Destruction of Evidence (32 page)

Peter held up a disc. ‘Let me tell you a story, Constable and Mrs Howell. About a police inspector who retired from the force and bought a pub. But his dream was to retire not to a pub but to the South of France where he could enjoy fine wine and indulge his hobby of painting. He wanted to live his dream so much he told us that he killed all four members of the Pitcher family after robbing –’

‘No.’ White-faced, Judy looked Peter in the eye. ‘That’s not how it happened. I killed all the Pitchers.’

Damian stared down at the table and said nothing.

‘Because of this.’ Trevor switched on Sarah Merchant’s computer. A photograph of Lee Pitcher and Damian Howell, naked and embracing, filled the screen.

‘Lee Pitcher corrupted every man and woman who went near him. I wanted him to stop. I begged him to leave Damian alone. He laughed at me, told me I was imagining things,’ Judy said. ‘Then Dai Smith’s wife came to see me. She had photographs of Lee and Dai and Damian, disgusting photographs. She told me she was leaving Dai and advised me to leave Damian. But Damian insisted they were old photographs. That he’d changed.’ Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘That he loved me and I wanted to believe him. But I couldn’t. That’s why I waited in the outbuilding at the back of the Pitchers’ that night. I told Damian that I’d be spending the night in the Angel after the Women in Business dinner. I had to find out if he’d go to Lee if he believed I wasn’t coming home. My father didn’t kill anyone. All he did was help us clean the scene afterwards …’

Damian finally spoke ‘She wasn’t there. It wasn’t her it was me. I killed the Pitchers. All of them.’

Trevor looked at both of them. ‘Shall I ask Superintendent Moore to bring in your father, Mrs Howell, so we can get to the real truth of what happened that night? And this time, Constable Howell, I suggest you tell the truth.’

‘You were right, Peter. It was a crime of passion.’ Trevor, Reggie, Carol and Peter had congregated in Reggie’s office at the end of the working shift. They’d finished watching the filmed interviews that had finally wrapped the case and were sitting over a cup of coffee.

‘A messy crime of passion,’ Peter agreed.

‘It doesn’t bear thinking about. Judy bursting into Lee’s attic, beating Lee to death. Damian killing James who walked in and saw Lee’s body. Damian killing Alun with the Dying Gaul, while Judy killed Gillian. No motive other than to save their own skins.’

‘And Tim was next door – the perfect cleaner with the knowledge required to neutralise the scene and prepared to do anything to protect his daughter. Even walk through town in his old uniform to get Judy and Damian fresh clothes.’

‘And he carried on cleaning up after them when Damian visited him this morning with the news that Trevor had taken disks and USB pens from Dai Smith’s house. Remind me to arrange to have all drugs destroyed when confiscated,’ Reggie said to Carol. ‘If Damian hadn’t given Tim the date rape drug to use on Trevor we might never have noticed it had gone missing.’

‘Can’t destroy them if they’re needed as evidence in a court case,’ Peter observed. ‘The one I feel sorry for and I’m kicking myself over is Ken.’

‘You weren’t to know Tim would kill him,’ Reggie said.

‘I’m not sure he meant to. Pushing someone down stone steps isn’t a sure fire way to kill anyone,’ Carol commented.

‘And the will Ken found?’ Peter asked Reggie.

‘I sent it over to the Harvilles’ solicitor to look at. They’ve e-mailed me. Their initial thoughts are that it’s genuine. Normally you’d expect someone to file a copy of their will with their solicitor, but they said that even before she was diagnosed with dementia Mrs Harville was renowned in town for her absent-mindedness.’

‘I’m sure there wasn’t a sinister reason behind it not being found. If Mrs Harville didn’t know what she doing for the last few years of her life she probably just pushed it in with a pile of papers and it was lost,’ Carol remarked. ‘Pamela George and her mother will be pleased, Llwynon Rectory and the entire Harville Estate. I wonder if she’ll buy the pub. She’s worked there long enough and Tim should be going down for a good few years.’

‘Aiding and abetting after the fact of the Pitchers’ murders. Helping to conceal a crime. I wish I could be sure he’d be convicted of Ken’s murder and Ken’s wife’s manslaughter.’

‘Given the way Ken died in a fall, we’ll be lucky to get manslaughter on one charge,’ Reggie said. ‘And, on the will, I don’t envy Pamela George and her mother the paperwork. Trying to prove what was lost in the Pitchers’ fire …’

‘It was all itemised,’ Trevor interrupted. ‘The only losers will be the state. Tell me, Reggie, senior officers only present,’ he said when she lifted her eyebrows at his use of her Christian name. ‘Did you suspect one of your own was involved in the Pitcher murders?’

‘Playing it safe when I discovered a professional had cleaned the crime scene,’ she admitted.

‘They almost got away with it,’ Carol observed.

‘No they didn’t. It was all down to legwork in the end. Mine,’ Peter reminded her. ‘In tracking down the brown paper. And Tim was stupid to drug Trevor and take the disks and Dai Smith’s death …’

‘Unconnected,’ Reggie interrupted. ‘They scanned and e-mailed me his suicide note. He didn’t want to live without his daughters.’

‘But it was the gay porn on his computer that set us on the right track.’ Trevor rose slowly from his chair. ‘I’ll clear my things from the office.’

‘Mine are already in the boot of the car. Goodbye, Reggie. Thanks for the warm welcome.’ Peter followed Trevor and Carol out of the door. When Trevor went into his office, she lingered in the corridor.

‘You and Trevor leaving now?’ Carol asked.

‘First thing in the morning. Trevor wanted to make it tonight but Patrick wants to keep an eye on him.’

‘Ready, Peter.’ Trevor was in the doorway of the office they’d shared.

‘Here, I’ll give you a hand with the box.’ Peter took the cardboard box Trevor was holding from him.

‘I take it there’ll be no celebration on this one,’ Peter said to Reggie when she left her office.

‘Not with Damian being involved. I’ve told Frank to take a couple of weeks off.’

‘You think he knew?’

She shook her head. ‘No I don’t. If I did I’d retire him permanently. It was a pleasure working with you, Inspector Joseph.’ She shook Trevor’s hand. ‘And you, Sergeant Collins.’

Peter ignored her hand and kissed her cheek. ‘And you too, Super.’

The end of case “booze-up”, if it could be called that, was the most subdued Peter and Trevor had ever attended. Apart from them, there were no police officers, only members of the forensic and pathologist teams.

Patrick raised his glass. ‘To Pamela George and her fellow workers without whom we would have all been put out on the street.’

‘Before you drink that toast, look at your bills. The prices have doubled under the management,’ Jen joked.

‘Send them to the local constabulary, darling,’ Patrick suggested.

Carol March appeared in the doorway. Jen moved her chair back. ‘We can fit another one in here, Inspector.’

‘No thanks, Jen. I can’t stay. I just wanted a word with Sergeant Collins.’

Trevor gave Peter a hard look.

‘Back in a minute.’ Peter filled a clean water glass with wine and took his glass with him. ‘Want to sit outside?’ he asked Carol.

‘Just for a minute.’ She took the glass he handed her and sat on the “smoker’s bench” in the courtyard. ‘I just wanted to say I’m sorry.’

‘For what?’ Peter asked.

‘For messing up our marriage. I was a fool.’

‘We both were. But then it was a long time ago.’

‘Another lifetime.’ She kissed Peter’s cheek.

Trevor walked out of the pub. ‘Excuse me.’

‘There’s no need for me to excuse you, Inspector Joseph. I know when I’m beaten. My divorce from Peter was finalised a long time ago …’

‘Your divorce?’ Trevor repeated.

‘I take it Peter never showed you our wedding photographs?’

‘No, just said a lot about you.’

‘Probably some of it was true,’ Carol smiled. ‘I never worked out what attracted me to him. But whatever it is, I wanted more of it than he was prepared to give.’

‘Just keep looking you’ll find the right one.’ Peter winked at Trevor. ‘We did and I can’t wait to get back to her. I’m about to become a father’

‘The idea of little Peters is a strange one.’ She abandoned her wine glass on the bench.

‘Trevor held out his hand. ‘Good luck, Inspector March.’

‘And to you, Inspector Joseph.’

‘Just take note of our methods,’ Peter teased. ‘And don’t take this the wrong way. But we’d rather stay on our home turf from now on if you Welsh can do without us.’

‘We’ll try, Sergeant Collins.’ Reggie appeared behind Carol. ‘We’ll try,’ she repeated, looking at Trevor.

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