Steven Dunne - The Disciple

Hudson couldn’t suppress a chuckle, but Grant smiled coldly. ‘I transferred out of Bromley eight years ago, Damen. I moved to Brighton for a quieter life. Fat chance, eh?’ Hudson and Grant locked eyes on him for a reaction, but Brook was completely impassive. There was silence for a moment before Hudson spoke again. ‘Your ex-wife and daughter live there. Aren’t you worried that something may have happened to them?’

‘You wouldn’t have driven two hundred miles just to break it to me,’ said Brook softly.

‘I suppose not.’

‘In fact, we saw them recently. They’re in good health,’ added Grant. ‘Emotionally they’re not too good.’

‘Really,’ said Brook.

‘You see, your ex-wife’s husband, Tony Harvey-Ellis, is dead. He drowned in the Channel.’

Grant and Hudson were mildly shocked to see Brook’s thin smile.

‘What a pity. Drowned, you say?’

‘Yes.’

‘However, it wasn’t an accident.’

Brook’s smile faded. ‘He was murdered?’

‘It looks that way,’ nodded Hudson.

‘Drownings are almost always suicides when they’re not accidents, Inspector,’ added Grant. She glared intently at Brook.

Brook smiled and nodded, pleased that they’d tried to wrong-foot him. ‘You clearly didn’t know him, Laura. Someone as smug and self-absorbed as Harvey-Ellis could never kill himself.’

‘You still haven’t asked about your ex-wife and daughter,’ observed Hudson.

‘You don’t think Amy and Terri were responsible, I hope?’

‘We’re keeping an open mind.’

‘Well close it. They couldn’t have been involved. They wouldn’t have the strength to drown a man — especially someone as powerful as Harvey-Ellis. He was a rugby player at one time.’

‘Maybe not to hold someone like Harvey-Ellis under the water,’ agreed Hudson. ‘But a smack on the head with a baseball bat wouldn’t be beyond either of them.’ Brook said nothing. ‘You don’t seem to dispute your ex-wife and daughter might have had motive.’ Brook shrugged. ‘Can I assume then that you know about the affair between Harvey-Ellis and your daughter?’

Brook narrowed his eyes and sank further into the chair. Grant noticed his hands clenching into fists. ‘You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t certain I knew what was happening, would you?’

‘Honestly, no,’ said Hudson. ‘Out of interest, how did you find out about the affair? Did your ex-wife confide in you?’

Brook looked away. ‘I’m a trained detective. I found out. Leave it at that.’

‘You seem uncomfortable discussing this, Inspector,’ said Grant. ‘How would you feel?’ Brook glared at Grant. ‘Virtual strangers asking questions, about my daughter and her…’

‘Affair.’

‘Can we not refer to this as an affair? Affairs are for adults. Terri was fifteen. Harvey-Ellis is a predator. Was.’

There was a long silence while Hudson and Grant let Brook simmer. ‘Strong feelings feed strong motives,’ added Grant eventually.

‘Which makes me the prime suspect.’

‘Is that a confession, Damen?’

‘No.’

‘Any normal father…’ blurted Grant, then stopped, annoyed with herself. Hudson had been very specific about avoiding any hint of an accusation. She apologised to her boss with a look.

‘Are you a normal father, Damen?’ asked Hudson, deciding he had no choice now but to run with it.

‘Normal enough to threaten him,’ agreed Brook. ‘I assaulted him as well. I suspect you know that.’

‘Nearly two years ago. Is that why you got suspended?’

‘No. No-one knew about the assault. I was suspended for dropping off the grid at the height of the Wallis Inquiry.’

‘To come to Brighton to confront Tony Harvey-Ellis?’

‘Yes.’

‘But that didn’t stop the … relationship with your daughter.’

Brook’s eyes bored into Hudson. ‘No.’

‘So why didn’t you do something?’

Brook smiled sadly. ‘You’re the second person to have asked me that.’

‘Who was the first?’

‘Someone I used to know in London.’

‘And what was your answer? After all, you could’ve exposed him, made his life very difficult. You might have had a crack at putting him away, Damen.’

‘I know. It’s just … things got away from me. Later I realised how much they both loved him and hated me. There didn’t seem much point after that. It’s academic now.’

‘Before we ask the next question I want to remind you that we’re just having an informal talk,’ said Hudson. ‘But in view of your distinguished career, neither I nor DS Grant would feel happy if you felt you needed representation and didn’t ask for it.’ Hudson waited.

Brook nodded. ‘Ask your question.’

‘Where were you last weekend, Inspector Brook?’ asked Grant. ‘We’ll settle for Saturday night and Sunday morning for now.’

Brook tossed his head back to concentrate on the ceiling. ‘I’m not sure but I think I was either near Matlock or Tissington. It’s in the Peak District. I was on two weeks’ leave. I didn’t take a calendar with me and quite often I didn’t know what day it was.’

‘You were on your own?’ asked Grant, now taking notes.

‘Always.’

‘Did anyone you know see you?’

‘I don’t know anyone.’

‘Well, would anyone you don’t know remember you?’ asked Grant.

‘Unlikely. I was camping wild. The whole idea is to keep away from civilisation.’

‘Isn’t that illegal?’ asked Grant.

‘Sometimes,’ nodded Brook.

‘So you have no alibi,’ concluded Hudson.

‘If I thought I needed one, Joshua, I would have slapped a policeman in the face with my passport and stuck my birth certificate in his mouth.’

Both Hudson and Grant made sure to give Brook an appreciative chuckle, but Hudson knew that such flattery was unlikely to make him more forthcoming.

‘Is there anything else?’

Hudson ground his teeth. After a few seconds he said, ‘Funny, you’re not asking for many details about the murder. I find that odd for a police officer. You’ve asked no questions about how a fit, forty-three-year-old male was forcibly drowned.’

Brook looked at Hudson and Grant in turn. ‘I don’t care about Tony Harvey-Ellis or how he died. I’m just pleased he’s dead after the way he preyed on my daughter and betrayed my ex-wife.’

‘You think of their welfare no matter how much they hate you.’

‘I guess Terri doesn’t hate me,’ said Brook. ‘But she loves her mum more. Amy probably hates me because I destroyed her first marriage and tried to do the same to her second. The fact that I was right to do so on both occasions is a detail as far as she’s concerned.’

‘And, if it were necessary, would you consent to giving us a DNA sample? In case we need to rule you out of our inquiries.’

Brook pursed his lips in a show of concentration, looking back at Grant. ‘No. I don’t think I would.’

‘Really? Why not?’ ventured Hudson.

Brook smiled back at him, unblinking. Grant and Hudson had just about given up on an answer when Brook said, ‘I don’t want to.’

‘Officers are encouraged to volunteer dibs and dabs for the database,’ said Grant. ‘It’s compulsory for new recruits.’

‘Good for them,’ replied Brook. ‘Let me know when it becomes compulsory for me.’

Hudson decided he was going to have to play his one remaining card. ‘Have you ever heard of Twilight Sleep, Damen?’

Brook’s eyes widened and his mouth parted slightly. ‘What?’

‘Now I don’t know too much about Vitmanstein,’ said Sheriff Dupree, holding back a stray branch so the agents could pass unhindered, ‘but this here ground is a clearing, wouldn’t you say?’