Jayne was pacing as she waited for Suzy Bridges, Lee’s mother, Dan having passed on details of his case after his visit to the coroner, and a quick Internet search had done the rest.
Suzy Bridges ran a memorial website for parents who’d lost children through suicide. Jayne guessed it was therapeutic, her way of finding some good out of what happened to her son. It took one email and the mention of Leoni’s name to get a meeting with her.
Jayne was by a war memorial on the edge of the town centre, a stone plinth and an embossed rose by an open park fringed by large trees, and she recognised Suzy from the website as soon as she walked towards her. The Internet photograph showed her posing with her husband, both holding a photograph frame, with Lee in his graduation cap and gown. It spoke of unfulfilled promise.
In the flesh, there was more life in her eyes, a ready smile when Jayne greeted her, although grief was etched into her tired eyes and the lines around her mouth. It aged her much more than her fifty years, the age she advertised on social media.
As she sat down on a bench next to the memorial, she said, ‘Sorry we had to meet out here, but I’m at work and I didn’t want to disturb anyone. You said it was urgent and about Lee.’
Jayne sat alongside her. ‘Lee’s girlfriend, the other one in the suicide pact. Was her name Leoni?’
Suzy cocked her head, suspicious, but answered anyway. ‘Yes. Leoni Revell. Why?’
‘Revell? Wow.’
Suzy reached out and grabbed Jayne’s forearm. ‘What is it?’
‘She’s changed her name, disowned her father.’
‘What is it about Leoni?’
‘Your son wasn’t the first.’
Suzy’s mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with tears, letting go of Jayne’s arm. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Leoni talked a boy her age into killing himself, when she lived in Wakefield. She had a different name then. Walker, not Revell. She was on the phone to him when he died.’
Suzy’s hand went to her mouth and she let out a small sob. She wiped her eyes before saying, ‘Don’t tell me, trying to talk him out of it?’
Jayne didn’t think she had to answer.
Suzy stared at her hands for a few seconds before she said, ‘What’s your interest?’
‘Trying to get justice for a man accused of a murder; we think Leoni might be the culprit, because he was digging up her past, was going to write about her. He never got the chance, battered to death in a park not far from here.’
Suzy sat forward, her eyes alive with rage. ‘If I can do anything to nail that bitch, I’ll do it.’
‘Tell me how to find her.’
‘That’s easy. She works at a suicide crisis centre. Yeah, I get the irony, but what can I do? She plays at being the victim, the poor girlfriend left behind, who had to listen to my Lee take his life. If anyone believes that, they’re a fool. I saw how he changed when she came along. She wore him down, made him look into himself too much rather than reach out. I told him to seek help from a professional, but he said the same thing each time, that Leoni was all he needed. She knew what to say to push him closer and closer.’
‘Where is this place?’
‘Part of the council offices; it’s run by the council. Leoni got the job because she was the victim in Lee’s death, as far as everyone is concerned.’
‘Have you ever had any doubts?’
‘None. I know what she did, and how much she enjoyed it. Someone needs to stop her.’
Jayne remembered the torment of Doreen Green, back in Wakefield, and she saw the same in Suzy Bridges.
‘I’ll do what I can, Mrs Bridges, whatever it takes.’
Dan was waiting outside the courthouse for Zoe Slater, the prosecutor. He’d called her moments before, and her office wasn’t far away.
She appeared, holding a disposable coffee cup, the soft breeze blowing her hair over her face. As she got close, she raised her cup and said, ‘I don’t keep any decent stuff at the office, so thanks for calling me out. What’s so urgent?’
‘I need you to get a prisoner to court tomorrow, for when the defence case starts. He’s a witness.’
‘You could have gone straight to the police. They make the application to the prison, not me.’
‘They’ll tell me to go away, or just forget to do it, perhaps deliberately. If you ask them, it’ll carry more weight.’
‘Why should I?’
‘What’s in it for you, you mean? Justice, for a start. If I play the long game, your refusal to help might be my first appeal point.’
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘Don’t be such a dick. We’ve known each other too long for that, and not everyone gets this level of personal service. I’m on the other side, remember.’
He sighed. ‘Okay, I’m sorry. This case has got a bit rough and I’m short on patience.’
‘Yeah, I know, and I’m trying to help, but don’t make me wish I hadn’t bothered. What are you going to do?’
‘About my office? Get this case out of the way and then decide. For now, I just don’t know.’
‘Do they know who did it?’
‘I think I do, but there’s no proof. There’s time yet, but I need this first.’
‘Who’s the prisoner?’
‘Rodney Walker.’
Her face screwed up in concentration. ‘I know the name.’
‘He’s in prison for two child murders.’
‘Oh, that Rodney Walker,’ she said, her eyes wide. ‘The Brampton Murders.’
‘And Brampton was where Mark Roberts had been not long before he died. Roberts went to see Rodney before he was killed. He has relevant information.’
Zoe laughed. ‘You think it’s that easy? The police have got to justify it to the prison governor, and the governor can refuse.’
‘I know, I’ve looked it up. Interests of justice and all that, but a murder trial must be important enough.’
‘We could just get him on the video link.’
‘You could, but we both know that being played on the big screen doesn’t have the same impact as being in court.’ Dan handed over a piece of paper. ‘That’s his prison number and location and date of birth, all the information you’ll need.’
Zoe looked at the piece of paper. ‘This is all very short notice.’
‘I wish it were different, but the way I came about the information made it that way. And I’m not treating it lightly.’ He smiled. ‘But thanks, Zoe, I do appreciate it.’
‘Okay, leave it with me.’
She turned to go but Dan stopped her.
‘One more thing,’ he said, and passed over an envelope. ‘That’s a statement from my investigator, with some exhibited photographs. Can it be read to the court?’
Zoe opened the envelope and pulled out the paperwork. Dan stayed silent as she read it, until eventually she said, ‘Is she willing to give this evidence, if I don’t agree it?’
‘If you don’t allow it to be read, she’s no choice, but is there a need? Are you saying she’s lying?’
‘Well, no.’
‘That’s your answer then.’
She sighed. ‘Okay, if you think it’s relevant, but it seems like Brampton is becoming the centre of the universe today. I’ll let Frank know it’s agreed.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Are you wearing make-up, Dan?’ She tapped her cheek. ‘I caught a sheen when you turned.’
‘Just something to take the attention away from my bashed-up face.’
She waved the piece of paper. ‘I’ll do what I can.’
He watched her go and he realised why he wanted to stay in the job. There was something human about it. The people he helped, and even those he couldn’t. The lawyers he met, from both sides. They dealt with the dark side of human nature and it created a bond between them all, as if they clung on to whatever warmth they came across.
He turned to the courthouse. For now, it was about the day ahead.