Neil White - Beyond Evil

Ray Cuffy stood in front of the fireplace, one arm resting on the mantelpiece. Janet glanced at him and gave a small shrug as she sat down.

Ray spoke first.

‘Mr Kenyon, I know that we’ve never met before, but I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry about, well,’ and he fell silent, dropping his arms.

‘Alice?’ Ted said, and then shook away the sympathy. ‘Everyone starts with saying how sorry they are, and it’s never necessary.’

‘We’re here about Marie, not Alice,’ Charlie said, still standing, trying to convey his urgency.

Ray and Janet exchanged worried glances again, and Janet looked down first, a flush of red to her cheeks.

‘We don’t hear from her,’ Ray said, his arms folded again. ‘It’s been more than a year now. When you came to the door, I thought perhaps you knew something, with Alice and Marie being friends.’

‘Where was she when you last heard from her?’

‘She was in lots of places, just doing her own thing,’ he said, looking confused. ‘Why do you want to know about Marie?’

‘She’s discovered politics, I understand,’ Charlie said. ‘Part of some revolutionary movement.’

A flush started to creep up Ray’s neck. ‘If you know about her already, why are you asking?’

‘Tell me all about it.’

‘Why should I?’ he said, his voice becoming hostile. ‘You come to my house at nearly midnight and start demanding answers about my family. Give me one good reason.’

Charlie pointed towards Ted. ‘Because he lost a daughter,’ he said, his voice raised. ‘If that isn’t a good enough reason to inconvenience you, I’m sorry, but it’s the best I can do.’

Ray looked at Ted for a few moments, before saying, ‘All right, I’m sorry. But Marie had nothing to do with Alice’s murder.’

‘Is that why you think we’re here, to accuse her of it?’

Ray licked his lips and paused before he spoke. ‘No, I mean, of course not, but it must be something to do with Alice, because Ted is here, and the only thing that links us is Alice’s death.’

‘Why is that?’

‘What do you mean? I don’t know Ted Kenyon, except for when I’ve seen him in the press, but Marie and Alice were friends.’

‘But you said that it was Alice’s death that links you, not Alice’s life.’

Tension crept into Ray’s voice. ‘You’re playing with words.’

‘With your words, Mr Cuffy, not mine.’

Ray looked over to his wife again, but she was still looking down, her knees together, sitting forward, her arms folded across her legs. Ted was keener now, leaning into the discussion, but Charlie held up his hand to stall him.

‘Tell me about Marie,’ Charlie said, his voice lower now, softer, more cajoling.

‘We don’t believe in her politics,’ Ray said. ‘She is her own person.’

‘And who is that person?’

‘A kid, someone who believes in a simpler world. I thought similar things, back in the seventies, but then as you get older, you start to see things differently, less black and white.’

‘Easily influenced?’

‘Like most young people, she’ll follow the good times. She’ll grow out of it.’

‘Perhaps she is just kicking back against this,’ Charlie said, and he waved his hand around at the house.

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s always the same with little revolutionaries,’ Charlie said. ‘Most are just suburban kids looking for a bit of shock value. They flock to groups with names that get your attention and start wearing Che Guevara T-shirts. It’s as much a cliché now as it always has been.’

Ray started to get angry. ‘What do you want me to do? Change her politics? Because I can’t. She found a bunch of oddballs and squatters and left.’

Charlie leaned in. ‘Who was in the group?’

Ray sighed and then rubbed his eyes. ‘It was the biggest fuck you she could give,’ he said quietly. ‘I tried to be tolerant at first, thinking that she might grow out of it, but she started asking for money, saying that the group needed it.’

‘And you said no?’

‘It was the money they were interested in, that was my guess, and so I wouldn’t give her anything.’

‘How did she react?’

‘She left and stopped coming back.’

‘Is she still with them?’

Janet Cuffy started to sob softly, her face in her hands.

‘We don’t know,’ Ray said, and Charlie saw a tremble to his chin.

‘I don’t understand,’ Charlie said.

‘We haven’t heard from Marie in over a year,’ Ray said, his voice cracking. ‘The last time she was here, she was asking for money for insurance and the release fees, because the police had seized their vehicles for being uninsured. I wouldn’t give it to her. She stormed out and we haven’t seen her since.’

No one spoke for a few seconds, until Charlie said, ‘You were nervous when you saw Ted.’

‘What do you mean?’ Ray said, looking at his wife.

‘You think Marie might have had something to do with Alice’s death, don’t you?’ Charlie said.

Ray swallowed. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘I’ve been a lawyer for quite a while now, and people who answer questions with a question are usually trying to work out what to say.’

‘What’s your point?’

‘I think you know what Marie was getting up to, and where they used to go for their parties,’ Charlie said. ‘Billy Privett’s house. You knew that, right?’

Ray shook his head and looked at Janet, but she was looking at the floor, rubbing her hands together.

‘I think you ought to be going now,’ Ray said.

‘Where is she?’ Charlie demanded. ‘They need to be caught. More people will die.’

Janet looked up. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. ‘We don’t know where she is,’ she said. ‘We went looking for her, and we can’t find her.’

‘What did you tell the police?’

‘We didn’t tell the police,’ she said.

‘What? Why not?’ Charlie said, surprised.

‘She’s just a young woman. That group she was with? They go travelling. We went to where they stay, and someone told us that she had moved on, had found a different group to mix with.’

Ted stepped closer. ‘Where are they, this group?’

‘Some farmhouse on Jackson Heights,’ Janet said. ‘She’s not there now though.’

‘Is that the real reason you didn’t tell the police?’ Charlie said. ‘Or was it because you are worried she was involved in Alice’s death, and you want to keep the police away from her?’

Ray pointed at the door. ‘Go.’ There were tears in his eyes now.

Charlie got to his feet but walked up to Ray. ‘Nice house, ugly conscience. You’ve got the balance wrong,’ and then walked towards the door.

Chapter Fifty

Sheldon followed the two men towards the empty house where John Abbott had lived. They were police officers, but were being cagey about where they worked. Horne and Murch were the names they gave. Sheldon knew he hadn’t seen them before. When they opened the door and clicked on the light switch, Sheldon saw a house as empty as it seemed from the outside. He went to the living room and perched on the windowsill. It was low and gave a view over the front garden, the curtains open now.

‘So you want to talk?’ Sheldon said. ‘You first. How did you know I was here?’

The taller one, Horne, pointed at the alarm sensor. ‘We had that installed a few weeks ago and you tripped it.’

‘So why are you monitoring it?’

The two officers exchanged nervous glances, and then Horne said to Sheldon, ‘Tell us what you know.’

‘Why do I go first?’

‘Because you do. That’s just the way it has to be, sir.’