Steven Dunne - Deity

Yvette smiled. ‘Girls? I was never a girl. I was a woman. Everyone could see that. Len noticed me as soon as he arrived. He appreciated me, bought me little gifts and gave me money for clothes.’

‘In return for sex.’

‘Don’t be disgusting,’ she yelled, standing up. ‘Do you think I’m a whore?’

‘Sit down, please,’ ordered PC Patel, placing her hands on Yvette’s shoulders and pushing her firmly back into her chair.

‘No,’ said Brook steadily, when she’d calmed down. ‘Far from it. You were under age. Len was an adult. He had a duty of care. Anything you felt pressured to do with him, no matter how severe or gentle that pressure, was the result of his criminal behaviour.’

Yvette’s breathing returned to normal. ‘He said he loved me.’

‘Len?’

‘Yes.’

‘You had sex with him while you were at the orphanage,’ said Brook quietly.

A pause. ‘Not actually at the orphanage,’ she replied. Brook looked at her, waiting. ‘Yes,’ she said almost inaudibly.

‘Louder, please.’

‘Yes,’ she repeated, her face like thunder.

Brook glanced across at Noble, who left the room, his face set hard, concealing the merest hint of anticipation. I’m going to enjoy ruining that Welsh pervert’s life.

‘Detective Sergeant Noble has left the room,’ announced Brook for the tape. He looked back at Yvette. ‘You became pregnant at the orphanage?’ She nodded.

‘Please answer yes or no for the tape.’

‘Yes.’

‘Was Len Poole the father?’ She lifted her head as though trying to remember. Brook assumed she was calculating if the knowledge still possessed monetary value. When she’d decided that it didn’t, she was able to answer.

‘Yes. Len was Russell’s father.’

‘And so you were able to persuade him that he should provide for you and Russell, in exchange for your silence.’

She was amused by Brook’s diplomacy. ‘Persuade, yes. I persuaded him that he owed me a comfortable living.’

‘And he provided that living because if his paternity ever came to light, he would be ruined,’ said Brook. Yvette shrugged as if only just realising. ‘So wherever he moved, he would send for you and set you up in a place nearby.’

She smiled. ‘Something like that.’

‘And give you money.’

‘Yes.’

‘Cash?’

‘Always.’

‘Even after he married his late wife?’

‘Len was aware of his responsibilities,’ said Yvette carefully.

Brook paused before the next question. ‘Did the sexual relationship continue after Russell’s birth?’

‘I’m not a whore,’ repeated Yvette. ‘I don’t have sex for money.’

‘Is that a no?’

‘That’s a no.’

‘Because once you left the orphanage carrying his child, you had the upper hand in your relationship.’

She shrugged again. ‘You could say.’

‘But something changed recently, didn’t it?’ Yvette opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it. ‘When I called last night, Len was at your house, wasn’t he?’

She looked up, startled. ‘How did you know?’

‘I didn’t. But I knew you had somebody with you and I suspected it was either Adam Rifkind or Len.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘You know about Adam?’

‘Not for certain, but he called you Eve when we dropped in on his lecture. That automatically makes him a special friend .’

‘It was only that one time at his holiday cottage,’ she mumbled.

‘So last night it was Len.’

‘Yes.’

‘You had sex with him?’

Yvette grinned at Brook. ‘For what it’s worth.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that two minutes is all the old bastard can manage these days.’

‘You don’t sound very fond of him.’

‘I hate him,’ spat Yvette.

‘Then why did you have sex with him?’ No answer. ‘He demanded sex, didn’t he?’

Yvette looked down at the floor. ‘Yes.’

‘Why?’

‘Because he’s a dirty old man,’ she replied sourly, looking at Brook with contempt. ‘Like all men. Like you. Wherever I go you look at my body as if it belongs to you. Lusting after me. You, your Sergeant, Adam, that dopey kid Wilson. You only want one thing and you won’t be satisfied unless you get it.’

Brook’s expression was unmoved by the accusation. ‘Does that mean you refused?’

The wind taken out of her sails, eventually she answered, ‘No.’

‘Because you didn’t have the upper hand any more?’

A pause. ‘No.’

‘Because he knew about Russell’s death.’

Yvette shook her head. ‘No. He didn’t know the first thing about Russell. Len wasn’t interested and never had been.’

‘But he knew something was wrong.’

Yvette sighed. ‘Me and Russell bumped into Len from time to time as he grew up. Small towns — you couldn’t help it.’

Brook nodded. ‘But when you followed him to Derby six months ago, he knew Rusty wasn’t his son.’

‘Yes. After Russell. . we tried very hard to make sure Len never saw Rusty and it worked fine until Len spotted him at Parents’ Evening. He came to pick Alice up and Kyle introduced them. He knew straight away he wasn’t Russell.’

‘So what did Len do?’

‘At first he threatened to stop the money, but then he seemed to change his mind. Said he was sorry, that he’d been hasty. A couple of days later he came round with the money, as usual. But instead of just dropping it off, he said he needed to use the bathroom.’ She laughed. ‘Well, Rusty was wise to that.’

‘He was there?’

‘No, Rusty was never at home, always out filming stuff in the streets. But he knew after meeting him that it wouldn’t take Len long to look for proof he wasn’t his father. And then. .’

‘No more money,’ finished Brook.

‘Right. So we were careful. Rusty’s bedroom was a fake — his idea. His books, his posters — simple. His room but he never went in there, not once, so he couldn’t leave DNA, hairs, that sort of thing.’

‘So you set the room up to make it look like his.’ Brook nodded.

‘And when Len called we knew he’d be straight in there looking for DNA. Well, it used to be his job, didn’t it?’

‘And when he went to the bathroom he stole Rusty’s toothbrush,’ said Brook.

‘No. Rusty wasn’t stupid. He hid his toothbrush in the bottom of my knickers drawer.’

Brook picked up an evidence bag and placed it down in front of Yvette. ‘This toothbrush?’

Yvette stared at it. ‘Where did you find that?’

‘Where you said. In your underwear drawer, in your bedroom.’

‘In my bedroom,’ she echoed.

‘Is that Rusty’s toothbrush?’ Yvette stared some more.

‘Yvette.’

She looked up at Brook and nodded faintly.

‘Please answer yes or no.’

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Thank you. Now this is where I get confused. If Rusty hid his toothbrush in your bedroom, how did Len get proof Rusty wasn’t his son?’

‘He didn’t. But he did the next best thing.’

Brook stared at her for a moment, processing the information. ‘Of course. He took your toothbrush instead. That’s why you had to buy a new one.’

‘Yes,’ said Yvette.

‘Len didn’t need to prove that he wasn’t Rusty’s father, just that you weren’t his real mother. And if you weren’t Rusty’s real mother then he couldn’t be the father.’

‘Sly old bastard. We didn’t think of that.’

‘But that still begs the question: if Rusty’s bedroom was clean, how did Len get a sample of Rusty’s DNA?’

Yvette shrugged. ‘That I don’t know.’

‘Where is Rusty?’

‘I don’t know,’ she repeated with more force. ‘Everything I’ve told you about his disappearance is true. I haven’t seen him since the day before Kyle’s party. I don’t know where he is. I wish I did. You’ve got my phone. You must know how many times I’ve tried to get in touch with him.’