‘Ithink she wanted to protect her dad, either out of misguided loyalty or the age-old problem,’ Sarah told them afterwards.
‘Which is what, exactly?’ asked Ottey.
‘An attempt to get his attention,’ she sighed. ‘Trying to gain his approval, by saying look at what I’m willing to do for you. It’s always been the same. Since he had the boys, his new family, she’s felt like second-class offspring. He treats her like she’s a grown-up and so doesn’t need a father anymore. But weirdly in the last few years she’s needed him more than ever. But right now, it’s all about the boys. Even when she goes over to Spain, I think she feels tolerated rather than loved.’
‘So she’ll speak with us now?’ asked Cross.
‘I think so. I told her you think it’s her father and not her. That now she has to find a way of lessening the trouble she’s managed to get herself into. That sounds judgemental. It wasn’t meant to. This is all our bloody fault. Both me and Ian,’ she said.
‘Thank you for talking to her,’ said Ottey.
‘Are you kidding? She’s my little girl. What will happen with her now?’ she asked.
‘It depends on what she’s charged with. It might help if her father surrendered himself. Without him the judge might look on her less leniently. It’s hard to say,’ said Ottey.
‘I’m not sure there’s much chance of him doing that,’ she replied.
*
Persephone seemed a little more reflective when she returned to the interview room. There was a little less melodrama about her, Ottey thought.
‘I didn’t know he was going to kill Ed, honest. He just said he wanted to see him while he was over. I didn’t even know Mum had told him about the pregnancy. That was stupid. Why did she do that?’ she asked as if she hoped they might have an answer.
‘Because she’s your mother and she was angry. Because he’s your father,’ suggested Ottey.
‘My father!’ Persephone spat. ‘So where was he when I was sixteen? What did he do when this all happened? Nothing. Because he was too busy with his own life to worry about mine. His daughter! He was nowhere to be seen. And now this is what he does? This is his solution? To kill the man who has been more a father to me than he ever was. Despite what happened. To kill the man who’d given me a job and a future after all the problems I’ve had. What was the point? To make him feel better, that’s what. But what about me? What about me?’
The detectives made no comment as she wept quietly. Cross decided the best thing was to go to his prepared script for the interview.
‘Let me tell you what we know,’ he began. ‘We know that your father flew in from Spain on the morning of April the twenty-fourth. Not the following day, as he claimed. We know this from Border Force. We know from your phone records that you spoke with him that afternoon, after he’d landed. We know the mast the call connected with was in Bristol. Which confirms he was here. What was that call about?’
‘He told me he was in England,’ she said.
‘Did he tell you why?’ asked Cross.
‘He wanted to see Ed,’ she said quietly.
‘Why did he want to speak with Ed?’ asked Cross.
‘Like I’ve said, I don’t know. Well, I didn’t. I do now, obviously. He just asked me what time the shop closed and when Ed left. I told him that Torquil had gone up to London and Ed was going to wait till he got back,’ she replied.
‘So what happened that evening?’ Cross asked.
‘He called me around six,’ she said. Cross checked the call log and saw this was right. ‘He told me he was on his way. When he arrived, I let him in, then went to make us all coffee.’
‘How did he seem?’
She thought about this for a moment. ‘Looking back on it, nervous, maybe.’
‘So, you went up to make coffee,’ Cross prompted her.
‘I boiled the kettle, got out the cafetière, put coffee in it, took out three cups, got the milk from the fridge. Then I heard shouting. Both of them yelling at each other. Then there was a loud kind of gasp, followed by nothing,’ she said.
‘You said previously it was a scream,’ Cross pointed out.
‘It wasn’t. It was quieter than that. I heard Dad shouting. Like he was frightened or something. I went to the top of the stairs, and he ran out of the room onto the landing.’
‘Did he see you?’
‘Yes. He stopped and looked up,’ she replied.
‘Did he say anything?’ asked Cross.
‘No. He just looked terrified. Like he’d just seen something awful. Then he turned away and ran down the stairs,’ she said.
‘What did you do?’ asked Cross.
‘I went down to the first floor.’ She started to weep. ‘Ed was lying there, so pale.’
‘Was he alive?’ asked Cross.
‘There was blood on his chest, seeping out. I thought he was dead at first. Then he looked at me.’ A fresh cascade of tears prevented her from speaking for a moment. ‘He smiled,’ she said in disbelief. ‘He smiled and said, “I’m so sorry.” Then he died. He just stopped breathing with this awful, final, gentle sigh. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea Dad was going to do that. I mean, he was obviously so angry. Maybe Ed attacked him and it was self-defence?’ she suggested desperately. ‘Then I saw the letter opener.’
‘Where was it?’ asked Ottey.
Persephone paused for a moment, as if coming to terms with the reality of what she was about to tell them.
‘It was in his chest,’ she said. Ottey looked at Cross. But he was still focused on the young woman. ‘It all happened so quickly. I wanted to protect my dad, I think. I pulled it out. It made this awful sticky, gloopy kind of sound. I keep having nightmares about it. I put it in my holdall downstairs, then ran upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom.’
‘Leaving Torquil to discover his dead son on his return,’ Cross pointed out.
‘I know. How terrible is that? But I wasn’t thinking about that. I was only thinking about my dad,’ she replied. ‘Why? I have no idea. Maybe it was just a reflex.’
‘You told us you heard Russian accents,’ said Cross.
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
‘That the man was wearing a black bomber jacker, similar to ones worn by club bouncers,’ he continued.
‘Why did you cover up for him?’ asked Ottey.
‘I wasn’t thinking straight. It was wrong, I know. But he’s my dad and Ed was gone. Why did he do that? Why didn’t he talk to me? I could’ve explained. Ed had given me a job. Everything was good. It just feels…’
‘It just feels, what?’ asked Ottey gently.
‘A bit late to start behaving like my dad, to be honest. Like he cared all of a sudden. Ed has been so much more of a father than him, despite everything. Is this all my fault?’ she then asked desperately.
‘Of course it isn’t,’ replied Ottey, reflecting that the young woman’s thinking was so confused. She’d had a sexual relationship with this man, after all. A therapist would have a field day with her.
‘It’s such a bloody mess,’ said Persephone. ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever get over this.’
‘It’ll take time. But you will,’ Ottey assured her.
‘You seem quite conflicted about your father. You didn’t want him to get into trouble for killing your uncle, so you protected him,’ commented Cross. ‘And yet here you are. On your own, without his protection or help. He’s nowhere to be seen and by doing what you did for him, you now find yourself in a great deal of trouble. Something to think about going forward, perhaps.’
*
‘Bloody coward,’ Ottey said to Cross as they walked back to their office. ‘Leaving his daughter with her dying uncle. Someone he’s just killed. What kind of man does that?’
‘It would seem as though it goes to form with him,’ Cross replied.