Page 79 of The Truth Will Out
He wagged his finger. “Don’t sound so shocked. I tried, believe me. No one wanted to know. They told me to let it go after the home had closed its doors for the final time. I was ordered to bury it, except I couldn’t. Night after night, I lay awake, imagining those innocent kids screaming as they were beaten black and blue. Some of the beatings were so harsh they led to several young girls dying. Answer me this: would you have walked away? Done nothing? Our job is to serve the community, not sit back when something as deplorable as this surfaces.”
“Why has it taken you and Michele this long to start dishing out the justice if, as you say, it affected you the way it did?”
“Michele wanted to avenge their deaths earlier, but she’s been ill.She had cancer. Fortunately, being the fighter she is, she pulled through. She got in touch with me last year and said the time was right.”
“Why kill Claire Owen, a member of my team?”
“She gained access to a file she shouldn’t have, which effectively got the ball rolling. As soon as we knew a copper was digging into Pendle House, it was obvious we would need to come up with a plan to silence those involved, and quickly.”
“Why couldn’t you have just kidnapped and tortured them? That would have been bad enough, but to take their lives, especially Claire’s. All she was doing was her job.”
He shook his head. “She wasn’t; it went deeper than that. Michele recognised her from a photo taken at the home. She helped out there as a child.”
Sam shrugged. “So did a lot of people. We found the photo, the one you’re referring to. There were a lot of other children wearing a uniform similar to Claire’s. We assumed they were volunteers from a nearby school.”
“Ah, yes. But the others didn’t witness a beating first-hand. Claire did; she chose to say nothing.”
Sam and Nick exchanged a concerned glance.
“She was just a child herself. What could she have done about it?”
“Spoken out. I don’t have to tell you that there have been a lot of high-profile cases of abuse over the years. The people who have remained silent are just as much to blame as the abusers themselves. Don’t you agree?”
He had a point. Which was why, deep down, Sam was struggling to forgive Rhys.
“I’ve got you thinking about that now, haven’t I?” Penn said.
“You have, simply because none of it makes any sense: the length of time you’ve waited, the manner in which you chose to silence, or should I say kill, your victims; the way you kidnapped Rhys but kept him alive. Why?”
“Because Michele had plans for him.”
“Such as?”
“No comment.”
That’s where the interview effectively ended, because every question Sam asked after that was met with the same response. She nodded for Nick to end the interview, and Penn was returned to his cell.
The rest of the day was spent with the team, filling in the necessary paperwork for the CPS and tying up any loose ends.
EPILOGUE
Two weeks later, the sky over Cumbria was brighter and calmer, although the storm raging inside Sam refused to pass. She’d had a lot to consider recently.
Knowing that another two serial killers were now on remand, awaiting trial, should have improved her mood. It hadn’t, far from it. The media attention was doing little to put the case to bed either. She was constantly being bombarded by calls from journalists, both local and national, which were taking up too much of her time and wearing on her sanity.
Her relationship with Bob had changed, despite her initial welcome back speech once he’d returned to work. He’d noticed her attitude towards him had altered, and he had been busy bending her ear about it at every available opportunity for the past two weeks.
Things weren’t faring better at home between her and Rhys either. He was quieter. In truth, they both were. He’d decided it would be a good idea to move into the spare room, giving her the space she needed to come to terms with how she felt. He was still sleeping with the lights on, a clear indication of how deeply he’d been affected by his abduction. She wanted to be there for him, but the shutters remained firmly closed.
Today she had booked a day off from work. Rhys had suggested he take time off so they could spend the day together, but she’d told him that she’d prefer some time alone.
She had a lot to figure out, such as what she intended to do with the next stage of her life. She had brought her fancy notebook with her to a place close to her heart: Coniston Water. She had found a secluded spot, away from the crowds, and settled on a log overlooking the famous lake, with Tilly by her side, her chin resting on Sam’s feet. There, pen in hand, Sam wrote her letter of resignation.
She rewrote it several times until she was finally happy with the outcome. She didn’t have it in her anymore to chase serial killers or to put her family and those she loved through the torture and torment caused by her chosen career.
Something had changed in her during this particular investigation—a nagging voice in her head telling her to reassess the decisions she’d made in life and to alter things for the better. She needed to put herself first, for a change, at the risk of upsetting those around her.
The last couple of years had proven that life was too short, and if she didn’t enjoy it, she’d grow old and have regrets. She glanced down at her dog; she wasn’t Sonny, but she was bonding with the sweet pup now. She had rescued Tilly from a life on the streets, and in return, little Tilly had given her so much more. For a start, the incentive to live her dreams. To say sod it to everything and do what was right for her and her four-legged companion.
