A Knot of Sparrows

by Cheryl Rees-Price

  He thought of the police now, how they were scurrying around trying to find answers. A police car had driven through the village and would no doubt be back again later this evening to keep a watchful eye. He wasn’t afraid of getting caught but there were things he needed to do before that time. Then there was Donald. Would the police have found him? If only he hadn’t let him down. He’d trusted him, thought his faith was strong but he’d become afraid. Fear driving him to make the wrong choice. He had to stop him. There had been no other option. He sat down by the bank and put his head in his hands. Poor Donald. If the doctor hadn’t been found all this wouldn’t be necessary. There would have been no connection to make. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. He needed to find the strength to do this last thing. Then it would be finally over.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Meadows took the Black Mountain pass that snaked its way through the rough grass, past rocks and streams that trickled down into the river below. The road rose higher then levelled off before they came to a gravelled car park. From here they would have to walk.

  The quarry, once accessible to vehicles, was now blocked by a large iron barrier. Too many accidents with young drivers meeting up on a Friday evening to blast music and drink had forced action to be taken, so now only those wishing to walk and take in the views frequented the quarry.

  Meadows felt the wind bite at his face and whip his hair around as they climbed higher. The track to the quarry led upwards until the valley below rolled out at one side while a path cut into the grass was visible on the other side. The narrow path led up the mountain side and to the top of the quarry, while the track continued to wind its way around at a lower level.

  Meadows stomach was churning by the time they rounded the bend of the track and saw what was left of the old workers’ cottages in the distance. He didn’t like to think about what they would see when they reached the cliff face, but his imagination got the better of him. His thoughts turned to Erin and how she must have felt as she left the track and took the higher path. He wondered if Donald had followed her footsteps, alone and frightened.

  As they came level with the empty shells of the cottages, they met with Valentine and Hanes. Valentine’s shoulders were hunched against the cold and a deep sadness could be seen in her eyes. Hanes was rubbing his hands together.

  ‘I’ve called SOCO and also requested that the barrier be taken down so we can get the vehicles up,’ Valentine said.

  ‘Good, are you okay?’

  Valentine nodded. ‘It’s just, if I’d–’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Meadows said. He knew the weight of guilt and didn’t want her to carry that burden. ‘Donald ran away of his own accord, if not then he probably would have run away after we spoke to him. I doubt you could have changed the outcome. The only person responsible is the killer.’

  Valentine nodded. ‘He was probably so afraid he thought this was his only way out. Poor kid.’

  ‘That’s assuming that it was his choice. Why don’t you go back to the station? Get yourself warmed up and take a break. You too, Hanes.’

  ‘I think I would rather stay,’ Valentine said.

  ‘I’ll wait for SOCO,’ Hanes said. ‘I can also keep an eye out in case anyone happens to come walking this way.’

  ‘Okay.’ Meadows nodded. ‘Right, let’s take a look.’

  Meadows and Edris followed Valentine around the final bend to a clearing and a semi-circular cliff face of jagged limestone. Donald lay on his back with his left leg twisted grotesquely outward.

  Meadows stepped closer and looked down.

  Donald’s hair was wet, and the blood had been washed away from his face. A deep gash down his right temple over his eye and cheek made Meadows feel nauseous. A few yards from Donald lay a bunch of dying flowers. Meadows stood back and looked up.

  ‘No chance of surviving a fall from up there,’ Edris said.

  ‘No,’ Meadows agreed. ‘You would need to choose the right spot. A bit further over and you could land on one of the ledges. You saw the pictures from Erin Kelly’s file. Does it look like the same spot?’

  Edris walked back and surveyed the area. ‘I would say yes or near as.’

  ‘I’m guessing the flowers are for Erin’s death anniversary,’ Meadows said.

  ‘You think Donald brought them up?’ Valentine asked.

  ‘They look like they have been there a while,’ Meadows said. ‘Donald wasn’t wearing a coat when he left the house, was he?’

  ‘No,’ Valentine said. ‘Unless he had one ready in the bathroom, but I can’t see that being the case.’

  ‘No,’ Meadows agreed. ‘So where did he get this coat?’ Meadows pointed to the navy parka Donald was wearing.

  ‘Looks a bit small for him,’ Edris said.

  ‘That could be why it isn’t zipped up. Have you taken a look up top?’

  ‘No, we thought we’d wait for you,’ Valentine said.

  ‘Okay, we’ll take a look. Edris do you want to stay and give Hanes a hand? Better start cordoning off the area. We’ll also need a point of reference when we get up there.’

  ‘Yeah, no problem,’ Edris said.

  Meadows and Valentine picked their way up the grassy path that wound around the side of the mountain and up to the top of the quarry. They passed the danger warning sign instructing walkers to stay away from the area. Meadows could sense Valentine’s unease.

  ‘You afraid of heights?’

  ‘Yes,’ Valentine said. ‘Especially when there are no safety precautions in place. You’d think some sort of fence would be put up.’

  ‘You better hang back,’ Meadows said. He left Valentine and approached the top of the quarry. Down below he could see Edris and Hanes. He waved and Edris moved to indicate the place where Donald lay below. Meadows moved towards the spot, careful not to get too close to the edge. The wind was stronger at this height and, although heights didn’t bother him, he could feel a weakness in his legs. A loose rock or the wet grass could easily cause him to lose his footing. His eyes scanned the ledge until he saw the scuff marks. Bits of stone had been disturbed and an indent in the ground looked as though someone had tried to dig in their heels.

  Meadows felt a fizzle of anger as he thought of Donald being thrown over the edge, his screams unheard. He walked back to Valentine.

  ‘Looks like there was a struggle and what’s worse it’s likely someone he trusted. I can’t see the killer managing to drag him all the way up here. He was a big lad, and we would have seen some evidence of a struggle before the edge.’

  ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about,’ Valentine said. ‘Unless someone was with him and tried to stop him jumping and now is too frightened to come forward.’

  ‘I guess that’s a possibility, but I doubt that’s the case. The other question is what was he doing up here? Is this where he has been hiding for the last two nights? Or did someone bring him up here? Come on, let’s take a look to see if we can find somewhere he could have been sheltering.’

  They walked back down the mountain side and picked up the quarry track. Meadows could see down below a park ranger was removing the barrier and a SOCO van was waiting by the entrance.

  ‘I saw some old lime kilns as we walked into the quarry, maybe worth a look.’

  They checked the first one which was secured by iron bars. The second one was open with the iron bars pushed in. Meadows switched the torch on his phone and shone it over the ground. There were a few broken bottles and cigarette ends on the floor but there was no evidence that someone had been sheltering recently.

  ‘Doesn’t look like he was hiding up here,’ Valentine said.

  They joined Edris at the clearing and as Meadows filled Edris in on what they had discovered at the top of the cliff, his eyes scanned the surrounding area.

  ‘Is that an opening in the rock?’ Meadows pointed to a gap that was around fifteen foot up from the ground.

  ‘Could be,’ Edris said.

  ‘Come on
, let’s take a look.’

  They scrambled up the cliff face with Meadows taking the lead. Several times his foot slipped, sending down a scurry of stones.

  ‘Looks like a cave up here,’ Meadows said over his shoulder. He pulled himself up over the overhanging rock and then held out his hand to Edris to help him up.

  With the torches of both their phones they lit up the entrance to the cave. Inside was a blanket, an empty plastic carton, bottles of water, and chocolate wrappers.

  ‘Looks like Donald was laying low here,’ Edris said.

  ‘Yeah, but who brought up the blanket and food? He didn’t have anything on him when he left the house unless he went back home to get some things, but his mother looked genuinely worried when we saw her. I’m thinking Sarah Kelly. He phoned her on Saturday night. And she was unwilling to give us the information. He also called Vicar Daniels, but he did tell us.’

  ‘Do you think Sarah would be able to kill Donald?’ Edris asked as they picked their way back down.

  ‘She could have taken him by surprise. Easy enough to get him to walk to the top with her. Maybe she told him she wanted to go to the place where Erin jumped.’

  SOCO had already made a start erecting a tent over Donald, and Daisy arrived shortly after. Meadows could feel the cold penetrating his coat and he shoved his hands in his pockets to try and warm them. Edris was talking to Hanes, and Valentine stood with her back to the wind watching the activity.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the station and warm up?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘No, I’m okay,’ Valentine said.

  ‘I suggest when you’ve finished up here you go straight home. You’ve had a rough day.’

  ‘It’s been a rough week.’ Valentine gave him a weak smile.

  ‘All the more reason to go home and forget work for a few hours. Get your boyfriend to spoil you for the evening.’

  ‘He’s gone,’ Valentine said.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Meadows said.

  ‘Yeah, he was a bit of a dick in the end. He left last week. I’m not so bothered about that; it’s just now he’s gone I’m left to pay the rent on the flat. It’s too much with just me so it looks like I will have to move back in with my parents for a while.’

  ‘I’ll move in with you,’ Edris said.

  ‘I’m not that desperate!’ Valentine laughed.

  ‘I meant as flatmates,’ Edris said.

  ‘Yeah, and I would have to put up with a different girl coming out of the bathroom every morning.’

  ‘I’m not that bad,’ Edris said.

  ‘How many girls have you dated in the last month?’ Valentine asked.

  ‘I don’t think I want to hear the answer to that,’ Meadows said. ‘Right, I think Daisy has had enough time for the initial assessment. I’ll go and see if she can tell us any more.’

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ Edris said and followed him to the tent.

  Inside the tent Daisy was crouched next to Donald. Under the lights that had been erected, Donald’s face was a stark contrast to the blushing boy Meadows had interviewed a few days earlier.

  ‘He’s been dead for no more than twenty-four hours,’ Daisy said.

  ‘The question is, did he jump of his own accord?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘There is nothing that stands out,’ Daisy said. ‘Injuries are consistent with a fall. The gash to his head is likely to have been caused by being struck against the rock as he came down, particularly if he pitched forward when he went over. I’m afraid it will be down to forensics to look at the trajectory of the fall.’

  ‘Of course,’ Meadows said. ‘There is also an incline towards the bottom of the cliff so he could have rolled. It wouldn’t be easy to tell if he was moved, say, to check if he was dead.’

  ‘No,’ Daisy agreed, ‘but if he was moved then it would have been soon after death.’

  ‘Can you quickly check the body for any signs of writing?’

  Daisy pulled up Donald’s sleeves and checked his forearms before lifting his jumper. As she moved it up his chest, Meadows saw the letters and numbers MAT26:14 in black ink.

  ‘I think that answers your question as to whether he jumped of his own accord,’ Daisy said.

  Edris had taken out his phone and was reading from the screen. ‘“Then one of the twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priest and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.”’

  ‘Sounds like Donald was going to tell us what he knew, and the killer saw it as a betrayal.’ Meadows felt anger flush through his body. ‘Poor kid never stood a chance. The killer was never going to let him live and he probably reached out to them for help. Thank you, Daisy.’ Meadows stepped outside the tent.

  ‘I think I should be the one to tell Donald’s parents,’ Valentine said.

  ‘Let me go and see his mother,’ Meadows said. He didn’t want Valentine to go through the ordeal of dealing with Anwen Hobson’s anguish and anger.

  ‘Perhaps you can go with Hanes and pick up Donald’s father. After that, I want Sarah Kelly picked up and find out anything we can about her, even if it’s a parking ticket. That woman knows something.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Meadows stood holding Anwen Hobson’s wrists as she screamed and tried to hit him. Edris was in the kitchen making a cup of tea and trying to find some brandy to put in it. While Meadows had expected an outburst, he wasn’t prepared for the hysterical state that Anwen had got herself into. He hoped that Valentine and Hanes would turn up soon and wouldn’t experience the same problems.

  Edris came into the room and placed a cup of tea on the table. ‘I’ve called the local doctor, he says it’s best to let the grief take its course,’ he said above the screams.

  ‘Mrs Hobson. Anwen, please,’ Meadows said. ‘Your husband is on his way. If you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to restrain you. I really don’t want to do that.’ He let go of her wrists and although she continued to sob she no longer tried to strike him. ‘Come and sit down.’

  Anwen allowed herself to be guided to the sofa where Edris placed the cup of tea in her hand. ‘I’ve put a bit of brandy in it, for the shock,’ he said. ‘Try and drink a little.’

  The cup shook as Anwen brought it to her lips, but she did manage to take a few sips. The front door crashed open and a moment later Cerith Hobson hurried into the room and threw his arms around his wife. Meadows left them and met Valentine and Hanes by the front door.

  ‘Do you want us to pick up Sarah Kelly now?’ Valentine asked.

  ‘Yes and call her work. See if she was working last night.’

  ‘What should we tell her?’

  ‘Nothing. I want to see her reaction when I tell her we found Donald. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

  Meadows went back into the sitting room and found Cerith and Anwen sitting side by side on the sofa, silent tears ran from their eyes and both had a stunned look.

  ‘I’m so very sorry for your loss,’ Meadows said as he sat in the armchair. ‘I understand how difficult this is for the two of you, but I need to ask you some questions and then take a look at Donald’s room.’

  ‘You’ve already taken his laptop,’ Anwen said. ‘You scared him, made him run away. If you hadn’t have come here he would still be with us.’

  ‘I don’t understand how this could have happened,’ Cerith said. ‘Donald has never been in trouble, if he was, he would have told us. What made you think that he had anything to do with what happened to that girl? I’ll be making a complaint. This is your fault.’

  ‘We did have cause to speak to Donald and there were a number of other people we have spoken to in relation to the case. Right now we need to find out Donald’s movements and build up a picture of his life over the past few weeks,’ Meadows said.

  ‘What happened?’ Anwen asked. ‘You said you found him up the quarry. Did he… did he–’

  ‘Don�
��t do this,’ Cerith said.

  ‘I need to know,’ Anwen sobbed.

  ‘We are treating Donald’s death as suspicious,’ Meadows said.

  ‘What? No,’ Cerith said. ‘Donald’s a quiet boy, he isn’t into drugs or anything like that. Why would anyone want to hurt him? Unless, are you saying that it’s the same person that killed Stacey Lane and Dr Rowlands? That someone is out there killing people at random? You knew there was a danger, and you did nothing about it.’ Cerith stood up, his nostrils flaring, and his fist clenched at his sides. ‘There have been no warnings, you could have stopped this. Why didn’t you warn people?’

  ‘We had no reason to believe that Donald or anyone else was in danger,’ Edris said.

  ‘Please Cerith, sit down,’ Meadows said. ‘We have to look into the possibility that Donald knew something about one or both of the murders. It’s possible that he knew the killer and that’s the reason he ran away.’

  ‘He ran away because he was afraid of going to the police station. You treated him like he was guilty of doing something to that girl,’ Anwen said.

  ‘There are certain things about the Stacey Evans’ case that I cannot discuss with you at the moment, but we do believe that Donald had information that could help.’

  ‘No,’ Cerith said. ‘If he knew something he would have told us.’

  ‘Can you tell us how Donald has been lately? In particular the last three weeks?’

  ‘He hadn’t been feeling well,’ Anwen said. ‘He had a stomach bug or something. You know that he was sick when your lot came to take him. I think this business with Stacey upset him. Flowers left by the entrance of the Cwm and the atmosphere in the village. I think it brought it all back. He hid away for a month after Erin died. We thought he would never get over it, but he was doing alright until about a month ago.’

  ‘What happened?’

  Anwen wiped her eyes. ‘I don’t know, he became withdrawn again. I don’t know exactly when he changed. First he seemed on edge, it was like he was expecting something to happen. Then he was sick, he came home one night, and I heard him being sick in the bathroom. The next few days he stayed home from school. He didn’t come out of his room, didn’t want to eat or see anyone. Usually, we would sit down as a family on the weekend and watch a film, but he didn’t want to, didn’t even go to church that weekend. Then he seemed to perk up, going out for walks, back to school and church.’