Footsteps on the Shore (21 page)

‘Has he threatened to?’ Horton asked, curious. Walters had made no mention that Luke’s prison record had shown him to be depressed or suicidal.

Lena Lockhart sank heavily on to the chair opposite Horton and said wearily, ‘I thought I’d helped Luke to get over his depression.’

‘What was the cause of it?’

‘Prison, I would have thought, wouldn’t you?’ she replied tartly, her brown eyes flashing.

So she had a thing for Felton. And had Felton come here on his release? If he had he’d already moved on, because even though Horton couldn’t see into the bedroom his finely tuned ears and copper’s antennae didn’t detect anyone else being here except them.

Sternly he said, ‘He
was
convicted of murder.’

‘Yes, but he didn’t do it. He didn’t kill Natalie Raymonds.’

Horton smirked. ‘That’s what they all say.’ He wanted to provoke a reaction and he got one.

She jumped up, glaring at him. ‘And sometimes it happens to be true.’

‘How can he remember?’ Horton interrupted incredulously. ‘He was out of his mind on heroin.’

‘Yes. But under hypnosis he didn’t recall it at all.’

‘Surely the drugs would have obscured his memory?’

‘No,’ she declared emphatically.

Horton eyed her steadily for some seconds. She was adamant in her belief that Felton had been innocent. Was it just emotion talking? He had several unanswered questions about Natalie’s death himself; perhaps Lena Lockhart could help him get some answers.

‘Tell me,’ he said more gently, and genuinely interested.

She eyed him sceptically. He’d have to try a little harder to convince her. Leaning forward he said, ‘I know nothing about hypnotherapy, so treat me as a complete idiot. Explain to me how it helped Luke and why you believe he didn’t kill Natalie Raymonds.’

She hesitated for a moment, eyeing him warily, unsure whether to trust him. Then his sincere expression obviously made her decide she could. She resumed her seat, though she didn’t completely relax.

‘Hypnosis can help improve the psychological and physical well-being of an individual,’ she began a little warily. ‘In the case of drug addiction it can be used to help change a subject’s attitude and mental thought processes towards using drugs, reducing the urge to take them. Oh, I know it’s not been scientifically proven, but I’ve seen it work. And it worked with Luke.’

Suddenly he saw that their relationship went further back than the Isle of Wight prison and even Winchester. ‘Did you help Luke on his drug treatment programme before prison?’

She nodded. ‘After he was sentenced for the attack on an elderly lady, part of the condition of him being given a community sentence was that he underwent a drug treatment programme. I was living and working in Portsmouth then and I helped Luke handle his withdrawal symptoms. They were pretty severe. But Luke was determined to come off drugs and stay off. So I was surprised when I read that he’d been sentenced for killing that girl while on drugs. I contacted Winchester prison and offered to help him. He had just tried to kill himself so they were keen to invite me over. I knew the prison doctor, and he recommended that Luke be moved to the Isle of Wight where I could treat him.’

‘Go on,’ he encouraged when she stalled, wondering angrily why they’d only been given the edited highlights of Felton’s records and not the full story.

Leaning slightly forwards she said, ‘What I try to do is change an addict’s thought processes so that he or she doesn’t feel the urge to use substances any longer. Through hypnosis, I attempt to modify behaviour by increasing and heightening mental awareness so that the addict is more inclined to receive suggestions and ideas. But before that I need to get to the core of the subject’s inner feelings, especially about themselves, and try and understand why they resorted to taking drugs.’

‘And what did you discover about Luke?’ His genuine interest must have encouraged her because she seemed to forget about client confidentiality. Or was it because she believed Felton was dead? Horton wasn’t about to enlighten her.

‘Luke was a middle child, and we all know what that means. Middle child syndrome. The middle child in a family of three often feels that he or she doesn’t quite belong. He has to fight to receive attention from his parents. The first child always has a special place in its parent’s affections and gets heaps of attention, love and protection. The second child gets some love and attention, but not as intense as the first child and only until the new baby comes along, then the middle child is suddenly sidelined for a younger sibling. The middle child feels it’s being ignored and becomes insecure. It feels out of place and can become troublesome, or a loner, as in the case of Luke. His elder brother, Ashley, was charismatic, confident, an achiever, and his younger sister, Olivia, the much yearned for girl, spoilt, cosseted.’

And from what he’d seen of both Ashley and Olivia he thought that Lena Lockhart was correct in her assessment. Recalling Ashley Felton’s luxury apartment facing the harbour, Horton said, ‘Luke’s brother seems to have done very well for himself. He runs a recruitment company.’

‘I know, and according to Luke, Ashley was the apple of his parents’ eye. Good at sports, likeable, popular, and clever without even trying.’

Horton wondered if Cantelli had managed to ask Charlotte about the Feltons. He’d not mentioned it, so Horton guessed not.

Lena Lockhart was saying, ‘Luke was always urged by his parents to be more like his brother. He slogged for his A levels and got brilliant results, but at a cost – his health and nerves. And when he won a place at Oxford he thought his parents would be over the moon. Ashley had gone to university too but not Oxford, and he’d come out with a first-class honours in business studies. So Luke felt he had to match that. But Luke was reading history. His father, an accountant, couldn’t really see the point of it and told him so, and his mother kept saying how well Ashley was doing working for a blue-chip company as a management consultant at that time. Whether this was as bad as Luke portrayed I don’t know but it’s what he
felt.
Olivia, four years younger, was attractive, cooperative, enchanting and a budding actress.’

Horton’s ears pricked up. He recalled his first meeting with Olivia Danbury and her vehement declarations that she had not seen Luke and never wanted to see him. At the time he’d thought her emotions were genuine unless she was a good actress; perhaps the latter was the case.

‘Did she go to drama school?’ he asked.

‘Yes. She graduated in June 1997 and married Neil Danbury in September the same year, a week after Luke was arrested for the murder of Natalie Raymonds. Olivia blamed Luke for ruining her wedding and wrecking her career.’

‘I can understand her feelings about the wedding, but how could it have wrecked her acting career?’ Horton asked curiously.

‘Luke says she lost confidence. I guess she didn’t want the fact that her brother was a murderer dragged up every time she got a review.’

And the media would drag it up, thought Horton. It was the kind of juicy titbit the public loved. Some actors or actresses wouldn’t have minded, perhaps even used it as a lever to propel themselves further into the limelight: the ‘look at tragic me’ and ‘how I’ve overcome the shame of my family’. It would make good Sunday newspaper reading. But Olivia Danbury was obviously different.

Lena said, ‘Perhaps she found being Mrs Danbury was a more lucrative and satisfying role. Neil Danbury’s done very well for himself. He took over Luke’s father’s firm when he died while Luke was in prison. Luke didn’t go to either of his parents’ funerals, though he would have been given permission to attend with a guard. He said he wouldn’t have been welcomed, and he didn’t want to bring more shame on his brother and sister.’

All this was useful background, but it didn’t help him find Luke Felton. ‘So Luke cracked up.’

‘Yes. Once at Oxford the pressure really hit him. He never saw himself as clever and he found it difficult to fit in and to have relationships. He was the lump, the odd one out, the awkward one. And the more he was told that the more he became it, withdrawn, quiet, introverted.’

Her words stabbed a painful memory in Horton of a particularly nasty piece of work he’d met when he’d been in the children’s home. A thin crow of a woman had delighted in telling him that his mother had walked out on him because he was useless, rebellious, no good, and a lot worse. It had taken months of patient confidence-building by his last foster parents to help him deal with the mental cruelty, but nothing could ever erase it. He gladly brought his mind back to Lena Lockhart as she continued.

‘Luke felt that nothing he did could ever please his parents, and with his inability to stay focused he drifted from one thing to another until he started taking drugs. I believe it was to get attention. Drugs were a cry for help. But it didn’t get him the help, or the understanding and sympathy he craved. Instead he got told how much more worthless he was than his brother and sister, so he slipped into deeper addiction and got into more trouble until the attack on that pensioner.’

She leant forward, her expression keen. Horton could see her enthusiasm for what she did shining through. Or was that enthusiasm for one particular client, he wondered cynically.

She said, ‘Luke was truly horrified at what he’d done and had a genuine desire to kick the habit and start afresh. And that’s why I knew hypnosis would work. A hypnotist can help the client to get a control over his life in many ways.’

‘But it didn’t work,’ said Horton bluntly. ‘Luke reoffended two years later, only this time a young woman lost her life at his hand.’

She sat back with a sigh and pushed a hand through her long hair. ‘I know, but I’m convinced Luke didn’t kill her. And now he’s . . .’ She rose and crossed to the window.

He should tell her. But how did he know that Luke Felton wasn’t dead?

After a moment she turned back. Horton could see the sorrow etched on her face. He felt a bit of a heel, but if it helped him get closer to finding Luke then he’d cope with it.

She continued. ‘When I met Luke for the second time here on the Isle of Wight he was distraught at what he’d done, even though he couldn’t remember a single thing about it. So we started again.’

Horton heard the train clattering past. He studied her, wondering how close she had got to Luke Felton emotionally and physically since he’d been released from prison. As he witnessed the sadness in her eyes he thought it was time to tell her. But first one more question.

‘What was Luke’s temperament like? When he didn’t get his way, did he sulk or fly off the handle? Was he moody?’

‘He was moody but not violent. His moods were caused by his remorse and his hatred and dread of being locked up. He wasn’t aggressive but he was angry with himself. I feel so bad about failing him.’

‘I’m not sure that Luke is dead.’

Her head came up. ‘But you said—’

‘He’s missing and could possibly be dead. I’m trying to find him.’

‘So that you can put him back in prison,’ she flashed.

‘He’s breached the terms of his licence.’

‘Yes, for a crime he didn’t commit.’

But Horton needed convincing of that.

‘Tell me why you believe he’s innocent.’

She looked as though she was about to clam up before she registered the manner and tone of his question. Taking a breath, and getting a grasp on her emotions, she said, ‘After a traumatic incident a subject under hypnosis may be able to recall with complete accuracy details that their subconscious mind has remembered but their conscious mind has overlooked or blotted out. I hoped that when fully aware again, Luke might be able to recall everything that he said while he was in the trance. But Luke’s trances were so deep that he had difficulty remembering what he’d said during them. So I recorded them—’

‘Have you still got the recordings?’ Horton interrupted eagerly.

‘Yes, but they’re confidential.’

‘Not if it will help me to understand him.’

She eyed him sceptically. ‘But why do you need to understand him? Especially now he’s broken the terms of his licence.’

She was testing him. Horton understood that. He said, ‘Because I’d like to know if he really did kill Natalie Raymonds.’

‘You’re doubtful. You think he might have been innocent,’ she cried, almost jubilant.

‘I didn’t say that.’

She sprang up and began to pace the small lounge. ‘If I could prove that Luke didn’t kill Natalie . . .’

‘Why should you want to?’ Horton asked quietly.

Her eyes flashed at him, then she sighed and added in a more subdued manner, ‘Because he deserves it. He was tormented by the fact that he had killed her. I don’t believe he did. And I’ll tell you why, Inspector Horton, because when Luke was under a trance he never once mentioned seeing her, being with her, her name, where her body was found, nothing. He talked about darkness and water.’

Horton eyed her sceptically. ‘Maybe because he killed her in the dark. And he was certainly by the water.’ But sunset wasn’t until 7 p.m. in September and Luke had been seen by Bailey at 4 p.m. Could he have killed Natalie in daylight and then sat there drugged until dark? Possibly.

Lena said, ‘He also talked about a gate.’

‘There are plenty of gates in the countryside.’ And one Horton had seen near that copse where Natalie’s body had been found. It meant nothing. He needed more convincing than this.

She drew herself up and said, ‘Luke wasn’t alone. When he came out of the trance he couldn’t recall anyone, but under hypnosis he kept saying, he, water, gate, dark. I can see that you don’t believe me but you will. The tapes are in my office in Ryde,’ she declared belligerently.

‘OK. Let’s get them.’ He rose.

Eyeing his motorbike clothes, she added, ‘I’ll meet you there.’ She gave him the address.