Lost Innocence

by Susan Lewis

  Nat mumbled something to Bevan, who nodded, then he turned round and drew his mother into an enveloping embrace. ‘I love you,’ he whispered into her hair, ‘I really love you.’

  Alicia stayed at the door, watching the Focus drive away. She could see Nat in the back seat with Croft, but he didn’t look round. As soon as it disappeared from view she dashed into the kitchen and snatched up the phone. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t dial the number. She took a breath, pressed her hands together and tried again.

  ‘Is Jolyon there?’ she said when the telephonist answered. ‘I have to speak to him. It’s Alicia Carlyle.’

  ‘I’ll put you straight through.’

  ‘Alicia,’ Jolyon said moments later.

  ‘Jolyon, they’ve taken him,’ she cried, her voice ragged and shrill. ‘They’ve charged him…’

  ‘Hang on, hang on. Tell me the wording they used.’

  ‘They said they were arresting him for the rape of…’

  ‘OK, that’s enough, it’s not a charge. I’ll find out what’s going on. Do you know where they’re taking him?’

  ‘I didn’t ask. I … It happened so fast. Jolyon, they’re making a terrible mistake…’

  ‘Try to stay calm,’ he advised firmly. ‘Obviously some new evidence has come to light.’

  ‘Do they have the DNA?’

  ‘I don’t know. Leave it with me.’

  ‘It can’t be that. He didn’t do it.’

  ‘I’ll get back to you as soon as I know what’s going on.’

  As she rang off Alicia tried to make herself breathe deeply, but her chest was too tight. She was seeing Nat in the back of the car, lonely and afraid, the victim of an injustice too terrible to contemplate. She shouldn’t allow anyone to do this to him. Wasn’t he already going through enough? What was to be gained from destroying his life? Nothing, unless you were an adulterous bitch avenging herself on his mother.

  She was out of the door and across the village without allowing herself any time to think. The gates to Robert’s house were open. The three strikes she gave the knocker were so forceful they might have splintered the wood.

  When the door opened Sabrina’s eyes dilated with shock. ‘What the hell…’

  ‘Where is she?’ Alicia seethed. ‘I want to speak to her.’

  ‘How dare you…?’

  ‘She’s lying and you know it. You put her up to it. You’re…’

  ‘He raped her,’ Sabrina cut in furiously.

  ‘You’re ruining an innocent boy’s life because you can’t stand the fact that Craig didn’t leave me,’ Alicia yelled. ‘He’s Craig’s son, for God’s sake. Why do you want to hurt him?’

  ‘You should be asking him why he wanted to hurt my daughter. He attacked and assaulted her, then he forced himself on her like a wild animal.’

  ‘I want to speak to Annabelle.’

  ‘She’s not here.’

  ‘You’re a liar. You’re…’

  ‘I don’t need this,’ Sabrina cut in and started to close the door.

  Alicia jammed a foot against it. ‘Where is she?’ she screamed. ‘I have to…’

  ‘You stay away from her,’ Sabrina hissed. ‘She’s suffered enough from your family.’

  ‘Why don’t you think about what this is doing to her? Using her like this…’

  ‘No one’s using her. She’s got the injuries to show what he did to her.’

  ‘She didn’t get them from Nat. You’re sick, Sabrina, do you realise that? You’re obsessed and sick. This should be between you and me. To drag the children into it…’

  ‘Your son did the dragging. Now get away from here before I call the police.’

  ‘I’m not leaving until I’ve seen Annabelle.’ She was walking backwards, looking up at the house. ‘Annabelle!’ she shouted. ‘Please. I need to see you.’

  ‘How many times do I have to tell you, she isn’t here. Now go home and don’t come near us again.’

  Before she could slam the door Alicia threw her weight against it. ‘If my son is found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, I’ll come back here and kill you,’ she raged.

  ‘That’s it. I’m reporting you for threatening me. My God, it’s no wonder Craig couldn’t wait to be free of you. You’re crazy. Crazy or dull, that’s what he used to say about you.’

  ‘And do you know what he used to say about you? That you were only good for one thing, and you weren’t even very good at that. Now it seems you’re teaching your daughter to be the same, because everyone knows she’s a slut…’

  She drew back as Sabrina raised a hand. ‘I should never have let him stay with you,’ Sabrina snarled. ‘It was only because of the children. He couldn’t wait for them to grow up so he could be free of you. Do you know the last words he said to me? They were, I love you. That’s how he felt about me. What were the last words he said to you?’

  Alicia started to shout back, but Sabrina couldn’t stop.

  ‘You’re the reason he was so stressed that his heart gave out. You killed him, you bitch, and now you’ve got the audacity to come round here, accusing me of lying and my daughter of …’ She broke off as a car swept into the drive.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Robert cried, leaping out.

  ‘Why don’t you ask her?’ Sabrina shouted. ‘She came over here trying to force her way in…’

  ‘Alicia?’ he said, turning to his sister.

  ‘They’ve arrested him,’ Alicia said brokenly. ‘They’ve taken him away. Oh God, Robert, I can’t bear it. You’ve got to make her stop. She ruined my life once, please don’t let her do it again.’

  * * *

  ‘We’ve brought him to Bath,’ Bevan was telling DI Ash on his mobile. ‘We couldn’t get him into Trinity Road.’

  ‘OK. I take it Jolyon Crane’s on his way.’

  ‘So I believe.’

  ‘That boy’s not getting out of this,’ she stated. ‘That’s not a threat, it’s a fact.’

  Knowing she was right, Bevan said, ‘The father’s dead, ma’am, it’ll be a pyrrhic victory.’

  ‘All I care about, Sergeant, is that justice is done. Learn from my mistakes, no cock-ups in procedure, everything by the book. Where is he now?’

  ‘Being processed. Kevin Wheeler’s on today, so we know he’ll be thorough.’

  ‘Good. Get back to me when the interview’s over.’

  After ringing off Bevan turned towards the custody desk where Nat, ashen-faced and mute, was listening to the custody sergeant asking him if he understood the rights that had just been explained. As Nat nodded Bevan’s mobile rang again.

  ‘Bevan,’ he barked into it.

  ‘Sarge, I’ve got a very irate Mrs Paige on the line, the mother of…’

  ‘I know who she is. What’s her problem?’

  ‘I’m not sure. She’s insisting on speaking to you…’

  ‘Patch her through,’ he interrupted, and walked away so Nat couldn’t hear.

  A moment later Sabrina’s hysterical voice came down the line. ‘Sergeant, I have just been threatened in my own home by Nathan Carlyle’s mother,’ she seethed. ‘I want to press charges and I need to know…’

  ‘Hang on, hang on,’ he said. ‘What do you mean, threatened?’

  ‘Exactly what I said. She came round here like a mad woman, accusing my daughter of lying, and then saying she was going to kill me. I hope you’re going to arrest her, Sergeant, because she’s…’

  ‘Where is she now?’

  ‘My husband has taken her home. She was completely out of control. She’s insane. Dangerous.’

  ‘OK, I’ll send someone round there.’

  ‘Thank you. And I hope you’re going to impose some kind of restraint on her…’

  ‘Mrs Paige,’ he interrupted, ‘I take it you haven’t received a call from Lisa Murray yet?’

  There was a beat before Sabrina said, ‘No. Should I have?’

  ‘She’ll probably be in touch sometime in the next hour,�
�� he told her. ‘We need to speak to Annabelle again.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Lisa will explain when she rings. Now, I’m afraid I have to go. Someone will be round to deal with your complaint,’ and before she could go off on one again he cut the connection.

  Finding Croft alone at the custody desk while the sergeant escorted Nat to a cell, Bevan told him about Sabrina’s call, adding, ‘We’ve got a right bloody hornet’s nest where that family’s concerned, but you’d better get one of the local uniforms to go and have a chat with Mrs Carlyle. A gypsy’s warning will do, but make sure she knows she’s lucky not to be under arrest.’

  ‘On it, Sarge.’

  ‘Before you go, no sign of Jolyon Crane yet?’

  ‘Apparently he’s stuck in traffic, should be here in about half an hour.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Robert was saying to Alicia. ‘Can I get you anything?’

  ‘No, I’m fine,’ she said dully, keeping her head in her hands as she sat at the kitchen table.

  Watching her anxiously, Robert reached out to smooth her hair.

  She sat back. ‘Please don’t,’ she said shakily. ‘You should go home. Sabrina won’t like it if you stay too long.’

  ‘I can deal with Sabrina. It’s you I’m worried about. What are you going to do?’

  ‘You mean now? Or about Nat?’

  ‘Both.’

  ‘I don’t think there’s anything I can do except wait to hear from Jolyon. Apparently they’re holding Nat in Bath.’

  ‘Do you want me to drive you up there?’

  Slowly, she shook her head. ‘Jolyon said I won’t be able to see him, and they might keep him in over… night.’ As a sob mangled her last word, she pushed a fist to her mouth. ‘I don’t know what they’ve found,’ she said raggedly, ‘but whatever it is it won’t make a difference, he didn’t do it.’

  Because neither Annabelle nor Sabrina was there to hear, he was able to say, ‘Of course not. There’s obviously some kind of misunderstanding…’

  ‘You have to talk to Annabelle,’ she implored, grabbing his hand. ‘Sabrina’s pushing her into this, but if you can get her alone…You have to make her understand how serious this is, what it could do to Nat’s future.’

  ‘I’ll try,’ he promised, feeling such a tearing of his loyalties that he hardly knew which way to turn. ‘I should probably get back,’ he said, after a while. ‘Shall I call Rachel and ask her to come over?’

  ‘It’s OK, I’ll do it. Thanks for bringing me home. I hope she doesn’t make it too difficult for you. I’m sure she feels your place was at her side, not mine.’

  He smiled weakly. ‘Call me as soon as you have any news,’ he said, and kissing her briefly on the cheek, he left.

  ‘It never fails to amaze me,’ Bevan was saying to Jolyon as they walked towards the interview room, ‘how stupid supposedly bright kids can be.’

  Since Jolyon had come across the anomaly often enough himself, he could only shake his head in shared dismay. That Nat was falling into the category wasn’t something he’d expected, and it wasn’t pleasing him at all.

  As they reached the door, Bevan held Jolyon back. ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this,’ he said, keeping his voice down, ‘but my DI’s after a conviction, and right now I can’t see any way she’s going to be disappointed.’

  Jolyon’s expression remained impassive as he said, ‘I take it we’re talking about Caroline Ash?’

  Bevan nodded.

  Jolyon made no further comment on that. ‘This could take a while,’ he warned, as he went to open the door.

  ‘I was figuring it would,’ Bevan replied.

  Jolyon found Nat inside the interview room slumped in a chair with his arms clutched around his chest, and his knees spread wide. His head was hanging forward, but he looked up when Jolyon came in.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Jolyon asked, lifting his briefcase on to the table.

  Nat replied with a half-shrug.

  Knowing it was shame and embarrassment, as much as fear, that was making him withdrawn, Jolyon took out his yellow pad and a pen, clipped shut his briefcase, and sat down. ‘I know Sergeant Bevan’s explained to you that your semen was found on a high vaginal swab,’ he said, coming straight to the point, ‘so maybe you can tell me why on earth you lied when you must have known what the DNA results would show.’

  Nat’s head stayed down. His knees began swinging back and forth. ‘I thought …’ he said haltingly. ‘I didn’t come, so I thought …’ He jerked a shoulder.

  Learning, yet again, never to assume a person knew something just because he did, Jolyon said, ‘You don’t have to orgasm to leave traces of semen behind.’

  Nat continued to hang his head.

  Jolyon sighed. ‘Well, I guess you’ve learned that the hard way,’ he said. ‘So now we move on to the good news, which is that yours wasn’t the only semen that turned up.’

  Nat looked at him warily.

  Feeling wretched that the good news ended there, Jolyon said, ‘The bad news, I’m afraid, is that you’re the only one she’s accusing. So, Nat, I have to ask you, did you force yourself on her?’

  Nat was shaking his head. ‘No,’ he answered earnestly. ‘It happened exactly the way I told you.’

  ‘Except you did have intercourse with her.’ It was no longer a question.

  ‘Yes, but… She was asking for it. She was there with her legs open telling me to do it, so I…I was doing it before I realised…I mean, it’s like I was out of my mind, but as soon as I came to my senses I got up. I hated myself for even …’ He stopped as Jolyon put up a hand.

  ‘I have one very important question to ask you now,’ Jolyon said. ‘Did you know, at the time you were doing this, how old she was?’

  Nat swallowed dryly, and put a hand to his face. ‘I think, I’m… She’s about sixteen, isn’t she? Or…’

  ‘That’s far enough,’ Jolyon cut in sharply. ‘Proving a vagueness about her age is probably the only thing that’ll save you now, and God knows that’s going to be hard when you’re practically cousins. You see, Nat, whether or not she was willing, it’s illegal to have sex with a girl of fifteen, and I’m afraid that’s how old she is.’

  Nat looked as though he’d been struck.

  ‘I’ll have to give this to you straight now,’ Jolyon continued, ‘then we’ll start trying to sort it. First, anyone who has committed this crime is automatically put on the Sex Offenders Register.’

  Nat’s face drained. ‘But…’

  ‘No, hear me out. Consent is no longer an issue, because even if she admitted it wasn’t rape, and there’s no saying she will, there’s still the problem of her age. There’s also the bruising to her face and genitals to consider, which could jeopardise a lesser charge of unlawful sex. Basically, Nat, they can throw the book at you now, and I’m afraid you haven’t helped yourself at all by lying.’

  Nat was looking so stunned that Jolyon eased the severity from his tone as he went on. ‘We’re going to do everything we can to get you out of this mess, but you haven’t made it easy.’

  Nat’s eyes seemed hollow, his mind was dulled by shock. ‘How – what if she keeps claiming I raped her?’ he said. ‘How long would I have to go to prison for?’

  Seeing no point in scaring him half to death with the maximum possible sentence, Jolyon said, ‘Let’s not dwell on that now. We’ll be working towards getting everything thrown out if we can, because the last thing you need, son, is to go into the future with your name on that register.’

  Nat’s hands suddenly pressed in each side of his head. ‘I can’t stand this,’ he choked, his voice cracking with terror. ‘If she’d left me alone, but she wouldn’t. She kept on and on and then she said Dad and her…Oh God,’ he gulped, burying his face in his hands. ‘I shouldn’t have listened. I should have just kept walking…’

  Very gently Jolyon said, ‘She told you about the affair her mother had with your father.’

  Nat kept his face
down.

  ‘You had no idea until then?’

  He shook his head.

  Though provocation was no defence in the circumstances, right now Jolyon was more concerned about the personal trauma the boy was suffering.

  ‘He said…He used to bang on about respect and loyalty,’ Nat croaked. ‘How could he …’ His voice fractured and he clutched his head still tighter.

  ‘He was a good man, Nat, in spite of what he did.’

  ‘Does Mum know? She does, doesn’t she?’

  ‘Yes, she does.’

  Nat growled in fury and despair.

  After a while Jolyon said, ‘I’m going to get you some water now, then we’ll make a start on a new statement for Sergeant Bevan. Is there anything else you need?’

  Nat finally looked up at him. ‘Is Mum outside?’ he asked.

  ‘No. I’m not sure how long you’re going to be here, so I told her to wait at home.’

  ‘Good,’ he said distractedly. ‘That’s good.’

  ‘No, no news yet,’ Alicia was saying to Rachel down the phone, ‘but Jolyon said there probably wouldn’t be any until much later tonight.’

  ‘OK. I’m going to be with you just as soon as I can, but someone’s bringing a dog in who’s been hit by a car, and I won’t know till it gets here whether I’ll have to operate or euthanise – hopefully neither, but the latter will be quicker. What are you doing now?’

  ‘Nothing. Just waiting. Darcie rang a few minutes ago, she knew something was wrong, but how could I tell her what’s happening?’ Tears were stinging her eyes. ‘She’s due back on Saturday and I thought…I really believed all this would have blown over before she got here.’

  ‘Anything could happen between now and then,’ Rachel said reassuringly, ‘so don’t start stressing yourself over her too. You’ve got enough to be going on with … Is that someone ringing your bell?’

  Alicia was staring down the hall. ‘I’d better go and find out who it is,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you when you get here,’ and putting the phone down, she dashed the tears from her cheeks and took several deep breaths as she went to the door.

  For a moment, as she looked at the man standing there, she couldn’t think who he was.