‘You’ve done very well, Eve,’ John Duran said. ‘Although I expected nothing less from you.’
His face was expressionless and unreadable as always. Again, she wondered if Sean Farrell’s innocence really mattered to him.
They were seated on either side of the table, facing each other through the glass again, in the interview room at Bellevue Prison. His scalp, with its black shadow of hair, and gaunt, sallow face glistened with a film of sweat. He had stumbled when he entered the room and needed support from the prison officer who accompanied him.
She had driven Jane McNeil to the huge glass and steel police station on the outskirts of Grantham, where Jane had given a signed statement, confirming everything she had told Eve. Jane had then been read her rights and formally arrested and taken away to await legal assistance. Outside, Eve had called Dan and told him the good news. He had immediately called Sean Farrell’s solicitor, who was probably already at Bellevue by now, seeing Farrell and explaining what had happened as well as sorting out the necessary paperwork and putting into motion the lengthy procedure for his eventual release, which would start with a judicial review of the case. She imagined Sean’s rejoicing, but after what Jane had told her, knowing what he had done to her and, possibly, to other women, it felt very hollow. She had also called Andy Fagan and left a voicemail asking him to call. Before leaving Grantham, she had texted Duran, using the phone he had given her, saying she urgently needed to see him. She had then emailed the recording of her interview with Jane McNeil to Alan Peters and he had played it somehow to Duran. All that was left now was for Duran to give her what he had promised her, the proof that she had been set up.
‘I’ve proved that Sean Farrell is innocent, which is more than you asked me to do,’ she said, studying his haggard face, wondering if he would try and wriggle out of it. ‘He’ll soon be a free man. It’s time you honoured your side of the bargain.’
Duran looked at her thoughtfully, back ramrod straight as always, head ever so slightly to one side.
‘Of course. As I said, you’ve done a very good job. You’ll receive the proof you need shortly. I’m happy to give it to you. You’ve earned it.’
Although relieved that he was making no objections, she didn’t let it show. She couldn’t imagine his getting excited or joyous about anything, but she was still surprised that his reaction was so flat. Perhaps, after all, it really meant nothing to him; it was just some bizarre sort of a game. She still didn’t have a clue about his motivation in helping Farrell, but it didn’t matter any longer.
He yawned, stretching his mouth wide, not bothering to cover it with his hand, and she saw his perfect, Hollywood white teeth, which must have cost a fortune in dentist’s bills.
‘I’m just a little intrigued, Eve,’ he said, with a sudden sharpness in his eyes. ‘We had a murder victim and now you’ve discovered she isn’t dead. The supposed murderer is innocent and the happy man will be released. Hurrah! As I said, well done. You should feel very proud of yourself. But aren’t you forgetting something?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘There’s still the woman in the woods. Don’t you care about her? Someone needs to, surely. She needs a champion to stand up for her.’
‘You’re joking.’
He held up a large, bony hand. ‘OK. Perhaps that’s a little melodramatic. But aren’t you interested to find out who she is, and how she got there?’
She had thought of nothing else since finding Jane, which he had clearly guessed. The loneliness of the dark woods and the unknown, unclaimed woman kept preying on her mind. It was as though she could hear her voice calling out, desperately wanting resolution. Somewhere, her family and friends were still missing her, thinking of her, wondering where she was and if she were still alive. They deserved to know what had really happened. Somebody also needed to pay for it. But she had kept telling herself that she couldn’t solve every mystery. She must walk away and focus on the problems in her own life. It was Wiltshire Police’s job to deal with it now, not hers.
She held his gaze. ‘I’ve done what I set out to do and I’m quits.’
Duran sat up even taller in his chair and stretched his shoulders back, arching his neck for a moment like a swan, so that his chin almost touched his chest. He looked as though he was in pain.
‘You surprise me,’ he said, relaxing his body again with an audible groan. ‘You keep everything buried so deep, you think you can con everyone. But I understand you. I’ve always thought of you as someone who cared, who’d always go the extra mile, who had to prise out every little detail, however painful and difficult, to get to the bottom of things. Like a grain of sand in an oyster, it drives you mad not to understand. It’s why you’re so good at what you do. It’s why you’re desperate to know why I killed Stanco.’
‘I’m not desperate to know anything about you,’ she said, although she could see from his expression he knew he had hit home.
He shook his head. ‘The fact that you bother to deny it proves the lie. Maybe one day I’ll tell you. Perhaps when you tell me who you really are.’
She stared at him for a moment. He would never know anything more about her, if she could help it. He would never know her real name or her history. But the fact that he had an inkling of what lay inside her, horrified her. The last ten days had been bruising, both physically and mentally. If she were honest, for the first time ever she felt overwhelmed. There were too many loose ends, but she had to let go. Let someone else deal with it all. She must focus on her disciplinary hearing. Yet try as she might to ignore them, all the unanswered questions kept nagging away at her; their tiny, persistent voices would not be silent.
‘I heard about the fire at the 4Justice office,’ Duran continued. ‘Alan Peters tells me everything was destroyed. He said that somebody started it deliberately. He also says Dan Cooper was doing a good job too, so it seems very unfair. He just got mixed up, somehow, with the wrong sort of people.’ He looked at her questioningly.
She almost laughed. The image of Duran’s killing of Stanco Rupec flashed again through her mind. ‘The wrong sort of people? That’s rich, coming from you. What Dan got mixed up in was trying to prove Sean Farrell’s innocence. Whoever torched the office, also killed a PI who was working for Dan on the Farrell case. It’s all linked.’
Duran’s expression remained unchanged. ‘Then it’s even more important we should help him. Don’t you think?’ He was studying her, his impenetrable eyes fixing hers, and it was all she could do not to look away. She hadn’t a clue what he was thinking. Then he said, ‘Do you like Dan Cooper?’
‘What sort of question is that?’
‘I don’t mean something cheap and smutty. Do you think he’s a good person, who works hard and deserves good things to happen to him?’
‘Yes.’
‘And this charity, you think it’s a worthwhile organization?’
‘I certainly do.’
‘OK, then. I’ll make another bargain with you. Just solve this last little mystery, this woman’s murder, like you’ve done so many times before. You can then put the ghosts in your head to rest for a while and I will make a very generous donation to 4Justice to get them back on their feet again.’
She couldn’t hide her surprise. Did he really think he could buy everybody, that everything had a price? ‘Dan won’t take your money.’
‘Then he’s stupid. But at least let him decide.’
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Because it entertains me. It’s like watching a mystery on TV, only better. I’ve got nothing else to do and I’ve so much enjoyed watching you help Sean Farrell. These are the last few months, maybe weeks, of my life. I can’t take my money with me when I’m gone. As I told you before, I want to help people, do some good.’
She still didn’t believe him.