Wrongful Death

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was after midnight as Anna sat cross-legged on the bed, with statements and documents from the case file strewn all over it and the floor. She still felt bad about deceiving Don into believing she had a headache, and her dilemma now was whether or not she should go downstairs and wake him up, or wait until the morning to tell him what she had uncovered. If she was right, about where the camera key ring, birthday card and, vitally, Mandy’s body could be, the Andersons might have some closure. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘I won’t get a wink of sleep and Don wants this resolved even more than I do…’ but first, she wanted to get her scribbled notes in order, and gather the documents from the file so she could fully explain her reasoning, which pointed to not one but two suspects being involved in Mandy Anderson’s abduction and murder.

The vital information Anna had found came firstly from looking at Jack Brennan’s statement. It contained the same points he had spoken about at the church, but in slightly more detail, along with his family background. His mother had left when he was very young and he was an only child who now lived with his father, the local Chief Ranger. He knew Mandy through school and the church; she was kind to him and helped him with the piano. Jack’s account of his movements for the afternoon that Mandy went missing was that his father had taken him out on a long driving lesson and they had returned home late evening.

Thanks to Jack’s alibi, Anna had at first thought she was wrong about the Barry Manilow song having a deeper significance for the young man, but what she discovered next convinced her otherwise. Jack Brennan’s personal details showed his date of birth as 21 May 1996, meaning he was sixteen on the day that Mandy disappeared. Anna wondered if he was the recipient of the camera key ring and card, but more worrying was that if that were true, his alibi had been a lie. There was no statement in the file made by a Mr Brennan, but Anna thought it impossible that he wouldn’t have been asked to confirm his son’s movements on the day in question. She had recalled Blane saying that as the local Chief Ranger, Jack’s father had led the woodland searches for Mandy Anderson, so she had looked through the case file for the search map and accompanying report to find his name.

On discovering the Chief Ranger was called Carl Brennan, Anna realized that this must have been the very same ‘Carl’ that Don had been talking to on the phone earlier in the evening. It made sense that Jack would have told his father about meeting Anna at the church, but she couldn’t understand why Jack would suggest that she had been in any way aggressive. She appreciated, due to Jack’s ADHD and his being bullied, that Carl might be an overprotective father, but why threaten to make a complaint to the Director of the Academy? It could just have been an idle threat – but what if it was actually more than that, some sort of nervous reaction in fear of being found out? If Jack Brennan had abducted or killed Mandy and, as Anna suspected, Carl Brennan had alibied his son then they were both lying.

She had been about to tidy up the mess on the bed when she noticed the pile of Mandy’s birthday cards and decided to look through them, checking them properly this time. It felt strange reading them, as the contents of the cards wished the girl a happy sixteenth, yet she had probably died before she even reached that age. Stranger still was the card Anna opened next, which was signed, ‘Love always, Jack xxx’, and in which the word ‘always’ was written in a slightly different-coloured pen, as if added as an afterthought.

This anomaly made her recall Jack’s comment that things would never be the same without Mandy. She sighed, everything buzzing around in her head, when suddenly the unexpected memory popped up of Dewar saying that the Josh Reynolds’ suicide note was fake because its wording suggested it was written by someone who already knew he was dead. Anna scratched her head to ruffle up her hair. Could Dewar’s theory also apply to the birthday card?

She looked again at the card from Jack and felt almost sure it was written as if he knew there was some sort of permanence about Mandy’s disappearance.

‘Okay, okay, now just sit back on this for a second,’ she muttered to herself and then began to piece it together slowly. If Jack killed Mandy then Carl Brennan must have lied about his son’s movements on that day, and he must also know where Mandy’s body was.

She grabbed the search record and spread the map out over the bedroom floor. Checking the report, she could see that it had been compiled by Carl Brennan, who also co-ordinated the efforts of the Park Rangers, Sheriff ’s officers, US Marines and members of the public in the woodland searches.

Anna decided the best thing to do was to write down, on bits of paper, the names of the teams, including the date and time they had searched each gridded area of woodland. Having laid them out on the corresponding areas of the map, nothing struck her as out of the ordinary.

She was beginning to gather up the bits of paper from the map when she noticed something odd about the searches on 25 May. Carl Brennan had led a team of eight people searching an area of woodland in Prince William Forest at eleven a.m. Ten other searches, in different areas, had taken place at the same time on that day, but what made Carl’s team stand out to Anna was that one member, a Mr J Knox, appeared to be in two places at the same time. At first, she thought that it could have been chance, someone with the same surname and initial, a relative perhaps, but as she looked closer she could see that the same thing re-occurred with the whole of Carl Brennan’s team. Each member listed on his team was also listed at another site at the same time. She was certain she was right – Carl Brennan must have made up a team using real names and there could only be one reason. Mandy Anderson’s body was buried in this section of woodland.

It was nearly two a.m. by the time Anna had put her notes in chronological order. Nevertheless, she pulled on a jumper over her pyjamas, went downstairs and before waking Blane laid out the statements and search map on the dining table, along with her notepad. She hesitated in his bedroom doorway, worried about upsetting him with her revelations. He was sound asleep, looking completely at peace, but her mind was made up; she wouldn’t be able to sleep herself as she was far too keen to run her thoughts by him.

Anna gently touched his shoulder. ‘Don, it’s me,’ she whispered. ‘I’m sorry to wake you but I really need to speak to you.’

Don, still half asleep and not really taking in what was happening, said nothing as he moved over to one side of the bed and pulled back the quilt, inviting her to join him.

‘No, it’s not that, Don.’

She didn’t feel affronted – had it been under different circumstances she would probably have slipped into bed with him, but now she switched on his bedside lamp. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light.

‘I think I may have uncovered what happened to Mandy and where she’s buried,’ Anna said softly.

He went bright red, flipped the quilt back over the bed and scooted out the other side, grabbing his dressing gown from the end of the bed.

‘I’m sorry, Anna, forgot I was buck-naked. I was half asleep and didn’t mean to offend…’

‘I’m not offended at all. I’m the one who should be apologizing for waking you at this time in the morning,’ she admitted sheepishly.

Blane joined Anna, having had a quick wash and put on a track-suit, sitting down beside her on the sofa. She decided to get straight to the point.

‘At first, I wasn’t sure and I thought I might be imagining things, but I’ve been going over and over the case since I went upstairs. I’ve laid everything out for you to look at,’ she said and pointed to the map and case file papers covering the dining table. ‘Okay, here we go – are you ready?’

He smiled, nodding his head. There was something so girlish about her excitement, and he leaned back as she clapped her hands.

‘Right, I think that Jack Brennan killed Mandy Anderson, and his father Carl, having found out, either helped him dispose of the body or deliberately made sure the area where she is concealed was not searched.’

Don looked at Anna with surprise, yet he knew from her tone of voice and demeanour that she was being serious, as she seemed calmer and focused. He was certain she would not be making such a bold statement if she hadn’t found evidence to back it up.

‘You won’t believe this, but it was the song “Mandy” on the CD player. Jack was playing the same tune on the piano when I left him at the church. Something was niggling me about it, but I thought I was being silly and imagining things. I had to be sure before I said anything to you,’ Anna said, embarrassed, feeling she had let him down by not confiding in him at the time.

He sensed the unease in her voice.

‘Whatever your reasons were, I don’t care. All that matters is we trust each other. Never be frightened to tell me your thoughts,’ he said.

‘All right, well I might as well be honest about everything. I also overheard your conversation with Carl Brennan, but I didn’t know at the time who you were speaking to.’

‘I knew you had heard, the floorboards creak at the slightest movement so I knew you were up. I didn’t tell you that Carl was having a moan and overreacting because I didn’t want you to worry. He hugged her before continuing. ‘I have to say you were very good at not giving yourself away, you must have been very curious to know who I was talking to.’

Anna slowly eased back from his embrace, thinking that it was good that he could joke about her antics, but at the same time she needed to finish what she had started.

‘I think Carl’s reaction was a nervous one, plus he may have been fishing for information,’ Anna said as Blane put his arm around her shoulders, and asked her to tell him everything that had raised her suspicions about Jack and Carl. She dived back to the table to fetch her notepad, and then rejoined him beside the fire, taking a deep breath before taking her time to explain what she thought might have happened. She said that it was Jack Brennan’s birthday on the day Mandy disappeared and she suspected that the camera key ring and birthday card Mandy bought at the mall were for him. Not wanting to be ridiculed about the present, or associating with Jack, Mandy lied about choir practice as a cover to secretly visit him on her way home.

‘I mean, I know all this is just supposition, and I could be wrong, but it sort of makes sense, do you agree?’

‘Yeah, in a way. Do you think there was anything sexual going on between the two of them?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know for certain, but I think Jack’s feelings for Mandy may have been stronger, possibly an infatuation.’

‘And hers for him?’ Blane pressed.

‘Well, more sort of friendly, platonic even – she respected him in some ways, like his ability on the piano, but also felt sorry for him.’

‘He may not have interpreted it that way,’ Blane added.

‘Exactly, and that’s why I believe something may have happened at his house, not premeditated but something that caused a spur-of-the-moment reaction and ended in her death.’

Blane thought about what Anna said and nodded in agreement.

‘So if Mandy did die in the Brennan house then Jack and Carl are lying about being out on a driving lesson all afternoon,’ he said quietly.

‘Yes. Carl’s involvement is where I really doubted my thoughts. I even considered that he might have abducted Mandy and persuaded or duped Jack into creating an alibi for him.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with that, you’re right to consider every possibility.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, more than ever aware of what a different creature he was to Langton, prepared to listen and not constantly challenge her views or suspicions.

Anna took hold of his hand and led him over to the dining table. She pointed to the underlined names of the people apparently searching different areas at the same time. He picked up on it straight away.

‘Unless these people have clones of themselves this is impossible.’

‘I think Carl Brennan knew that Mandy was buried in that section of woodland and deliberately falsified the search report so she wouldn’t be found,’ Anna said.

‘So Carl may have returned home to find Mandy’s body and then moved her to the woods.’

She nodded. ‘Or Jack buried her in the woods, and then told his father what had happened. Either way, Carl had to falsify the search records to conceal the crime.’

Blane spent quite a while intently studying the search record and map again. Anna, knowing he didn’t doubt her, just watched him as he slowly moved his index finger across the maps and then sighed deeply as the realization of what she had uncovered set in.

‘Dear God, this is unbelievable. Why did no one check over this search record two years ago?’ Blane said despairingly.

‘Mistakes happen, Don, we both know that.’

‘The damn answers were staring them in the face and they missed what was on the surface all along. Peter and Sally Anderson suffered because of incompetence and shoddy detective work and poor Mandy deserved better as well!’

Anna could see that Don was angry yet deeply moved by how the outcome would affect the Andersons.

He had returned to the fireplace and was resting his hands on the mantel as he stared into the blazing logs.

‘Why, Anna, why didn’t Carl come forward if it was an accident?’

She moved closer and rested her hand in the small of his back.

‘I don’t have the answers, but I do know when it comes to family, or in this case father and son, the saying “blood is thicker than water” is very pertinent.’

He nodded in agreement, but she could feel his sorrow.

‘We will need to inform the local Sheriff and get a warrant to search the Brennan house and the woods, but we can’t do that until morning so we may as well get a couple of hours’ sleep until then.’ He straightened up and headed towards his bedroom. Anna very much wanted to follow him, but sensed that he wanted to be alone with his thoughts, so she began to clear up the case file papers and map from the dining table. Not feeling at all sleepy she decided to put some more logs on the fire and soak up the warmth while resting on the sofa. She had just settled herself comfortably when she heard his bedroom door open, and looked up to see him come back into the room carrying an envelope.

‘Bill Roberts, the drug-enforcement agent in Jamaica, e-mailed some documents just after you went to bed. I’ve printed them off,’ he said and put the envelope on the dining table, next to her handbag.

She knew that he was feeling guilty about the missed opportunities during the FBI investigation into Mandy’s disappearance.

‘If you want to talk I’m a good listener,’ Anna said, moving along as he sat on the edge of the sofa.

‘I’m dreading telling Sally and Peter Anderson we screwed up. It will totally destroy them.’

‘You didn’t screw up, your colleagues did.’

Blane leaned forward and put his head in his hands. ‘If only I’d checked the statements and search records.’

‘If you hadn’t asked me to look at the case then I’d never have spoken with the Andersons, gone to the church or met Julie Collins. Call it fate or whatever you like, but you instigated it, not me.’

He gave a soft chuckle and then got to his feet. ‘I’m keeping you up and you haven’t had any sleep yet.’ He leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek.

Anna grabbed his hand. ‘I’m happy here on the sofa, but I’d feel even happier if you stayed with me.’ She drew him towards her as she lay back on the cushions. He knelt down beside her and looked into her eyes as they both nervously savoured the moment before he slowly drew her towards him, kissing her, a kiss that was passionate yet tender. Anna had no fear – this was a man who respected and cared for her. Even though the feelings between them were intense and she wanted their embrace to go further, as she was certain he also wanted, something held them both back. He lifted her gently to sit on his knee and put his arms around her. She knew that she had finally moved on from the loss of Ken as she snuggled her face into his neck.

Smelling bacon and eggs frying, Anna sat up and saw that Don was already awake and cooking. He looked over his shoulder and on seeing her he came and leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her gently on the lips.

‘I phoned Sheriff Mitchell and the District Judge, who will do a special hearing at eight a.m. for search warrants.’

‘Is it okay for me to come with you?’ Anna asked.

Blane smiled and told her she would be the star of the show and moreover would have to tell the Judge what she had uncovered so that he could see that ‘probable cause’ evidence existed that Jack and Carl Brennan killed and/or disposed of the body of Mandy Anderson.

Everything went smoothly at the District Court and the Judge duly issued both arrest and search warrants for the Brennans and their house and vehicles. Sheriff Mitchell went with Blane and Anna to the Brennans’ address. When they pulled up at the house there were no cars in the driveway, although they realized the vehicles might be parked in the double garage. Blane had possession of the warrants and rang the doorbell but there was no answer, so he knocked loudly. Anna, who was standing back from the porch, noticed the net curtain of a front window move and Jack Brennan peep out from behind it. She told Blane what she had just seen.

‘Jack, it’s me, Don Blane,’ he called. ‘Is your father in?’

At first there was no reply and then they heard a voice from behind the front door.

‘He said I wasn’t to let anyone in until he got back.’

Don glared at Sheriff Mitchell, wondering if someone in his office had let something slip.

‘Jack, you need to let me in.’

‘I can’t or my dad will be mad with me, like he was last night ’cause I spoke with that English lady.’

Although the warrant allowed Blane to force entry he was loath to scare Jack by doing so. ‘It’s okay, Jack, I promise you he won’t be mad, but he’s in a bit of trouble and you can help him.’

The door opened and Jack Brennan appeared wearing knee-length shorts, a T-shirt and trainers. He was visibly agitated, a look of anxious concern on his face.

‘What’s happened to my dad?’

Blane took Jack through to the living room and told him that his dad was fine but asked if he knew where he was. Jack said he didn’t but he’d gone out early in his Park Ranger’s truck. Blane knew that as Carl Brennan would never run off and leave his son, they could just sit and wait for him to return, but he and the Sheriff agreed it was better to be safe than sorry and put out an APB on Carl. They also knew that legally they were treading a fine line by questioning Jack, but they needed to trace Carl Brennan quickly.

Blane sat Jack down and calmly explained that the District Judge had said that they could search the house and cars and held up the warrant.

‘I haven’t stolen anything,’ Jack said defensively.

‘It’s not about stealing things, Jack, it’s about the day Mandy disappeared. Did she come here with a birthday present for you?’ Blane asked.

‘No.’ Jack sucked in his breath and bit down on his lips in a childlike manner.

‘Is that the truth, Jack?’

‘Yes, you can ask my dad, he’ll tell you it’s the truth. It’s the truth, honestly that is the truth.’

The Sheriff was outside putting out the APB when Anna noticed that there was a kitchen to her left, which led her to wonder if there was a door that led out to the garage. Indeed there was and it was open. The garage was huge and would comfortably hold four cars. There was a sink in one corner next to a washing machine and dryer, and a door to the rear garden. Next to this was a wall rack with a range of neatly assembled garden tools hanging from it. There was one car, an old red Ford Fiesta, which was in good condition and well polished. Anna looked through the passenger window and was astonished by what she saw. The car keys were in the ignition and dangling from them was a tiny digital camera.

As Anna returned to the living room it was clear that Blane was becoming frustrated at his lack of progress with Jack.

‘That’s a lovely looking car in the garage, beautifully polished. Is it yours, Jack?’ Anna asked.

‘Yes, ma’am, my dad bought it for my sixteenth birthday and taught me to drive in it.’

Anna held up the Fiesta’s car key while hiding the digital camera in the palm of her hand. ‘I found this on the garage floor.’ She paused as Jack peered at the key.

‘That’s the key for my car,’ he said.

Anna let the camera fall from her palm and it swayed like a pendulum, yet Jack didn’t bat an eyelid or even break his eye contact with her. She thought this strange, particularly if Mandy Anderson had bought it for him. Blane glanced at her, as she moved a fraction closer to Jack, whose big raw hands clenched and unclenched.

‘Where did you get the lovely little camera?’ Anna asked.

‘I found it,’ Jack said, now avoiding eye contact and looking worried.

‘Mandy gave it to you on your birthday and told you not to tell anyone, didn’t she, Jack?’ Anna asked with a cheeky smile.

Jack smiled back and nodded. ‘Promise you won’t tell my dad, or he’ll be upset with me again.’

‘Yours and Mandy’s secrets are safe with me and Don. I bet she gave you a birthday card as well?’

‘Yes, she did,’ Jack said proudly.

Blane smiled at him. ‘Have you still got it?’

Jack leaned forward to Blane and whispered, ‘I hid it from my dad but you can see it if you want. It’s signed, she signed it, because it is very special, she signed, “Love Mandy”.’

‘It must have been a wonderful surprise when Mandy came round with a card and present?’

Jack looked away from Blane and shook his head firmly.

‘No, she’s never been to my house, not ever. You can ask my dad.’

Blane kept his voice relaxed and smiled, saying he’d love to see the birthday card.

‘Okay, I’ll go and get it for you,’ Jack said and dashed off upstairs.

Anna was surprised that Blane hadn’t followed up on Jack’s obvious lie and was about to ask why but he preempted her.

‘Jack doesn’t think he’s lying because he’s erased the memory of Mandy ever being here that day.’

‘But why be so open about the camera and card?’ Anna asked.

‘Because you were right, Mandy wanted it to be kept a secret. To Jack they are precious keepsakes that it would seem even Carl doesn’t know about.’

Anna agreed but was still confused as to whether or not Carl was involved.

‘Jack knows right from wrong and is not a habitual liar,’ Blane insisted. ‘He and Carl may not have spoken about Mandy since the day she went missing, but they certainly did yesterday as Carl’s phone call last night revealed.’

‘So you think that Jack telling his father about meeting me may have relit the fuse,’ Anna said.

‘And it made Carl twitchy – his call was really a fishing expedition to see what was happening.’

Jack came back into the room and proudly presented the birthday card to Anna to look at, childlike and smiling as he tapped the card in his hand.

As he did so, Blane spoke to Sheriff Mitchell, and quietly suggested that Jack be interviewed at the station by a forensic psychiatrist, who might be able to jog his memory into recall, without causing an emotional breakdown.

It was a sad moment as Jack was driven away in a patrol car. He was still smiling happily, but only because he had no real understanding of what was happening to him.

‘Any luck with Carl’s whereabouts?’ Blane asked the Sheriff as they stood in the driveway.

‘Not as yet – they put out calls over his car radio but either it’s switched off or he’s deliberately not answering.’

‘Shit. Carl’s gone to dig her up. The tool rack in the garage – there was no shovel!’ Anna exclaimed.

‘Then he has to be at the area that he made sure was never searched,’ Blane said. ‘Okay, let’s go.’

The three of them were in the Sheriff’s car in an instant, driving at high speed down the I-95, magnetic blue light flashing and sirens on. Sheriff Mitchell recalled that there was a single dirt track road into that section of woodland and it was a mile long with a dead end, so if Carl Brennan was there he would have to come back out the same way.

It was about three minutes more before they reached the location. As they drove slowly down the track they caught sight of a Ranger’s truck in the distance, at which point the Sheriff took out a pair of binoculars to get a closer look and confirmed that it was Carl Brennan’s. Turning the binoculars towards the woods he reckoned that he could just about see the figure of someone walking back towards the truck carrying what looked like a black trash bag. Mitchell turned off the patrol car’s engine and said that it was best to get out and approach on foot.

As they got closer to the vehicle a man came out of the woods, but he wasn’t carrying anything. He was tall and dressed smartly in a park ranger’s tapered grey shirt, green trousers, matching arrowhead tie and brown felt hat. On seeing them he smiled, waved and started to walk along the dirt track in their direction. Blane muttered to Anna that it was Carl Brennan, and positioned himself in front of her, saying she was to stay behind him. Anna could see that he had his right hand behind his back and was carrying a small Glock pistol, concealing it from Carl’s view. Simultaneously, Sheriff Mitchell put his hand down to his right side, unclipped his holster and gripped the gun, ready to use it if he had to. Although Carl Brennan wore a holster and firearm, his hands were loosely by his sides as he approached them.

Anna started nervously as the man suddenly raised his right hand slowly upwards, thankfully past his sidearm to his hat, which he lifted and doffed politely.

‘Hiya, Sheriff, Don, everything okay?’ Carl said and placed his hat back on his head.

‘What you doing out here, Carl?’ Sheriff Mitchell asked.

‘I had a tip-off about some poachers out looking for black bears, so I came to check it out,’ Carl answered.

‘Where’s the black bag you were just carrying?’ Sheriff Mitchell asked.

Carl looked uneasy and paused, obviously thinking up an answer. ‘Oh that, it’s a coyote carcass I just found, I’m going to put it in the incinerator.’

There was a wretched few seconds’ pause, Carl’s eyes flicking nervously.

‘There’s no point in lying, Carl. We know that you falsified the Mandy Anderson search records,’ Blane said gently.

Carl’s body sagged as if he had been punched and the air drained from his body. Blane stepped forward, removed the Ranger’s gun from its holster and handed it to Sheriff Mitchell, who turned to face Carl and spoke as a friend. ‘The District Judge has issued warrants for your and Jack’s arrest, Carl, and forensics are searching the house now.’

‘Oh, dear God, I knew it, one day, oh, my God…’

Carl Brennan now looked as if someone had just sucked the lifeblood out of him, as ashen-faced he trembled and chewed his bottom lip. Blane could see he was close to tears, not because of what he had done but for the deep love he had for his son.

‘He’s a good boy, Don, he loved Mandy and if anyone’s to blame, I am.’

The dejected man gave a long low sigh and began to explain. He had just returned home from work that fateful day and was opening the front door when he heard Jack arguing with a girl inside the house. He went in and saw Jack at the top of the stairs and the back of the girl so he didn’t know who it was at first. Carl heard the girl say to Jack that he shouldn’t have tried to kiss her and she wanted to go home. Jack was pleading with her to stay and tugging her by the coat when Carl shouted out to the pair of them to stop and come downstairs immediately. Carl began to cry as he went on to say that on hearing his voice the girl turned sharply towards him and Jack let go of her coat, causing her to stumble forwards and fall down the stairs.

‘I heard the loud crack as her neck snapped and she ended up by my feet with her face staring up at me. Jack stood there, frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. I told him to go to his room and stay there.’

‘He never told you Mandy had given him a birthday card or present?’

Carl looked bemused and stunned by Don’s question, as he answered, ‘No.’

‘Why didn’t you just call Sheriff Mitchell and explain what happened?’

‘Because I was scared that Jack would be arrested and taken from me. Even if I told the truth I’d just be seen as a father trying to cover for his son. It was an accident, I swear before God it was an accident.’

‘Was lying and disposing of her body worth all this, Carl?’ Blane asked softly.

‘No, but my son was.’

‘Did you tell him what to say at the time?’

‘Yes, but we never spoke about it again after that day. He’s obliterated her fall from his mind, as if she never came to the house and it never happened.’

Carl’s composure fell apart as he began to sob. He appeared to have aged twenty years in the few moments it had taken for him to explain the tragedy and kept on repeating, ‘God forgive me.’