sofa there,’ she said, directing her to the one where the cameras were focused. ‘I’m going to have a quick word with DS Bevan next door in the tech room before we get started.’