Cold Justice (Willis/Carter #4)(53)

Unable to sleep, she went downstairs and stood looking over the veranda and out down to the sea. The moon was bringing light onto the common and the gorse bushes and trees shimmered with frost. There was a mist rising from the ground forming a shroud across the common.





Chapter 23


Thursday 6 February

Willis rang Raymonds’ doorbell at ten past ten. Carter was at her side. Raymonds looked almost amused at seeing the officers on his doorstep. He didn’t move to allow them to come in.

‘We need to ask you about a few things,’ Carter said. Raymonds’ eyes went back towards Carter.

‘Now?’

‘Yes, if it’s convenient?’

‘I was just helping my wife – she has Parkinson’s. Some days it gets her worse than others. Today is an “I can’t dress myself” day.’

‘We will be happy to wait while you see to your wife,’ said Willis.

‘How kind.’ He had a curious look of disdain on his face, as if he were enjoying some joke and just letting it play out. He showed them straight into the front room again and sat in the same chair as last time.

‘While I see to my wife should I call my lawyer?’ He smiled.

‘Not unless you think you need one,’ Carter answered.

‘Two visits from the Met in as many days – I’m either honoured or I’m in trouble.’

‘We just need to ask you about Kensa Cooper.’

‘Kensa?’

Eileen called and Raymonds excused himself. Ten minutes later he was back.

‘Where were we? Ah yes, you wanted to talk to me about Kensa?’

‘We met her last night – she was hanging about Kellis House.’

Raymonds opened his eyes wide, but even allowing for the theatrics Willis could see the heat was coming to his face. A small strand of his immaculately smoothed black hair had fallen over his forehead; he reached a slow hand up to his face and flicked it back.

‘She used to do a bit of cleaning for Mr Forbes-Wright. I expect she was just curious. She’s harmless.’

‘But, this was the woman you talked about being associated with Toby Forbes-Wright?’ asked Carter.

‘Did Kensa tell you that?’

‘No, she just said she and him were sweethearts. I figured it out.’

He grinned at Willis. ‘I mean, are we going to talk about things off the record?’

Carter looked across at Willis, who had her notebook perched on her lap. She gave a reluctant nod and closed it.

‘She needs some help,’ said Willis. ‘She really shouldn’t be left to fend for herself in a caravan in a field. Why isn’t someone caring for her?’

‘Now, now, that’s an odd thing to say.’ Raymonds looked at Carter as he pretended to try and understand what was meant. ‘It’s hard for foreigners to understand, but she chooses to live up there in that field. She came from gypsy folk and she always had it in her blood. She has friends in the village – Mawgan Stokes looks out for her. Plus she makes a living from looking after the site.’

‘But she has mental health issues,’ said Willis.

‘She turns them on and off, depends on how much weed she’s smoking at the time. Some days you see her and she’s perfectly normal; others, she’s barking.’

‘She says she’s seen Samuel in her dreams,’ Carter said.

‘Hallucinations, those will be. I’m guessing you looked to see if he was hidden in or around the caravan and he wasn’t.’

‘We looked. I’ve ordered a bigger search done of all the vans up there.’

‘Of course – you get on with whatever it is you think you’re doing.’

‘Kensa didn’t talk about being assaulted by Toby,’ said Willis.

‘Didn’t she?’

‘So, Toby was never questioned by you.’

‘We had no need to question him when all the evidence spoke for itself, and I didn’t want Kensa upset any more than she had been. It was all a storm in a teacup in the end.’

‘If she was only fourteen, isn’t that something you would have investigated? The rape of a minor?’ asked Carter.

‘By another minor?’ Raymonds tutted, shook his head. His eyes narrowed in on Carter. Willis stared hard at him. He had learned from the best when it came to staying calm under pressure. She could imagine Raymonds had had a formidable interviewing technique. ‘What would have been the point? Things happen at beach parties; no one to blame. This is all getting a little too farcical. You come down here looking for a missing child and end up trying to solve an old rape case that never happened.’

‘You said it did. You made it out to be a big deal at the bar last night. Toby was a nasty piece of work, you said. But now you’re playing it down.’

‘I don’t want you to get distracted. There were no charges brought. Forget about it.’

‘Yeah – I can understand what you’re saying, but it’s apparent to me that the truth never came out that night. Is the truth coming out now?’ asked Carter.

Willis felt Carter getting angry as she sat beside him.

‘The missing boy is nothing to do with us.’ Raymonds lifted his chin and stared at Carter, unblinking.

‘But Jeremy Forbes-Wright was; and this is his grandson we’re talking about. The day Kensa was attacked a deal was done with Jeremy Forbes-Wright and I want to know what that deal was.’