Concrete Evidence (32 page)

“I’m confused, Tod. You had his underwear in your collection.” Tod looked straight at her but again, his face showed no reaction. “You had his underwear and James Goodwin’s too.”

No reaction.

“If you didn’t meet them, how did you get their underwear, Tod?” He looked up for a second. “Explain it to me.”

Nothing.

“We searched the area in the photograph with dogs this morning and found the bodies of two young boys.” His face reddened slightly. His eyes darted to the picture momentarily. “We think the bodies belong to Simon Barton and James Goodwin and we think that you abducted and killed them.”

Silence.

“Are you insinuating that my client is involved in their murder or are you asking him if he is?” Graff cleared his throat and shifted his considerable bulk uncomfortably in his chair.

“Insinuating?” Annie frowned. She looked at Stirling. “No, I’m not insinuating. That would imply that I am not absolutely convinced that he is involved, which isn’t the case. We’re here to charge him.”

“I see,” Graff raised his eyebrows. A sheen of perspiration formed on his forehead. “That was unexpected.”

“You’re not surprised though are you, Tod?” Stirling prodded.

“Anything to say, Tod?” Tod’s eyes were blank like a shark’s. He looked at the book and the photograph and a tear leaked from the corner of his eye. The emotion took Annie by surprise; even Stirling looked surprised. He began to shiver and shake and saliva dribbled from his chin as he cried hysterically. Annie frowned at Stirling and they waited several minutes for his tears to subside.

“I’m sorry about those boys,” Tod said in a hoarse whisper. “I would never hurt a child.” He put his face in hands and sobbed uncontrollably. Annie looked at Stirling and frowned again. His reaction was completely unexpected. They allowed him some time to regain his composure. “I’ve never seen these boys in real life and I didn’t hurt them,” he sobbed. Tod looked at Annie, his eyes pleaded. “I am being set up, honestly. If that really is their underwear then it was planted in my file. Rob Derry is setting me up.”

“Why would he?”

“I don’t know for sure,” he shifted nervously. “How could I be sure?”

“But the rest of the collection in your file was yours wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So someone is going to a great deal of trouble to set you up and they killed those two little boys?”

“Yes.”

“How did they get Simon Barton’s library book into your mother’s house where your mother would find it?”

Tod looked thoughtful. His eyes were glued to the book. “I really don’t know. I have never seen it before today.”

“But your mother found it.”

“I don’t think she did. I had nothing to do with those boys so how could I have that book?”

“I don’t believe you and I don’t think your mother believed you either,” Annie sat back as she spoke. “I think she found it and realised that it had some significance and it pushed her over the edge.”

“Her death is obviously weighing heavily on you, Tod,” Stirling said. “Why don’t you get it all off your chest and tell us what happened?”

“Please believe me,” Tod pleaded with Stirling. “She didn’t kill herself and I didn’t kill those boys.”

“So you said.”

“She didn’t,” his voice was a whisper.

“Can you see what all the evidence says to us, Tod?”

“Yes.”

“Help me to help you. Tell the truth.”

Tod looked at Graff and then back to Annie. “I have told you what happened.” He shrugged. “I drugged the women and had sex with them but I didn’t kill them. I am innocent.”

“You’re deluded, Tod. You think that you’re innocent and that you had sex with them?” Stirling grumbled. “You raped them repeatedly.”

“Whatever. I didn’t kill them.” Tod shrugged and stared at the Polaroid.

“You raped them and then you tortured them and then you murdered them.” Stirling tapped on the desk with his knuckles. “You did the same with the boys.”

“No, I didn’t.” His lip trembled. “He’s setting me up and there’s nothing that I can say to make you see the truth. He’s planted everything that you need to pin the murders on me.” He looked from Annie to Stirling, his voice calm and cold. “I drug women and take them home for sex. You can think what you like about that but I didn’t kill anyone.”

“You told us that you raped the women and then you left.” Annie changed tack. Tod nodded. “Then Rob Derry stayed at the house, carved the women up, killed Jackie Webb, moved Jayne Windsor to the second scene and then killed her and removed her head and he did all of this on his own?”

“Yes.” Tod tilted his head slightly towards Stirling. There was a glint in his eyes that Annie couldn’t fathom. One minute he appeared almost dumb, the next there was an intelligent glimmer behind them. “He must have broken into my mum’s garage and the shed and planted all your evidence when I was in Benidorm. He’s very clever.” He eyed the detectives to gauge their reaction to his version of events. “You have to admire him, don’t you? He has got all of you fooled. Can’t you see that he’s setting me up?” 

“You’re trying to tell us that Derry planted your DNA, planted Simon’s library book in your home and then picked the locks on the garage and your shed to plant the other evidence?” Tod shrugged and nodded. “Is Rob Derry some kind of Ninja?” Stirling scoffed. “Explain how your thumbprint ended up on the mirror at the second scene if you were never there?”

“He planted it.” Tod shrugged. “I’ve seen that done on one of the Jason Bourne films. They set him up by planting his thumbprint.” He looked at Annie. “You know that it’s possible to do that kind of thing don’t you?”

“You’re not Jason Bourne, Tod and this isn’t Hollywood.” Annie said calmly. She placed her palms on the table and leaned forward. “We’re not buying any of this, Tod. There are two little boys that you left rotting on Crosby Beach and I need to tell their families how they ended up there,” Annie snapped. She took a breath and sat back. “Have a little respect for them.” She paused. “Do you want to tell me about what happened to the boys?”     

              Tod rolled his eyes to the ceiling and let out a long sigh. He clenched his teeth together. “Okay,” he grimaced. “Enough of the games. I can’t win anyway,” he smiled. “I did it,” Tod said hoarsely. “That’s what you want to hear isn’t it?”

              “Mr Harris,” Graff nearly choked the words. “I must insist that you take this seriously.”

              “I am serious,” Tod said flatly. “I did it.”

              Annie looked at Stirling and frowned. “You did what, Tod?” she asked. She leaned towards him. “What did you do?”

              “All of it and more,” he whispered. “I did it all by myself. I can’t help myself.”

              “Mr Harris, do not say anything more!”

              “I did all of it,” he said ignoring his brief. “I have no control over my urges. I’m sick and there is no cure. I’m a monster.” He squeezed his eyes closed tightly. Tears ran freely down his face and dripped from his chin. “I killed those women,” he swallowed hard. “And I killed those boys and buried them in the sand. I am guilty. I killed all of them.” He began to shake and his lips quivered. “You can see from the evidence that I’m guilty, can’t you?”

              “It is conclusive.”

              “There you go then,” Tod said quietly. “I can’t make you see that there are any other possibilities. I’m obviously guilty?”  

“You’re confessing?” Annie frowned.

“Yes, I did it all,” Tod shrugged.

“Mr Harris is clearly unhinged,” Graff protested. “I’m going to apply for a court order to have him examined.”

“I’m sick but I’m not unhinged,” Tod said. “I killed those boys and I killed those women.” He looked Annie squarely in the eyes.

“You did it?”

“Yes.” He shook his head and smiled. I also bombed the London underground in 2007, invaded Poland in 39, brought down both Malaysian airliners and invented the HIV virus.” He grinned like a lunatic. “Draw up a statement of any unsolved murders that you have on the books and I’ll sign it.” He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “Now if there’s anything else you want me to confess to, it will have to wait. I’m tired. I want to go back to my cell. Guards!”

“We need to clarify what you’ve just said,” she held up her hand to halt the prison guards. “Are you confessing, Tod or is this just another delaying tactic?”

“No,” he recanted and smiled. “I didn’t kill anyone. I’m just sick of listening to your bullshit, I’m sick of this idiot that is supposed to be defending me, I’m sick of your gorilla growling at me in fact I’m sick of it all,” he shrugged. “I am telling you that I didn’t kill anyone. He did it and he is setting me up.”

“Rob Derry is responsible for all this?” Annie sighed.

“R.O.B.D.E.R.R.Y, Rob Derry!” Tod shouted. “You’re not listening to me.” He turned to Graff. “I don’t feel well enough to talk anymore. Get them to take me back to my cell!”

“I need to ask you some more questions,” Annie tried to stop him. She placed pictures of Brian Taylor and Peter Barton onto the table. “Is one of these men Rob Derry?”

Tod’s eyes focused on the pictures. Annie saw something flicker in his eyes but she wasn’t sure what it was. He looked up at her and then looked back. He shook his head, a thin smile on his lips. “He killed my mum as a warning to me. I have other family. You don’t know who he is yet do you?” he stared at the pictures. “Both of those men are guilty of things far worse than I could ever do. Good luck working it out, Inspector because I’m not saying anything else,” Tod said flatly. “You want a confession?” he asked tight lipped. “Go and fuck yourself. I’ll never sign anything because I didn’t do it. You can do whatever you want to me but I’m innocent.” He turned to the prison officers who looked unsure what to do. “I feel unwell; take me back to my cell.”

“Fine,” Annie said annoyed. “Charge him,” she said to Stirling. Stirling began to charge him formally as the prison officers stepped forward and transferred his cuffs so that his arms were behind his back.

He glanced at Annie as they led him out his eyes dead and accusing. “He’ll come for you, Annie Jones,” he sneered. “He’s going to spend days on you,” he smiled crookedly and then began to sob like a child.              

                                                                 CHAPTER 36                           

              Gwen waited for the clock to tick onto four o’clock before she dialled, the eight hour time difference top of mind.

“Kowalski,” the American detective answered.                            

“It’s DC Evans speaking, we spoke about the registration plates,” she rambled as she introduced herself. “From the UK.”

“You didn’t need to tell me where you’re from I don’t get many callers with accents like yours,” he sounded amused. “I’m a detective you know, I would have worked it out eventually.”

“Sorry,” Gwen said embarrassed. “It’s been a long day already.”

“Please don’t be sorry,” Kowalski said politely. “Okay, you want an update, right?”

“Yes please.”

“We’ve been busy here so I hope you have a pen ready.”

“Of course I do,” Gwen said sifting through a raft of papers to find one. Her fingers clutched a silver Parker and she selected a sheet of A4 that didn’t have much written on it.

“You set?”

“I’m set,” Gwen smiled.

“Okay, CSI found blood trace inside both RV’s,” he sounded like he was reading. “We have blood trace in one, which is unusable and two blood types in the other vehicle. The killer cleaned up pretty good so some of the DNA is degraded so don’t hold your breath on getting anything solid from the blood.”

“When can we get the results?”

“We have a two month backlog for testing here.”

“Two months?”

“Two months for murder cases, nine months for rape kits,” he sounded proud of the delays. “Crazy shit isn’t it?”

“Crazy shit indeed,” Gwen shook her head. “I’ll never complain about our forensics again. So you can’t tell me anything for two months?”

“I didn’t say that,” he corrected her. “We got plenty to be looking at,” he laughed. “We lifted two partial prints from one of the RV’s and we got matches to both. It won’t mean anything to you but it gives us something to follow up on although I don’t hold out much hope of identifying any potential victims.”

“I don’t follow,” Gwen said.

“The prints matched to a Rosa Martinez and Maria Hernandez,” he explained. “Both women are in the system for solicitation and minor drugs charges.” He paused. “Now I don’t know how it works over there but here we process them and spit them back out as fast as we can. So we have files on them and not much more.”