As Sarah dug into his affairs, she always met with a barrier. It was Richie who had helped her unearth evidence over the last four weeks and gained access to computer files which screamed the disturbing truth. He also accessed the phone number of a woman who knew the story first-hand. John’s ex-wife, Mandy. She may have moved halfway across the world, but she took Richie’s call with the steady acceptance of a woman who had been expecting it all along.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to do this at home?’ Richie said, handing Sarah Mandy’s phone number. But Sarah was ready. ‘I want him to hear it,’ Sarah said. She needed the words to reach the recesses of John’s mind. He’d had a long and successful life, but he could take what he had done into the next world. She wasn’t letting him off the hook now. Given what Richie had told her, Mandy was ready to confess all. Sarah dialled the number.
Mandy’s responses were hesitant, her voice thick with shame. But with a little encouragement from Sarah, she seemed grateful to get it off her chest. ‘I’d always had my suspicions,’ she said. ‘I knew John, and I knew what he was capable of.’
‘Then you should have reported it.’ Sarah was unable to keep the bitterness from her voice as she took the call on speakerphone.
‘I did, anonymously,’ Mandy replied. ‘But nobody listened. It was hard. I was a lot younger than John and completely out of my depth. He was a monster. I had to get away.’
Sarah’s anger ebbed away. She knew what it was like to be blamed for your husband’s wrongdoings. To be filled with repulsion. To have a voice that nobody wanted to hear.
‘The police were under pressure for a quick conclusion. The councillors, townspeople and businessmen were desperate to put it to bed. Nobody wanted to think they were living where evil was roaming free.’
‘I know about the development,’ Sarah said. That much, she had found out on her own. ‘John wanted my grandparents to sell the land to the Irving family.’
‘That’s right, but your grandfather wouldn’t have it. I remember how angry John was, saying his father was going to outlive them all. John was desperate for money. He was in a lot of debt. He was flash. He couldn’t bear to go broke.’ A long sigh ruffled the line. ‘To begin with, I understood. Your mum and grandmother wanted to sell it too. But your grandad wouldn’t listen, and your father said he’d support him, no matter what.’
Sarah nodded. ‘And that didn’t go down well with John.’
‘No. He couldn’t understand why his father wanted to keep the place on. But it had been in the family for generations. It clearly meant a lot to him and he was trying to turn it into something good. He told John that he was going to change his will and leave your dad the lot.’
‘I didn’t know that,’ Sarah said, sorrowfully.
‘Not only that, but one day your father would pass it to Robin, and it would stay in the Middleton family. John didn’t have children. Your grandad knew he’d sell the land off.’
Sarah exchanged a look with Richie. As they sat, side by side, he gave her a reassuring smile. Their friendship had blossomed in the last few weeks. He had been a rock to her. ‘All this time, I thought my parents were on the brink of divorce. When Granny said John was there to mediate …’
‘The only person John was interested in was himself. Your parents were close. Nothing would have parted them. They were a force to be reckoned with.’
‘And John? What was he like at home? Did he say anything?’
Mandy’s reply was instant. ‘He was furious, because the developers gave him a deadline and time was running out. Then a calm settled over him. I asked if he’d made a deal and he said no, but everything was going to be OK. I couldn’t see how, with the amount of debt he’d told me we were in. It was over half a million pounds.’
‘I don’t understand why this wasn’t taken into account by the police.’
‘Because some mystery investor cleared his debtbeforeyour parents died. There goes his motivation. John never said anything, but I think it was Eric Irving.’
Sarah nodded at the revelation. Eric Irving was Simon Irving’s father. Three times as rich and doubly ruthless, from what she’d heard. ‘So the investor could have known about what John planned to do.’
‘I honestly believe he did. But Eric Irving was very influential. He had a lot of power over this town. He donated money to the schools, churches, even gave a chunk of money towards refurbishing the police station. He had fingers in lots of pies.’
Like father like son,Sarah thought with disgust as Mandy relayed a long-buried truth.
‘I remember John being agitated on Halloween night. He said he was going to have it out with his father, make one last effort to change his mind. He said if he could get your dad on side, then they could persuade their father to let Blackhall Manor go and everything would be alright.’
Sarah sighed. How different things could have been.
‘That night he came home, he said he’d done everything he could. Again, he was calm. I thought maybe he was turning a corner. It was only later, when I heard about his debts being paid off, that I realised for him there was no turning back. The men he owed money to weren’t going to be understanding.’
‘My mother called my father’s name that night,’ Sarah said, moving on the narrative. She didn’t want to hear about John’s motivations because nothing could excuse what he did. ‘At first, I thought she was shoutingatmy dad. But it was only when I went back there that I realised she was callingforhim, nottohim.’ Sarah paused for breath. ‘“Not my little girl,” she said.’ An ache rose in her chest as she recalled that night. ‘When Mum said, “He’s got a gun,” she was talking about Uncle John. Then later, when I was in the wardrobe, I presumed Dad was calling my name. His voice sounded different, but I was so panicked, I couldn’t think straight.’
Mandy cleared her throat. ‘He’s a monster. To do such a thing. I had been afraid of him for a long time by that point, but to kill innocent children in cold blood …’ Her words faded as she caught her breath.
‘I think John hid in the crawlspace, then shot your father and hid his body until it was time to stage his death. He knew that house better than anyone. Your grandad was always telling him to stay out of the walls.’
Given what they knew about the silencer, her theory held.
‘I remember the funeral,’ Sarah said. ‘John couldn’t look me in the eye. I thought it was grief. But later I came to think he was worried about being found out.’ She gave Richie a sideways glance. He was staring at John, his jaw tensed.
