‘My client admits involvement in the abduction of Brother Dominic Augustus on March the thirty-first. That he instructed Frankie Davis to take him to a cottage on his estranged father’s estate, with the purpose of eliciting information from him about his wealth. He wasn’t aware of the methods Davis intended to employ. My client also wasn’t there. He received the information about the painting from Davis and that was the end of his involvement,’ said Cubitt’s lawyer reading from a sheet of paper.
‘Do you really expect us to believe that?’ asked Ottey.
‘It’s entirely up to you what you believe,’ replied the lawyer.
‘If that’s the case, when did you become aware of Brother Dominic’s death?’ Cross asked Cubitt.
‘I heard about it on the news just like everyone else,’ Cubitt replied.
‘How did you react?’
‘I was shocked.’
Cross thought for a moment.
‘What was the plan? After Davis had got what you wanted. What was he supposed to do with the victim?’ Cross went on.
‘Take him back to the abbey and leave him there.’
‘Wouldn’t he then be able to implicate you?’
‘I wasn’t there. I wasn’t involved.’
‘Oh, come on. Do you really think he wouldn’t put two and two together?’ asked Ottey. ‘Seems like a completely flawed plan to me. You meant for him to be killed.’
‘I did not.’
‘Did you ask Davis if he’d taken Dominic back to the abbey?’ asked Cross.
‘I did not. I assumed that’s what had happened,’ replied Cubitt.
‘What did you do when you found out the monk was dead?’ Cross went on.
‘Nothing.’
‘You didn’t call Davis and ask him what had happened? Why Dominic was dead?’
‘What good would that have done me? Why would I make contact with him? It would only link me to him,’ replied Cubitt.
His lawyer put his hand on his arm, leant over and whispered something in his ear.
‘So, what exactly do you think happened?’ asked Cross. Again, he noticed, Cubitt paused for thought.
‘You should ask Davis,’ Cubitt replied.
‘We already have. He says that Dominic was alive when he left him.’
Cubitt said nothing.
‘Before you then arrived,’ Cross added.
‘How did you know the cottage was unoccupied?’ asked Ottey.
‘I’m still in touch with Charlotte. She lets me know what’s going on at home.’
‘You still call it home?’ Cross observed.
‘What else am I supposed to call it?’
‘Davis told us that he didn’t leave Dominic on his own. Someone else was there,’ Cross went on.
‘Who?’ Cubitt asked.
‘He won’t say,’ Cross answered.
‘There was another car,’ said Ottey. ‘His brother, Luke Davis, had fallen asleep. When he woke up there was another car there and the driver of that car was still in the cottage when they left.’
Cubitt said nothing.
‘Here’s what I think happened,’ Ottey went on. ‘Davis beats the info out of Dominic and then left you with him. I don’t believe he didn’t see the other driver. It was you. But you wanted more. After everything this man had done to you, you were so angry. Seven years in prison, left with nothing when you came out. It all got too much for you. There he was, right in front of you. These things happen so quickly. In an instant. One blow to the head and it’s all over. They’re dead. You didn’t mean it. But it’s done. Is that what happened, Nick?’
‘No comment.’
‘Mr Cubitt, you should know that we retrieved a quad bike and trailer from your father’s estate,’ Cross informed him.
Cubitt said nothing. ‘We’ve found blood on the floor of the trailer. It’s currently being analysed. But we’re fairly confident it will be a match to Brother Dominic.’
Silence.
‘There was also damage to one side of the bike that seems consistent with its sliding down into a ditch. Our forensic geologists are currently analysing the mud on the side of the bike and comparing it with samples taken from the ditch where Dominic’s body was found. It always amazes me how much evidence can be gleaned from flora and fauna and soil. Forensic analysis has become so advanced and detailed,’ observed Cross.
‘The evidence is stacking up against you, Nick. Why don’t you just tell us what happened?’ said Ottey.
‘I did not kill that man,’ Cubitt said slowly and emphatically.
And that was all he had to offer for the rest of the interview. Hour after hour of ‘no comment’ was all they got out of him.
The CPS felt they had enough to charge him with murder and kidnap. He was remanded in custody and charged. The case was closed. Carson congratulated them all on a good result.
‘Even now Cubitt can’t take responsibility for his actions,’ Ottey commented at the end of the day.
‘He’s probably rewritten the narrative again and convinced himself that it was someone else’s fault,’ added Mackenzie.