Lynda La Plante: Wrongful Death

‘A detective chief superintendent, that’s a much higher rank than chief inspector, isn’t it?’ Gloria asked nonchalantly as she smiled and looked at Anna.

‘Tell me, Chief Superintendent, do you know the Chief Constable of Surrey, Mr O’Dwyer? He’s a very good friend of mine.’

Langton said that he didn’t know him personally but they had met at a couple of police seminars. Playing Gloria at her own game, he added that Deputy Commissioner Walters was more acquainted with the Chief Constable than he was. Gloria replied that Mr Walters had been very considerate in allowing her to speak with Aisa and he would no doubt be pleased that she had managed to get her to tell the truth.

Anna asked Lady Lynne and Mr Holme to accompany her and Langton to the custody suite interview room so that they could record the conversation.

‘Is Lady Lynne under arrest?’ Holme asked, to which Langton assured him she was not.

‘Lady Lynne is not happy to talk to you on tape,’ Holme informed them.

This was something that had not been anticipated, and Anna knew that for Dewar’s skills to be of any use they needed her to be able to see and hear everything that took place.

She explained that as Lady Lynne was a technical witness to her daughter’s confession they would need to get a witness statement from her, and the easiest and quickest way was to record it and then write it up in statement form for her to sign later.

‘I’m very sorry, Detective Travis, but for personal reasons, and in my daughter’s best interest, I simply cannot do that. This room seems perfectly adequate and Mr Holme has already switched off the power to the camera,’ Gloria said, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Anna was about to try again when Langton spoke: ‘Certainly, Lady Lynne, as you suggest, this room will be fine.’

‘Thank you. I wonder, would you mind fetching me some water, Detective Travis?’ Gloria asked with a smile.

Anna was left with little choice but to comply, aware that under the circumstances she just had to grin and bear Gloria’s objectionable behaviour, but took the opportunity to go and tell Dewar that Lady Lynne had refused to be interviewed on tape. Dewar was extremely annoyed but also realized there was nothing that could be done about it and suggested to Anna that she take her Dictaphone in with her. Anna considered it briefly, sorely tempted, but finally deemed it too risky.

She returned to the interview room with four bottles of water and put them down on the table.

As she had expected, Ian Holme asked for confirmation that what was about to be said was not being recorded and remained within the room between the persons present. Langton pointed out that he could not refuse to ignore or act on anything that related to criminal offences being committed. Ian Holme assured him that what he was about to be told were personal matters, and the only criminal offences that had been committed by the Lynne family were without intent and in ignorance of the truth. Anna and Langton both suspected that Gloria Lynne was about to portray herself as the real victim of everything that occurred, but what they were not prepared for was how well she had prepared her lies.

Settling herself in the upright chair, Gloria took a deep breath and took a tissue from her pocket. ‘What I am about to tell you is very painful for me and brings back some of my darkest memories that have haunted me all my life.’ Her voice and hands trembled slightly as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Anna looked at Langton and raised her eyebrows as if to say, ‘Here we go, she can shed tears at will.’ Langton just sat and stared at Gloria, as he wanted to listen carefully to everything she had to say.

‘When I was seventeen I conceived a child with a man called Samuel Peters. We named our son Arum Joshua Peters. At the time, my mother was dying of cancer and I was her sole carer after my father’s death from drug abuse-’

‘Sorry to interrupt you, Lady Lynne, but I read a magazine article in which you said your father died of cancer,’ Anna said.

Gloria didn’t bat an eyelid. ‘Really? Well I don’t ever discuss how my poor father died, I simply say he passed away, Detective Travis. The writer must have put words in my mouth. Now do you mind if I continue or are you more interested in misleading press articles?’ Gloria said and gave a contemptuous smile.

Langton frowned at Anna, apologized and invited Gloria to continue.

‘Samuel was a heavy drinker, and I’m sad to say, quick to use his fists when he didn’t get his way. I feared for Arum’s safety and Samuel constantly pressured me to give him up for adoption. I refused and was beaten by Samuel for what he called my pig-headedness. Under increasing pressure I found it almost impossible to care for Arum properly and I was afraid that Samuel would hurt him. I knew that my sister-in-law Esme was a good woman and she was emigrating to England with Marisha, her sister, so I asked Esme to take Arum with her for what would undoubtedly be a better life.’ Gloria now turned on the waterworks for sympathy. Ian Holme fell for it, resting his hand on top of Gloria’s briefly and telling her that as much as it hurt her she had to be strong.

Anna was chomping at the bit to say something and couldn’t understand why Langton was allowing Gloria to run the show, as control was what she revelled in. But Langton opened a bottle of water and handed it to Gloria to take some, which she did before continuing.

‘Esme and I had false documents made up and Arum became Joshua Peters. For the sake of my own sanity, and Arum’s future wellbeing, it was agreed that I would have no further contact with him and I have always honoured that commitment I made to Esme and my son.’

Now the crocodile tears really began to flow, which Anna thought was an act worthy of an Oscar. At last, Langton spoke: ‘I realize this must be very distressing for you, Lady Lynne, but if it helps, would I be right in saying that when Esme married John Reynolds, Arum now became Joshua Reynolds?’

Gloria blew her nose politely and nodded her head. ‘I had no idea that he was my son when Donna met him – you see, I never had any contact with Esme or Arum after she left Jamaica. Had I known at the time they met then I would have said something, done what I could to stop the relationship, and as for Aisa’s affair with him, well I never knew about that until today, so that was a fait accompli,’ Gloria said, looking very subdued.

Langton cleared his throat. ‘You sound overly concerned about Aisa’s affair with Josh, Lady Lynne. As you said yourself, you knew nothing about it and anyway these things happen. Thankfully, it wasn’t incestuous like Donna’s relationship with Josh,’ he said very quietly.

Gloria promptly had a minor meltdown, crying, swaying as if she was about to faint and grabbing Ian Holme’s arm to steady herself. It was obvious she was about to reveal Aisa’s parentage and Anna was worried that Langton was starting to believe her, but before she could say anything he played Gloria at her own game.

Langton slapped his hand to his forehead.

‘No, oh, my God, please don’t tell me Aisa and Josh were related as well!’ he exclaimed as, unseen by Gloria and Holme, he tapped Anna’s knee beneath the table.

Gloria played her part to the hilt, sighing and shaking her head, as she explained that Aisa was in fact her and Xavier Alleyne’s daughter. Langton raised both arms up and in a very wretched voice remarked how tragic to discover that not one but two daughters were sleeping with her son.

Gloria for a second flicked a glance towards Langton, unsure if he was being sarcastic or genuine.

‘I’m slightly confused, Lady Lynne, as Aisa told DI Barolli and Agent Dewar she was adopted,’ he said.