Jane swung her feet out of bed and perched on the edge. ‘My God, the two of them were involved in Becky’s murder.’
‘It looks that way. Durham might have committed the murder and got Holland to help him clear up the mess.’
‘What’s Holland’s previous?’ Jane asked.
‘He’s got a conviction for Actual Bodily Harm in 1972. He broke a bloke’s nose after he drove into the back of Holland’s car.’
‘Can you ring Stanley while I get dressed. Tell him I’ll be in the incident room in half an hour.’
Stanley, Jane and Boon parked up a street away from Lee Holland’s house, along with four uniformed officers in a marked police van. Stanley told two of the officers to cover the back of the premises and two to join him.
‘Boony, you can have the pleasure of nicking Holland,’ Stanley told him.
‘Thanks, guv,’ Boon said.
‘How is your leg this morning?’ Jane asked.
‘Still sore, but it hasn’t affected my ability to kick a door in if I have to,’ Boon said.
‘Good, because I don’t intend to announce our arrival,’ Stanley said.
Once the uniformed officers radioed that they were around the back, Boon ran at the door, jumped in the air and kicked it open. Lee Holland was in the hallway tying a luggage label to a large suitcase. He casually slipped the tag into his jacket pocket.
‘Going anywhere nice, Lee?’ Stanley asked him.
‘No. I’m taking a load of old clothes to the charity shop,’ Lee said nervously.
‘Bit early for that, isn’t it?’ Stanley remarked. He nodded to Boon.
‘Lee Holland, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Rebecca Rogers. You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, but what you say may be given in evidence,’ Boon said as he handcuffed Lee.
‘I swear I didn’t kill her. It was an accident,’ Lee said.
‘Is your wife upstairs?’ Stanley asked.
‘I’m single,’ he said.
They took him through to the living room and made him sit in an armchair. Stanley said he wanted a word with Jane and Boon and they all went into the hallway.
‘It’s better you interview him here, Jane, if he’s willing to talk, which it appears he is. If we take him back to the station and he requests a solicitor, we could end up with a no-comment interview. Boony, make sure you write every question and answer in your pocketbook. Get him to sign every page if he confesses. I’ll tell the uniformed officers they can go. I’ll search the house.’
Jane and Boon returned to the living room.
‘Would you like a drink, Lee?’ Jane asked him.
‘Could I have a glass of water, please?’ he sniffed.
Boon went to the kitchen and got Lee a glass of water.
‘We need to keep you here while we search the house. Are you willing to answer some questions without a solicitor?’
‘OK. Can I have a tissue, please. There’s some in a box over there.’
Boon handed him the box and Jane said it was OK to undo the handcuffs as she wanted him to be more at ease. She doubted he’d try and escape as he’d be no match for Boon. Lee blew his nose and wiped the tears from his eyes.
‘I’d like you to tell me what happened to Becky and who else was involved in her death,’ Jane said.
‘It was only me. Tom had nothing to do with it.’
‘I take it Tom is Thomas Durham?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Were you at Tom’s house on Tuesday afternoon?’
‘Yes. I was fixing the wall in his wine cellar.’
‘Where was Tom?’
‘He got fed up with the banging as I knocked some of the bricks out. He said he was going to Nick’s house for some peace and quiet and took Bella with him.’
‘Is that the truth or are you just trying to protect Tom?’
‘I swear it’s the truth.’
‘Tell me about Becky Rogers.’
‘I was in the kitchen making a coffee when I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and this young girl was there. I said, “Can I help you?” and she just walked in. I didn’t have clue who she was. At first, I thought she might be the daughter of one of the residents and wanted to speak with Tom. I asked her who she was. She said she was a reporter, her name was Becky and she’d like to speak to me about the sale of the convent and the coffin that was found on the building site.’
‘Did you know she was the reporter who wrote the article in the News Shopper about the discovery of the coffin?’
‘No. Tom told me about it, but I never read it. I told her I wasn’t Mr Durham, and he was out for the afternoon, but she didn’t believe me. She wagged her finger at me, then said, “Good try, Mr Durham, but I don’t give in that easily.” I told her again I wasn’t him, just a friend of his.’
‘What happened next?’ she asked.
‘She said she’d like to see the crypt because she thought that might be how the coffin was moved to the building site. I asked her to leave, or I’d call the police. She looked around the room and saw the stairwell, then just started towards it. I got annoyed and shouted at her to leave. She just ignored me. I shouted at her again, but she just wouldn’t listen. She was a couple of steps down when, when I... Oh God, please forgive me...’ Lee started to tremble, his breathing became erratic and he put his face in his hands.
Boon looked at Jane, worried that Lee was about to go the same way as Thomas Durham.
‘I know it’s hard for you, Lee, but I need you to tell us what happened,’ she said.
He blew his nose and looked at Jane. ‘I grabbed her coat... I was only going to escort her out of the house. She spun round and knocked my hand away... then she lost her balance. She started to fall backwards... it was like everything was in slow motion... there was a look of panic in her eyes... she was waving her arms around to try and stay up. I tried to grab her coat to stop her falling but I didn’t get a proper hold. She slipped away from me... the next thing I knew she was rolling over and over down the stairs. I froze in panic, then heard the thud as she landed at the bottom. I went down. She was just lying there... then I saw the blood trickling across the floor by her head. I knelt down and spoke to her, but she didn’t move or say anything. I knew then she was dead.’
Jane got him another glass of water and gave him time to compose himself before continuing. Lee’s account of what had happened was plausible but he could just as easily have lost his temper and pushed Becky down the stairs.
‘You said a minute ago you knew Becky was dead. How did you know that?’ Jane asked.
‘She wasn’t moving.’
‘Did you check if she had a pulse?’
‘No. I couldn’t bring myself to touch her at that point.’
‘What did you do when you thought Becky was dead?’ Jane asked.
‘I panicked. I thought I’d be blamed for what had happened. I was worried about Tom coming home and his heart condition if he saw a dead body in his house.’
‘What did you do with Becky’s body?’
‘Tom uses part of the crypt as a storeroom. I got an old suitcase from there and put her in it, then I put the suitcase in the boot of her car.’
‘How did you know which car was hers?’ Jane asked.
‘I took the key out of her coat pocket; it was on a key ring with a miniature 2CV on it.’
‘What did you do with her body and the car?’
‘I waited until it was dark and drove it down to the lake by the woods. I took the handbrake off and pushed the car down the slope into the water.’
‘I thought you were worried about Tom coming home.’
‘I was, but I phoned him at Nick’s. I said I’d nearly finished the wall and asked what time he’d be home. He said he was going to have some supper with Nick so he wouldn’t be back until late.’