Saturday's Child (26 page)

“Gareth, what’s going on?”

“Not here. Once the sergeant gets down here, we’ll go somewhere we can talk.”

A tall, dark haired woman came in carrying a briefcase. She smiled at the constable behind the desk. “Hello. Is Nate in?”

“He’s on his way down, Mrs. Harkin. How’s the little one?”

The woman smiled. “She’s doing great.”

Nate appeared on the other side of the desk. “Hi, Niamh. Just waiting on one more, here he is. Hey, Pastor.”

Pastor Jack smiled. “Your message was intriguing. At least the way Cassie phrased it.”

“Well, according to my wife, intriguing is my middle name. Would you all come through?” Nate Holmes gave a smile.

“All of us?” Meggie asked, even more confused.

Nate nodded. “Please.”

She got up and followed Gareth, Isaac, Leah, and Aaron. Aaron hadn’t even looked at her, never mind said hello. How could she even begin to explain about the baby if he couldn’t even bear to look at her?

Nate led them into a small interview room. Extra chairs had been brought in and arranged in a circle. The table was pushed against the far wall.

Meggie sat, her hands twisting on her lap. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, worrying it with her teeth. Aaron’s hand touched hers briefly for a moment, then pulled back as the familiar electrical current passed between them. She looked down. That was mean, reminding her of what she’d lost.

Nate started the tape. “Interview conducted on November third at thirteen forty. Present are Aaron, Isaac, and Leah Field, Gareth and Meghan Knight. Also present are DS Holmes, DS Philips, Niamh Harkin from the CPS and Pastor Jack Chambers from Headley Baptist.”

Meggie shifted on her chair. She felt guilty just being here. And she didn’t know what she’d done yet. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to confess it, whatever
it
turned out to be, in front of all these people. She looked up slowly as Nate spoke again.

“Pastor, I know this isn’t normal procedure, but this isn’t a normal interview or a normal case. Could you pray for us all before we begin, please?”

Pastor Jack nodded. “Lord, we ask that you draw close to us all, now, as we talk about the things happening on the farm. Send an angel to watch over us and protect us from the forces of evil that are at work here. Amen.”

Meggie figured she must look as confused as she felt because Aaron touched her hand again. Her heart broke at the touch, something she craved, but would no longer have.

“What it is, Meggie?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t understand why I’m here. Why any of us are here.”

“You will.”

Nate looked at Aaron. “You said there may have been a murder...”

Aaron nodded. “At least one, maybe more. I believe it was part of an occult ritual.”

Nate seemed to take that revelation in his stride. “The witchcraft angle is why Pastor Jack is here. We’ve suspected there was someone practicing witchcraft in the area for a while now. And our investigations pointed to it happening at your farm, as none of the other farms in the county have had strange fires or animal mutilations, or farm hands injured or go missing as frequently as here. I’d hoped you’d come to me, rather than the other way around. I’m assuming you are connecting the murders somehow?”

“Yes. There was Mum, Nancy and a possible murder the day before yesterday.” Aaron took a deep breath, going into details.

Meggie shivered as he spoke. Images flashed through her mind. Pictures of a fire, crackling wood, dancing figures and sparks flying high into the air, thick choking smoke winding into the sky that were so real she could smell it even now. Chanting filled her thoughts as a knife plunged downwards, cutting off a scream. A figure twisted in the flames, cries of agony carrying on the wind.

She clamped her hands over her ears, the smoke burning her eyes.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, a blood sacrifice to please the unjust…
She closed her eyes tightly, rocking, shaking under the influx of images. She whimpered, the words filling her mind falling from her lips.

“Meggie?”

Did someone say her name? It came from so far away and she was falling, drowning in the chanting and the smoke…

Hands rested on her shoulders and she slowly became aware of Nate and Pastor Jack standing beside her, praying. They were taking it in turns, praying almost the same thing over and over. At first she couldn’t make out the words, then she realized they were praying for her and her safety. As she straightened, they finished.

“What happened?” she asked.

“What did you see?” Nate asked her.

“The fire. Tanis killed someone one. So did Drake Stormcrow. But I can’t say…”

Aaron took her hand in his uninjured one. “It’s all right. Just tell him what you saw, you’re safe now. Whatever it was affecting you has gone.”

She looked at him. “I feel lighter. Like a fog bank lifted.”

Pastor Jack nodded. “The power of prayer. The oppression had worked on you like it had on Aaron.”

“But I thought being a Christian was enough.”

“No. Just being a Christian doesn’t stop demons of doubt, lethargy, and deceit to name a few, from attacking us. If anything, we are prime targets for them.”

“Tell me what you saw,” Nate said.

Meggie began to tell him everything from taking the guy to the barn to when she fled the farm. “Then as I drove away, Tanis appeared in the car. She told me I hadn’t seen anything, that I was unwanted and un—”

Aaron’s hand tightened on hers. “Loved, wanted and saved,” he said firmly. He turned to Nate. “Tanis is involved in witchcraft or devil worship of some kind, of that I’m sure. The way she controls our thoughts, the séances, communicating with the spirits, and the evil on the farm. Not to mention whatever it is in the farmhouse itself.”

Nate nodded.

Gareth looked at Nate. “Aside from the occult, we’ve got the fraud squad involved over the trust fund and accounts. Drake Stormcrow has been impersonating Aaron in order to gain access to everything connected with the farm and land. Aaron now stands to lose the farm because of the changes they have made to official paperwork.”

Nate nodded. “I’ll talk to the fraud squad and liaise with them.”

There was a knock at the door and another woman came in. Nate nodded to her before speaking. “For the tape, DI Welsh has just entered the room.”

“Forensics just came through from the ash you took from the farm. There were two lots of DNA in there. Both females, both reported missing in the last few days.”

Nate glanced at his partner, communicating silently with him, then back at the DI. “I need a court order to exhume two bodies and a warrant to search the farm properly.”

Niamh spoke for the first time. “Give me the papers, and I’ll get Judge Matheson to sign them. I’m due in court with him in forty minutes, and I’ll get them done first.”

DI Welsh nodded. “I’ll bring them down. Nate, I want you to serve them. Once the bodies are in the morgue, you and Dane go and pick up Tanis Field and Drake Stormcrow. Charge them with murder, fraud, and anything else you think will stick.” She looked at the others. “I’m assuming you have no objection to the exhumation?”

****

Aaron sat stock still, feeling sick. Surely there’d be nothing left by now? “I don’t…” he whispered. “I can’t afford…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Pastor Jack told him. “I’ll see to it. And I’ll rebury them for you properly.”

Isaac put a hand on Aaron’s arm. “At least we’ll know, bro. You’ve doubted Nancy’s suicide from the beginning.”

“Digging them up seems wrong. I—” He pushed to his feet, cradling his arm. He walked across the room and leaned against the wall.

Meggie crossed over to him. “I know how hard it is saying goodbye,” she said quietly. “You told me last week that you didn’t think Nancy killed herself. You even said just now it was murder. Let them do this, and prove it one way or the other. Do it for Nancy and your baby.”

“OK.” He turned to Nate. “Do it.”

DI Welsh and Niamh left the room.

Nate looked at Pastor Jack. “Maybe once we’ve picked up Mrs. Field and Mr. Stormcrow, you, Bruce, and the elders meet at the farm and bless it again.”

Pastor Jack nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“I need to go and get this warrant. Aaron, are you OK to stay here until I get back?”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah.”

“The rest of you can go.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Pastor Jack said. “Explain how tomorrow will work, and we can talk about the bonfire, too.”

Aaron looked at Meggie. Maybe she’d stay and they could talk, but she glanced at him and then left the room. His heart sank. Had he pushed her too far from him? Maybe she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Gareth handed Nate the files. “I’ll be at Megs tonight. These are copies of everything we have. The originals are at the farm.”

“Is that the safest place?”

Aaron tore his gaze from Meggie’s retreating figure and looked at Nate. “I left them there so we didn’t tip Tanis off too soon.”

“Thank you, Mr. Knight. I’ll be in touch.” Nate said. “Aaron, I shouldn’t need to keep you too much longer.”

Gareth nodded. “Aaron, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

****

Half an hour later, Nate came back to the interview room. “OK. We’ve got the warrant. We’re going to exhume the bodies tonight and pick up Tanis and Drake in the morning.” He paused. “Did you know they are brother and sister?”

Aaron shook his head, his stomach rebelling at the thought. “No, I didn’t…but I guess it makes sense as her company is TFS Holdings. Probably stands for Tanis Field Stormcrow. Do I need to be there, when you…?”

“Not unless you want to be.”

“No.” Aaron took a deep breath. He had to know. “Sergeant, I knew something illegal was going on, and I didn’t say anything. Does that make me complicit?”

Nate shook his head. “No. Not in this country anyway. The most we would do is bring a charge of aiding and abetting. Unless you were involved in the illegal activity and we could prove it, it’s likely to be dropped under the circumstances.”

“Oh, right.”

“You might get a caution, possibly a verbal warning not to do it again, but that’s up to the DI.”

“OK.” Relief flooded him.

“However, you do need somewhere else to stay tonight, Aaron.”

“Why?”

“From a legal standpoint we know Tanis and Drake are involved with two recent murders. Therefore, the farm isn’t safe until Tanis and Drake have been arrested, and from a spiritual standpoint, I wouldn’t go near that farmhouse, let alone sleep there until the pastors have prayed over it. And the top field is a crime scene and will need roping off.”

“Roping the field off won’t be a problem. I’ve got staff in and out to care for the animals, but I have nowhere to go.”

“You can sleep at the manse,” Pastor Jack said. “It will give us another chance to read and pray before tomorrow. And it’s safe—excepting the manic child who loves visitors. If you want that is?”

Aaron smiled. “Please.” Even being assailed by a manic Lara sounded good about now.

Nate nodded. “I’ll ring once we’re done and at the morgue.”

****

Meggie looked over at Gareth. “Sorry, I’m just not very good company tonight.”

“You’re fine,” he said. “I’m just sorry you got mixed up in all this.”

“Deserved it,” she whispered. “Maybe if I’d been good and…”

“That’s enough,” he said sharply. “You need to stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. If anything you’ve done some good around here.”

“How’d you work that one out?”

He tilted his head. “Because if it weren’t for you, things would still be going on at the farm. But because you picked up on it, things are being put right. God is moving, Megs, and it’s down to your input here.”

The doorbell chimed and Meggie pushed to her feet. “Can I just tell whoever it is to go away?”

“Sure. If it’s a salesman I’ll do it for you.”

She grinned and sat down, waving towards the door. “In that case, be my guest.”

He laughed and stood. “I am your guest, Megs.”

Meggie watched him head from the room.
Lord, be with Aaron tonight. Keep him safe. If he’s gone back to the farm, then send a legion of angels to surround him and protect him.

Gareth came back in, DS Holmes right behind him. “Megs, Sgt. Holmes needs to talk to you.”

She smiled. “Hello, Sergeant. What can I do for you?”

Nate pulled out his notebook. “I need to talk to you about something in the file Mrs. Field has on you. About the death of a baby.”

24

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help. Psalm 22:24

Aaron woke with a jump. Where was he? His hand went to silence the ringing; then he realized it was the phone, and it had stopped. He looked at the clock. Panic flooded him. Seven o’clock. He hadn’t slept that long in years. He flung back the covers and stood, then realized that his feet had sunk into deep pile carpet. He didn’t have carpet on his floor.

He was at the manse. He sat down and got back into bed. He just had to hope that Hal and Clive had things under control and the cows had been milked. There was a tap on the door. “Come in.”

Pastor Jack opened the door and smiled at him. “Morning, Aaron. Phone call for you.”

“Thanks.” Aaron took the phone. “Aaron Field, speaking.”

“Good morning, Aaron. It’s DS Holmes. Apologies for ringing so early, but I thought I’d let you know what was happening.”

He sat up again and swung his feet out of bed as Pastor Jack left the room, closing the door behind him. “OK.”

“The bodies of your mum and wife are at the morgue. The post mortems are scheduled for first thing this morning.”

“Were…was Mum burned?”

“I don’t know. We just took the coffins back.”

“I see. How long before you know anything?”