Page 115 of Twisted Lies

He gave her a half-smile as he turned over the front cover. The expression died on his face as his gaze rested on the first photo.

A barely recognisable Trisha Morley stared back at him. A bulging black eye had swollen the right side of her face. Bruising covered two-thirds of her facial skin; dried blood had congealed at the bottom of her nostril; and her bottom lip had been split in the middle.

‘Just how clumsy does one have to be to sustain these injuries, Mr Winston?’

She could tell by his expression that he wanted to look away but couldn’t.

‘There are more photos in that folder, just a selection for your perusal, and feel free to share them with everyone who worked on the campaign. Those are your very own copies.’

‘I don’t remember seeing these photos at the first—’

‘They weren’t presented but rest assured they will be. Any information I’ve gathered is now in the hands of the Crown Prosecution Service.’

She paused for a minute as he continued to leaf through the photo selection. He turned the pages slowly, and she noted there was little colour left in his face.

‘Imagine if this was your sister, or your daughter, Mr Winston,’ she offered, just to drive her point home. ‘Though what I’d really like to draw your attention to is the final page in the folder.’

With relief, he turned quickly past the last couple of images to the doctor’s report at the end.

That was okay with her. She’d arranged the photos knowing which images would stick in his mind, because they were the same ones that had stuck in hers.

‘You’ll see the section I’ve underlined, highlighted and circled with stars, where Trisha Morley states to the doctor that her husband beat her and threw her down the stairs.’

Due to her decoration of the text, the statement was difficult to miss.

She took a deep breath. ‘It is unlikely that I will ever prove who was behind the attacks on me, even though they are dirty and dangerous actions to take against anyone.’

He opened his mouth to respond, but Frost continued.

‘This is all going to come out and your positive campaign is going to make you look ridiculous. We all back the wrong horse sometimes, but to keep on backing the same horse once you know it’s done is just stupid.

‘You have the chance to back away from this before the trial, distance yourself and limit the damage. In doing so, you lay the ground for a fair fight in court. A decision made on the evidence alone.’

He pushed the file towards her.

‘Please take that with you.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to share—?’

‘No, thank you. A statement will be issued within the hour.’

She took the folder and allowed the triumph to ease the tension in her shoulders.

These people had warned her to back off and now she was doing the same to them.

And it had worked.

She stood and headed for the door.

She paused and turned, needing to make one final point before she left.

‘And just for future campaigns, Mr Winston, Trisha Morley was not a bag of crisps.’

Ninety-Eight

‘He’s gonna fucking jump,’ Kim said, staring up at the Stambermill Viaduct.

They had raced to the imposing structure in Stourbridge the second they’d received the call from Stacey that someone matching the description of Jacob Powell had been spotted walking along the viaduct.