Gillian Jackson - The Accident

Joe had asked Phil and Helen to be with him at the interview, as the sergeant would almost certainly want to speak to them and hear of their involvement in recent events, and being Saturday, it was no problem for them both to be there. He appreciated the moral support, too. When he broke the news that David was dead they were understandably shocked, and Joe was concerned that he may somehow have landed his friends in trouble by involving them in his plans.

Helen made coffee and after the detective once again offered his condolences, they sat in the lounge, awkwardly taking the measure of each other.

‘Mr Parker,’ DS Armstrong began, ‘from what you told me on the telephone yesterday, your brother attempted to kill you a few days ago, yet you decided not to report this to the police. Can you tell me why?’

Joe had tried to explain on the phone, but now he supposed he must go over all the details again.

‘Yes, I’ve no doubt that it was an attempt to kill me, but David was still my brother and whatever he’d done, I couldn’t bring myself to report it and possibly see him sent to prison.’

‘And with your neighbours here you hatched a plan to teach him a lesson?’

‘You could say that, but it was entirely my doing. Phil and Helen agreed to go along with it but only after they tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade me to tell the police.’ Joe wondered what charges the police could bring against him; surely there’d be something.

‘And your brother and his wife just left after learning that you were still alive?’

‘Yes, I assumed they were going home, as it appears they did.’

‘When you saw your brother in the car when he drove it into you, was he alone?’ Armstrong asked.

‘Yes, as far as I could see, but it all happened very quickly.’

‘So as far as you know his wife wasn’t with him that day?’

‘That’s right, but I’ve no doubt she was part of his plan, if not the instigator of it.’

DS Armstrong turned his attention to Phil. ‘And you, Mr Roper, did you witness Mr Parker’s brother’s attempt on his life?’

‘Well no, but Liffey came to fetch us, that’s the first we knew about it, when we found Joe in the ditch down by the meadow.’

‘And this Liffey is?’ The sergeant looked puzzled.

‘The dog.’

Armstrong glanced over at Liffey who was snoring gently in the corner of the room. ‘Right, the dog. So when the dog took you to the scene what happened next?’

‘I took Joe to the hospital but he didn’t want to go to the police.’

Joe was becoming a little frustrated with the questions and wanted a few of his own answering. ‘DS Armstrong, unless you intend to charge me with failing to report a crime, I don’t see where your questions are leading. So far you’ve told me very little about what happened and I’d like to know exactly how my brother died.’

The detective shifted his weight in the chair and nodded. ‘Right, of course, but I’m afraid it’s not pleasant.’

‘Death seldom is, my wife died five months ago and now my brother, and I’m feeling as if I’m under suspicion here.’ Joe was feeling bolder; he’d done nothing wrong and wanted to know what was going on.

‘I’m sorry to hear that, Mr Parker, and I apologise if you feel that way. I assure you that you’re in no way under suspicion. Your brother died from stab wounds, several punctures in what must have been quite a frenzied attack. If it’s any consolation, death would have been very quick; most of the wounds appear to have been inflicted post mortem.’

Helen gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. Phil wrapped a comforting arm around her, a frown on his face.

Joe felt sick. His brother might have done some terrible things but he didn’t deserve this. Pam must be completely mad.

‘And it was Pam who killed him?’ Joe asked.

‘We’ve arrested Mrs Parker on suspicion of murder. There was a call from a concerned neighbour about noise from their flat and when our officers arrived they found your brother. Mrs Parker was soon picked up and there is evidence which ties her in to the incident.’

‘So why all the questions about David’s attempt to run me over?’

‘Well, if you wish to press charges, obviously not against your brother, but against Pamela Parker, we can add that charge to the one of murder.’

‘What, conspiracy?’

‘Yes, something like that.’

‘But surely that would be virtually impossible to prove, especially now that David’s dead?’

‘That’s certainly true, but it’s a matter of building up the pressure on our suspect. If she feels there are other charges in the offing, she may come clean about the murder.’

‘What, you mean the woman’s trying to say she didn’t do it?’ Joe was astounded.

‘Exactly.’

‘Bloody hell, she must be insane!’

‘And I think that’s probably going to be her line of defence.’ It was the most forthcoming thing Armstrong had said, and he reluctantly agreed to leave Joe to think about pressing charges. ‘We’ll keep you informed as to how the case is progressing, Mr Parker, and if you’d like to discuss anything with me this is my direct line.’ He handed Joe a card and left, uttering more condolences.

‘My goodness, they must be trained in stock phrases at copper school!’ Phil remarked when he’d gone. ‘What are you going to do, Joe?’

‘I haven’t a clue. They seem to think that I should be sorting out the flat and everything, all that talk about when the “crime scene” is released. It’s the same bloody roundabout all over again, isn’t it?’ Joe was close to tears.

‘I wouldn’t count on that, mate. Perhaps you should seek legal advice; surely no one can force you to take responsibility for their affairs, especially in the circumstances.’

‘Don’t get in a state about it, Joe,’ Helen chipped in. ‘I should think the investigation will take some time, there must be some protocol for these situations, or if nothing else you could just put the flat in the hands of house clearers, or leave the landlord to do so.’

‘I’ll have to arrange a funeral for him. It’s a hell of a way to die and he was family...’

‘You should wait a few days, see what this Armstrong comes back with. There’s no urgency and you’re not in any fit state to be arranging anything at the moment.’ Joe could tell Phil was concerned for him.

‘You’re right,’ Joe agreed. ‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I can’t believe that she could actually do that to her own husband, it’s barbaric.’

‘Now, no arguments, you’re coming round to ours for some lunch,’ Helen insisted, ‘and Liffey too. It’s only cold ham and salad but you don’t have to stay. Come back home when you want to, you need to rest.’

Joe was in no mood to argue and accepted his friends’ ministrations, glad of their presence. He would do as they suggested, think things over, and then talk to the detective when he felt better. Nothing he could do would help his brother now.

The lethal combination of freezing rain and wind battered the windscreen so hard that Hannah feared it might shatter, the violent pounding was deafening, frightening. Suddenly, the car seemed to shift of its own volition, it veered ever so slightly to the left and she tried to counter the shift by turning the steering wheel to the right. But the car had taken on a mind of its own; she was no longer in control. Fear swelled inside her, cold as the ice outside, as the momentum gathered and Hannah was carried along inside the prison of her car, utterly helpless as it descended the gradient, sliding uncontrollably towards the inevitable. She saw an articulated lorry approaching from the right and her car suddenly fishtailed, like a ride at a fairground. There was an explosive boom, the horrified faces of a man and a woman, and the piercing sound of Hannah’s own voice, an impotent scream, and then nothing. Dark, interminable silence.