Chapter 53
Chapter Fifty-Three
Detective Inspector Freya Sloan was told she had a visitor waiting for her in reception.
She knew the name Stephen Osborne, but couldn’t place it.
She opened the door and saw a painfully thin man in black trousers and a beige padded jacket, with a shiny dome of a bald head.
She frowned. No. The name was definitely familiar, but not the man.
‘Mr Osborne, I’m DI Sloan. How can I help you?’
Stephen smiled. ‘You don’t recognise me, do you?’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t.’
‘Cancer tends to change how a person looks. Stephen Osborne. I was a DS during Henry Bishop’s days.’
‘Oh, my goodness,’ Freya said, suddenly remembering. ‘Of course, Stephen. Wow. How are you?’
‘Well, cancer’s eating away at my body from the inside out but, apart from that, I’m fine,’ he smiled.
‘Ah. I’m sorry.’
‘Look, is there anywhere we can talk? There’s something I need to tell you.’
‘Of course. We can go to my office.’
‘I’m not so good with stairs.’
‘Right.’ She turned to the desk sergeant. ‘Sara, is there a room free?’
‘The only one with the heating working is room three.’
‘Fine. Can you organise a couple of cups of tea as well, please?’
‘Sure.’
‘Come through, Stephen.’
Freya watched as Stephen walked through a police station that was once familiar to him. He walked slowly and seemed to be in great pain with every step. When he sat on the plastic seat in the interview room, he winced.
‘What type of cancer is it?’ Freya asked.
‘It started in my liver. Now it’s spread to, well, I don’t think there’s a part of my body it hasn’t spread to,’ he smiled sadly.
‘Is there anything they can do?’
‘No. I’ve been told I’ve had my last Christmas.’
‘Stephen, I’m so sorry.’
He waved off her apology. ‘My own fault. I’ve been drinking like a fish since I was about sixteen.’
‘How’s … I’m sorry, I can’t remember your wife’s name.’
‘Karen. We split up years ago. She lives in Gran Canaria now. Married again. They own a bar overlooking the beach. A bit different to life in Whitby.’
Freya didn’t know what to say. She offered him a sympathetic smile.
It was sad to see how his life had turned out, but at the end of the day, he’d been instrumental in her husband’s premature exit from the force, a job he had wanted since childhood, and despite making a success of the luxury car hire business, it was evident he missed being a detective. She couldn’t forgive him for that.
‘Why have you come here?’ she asked.
Stephen coughed, which sounded hollow in his chest. ‘I was watching TV this morning. That’s all I seem to do these days. Pauline Winstanley was on talking about her son. She’s still fighting, I see, even ten years later. She mentioned that she’s looking for Tania Dove. Do you remember her?’
‘Of course, I do.’
‘She did lie, Tania. But not in the way they think she did.’
‘What do you mean?’ She frowned.
‘She didn’t go out that night, because of the storm.
She spent the night in her flat. She lived on the seafront, and she was sitting at the window watching the waves come crashing in and the flashes of lightning on the horizon.
And she saw Anthony Winstanley standing by the wall, looking out to sea, getting soaked.
She spent over an hour watching him. He didn’t move once. ’
‘How sure was she that it was Anthony?’
‘Because he was standing beneath a lamppost. And she did know Anthony because he watched the prostitutes working, but he never did anything. He never played with himself. He never approached them. He never interfered. He just watched, and occasionally he chatted to them.’
‘Why did she say—?’
‘Bishop paid her,’ Stephen interrupted. ‘He had the weight of the press on his shoulders screaming for an arrest. He couldn’t find the killer, so he manufactured one.
Anthony was an easy scapegoat, so he made the evidence fit.
He paid Tania fifty pounds for her statement and then gave her more to lie in court. ’
‘I always knew Bishop was a bastard, but that … that’s just…’
‘I know.’
‘But you knew about it.’
Stephen looked down.
‘And are you only here now because you saw it on TV and you want to salve your conscience before you die.’
‘Now, that’s not fair.’
‘No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.’
‘Look, I know Bishop did some dodgy things in his time, but he always got results. The Alice Patterson case was the only one where I know he blatantly lied and arrested the wrong man.’ He swallowed, which seemed to cause him more pain. ‘Look, Freya, I want to give a statement.’
‘What about?’
‘I don’t know how long it’s going to take to track down Tania Dove.
She might even be dead, for all I know. But if I give a statement saying everything that Bishop did and that Tania’s testimony is complete horseshit, then it’ll go some way to helping get Anthony released, or maybe a retrial.
I don’t have long left, certainly not long enough to appear in court. ’
‘Were there others involved?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Other detectives on Bishop’s team. Were there others involved in this cover-up?’
‘I’m not going to name names, Freya. I just want to set the record straight before … before I die,’ he said, solemnly.
Freya adjusted herself in her seat. She leaned forward and dropped her voice despite it only being the two of them in the room. ‘Stephen, did Bishop, or anyone, hit Anthony while he was being interviewed?’
Stephen had his head bowed. It was a while before he lifted it up and looked at Freya. When he did, he had tears in his eyes. He didn’t say anything. He simply gave a single nod.
‘So, he just came into the station and gave a statement?’ Chris asked.
Chris and Freya were sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating their evening meal. Freya had been the first home, for a change, so had made a chicken stir-fry.
‘Yes. I didn’t recognise him at first. He looks so different.’
‘Well, if he’s dying, he’s going to.’
‘I almost felt sorry for him.’
‘I don’t, after everything he did. Him and fucking Eddie Ritter.’
‘No. I know. But, at least he’s making amends.’
‘It sounds like he’s trying to make sure he gets welcomed through the pearly gates with open arms. And ask yourself this, if Pauline hadn’t appeared on TV this morning, would he have come down to see you? I bet he wouldn’t have.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying that it hasn’t been preying on his conscience at all. He saw Pauline on TV and decided to put things right. He’s hardly been suffering in silence all these years.’
‘Wow. When did you get all cynical?’
‘When I had drugs planted in my locker.’
‘Chris.’ She reached across the table and placed a hand on top of his. ‘I know what they did to you is unforgivable, but this is a major step forward in trying to get Anthony out of prison.’
‘Did…’ Chris cleared his throat. ‘Did Stephen say anything else?’
‘About what?’
‘Well, if Tania did see Anthony on the night of the storm, then he’s definitely innocent. Did Stephen give any clue as to who the real killer might be? Anyone else on the radar?’
‘Oh. I didn’t think to ask. But surely, if there had been someone else on the radar, you’d have all known about it. Bishop certainly would have.’
‘Hmm,’ he mused.
‘What?’
‘Nothing. Anything for dessert?’