Against a Dark Sky (22 page)

Chapter Forty Seven

‘W
e need to take this right back to the day the walkers set out to climb Ben Lomond,’ said Andy. ‘But this time, we bear in mind that Joanna Endicott was in Ardyle to find out who her biological father was and perhaps to make contact with him.’

              ‘This entire case revolves around who had got Kathleen Harris pregnant,’ Dani stated.

              ‘Micky Ford refused to give us a DNA sample, which could be significant,’ Driscoll added.

              ‘Micky would only have been thirteen or fourteen back in 1983, could he really have been having a relationship with Kathleen?’

              ‘If the boy was sexually mature, then you betcha,’ Sam responded. ‘We have cases in Richmond of juveniles fathering kids pretty much every day of the week.’

              Dani rose to her feet, as if she’d suddenly made her mind up about something. ‘I’m going to have another conversation with Jack Ford.’

              Andy Calder grabbed his jacket, ‘I’ll come to.’

              ‘No,’ Dani automatically replied. ‘I’ll take Driscoll. Andy, you can chase up forensics about that camera.’

              Sam Sharpe visibly cringed. Andy shot him a suspicious glance, but not another word was said.

Jack Ford appeared to be deeply unsettled by their visit. This time, Bevan and Driscoll sat in the front room of the little terraced house. A small wood burning stove had been installed in here and the floorboards recently polished. A film of dust created by the process was still discernible along the windowsill.

              Jack carried in a tray of teas. The colour of the liquid was the same deep, chestnut brown as the logs piled next to the stove. ‘My son says you’ve been harassing him.’

              ‘That isn’t the case, Mr Ford. We received a court order to search his premises based on strong evidence linking him to two major crimes.’

              ‘Then why haven’t you arrested him, eh?’

              ‘Because our enquiries are still ongoing. New evidence is coming to light all the time.’

              Jack didn’t look happy to hear this. ‘What kind of new evidence?’ The man clasped his hands tightly in his lap. Dani saw beads of sweat spring to his forehead, although to her, the room was freezing.

              ‘We spoke about Kathleen Harris before, the student teacher who accompanied you and the children out on the mountainside. How well did she know Micky?’ Dani sat forward in her seat.

              Jack frowned. ‘She didn’t know Micky at all. I don’t think they ever met. My son was at the Secondary School, their paths never crossed.’

              ‘That’s what Micky said too. But they may well have seen each other in town occasionally. Ardyle is a small place.’

              ‘But Kathleen was only at the school for a short period of time. Her parents were very protective. She went straight back home to them whenever she wasn’t at the primary.’

              ‘You seem to know a lot about her comings and goings back then Jack. I don’t see how you can be so certain Kathleen never came into contact with your son.’

              The old man looked confused. ‘I just know. Micky was a quiet boy, he didn’t go out much.’

              ‘Were you aware Kathleen Harris was two months pregnant at the time of the Ardyle tragedy?’ Driscoll asked.

              Jack shook his head. ‘She was only a little girl herself, that can’t be right.’

              ‘I’m afraid it is true. Kathleen gave birth to a baby girl in the October of 1983. She called her Joanna.’

              Jack gazed down at his knees. ‘No, there was no baby.’

              ‘Joanna was adopted by the chap Kathleen married in 1988, when she was five years old. But she came back here a couple of weeks ago, to try and find her real father.’ Dani leant right down, as if she were whispering into the ear of the man slumped in the chair before her.

              He whipped his head up. ‘What are you telling me?’ His voice was filled with horror. ‘It wasn’t that girl who died on the mountain, please say it wasn’t!’  

              Dani took Jack’s hands in hers, ‘I’m so sorry. Joanna Endicott was Kathleen Harris’ daughter. She must have come back to Ardyle looking for answers.’

              Tears were dripping from his face. ‘I didn’t know Kath had the child. Judy Sheldon told us she was going to get rid of it. Why on earth didn’t she?’ He looked at Dani with a plaintive expression on his face.

              ‘Because the baby was her little girl, Mr Ford, Kathleen wanted to keep her.’

Driscoll escorted Jack Ford to the local police station where he could conduct a proper, taped interview. Dani walked into the Town Hall, watching the team at work. Andy was on his mobile phone, talking animatedly and jotting down notes. She smiled at Sam, who came over to stand next to her.

              ‘You look relieved,’ he said.

              ‘I think we’re finally getting somewhere,’ she replied.

              A few officers glanced up from their tasks and noticed Bevan’s presence in the building. One by one, they drifted over to the centre of the hall, instinctively forming a tight semi-circle around their boss.

              ‘Jack Ford is currently at the Ardyle Police Station providing Dave Driscoll with a formal statement.’ Dani immediately glimpsed the expectant face of Sammy Reid, standing behind DC Clark. She wondered how he would take the news. ‘Ford has admitted to being the father of Kathleen Harris’s baby.’

              A few gasps went up from the men.

              ‘Are we sure he isn’t just covering up for his son?’ Andy asked levelly.

              ‘He has agreed to take a DNA test, but I take your point, we should keep an open mind on this. However, his story fits with what I had already imagined may have gone on during the day the schoolchildren went missing in April 1983.

              Jack alleges that Kathleen had set her sights on him soon after arriving at Ardyle Primary. She was a young, very pretty girl and Jack described her as ‘precocious’. Because she was a relative of the Headmaster, Samuel McAllister, Kathleen had a certain air about her; as if she could do whatever she pleased. According to Jack Ford’s version of events, the girl seduced him. They began a sexual relationship in the January of 1983. Their liaisons took place mostly in his car, which Jack drove up to a lover’s lane near Loch Arklet. Then, in February of that year, Jack got hold of the keys to a wee bothy which was positioned on the heathland just south-west of the Ptarmigan ridge.’

              ‘It’s in ruins now, but it’s very close to the place where my sister died,’ Sammy Reid added, in a cold and emotionless voice.

              ‘That’s right. The Hutchisons noticed it when they went up to the Memorial Cairn to look for the flowers. Bill said he thought someone local had owned it, but he couldn’t recall who. In fact, it was one of Jack’s fellow teachers at the primary school. He lent Jack the key so he could store his walking gear in there and use the kitchen when he was out hiking. Of course, Jack Ford realised he could use it for a quite different purpose. He began meeting Kathleen there, during the times when he knew it would be empty.’

              ‘Were the two of them in the bothy on the afternoon the children went missing?’ DC Reid had edged himself out of the group and was standing almost directly in front of Dani. His face was a mask of disbelief and horror.

              Bevan addressed her words only to him. ‘The school trip must have seemed like a golden opportunity for them. They didn’t get the chance to meet often. The weather had been very fine when they first reached the hillside. The pupils were happy to wander off and collect their samples without much supervision. Jack said it was Kathleen who had the idea to use the bothy. While the children were busily occupied, she led him by the hand to the old cottage. He claims they were only in there for half an hour – forty five minutes at the most.

              When they were done, they both got quickly dressed. As soon as he stepped out of the door, Jack could see the weather had closed in. There was a mist hanging low over the heathland and it was terribly cold. He and Kathleen set out to find the children. They ran up and down the glen calling their names. The pair quickly located most of them, but three remained missing. The rest of the story is exactly as Jack told it to the authorities; Kathleen took the pupils back to the school and raised the alarm, while Ford searched all night for the others. They only found their poor, frozen wee bodies the following day.’ Dani had her arms around Reid by this point and his head was buried into her shoulder. ‘I’m really sorry Sammy.’

              ‘What happened afterwards?’ prompted Andy.

              ‘Jack and Kathleen agreed not to mention they’d left the children. Jack didn’t want his wife to find out and Kathleen’s parents were very strict. It seemed to them to be the only option. But as the investigation intensified, the pair felt under increasing pressure. During this time, Kathleen discovered she was pregnant. The girl was in a terrible state. She told Judy Sheldon about her condition in one of their counselling sessions. Kathleen subsequently told Judy all the details of her affair with Jack.’

              ‘It must have put Judy Sheldon in an awful position, knowing she had this information whilst trying to counsel the victims’ parents at the same time.’ Sam Sharpe drew in a breath.

              ‘Yes, it was an awful strain. In the end, Judy couldn’t keep it to herself. She told her husband about Kathleen and Jack’s relationship.’

              ‘So Ronnie Sheldon knew? But he took no action,’ Andy interjected.

              ‘He didn’t know for certain the pair of them had been in the bothy when they should have been looking after the children, but I’m pretty sure he guessed. The problem for Ronnie was that he couldn’t use the information. Judy's sessions were supposed to be confidential. She would have lost her job. DI Sheldon put a great deal of pressure on Jack Ford in the aftermath of the tragedy, hoping he might confess to what he’d done without the need for Judy’s evidence, but he never did.’

              ‘How did Jack find out that Kathleen was expecting his baby?’ Kendal enquired.

              ‘Judy was racked with guilt about the information she had on Jack Ford. Mrs Sheldon was very reluctant to allow him to go unpunished, or to continue teaching youngsters. So, she finally decided to tell Mary Ford what she knew. Judy turned up at their house one day and knocked on the door. She was invited in for a coffee and without warning, Judy Sheldon told Mary everything. Jack’s wife confronted him later, when he returned from work. He couldn’t deny it; there would have been no point. Judy had reassured Mary that Kathleen was determined not to go through with the pregnancy. If the girl didn’t end up opting for a termination, then she was going to have the baby adopted. This was the last Jack Ford heard on the subject.’

              ‘So Mary forgave her husband?’ Sam stated quietly.

              ‘Yes, but the knowledge of what he’d done took a terrible toll on her. When she was diagnosed with cancer in the late nineties, the poor woman simply gave up. Mary hadn’t the strength to fight it. The illness was a blessed release from her misery.’ 

              ‘How much did Micky Ford know of all this?’ Andy piped up.

              ‘Not very much, according to his father. He said Micky knew nothing about the affair or the pregnancy.’

              Andy took a decisive step forward. ‘Well at some point, he sure as hell found out.’

Chapter Forty Eight

I
t was late by the time Dani had finished at the incident room. She’d wanted to read carefully again through Jack Ford’s statement, just to ensure he wasn’t shifting from the story he’d given her and Driscoll that afternoon.

              She locked up the doors and sighed as she made her way down the stone steps. When Dani reached the bottom, Sam Sharpe emerged from the shadows.

              ‘How long have you been waiting there?’

              ‘About an hour or so.’

              Dani slipped her arm through his. ‘You really don’t have to give yourself pneumonia in order to prove you’re committed to me.’

              ‘I know, but I wanted to see you. It’s been a tough day.’

              ‘It’s only going to get tougher.’

              ‘How do you mean?’

              ‘I’ve got to tell Bill and Joy what we found out about the Ardyle tragedy. I don’t know how they’re going to take it.’

              ‘I’ll come with you.’

              Dani leant her head against the American’s thickly padded shoulder and they walked arm-in-arm towards the Carraig Hotel. The Hutchisons were still seated in the residents’ lounge when they arrived. Both had brandies placed on the table in front of them, almost as if they were preparing to receive bad news. Sam and Dani removed their coats and took the sofa opposite.

              ‘Good evening, DCI Bevan, Detective Sharpe.’ Bill nodded to each of them, rather formally.

              ‘Were you expecting us?’ Dani said, half-joking.

              ‘In a way, yes we were,’ Joy explained. ‘We had a visit from Maggie Reid this afternoon. Her Sammy told his mum all about what happened today.’

              ‘I’m very sorry. I wanted to break the news to you in person.’ Dani felt a lump forming in her throat.

              Bill shuffled forwards in his seat conspiratorially. There was a mischievous smile on his face. Bevan thought he appeared decades younger than when she’d last seen him. ‘Would you like to know something fascinating? Joy and I went for a walk this afternoon through the glen. At about a quarter past two, I felt this extraordinary sensation; it was as if a physical weight was being lifted from my shoulders. I turned to Joy and I knew by the look on her face she’d experienced the same thing.’

              ‘We stared at one another for a good minute and had a sort of epiphany. I said to Bill, ‘‘she’s done it; our DCI Bevan has found out the truth. Those children are free. They’ve gone. I can feel them flying away from us. The wee ones can finally rest in peace.’’

              To her great surprise, Dani felt tears escaping onto her cheeks. ‘Oh, I sincerely hope that’s true.’

*

‘They sure are an unusual couple,’ Sam said flatly, as they lay in bed together, with Dani’s head resting on his chest and an arm tucked under his waist.

              She chuckled. ‘You can say that again.’

              ‘I wouldn’t have had you down as the type of gal who believes in angels and that type of hokum.’

              ‘I don’t, but the Hutchisons had created a kind of fantasy world after Neil died and in some weird way it gave them both comfort. Plus, the pair are extraordinarily convincing. Bill has this razor-sharp instinct that could easily be mistaken for something supernatural.’

              ‘Give me an example.’

              Dani described Bill’s experience ten years ago as a witness in the High Court in Edinburgh.

              ‘So you didn’t tell Bill and Joy that he’d been right all along about that guy?’ Sam said, when she’d finished her tale.

              Dani raised herself up to look him in the eye. ‘It would have broken Bill’s heart to find out that lowlife creep went on to abuse another child. Knowing he was right all along wouldn’t have given him any solace. Bill is only interested in stopping the bad guys, not in proving himself correct.’

              Sam shifted down so that he could place a kiss on her lips. ‘I think I’m starting to quite like you, DCI Bevan.’

              Dani folded her body into his, rubbing her cheek against the stubble on his chin. ‘And I might just be warming to you, too.’

Andy Calder had a determined look on his face. He intercepted Dani as soon as she entered the incident room. ‘Ma’am. I’ve heard back from forensics in Glasgow.’ He led her towards a computer on one of the desks. ‘They’ve sent me some images they lifted from the digital camera.’

              Dani stared hard at the screen. The techies had obviously done their best to enhance the pictures, but they were still very unclear.

              Andy clicked through the bank of photos. ‘There’s a good number showing Amit Batra with Philippa Graves. They’d been deleted from the device, but the techs managed to retrieve them from the memory. Most of those are fairly innocent; the pair are having dinner or holding hands. But they’re enough to prove an affair.’

              ‘So that’s why Amit wanted it. The question still remains, at what point did he take the camera from Goff? Was the man alive or dead at that stage?’

              ‘It’s these shots which are of greatest interest, Ma’am.’ Andy enlarged a couple of the photographs. They were part of the set Goff must have taken as they climbed the Ptarmigan ridge. But these two were not your regular tourist snapshots. They were a little blurry and seemed to have been taken whilst the photographer was on the move.

              ‘That’s Joanna Endicott,’ Dani stated, peering at the woman in the picture, who appeared to be remonstrating with a man. He was tall and bulky, dressed in hiking gear and with thick, dark hair. ‘Is that Micky Ford?’

              Andy nodded. ‘I’m pretty certain of it. Judging by the fine weather in that shot and the position of the sun, I’d say it was early morning.’

              Dani perched on the edge of the desk and starting thinking. She ran through the details of the case in her head, including the timeline of events on the day that Joanna’s group set out to climb Ben Lomond.

              Bevan turned to Andy and laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘Micky told me that he was still there for his father, even though he’d moved out. He said he was always on the other end of the phone. What if Jack Ford called him when he heard there were walkers missing on the mountain? They needed as many volunteers as possible to assist in the search.’

              ‘It would have been perfectly natural for Jack to ask his son to help out too. So Micky Ford was one of the volunteers who searched Ben Lomond that morning. He was amongst dozens of others from Ardyle and wouldn’t have been conspicuous. It isn’t a long drive from Crianlarich.’

              Dani shifted her vision back to the photograph Daniel Goff had taken on his shiny camera. ‘Micky Ford discovered Joanna and Daniel on the mountainside. But he got more than he bargained for. Joanna must have recognised him. Somehow, she knew who Micky was. Perhaps she’d already been investigating her mother’s life in Ardyle and knew her connection to the Fords. Maybe Micky told her his name and it was familiar to her. Either way, Joanna confronted Jack’s son on that hillside and told him exactly who she was.’

              ‘Joanna Endicott was a clever woman and a lawyer. She would undoubtedly have done her homework before the holiday. I expect Joanna knew exactly who she was searching for. But Micky had no idea at all. He didn’t know about his dad’s affair or about the baby. All he knew was how his mum changed after the Ardyle tragedy, how she became unhappy and withdrawn, eventually to simply give up and die.’

‘Joanna must have been jubilant to discover Micky on that mountain. I can almost imagine her clipped English vowels confidently informing Jack’s son how his father had bedded her mother, when she was no more than a child. The pieces must have all slotted into place for Micky; how guilty his father was about the deaths of the schoolchildren and how there’d been something unspoken and sorrowful between his parents after that time.’

              ‘Micky grabbed for her throat - probably wanting to choke those wicked words out of her mouth. The shock and anger must have been all consuming. He kept squeezing, until Joanna couldn’t tell him anymore. I bet she didn’t even get to the point of informing him that she was his sister.’ Andy sighed.

              ‘And Daniel Goff did nothing. All he could manage was to snap some photos as he ran away. But Micky must have chased him. Ford knew Daniel was a witness and he had that camera.’ Dani suddenly looked up towards the ceiling and slapped a hand on her thigh. ‘I know what Goff did! He threw the camera away, into the heathland. Most likely, he thought that Micky would go after the camera and not him. It would give him a chance to get away. But Micky decided to go for Goff first and then return for the camera later.’

              ‘Micky caught up with Daniel Goff in those woods. The men were of a similar height but Micky was the stronger. They might have fought, or Micky may simply have lifted a branch or log and brought it down hard on the back of Goff’s head. Then he shifted the body to the banks of the loch and threw it into the water. There wasn’t time to dispose of Goff properly. Micky had to get back to retrieve the camera and appear to be participating in the search.’

              ‘But it was Amit Batra who found the camera. He either saw Goff toss it into the undergrowth or he spotted the casing, glinting in the sunlight. Batra knew the significance of the photographs that were on it. Goff must have already threatened Amit with blackmail, as Philippa suspected by the change in his behaviour, so he decided to pocket it. Amit grabbed the device and not long afterwards, he was rescued. I reckon that Micky Ford wasn’t far away when the mountain rescue boys picked Batra up. I think he saw the camera in Amit’s hand. He resolved in that moment to get it back.’

              ‘First, Micky tried to break into the bothy for it, but I stopped him. After that, we had officers guarding the place and then we allowed Irving, Batra and Graves to return to London. Micky’s task became much more difficult. He was going to have to get the camera from Batra’s home in Loughton.’

              ‘But Micky is a delivery driver and he often made runs down to Docklands. This would provide him with his cover. All he needed to do was leave his pal’s house in East Ham in the early hours of the morning and make his way to the Batra place. Micky is an experienced hiker, he may have trekked there through Epping Forest. Ford broke in, knowing exactly what he was looking for. It was easy to find the camera. He pocketed some other stuff as well, to make the robbery appear genuine.’

              ‘Batra came down and confronted him. He probably knew exactly who it was. Batra may even have witnessed Joanna’s murder; he was certainly twitchy enough after he was rescued. Micky would have overpowered Batra with ease; the guy was very unfit and probably terrified. I believe Ford beat him about the head deliberately. He needed to ensure Batra’s silence. It looked like a burglary gone wrong, but it was cold blooded murder, just like the others.’

              ‘At this point, Micky most likely thought he was safe. He’d left no forensic evidence at the Batra place and we were still searching for Goff, seeing him as our prime suspect for the Joanna Endicott murder.’

              ‘Then things began to unravel. With Bill Hutchison’s help, we found Goff’s body. This meant we were beginning to look for a suspect who was closer to home.’

              ‘I sounded off in the pub about you digging into the Ardyle case and the fact you were about to question Ronnie Sheldon.’

              ‘There were plenty of folk in the Rob Roy that night who could have heard it, but I reckon it was Jack who mentioned it to his son. He was probably worried sick about the prospect himself. Joanna must have told Micky that Judy Sheldon was her mother’s confidante. All of the sordid details of his father’s affair were to be found in the notes and papers at the Sheldon house. What better way to get rid of all that evidence than to set fire to it.’

              ‘We’ve finally got our motive,’ Andy said with feeling. ‘Now all we need to do is prove it.’