Minds That Hate (2 page)

C
hapter two

JT Tucker’s work was read wider than the circulation of the Netherdale Gazette: syndication took it throughout the north of England. Tucker was in the graveyard, the basement where old copies were stored. Computerization hadn’t reached the repository of the newspaper. Researchers still had to wade through files of back numbers.

Although Tucker churned out weekly articles of general interest, he occasionally produced excellent pieces of investigative journalism. He’d a keen nose for impropriety.
This, combined with his contacts, a good memory, and hours of research, led him to uncover misdeeds which many would have preferred to remain unearthed.

His articles had caused ripples within local politics, business and even the church. Tucker was on the scent of another such scandal. So far the aroma was faint but to Tucker, unmistakable. Time and patient probing could cause the stench to ripen.

On the desk were back numbers of the Gazette, folded to reveal two articles on the same topic.

Thursday 12 August 1993

Police confirmed today that the body discovered in remote woodland was that of missing photography student, Stacey Fletcher. Forensic examination would be needed to establish how she died.

Tuesday 8 March 1994

A jury at Netherdale Crown Court today convicted Gary Vickers; a twenty-five- year-old graphic artist, of the rape and murder of his lover’s daughter. The body of twenty-year-old Stacey Fletcher was found in Helm Woods last August. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Traces of Vickers’ DNA were found on the dead girl’s clothing and body. The judge, approving the verdict, warned Vickers that he would be facing the maximum sentence for this crime. Sentencing will take place next week.

Tucker was unaware that the official version of these events was being studied a few miles away.

Clara was examining a photograph of Vickers when she heard Nash muttering. ‘Sorry, what was that, Mike?’

‘There’s something odd here. The evidence is overwhelming. Vickers’ semen was removed from inside the dead girl’s vagina and on her pubic hair. And from the sheets on her bed as well. Considerable quantities, not just traces. They also recovered his pubic hair. If that’s not the clearest possible proof, I don’t know what is. So why has Vickers consistently denied raping her? He’d have to be stupid to go against that evidence, and from what we know about Vickers, he isn’t stupid.’

‘Maybe he thought by admitting to rape, he’d be confessing to murder as well?’

‘What mileage was there in not pleading guilty? He might have caught the judge in a lenient mood. He could have claimed provocation, suggest the girl seduced him or something. Plenty of others have tried that. Some have got away with it.’

‘You’ve just read the evidence out loud. There’s no way Vickers isn’t guilty.’

‘You’re probably right, Clara, but the more I read this file, the more questions it throws up.’

Clara sighed. She knew Nash well enough to realize if he got his teeth into something he wouldn’t let go. She’d also enough experience of his insight to be cautious about contradicting him. He’d been proved right too often. ‘Okay, what don’t you understand?’

‘Imagine you’re Vickers, and, for the sake of argument, pretend you didn’t rape or kill the girl. Beyond entering a plea of not guilty, he didn’t say anything in his defence. All his counsel did was question the arresting officers and the forensic experts. He didn’t call any witnesses or put forward an alternative story. So, why not plead guilty? If Vickers truly was innocent, why not say so? Why wait until after he’d been tried and sentenced? And why kick up such a fuss later?’

‘Perhaps he was bored. He was banged up alone in a cell for twenty-three hours a day.’

‘As a reason for the campaign he waged, I find that a bit thin.’

‘The evidence is overwhelming, Mike. Have you anything to suggest he might not be guilty?’

‘Nothing. All I can see is a lack of evidence.’

‘From what you’ve said, I thought there was too much rather than too little?’

‘There is and there isn’t. There’s plenty of evidence of sexual activity. But if Vickers raped Stacey, where’s the other evidence?’

‘What other evidence?’

‘Why does the PM report fail to mention bruising? Rape victims almost invariably have bruises to their arms, their body, their legs. They often have gag marks or bruising from a hand across their mouth. There’s no mention of any defensive injuries. Why not? If he’d drugged her first, I could understand it. I checked the toxicology. There’s no evidence of drugs in her system.’

‘Perhaps he didn’t need to keep her quiet. Maybe the rape took place somewhere he knew they wouldn’t be disturbed.’

Nash shook his head. ‘The rape took place in her room. We know that from forensics. That’s another fact that doesn’t add up. If he raped her in her bedroom, why take her to Helm Woods before he killed her?’

‘He could have killed her at the house,
then transported the body afterwards.’

‘No, he couldn’t. Vickers didn’t own a car. Besides, there were no bloodstains at the house but plenty in Helm Woods. Incidentally, there’s also nothing to suggest there were bloodstains on any of Vickers’ clothing.’

‘Anything else?’

‘In the vast majority of rape cases, the killer strangles his victims with his bare hands or an item of their own clothing. According to the evidence, Vickers
garrotted the girl with piano wire, hence the blood.’

‘So, he wanted to be different.’

‘You’ve missed the point, Clara. Not that I blame you. You haven’t seen this.’

Nash passed her a sheet of paper, an inventory of the furniture at Vickers’ house. ‘There’s no mention of him owning a piano. What’s more, the prosecution couldn’t produce proof of Vickers buying any wire. The arresting officer made a note of it alongside the inventory. It reads: “Where did the wire come from?” I guess that got deliberately overlooked by the prosecution, and his counsel didn’t pick up on it.’

Clara conceded the point reluctantly. ‘It’s intriguing, I grant you, but it still doesn’t amount to much.’

‘There’s another thing about the wire. If Vickers did buy piano wire, that argues premeditation, as does taking her into Helm Woods to kill her. So, how did he persuade her to go with him? The prosecution case is that Vickers got overcome with lust, raped her and then got scared she’d tell her mother. Knowing that, he panicked and strangled her. There’s a huge contradiction in that argument.’

‘I see what you mean, although it isn’t conclusive. What do you intend to do?’

‘Nothing until we’ve spoken to Vickers. I want to look him in the eye before I form a
judgement.’

There was another curious fact Nash had noticed about the case but he decided to keep it to himself.

Nash’s mobile chirped to signal an incoming message. He read the text slowly and groaned.

‘Bad news?’

‘Not really. At least, I don’t think so.’ He read aloud, ‘“Michael, going to France on business. Back Friday. What about weekend? X.”’

Clara fought to restrain her laughter. ‘That sounds like good news.’

‘It would be, if I could remember the girl’s name.’

‘Where did you meet her?’

‘Gino’s fortieth birthday party. You know, from La Giaconda.’

‘The answer’s simple. Go to La Giaconda and ask Gino.’

‘I can’t do that! Most of the guests were either his or Maria’s family.’

‘Oh sorry, I didn’t realize. That could be difficult. I don’t suppose it’s etiquette in Italian society to say, “I had a great time at your party. Afterwards, I gave your cousin a good shagging. Would you tell me her name?”’

‘Not if you want to stay healthy it isn’t.’

‘First time you’ve visited Felling?’ the prison officer asked Nash and Mironova.

Nash nodded. ‘My job usually finishes when the judge passes sentence.’

‘That happened to Vickers a long time ago.’

‘What’s he been like?’

‘A pain in the arse. Nobody likes Category 43s even when they’re quiet, and Vickers certainly hasn’t been quiet. Forever writing letters and trying to stir up a campaign to prove his innocence. He pestered anyone he thought might show an interest, not that it did any good.’

‘The others gave him a hard time, I understand?’

‘Funny you should say that. There was a load of aggro in the early days – usual treatment. His food was doctored regularly – not the usual stuff though. Three times he’d to be pumped out; been poisoned. He was beaten up half a dozen times, knifed twice. In the worst incident he nearly died; he was on life support for three days. After that he was watched pretty carefully. Then suddenly the trouble stopped, almost as if someone had ordered it. I mentioned it to Vickers and he laughed. He said, “Oh, it won’t happen again. I’ve arranged it,” and you know what? He was right. As you say, they go out of their way to make life unpleasant for sex offenders but I can’t explain why Vickers escaped the treatment. It’s almost as if they thought he got a rough deal. Why they should think that, God knows.’

‘That’s interesting.’

‘They’re not usually far wrong; that’s what intrigues me. Even now I have doubts.’

‘Why?’

‘About six months back, I read the story in one of those true crime magazines. It carried a photo of the girl – Stacey, wasn’t it? I got a hell of a shock when I saw it.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I’d seen that photo. Vickers keeps it in his cell. He has a stand-up photo wallet; photo of his parents on one side, the girl on the other. I know all sex killers are perverts but I’ve never heard of one keeping a photo of his victim. Maybe a porno type, but this is more like a photo you’d keep of your wife or girlfriend. I reckon it’d take a really sick mind to keep a photo like that. However hard I try, I can’t make it fit with the Vickers I know. Anyway, you’ll meet him in a few minutes; judge for yourselves.’

Nash waited until they were on the return journey before asking Clara, ‘What do you make of Vickers now?’

‘I don’t know. I came away wondering if we’d achieved anything, or if our visit was a waste of time. I keep wondering if we’ve actually met the real Gary Vickers.’

‘You mean because he was so quiet?’

‘Quiet! Mike, I’ve known deaf mutes make more noise. He never volunteered a statement, made a spontaneous remark or contradicted us. Where was the trouble-maker who continuously made a nuisance of himself? Where was the man who pestered the press, the radio and TV? Where was the angry man who wrote screeds of letters asking to be cleared? Above all, why did he sit quietly in front of us and fail to protest his innocence? All he did was
stare at us and answer in monosyllables.’

‘Yes, I found that intriguing. He was obviously not scared of us. But then, why should he be? The law’s already punished him. As to why he didn’t proclaim his innocence, he probably reckons he’d be wasting his breath, seeing who we are. But I agree, I reckon we’re a long way from having met the real Gary Vickers, let alone finding out what makes him tick. There’s one question I’d have liked to have asked, but it’ll wait until Vickers feels able to talk freely.’

‘What was that?’

‘I want to know why Vickers made all that fuss. You just listed the people he canvassed to get his case looked at. There’s one glaring omission, and frankly I’m at a loss to explain it.’

‘I don’t follow you.’

‘We know Vickers is well off. The file says he got a big insurance payout after his parents were killed. Plus his father had life cover on the mortgage, so that got redeemed. Vickers has paid for a property maintenance company to look after the house whilst he’s been inside. That won’t have been cheap. In other words, he has ample resources at his disposal. So why has he never appealed against his conviction? If he’s as innocent as he makes out, that would be the first thing he’d want to do.’

‘Does that mean you think he is guilty?’

‘No, that’s not what I’m saying. On balance I believe he probably is, but there’s a whole raft of unanswered questions. And that’s making me uncomfortable. If he isn’t guilty, why not appeal? Why court the publicity when he knows it won’t lead anywhere?’ Nash thought for a moment.
‘Unless he was sending a message. You heard what the prison officer said about the attacks stopping suddenly. Perhaps there was an order given for them to be discontinued. Maybe Vickers did all that protesting to let people know he was on their case.’

‘Why on earth would he do that?’

‘One reason would be to stop the punishment he’d been getting. If that was so, it worked. And it would explain why Vickers was so confident he wouldn’t be attacked again. Apart from that, I’d only be guessing. Perhaps he kept quiet during his trial and didn’t go for a formal appeal because that would have required him to give evidence. If he remained silent because he was shielding someone, that might explain his actions. I checked the file after we talked to the warder and, guess what? All the fuss Vickers made began after he was attacked.’

‘Sorry, I don’t see how that’s significant?’