The Triumph of Katie Byrne (27 page)

The log fire blazed up the big chimney, the antique Victorian lamps threw lambent light across the walls, and the sense of warmth, comfort and welcoming hospitality seemed more pronounced than ever.

Michael and Maureen Byrne, and Katie, sat at the table in their big country kitchen with Mac MacDonald and Allegra Marsh, mugs of coffee in front of them. It was a Monday afternoon, and Mac and Allegra had stopped at the house in Malvern to fill them in about the murder case.

‘As I told you a month ago, Katie, it didn’t take us long to locate Hank Thurloe. He’s an accountant, and has his own small company. His father’s retired now, and it’s his brother Andy who runs the printing business. It was through his brother that we found him.’

‘Did he seem normal?’ Katie asked, riddled with curiosity. ‘Or was he weird?’

‘He did appear to be normal on the surface, but we soon discovered he wasn’t. In any case, I went to see him with Dave Groome, and I told him we were starting new investigations into a ten-year-old unsolved murder case, because of fresh evidence that had come to light. I
told him the name of the deceased, and I asked him if he would be willing to give us a sample of his blood for a DNA test. I explained that if he wasn’t willing I’d have to get a warrant.’

‘And he agreed?’

‘Oh yes, he was quite willing.’

Katie frowned. ‘Is that a normal reaction?’ she asked, staring across at Mac.

‘Yes, I think it is, because he didn’t know he was at risk. The average person doesn’t understand much about DNA. For instance, you yourself didn’t know that DNA samples last forever, Katie. And most people don’t know that either.’

‘They don’t realize that DNA is a genetic fingerprint which makes each one of us unique,’ Allegra interjected. ‘DNA is never wrong, and a person truly can be identified by a small sample of DNA, and that’s what Mac and I did with Hank Thurloe. We matched him up to the DNA samples taken from Denise’s body, which have been kept in storage at headquarters all these years. It was
his
seminal fluid,
his
skin under her fingernails,
his
blood,
his
pubic hair, and hair from
his
head. It was even his saliva on a cigarette stub found at the crime scene. We got him on the DNA match.’

‘And so he’s arrested and in jail,’ Michael stated.

‘Yes. He’s been charged and he’s awaiting trial,’ Mac said.

‘He couldn’t get off, could he?’ Maureen asked, looking at the detective worriedly.

‘No way, Maureen. The evidence is overwhelming. But in any case, he confessed.’

Katie was startled and exclaimed, ‘He told you he raped and strangled Denise? I can’t believe it!’

‘Believe it, Katie,’ Mac replied. ‘He sure as hell confessed. He went berserk a few days after he was arrested, and threw a crazy fit. It wasn’t an act, either. He was really out of control. Underneath that jock exterior, the football hero image, there’s a psychopath. He ranted and raved about Denise, about her belonging to him. He had a sexual fixation about her. He’s a sicko.’

‘Did he tell you what happened that day?’ Katie asked, leaning forward intently, staring at Mac and Allegra.

‘Part of it, yes,’ Mac replied. ‘And I’ve also managed to re-create the scene to a certain extent in my own mind. Hank went to the barn with some intent.
He
says he went to talk to Denise. Seemingly, he’d noticed her in his last year at school, really fallen hard for her. He told me at one point that he loved her blonde beauty. Anyway, he wanted to make a date with her, but when he asked her to go out with him, she said no. She rejected him. He took hold of her arm, trying to persuade her to leave with him then, to go somewhere that night for a cup of coffee. He told me over and over again that he meant her no harm. But she pushed him away, a struggle broke out between them, and then apparently
Carly rushed to Denise’s defence. There was something of a scuffle between the three of them in the barn and then the girls ran outside. He says he ran after them.

‘It’s my belief he had become angry, inflamed by that time, and I think he went over the edge,’ Mac continued. ‘In the wood, he saw Carly first. According to Thurloe, he tried to push her out of the way, but she picked up a log and hit him with it. He grabbed it from her, beat her over the head with it, and knocked her unconscious. Then he went after Denise. That was his intent…having sexual relations with her.’

‘But why did he have to kill her?’ Katie cried.

‘I think everything escalated. Obviously he had the need to cover up. He says he panicked. He’d forced her,
raped
her. He knew Denise could bring rape charges against him, and he couldn’t face that. It seems he was newly engaged to a girl from a prominent Sharon family, Martha Eddington, whom he subsequently married. So he was in a state of panic, alarm, couldn’t risk being identified as a rapist. And that’s why he strangled her.’

‘Oh my God!’ Maureen cried, covering her mouth with her hand. Michael put his arm around her, trying to comfort her.

‘And he attacked Carly because she got in the way?’ Katie gave Mac a long look.

‘Yes, he did. It was always Denise he wanted, Denise he’d watched and stalked for years.’

‘Was I ever in danger, Mac?’ Katie now asked quietly.

‘No, I don’t believe you were.’

‘But what about my school bag? The way all three of the bags were lined up in a row?’

‘I told you at the time that we never found any trace evidence on it. Only your fingerprints and those of Carly and Denise.’

‘But he could have worn gloves, couldn’t he?’

‘Yes, Katie, he could. But it’s my belief the girls found your bag in the dressing area, put it with theirs, intending to bring it to you.’

Katie nodded. ‘I guess you’re right. Do you think Thurloe was still in the wood that night? I mean when Niall and I got there, and started calling out their names?’

‘I do, yes. And there’s no doubt you saved Carly’s life. He had probably gone back to see if she was dead, realized she was still breathing and hit her again with the log. Then when he heard you and Niall, heard your voices, he ran away, bolted through the bushes, taking that log with him. We never found it.’

‘And he thought he’d killed Carly in the last attack?’ Katie said.

Mac nodded. ‘I’m sure he did.’

‘But she didn’t die,’ Michael said. ‘Why didn’t he come after her in the hospital?’

‘Because she was in a coma,’ Allegra answered. ‘If you remember, there were a lot of stories in the newspapers, and on TV, a lot of media attention was given to the
murder, and the attack on Carly, at the time. The prognosis was very grim. The doctors looking after Carly said she was in a coma and would be for the rest of her life. He believed he was home free.’

‘It’s amazing how she suddenly came out of it,’ Maureen ventured, addressing Allegra. ‘I was stunned when Katie told me today.’

‘I’m sorry, Mom, but I’d promised Mac I wouldn’t say anything. We had to protect Carly.’

‘Did he ever kill again?’ Michael asked.

‘I don’t think he did.’ Mac shook his head. ‘He’s not a serial killer as far as I know.’

‘How can you be sure?’ Maureen asked.

It was Allegra who answered. ‘Because his DNA, his genetic fingerprint, is now in the DNA criminal databank. And he’s not been matched up to any similar murders of young women. And that’s a nationwide databank.’

Maureen simply nodded her head.

‘Will I have to give evidence at the trial?’

‘Yes, Katie,’ Mac responded. ‘And so will Carly, if she’s able to when the trial starts.’

‘Allegra, can you explain how Carly suddenly came out of the coma?’ Maureen frowned as she spoke to the Medical Examiner. ‘I still don’t really understand.’

‘I’ll try, Maureen. I’ve done a little more investigating into coma in the last few weeks, and I think what happened is that Carly was probably wrongly diagnosed
right at the outset. It was an easy mistake for anyone to make. You see, she
was
in a coma when she was taken to the hospital after the attack. Now, a
true
coma usually lasts about six to eight weeks, although it has been known to last two years. But if it’s two years there’s usually real brain damage when a patient comes out of it. I tend to agree with Dr Nelson, who now thinks Carly was in a coma, then subsequently went into a
semi-vegetative
state. She may have been aware of a lot of things going on around her for years, but was unable to make this known to her nurses, because she couldn’t speak, had no motor skills. I also go along with Dr Nelson’s theory that she may have had some sort of brain-stem blockage that kept stimulation from getting to her brain until that moment when she spoke to Katie.’

‘And what about the amantadine he gave her?’ Katie said.

‘That may well have been a factor. I just heard the other day of a similar case, of a woman coming out of a coma in New Mexico,’ Allegra explained. ‘And she had also been given amantadine to prevent pulmonary infection. By the way, that woman had been in a semi-vegetative state for fifteen years.’

‘How amazing!’ Katie exclaimed. ‘And just think, Hank Thurloe would have got away with murder if Carly’s memory hadn’t come back.’

‘Absolutely correct,’ Allegra agreed. ‘Because we’ve
always needed a suspect to match up to the DNA samples I took from Denise’s body, and which we’ve held all these years. But blood doesn’t lie…DNA doesn’t lie.’

‘What’ll happen to Thurloe?’ Michael stared across the table at Mac.

‘Hank Thurloe will spend the rest of his life in jail. And without any possibility of parole, of that I am certain,’ Mac answered.

Later that same day Katie drove over to the hospice to see Carly. She sat with her for a while, holding her hand and talking to her. And then, at one moment, when Carly seemed more relaxed and aware, Katie said, ‘I’ve just been with Mac MacDonald, the detective who came to see you about a month ago. Do you remember him?’

Carly blinked. ‘Yes…Katie.’

‘He wanted you to know that they’ve arrested Hank Thurloe for attacking you. He’s in prison.’

A small smile touched Carly’s mouth and her eyes seemed much brighter all of a sudden.

Katie was about to explain to her that Denise was dead, and then she instantly changed her mind. There was no need to tell her this now. That bad news could wait until Carly had improved further. It would be such a painful thing for her to hear, and Katie did not want her to have a setback at this stage of her recovery.

Instead, she leaned forward, and put her arms around Carly, held her close. And against her hair she whispered, ‘Justice has been done, Carly, and you have nothing to fear now.’

The curtain calls seemed to go on forever. Katie was aware that the entire cast had given of their very best, and that the audience had loved them, and loved the play. It had been a sensational performance.

She knew that she herself had given her
all.
Every ounce of her talent and skill had gone into making Emily Brontë a living, breathing person on this stage. She had brought her to life in a way she never had before. She had actually become Emily for two hours tonight.

Carly was out there in the audience with Niall and their parents, and in a certain way she had played to Carly, and to her alone, because she had wanted to excel for her friend.

After she had taken her last bow, Katie hurried off the stage, almost running back to her dressing room. She knew she had to tone down her stage make-up and change into her own clothes as quickly as she could. Her parents were taking them all to supper at Circo on West 55th Street, and she wanted to join them without delay. Mostly because she wanted to see Carly, to hear what
she had to say about the play. And her performance, of course.

Once she had taken off some of her theatrical make-up, Katie brushed her hair, and then got dressed in the pale-grey cotton suit she had worn to the theatre earlier. It was fairly cool for June, and as she pulled on the white tee-shirt she decided she had made the perfect choice. Within minutes she was slipping on the jacket, picking up her red shoulder bag, and running down to the stage door.

As she stepped out into the alley she collided with a man, and stepped back, began to apologize. And then she stopped, stood gaping. It was Christopher Saunders.

‘Now it’s
your
turn to knock
me
down,’ he said. ‘Remember how I collided with you at the hospice?’

Katie opened her mouth to make a sharp retort. But no words came out. How could they? Chris had pulled her into his arms and was kissing her.

Finally managing to push him away, Katie exclaimed, ‘What a nerve you’ve got, Christopher Saunders! You come back here after all these months of silence, and think you can just pick up where you left off.’

‘Yes, I do, because I love you. And you love me.’

‘Not any more I don’t!’

‘Liar.’

‘I’m not a liar!’

‘Yes, you are. I know you love me because your mother told me.’

‘My mother. What’s she got to do with this?’

‘I guess she wants me for a son-in-law.’

‘I’ll never marry you.’

‘Oh yes you will, and the sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.’

‘Oh go back to your rain forests, and good riddance!’ Katie cried.

‘I can’t go back to my rain forests because I’ve given them up.’

‘What?’

‘You heard me. I’ve given them up. For love.’

‘You have? But you
love
your rain forests.’

‘True. But I also love the Everglades and they’re also endangered, and let’s face it, Katie mine, Florida’s much closer than Argentina.’

Katie had been rendered speechless, and she stood gazing at him, thinking how wonderful he looked in his navy-blue blazer and grey slacks.

Chris said, ‘Did you understand? I’ve left Argentina, Katie. I’ve come back to New York. I’m going to live here. With you. If you’ll have me.’

‘Oh.’

‘Don’t say
oh.
Say yes.’

‘Yes!
’

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. She clung to him. After a moment he drew away from her, and stared into her face. ‘You mean it, don’t you? You will marry me, Katie?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, of course I will…’ She gave him a penetrating look, her head on one side. ‘What made you do this, Chris?’

‘You did, Katie.’

‘Me. How?’ she asked, her bafflement obvious.

‘I came to New York in May. On business. And of course I had to see you. But I knew you would give me short shrift, so I didn’t call you. Instead I came to see the play again. I suddenly understood everything you’d said to me when we broke up. I wondered how I’d ever expected you to give up your acting. It is
you
, Katie, I know that now. And it would be very selfish of me to take you away from the stage. You’re a natural, and far too good, too brilliant. I’m a dediated ecologist, you know that. But I can be an ecologist in lots of places. So I decided to swap rain forests for the Everglades. In a nutshell, I asked for a transfer. And I finally got it. I’m here to stay.’

‘Oh Chris.’

‘We’d better not stand here talking. We’ve the rest of our lives to do that. Everyone’s waiting for us at Circo.’

‘My God, you’re all in cahoots!’

‘Just about. Come on, darling, I’ve a car waiting.’

Her parents beamed at them when Chris and Katie came to the table in Circo. So did Carly and Niall.

Carly turned slightly in her wheelchair, and said, ‘You
were…great…Katie.’ She spoke carefully, slowly, but her speech was much improved, almost back to normal after months of therapy.

‘Thanks, Carly.’ Katie bent over her, kissed her on the cheek. ‘I’m so glad you finally got to see the play.’

Carly nodded. ‘You were…always…the
best.
Even then…Before…’

‘We were all good, darling,’ Katie murmured. ‘You and me and Denise were the best. The three of us.’

Carly merely smiled, and moved her wheelchair so that Katie and Chris could sit down together on the banquette.

Maureen said, ‘We’ve ordered champagne, Katie and Chris. Because we have so much to celebrate.’

As she spoke, Michael beckoned to the waiter, who came to the table and opened the bottle of Dom Perignon. There was a pop when the cork came out of the bottle, and then the sparkling wine was being poured into their glasses.

Katie looked at each person sitting with her at the table. Her mother. Her father. Her brother. Her best friend. And the man she was going to marry.

‘It is
very much
a celebration. A celebration of life,’ Katie said.