I cite my reputation in Highdown for being anti-drugs and the attempts I made when Priscilla and I first married to put her into rehab. I would also ask for my son, Peter, to be interviewed, who will testify on my behalf re: Priscilla's corrupting influence. By the time he was seventeen years old she had ensnared him into the drug culture, with all that that entails.
We became inextricably linked with Louise Burton a.k.a. Priscilla Fletcher long before Cill Trevelyan's disappearance and Grace Jefferies's murder. Louise gravitated toward us because of her own unhappiness at home, and because she knew we had a similar ill feeling toward Howard Stamp as she had. In her case it was fueled by jealousy of Cill.
In the wake of the above two events, she became a natural ally because of her refusal to name us to the police. None of the secrets we shared were so bad that we couldn't have revealed them at the time, but we weren't bright enough to understand that.
I have no explanation for why she is now accusing us of murdering Cill on the night of May 30/31, 1970 unless it is to rid herself of the nuisance of looking after Nicholas 'Colley' Fletcher Hurst. She genuinely loved Micky Hopkinson and was married to him for twelve years. I allowed her to move in with me after my first wife died because I felt some responsibility for her as Micky's widow. I became fond of her and we married in 1992 on the understanding that she would kick her habit. She didn't.
We had been living apart for six months when I offered to take on the care of Nicholas 'Colley' Hurst in 2000. Louise immediately saw an advantage in marrying him. I made no objection because he was difficult to manage at the pub. In exchange for a percentage of the inheritance, I agreed to monitor them via webcams in case he became violent. He carries a mobile telephone which I have trained him to answer. In this way I can defuse difficult situations before they happen. His 'violent' episodes are rare.
Contrary to what Louise has told you, Colley readily responds to me, but is easily roused to anger when she becomes impatient with him. I cite yesterday's example at the hospital when he agreed to come home with me, as witnessed by two police officers.
I went to Palencia yesterday because the webcam link had failed and I wanted to check it. I deny that I ordered Ms. Sasha Spencer from the house to prevent Louise talking to her. I did it because I could see that Ms. Spencer's unwise remark about Cill Trevelyan's popularity had fired Louise into a temper. Cill Trevelyan is an obsession with her. I believe it comes from guilt. She needs to be told all the time that it wasn't her fault Cill vanished.
I agree that Nicholas 'Colley' Hurst believes that Louise is Cill Trevelyan. I also agree that neither she nor I has attempted to correct this assumption. I have no explanation for why he retains a memory of Cill unless the rape remains on his conscience.
I have never raised a hand to Louise, although I threaten it from time to time when she attacks me as she did yesterday. She has an aggressive nature and is willing to provoke fights. I cite the fact that I could easily have defended myself, but chose not to because I would have done more damage to her than she did to me.
I believe now, as I have always done, that Howard Stamp was responsible for the murder of Grace Jefferies and the probable murder of Cill Trevelyan. I have no knowledge of either crime, but I have always wondered why Stamp never mentioned Cill's connection with Grace to the police or his defense team. If he was innocent of Grace's murder then he would have given the names of anyone remotely connected with her in order to shift police attention away from him. For example, he would have named myself, Hurst and Hopkinson, since he would have known about the rape. If Cill didn't tell him herself because they were friends, then Grace would certainly have done after Cill used her bathroom to clean up.
I admit that we lived in fear of this happening. I admit, too, that we made a pact to deny everything as the safest course of action. There have been many times in the past thirty-three years when I have wanted to come clean about the events of May 1970, but it wasn't my story to tell. Whatever Louise may say now about clearing her conscience, she has always been the main instigator in keeping the truth suppressed.
In conclusion, I repeat the point made above. If Howard Stamp had been innocent of Grace's murder, then he would have told the whole story. If he was guilty of two murders, then he would have selected the pieces that best suited his defense.
I confirm that everything in this statement is true.
*26*
25 MULLIN STREET, HIGHDOWN, BOURNEMOUTH
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2003, 2:30 P.M.
Duncan Bartholomew, a lean, gray-haired man in his fifties, reached forward to switch off the tape recorder as Sasha's voice called out,
'I
'So that we'd know the allegations against Trent,' said Bartholomew. 'I imagine she wanted us to do exactly what we have done. Report them to Mr. and Mrs. Trevelyan and, with their permission, repeat them to you and William Burton. The police are unlikely to mount an investigation unless there's considerable pressure put on them. At the moment it's just Louise's word against Trent's.'
'Have the police heard the tape?' asked Jonathan.
Sasha, who was sitting beside her boss on the sofa, shook her head. 'They're wary of compromising a prosecution-illicit gathering of information,' she explained. 'But I made it clear in my statement that I thought Louise was stringing me along until Roy arrived. I'm sure she'd have given me twenty anecdotes of her visits to the Trevelyan house if she hadn't heard the back door open.
'So what was it all in aid of?' asked George. 'Why didn't she tell you straight out what she told the police?'
It was Duncan Bartholomew who answered. 'If you believe Mrs. Fletcher, then it was because Roy Trent was
