Chapter 17 #2
Anthony looked at the other two detectives standing by the door, then back to DI Bishop.
‘Not all of them.’
‘Some?’
‘A few.’
‘How many is a few?’
‘One or two.’
‘I’d say that was a couple, wouldn’t you, DS Osborne?’
‘I would, sir.’
‘The couple you tell jokes to, these wouldn’t be young children, would they?’
‘Yes,’ Anthony smiled.
‘So, you tell jokes to children, but Alice Patterson was the only grown-up person you told jokes to?’
It was a while before Anthony replied. ‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I like Alice.’
‘You like her.’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you attracted to her?’
Confusion danced across Anthony’s face. ‘I … don’t…’
‘You don’t what?’
‘Can I talk to my mum?’
‘Why do you want to talk to your mum?’
His frown deepened. ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’
‘And what do you think your mum can do for you?’
‘She can…’
‘Anthony, just answer my questions, and we’ll let you go home. All right?’ DI Bishop said with a smile.
‘All right,’ Anthony replied, hesitating.
‘Good. Now, going back to Alice. Were you attracted to her?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘OK. Let me put this another way. Would you have liked to kiss Alice?’
Anthony’s face softened. ‘Yes. I think I would.’
‘Have you tried to kiss her?’
‘No,’ he answered quickly.
‘Why not?’
‘Because … I don’t know. I never got the chance.’
‘Never?’
‘No.’
‘OK. Now, let’s go back to the day of the storm. The day Alice died. Do you remember that day?’
‘Yes,’ he said, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
‘Alice came into the library as usual, didn’t she?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you talk to her?’
‘Yes. I told her a few jokes.’
‘And she laughed.’
‘Yes. She always laughed.’
‘And she left the library with some new books?’
‘Yes.’
‘What happened then?’
‘I went back to work.’
‘Did you finish work at the usual time?’
‘No. Mrs Wilkinson said we should close early because of the storm, and nobody had come into the library for over an hour.’
‘So, you left work earlier than usual?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you go straight home?’
‘No.’
‘No? But there was a huge storm raging outside. Wouldn’t it have been sensible to go straight home?’
‘I like bad weather,’ he smiled.
‘You like bad weather?’
‘Yes. I went down to the front to see the waves crashing in on the beach.’
‘What was it like?’ Bishop asked.
‘It was so exciting. I’ve never seen waves so high.’
‘Did you get wet?’
‘A bit. From the spray. As well as from the rain. I had my big coat on. It’s got a hood. And I had my waterproof gloves on, too.’
‘Did you go anywhere else?’
‘No.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Yes,’ he nodded. He looked to the other two detectives, took in their blank expressions and turned back to Bishop, whose smile had dropped.
‘We’ve heard that you don’t always go straight home after work, even when there isn’t a storm. Sometimes you like to go walking around Canal Street, don’t you?’
Anthony’s eyes widened. He swallowed hard. ‘Sometimes.’
‘You know what Canal Street is known for, don’t you?’
Anthony shrugged.
‘Canal Street is a popular area for ladies of the night to ply their trade. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?’ Bishop asked, leaning forward.
Anthony didn’t say anything.
‘Prostitutes, Anthony,’ Bishop raised his voice. He was beginning to lose patience. ‘Women who sell themselves for sex. You go there, sometimes, don’t you? To watch them?’
Anthony remained silent.
Bishop took a deep breath. He lowered his voice. There was a smile on his face. ‘Anthony, we’re all men, here. You can tell us. We’re not going to judge. You should hear some of the things Ed’s got up to in his time.’
Ritter and Osborne laughed.
‘See, we’re just four blokes having a chat.
Years ago, when I was a bobby on the beat in Sheffield – that’s where I’m from – there was this woman who used to shoplift.
She was always getting caught. She was a terrible thief.
But she had no money and two little kiddies to bring up on her own.
She’d do anything so we wouldn’t arrest her.
I think she blew off most of the blokes in uniform many times over before she sorted herself out,’ Bishop said.
DS Osborne stepped forward and pulled out the chair next to Bishop and sat down.
‘Have you got any stories to tell, Anthony?’ Osborne asked.
‘Look at him, Anthony,’ Bishop said. ‘All for a bit of filthy gossip, this one.’ He grinned.
Anthony tried to smile, but it was half-hearted. ‘I don’t…’
‘Go on,’ Osborne prompted.
‘I don’t do anything. With the women, I mean.’
‘You just like to watch?’ Osborne asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Do you get excited?’
‘I… Sometimes,’ he said, ashamed.
‘Do you … you know … play with yourself?’ Osborne asked.
‘No. Never.’
‘These women, Anthony, when you’re watching them, would you like to do what the men are doing to them?’
‘Sometimes.’
‘Have you never felt like doing it with them?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘But what?’
‘My mum wouldn’t like it.’
‘Ah. You’re worried your mum might find out?’ Bishop asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Would she be OK if you did it with a girlfriend, perhaps?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Would you like a girlfriend?’
Anthony nodded.
‘Did you want Alice to be your girlfriend?’
He nodded again.
‘Did you see Alice on the night of the storm?’
‘No.’
‘You see, I think you did, Anthony,’ Bishop said. ‘I think you saw Alice and you were excited after seeing the storm and you were excited after seeing the prostitutes having sex and you saw Alice all on her own and you decided it was the best chance you’d get, didn’t you?’
‘No,’ he said, almost shouting. ‘I didn’t see Alice that night at all.’
‘Did you go to Canal Street on the night of the storm?’
‘No.’
‘I think you did, Anthony. And you know, Canal Street is right by the woods where Alice Patterson’s body was found.’
‘Where’s my mum?’
‘Let me tell you what I think happened, and you can tell me if I’m right or not.
I think after you watched some prostitutes on Canal Street, you saw Alice sheltering from the storm.
I think she was frightened, and she saw you, a friendly face.
You were her knight in shining armour. I think you offered to walk her home, because you’re a gentleman, after all. But, one thing led to another and…’
‘No,’ Anthony said.
‘I think you were walking home together and everyone else was indoors, out of the storm. I think you found a secluded spot and you tried to kiss her.’
‘No.’ Anthony started crying.
‘But she didn’t want to be kissed. She was cold and wet and scared and wanted to go home to her mum and dad. But she’s no match for you, is she? She’s only about five foot two and you’re well over six foot. It didn’t take much for you to overpower her, and by that point, you were really excited…’
‘No. No. No,’ Anthony cried.
‘Did she fall? Did she bang her head? Did you hit her? Either way, she’s down and you know you’re going to get into trouble, but you’re also turned on as hell.
You can’t help yourself. You’re attracted to Alice.
You know your mum will like her, so it’s fine for you to have sex with her.
That’s what you did, wasn’t it, Anthony?
You had sex with Alice in the middle of the woods and then you killed her because she said no. ’
‘No!’ Anthony screamed.
The cry echoed around the room, silencing Bishop. The three detectives looked at Anthony and waited for him to confess.
‘I want to see my mum.’