Noelle Holten - Dead Wrong

After a few moments, he saw her through the room’s plexiglass windows and he took a sharp intake of breath. He hadn’t realized what it would be like to see her after all this time. He felt himself stiffen.

Bill stood as the door opened. Electricity coursed through his veins. Breathe, Billy-boy. You need to keep calm. He took a deep breath and counted to ten as DC Jamieson entered the room.

‘Where’s DI Rutherford? Will she not be joining us?’ He rubbed his hands together.

‘The DI is on her way. Why don’t you have a seat, Mr Raven.’

She seemed to be trying to hide her fear under a mask of confidence, but he could see right through it. Just like he could with the guards. He watched her closely as she pointed to the plastic water jug on the table.

‘Would you like a drink?’ She began to pour herself a cup and raised her eyebrows waiting for his answer. He thought he saw her lip twitch.

‘Yes, please. The new medication I’m on can leave my mouth very dry.’ He licked his lips slowly and she looked away. ‘You’re looking very thin these days, DC Jamieson. I hope this situation is not the cause.’

Maggie ignored the comment and sat down across from him. She took a pad and pen out of her pocket. She began to fidget with her notebook. Just as he was about to say something, DI Rutherford entered the room.

‘Good morning, Mr Raven. Hello DC Jamieson. Shall we just get started? Where’s your solicitor?’ DI Rutherford walked quickly inside. Raven knew he would need to watch this one.

‘As I’m helping you with your enquiries, and not being interrogated, I told him not to join us. I hope I’m not wrong.’ Raven smiled. ‘I’m happy to get started. I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer than necessary. After all, you have a killer to catch, don’t you?’ He laughed.

The DI frowned.

‘Something funny, Mr Raven? There are families who want answers and the public want to feel safe again. I don’t think this is anything to smile about, do you?’ The DI stared at him.

He folded his hands together before answering. ‘Oh, it’s no laughing matter. I’m so sorry if my facial expressions annoy you, but as I explained to your colleague earlier …’ He took a sip of water. ‘Sometimes my medications can play havoc with my feelings. I was smiling at the fact that I’m here to help bring the real killer to justice.’

Maggie squinted and eyed him cautiously.

DI Rutherford leaned in. ‘Mr Raven, you said you wanted to help us with our investigation, so do you have some information to pass on? I have to admit, I wasn’t too keen on this meeting, but your solicitor convinced my DCI that this is an avenue we should explore. Please,’ she stressed, ‘do not waste our time.’

‘No time will be wasted. I can assure you. I’m here to help – you know that – so should we start from the beginning?’

Maggie refused to look away from Raven; his soulless eyes would not haunt her this time. Her leg shook restlessly under the table. DI Rutherford would be pissed off if Maggie hijacked the interview.

‘I’ve had a lot of time to clear my head in here,’ Raven said, as his eyes flicked over Maggie. ‘A lot of time to think. Can you imagine what it’s like to be kept in a cell on your own for a crime you didn’t commit? Ridiculed by the media and disowned by your friends?’ He leaned back in his seat and spread his legs wide, that smile that Maggie hated creeping across his face. ‘It’s taken me this long to recover, for the medication to start working, for the heroin and crack cravings to die down. Only in the past month have I started to piece together what happened.’

Maggie clenched her fist under the table, but she couldn’t stop herself from replying.

‘Mr Raven,’ Maggie spoke firmly, ‘we won’t ask you again. Rather than carry on with this ridiculous charade, do you have anything useful to share with us?’

‘Is she always this rude, DI Rutherford?’

Maggie wanted to reach across and punch Raven in his smug face.

‘DC Jamieson’s question is a valid one, Mr Raven, so answer it.’

Maggie couldn’t hide her pleasure at her superior’s support.

He sneered. ‘I do know things. Lots of things. When I was having my episodes, I believed that I was committing horrible crimes, that I was some sort of monster incapable of human empathy, that all I wanted to do was walk barefoot through pools of blood.’ He caught Maggie’s eye and smiled. ‘But – I know now – that it wasn’t me. Maybe I heard something, or witnessed something, and it traumatized me. That happens you know.’

Maggie leaned forward. She decided to take a different tack. ‘Take your time. What horrible things do you remember?’

He rubbed his temples. ‘It’s difficult to recall. Do you think someone could have told me what they did? Confessed to me in secret. With all the drugs I was taking, maybe I just internalized their story?’

‘I suppose that could be possible. Do you have any idea who might have told you such a story?’

‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could remember, DC Jamieson? Wouldn’t you just love to be able to reach back into your mind and remember everything in perfect detail? I could go back to the first time we met, that red jacket you were wearing, how you had just been for a haircut, how you had slept badly and forgotten to iron your shirt, how—’

‘Enough.’ DI Rutherford scowled. ‘Stick to the question.’

Maggie swallowed and felt cold fear wash over her. He smiled and leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m afraid I didn’t commit these crimes. Surely even you can understand that Lorraine was murdered while I was in prison?’

Maggie’s fear turned to anger, and she could no longer contain herself. ‘Let’s say I am buying this bullshit. If what you say is true – reach into those memories of yours and tell me how you knew Lorraine’s name when you initially confessed.’

‘Maybe I was hallucinating, or it came to me in a dream.’ He smirked.

‘And what makes you so sure these were hallucinations not memories? I think you’re lying and you’re doing a really shit job of it. I think you abducted those women, but you couldn’t even finish the job. You had to get someone to take over and kill them for you.’ Maggie grinned at him. ‘Is that it? Is someone else pulling the strings here? Pulling your strings?’ Raven’s hand clenched, and Rutherford kicked Maggie under the table.

‘I’m sure that what DC Jamieson is trying to say,’ Rutherford smiled, ‘is how can we use your memories to find out the identity of the killer?’

Maggie could see a nerve twitching in Raven’s neck.

‘No one pulls my strings, DC Jamieson, not unless I want them to.’ He smiled that sickly smile again. ‘The problem is, and this must be such a drag, my solicitor has lodged a successful appeal and now the CCRC is going to be all over you. I thought I might help you find the killer, but now you’ve insulted me I’m not even sure I want to anymore. I think it’s time you go, officers …’ He dismissed them with a flick of his hand, as if they were his servants.

Maggie laughed. ‘Suit yourself, but don’t get your hopes up about that appeal. I’ll find out the truth.’ She had made him show his true colours. The Raven she knew.

‘Look, Mr Raven, I’m happy to continue this discussion one on one. DC Jamieson, can you please leave the room?’

Maggie wasn’t at all surprised and knew she had crossed the line, but it was worth it. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ She collected her things and left the interview room. As she shut the door his cold laugh rang out and a shiver went up her spine.

Maggie headed down the corridor towards the exit, now even more determined to find the evidence she needed. She took her bag and phone from the locker and stopped in the bathroom on her way out, to scrub her hands with the cheap soap. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, rubbing her tired eyes.