Page 70 of Worse Than Murder (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller #13)

F rom Alison’s cottage, I go to End Lane where Lionel Bell is sitting in his armchair with his daughter, Gill, on the sofa next to him and Tania on the opposing armchair. I’m the last to arrive. I’ve no idea why I’m there, but something tells me I’m going to want to hear what Lionel has to say.

‘I did steal that money,’ he says, not looking at anyone, his gaze fixed firmly on the carpet.

Gill slaps a hand to her mouth, though I think she already knew about the money. Tania looks shocked, disappointed.

‘I have no excuse. I could say it was a moment of weakness, but the fact is I needed it. It’s as simple as that.’

I clear my throat. ‘Iain knew, didn’t he? He said he’d keep your secret if you removed Travis’s statement about the missing car, which you did, yet he still leaked your secret. He discredited your reputation.’

Lionel nods. ‘I couldn’t prove Iain killed the twins, but I had my suspicions. If I’d told anyone, nobody would have believed me.’

‘You could have told me, Dad,’ Gill says. ‘I would have helped you in any way I could.’

‘No, you couldn’t. I was protecting you, too.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Jason Marley.’

‘Oh, God.’ Gill visibly baulked at the mention of the name.

‘Who’s Jason Marley?’ I ask.

Lionel looks at her daughter. Eventually, she nods, gives him the go-ahead to continue.

‘Jason Marley was a bad lad. Always in trouble,’ Lionel says.

‘Gill here was going through her teenage rebellious stage and was following him around like a lap-dog. I tried to get her to see sense, but it seemed that, the more I objected, the more she carried on seeing him. He broke into a warehouse in Kendal one night, battered a security guard, put him in hospital. Gill was his alibi, saying he was with her all night. It was a lie, but there was nothing I could do to stop her. The charges against Jason were dropped. He got away with it.’

‘So, what’s that got to do with Iain?’

Gill looks at me. ‘Iain saw me the night of the robbery. Jason had stood me up. I was angry. He was always standing me up. I went to sit by the lake with a bottle of WKD Blue to drown my sorrows. I didn’t see Iain, but he clearly saw me.’

‘Iain waited until the charges were dropped,’ Lionel says. ‘Then he walked into the station and told me Gill had lied for Marley.’

‘I split up with Jason for good after that. I realised I was wasting my time. That’s when I joined the police.’

‘But Iain has constantly been dropping snide remarks ever since,’ Lionel says. ‘I couldn’t say anything about it, or he would ruin her, too. I didn’t mind him ruining me, but not Gill. She didn’t deserve that.’

I turn to look at Tania. She’s staring straight at Lionel, but she doesn’t have the hard, embittered face of a newshound: she’s looking at him with love and affection.

Lionel has been living with pain and torment for thirty years.

He’s suffered in silence. Despite the fact he stole money from a dead man, he’s more than made up for it by protecting his daughter under the cruel iron fist of an evil manipulator.

‘Gill, can I have a word with you outside?’ I ask her.

‘Sure.’

We get up and leave. We walk down the steps and onto End Lane. The sun is high in the sky, not a cloud in sight. I turn and look to the sprawling view. This really is a beautiful village.

‘What did you want to talk to me about?’

I glance over my shoulder into Lionel’s living room, and I see him and Tania embracing. They pull apart and she kisses him softly on the lips.

‘It’s doesn’t matter,’ I say.