Hope to Die

Interview with Keith Phillips, Royal Mail Oxford depot

25 October 2018, 1.35 p.m.

On the call, DC C. Sargent

CS: Hello, Mr Phillips, it’s DC Chloe Sargent, Thames Valley Police. I believe you’re the person who covers the Wytham area, is that right?

KP: Yes, that’s me. The office told me you might call.

CS: Do you know the people at Gantry Manor?

KP: Mr and Mrs Swann – yes, I know them. Very private people. Old-fashioned. They’re always very polite, but they don’t chat. Not like some on my round.

CS: Do they get much post?

KP: Two or three deliveries a week, I’d say. Bills, the council, official stuff mostly. Apart from the junk mail, of course.

CS: So not much of a personal nature then?

KP: No, definitely not. They don’t even go in much for Christmas cards, to be honest.

CS: Do you remember anything that looked personal recently – anything handwritten?

KP: Actually there was something. Must have been four or five weeks ago.

CS: A letter – or a postcard?

KP: A letter. Quite big handwriting. Confident-looking, you know?

CS: Do you by any chance recall if the letter came from abroad – was there an Airmail sticker or anything like that?

KP: Now you mention it, there was. I remember thinking the Swanns had never got foreign post before. Not in my time, anyway.

CS: I don’t suppose you remember where it was from?

KP: Sorry, mate – the envelope was a bit of a mess. The postmark was all smudged.

CS: What about the stamp? Do you remember what that looked like?

KP: Now you’re asking. That was all messed up too, I think. Could have been a face? That probably doesn’t help much, does it. Afraid I only saw it for a minute – Mrs Swann was just coming out of the door with the rubbish so I handed it straight to her.

CS: That’s very interesting. How did she react to it?

KP: She frowned, if I remember rightly.

CS: So she didn’t look happy to receive it?

KP: No, definitely not. In fact, she tore it up and shoved it in the rubbish bag there and then.

CS: She definitely didn’t open it?

KP: No, she just ripped it up.

CS: Do you think she did that because she recognized the writing?

KP: Impossible to tell, to be honest – sorry.

CS: Not at all – you’ve been an enormous help. If you remember anything else, or if you recognize that stamp somewhere else, please get in touch straight away.

* * *

Adam Fawley

25 October

13.35

Even if the A417 wasn’t the most obvious route back I’d have asked Quinn to take it: I wanted to go exactly the same way Camilla Rowan said she went the day her baby disappeared. I’m sure it’s more built-up than it was in 1997, but it’s still pretty rural, even now. Every lay-by we pass, I think, is that it? Is that where she gave her child away?

The phone goes. Nina Mukerjee. I put her on speaker.

‘I just wanted to update you on where we’ve got with the familial DNA.’

‘Oh yes?’

‘Nowhere fast, is the short version. I’ve found no close relatives at all. The closest match thus far is three people who are fourth cousins, but that’s pretty distant in terms of tracking someone down. It basically means the dead man and the person on the database shared one set of great-great-great-grandparents.’

‘How many fourth cousins would you typically have?’

‘Around a thousand.’

‘Three doesn’t sound a lot, on that basis.’

‘This database is a pretty narrow sample, remember, but you’re right – even allowing for that I’d usually expect to find around thirty matches at this stage. I’ll have a closer look at the three we’ve found, but like I said, they probably have nothing to do with the man you’re after.’

Quinn makes a face and shakes his head. And I get it.

My phone’s beeping now. ‘OK, thanks, Nina. Can you keep at it? I have another call coming in so just let me know if you get anything.’

I press end and quickly check the number that’s now come up on my screen.

This isn’t good.

‘DI Fawley,’ says a woman’s voice. A voice I know only too well. ‘Could you hold for Superintendent Harrison? He needs to speak to you. Urgently.’

* * *

News Last updated: 13:40 GMT, 25 October 2018

EXCLUSIVE NOT GUILTY? Shock and disbelief as news emerges that Milly Liar did NOT murder her newborn child. Missing for 20 years, Camilla Rowan’s son has now been identified – as a DEAD MAN. Does this mean that after 15 years in prison Britain’s most notorious ‘baby-killer’ will now be freed?

BY LINDA LOMBARD FOR MAILONLINE

More than twenty years since he was last seen leaving hospital in his mother’s arms, Camilla Rowan’s infant son has finally been found, the Mail has learned. Rowan, now 38, was sentenced to life for murdering the baby at a sensational Old Bailey trial in 2003, but evidence has now come to light that casts doubt on the validity of that conviction. The baby’s remains were never found, and despite several appeals and a Criminal Cases Review Commission review, Rowan has remained in HMP Heathside. But that may be about to change.

Earlier this week Thames Valley Police posted a picture on their Twitter feed, asking for the public’s help in identifying a young man (shown below) arriving at Oxford station last Sunday. No further details were given, but it was widely rumoured that the man had been shot and killed at a large country house on the outskirts of the city a short time later that evening. Local residents have identified the property as owned by an elderly couple who’ve lived there for at least ten years but ‘always kept themselves to themselves’. The Mail can now reveal that DNA tests have proved conclusively that the dead man is Camilla Rowan’s missing baby.

Rowan always insisted that she never harmed the child, saying that she gave it to its biological father, whom she named as ‘Tim Baker’. However, no Tim Baker ever came forward, nor, despite exhaustive searches by South Mercia police, has he ever been conclusively identified. Speculation is now rife that Rowan may have been telling the truth all along, and there are bound to be calls for an inquiry into the way the original investigation was conducted. Nothing is known about the identity the dead man has been using, or where he’s been living for the last twenty years.

Thames Valley Police have not yet issued a comment, nor has there been a statement from Rowan’s legal team. But surely it’s only a matter of time before they make an official request for her immediate release.

1,687 comments

Rob__8991

Remind me – exactly how many kids did that woman have? 4? 5? And no-one knew about ANY of them. So how do we know this isn’t yet another kid no-one knew about and she palmed off to someone else? Doesn’t mean she didn’t kill that other baby, just like they said. I hope the police are onto this though that’s probably too much to ask. Thickos, the lot of them. She’s just going to run rings round them. AGAIN

DawnG667788

I don’t trust that woman further than I could spit – there’s something fishy about this whole thing

AnaGram5__1984

So is she getting out then?

99AnnieBL99

If you ask me I never thought she did it – its unnatural a mother killing her child. Quite apart from the fact that there wasn’t enough time to get rid of the body – not without the police being able to find it

2002SpottheBall

She’s going to make MEGA bucks out of this #justsaying

GayZeeBo88

Holy shit this is going to put the cat among the pigeons

LineofDutyfan665

So who are these old people in Wytham anyway – has no-one asked what the hell this bloke was doing there?

TickedBoxforNoPublicity44

I know someone who used to work at Heathside – do you know what they call her there? Only the effing DUCHESS. You couldn’t make it up LMFAO

AllieCatz76

I don’t believe Camilla Rowan is innocent. I never have. It’ll be more complicated than it looks, just you wait. And whatever it is that woman is in it up to her neck

* * *

Gislingham knocks at Fawley’s door and waits for the muffled ‘Come’ from inside. The DI is on his feet, coat still on, and clearly only just back. He’s flicking through screens on his phone, frowning, and muttering under his breath.

‘Sorry, boss, do you want me to come back?’

Fawley glances up. ‘No – actually, I need you to fill me in on the Swanns before I go and see Harrison.’

‘Yeah, I saw – it’s all over the news.’

And Harrison must be crapping himself. Not that either of them say so; they don’t need to.

‘The hacks haven’t worked out who the Swanns really are yet but it’s only a matter of time – they can look up the Land Registry just like we did and as soon as they get Swann’s first name and date of birth, bingo.’

Fawley looks grim. ‘And where the press goes, the sofa Sherlocks will soon follow. Can you warn the Swanns? Suggest they might want to stay somewhere else for a few days?’

‘I can’t believe they don’t know already, but yeah, we can do that. I’ll send Ev.’ He gives a wry smile. ‘One way or another she’s had a lot of experience managing cantankerous pensioners.’

Fawley looks up, his face suddenly concerned. ‘How is her dad?’

Gis shrugs. ‘Much the same, as far as I know. It won’t be getting any easier, that’s for sure.’

Fawley nods, and they stand in silence a moment. Then, ‘So what else have you got?’

‘Well, your hunch about the snail mail was spot on: Chloe Sargent spoke to the postie and it turns out the Swanns got a letter about a month ago which was handwritten and had an overseas stamp. Trouble is, a) Mrs S tore it up and threw it away without reading it so we can’t prove she knew who sent it, and b) the postie doesn’t know which country it came from. We put in a call to her solicitor to ask about it, but all we got back was that she “has no recollection” of getting anything like that. Well, there’s a surprise.’

Fawley’s looking at him. ‘I don’t know about you, but there are two reasons why I rip up post without bothering to open it. One – it’s junk; or two – I know who it’s from and I’m not interested.’

Gis nods. ‘Right.’ He takes a step closer. ‘Do you think the same thing could have happened to Rowan? The kid wrote to her as well? The timings would fit.’

‘But there’s still a problem, isn’t there? He could find Rowan through Wikipedia, but how the hell did he find out where the parents lived?’

‘Quite. They’ve changed their name, they’re not in the phone book and they’re not on the public electoral roll either, we checked. And as Hansen found out, it’s really bloody hard to find someone who’s changed their name by deed poll.’

Fawley looks thoughtful. ‘I’ve been wondering about that – whether it would be as hard the other way round?’

Gis is frowning. ‘Not sure what you’re getting at.’

‘I mean, the only name we had to start with was Swann, and we had no reason to go looking for anything else. But if you were looking for Dick Rowan and you already had a suspicion he might have changed his name, how hard would it be to make the connection back to Swann?’

Gis nods. ‘I see what you mean – I’ll get Hansen on it. I doubt he’ll mind that much – he’s halfway to being Baxter’s mini-me. Minus the chocolate habit, obvs.’

Fawley smiles. ‘Cadburys will be gutted.’

His phone beeps.

‘Harrison,’ he says, looking at the screen, his smile evaporating. ‘Asking where I am.’ He drags off his coat and straightens his tie. ‘Wish me luck.’

* * *

Interview with Alison Toms

25 October 2018, 2.15 p.m.

On the call, DC T. Hansen

TH: Thanks for agreeing to talk to me, Ms Toms. I know it’s a long time ago now, but it’s about the Camilla Rowan case.

AT: Well, I’ll do all I can to help but I’m not sure what use I can be – as you say, it’s a very long time ago and I only spoke to her once.

TH: Yes, I have the notes here, it says you saw her with the baby, that they seemed to be ‘bonding well’, and she ‘expressed no interest in having the baby adopted’. So you left it at that?

AT: I had enough on my plate with other cases, as I’m sure you can imagine. All her health indicators were normal, the baby was healthy. I had no reason to think there was any sort of problem. And the medical staff agreed with me.

TH: Of course, no one’s questioning that. It’s something else we wanted to ask you about. You just said you had a lot of other cases on at the time – were those all potential adoptions?

AT: Ah, no – I didn’t mean to confuse you. My job covered much more than that – basically any issue that arose at the hospital. Women with injuries that could have been the result of domestic abuse, for example, or children who might have been mistreated.

TH: I see. So do you happen to remember if you were handling many other adoptions at that time? Sorry – I should explain: one angle that might not have been fully investigated at the time was the possibility that Camilla had her baby adopted informally. Without the internet she’d have found that quite difficult, but we were wondering whether she might have met someone at the hospital?

AT: A baby-broker, you mean? That seems unlikely – people like that don’t tend to hang round maternity wards.

TH: And you weren’t aware of much activity like that at the time – in general, I mean?

AT: No, not at all. To be honest, it was barely on the radar.

TH: Yes, that’s what we thought. But that being the case, is it possible that another mother in the same position could have given Rowan a contact? Another young girl, say, who didn’t feel able to bring up a child on her own?

AT: Ah, I see. Yes, that would make more sense, but I don’t recall I was talking to anyone else about adoption at that time. And Camilla Rowan was only in the hospital for a few hours, remember – that’s not long to make that sort of connection.

TH: We think that she researched the hospital during the pregnancy – she went straight there when she went into labour as if she’d already planned where she was going to go. So she might have been hanging around in the weeks leading up to the birth and met someone that way?

AT: Right, OK. Well, I can look back over my notes for that period, if it would help? See if there were any other adoptions under discussion at the time?

TH: That would be great, thank you. You have my number?

AT: Yes, it’s come up on my phone.

TH: Thank you very much, Ms Toms, you’ve been really helpful.

* * *

Carter gets back to St Aldate’s wet, cold, tired and pissed off. He had to stand most of the way back because the train only had two carriages, so the sight of Chloe Sargent, dry, warm and sitting comfortably, does nothing to improve his mood.

She looks up at him and smiles. The mouth-closed smile of someone who wants to appear friendly but definitely doesn’t want to be too encouraging. ‘Any luck?’

‘No, just a load of bloody CCTV I’ll now go square-eyed staring at.’

‘Don’t knock it – there might be something there. We just got a lead that the vic may have been living abroad.’

His eyes widen. ‘So I could have been right about him being at a hotel?’

And now she’s wishing she hadn’t said anything.

Carter dumps his coat and starts to unwind his scarf, which (as Sargent isn’t alone in noticing) he’s taken to wearing in the same loop knot as Quinn. ‘How about you?’ he says.

She turns back to her screen. ‘Oh, not much. I spent some time with DC Baxter earlier looking at the birth records South Mercia put together back in 2002.’

Carter grimaces. ‘I bet that was fun. Not exactly the life and soul, is he.’

‘He’s OK,’ she says, perhaps a little too firmly. ‘He knows what he’s doing.’

Carter shrugs. ‘If you say so.’

He watches her for a moment then wanders over. ‘What are you on now?’

She looks up and flushes, quickly changing her screen. ‘Nothing, just arranging that interview with the doctor who delivered the first baby, Adrian Morrison.’

‘He’s not likely to know much about the second kid, though, is he?’

She flashes him an irritated look. ‘It still has to be done. Who knows, he might have remembered something since then that could be relevant.’

Carter gives her a ‘Yeah, right’ look. ‘I’m calling Penny Curtis this afternoon. The midwife who helped blow the lid on the whole thing.’

This time, she doesn’t look up. ‘Good for you, Carter.’

‘I might ask DS Gislingham if I can sit in on the Steve McIlvanney one too. Bet that’ll be interesting –’

He stops; there’s a phone ringing. Sargent reaches quickly to answer it; anything to shut Carter up.

‘Hello, CID?’ A pause. ‘OK, I’ll come down straight away.’

She gets to her feet. ‘What is it?’ says Carter.

‘Someone in reception. One of Rowan’s old boyfriends we want to eliminate as the baby’s father.’

Carter rolls his eyes. ‘Whoop whoop.’

She gives him a heavy look, then turns, rather pointedly, and heads out towards the stairs.

Carter watches her go, his face thoughtful.

* * *

Adam Fawley

25 October

14.10

‘Ah, there you are, Adam.’

The other person in the office is Elaine Challoner from the press office, and judging by her empty coffee cup, she’s been here quite a while.

‘So,’ says Harrison, as I take my seat. ‘Media. And dealing therewith.’

‘I read the draft holding statement on the way back, sir. I think it pretty much covered the key points –’

‘Yes, well,’ he says quickly, ‘we’ve been doing some brainstorming in your absence. Seeing if we can’t think outside the box a bit on this one.’

Shit. This doesn’t bode well.

‘As in?’

‘As in getting on the front foot. Being proactive.’ He shifts a little in his seat. ‘Elaine has suggested – and I agree with her – that on this occasion there would be value in us agreeing to an interview.’

‘An interview?’ I stare at him and then at Elaine. ‘Do you really think that’s a good idea?’

‘This story isn’t going away any time soon,’ she says. ‘One of the Sundays is planning a major feature, rehashing the whole case. And it won’t be very long before someone works out who the Swanns really are – all they need is a quick look at Companies House –’

‘I know,’ I say, ‘I have an officer on the way to warn them they could be in for a tough few days with the press.’

‘Exactly,’ she says, drilling in the point. ‘And so could we. So whatever we can do to pre-empt it –’

‘All the same –’

But Harrison isn’t listening. ‘I agree with Elaine. An interview would also allow us to put the whole story in context. Fend off any suggestion that the original inquiry was in any way slipshod or deficient.’

‘With respect, sir, we don’t know that. Not until we find out what happened to the child. If South Mercia want to defend their own investigation, that’s one thing – but you don’t want to be seen doing that, not at this stage –’

‘I’ve spoken to the Chief Constable,’ he says heavily, ‘and we’re agreed. While we wouldn’t normally comment on an active case, this is an exception. After all, the circumstances are fairly unique.’

I can see Alex rolling her eyes, saying, ‘How many more times – something’s either unique or it isn’t – you can’t shove on a bloody qualifier.’

But, on the other hand, I know what the Super’s like when he’s in this mood and if he’s going to force this through regardless, far better to make a virtue of necessity than an obstreperous arse of myself.

‘Actually, sir, we’ve just received some new information that may be relevant here.’

‘Oh yes?’

‘We’ve spoken to the postman who covers Wytham and apparently the Swanns had a handwritten letter about a month ago. A letter with a foreign postmark. Unfortunately, we don’t know which country it came from. But if we do an interview –’

‘Exactly,’ says Harrison quickly, his face lighting up. ‘We can show the still from Oxford station – increase the chance of someone recognizing him.’

If you ask me, the press are doing a pretty good job on that already without needing any help from us. But he’s not asking me. And like I said, if you can’t beat ’em …

‘Yes, sir. Absolutely.’

Elaine sits forward. ‘I’m proposing we give one journalist exclusive access – someone who we know will do a balanced and objective job.’

‘Who do you have in mind?’

She hesitates. ‘John Penrose.’

I stare at her. ‘The Netflix bloke?’

She nods. ‘He’s already been in touch, asking for comment. No surprises there, of course. He’s working for the BBC now –’

‘But he’s the one who got the case reopened – he’s just going to bang on about how he was right all along –’

‘I agree he has an axe to grind, but no one knows the case better than he does. He’s also an old-school pro who’ll feel duty-bound to give both sides. And, of course, giving it to him will guarantee maximum impact. Especially internationally. And given what you just said –’ She’s watching my face, trying to read my thoughts. ‘So you’ll do it?’

‘Me?’ I stare at her, then turn to Harrison. ‘I thought it was you we were talking about, sir.’

‘No, no, Adam,’ he says briskly. ‘You’re running this investigation. You’re the person the public will want to see.’

* * *

The man reading a copy of The Times in reception is well-dressed, dark hair greying at the temples, white shirt, royal-blue suit. He has the physique of someone who used to take his sport quite seriously but no longer has the time: he’s thickened round his gut and the waistband of his trousers is showing the strain.

‘Mr Crowther?’ says Chloe Sargent, walking up to him. ‘I believe you’re here for a DNA swab?’

The man looks up from his paper, does a quick double-take and then smiles. ‘Yes, that’s right. I spoke to a DC Hansen?’

She nods. ‘He’s a colleague of mine. We work as a team.’

‘I had to drop off something in Kidlington so I thought I may as well come straight here, DC –?’

‘Sargent.’

He flushes. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. God, how embarrassing –’

‘No, no,’ she says, ‘it happens all the time. Sargent – it’s my name. And you were right first time: I am a DC.’

He looks ridiculously relieved. ‘Phew, thank God for that. So what’s the drill – what do you need me to do?’

‘If you can follow me, we’ll go into an interview room and I’ll take a swab from the inside of your cheek. It’ll only take a minute.’

‘Just like on the telly, eh?’ He smiles.

‘Right,’ she says, returning the smile almost despite herself. ‘Just like on the telly.’

* * *

Ev breathes a sigh of relief as she pulls up outside Gantry Manor. She’s in time: no sign of the press yet. No sign of anyone at all, unless you count the fox crossing the lane in front of the car who stops and gives her a long stare before evidently deciding she’s of no particular interest and continuing on his way. Ev drags her jacket from the passenger seat and gets out of the car. The cloud is too low to see the top of Wytham Hill – no star-gazing tonight, that’s for sure. She locks the car and starts up the drive, feeling the first drops of rain in the cold air.

It’s Richard Swann who answers the door. He’s in a check flannel shirt and a cardigan with pockets that have bagged with age. He frowns.

‘What do you want?’

‘I’m sure you’ve seen the papers, Mr Swann. DI Fawley is concerned the press may turn up here.’

‘Why should they? They don’t know who we are –’

‘Not yet, no, but it won’t take long. They can easily find out who owns this house, and from there it’s just a couple of checks online and they’ll know your name is Richard and you were born on exactly the same day as Camilla’s father. And as the boss always says, there’s no such thing as coincidence.’

He’d been pale before but he’s paler now. ‘I see. I suppose you’d better come in.’

* * *

Adam Fawley

25 October

14.55

Elaine Challoner catches up with me at the coffee machine.

‘I hope you don’t think I dumped you in it.’

I press the button for hot water and turn to face her. ‘Don’t worry – I know what he’s like when he’s got a bee in his bonnet.’

We exchange a smile.

‘Let me know if I can help, won’t you? And obviously I’ll come with you to the studio.’

‘I’ve been doing this job twenty years – you really think I need someone to hold my hand?’

She flushes a little. ‘I didn’t mean it like that –’

And now I feel like a shit, because she’s a nice woman and I’m taking my irritation with Harrison out on her. ‘Sorry – it’s been a bit of a crappy day. I’ve done media training – I’ll be fine.’

She picks up a cup and presses for coffee.

‘I’m assuming you did watch that Netflix thing?’

I give her a weary glance. ‘Well, I was in the room when it was on – does that count?’

She smiles. ‘Fair enough. But you may want to watch it again before you see Penrose. Especially the last episode.’

‘You’re probably right.’

I fish my teabag out of the cup and drop it in the bin. ‘But there’s something else I need to do first.’

* * *

Channel:

Netflix

Programme:

Infamous, season 4

Number of episodes:

4

First shown:

09/03/2016

[THEME SONG – ’KARMA CHAMELEON’ [CULTURE CLUB]]

TITLE OVER:

INFAMOUS

FADE IN

THE CHAMELEON GIRL

MONTAGE: clips relating to the trial – newspaper headlines, people holding banners and shouting outside the court, Camilla trying to escape the cameras, interspersed with vox pops/news broadcasts/clips.

VOICEOVER – JOHN PENROSE

On 6th November 2003, after a six-week trial and more than four days in the witness box, Camilla Rowan received the verdict of her peers. And that verdict was unanimous: Guilty.

There was uproar in the court. Some people in the public gallery cheered, others screamed abuse and had to be removed by security personnel. Camilla’s mother collapsed and had to be given medical attention. And over it all, Camilla could be heard wailing, again and again, ‘I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it’.

Cut to: John’s study. Wall of photos and news clippings about the case, piles of files, computer with Post-its on the screen, etc.

JOHN PENROSE

The announcement of the verdict may have been dramatic, but few observers can have been surprised. Anyone who covered the case for the press certainly wasn’t. Those four days on the stand were damning. Some people had questioned her defence team’s decision to allow her to give evidence, but objectively speaking they had little choice. The jury was always going to want to hear Camilla’s story from Camilla herself.

Intercut: RECONSTRUCTION: Girl sitting at a table talking to two men, one in barrister costume, referring to papers, etc.

I can only imagine the hours of preparation the lawyers must have put her through. But the prosecuting barrister, Ian Burns QC, was ruthless. He began his cross-examination by taking her through every lie she had told in relation to her pregnancies, forcing her to admit that she had not been telling the truth. It took over three hours. By the time he got to her version of events on the day of her child’s disappearance, her credibility was in tatters. No one believed her bizarre story about handing over a newborn baby in a lay-by on the A417. Most people still don’t. But are they wrong?

I’ve taken a long hard look at the Camilla Rowan case in this series, and much of the evidence has been damning. But is it the whole story? Or could there be something – or someone – out there who could throw new light on this baffling and unsettling case?

TITLE APPEARS OVER, TYPEWRITER STYLE:

Part four