The Things You Didn't See(66)
‘Your freedom, Hector,’ Clive said. ‘If you were sleepwalking when you shot your wife, you can’t be held responsible. It’s non-insane automatism: you acted without conscious awareness.’
Holly watched this sink into the man’s understanding, saw his strong brow crease further under its weight. If no sleep disorder were found, any jury would be likely to convict him on the strength of his confession, in which case he’d be looking at a mandatory life sentence. Hector had a lot to lose, if he didn’t co-operate.
‘I can’t tell you anythin’. Only that Maya’s dead and it’s my fault.’ He hung his head, and the tears he didn’t shed seemed to be dammed up inside his hunched and shaking body.
A shiver of premonition went through Holly: he really did feel guilty.
Her question came unbidden. ‘How do you know you’re responsible?’
He looked at her with wild, angry eyes. ‘Because I woke to find Maya shot, with my gun at her side.’
‘And yet you let everyone believe Maya attempted suicide,’ Holly replied, thinking: everyone but me and Cassandra.
Hector slumped, as if all his weight were in his shoulders. ‘I should have confessed from the off, I see that now. We thought if it looked like attempted suicide, then no one would ask no more questions. Daniel said with his radio show, people knowin’ who he is and that, it was for the best. I suppose none of us was thinkin’ properly that mornin’.’
‘Wait,’ said Holly urgently, leaning forward. ‘You’re saying Daniel knew all along too? That he was at the farm that morning?’
Hector’s face paled. ‘You’re just here to observe, aren’t you? So why not keep your mouth shut. In fact,’ he said, turning to Clive, ‘I’ve changed my mind. I want her out of the room.’
Holly arrived home to find her flat cold and empty. She made herself a very large cup of coffee, cradling it for warmth while she studied the photos of her family on the fridge. So, Daniel was colluding with Hector all along. He’d known Maya hadn’t shot herself. But why lie, why go to such lengths to pretend it was attempted suicide if Hector had really been asleep? And Holly, along with the paramedics, had been at the farm just after the shooting. They’d entered as soon as the police had declared it safe, and there was no sign of Daniel. Why had he stayed away all that morning, only coming to the hospital hours later?
She sent Cass a text: I’m back from the prison, if you want to talk? Then she waited.
Sipping her coffee, Holly felt desperately sad. Maya’s death had brought it back to her, the fragility of life, and she wanted more than ever to be with people who loved her. She booted up her laptop, thinking she’d Skype her parents if they were awake. Then she saw that Jamie was online at last. When was the last time she’d spoken to him, without her parents being there? She couldn’t even think of a time: Christmas, summer vacation, it all revolved around mealtimes and her parents’ chatter. In truth, her brother was largely a two-dimensional presence in her life, and had been since that Halloween. She needed to talk to him about it, a conversation that was years overdue. She pressed ‘video call’ and listened to the sound of a non-connection, reaching across time zones and miles. Come on, Jamie, pick up.
He didn’t. So she typed a message in the vacant box below: We really need to talk about Innocence Farm. Google it, you’ll see why.
She was about to close down her laptop when she saw an email had just arrived from Clive. It read:
Holly,
In the car you shared with me your thoughts on the case, so now I’m sharing mine. Like I said, I’m no mind reader, but these are the facts as I understand them. You may also be interested in the case comparisons: they could be useful references for your assignment. I don’t think Hector is lying. And that’s what you really wanted to know, isn’t it?
Clive
There was a file attached, marked confidential. Holly clicked it open.
Preliminary notes on Hector Hawke.
Age: 62
Status: Currently remanded to HMP Norwich, hospital wing.
Background:
Hector Hawke was born in Kenley, Suffolk, and married into the family who owned the farmland there, taking it over when he was still in his early twenties. Innocence Farm predominantly rears chickens and pigs, sold exclusively to a high-end supermarket. There is also an area of woodland used for game shoots. He has had help managing the farm for a number of years from a local man, Ashley Cley.
Hector Hawke shows some reluctance to talk, although it must be noted that when I first met him, shortly after Maya Hawke was shot, he was in a state of shock. His recent arrest was as a direct result of Hector Hawke’s confession, and since his remand, Maya Hawke has sadly died.
He now states that on the morning of November 1st, he shot Maya Hawke, his wife. Although he has repeated this claim to me, he’s unwilling or unable to provide further details, saying he has no recollection of what happened. A point to note is that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) provokes memory loss, and this is a not uncommon result of witnessing violence, even for the perpetrator.
This is my first case of somnambular violence, but I have come across other sleep disorders during my 30 years of practice. Of all sleep disorders, sleepwalking is the least well researched as it does not have the same clear pattern that accompanies better understood sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea or narcolepsy, which can be more clearly identified during standard clinical sleep studies. I intend to conduct a sleep study (with EEG and overnight monitoring) on Hector Hawke at the Bartlet Hospital.