He stared at me for a moment, his brows furrowed in what looked like genuine perplexity. "When did your husband tell you this?"
"Six months after we left England."
It was in the wake of the Hong Kong policeman debacle. Sam had drowned himself in whisky while stomping about the room, lecturing me on my behavior. Most of it-the issue of how my "madness" was affecting his career and social life-washed over me. Some of it did not, particularly when he started to feel sorry for himself at three o'clock in the morning. He was missing England ... and it was my fault. What the hell had induced me to go spouting off to the police about murder...? He could hardly switch horses midstream ... not when poor old Jock was caught between a rock and a hard place. Half the bloody road had seen the stupid woman roaring around like a bear with a sore head. All he did was agree with them ...
I fancied I could hear Drury's brain whirring.
"You told me your husband was lying as soon as I read his statement to you. How could you know that if he didn't admit it until six months later?"
"There were no beer cans in the rubbish bin," I said.
Danny took a swig of Radley's draught lager and eyed Sam suspiciously across the table as he wiped the froth from his lips. "How come you didn't recognize Mr. Drury when your missus brought you here the other day?" he demanded. "I haven't seen him in years but he hasn't changed that much."
Sam went on the defensive immediately. "I only met him a couple of times. As far as I remember, I was more interested in what he was saying than what he looked like."
"Sam's not very good with faces," I offered by way of mitigation.
Danny ignored me. "How about when you made your statement? He must have interviewed you first. Didn't you look at him then?"
"It wasn't Drury who took it. It was a constable. And, no, I was never interviewed ... just asked to write out where I was and what I was doing." He raised his eyes briefly to mine. "The statement ended my involvement. I wasn't even required to appear at the inquest."
Danny was unimpressed. "Yeah, but you don't walk away when your family's in trouble," he said. "You should have insisted on being there whenever your missus was questioned. Christ! I wouldn't let my lady go through Drury's wringer on her own."
Sam cupped his own glass in his hands but made no move to drink from it. "You're describing a different scenario. My wife wasn't facing charges, she was the one who was asking for charges to be brought."
"I don't blame her. That poor black lady looks as though she had the shit beaten out of her. It doesn't make any difference anyway. Your wife is family. You should have been there for her. That's the way it works."
Sam buried his face in his hands, and I had to harden my heart to his pain because there was no avoiding the issue that my husband was part of the problem ... not part of the solution...
"It wasn't that simple," he muttered wretchedly.
"Sure it was," said Danny scathingly. "Trust me. I know this stuff backward. Families pull together ... rats jump ship."
Letter from Danny's mother, Maureen Slater, dated 1999
32 Graham Road
Richmond
2 August
Dear Mrs. Ranelagh,
The reason I'm agreeing to see you is because Danny likes you and you did a kind thing for Alan all those years ago when you caught him thieving off of you. He's a fine man now-married with kiddies-and I think you'll be glad you gave him a second chance. Also I appreciated you visiting me in hospital that time. I know I told you I'd fallen down the stairs, but I think you guessed it was Derek who gave me the injuries.
You say a lot's changed since 1978 and that's true. There's hardly anybody left who remembers Annie. I still don't think she was murdered, but like you say there's probably no harm talking about it now. Derek walked out on me twenty years ago and I haven't seen him since.
Around midday next Monday will be fine.
Yours,
Maureen Slater
Letter to Sergeant James Drury-dated 1999
LEAVENHAM FARM, LEAVENHAM, NR DORCHESTER, DORSET DT2 XXY
Thursday, August 5, 1999
Dear Mr. Drury,
Following our conversation yesterday, I enclose a copy of a letter I received in 1985 from a colleague of Dr. Benjamin Hanley. the pathologist who performed the postmortem on Ann Butts. In view of your confidence in Dr. Hanley's findings, you may find it interesting reading. The colleague's name was Dr. Anthony Deverill and he worked with Benjamin Hanley from 1979 until Hanley's compulsory retirement on medical grounds in 1982.
Yours sincerely,
M. Ranelagh
PS: Following the investigations referred to in (3) of Anthony Deverill's letter, both cases (believed at the time to be murders) were referred back to the Court of Appeal and the convictions against two innocent men were overturned. The evidence provided by Dr. Hanley was deemed "unsafe" and the deaths of the alleged "victims" were subsequently ruled to have occurred from "natural causes."
PPS: I have several sets of the postmortem photographs.
DR. ANTHONY DEVERILL, MRCPATH, 25
AVENUE ROAD, CHISWICK, LONDON W4
Mrs. M. Ranelagh
P.O. Box 103
Langley
Sydney
Australia
February 6, 1985
Dear Mrs. Ranelagh,
Thank you for your letter of January 10, together with the enclosed postmortem photographs of Miss Ann Butts and the written report from Professor James Webber. As you so rightly say, I have met Professor Webber on several occasions and have a high regard for his judgment. Indeed, after studying the photographs myself, I have no reason to disagree with his detailed assessment that Miss Butts received the injuries to her face and arm some hours before her death.
Your specific request was for information on my predecessor Dr. Benjamin Hanley, who conducted the postmortem in November '78. You say that both you and your father made unsuccessful attempts to contact him over the years, and that the only response either of you had was when his secretary admitted to your father over the telephone in 1982 that the file relating to Miss Butts's postmortem was "missing." Unfortunately, a search of the archive files appears to confirm this last statement, as the only evidence that Dr. Hanley conducted a postmortem on Miss Butts is an entry beside his name on the work schedule for 15.11.78-"10:30 a.m. Butts. RTA. Report requested by PS Drury, Richmond."
You may be interested to learn that Miss Butts's file is not the only one we have been unable to locate. Of the 103 entries against Dr. Hanley's name on the '78, '79 and '81 rosters, nine are currently "missing." Re your specific inquiries:
1. As you already know, Dr. Hanley was compulsorily retired on medical grounds in 1982 and died of liver failure eighteen months later. However, the compulsory element to his retirement related to a deterioration in his work and performance over a twelve-month period and not to a diagnosed medical condition since he refused to consult a doctor. This is not unusual among pathologists who deal with death every day and can forecast their own prognoses. In simple terms. Dr. Hanley was a chronic alcoholic who be came increasingly incapable of doing the job assigned to him. The "medical" tag was attached to the retirement order to allow him to keep his pension, but the cirrhosis that killed him was not discovered until shortly before his death when he was admitted to hospital. These facts are a matter of public record, and I betray no confidences by passing them on to you.