Ten Guilty Men (A DCI Morton Crime Novel Book 3) (28 page)

‘If you’ll allow me to finish please, Mr Morton. I will ensure my client answers your questions but you have to allow me to explain her position before then. The knife was brought to the scene by Brianna Jackson. It was a craft knife made of Damascus steel that Ellis received from her father on her eighteenth birthday, and Miss Jackson wished to see Ellis buried with it. It was set aside with all of Ellis’ personal effects prior to the cremation.’

Morton nodded. It made sense. Only the body and the coffin could be loaded into the chamber.

‘We would therefore like to offer a guilty plea in consideration of your prosecutor making a sentencing recommendation. Pursuant to the B3-4.3A guidelines, this was a minor kidnapping committed without planning, and by a person suffering from severe grief. She had just lost half of her known family.’

Morton waited, in case Hollis was going to carry on. ‘Very well. I’ll speak to the prosecutor about that, but it is out of my hands. I still have a few questions, Miss Curzon.’

Gabriella looked up from the knife at the sound of her name, but seemed dazed, confused even.

‘How long have you known that you were related to Ellis and Brianna?’ Morton asked.

Gabriella shrugged. ‘Forever. Ever since she came to my school. We’ve got the same birthmark. Our father had it too.’

‘What birthmark?’

‘A half moon and stars,’ Gabriella said. She stood and lifted her shirt to expose her navel. ‘See?’

Morton looked at it carefully. Gabriella did have a darkened area that looked like a crescent moon surrounded by splotches that could generously be interpreted to be stars.

‘Ellis saw this mark?’

‘Yes. When she photographed me. We got to talking afterwards, and the truth came out. That was the summer I moved down to London to become a model, and I stayed on her couch.’

‘You assumed from a birthmark that you were related?’

‘Not just that. Ellis spoke to her father. They argued about it, but a DNA test eventually proved that I was his. Her mother never found out, but I was just glad to have a family.’

‘You grew up in the system?’

Gabriella nodded.

‘How was your relationship with Brianna before Ellis’ death?’ Morton asked.

‘Cordial. She never accepted me as her sister, and we had little in common. To tell you the truth, I always thought she was jealous of my relationship with Ellis.’

‘If you two weren’t close, why did you conspire to steal from Kal?’

‘We didn’t steal. I always intended to give him the money back. He wanted to marry our sister, and we needed to know that he trusted her. He didn’t.’

‘When was this little charade planned?’

‘At the party. It was pretty impromptu. Brianna said we should do it.’

‘You set up an argument on Ellis’s birthday. Your timing is impeccable,’ Morton said with only a trace of sarcasm.

‘We had to. He was planning on proposing that night.’

‘Kal was going to propose on her birthday?’ Morton said.

‘Yes.’

‘Interesting. Miss Curzon, I have a few delicate questions I need to ask. If at any point you’d like to pause to consult with your lawyer please say so and I will vacate the room. Is that OK?’ Morton asked. It was a little late to really build rapport, but he needed Gabriella to be amenable to answering his questions as fully as possible.

She nodded.

‘I understand Ellis was intending to go into rehab.’

‘Yes, she was. We visited a rehab clinic a couple of weeks back.’

Morton bolted upright. ‘You visited Sparks Rehabilitation Clinic with Ellis? When?’

‘A few Saturdays back.’

Interesting. Brianna claimed she was the one who visited Sparks with Ellis
. ‘When was she intending to go into rehab?’

‘When she got back from New York. I was going to...’ Gabriella’s voice trailed off.

‘You were going to what, Miss Curzon? Go with her? I’m not interested in any drugs offences you may have committed.’

‘Yes. I wanted to do it with her, but I couldn’t afford it.’

At two grand a week nor could I.

‘I haven’t taken anything lately,’ Gabriella continued. ‘Not since...’ She rubbed her hands over her stomach.

‘How far along are you?’

‘Fifteen weeks.’

‘Congratulations,’ Morton said. ‘Aleksander Barchester is the father, isn’t he?’

‘Yes. We’re going to be so happy together. I can’t wait for baby Victoria to be born.’

‘It’s a girl then?’

‘I haven’t had the test, but I hope so. I shouldn’t say that, should I? I’m supposed to say I’m fine either way as long as it’s healthy.’

‘Yes, you are,’ Morton said. ‘But Aleksander was sleeping around, wasn’t he? With Ellis?’

‘No! No, he wasn’t!’ Gabriella thumped her fists on the table.

‘I’m afraid he was. We found his DNA on her bed sheets.’

‘That bastard!’

‘That must have made you mad.’

‘It would have if I’d known. You think I killed her. You’re wrong. I’m sorry I took Brianna hostage. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, but I’m not a bad person. I own up when I do things wrong.’

‘You only own up when there’s irrefutable proof of it in the form of a policeman who witnessed the entire ordeal and taped it. That isn’t courage. It’s trying to salvage a deal from the prosecutor in light of overwhelming evidence. Don’t pretend to be some sort of saint, Miss Curzon.’

Gabriella sat there, stony faced and open mouthed, at a loss for words.

‘After Kallum and Aleksander left the party, did you see Brianna at all?’

‘No. Not once. I had a drink with Paddy, then we left.’

‘But he left you alone for a while, didn’t he?’

‘Yes. I finished my drink, and went outside for a cigarette. I didn’t see Brianna, honest.’

‘That just doesn’t line up with what others are saying. We know you were alone about half twelve. That’s the same time Brianna came back.’

‘Maybe I missed her. It’s a big house.’

‘But if you were smoking outside then she’d have had to walk right past you.’

‘I did go to the bathroom, come to think of it.’

‘At exactly the moment Brianna came in?’

‘I guess so. Stranger things have happened. I’m not lying, Mr Morton. I didn’t kill my sister. Why would I lie to you?’

Chapter 58: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

As Morton waited for Kieran O’Connor to arrive, he couldn’t help but admire Kieran’s office. Kieran’s latest secretary had the place looking much tidier than on Morton’s last visit. The piles and piles of papers were gone, and the ratty old desktop had been replaced with a sleek new iMac and a digital photo frame which scrolled through various pictures of Kieran and his fiancée Miranda, whom Morton had never met.

Morton fiddled absent-mindedly with a Newton’s Cradle that he found on a side shelf, watching the toy click-clack back and forth. When he heard footsteps, he hastily hid it out of sight underneath the desk.

‘Sorry I’m late. Judge Milner kept us behind. Did Beatrice offer you a coffee?’ Kieran asked.

‘She did, thanks. Nice lass. How long has she been working for you?’

‘Two weeks now. This,’ Kieran swept his arm across the overly-neat office, ‘will never last.’

‘You never know. You might be a changed man.’

‘She can digitise my files all she likes, but I’ll still print ’em out before I read them.’

‘Tree killer.’

‘What can I say? I like it how I like it. And I get results.’

The lawyer had a point.

‘Now then. Ellis DeLange. Where are you on this? I’ve been fielding calls on a daily basis. We need to be seen doing something.’

‘We’re down to two suspects,’ Morton said. ‘Both in the house at the time of the murder. Both with motive and opportunity. One of them took the other hostage yesterday.’

‘I heard. Your leg all right?’ Kieran’s brow furrowed in concern.

‘Fine.’

‘Then give me a précis for each of your suspects,’ Kieran said.

‘Suspect number one is Gabriella Curzon. She’s yesterday’s hostage taker. She’s the victim’s half-sister, and best friend.’

‘What does she do for a living?’

‘She used to model,’ Morton said. ‘Now she’s a law student.’

‘So she knows the rules.’

‘I’ll get to that. First, means. Around the time Ellis was murdered, Gabriella was alone in the house for approximately half an hour. After Kallum Fielder and Aleksander Barchester left for the night, she was alone in the house with Francis Patrick Malone, a low-level–’

‘I remember Paddy Malone. He’s a regular.’

‘Paddy left to deal drugs. He was gone for half an hour and got back at approximately five to one in the morning, right before the clocks went forward by an hour for British Summer Time.’

‘He can’t be sure?’

‘Nope. The timings are all very loose other than those which we’ve taken from CCTV. Our suspects and witnesses were either drunk or high or both. Between that and the clock change, none of them can be sure what happened and when. We know that by 02:17, Gabriella was at Richmond Station. She caught a cab, and then went home with Paddy Malone.’

‘Short window.’

‘I agree,’ Morton said. ‘She was emotional that night. She had an argument with Aleksander Barchester. He said it was over her drug taking, but she claims she hasn’t touched anything more than a glass of wine in over three months.’

‘Do you believe her?’

‘Yes. I think they argued over Ellis. We found seminal DNA belonging to Barchester on Ellis’ bedroom sheets.’

‘Bingo. There’s motive.’

‘If I’m right, yes,’ Morton said. ‘But Gabriella is no saint. She went home with Paddy after all.’

‘This girl. She pretty? How would you rate her out of ten?’

‘Seriously? You’re going to letch on a suspect?’

Kieran shook his head. ‘Don’t be daft. Just answer the question.’

‘Easily a nine. And if you tell Sarah that, you’re a dead man.’

‘Right. But Paddy, well, he’s isn’t the prettiest picture in the art gallery is he? It sounds like she was using him as an alibi,’ Kieran said.

‘But for that to work, she’d have needed to guarantee he left her at some point.’

‘How drunk was he?’

‘Very. He passed out in the taxi on the way home, and woke up without her the next morning.’

‘Then she could easily have found enough time to commit murder.’

‘Perhaps. But Brianna is the better suspect in terms of time. She could have slipped back into the house any time between half twelve and just before three. As long as Gabriella didn’t see her, she’d be golden.’

Kieran stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘Brianna is set to inherit. She’s got a much better motive.’

‘What if both Ellis and Brianna died? Wouldn’t Gabriella get Edgecombe Lodge then?’

‘Normally, yes.’ Kieran said. ‘But you can’t profit from committing a crime. If Gabriella had murdered Brianna, she’d have been disinherited automatically.’

‘And if they’re both dead, and no one else inherits, then it goes to the Crown, right? We’re back to the Queen did it.’

‘No, we’re not. Gabriella is a half-sister. She can only inherit if Brianna doesn’t.’

‘Brianna’s alive,’ Morton said. ‘Surely that means Gabriella doesn’t get the house.’

The lawyer shook his head slowly. ‘Not quite. Gabriella was never going to get the house by killing Brianna but–’

‘Gabriella’s notes on probate law said otherwise.’

‘Well, there’s why she’s a law student and I’m a lawyer. The rule of survivorship applies to spouses, not siblings. There’s only one way Gabriella can inherit.’

‘Which is?’

‘If Brianna is convicted for Ellis’ murder then she will be disinherited. If Gabriella killed Ellis and then successfully sets up Brianna, she’ll get everything,’ Kieran said. ‘All she’s got to do is convince a jury to believe Brianna did it, and she’ll get away with murder and inherit the lot in one stroke.’

‘She was desperate for Brianna to admit she killed Ellis.’

‘Did Brianna confess?’

‘She did, but she had a knife to her throat at the time,’ Morton said. ‘You can’t use that, can you?’

‘No... But I’m dealing with this from a criminal lawyer’s perspective. I don’t know whether that admission would be admissible in probate court. I suspect not, and if it were then it wouldn’t be particularly probative, but we can’t assume Gabriella isn’t working off some wonky student logic. Anything else against Gabriella?’

‘She set Kallum Fielder up to argue with Ellis, but she did so at Brianna’s request. They’ve both been open about this.’

‘How did they cause the argument?’

‘They stole two hundred pounds from his wallet, allegedly to see if he trusted Ellis or not. Kal was planning to propose. The missing money started the very public fight they had early on during the party.’

‘If Kal and Ellis had married, he’d have become her heir. Neither sister would have inherited. It doesn’t point to either of them alone.’

‘True. It might explain why Ellis was murdered that night though.’

‘I agree. But I’m more interested in who killed her than why she was murdered on that particular night. Tell me about Brianna.’

‘Brianna Jackson is twenty-eight. She’s divorced, no children, and she works as a veterinary assistant, which is why she has access to pentobarbital. Ayala found a stash when he searched her flat, hidden inside the toilet cistern. The lab matched it to both the victim and Walworth Veterinary Clinic where she works.’

‘Were she and Ellis close?’ Kieran asked.

‘Nope. Ellis encouraged her parents to leave their estate to good causes. Brianna inherited very little, and we believe this was a major source of contention. It doesn’t help that Ellis was fabulously rich, which Brianna was clearly jealous of, and Brianna is scraping by, surviving on handouts from her big sister which I think was payment for pento rather than generosity.’

‘And with your victim getting clean, that money was about to dry up,’ Kieran concluded.

‘Exactly. That and the window to inherit combined give her plenty of motive.’

‘What about means?’

‘She came back,’ Morton said. ‘We’ve got her leaving Richmond on the district line, disembarking at Kew Gardens and doubling back on foot. She claims she was doing so to apologise.’