In the meantime, Gavin’s determined to make the years he still has left count for something. He’s spending a lot of time with young offenders and rebuilding his relationship with his children. And, of course, they’re not kids any more. Ryan is working in the leisure and wellness sector, and Dawn now has a family of her own, as does her sister, Stacey, who’s living and working in Glasgow.
Gavin didn’t want to be interviewed on this podcast, but he’s been closely involved in producing it. He wants his story told, if only to help ensure other people don’t suffer the way he has.
I’ll give the last word to his ex-wife, Sandra.
[SANDRA]
‘The Gavin I’ve seen since he was released is the Gavin I first fell in love with. Things could have turned out so differently for him. If he’d got some qualifications for a start, or if he’d been a bit savvier about dealing with people. A bit less mouthy. Trouble with Gav is that every time he’s got himself into a situation it’s gone the wrong way. But that wasn’t always his fault – he always did have shit luck. But who knows, perhaps that’s changing now. Perhaps he’s finally going to get what he deserves.’
[UNDER BED OF ‘I SHALL BE RELEASED’]
I’m Jocelyn Naismith and this is Righting the Wrongs. You can listen to this and other podcasts from The Whole Truth on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
[FADE OUT]
* * *
Alex puts her tablet down, then slowly reaches her hand to her mouth.
There’s a look on her face that’s hard to read.
But it’s not fear.
Not this time.
* * *
Not for the first time, Dave King is glad he keeps a spare shirt in the office. Though he’s made bloody sure to stick the wrecked one in an evidence bag. And take some majorly incriminating selfies to go with it. He’s going to cook that bitch’s goose good and proper. But first he’s going to deal with the Fawley fuck-up. Really deal with it this time.
He pushes open the door to the side office. They could have done this somewhere else, but he likes the idea of making it feel official, of upping the discomfort factor. And judging by the look he gets as he sits down, it’s working.
‘Sorry about the delay,’ says King breezily. ‘Managed to get coffee all down my fucking shirt.’ He puts his tablet on the table in front of him and leans forward. ‘So, you said on the phone you’ve got something to show me?’
‘Look,’ says Anthony Asante. ‘This is really difficult – what I found, it isn’t what I expected –’
King snorts. ‘Thought you’d be able to get the boss off the hook, did you? Play the hero and bank some major brownie points? Well, tough titties. You’re a copper. That’s how it is. Now give.’
Asante isn’t happy, that much is obvious, but he has no choice, and he knows it. ‘It’s CCTV,’ he says. ‘From the night Emma Smith died.’
* * *
‘Standing room only, I see,’ says Bryan Gow drily as he edges round the furniture to the only empty chair. Gislingham is already installed in front of the two video screens and the CPS rape prosecutor is taking a yellow counsel’s notepad out of her briefcase. Gis is tempted to ask if she has a couple of spares; she’s going to need them.
Gow takes his seat and glances across at Gis. ‘I sent Quinn some background info last night and talked him through it, so he should be fully briefed.’
‘I’ve read it too,’ says the CPS lawyer. ‘And I’ve read the NDA as well.’ She takes a print-out from her bag and tosses it on to the table with as much contempt as she can muster.
‘He’s played a bit of a blinder on this, by the way,’ says Gow. ‘Quinn, I mean. That was a pretty sharp insight of his about the boy.’
Gis nods. ‘I know. And I’ll make sure Harrison knows too, if it gets us a result. Though I suspect Quinn will probably beat me to it.’
They exchange a smile; Quinn is as predictable as he is ambitious.
‘And the rest of your team are prepped, are they?’ says the lawyer as the video monitors ping into life. ‘They know the score?’
‘Oh yes,’ says Gis softly. ‘They know the score.’
On the left-hand screen, Somer and Asante are showing Caleb Morgan and his lawyers into an interview room. As they take their seats and start going through the preliminaries, Morgan looks straight up into the camera, holding his gaze there long enough for the message to be clear: he knows they’re there.
But there’s one thing he doesn’t know.
He’s not the only one they’re watching.
* * *
Interview with Marina Fisher, conducted at St Aldate’s police station, Oxford
16 July 2018, 9.15 a.m.
In attendance, DC G. Quinn, DC V. Everett, Ms N. Kennedy (solicitor)
GQ: This is the fourth interview with Professor Marina Fisher in connection with an allegation of sexual assault made by Caleb Morgan, alleged to have taken place on July 6th 2018. Professor Fisher, I need to remind you once again that you are still under caution –
NK: What on earth is going on here? I thought we’d established that it was Marina who was assaulted, not Morgan. It’s him you should be interrogating, not her.
GQ: We’re still working to establish exactly what happened that night, and we need the Professor’s help to do that. And as I’m sure you can appreciate, any case where the principal witness is a very young child is especially complicated –
NK: But –
GQ: – and as Professor Fisher remains, for the time being, under arrest, we don’t have any choice but to conduct any interview with her under caution. As I’m sure you’re aware.
NK: [pause]
OK. Fair enough. What do you want to know?
* * *
‘So, Mr Morgan,’ says Asante. ‘I’d like to start by asking you again about what Tobin Fisher saw on the night of July
