by Alex Clare
‘I don’t remember her.’ Melissa had focused on the image for no more than an instant.
‘Please look again.’ Robyn nudged the photo closer. ‘I understood you worked regularly with Lacey, close enough to file complaints of poor work against her on four occasions in six months?’
‘There were a lot of receptionists.’
‘But only one whose body has been found in a property you were connected with. And only one who was also in a relationship with Josh Warrener.’ Without a reaction from Melissa, Robyn had to keep suppressing her doubts. ‘Ms Chivers, I believe you summoned Lacey Penrose to your house on the day she disappeared so you are, potentially, the last person to have seen her alive.’
‘I believe you have got me here on false pretences, DI Bailley.’ Melissa squared her shoulders. ‘If you are accusing me of a crime, then I would like to have my lawyer present.’
Robyn sat back and smiled yet again. ‘Of course, Ms Chivers. I shall let you get your representative, then we can reconvene. Interview terminated at sixteen forty-seven. DI Bailley leaving the room.’
There was a queue waiting for her in the corridor, everybody with a piece of paper. Robyn counted them off. ‘Where’s Graham?’
A voice from down the corridor. ‘Here, Guv. It was there, just as you thought.’ He thrust a leather-bound book forward. ‘Also, we’ve got something else.’ He pointed at another sheet of paper. ‘Interesting eh? I’ll get the details in the morning.’
Robyn smiled, the first genuine one of the afternoon. ‘Thanks, Graham. What do you think made the difference?’
‘I think it was Josh turning up, Guv. It sounds like he and Gillian had a good chat and she fell for his boyish charm.’
Robyn hoped it was just the heat in the corridor making her face flush. ‘Good work, everyone. Well, we’ve got to wait for Ms Chivers’ lawyer to get here – might as well have a cup of tea.’
‘Interview restarting at eighteen fourteen. Present, DI Bailley, Melissa Chivers and Gerald Straker, Ms Chivers’ legal representative. Ms Chivers, I will now caution you.’
Both managed to look bored as Robyn recited the caution and laid a pile of paper on the table.
‘Ms Chivers, when we spoke earlier, you didn’t remember Lacey Penrose. You’ve spoken to your lawyer and you’ve changed your statement. You now admit Lacey came to your house to deliver papers on your instructions at around seventeen forty-five on thirtieth November, three years ago. At her request, you then drove to a bar in Riverside, where you dropped her at around eighteen fifteen, which was the last time you saw her.’ Robyn smiled at Ms Chivers. ‘Am I correct?’
‘Yes.’ The word was bitten short.
‘It is a long time ago, officer. It is perfectly understandable my client’s recollection is a little hazy.’ The solicitor sniffed. ‘And you have also failed to explain why you are asking my client these questions.’
‘We are asking Ms Chivers these questions because it’s probable she was the last person to see Lacey Penrose alive.’
‘Other than her killer, officer.’ The solicitor pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his glasses, left lens, right lens, breath, right lens, left lens.
‘Of course.’ Robyn inclined her head to the solicitor, who matched the gesture in a polite harmony. ‘But we’ve reason to believe Ms Chivers had a particular interest in Lacey Penrose.’
The solicitor put his glasses on.
‘Let me put a story to you, Ms Chivers. You were desperate for a baby but your beliefs prevented you from using artificial means to conceive. You used a dating agency to try to find a suitable father and we have the agency’s comments about the long list of requirements you sent them.’ Robyn held up a piece of paper. ‘You only met two men in the year you were a member and had no further contact after the first meetings. Then Josh Warrener started at your office. He was intelligent, healthy and handsome. But there was a problem; he began seeing someone else, Lacey Penrose.’
The solicitor muttered something to Melissa. She shook her head, one confident movement.
Robyn coughed to bring back their attention. ‘Because of Lacey, Josh turned down your advances in September and they stayed together even when he was away at university.’
Ms Chivers muttered something to her solicitor, who made a note on his pad. ‘My client denies she made any advances to Mr Warrener. These are the fantasies of a teenage boy.’
‘Thank you for clarifying the position.’
The solicitor capped his fountain pen. Outside, there was scuffling in the corridor.
Robyn shut her eyes for a second to ease their stinging. She opened them to Melissa’s contempt. ‘Very well, let me continue the story. We have a witness who says Josh and Lacey were still in a relationship at the start of November and things seemed to be going well, despite the distance. Then on the first of December, without warning, he gets dumped. To add to his misery there’s no explanation, just a text message. He tries to get hold of Lacey, even coming to her office to see her. While he was there, you told him Lacey had gone away to Manchester, with another man.’ Robyn steepled her fingers like Fell: it showed off her nail varnish and she enjoyed the sickened expression on Ms Chivers’ face. ‘It does seem a bit odd, Ms Chivers, you knowing personal details about Lacey, when you stated you had nothing to do with her?’
Ms Chivers rested her chin on her hand. ‘You cannot avoid hearing office gossip.’
Robyn took a sip of water. ‘Josh claims you propositioned him at your office taking advantage of his girlfriend’s apparent betrayal.’ The solicitor opened his mouth; Robyn kept talking. ‘It doesn’t really matter who said what because I believe Benjamin Chivers was conceived in the two-week relationship you had with Josh Warrener over the Christmas period.’ Robyn paused. She wanted the next revelation to have impact. ‘We also have the results of a DNA test saying Josh is Ben’s father. Ms Chivers, do you wish to challenge those results?’
The close room was getting warmer. Robyn glanced at her watch. ‘Is there anything I can offer you? Some water?’
The solicitor took off his glasses and put them in his shirt pocket. ‘I think we would prefer to conclude this as quickly as possible, officer.’
Robyn inclined her head again. This time, there was no answering movement. ‘As you wish. To continue: Lacey was due to meet a friend at six thirty in a Riverside bar on the Friday evening. She didn’t turn up which suggests she must have been attacked between six fifteen, when you say you dropped her off and six-thirty.’ Robyn picked up the top item from the pile, holding it around the edges, to avoid finger-marks. ‘This picture shows Lacey’s skull. She was hit with a hammer.’ She pulled across another picture, showing the skull from another angle. ‘The first blow, was here, to the side of her head. Now, I believe that if the killer was of a similar build to Lacey, they would want to stun the victim to make sure they couldn’t fight back. Lacey was five foot, eight inches tall. How tall are you, Ms Chivers?’
Melissa sounded casual. ‘As I’m sure you have already worked out, DI Bailley, I am five foot, seven, along with many other people.’
‘It was a mercy she was stunned first, though.’ Robyn tapped the picture, peach nail bright against the dun-coloured bone. ‘The blows to the face were done while the victim was on the ground. It was a savage attack, as if the killer wanted to wipe out all trace of Lacey.’ Neither Melissa nor the solicitor did more than glance down at the picture.
‘Here’s what I think happened.’ Robyn focused on Melissa. ‘Josh fitted the bill as a suitable father for your child but he turned you down.’ Robyn paused, smiled. ‘And he turned you down for Lacey. I understand why you got angry. A mere receptionist and someone who’d also had an abortion, a murderer according to your church …’
‘Officer, is this necessary?’ The solicitor sat back, folding his arms.
‘Yes, sir.’ Robyn turned back to Melissa. ‘You needed Josh and to get him, you had to remove Lacey. At work, she had to do what you said ma
king it easy to get her out of the office to deliver papers. Did you kill Lacey at your house?’ Robyn stared at Melissa. ‘No, too much of a risk. I think you drove her to the warehouse, which you knew would be secured in the next couple of days by the new owners. You thought of some excuse or another, to get Lacey inside – inspecting something perhaps – then knocked her out. Your handbag could hide a hammer.’
The cross around Melissa’s neck flashed as she took quick breaths.
‘This is pure speculation.’ The solicitor tapped the table. ‘You are accusing my client of murder. I assume this is a crude revenge for the complaint she made about your shoddy handling of her son’s disappearance?’
Robyn slid over the next piece of paper. ‘I’m showing Ms Chivers an extract of her work calendar for Monday the third of December, three years ago. You had a meeting with a client in Euston.’
Melissa glanced at the sheet. ‘I attend a lot of meetings.’
‘Of course, Ms Chivers. A coincidence though, it being the day Lacey’s handbag was put on the train to Manchester, which departed from Euston station.’
The solicitor was becoming more animated. ‘You are taking incidents and making connections where none exist.’
‘Our job is to make connections.’ Robyn lifted Lacey’s handbag onto the table. ‘This was a nice touch, the final proof to everyone Lacey had gone away, worth taking a risk for. Well, here it is and what’s more, it has dust from the warehouse in it, hidden in the folds of the lining.’ She flicked at one of the handbag’s straps through the plastic. ‘So how did Lacey’s handbag get out of the warehouse, if Lacey didn’t?’
Without waiting for a reaction, Robyn pushed across the next piece of paper.
‘This is Lacey’s phone bill. You’ll notice the usage stopped, almost overnight. When we looked at the phone, it had been reset, meaning anyone could send messages from it. There’s a record in her work file of a complaint you made against her where you confiscated her phone. I think you took it and wrote down the numbers Lacey called most often so that later, you could send false messages to them.’ There was a twitch of Ms Chivers’ lips, then outrage as Robyn reached for a thick, burgundy book.
‘My home diary – how did you get it without my permission?’ Melissa turned to her solicitor, her voice rising. ‘They have taken things from my house.’
‘Items taken from my client’s home without a warrant may not be used as evidence.’ The solicitor’s voice was a low rumble of disapproval.
‘You’ll be reassured to know we didn’t take the diary. Mrs Green gave it to us.’
The solicitor pushed his glasses down. ‘Who is Mrs Green?’
‘She was Benjamin’s nanny. She had access to all my papers.’ Robyn noted the past tense. The solicitor sat back in his chair with a snort.
Robyn opened the diary to the first week of December. ‘On Saturday the first of December, you had a manicure and an appointment for someone to come and valet the car.’ She turned the book around to face Melissa. ‘I don’t expect you to remember details; as you say, it was a long time ago. Perhaps you could explain one odd thing.’ She began turning pages, pointing at dates. ‘For the rest of the year, you have a manicure every fortnight. Then you book at a new salon the week after your regular session, returning to your favourite one for your regular appointment a week later. Did something happen to damage your nails?’ Melissa’s lips were pressed together. Robyn flicked back through the other pages. ‘And another thing – this weekend was the one time your car got valeted all year. Were you trying to cover up Lacey’s presence in the car?’
Neither Melissa nor her solicitor spoke.
Robyn reached for the next piece of paper. ‘When we found Lacey’s body, we wondered why decomposition was so complete. Then we found a chemical had been poured over her to speed up the process. Here is your credit card bill: it shows a large purchase from a DIY store the weekend before Lacey went missing.’
The solicitor pushed his chair back. ‘Officer, this has gone on long enough. Unless you have anything other than this circumstantial evidence, this interview should be terminated.’
Robyn pushed across the final piece of paper. Her solicitor reached for his glasses. ‘For the recording, I’m showing Ms Chivers the image from speed camera C1926, where her car was captured doing fifty-seven miles per hour out of the Docks at eighteen thirty-six pm on the thirtieth of November. I don’t understand how this happened given you dropped Lacey off at eighteen fifteen?’
The solicitor finished his scrutiny of the picture. ‘My client was working on properties in the Docks area. Either she had business there or she may have mistaken the time she dropped this girl off.’ He fumbled with his glasses and they dropped to the table.
‘With this evidence, we have a complete case against you, Ms Chivers.’ Robyn paused, leaned back in her seat and smiled. ‘With three other items, I believe it’ll be watertight. Firstly, we have requested CCTV from Euston Station, which will show you dropping Lacey’s handbag onto a train.’ She let the pause stretch out, in no hurry.
‘You may think no station is going to keep footage for that long and you’re probably right. So we’ve got something from closer to home. This is the December statement for Derby and Rutherford’s company credit card. It shows two items booked in the name of Lacey Penrose, a train ticket and a hotel room in Manchester.’ She raised her finger: the solicitor’s eyes followed it though Ms Chivers continued staring at the table. ‘At the time these items were booked, Lacey was sitting in the cinema with her brother. Your company is providing us with log in records to show exactly who was in the office on the Thursday evening and I think it will show you bought these items, Ms Chivers. You ordered them, in her name, to make it appear as if she was going away.’
Robyn took a breath. She was calm, steady. ‘Finally, the DIY store is finding us a breakdown of the exact purchases you made. My bet is you bought a hammer, caustic soda, protective clothing and a watering can. The watering can would be the clincher, because caustic soda needs water to start the reaction but you don’t have any plants at home. Am I right? Well, it doesn’t really matter, because we’ll have all the details by the morning.’
Melissa Chivers swallowed once, her hands coming together, as if in prayer. ‘She was a murderess. She had no right to live.’
The solicitor was protesting but Robyn wasn’t listening. ‘Melissa Chivers, I’m arresting you for the murder of Lacey Penrose …’
‘Nice one, Guv.’ Ravi grinned at Robyn as she left the interview room. ‘I’ve been listening in for experience. Present the evidence, bang, bang, bang, she had no chance.’ He ran his hands through his hair. ‘But I didn’t know we’d got the lab results on the handbag already.’
‘They haven’t come back yet.’ Robyn watched the shock turn into delighted surprise on Ravi’s face. ‘But, it was enough to get her to confess.’
‘Graham said I should watch you and learn.’ Ravi was nodding, more relaxed than she had seen him in a while.
‘DI Bailley? Tracey on the line for you.’ The custody sergeant held out the desk phone.
‘OK. Ravi, can you let the team know? We still need as much supporting evidence as possible.’ Robyn took the phone. ‘Hello, Tracey.’
‘Hello, I didn’t realise you’d be out. Where are we?’
‘We’ve got a confession.’
‘Excellent. Hold on a mo.’ The line went quiet giving Robyn a chance to think about the paperwork she needed to do.
Tracey’s voice came back on. ‘When you’re done, can you pop up? The superintendent would like a word.’
Once the forms were complete, Robyn started up to the fifth floor, legs welcoming the walk after the confinement of the interview room. The case had to be seamless and give no possibility for further complaints which meant she could expect a grilling from Fell. Her thoughts kept coming back to Josh and Ben: this didn’t feel like a victory – there were no winners.
Tracey’s office was empty with a s
mell like rose Turkish Delight. Robyn tapped on the inner door, waiting for the brisk ‘Come in’. Fell and Khalid sat at the round table, Khalid’s face lit by the glow from his laptop’s screen as he typed.
‘So we can emphasise the concerns raised over Chivers’ parenting skills …’ his fingers fluttered over the keyboard, ‘… and make the point she excluded all family contact from her son’s life …’
Robyn paused by the door. ‘Sir? You asked me to come up? The paperwork’s up to date on Melissa Chivers. Because of concerns about the church, Social Services are arranging a foster carer for Ben immediately.’
‘Yes, thank you, Bailley. We are drafting the press release now.’ Fell turned back to the paper on the desk.
‘Was there something specific, sir?’ Robyn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling redundant.
‘Oh yes, well done, Bailley. Good news on the burglar. No longterm harm from the attack, I hope?’
‘No, sir. Thanks.’ There was no dismissal so Robyn waited. ‘Sir, will DI Farnham be revising his report on Janice?’
‘We shall do what is necessary, Bailley.’ This time there was a definite impatience in Fell’s tone. ‘Was there anything else?’
Robyn turned for the door. ‘No, sir.’
Tracey was back at her desk in the outer office. The corners of her mouth turned down, little sparkles in her lip gloss catching the light. ‘Oh, to let you know, I just took a message from Social Services. Someone’s on their way to pick up Ben now.’
Robyn knew this had to happen. She was wondering how she was going to put this to Janice. ‘Thanks, Tracey.’ There was also the trip she’d have to make to see the Penroses, to bring them ‘closure’ and ‘justice’. A couple of abstract terms wasn’t the same as bringing their daughter back but it was the best she could do. The best she could do … but there was something else. ‘Tracey, I’ve just thought of something. Got to go.’