Gravel and Kesey sat across the interview room table from Rebecca and a young duty solicitor in a sharp charcoal-grey business suit, who’d never felt more out of his depth in his entire life. The principal police surgeon for the county had decided that Rebecca was fit to be interviewed without the assistance of an appropriate adult, despite what he considered her less-than-convincing claim to hear voices, and so the wheels of justice continued to turn.
Grav stared into Rebecca’s face and kept staring as she sat there saying nothing at all. ‘Switch on the tape, Sergeant. I think it’s time we made a start.’
‘Will do, sir.’
‘Before we begin the interview, Miss Smith, I need to remind you that you’re still subject to caution. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Is that clear?’
Rebecca glanced at her solicitor, holding his gaze for a second or two before suddenly looking away. ‘I haven’t done anything wrong. Why would I go to court?’
Grav rested his hands on the tabletop and leaned towards her. ‘You’ve been arrested on suspicion of murder, Rebecca. This is your opportunity to respond to the allegations. To give your side of the story in your own words.’
She suddenly jumped up from her seat, swivelled on her heels, and spoke directly to the wall behind her. ‘Okay, I hear you! I’ll tell him what he needs to know.’
Kesey stood and took the prisoner’s arm. ‘Sit down please, Miss Smith. All you need to do is answer the inspector’s questions. Nothing more.’
Rebecca gave a flamboyant V-sign to the wall and sat as instructed. ‘Okay. If he’ll just shut up for a minute, I’ll answer your questions.’
Grav felt inclined to applaud her performance, but resisted. She was convincing him, if nobody else. ‘A little louder for the tape, please, Miss Smith. I could only just hear you.’
‘I said okay! I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m a good girl. I do everything he tells me. What’s wrong with that?’
‘You do everything who tells you?’
She looked to her left and pointed. ‘Him! Him! I don’t know his name. Why don’t you ask him yourself? See how he likes it.’
‘It’s you I need to talk to, Rebecca. The scenes of crimes officers have been over every inch of your house. There’s a lot of blood spatters: in the lounge, the hall, on the stairs, in the shower. And there was human flesh in the freezer. Plastic bags full of the stuff. We’re also in the process of excavating your back garden, and you know what that means. Two bodies have been found so far.’
She glared at him and spat her words. ‘That’s all there is. He told me to put them there.’
‘So you admit to burying the remains of two men in your back garden?’
She glanced behind her again and shook her fist as her solicitor made scribbled notes that served little, if any, useful purpose. ‘What are you talking about? They weren’t men. I didn’t kill men. Just rats and slugs and slime. I did everything he told me to. Every single thing. Why would anyone want to punish me for that?’
‘How many? How many did you kill?’
She lowered her head and began to wail like a hungry baby. ‘Only f-five. It should have been m-more, but you stopped me. He won’t like that. He won’t like it at all.’
‘Who were they, Rebecca?’
She wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her jumper. ‘Abominations that had to die. It’s all on my computer. Why don’t you look for yourself, if you really want to know?’
He nodded. ‘We’re doing just that. But why? Why did they have to die?’
She stopped crying in an instant and broke into a broad smile as if by magic. ‘They were all predators. Godless creatures who preyed on the innocent without thought or mercy. They destroyed one life after another, and would have continued doing exactly that if allowed the opportunity. Someone had to kill them. Why not me? It became my purpose in life. My reason for living. He told me that time and time again. “You’ve got to kill them, Rebecca. You’ve got to make them suffer.” I’ve made the world a better place. Sheridan took my innocence, and I took their lives. That’s how it was. I’d do it again if I could.’
Grav sat and silently acknowledged that a small part of him admired her for doing what she believed was right. But nobody could appoint themselves judge, jury and executioner. Not even her. ‘What did you do with the other bodies?’
She sat upright in her seat, speaking louder than before. ‘You found the two in the garden.’
‘Yes, but there were three more. You’ve said that yourself.’
‘Yes there were. Yes there were. That will be something to remember as I wallow in whatever concrete hell you send me to. That’ll be something to meditate on in the lonely hours to come. Something to be proud of. But you already knew the answer before asking, didn’t you?’
Grav nodded. ‘You were seen putting something in the river. I need to hear it from you in your own words. I need the detail.’
She looked behind her again, waved her hands in the air in a whirlwind of activity and shouted, ‘Okay, I’ll tell him! I’ll tell him if you leave me alone for one frigging minute!’
‘Come on, Rebecca, look at me. Try to concentrate on what I’m asking you. What did you do with the other three bodies?’
‘I cut them up and dumped them in the river, one revolting piece at a time. An arm here, a leg there, a head, until they were gone. And I flushed some into the sewage system. Small chunks I thought wouldn’t block the pipes. Bodies are surprisingly heavy to carry, even when dissected. It seemed sensible.’
The increasingly peaky-looking solicitor raised a hand in the air, drawing Grav’s attention and annoying him immensely. ‘I think now may be an opportune time for a brief break. I’d like to consult with my client privately.’
Grav glowered at him. The ineffectual prat didn’t have a clue. A trained monkey would be more use to her. ‘You heard what your solicitor had to say, Rebecca. We can adjourn the interview to allow you time to talk to him, if you so wish?’
She shook her head frantically. ‘No, I want to get this finished with.’
‘You’re sure? It’s no problem if you want to stop for a while.’
‘I said no and I meant no. Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to what I want?’
Grav looked at the lawyer as the young man sank back into his seat. ‘You heard her, Mr Gilbert. I’m assuming you’re in agreement to continue.’
He made an adjustment to his scarlet necktie as events took an unexpected turn. ‘Yes, yes, that seems the most appropriate course of action given Miss Smith’s wishes.’
Grav stifled a laugh. ‘If you’re sure, Mr Gilbert? It’s in your very capable hands.’
‘Yes, yes, please continue, Inspector. I’m obliged to accede to my client’s instructions.’
‘Then continue we will. Just as long as you’re happy.’
The young solicitor took off his jacket, suddenly aware that he was sweating profusely.
Gravel spent the next couple of hours going through the specific details of each killing, from the planning stage to the eventual execution. Rebecca was eager to talk. Keen to tell her story, which she told with only occasional interruptions from the imaginary, disembodied voice that so insistently demanded her attention. There was more than enough to charge her. More than enough to put her away for a very long time. It was just a matter of where and what happened when she got there.
Grav pushed up his sleeve and glanced at his watch as his stomach began to rumble. Time for a pie and a few pints of amber nectar. Time to celebrate a good day’s work. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to say before we bring the interview to a close, Miss Smith? Anything at all?’
‘Just that I haven’t done anything wrong.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes, that’s it.’
He tapped the table repeatedly with the yellowed forefinger of his right hand. ‘What about you, Mr Gilbert, any final words of legal wisdom to share with us?’
The solicitor’s face reddened as he mumbled his response. ‘No, thank you, Inspector. I’ve got nothing to add.’
Grav stood to leave. ‘Switch off the tape, Sergeant. Let’s get Miss Smith charged and back in her cell for the night. I don’t think the CPS are going to have too many problems with this one. We can get her to the magistrates’ court and on remand first thing in the morning.’
Kesey swivelled in her seat, looked up at him and left the tape running. ‘Can I have a word in private before we finish, boss?’
Grav paused, weighing up his limited options. ‘Interview suspended at seven thirty-two p.m. DI Gravel and DS Kesey are leaving the room.’
‘What the hell’s this about, Laura?’
The DS frowned. ‘What happened to treating her like any other suspect?’
‘That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it?’
She shook her head. ‘Oh, come on, boss. You’ve made no mention of the severed ear. It looks as if she’s tortured the poor sod, and you’re saying nothing at all?’
He was breathing more heavily now, his face reddening. ‘She was talking, she’s confessed to the killings. What more do we need? Job done.’
‘What if she tortured all of them? We need to know. The court needs to know.’
‘Just leave it there, Laura, there’s a good girl.’
She clenched her teeth together. ‘And what about all that voices bullshit? We worked with the woman. There’d have been signs of mental illness. We’d have known.’
‘She’s a killer. She hid that well enough.’
‘She’s been in there talking to the wall. We’d have spotted that much. She’s putting it on, boss. She’s full of crap. That’s bloody obvious. Why let her get away with it?’
He took a deep breath and glowered at her. ‘Now, you listen to me, Sergeant. We’re going to go back in there, we’re going to close the interview without any further questions, you’re going to switch the tape off when you’re told, and then we’re going to charge her with the murders… and that’s an order, in case you were in any doubt. I’ve heard enough. Let’s get it done.’