Before I Say I Do Page 21

  Loxton turned on the digital recorder. ‘Julia, we’ll continue the interview. It’s now six forty-five in the evening on the same day. Remember, you’re still under caution. The same people are present, but there is also now your solicitor, William Fitzpatrick. Can you confirm we haven’t talked about this case while the recorder’s been switched off?’

  ‘We haven’t talked about it,’ Talbot replied.

  ‘Now, Julia, we suspect that you became aware of Mark’s affair and became jealous,’ Loxton said.

  ‘I didn’t know anything about an affair,’ Talbot said. ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘My client needs more information than that.’ Fitzpatrick stared at Loxton, as if they were the only two people in the room. He was trying to put her off her game. She ignored him.

  Kowalski slid some printouts towards Talbot which contained WhatsApps between Emily Hart and Mark Rowthorn. They’d downloaded them from Hart’s mobile. ‘We’ve taken out the female’s name for her protection and her mobile number. Take your time.’ Kowalski sat back in his chair. ‘You too, Mr Fitzpatrick.’

  Fitzpatrick scanned the message in a moment and pushed them away. Talbot pored over them.

  ‘Officers,’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘Is this really the way to break this affair to my client? She is the victim in all of this.’

  ‘Actually, Mark Rowthorn is our victim,’ Kowalski said.

  Talbot’s lower lip was trembling and she began to cry. She pushed the papers away and closed her eyes.

  Kowalski picked up the papers. ‘Sexy, need to see you tonight,’ he read out. ‘Tell her you’re working late.’ He paused and let a moment go by. ‘That must have hurt, Julia. You must have been broken-hearted – humiliated.’

  ‘I didn’t know.’ Talbot’s eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.

  ‘Did you find these WhatsApps on his mobile?’ Kowalski said. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I loved him.’ She wiped the tears from her face. ‘I thought he loved me too.’

  ‘And now?’ Kowalski asked.

  Talbot burst into a new fit of tears.

  ‘Officer, is this fair? You’ve asked my client your questions. She denies any involvement in Mark Rowthorn’s disappearance. Shouldn’t you be talking to this other woman? Isn’t it more likely he’s run off with her and is fine?’

  ‘He hasn’t run off with her,’ Loxton said. ‘The mobile Mark used to send these WhatsApps has never been retrieved. I assume it was on him when he went missing. What did you do with his mobile, Julia?’

  ‘I never saw those WhatsApps. I didn’t know he had so many phones. I just thought he had his work one.’

  ‘Where were you on the afternoon of Saturday 15 July?’

  ‘I was at the Silver Tree.’ Talbot’s voice was strained as she tried to control her anger.

  ‘Ah yes, and you waited for Lucy to arrive, leaving you on your own all afternoon until 8pm.’ Kowalski leaned towards Talbot.‘The same timeframe, coincidentally, in which Mark disappeared.’

  ‘I don’t know what’s happened to him.’ Her voice shook and she was tugging at the end of her hair now, her eyes full of fear. Was it for Mark or for herself?

  ‘You’re not helping yourself. You should tell us the truth. Explain your side of the story.’ Loxton wished she could make the other woman tell her what had really happened.

  ‘I have told you the truth.’ She sounded frustrated. ‘I was in the hotel.’

  ‘Did he abuse you? Was it in self-defence? This is your chance to give your account.’ Loxton needed to cover any future defences.

  ‘He never hurt me,’ Talbot’s face twisted in disgust at the thought. ‘He wasn’t like that.’

  ‘The only motivation for my client is this affair, and she’s clearly just found out about it now,’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘Is that all you have?’

  Loxton picked up the bundle of papers, which she’d had under the table, and dropped them in front of Talbot. She flinched at the bang. Talbot eyed the yellowing folder suspiciously. Loxton opened the old case file and leafed through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

  ‘You’ve been arrested for murder before, Julia.’

  ‘I’ve never killed anyone,’ Talbot said.

  ‘You wanted to teach your little sister a lesson. It was a fatal lesson. You abandoned her in the woods, and when things went wrong between you and Jonny, you went back to her. You took your anger out on her. Things got out of hand. And then you tried to blame Jonny Cane.’

  ‘She was dead when I found her.’

  ‘Maybe I’ve got it wrong. Maybe you and Jonathan Cane killed her together? Did he take the blame for you?’

  Talbot winced at the mention of Cane’s name. ‘No.’

  ‘You’re good at getting people to lie for you. This time it was Lucy Webb, but she won’t do it for ever when she realizes what you’ve done.’ Loxton was running out of patience. They should have kept Webb in, heard what she had to say when confronted with the CCTV of her arriving at the Silver Tree hotel at 8pm. What had Talbot told Webb, to convince her to lie to the police for her?

  ‘I didn’t kill Rachel and I haven’t hurt Mark. Jonny Cane was convicted, not me.’

  ‘Jonathan Cane, the local nuisance. He was found dead yesterday at the Night Jar. Do you know anything about that?’ Loxton watched Talbot’s face, trying to spot any more cracks in the mask. This might be her one chance to decide if Talbot was a killer.

  Talbot looked away for a moment and then her eyes met Loxton’s. ‘No.’

  ‘Julia, have you had contact with him recently?’

  ‘I didn’t kill him.’ Talbot put her head in her hands.

  Fitzpatrick looked alarmed momentarily and tried to catch Talbot’s eye. ‘You don’t have to answers these questions, Miss Talbot. They’ll be asking you about Jack the Ripper next. Ridiculous.’ He was sweating.

  ‘Have you seen Jonny recently?’ Loxton repeated the question.

  Talbot seemed to gain her composure and looked up. ‘I’ve not seen him since the court case.’

  Kowalski opened a laptop and played the CCTV of the woman in the night club. It showed her go into the back being followed by two men. Then it flicked to the woman and one of the men leaving the club by a fire exit. They disappeared off shot a few seconds later.

  ‘Is that you?’ Loxton asked.

  Talbot shook her head. ‘I’ve never been there.’

  ‘We’ll be checking, Julia. Has Lucy – or Kayleigh – seen Jonny?’ Loxton asked.

  ‘No.’ Talbot shook her head firmly.

  ‘Where were you on the evening of Wednesday 19 July, the night that Jonny Cane died?’ Loxton asked.

  ‘I was in my flat.’

  ‘Julia, the police went to your address twice and couldn’t get hold of you that night. Where were you?’

  ‘I was fast asleep. That’s why I didn’t hear them knocking. I’d taken sleeping tablets. Lucy will tell you.’

  Loxton frowned. ‘Was Lucy there?’

  ‘No, she had to pick James up from City Airport. But she’ll tell you I took the sleeping tablets before she left. I couldn’t do anything after that.’

  ‘Lucy’s not exactly a reliable witness, seeing as she’s lied for you once already.’ Loxton sighed. ‘We’re going to take your DNA after this interview to compare it to the crime scene. Will your DNA be on Jonny Cane, Julia?’

  ‘No.’ Talbot kept her head down, refusing to meet Loxton’s or Kowalski’s gaze.

  ‘We’ll be examining your mobile, too. You refused to hand it over voluntarily early in the investigation. Why was that?’ Loxton asked.

  Talbot looked stressed. She glanced at her solicitor, but he said nothing.

  ‘You say you haven’t had any contact with Jonny, but he’s been watching you since he’s been out of prison.’ Loxton took out a stack of photographs of Talbot and Rowthorn. ‘These are copies of the photographs I told you about that we found in Jonny’s flat. They’re mostly of you but around thi
rty are of Mark and a couple are of David Steele.’

  Talbot’s face paled at the sight of the photographs. Her hands shook as she reached out towards them.

  ‘When were these taken?’ Loxton pushed the photographs towards Talbot.

  ‘I . . . I don’t know.’ Talbot leafed through the photos, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. She looked up at Loxton, her voice shaking. ‘There are so many . . .’

  ‘Are they recent?’ Loxton wondered how long Cane had been stalking Talbot.

  ‘I think so. Wait, no. This one.’ She held up a photograph of her outside her jewellery shop holding a coffee. ‘I haven’t got my engagement ring on. That must be over six months ago.’

  ‘And you’re telling me you haven’t had any contact with Jonny Cane? If he threatened you and something happened, you should tell us.’

  Talbot paused for a moment, but then shook her head. ‘I haven’t heard from him. I don’t know why he had these. I wouldn’t want to see him. He killed my sister. I’d call the police if he contacted me.’

  ‘If you know anything about Jonny Cane’s murder, you should tell us now.’ Loxton looked for some glimmer of remorse from Talbot, but there was nothing. ‘We’ll be talking to Lucy about these sleeping tablets, too.’

  ‘I haven’t done anything.’ Talbot was shouting now, her hands on the table, the photos scattering onto the floor. ‘Jonny killed Rachel. You lot wasted time thinking it was me last time, when I was only a child, and you’re doing it again now. Can’t you see that Jonny’s done something to Mark? Now Jonny’s dead and you’ll never find Mark. You’re useless.’ Talbot clenched her fists.

  Loxton put her hands up, open-palmed.

  ‘Mark’s out there.’ Talbot pointed towards the door. ‘Something’s happened to him. I can’t believe I trusted you to find him.’ She spat the words out, her voice shaking in rage. ‘I should have known better.’ She stood up. The tears had stopped, but her cheeks were turning a darker red and she was trembling.

  Loxton got up as a shiver ran down her spine. Her body was preparing for Talbot to lash out; a surge of adrenaline pumping through her.

  Fitzpatrick jumped to his feet. ‘My client will not be answering any more questions. She’s helped you enough. Julia, no comment from now on.’

  Talbot stood glaring at Loxton, hate radiating from her like heat from a roaring fire. Loxton was taken aback by it.

  ‘Thank you, Julia.’ Kowalski stood up and put his hand on Loxton’s shoulder. ‘That will be all for now. I’m terminating this interview.’

  Chapter 35

  Julia Talbot

  Friday

  The door slammed shut, the vibrations echoing in the tiny space I found myself in. I was left alone. Fear snaked up from my stomach into my chest, wrapping itself tight around my heart. I was trapped and I couldn’t get out. Not until DC Loxton let me. I tried to keep my breathing steady, take a full breath, but short sips of air were all I could manage.

  Not again.

  I’d promised myself I’d never find myself in one of these cells again, but here I was. My pulse throbbed in my head. I felt dizzy.

  I’d used up my one call from custody trying to speak to Lucy, but she hadn’t answered my landline. The police hadn’t let me access my mobile to get her number. They explained it was seized as evidence. They had told Lucy to wait at home for me as I could be in here for some time. I’d left a voicemail message on my answer machine for her, but I guessed she was on the underground still heading to my flat.

  When they did open my mobile, Loxton would know I’d been lying – again. I’d called Jonny just hours before he was found dead and I’d been searching for his nightclub on my mobile. Would it show up that I’d been there? I was on the CCTV; and with my mobile they’d be able to prove it was me.

  I twisted the ends of my hair into a knot and pulled at it, the sharp pain a release.

  Mark had been having an affair. It was like someone was digging into my insides and spooning them out. I’d thought I was being paranoid, doubting him, checking to see if he had a Tinder account or if there were any messages on his mobile. I’d thought I was ill, always out to sabotage my life, fuck it up. My way of punishing myself.

  But all the time I’d been right.

  He’d been sleeping with someone else. When had it started? When had he stopped being mine?

  Had he been preparing to leave me while planning our wedding? My head was replaying our time together – our engagement, lazy Sunday mornings in bed. I tried to spot the cracks. Work out when it had all gone wrong. I thought he’d loved me. I thought he was the one thing I could rely on and it had all been a lie.

  All the happiness I’d felt had been fake. I was never going to find peace.

  And who was this woman? A colleague from work? An old friend? Did she look like me or was she completely different? I couldn’t bear it.

  I closed my eyes, wishing the thoughts would stop. Instead I saw Jonny, laid by the bins, the cut to his head bleeding. He’d been stalking me for six months at least. My past coming back to get me. It made my body feel numb. What had he been really planning to do? What had he done?

  I was glad he was dead.

  I sank onto the white bench, a thin blue roll mat thrown on top of it, which did nothing to stop the cold and the hardness of the concrete. The air con was blasting freezing air into the room, shifting the rancid smell around so that it wouldn’t settle. Opposite me was a silver toilet basin without a seat. I glanced at the CCTV camera. Were they watching me now?

  I lay down on the concrete bed and closed my eyes. My head was pounding and I felt sick, as if I was in the belly of a ship that was rolling from side to side. I pressed my fingertips to my temples, trying to stop the pain with sheer willpower alone. For a brief moment it all ceased, but then the sickness came back tenfold.

  I ran to the toilet and vomited, sick spattering the inside of the bowl. I dropped to my knees, clutching the seat as I vomited again. My whole body shook with the effort. The sour acidic smell made me want to throw up again, but there was nothing left. I wiped the bile from my mouth with the back of my hand and tried to calm my breathing.

  I couldn’t hide from it any longer. Mark had been cheating on me. I wished I could speak to Lucy; she would know what to do. I couldn’t rely on the police. They weren’t telling me anything.

  Perhaps this other woman knew something. I needed to find out who she was and get her to tell me everything she knew.

  Chapter 36

  Alana Loxton

  Friday

  Winter was sitting behind his desk, his arms folded and his face stony, a screwed-up newspaper on his desk. The man looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Loxton wondered if she looked as bad.

  ‘Sir, we need a surveillance team. We can keep Talbot in overnight, and then, when she’s released in the morning, they can follow her. She might lead us to Rowthorn. And if she doesn’t, we can at least see if anyone else is watching her. I know she’s the key.’ She regretted leaving Kowalski to chase up Talbot’s mobile’s cell-siting while she tried to convince Winter of her plan. Kowalski had warned her he wouldn’t go for it – too much money, no guarantee of a result, lots of risk. She hoped she’d convinced him.

  ‘In all my time in the force, I’ve never been as disappointed.’

  ‘I know we haven’t got a result, but if you’d give us a bit more time, a surveillance team could find us the evidence.’

  ‘You think this is about a result?’ He stared at her, his anger visible.

  ‘What else?’ She didn’t know where this was going, but the atmosphere in the room couldn’t be worse.

  Winter picked up the crumpled newspaper and slung it at her. She threw her hands up in time, catching the open pages before they hit her in the face. She dropped the paper onto the table.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Had he lost his mind?

  ‘Read the front page, Alana. It’s tomorrow’s headline. The paper has forwarded it to me to
ensure that it doesn’t jeopardize our investigation.’ He was shaking with rage. She had never seen a senior officer this angry before.

  She glared at him, but turned the paper over, reading the headline on the front page:

  Missing Groom Case: Police Arrest Innocent Bride.

  She looked at Winter. ‘You think this was me?’ Anger made her voice sound shrill.

  ‘Read the reporter’s name,’ he said, looking away from her in disgust.

  She glanced down the page, finding the name in small print at the end of the article.

  Alec Saunders

  Her ex-lover. Her throat clamped up. She couldn’t believe it – not again.

  ‘Don’t deny it.’ Winter put his hand up to quieten her. ‘I knew you’d compromised a case for this man in the past, but I thought you were the victim there. This will be the last time this happens, though. You’re suspended.’

  Winter had known the details of her move all along. Embarrassment made her look down, but then she raised her gaze, meeting his. This time she hadn’t done anything wrong. ‘I haven’t spoken to him.’ Panic rose inside her chest. He couldn’t suspend her. Not when she was so close.

  ‘Someone leaked the body in the Thames to the press and who shows up at Talbot’s flat? Your ex-boyfriend, Alec Saunders. You neglected to mention it was him when you told me about the reporter. I was an idiot to give you a second chance and now my job is on the line.’

  All she could do was shake her head at him. How could this be happening again?

  ‘Do you think I’m such an idiot that you could play me like this? Or is the money they’re giving you too good to turn down? Or perhaps it’s true love? Let me tell you something for free, Alana: that man doesn’t love you. He’s using you and you’ve just ruined your career for him. You could end up in prison for this.’

  ‘Why would I do this when I know I’d be the first person you’d blame? Can’t you see this wasn’t me?’ Hot tears of anger welled up in her eyes. She hadn’t leaked this story, someone else had, and that person was going to get away with it. She would lose her job instead of them.