Chương 9
After a while, Julian said, “I don’t know how to protect you without deciding for you.”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
It was not forgiveness. It was attention.
“Then don’t protect me yet,” she said. “Help me understand what happens.”
They asked Miriam Chase to explain the possible routes. She did so without promising outcomes. A criminal investigation could continue without Evelyn’s full participation, but her account mattered. A recorded interview might reduce the number of times she repeated herself. The defense could challenge memory, consent, motive, and Julian’s financial interest. Private financial recovery might be possible, though assets could be limited or hidden. Nothing would be fast.
Evelyn listened.
“What happens to Mara?” she asked.
“That depends on evidence and charging decisions,” Miriam said.
“Could she care for someone else while they decide?”
“Restrictions may be imposed, but I cannot guarantee what another employer knows.”
Evelyn looked at Julian.
He did not speak.
Miriam closed her folder.
“You do not need to decide today.”
“Yes, I do,” Evelyn said. “If I wait until I feel brave, everyone will die of old age.”
She agreed to the recorded interview.
Before it took place, Julian gave police every email, bank record, valuation letter, and medical inquiry that could be used against him. He included a voice message in which he had told Sophie that his mother was “holding thirty people hostage to a house she cannot maintain.”
He listened to it twice before sending it.
The words sounded worse aloud.
DS Morgan called him the next morning.
“Why provide the recording?”
“Because Mara has it.”
“How would she have it?”
“I played it at Ashcombe during an argument. Mum’s smart speaker may have captured part of it, or she may have recorded me. I don’t know.”
“You’re guessing.”
“Yes.”
“Then why send it?”
“Because I said it.”
DS Morgan was quiet.
“This will not help you publicly.”
“I’m not asking it to.”
“It may support Ms. Bell’s claim that your mother feared you.”
“She did fear me. That doesn’t mean Mara didn’t exploit it.”
The detective exhaled.
“That is a more useful sentence than most you’ve given us.”
Evelyn’s interview took place at Ashcombe House after she returned with a new care arrangement. Two carers worked separate shifts. Neither handled legal documents or finances. Mrs. Cotter controlled the household post in Evelyn’s presence. Medication arrived in sealed packs checked by a visiting nurse.
Evelyn chose the rules with Amita.
Julian disliked several of them, especially the rule that he must telephone before visiting. He followed it.
On the morning of the interview, the bedroom looked almost exactly as it had on the day of the bottle. The wooden bed remained beneath the tall windows. Cream pillows stood behind Evelyn. The beige-shaded lamp cast a warm circle despite the daylight.
The bench at the foot of the bed was empty.
Evelyn asked that the bedroom door remain open.
DS Morgan sat near the window. Another officer managed the recording equipment. Julian waited downstairs.
He spent the first hour tightening a loose handle on a kitchen drawer. The screw was too short, then too long. Mrs. Cotter found the correct one in a jam jar labeled ELECTRICAL, where no electrical item had ever been stored.
“You’re making it worse,” she said.
“I’ve noticed.”
“You used to be good at things.”
“I design buildings.”
“You cannot fix a drawer.”
“They’re different disciplines.”
Mrs. Cotter handed him a screwdriver.
“Your father fixed that handle with glue in 1998.”
“That explains the problem.”
“It lasted longer than his temper.”
Julian laughed before he could stop himself.
From upstairs came no raised voices, only the occasional murmur and the creak of floorboards. Julian tried not to imagine every question.
Two hours later, DS Morgan came into the kitchen.
“Your mother wants a break.”
“How is she?”
“Tired.”
“Did she finish?”
“Not yet.”
Julian set down the screwdriver.
DS Morgan leaned against the counter.
“She has described a pattern of pressure lasting several months. Removing communication devices. Controlling access to staff. Misrepresenting financial and legal procedures. Using prescribed medication outside the current plan. Those are serious allegations.”
“But?”
“But she also confirms making gifts and discussing the lodge voluntarily.”
“She changed her mind.”
“Yes.”
“And Mara refused to accept that.”
“That is central.”
Julian waited.
“We found additional evidence,” DS Morgan said. “Ms. Bell’s sister witnessed several documents. She initially said your mother signed freely. Phone records place her elsewhere during at least one claimed witnessing.”
“So the signature is false.”
“The witnessing appears unreliable.”
“Will you charge them?”
“That decision is not mine alone.”
Julian rubbed his forehead.
DS Morgan studied the repaired drawer handle.
“You disclosed the valuation before we obtained the estate agent’s full file.”
“Yes.”
“You also disclosed the business loan and the recording.”
“Yes.”
“Ms. Bell’s solicitor had not provided the recording. We have found no evidence she possessed it.”
Julian looked at her.
“So I damaged myself for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.”
“What did it achieve?”
“It made your account easier to evaluate.”
He gave a dry laugh.
“You could put that on the family crest.”
Evelyn completed the interview after lunch.
When the officers left, Julian found her sitting against the cream pillows with her eyes closed. The lavender nightgown had been replaced by an identical one Mrs. Cotter found unopened in a drawer. Evelyn had apparently bought three years’ worth during a sale.
Julian placed a glass of water on the bedside table.
“Do you want me to go?”
“No.”
He sat.
Evelyn opened her eyes.
“I told them about the cheque.”
“What cheque?”
“The one I wrote Mara at Christmas.”
“How much?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
Julian stared at her.
“You gave her fifteen thousand pounds?”
“She had been working every day.”
“You paid her wages.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you would react exactly like this.”
He stood, walked to the foot of the bed, then returned.
“Was it a gift?”
“Yes.”
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“Did she ask for it?”
“Not directly.”
