‘Yes. I found white froth in her nose and airways, as well as water in her stomach, which is consistent with death by drowning.’
‘Would Holland have known she was alive after she fell down the stairs?’ Jane asked.
Sam shrugged. ‘It’s possible she was in a coma and he thought she was dead. If he’d checked for a pulse, she’d still have had one.’
‘He said he didn’t,’ Jane said.
‘The sad thing is, if he had — or had even bothered to call an ambulance — Becky might have survived, though she might have suffered brain damage.’
‘Then technically he’s guilty of gross negligence manslaughter by failing to render any form of first aid or call an ambulance,’ Jane suggested.
Before they left the mortuary, Stanley made a quick call to the office then spoke with Jane.
‘I just spoke to the duty sergeant. Thomas Durham is still unconscious. The doctor said he’s in a vegetative state and may have permanent brain damage. It’s too early to tell if he’ll recover or not. Nick is with him.’
‘I’d better go and see him. I’ll ask where his father was on Tuesday afternoon.’
‘I had Boon speak to him while we were at Becky’s post-mortem. I thought it would make things easier for you.’
‘Thanks. Was Thomas with Nick on Tuesday?’
‘Yes. He was in his office most of the afternoon. The receptionist confirmed it as well. Thomas left Nick’s house at about nine o’clock. He’s in the clear over Becky’s murder.’
‘What about the arson?’
‘Lee Holland will obviously be charged. If Thomas Durham makes a recovery he’ll be interviewed and charged as well,’ Stanley replied.
‘What about Malone?’
‘He told the commissioner he was shocked to discover she had been murdered.’
‘But he falsely signed a letter of dispensation when Melissa supposedly ran away.’
‘It’s not a criminal offence. Even if we told the Pope, nothing would happen to him. Besides, we won’t be allowed anywhere near Malone without the commissioner’s approval and that’s never going to happen. Are you going to tell Nick about Holland’s confessions?’
‘Not just now. He’s got enough to worry about as it is.’
‘Do you want me to wait for you?’ Stanley asked.
‘No, it’s OK. I’ll get a cab back to the office or see if a patrol car is free.’
‘Sorry it’s all ended up in such a mess for you,’ Stanley said.
‘So am I... but life goes on.’
‘That’s the Jane I know best,’ Stanley smiled.
Thomas Durham was still in intensive care. Jane didn’t want to go onto the ward in case there was a scene with Nick. She showed one of the nurses her warrant card and asked her just to tell Nick there was a detective outside who’d like to speak to him.
As soon as he saw her, Nick’s expression changed. He looked at her as if she was a piece of dirt.
‘What do you want?’
‘Can we go outside and talk in private, please?’ Jane asked, noticing a couple of nurses watching.
‘I don’t think we’ve got anything to talk about.’
Jane didn’t want to get into an argument. ‘Fine, I’ll go then.’ She started to walk away.
‘How could you think my father was involved in that girl’s disappearance?’ he asked angrily.
‘We had evidence she went to the convent and wanted to speak to your father. I couldn’t just ignore it.’
‘If you had bothered to speak to me, I could have told you where he was. But oh no, you were so hellbent on arresting him, it didn’t even cross your mind. You don’t care about me... you just used me because you wanted to know more about my father.’
‘That’s not true, Nick. I do care about you.’
‘Well, I don’t give a fuck about you! You are a devious bitch who can’t be trusted... just like my ex-wife. I never want to see you again,’ he said, raising his voice.
‘I’m genuinely sorry about your father, Nick.’
‘Sorry! You are responsible for the state he’s in. I’ll never forgive you for as long as I live!’ He turned and walked away.
As she stared out of the cab window, Jane knew there was no way back with Nick. In some ways she wondered if it was for the best, as he’d clearly not got over what his wife had done to him. She recalled his reaction to seeing Father Chris kiss her and suspected Nick had in fact been spying on her a few nights ago. It seemed that underneath his charming façade there lurked a jealous, possessive man who would question where she’d been every time she had to work late.
The cab dropped Jane off at the police station. As she walked through the reception-desk door, the duty sergeant handed her a small envelope with her name on it.
‘A member of the public dropped this off for you earlier. He said it was important and asked that I made sure you got it.’
‘Did he say who he was?’
‘His name was Chris. He said he was a friend of yours.’
Jane thanked the sergeant and tucked the letter in her pocket.
‘Is it OK if I have a quick word with Lee Holland? I just need to tell him we will be interviewing him later.’
‘No problem,’ the sergeant said. He unclipped the cell key from his belt and handed it to her. ‘I just gave him a copy of the Sun. There’s an article in it about Becky Rogers’ disappearance and a photo of her. I thought the evil bastard might like to read it.’
Holland was sitting in his cell looking sorry for himself. The newspaper had been screwed up and thrown on the floor.
‘Becky Rogers’ post-mortem has been completed. Are you still happy to be interviewed without a solicitor?’
‘I asked to speak to one earlier. He said I wasn’t to speak to you.’
‘That’s fine by me. Just so you know, Becky drowned. She was still alive when you put her in the lake.’
Lee looked stunned. ‘No... no... you’re lying. She was dead... she wasn’t moving.’
‘She was in a coma. There’s part of me that thinks you knew that, and having pushed her down the stairs you needed to finish her off by dumping her in the lake.’
Lee shook his head. ‘I honestly thought she was dead.’
‘If you’d bothered to check for a pulse, you’d have found one. Becky had a chance of surviving if you’d bothered to call an ambulance, but you didn’t. Your actions ultimately led to her death.’ Jane slammed the door shut as she left the cell. As she passed an empty interview room, she went in, sat at the desk, and opened Father Chris’s letter.
My dearest Jane,
I know you will keep what you are about to read to yourself. However, for reasons that will become obvious, please destroy this letter once you have read it.
As you know, Bishop Robert Meade asked me to take his confession on Tuesday afternoon. I want you to know, as God is my witness, I believe everything he told me to be the truth.
Robert and Sister Melissa fell in love and had a brief sexual relationship. He knew what they were doing was against their vows and feared, if caught, they would be excommunicated. He also thought the Mother Superior had become suspicious of them. For both their sakes, he decided to end the relationship and arranged to meet Melissa at midnight by the outbuildings tunnel to tell her.
As Robert waited, he heard the voices of women arguing in the crypt and wondered if Melissa had been caught trying to sneak out to meet him. As he walked towards the crypt, he heard a muffled voice shouting to be let out. He thought it sounded like Melissa and looked through the keyhole of the crypt door. He saw the Mother Superior and Sister Margaret, who was holding her cincture in her hand, leaning over a metal coffin trying to hold the lid down. Then a muffled voice shouted, ‘I am going to tell the bishop what you’ve done!’ The Mother Superior pushed Sister Margaret to one side and opened the coffin lid. Robert saw Melissa sit up as Mother Adele shouted, ‘No, you won’t!’ and stabbed her in the back of the neck with a small knife. Melissa screamed, her eyes closed, and she fell back in the coffin. Then Mother Adele closed the lid.