HIDDEN SECRETS (22 page)

“You walked away Ben, not me.”

“I’m not prepared to discuss it again. I’ve lost both my daughters now; I can’t turn back the clock.”

“That’s a real shame Stanley,” Ben scowled.

“Do you think I’m invisible Ben, I’m sick of hearing about your bloody wife,” Kate spoke up.

“We all are,” Alex agreed.

“So Anne died in a car accident and Judy is now pretending to be her; is that right?” Kate turned her back on Ben, and spoke to Stanley.

“Yes, Anne was a passenger in a car that lost control on a bend, she was killed instantly. The driver received minor injuries, and was charged with causing death by dangerous driving,” Stanley explained.

“Why would Judy pretend to be her sister?” Kate asked.

“I’ll come to that later. After Claire’s death, Anne’s personality changed, she began to drink heavily and her marriage broke down. Gerry or Ben whatever you call yourself, walked away.”

“You’ve got no idea how difficult she was to live with. I nearly had a nervous breakdown. I had to leave because she didn’t want me there, she made that clear,” Ben protested.

“Oh shut up Ben,” Kate turned and glared at him

Totally ignoring his words, Stanley continued.

“I found out shortly after the marriage break-up that Anne had been seeing Judy. I don’t know how she found her, but they met up and Anne moved away with Helen. It didn’t take long for Judy to persuade her sister to join their radical animal rights group. Anne was a gentle girl and loved animals; it would have been easy to convince her. The last time I saw her I thought she was Judy, she’d cut and coloured her hair the same as her sister. She came to my showroom to tell me she was living with Judy and she was happy. I asked her to come home but she became angry and left; the next time I saw her she was lying in a mortuary.”

          Ben listened to Stanley and noticed how his expression softened whenever he spoke of his daughters. Perhaps his life would have been totally different if this man could have swallowed his pride and allowed his daughters to live their own lives, instead of using his dictating tactics to alienate his family. He was right about Anne though; she had been a gentle person when he was first married to her. She would have filled their home with stray cats and dogs if he had allowed her to.  He remembered the time when she had found a litter of kittens in their garden shed. Their mother had disappeared and Anne had bought them into the house and spent three weeks feeding and caring for them. When they were old enough to be weaned, he had insisted she find new homes for them. Anne cried for a week when they eventually had to go, even though they all went to good homes, she was heart-broken. How had that placid young woman turned into a murdering callous activist?”

“If you knew Anne was involved with such an extreme group, why didn’t you go to the police?” Pat asked looking up from his notebook.

“The police were well aware of their activities, but until they committed a criminal offence their hands were tied. Their actions weren’t extreme at this stage, but Toby was a very dangerous and manipulative person. He was, and still is capable of murder with no hesitation or a hint of a conscience,” he replied through tight lips.

“As I said earlier, I didn’t see either of them for years; I’d wiped my hands of them. They attended protest marches, and were arrested for throwing a brick through a car windscreen. The owner was a laboratory worker name Alan Firth; he bred animals for The Medicure Drugs Company, who were testing a new cancer drug on animals. I don’t remember the full details, but the police charged them with criminal damage. They were released after paying a fine. Not long after this incident the President of the same drugs company Doctor Andrew Lawrence-Hill disappeared. He was found three days later floating in a river. The police said his death was accidental; but I’ve always had my doubts. It wasn’t until six months later when another body was found, that the police became suspicious. He was a young chemist working at the same lab, I can’t re-call his name, but he was found strangled in his home.”

“How long ago was this?” Alex asked the question.

“Just before Anne died, and the odd thing is that until a few weeks ago, no more murders connected with animal testing occurred. Believe me Alex there will be more deaths,” he warned.

“The bomb that killed Charles and Tony was intended for me, I know that for a fact, but whether they’ll make another attempt, I don’t know.” Alex spoke up.

“They’ll assume you’re already dead until the police release the victim’s names,” Pat pointed out.

“It could have been intended for Charles, his wife was killed a few days previously, it could quite easily be an unrelated incident,” Inspector Salt pointed out.

“I don’t think so Inspector,” Pat shook his head.

“I hate to be rude, but I have to leave in twenty minutes,” Alex began to fidget.

“I’ll be as quick as I can,” Stanley assured him.

“Can I just ask one question?” Pat asked.

“Yes, what is it?” Stanley was annoyed at yet another interruption.

“You identified your daughter’s body after the car accident didn’t you?”

“Yes, why do ask?”

“I’ve seen the report on her injuries, and I’m sorry to be insensitive, but she received severe facial lacerations from shards of glass. How can you be certain it was Anne and not Judy who died?”

“Don’t be absurd man; do you think I don’t know my own daughters?” Stanley was offended by Pat’s remark.

“No he’s right. If her face was disfigured, and you said she’d altered her hair colour, how could you be certain of her identity? You said yourself when you last saw her you thought she was Judy,” Ben agreed with him.

A flicker of doubt flashed across Stanley’s face.

“I can’t have made a mistake, I can’t.”

“Who told you about the accident?” Pat continued to question him.

“Judy, she phoned me. I couldn’t understand what she was saying though, she was hysterical.”

“So Judy told you Anne was dead?  So when you went to the morgue it was already in your mind that it was her body you’d see? So when you saw her face you identified her? You didn’t really look that closely at her did you?” Pat chose his words carefully.

“I couldn’t look at her; her beautiful face was cut to pieces and there was dried blood in her hair. I could have made a mistake it’s possible,” he admitted, as tears of grief flowed.

“Let’s say that it was Judy who died in the accident, why would Anne lie? What had she got to gain?” Ben asked.

“It wasn’t an accident though, was it Stanley? Oh you made a mistake alright, you killed the wrong daughter didn’t you? It was Judy who came to see you that day at your showroom, not Anne. It was Judy who’d had a change of heart, she didn’t want any more to do with the group, they'd become too violent and radical. She found out that Anne was having an affair with Toby, didn’t she?” Pat revealed the truth.

“This can’t be true Stan. You wouldn’t kill your own daughter,” Alex was astounded.

“It’s all lies; nothing but lies,” Stanley protested his innocence.

“If you deliberately lied Sir, you could be charged with perverting the course of justice,” Inspector Salt spoke up.

Stanley’s expression was a combination of anxiety and fear, as beads of perspiration pricked his wrinkled brow.

“Just tell the truth Stan. You interfered with the brakes on Anne’s car. You thought she was driving the car that day; but Judy borrowed it didn’t she?” Pat was relentless.

“Judy was coming back to me after all those years apart. She’d finally realised what a big mistake she’d made. She said Toby was insane; he threatened to kill her if she left. He’d already killed two people, and he and Anne were planning to kill more. I really thought it was Anne who’d died.” 

She was the oldest and would have inherited all my wealth; I changed my will after Judy came to see me. I left everything to her,” Stanley confessed

“Anne knew what you were planning; that’s why she let her sister borrow the car that day,” Pat continued to press him for the truth.

“Toby followed her; she’d made the mistake of telling him what she intended to do. She was deeply hurt when she found out that he’d been sleeping with her sister. When Judy left, he came into the showroom and demanded to know what she’d said to me. I lost my temper and told him she was leaving him. He became extremely violent and grabbed me by the throat threatening to kill Judy. It wasn’t me who tampered with the brakes, it was Toby Lawrence. He and Anne killed Judy, and I was forced to identify her body as Anne’s because the police were closing in on their activities; and because Anne was livid when she found out I’d altered my will in Judy’s favour. I’m not going to let Anne have my business or anything else I’ve worked damned hard for. I started that business with one car; an MGB, I’ll never forget it. The registration was BMG 11H and it cost me £300 in 1970. I worked day and night until it was completely over-hauled; it was a beauty. I sold that car for £8,500 but not before I commissioned a photographer to capture the beauty of the machine in all its glory. That framed photograph still hangs in the very first showroom I opened. That’s how my empire began Inspector, and no murdering daughter of mine is going to take it from me,” Stanley fell silent.

CHAPTER 17.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

Simon Van de Feltz opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. Blurred images flashed in front of him. He could hear voices, but they were distorted and distant. Where was he? The last thing he could remember was riding his bike. He was on his way back to Exeter in an attempt to reconcile his differences with Alex.

Someone was approaching him now; someone dressed in white.

“How are you feeling Mr. Van de Feltz?” a man asked.

“I can’t see properly what’s happened to me?”

“You’re in hospital you were involved in an accident on your bike, don’t you remember?”

“An accident? I don’t understand,” Simon replied vaguely.

“I’m Doctor Sheridan. You were in a collision with a car yesterday. You’ve received a severe injury to the side of your face, that’s the reason your vision is blurred. There’s also a lot of swelling and internal bleeding in your left eye. It’s only a temporary, when the swelling subsides your vision will return to normal again I promise,” he explained.

“The driver of the car was he hurt?” he asked.

“No surprisingly, he was treated for shock and a few cuts, but nothing serious.”

“He was lucky,” he paused, “when can I go home Doctor?”

“Not yet, you have other injuries which we need to assess.”

“What other injuries?”

“I don’t really think you’re well enough to discuss them at the present time.”

“Let me be the judge of that. Please tell me what other injuries I’ve received,” Simon raised his voice.

“You were in a serious accident you’re lucky to be alive,” he evaded the truth.

“Just get to the point Doctor,” Simon demanded.

“Alright, your spinal cord was crushed in the accident,” he began.

“And?” Simon prompted him.

“Until we have the results of the tests we don’t know for certain if you’ll ever walk again,” he replied softly.

Simon stared at the doctor hoping he would give him some hope, but nothing was forthcoming.

“I’m really sorry.”

“You must have made a mistake,” Simon searched his face for a hint of optimism.

“We should have the results later this afternoon.”

“Leave me alone please,” he turned away and buried his head in his pillow.

“I understand how you feel, but when you’ve accepted it you’ll feel better.”
”I don’t think you do understand. How the hell can you know how I’ll feel? Has this happened to you?”

“It’s normal to be angry, but it will pass. I’ll leave you now; perhaps you should try and get some rest.”

The doctor walked away and then turned around.

“You have a visitor coming to see you shortly,” he informed Simon who was totally unresponsive, and continued to stare at the wall.

Tears of self-pity and anger flowed freely from Simon’s swollen eyes, as images of his pathetic future trapped in a wheelchair flashed before him. It would have been better if he had died. He couldn’t expect Alex to spend the rest of his life pushing him round and washing and dressing him, seven days a week. They would both be confined to a life of misery. It wasn’t fair to put this on Alex; he deserved to live his life with someone else.