‘I was about to raise it at the meeting with Barnes when PC Rogers walked in. I should have said something earlier, but I had no evidence to support my suspicions.’
‘I want to hear everything, chapter and verse. And don’t try and wheedle your way out!’ Stanley said angrily.
Jane told him about the first time she and Boon met Thomas Durham and Lee Holland, their strange behaviour, their lies about knowing each other and the argument she believed they had the morning she and Boon went to the site to arrest Barry May.
‘If Nick Durham and Barry May told you Thomas Durham and Lee Holland were long-standing friends, it must have been blatantly obvious they were hiding something from you. Why didn’t you interview them?’ Stanley demanded.
‘At first I thought they were concerned about the discovery of the coffin. I even wondered if they were involved in moving it.’
‘Then why didn’t you bloody well say something?’
‘It seemed absurd to me that they would bury a coffin on land they intended to develop. And even if they had, surely they would have moved it before the digging work began,’ Jane said defensively.
‘Which also suggests Becky Rogers might have been right, and she’s not even a bloody detective!’
‘I was also made aware that Thomas Durham suffers from a heart condition and wasn’t supposed to get involved in any of the new development work. I thought he and Holland might be acting strangely because they didn’t want Nick Durham to know his father was distressed about the discovery of the coffin.’
‘What fucking planet are you on, Jane? If Durham was upset about the coffin, he must have been apoplectic when he read Becky’s article in the News Shopper.’
‘When I met Thomas Durham, he didn’t seem that perturbed about it. He accepted we had a job to do, and the site would have to remain closed.’
‘Be honest, he didn’t have much choice, did he!’
‘I know, but...’
Stanley raised his hand. ‘Hang on a minute... when did you meet Thomas Durham?’
‘I went to his house at the weekend. He lives in the convent chapel.’
‘Were you there on official business or pleasure?’
‘A bit of both, I suppose,’ she said uncomfortably. ‘Nick Durham showed me round the old chapel and crypt. Thomas came in while I was there. He said there were no coffins in the crypt when he moved in. I didn’t have any reason to doubt him after confirming the chapel and land had been deconsecrated.’
Stanley looked squarely at Jane. ‘What is it with you and Nick Durham?’
Jane looked him in the eye. ‘I’m seeing him... we’ve been out to dinner. It’s nothing serious yet, but—’
‘Jesus Christ, this just gets better and better. And there was me thinking it was the priest who was shagging you!’
‘That’s uncalled for!’ she snapped back.
‘If Barnes was still here, you would be out the door with his boot up your backside.’
‘Why? I haven’t revealed anything about our investigation to Nick or Thomas Durham,’ Jane argued.
‘You can’t see the wood for the trees, can you? You seem to forget Becky Rogers is obsessed with Melissa Bailey’s murder. She told her colleagues she was going out to follow up on a lead and has vanished off the face of the Earth. Her notes clearly show an interest in Bishop Meade and Thomas Durham. We know Meade refused to speak to Becky, so where in that detective’s head of yours do you think she might have gone?’ Stanley asked scornfully.
Jane closed her eyes and sighed as the realisation hit her. ‘To speak to Thomas Durham.’
‘Exactly! The Durhams stand to lose everything because of Becky’s article. No one in their right mind would want to buy a property where they thought murdered children might be buried. How would you feel if a young journalist who just lost you millions of pounds turned up on your doorstep asking questions?’
‘I’d be upset, but it doesn’t mean I’d kill them,’ Jane replied.
‘We both know it doesn’t take a lot to send people over the edge and lash out. One punch, one stab and a life can be over.’
Jane knew she’d messed up and it was pointless arguing. ‘Are you going to interview Thomas Durham?’
‘You’ve met him on three occasions and been to his house. You’re best placed to search his premises, arrest and interview him... with Boon.’
Jane was stunned. ‘I don’t think that would be appropriate under the circumstances.’
‘If you don’t like it, then go back to the Bromley office and deal with the simple everyday crimes.’
‘Do you not think there’s a conflict of interest if I arrest Durham?’
‘No. Not now you’ve told me what you know. Unless, of course, you think your boyfriend Nick might be involved in Becky’s disappearance?’ Stanley said.
‘As far as I’m aware he was in his office all afternoon, then he spent the night at mine. I didn’t get the impression he’d just murdered or kidnapped anyone,’ Jane retorted.
‘We need to confirm his exact movements for the afternoon Becky went missing,’ Stanley said. ‘So I’ll interview him. Due to your unfortunate relationship with Nick Durham we need to do things by the book when we search his father’s place. I want you to type up a search warrant for Thomas Durham’s house. Get it signed by the on-call magistrate, then come straight back here. While you’re doing that I’ll get as many uniformed officers as I can to help you search the grounds. I also want inquiries made at every flat to see if anyone else saw Becky or her car.’
‘Should I get DS Johnson involved as well? He could look for any traces of blood or hairs matching Becky’s.’
Stanley nodded. ‘For what it’s worth, I hope we’re wrong — not just for Becky’s sake, but yours as well.’
There was a knock on the door and Boon entered holding some papers. He looked at Jane.
‘These were just faxed over from the diocesan archivist.’
She looked through them. ‘There’s a document headed “Durham Building Company Ltd”, giving a quote for repair work to the chapel roof. There’s also an invoice for the work done, both signed by Thomas Durham and dated a year before Melissa went missing. There are other quotes and invoices from the same company for repair work over a two-year period... again before Melissa went missing. There’s also a report on the fire damage and an estimated cost of repair to the buildings.’
‘Jesus Christ! If he did all this work on the convent back then and kept quiet about it, he’s also a potential suspect for Melissa’s murder!’ Stanley exclaimed.
Chapter Twenty-nine
The magistrate asked a few questions about the investigation, signed the warrant and Jane returned to the incident room shortly after the six o’clock news broadcast about Becky Rogers’ disappearance.
Once again the detectives were busy on the phones, gathering information from members of the public who had called in. Jane noticed Lloyd Johnson putting up some photographs of the foxglove seeds and silver birch slivers on the wall.
‘How’s it going?’ she asked him.
‘I was at the convent earlier with the fire investigator,’ he said. ‘You were right about it being arson. It’s bloody amazing what they can tell from burnt-out buildings, even years later. He could tell from the burn damage where it started and how it tracked from one building to the next.’
‘So where and how did it start?’ Jane asked.
‘In the bakery. The fire investigator examined a rusty old paraffin heater which was still in there. The screwcap on the oil container was missing and there were three separate seats of fire in the bakery. He reckons whoever committed the arson poured the oil out in three locations then set light to each one individually.’