Wrongful Death

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Over at the police forensic lab, Anna and Blane watched avidly as the two digital files on the mini-camera were loaded onto a computer. The date and time stamps showed that both were taken on the day Mandy went missing. One was of her at Prezzies gadget shop timed at 1.45 p.m., and the other sitting next to Jack on his bed at 3.10 p.m. This picture was obviously taken by Jack holding the camera up towards himself and Mandy and it also appeared that he was about to kiss her on the cheek.

‘Maybe that is what they were arguing about, like Carl said, Jack trying to kiss her,’ Anna suggested.

‘Probably, but how can a father’s love for his son result in so much sadness and misery?’ Blane remarked, visibly moved as he looked at the last pictures of Mandy alive.

‘Are we going to break the news to the Andersons now?’ Anna asked.

‘No, Sheriff Mitchell will be handling the case and knows them well. I couldn’t face them or know what to say right now.’

Anna could see how tired and upset he was so she put her arms around him and gave him a spirit-lifting hug as she whispered in his ear.

‘We could go back to the cabin, have something to eat and then start where we left off on the sofa last night?’

Blane said nothing, but from the way he squeezed her, Anna knew his answer was yes.

Having stopped to buy some chicken, ribs and side salads for a barbecue, they made their way back to the cabin. ‘Were Agent Roberts’ enquires in Jamaica helpful?’ Blane asked.

‘I haven’t had had a chance to look through the documents yet,’ Anna replied as she leaned over to the back seat to get the thick envelope out of her handbag.

‘By the amount of stuff in here, it looks like he’s gone out of his way to help me.’

‘That’s Bill Roberts for you, thorough in everything he does,’ Blane commented.

Anna began to read Bill’s report:

Copies of all the documents that I have referred to are attached to this e-mail in pdf format.

1. August 6th 2012 Samuel Peters attended British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica and applied for a fast-track visa to attend sister Esme’s funeral. Stated he would be staying with sister Marisha Peters at 51 Clarendon House, Brixton. Biometric data, by way of photograph and fingerprints, were taken and he flew to the UK on August 8th on a six-month open return ticket. Kingston Customs could not assist me as to if or when Samuel Peters returned to Jamaica.

2. His visa application form gave occupation as fisherman living in Manchioneal Bay for last 25 years. I visited location and found it to be a small and impoverished fishing community. Samuel lives alone in a run-down wooden shack. According to friends he has not been seen since he said he was ‘going to Esme’s funeral’. They described him as pleasant but lazy, often drunk and sleeping long hours due to his love of spiced rum.

3. I attended Registrar General’s Department to check Samuel’s background further. It transpired that a Samuel Peters made Internet applications, on September 20th 2012, for certified copies of his marriage certificate to a Gloria Rediker and birth certificate for their son Arum Joshua Peters. These were sent to Marisha’s address and payment was made with her Visa card.

4. A week later Samuel Peters made Internet applications for copies of a Gloria Peters and Xavier Alleyne’s marriage certificate and their daughters’ birth certificates, Donna Mavis Alleyne, born 1986, and Aisa Moira Alleyne, born 1988. Marisha Peters’ credit card and Brixton address again used. The Gloria Peters that married Xavier Alleyne gave a maiden name of Rediker and the certificate clearly shows that she was a widow?

5. I checked to see if another Samuel Peters with similar details was dead or existed and I could not find even a close match. Therefore Gloria Peters’ marriage to Xavier Alleyne is bigamous.

6. Gloria Peters and Xavier Alleyne married in 1986 in Montego Bay, where he owned a banana plantation. After the collapse of his business Xavier died from a heart attack in 1990 aged 32. The plantation was sold to property developers after his death. Gloria allegedly moved to the UK with her daughters and obviously I will leave further enquiries concerning her whereabouts to you.

7. David and Mavis Rediker came to the island in 1975 with their daughter Gloria. David was a botanist for the Jamaican Natural History Museum in Kingston. He died in 1982 and Mavis in 1984. The current director of the museum remembered the Rediker family and informed me that David was, figuratively speaking, ‘a victim of his own research’. He said David became addicted to and overdosed on atropine from the berries of the Sacred Datura plant. It is a member of the nightshade family found on the island and more hallucinogenic than LSD.

8. The Redikers lived in a house that was provided by the museum. After David died they allowed Gloria to remain at the premises to care for her mother who was dying from cancer. The director recalled that Gloria, then aged about 18, became pregnant by and married a fisherman called Samuel whom he described as very apathetic and unsupportive.

9. Samuel Peters has two sisters, Esme three years older, and Marisha one year younger, both emigrated to UK in 1984. I can find no record in Jamaica of them having been married or giving birth to any children.

Anna leaned back, closing her eyes. ‘Lady bloody Lynne’s a bigamist and her daughter was in an incestuous relationship! My God, this is unbelievable stuff; Josh Reynolds must be Gloria’s son. Bill Roberts is bloody amazing.’ Anna sighed with elation as she flicked through the copies of the birth and marriage certificates. She stamped her feet and banged the dashboard with excitement. ‘There’s so much information here, and boy oh boy has it thrown a bunch of spanners into the Reynolds investigation.’

‘You can forward the e-mail to your team in London when we get back to the cabin,’ Blane suggested, hoping she would agree.

‘Not yet, I need to make sense of all this first.’ She waved the documents animatedly.

Blane was disappointed, as he’d been looking forward to a quiet afternoon and evening together. ‘Would you prefer me to take you back to the Academy?’

‘No. I’d appreciate your help in trying to make sense of all this.’

He forced a smile, slightly relieved that she had not wanted to return to the Academy. ‘I’ll do my best but I don’t really know anything about the Reynolds case.’

‘Well I can tell you all about it while you do the barbecue.’

Blane resigned himself to the fact that making love by the fireplace would just have to wait.

Making the most of the journey time, Anna phoned Joan, who was delighted to hear her voice and wanted to know all about the course and her classmates. Anna looked across at Blane as she told Joan that she was having the most wonderful time and her course instructor was one of the nicest and most interesting people she had ever met. He smiled as Anna continued her conversation.

‘I want as much detail as you can find on Lord Henry Lynne, his death in Egypt and who his will was made out to,’ she said, pausing at Joan’s sharp intake of breath.

‘Also, look through the documents taken from Esme’s flat and see if there is a birth certificate or adoption papers for Josh. This is very important, Joan – if you find it, scan it and e-mail me a copy.’

‘Can I ask why?’

‘It’s work in progress, but I think I may be on to something big about Lady Lynne.’

‘Should I tell Mike Lewis?’ Joan asked.

‘No. Please don’t say anything to anyone yet; at the moment it’s just a gut feeling.’

‘Mum’s the word and I’ll get on to it first thing in the morning,’ Joan promised.

Anna looked at her watch and realized she’d got her time difference the wrong way round. It was five p.m. in the UK and not early morning as she thought and in her excitement she’d forgotten it was a Sunday.

‘Josh’s birth certificate is really important. Would you mind going in this evening?’

‘I’ll do what I can but…’

‘I’ll make sure you get paid double time,’ Anna promised, piling on the pressure.

‘Okay, my mum’s visiting her sister in Bournemouth so I’m on my own anyway.’

‘From the information I have in front of me Samuel Peters may not have returned to Jamaica.’

‘What! He’s still in London?’

‘I don’t know for certain, but it looks like he was up to something and if I’m right he may have paid for his meddling with his life.’

Joan gave a small gasp. ‘Marisha is still in a coma, but when you think about it, could she have killed Samuel to keep the money for herself?’

Now worried that she had asked too much of Joan, Anna was eager to calm her down.

‘I can’t say at the moment, but finding the whereabouts of Samuel, dead or alive, will be a major breakthrough,’ Anna said.

‘I’ll do my best to find him for you.’

‘Thanks, Joan, and remember, not a word to anyone’ Anna cautioned.

‘Course not. By the way, did you read the magazine article about Lady Lynne?’

Anna wondered if she should be upfront and admit she hadn’t, but she didn’t want to offend Joan after asking so much of her. ‘Um, yeah, really interesting – I’m glad you told me about it.’

‘Amazing, isn’t it, that so many poisonous plants are actually used as medicines. Lady Lynne created the David Rediker Trust in memory of her father who was a botanist. She’s put millions into research on plants that can be used for medicinal purposes,’ Joan gushed.

Yet again she could have kicked herself where Joan was concerned, Anna thought as she hung up, wishing she had read the Gardeners’ World article on the plane as it might have heightened her suspicions long before she read Bill Roberts’ report.

Anna next phoned Pete Jenkins, who, from the background sounds, was bathing his daughter.

‘I need you to look at some stuff on the Reynolds case for me first thing in the morning.’

‘Sorry, Anna, but Mike Lewis is now holding the purse for the forensic budget so only he can authorize further examinations.’

‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, Pete. If I’m right it will be crucial to finding out what really happened to Josh Reynolds.’

‘I’d love to help you, Anna, but…’

‘Samuel Peters may have been murdered as well,’ Anna said as persuasively as she could.

‘How did I know before you even said a word that this was going to be complicated?’

‘It’s a simple DNA comparison, that’s all, and you already have the two samples in the lab.’

‘Whose?’ Pete asked bluntly.

‘Donna and Josh Reynolds – I need you to tell me if they have the same maternal DNA.’

‘You bloody what? You want me to do a mitochondrial test to see if Josh Reynolds was shagging his sister?’

‘Half-sister would be more exact, but yes, that is the general idea.’

‘I’ll go stick a needle in Lady Lynne’s arse for a drop of blood to compare it against, shall I?’

‘That won’t be necessary right now, and if she is the mother that will be my pleasure.’

‘Anna, for fuck’s sake get real, you’re asking me to do something that you have no evidence to support and is totally unethical,’ Pete said, alarmed at her outrageous request.

‘I have certified copies of both their birth certificates and I believe they have the same mother.’

‘Copies? How did you get them? No, no, on second thought don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. It was good speaking to you, Anna, but you need to talk to Mike Lewis.’

‘Pete, don’t hang up, there is some other stuff that is of use to you about Samuel Peters.’

‘What?’

‘His fingerprints were taken at the British Embassy in Jamaica when he applied for a visa so they should be on the UK Border Agency database by now.’

There was a brief pause during which Anna could practically hear the cogs turning in Pete’s head.

Finally, he sighed. ‘Can I ask where the hell you’re getting all this information from, particularly when you’re thousands of miles away?’

‘Can’t say at the moment, but I’ve no reason to doubt it’s reliable and true. If I’m right, and I think I am, then politically it is very sensitive stuff.’

‘But you want me to put my job on the line to see if the Lynne family have links back to the likes of Cleopatra and Oedipus,’ Pete said indignantly.

‘Okay, the maternal DNA can wait, it was an impetuous request and I shouldn’t have asked you to take risks like that. You could say you located Samuel Peters’ prints having thought about how he would have needed a visa to come to the UK,’ Anna said, still hoping to win Pete over.

Again there was a pause before Pete continued: ‘I’ll do the fingerprints, but I want copies of the birth certificates and written authority before I do the maternal DNA testing.’

‘Thanks, Pete, I owe you big-time.’

‘Too right you do!’ Pete said, and hung up.

Pulling in to park the car outside the cabin, Blane turned and looked at Anna and gave her a wry smile.

‘What?’ she asked innocently.

‘When you get the bit between your teeth you really go for it, don’t you?’ he remarked.

‘Was I a bit overboard with Pete?’

‘You were asking him to put his job on the line by the sounds of it, and that is an awful lot to ask anyone.’

‘I need the DNA results to solve this case,’ Anna said indignantly.

‘So this Lady Gloria, is she some bigwig back in England?’ he asked, changing tack to keep the peace.

‘Rich, powerful and very influential. She probably has a direct line to the Queen and Prime Minister, she’s that important.’

‘Really, to the Queen and Prime Minister?’ Blane grinned.

‘Figure of speech, but probably true,’ Anna said, and they both laughed.