Jamie and Bella Porthcawl are waiting when I return to the Rock. It’s lucky they don’t know about the box I’ve left at Louis Hayle’s house. I speak to Eddie outside. My deputy’s jaw drops when I explain about finding the bones abandoned like household rubbish. I’m certain it’s the skeleton from Badplace Hill, but Gannick will have to check the box for fingerprints so we can work out who placed them there. Eddie hurries away to phone her, leaving me to conduct the first part of the interview alone.
The Porthcawls appear to be expecting good news; I’ll have to walk a fine line between speaking to Jamie as a bereaved relative and treating him as a suspect. Bella grips her husband’s hand while he searches my face for clues.
‘That can’t be right,’ Jamie says. ‘I know Hugh’s still alive.’
‘There’s a fifty per cent genetic match between your DNA and the bone sample from Badplace Hill. I’m afraid the skeleton is definitely your brother’s.’
Bella presses her fingers to her lips like she’s suppressing a scream, but Jamie’s speech is a dry whisper.
‘We’ve brought Hugh’s letters with us. He’s in the States, like I said. These were franked in New York.’ He pulls two worn envelopes from his pocket, brandishing them like they’re cast-iron proof.
‘Anyone could have copied his handwriting and posted them from the USA.’
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
‘I need to interview you formally, please, Jamie. Would you mind waiting at home, Bella?’
‘No way, I can’t leave Jamie when he’s had such awful news.’
Bella’s expression sours when I insist she goes. We’ve always been on friendly terms, and I’m still grateful she took care of Nina, but that’s meaningless now. Her gaze cuts through me like cheese wire before she marches away.
Jamie is blank-faced when Eddie joins us for the formal interview. Disbelief resonates in his voice as I record our conversation on the laptop. He repeats his speech about his brother abandoning his past to start a new life, but that story has changed since his bones were found.
‘You and your brother fought sometimes, didn’t you? Was there ever physical violence?’
‘It was just words. You must argue with your brother sometimes?’
‘Not often. How about your father? Did he ever strike either of you?’
He shakes his head. ‘Dad showed his disappointment if we let him down, but he wasn’t the type to hit anyone.’
‘Where do you think Hugh went after their big row?’
‘His closest friend was Danny Trenwith, but he had other mates. Any of them would have welcomed him. Penny’s mum and dad never let him stay over at their place. They didn’t believe in sex before marriage.’
Eddie is taking notes, even though the computer is recording every word, leaving me to ask awkward questions.
‘You’ll have heard the stats about violent crime, Jamie. Ninety per cent of murders happen within families, or the killer is from the victim’s intimate circle. Can you think who might have targeted Hugh?’
‘Not me, if that’s what you’re saying. He was my kid brother; I loved him, even though we were so different, we drove each nuts sometimes.’ Jamie is staring at the surface of the old bar-room table, as if the answer lies among the beer stains. ‘I still miss him, even now.’
‘His death may be connected to Louis Hayle’s.’
‘My brother saw him as a guru. Do you remember Hayle saying that all we needed was self-belief, a brilliant idea and a strong work ethic? Hugh took that to heart; he recited those words like a mantra.’
‘Do you think Hayle influenced any other kids that deeply?’
‘Bella respected him a lot. He was the reason she started her greeting card business, and she stayed loyal to the old boy. She took him a cake just last week to cheer him up.’
Jamie provides little fresh information. The only clear link between the dead boy and Hayle is that the older man mentored him, just like numerous other children. His main message was simple enough for any teenager to memorise: hard work, a unique business idea and confidence lead to success.
I turn possibilities over in my mind as Jamie speaks. He could have fallen out with his brother badly enough to go on the attack, then discard his body, or his father may have killed the prodigal son for rejecting his lifestyle. Jamie’s smart enough to realise that our only hard proof is the bone fragment from the scene, the copper nail that ended Hugh’s life and my uncle’s tool bag in his hand. I may have to accept that two different islanders are guilty of murder. I can’t prove who killed Hugh Porthcawl, because the crime turned cold twenty years ago, but Louis Hayle was murdered yesterday, and even Ray is implicated.
The cause of the teenager’s death almost three decades ago could be right under my nose, and I won’t let his brother out of my sight until he can prove his innocence. My only option is to arrest him for Hugh’s murder, based on his return visit to the crime scene and his denial that their relationship was antagonistic. There’s a slow fire burning in Jamie’s eyes when I read him his rights, but I’ve got no other choice.