‘Surely Jacob Brown would have been covered in Ryan’s blood. What did you do about his clothes?’
‘I had Jacob change out of them in the rec. room and gave him a fresh set. After I’d locked him back in his cell I cleaned the knife and put it back in the kitchen and put his clothes in a bag and hid them in my room.’
‘We’ve searched your room. We didn’t find them,’ Faith said.
He smiled. ‘There’s a ledge outside my window. The wood is rotten. If you lift the top off there’s a nice gap between the roof and the wall of the building. I wedged the bag in there. I was planning on taking it home to burn when I got off shift.’
‘So what happened with Jacob?’ Sian asked.
‘Jacob was a loose cannon. All the next day he kept badgering me about when I was going to get him out, how much longer would he have to wait. When the storm came I knew that was the perfect opportunity. I sneaked him out, smashed the window in the rec room to make it look like he’d escaped, and got him through the gates at the top of the drive while everyone else was at the back of the building looking at the broken window.’
‘Did you need to kill him?’ Rebecca asked.
‘Don’t feel sorry for him. Why are you all so shocked? The boys in here are all convicted killers. Jacob Brown was a rapist and a murderer. Ryan Asher killed his grandparents and set them on fire. He beat my son so badly he’s in a persistent vegetative state. Why should they get your sympathy? If you should feel sorry for anyone it’s Malcolm, it’s his mother, it’s me who has had to endure this agony.’ The tears were coursing down John’s face as he sought to find someone who would be on his side.
‘You’re not arresting me for doing this country a favour. Those killers were still teenagers. Do you have any idea how much money the tax payer was going to have to waste on those two evil bastards? You shouldn’t be arresting me; you should be giving me a medal. I’ve saved you all a fortune.’
‘John, put the knife down,’ Christian said, his hands raised. ‘Come on, you don’t want to hurt Rebecca. You’ve worked with her for months; you like her. You’re colleagues, friends.’
‘No. I’ve been playing a part all these months, a means to an end. Oliver Byron was Rebecca’s friend, but I’m not Oliver. I’m John and I need to get out of here.’
‘That’s not going to happen, John. Now put down the knife, let go of Rebecca and we can talk about this down at the station,’ Christian said. He tried to sound soothing and placatory but judging by the steely look in John’s wide eyes it didn’t seem to be having any effect at all.
‘No, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re all going to move away from the door, and Rebecca and I are going to walk out of here. I’ll drive off and release Rebecca when I’m far enough away.’
‘No!’ Rebecca screamed. ‘Please don’t let him take me anywhere.’ She started to squirm and wriggle free from John’s grasp.
‘Stand still you little bitch.’
‘John, let her go. Put down the knife.’
‘Oliver, please let me go. I’ve got a child, a baby, she’s not even a year old yet. Please,’ Rebecca cried. She grabbed at his arm and tried to push it away from her throat but he was too strong for her. ‘Oliver, you’re hurting me.’
‘John, stop this right now,’ Sian screamed.
Rebecca slammed her foot down on John’s foot. He called out in pain. He swung his right arm out to regain some balance and Rebecca went limp in his arms. He looked ahead at the shocked expression on the faces of everyone in the room. He lifted his arms up and Rebecca fell to the floor with a thud, the blood gushing out of the large slit in her throat.
SEVENTY-FOUR
By the time Matilda and Amy left Wakefield Prison it was dark and the temperature had plunged. The sky was cloudless and an infinite number of stars and a full moon lit their path to the car park.
‘Well that was certainly eye opening,’ Amy said.
‘You can say that again. He was unburdening himself, wasn’t he?’
‘It seemed like it. Nobody has asked him about the Hartley killings before, so he probably thought it wasn’t worth mentioning.’
‘The trouble is, we only have his word for it. If he gets himself a decent solicitor he’ll get off with it. We need physical evidence.’
‘Such as?’
Matilda fished her mobile out of her pocket and turned it on. ‘I’m going to get onto your DCI in Leicester. I want a full forensic search of the flat he and Caitlyn shared. I know it’s going back a few years but it if was basically a squat, which it sounds like it was, it may have been left abandoned. Also, could you track down Caitlyn, get her formally identified and sort out a burial?’
‘Sure,’ Amy smiled.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Matilda exclaimed, looking at the brightly lit screen of her phone.
‘Problem?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she frowned. ‘Look, I’ll give you a call later. Thanks for this afternoon.’
Matilda saw the many texts from Sian, the several missed calls from Christian and a voicemail from Valerie waiting for her. Something had obviously happened in Sheffield that warranted her attention, and she had been in Wakefield. The fact her hunch paid off wouldn’t be enough for the ACC. She had told Matilda to wait until the Starling House case had been dealt with, and she had gone against her wishes.
‘Matilda, it’s Christian. Sian tells me you’ve taken a couple of hours off. Any chance you can give me a quick call please?’
‘Matilda, Christian again. Look this is getting a bit urgent now and I’m
