His Silence - Chapter 25

Max lets out a steady breath and glances over his right shoulder. ‘OK, there was virtually nothing I could find out about Ian. I spoke to the people who lived in Little Castle at the time of the murders. There were only a couple of people who seemed, sort of familiar with him, at the time he was there. I spoke to the guy who runs the news agents in town. He said Ian popped in a couple of times to buy milk and eggs, and the occasional newspaper. Said he tried chatting to Ian a couple of times, but never got much of a response out of him.’

‘D’you know how he met my parents?’ I ask, keeping an eye on the time. Emma gets back just after five, another forty minutes away. We’ve got plenty of time, but I still can’t get rid of the tightness in my chest. I flick my gaze back at Max.

He sighs. ‘I still didn’t quite get to the bottom of where they met, I’m afraid. I was hoping to find some sort of connection to his past life, from the locals of Little Castle. I figured there must’ve been some sort of link there; otherwise, why else would he choose to stay there. It seems he chose the area randomly. Unless, of course, people weren’t willing to tell me what they know. Do you mind me asking what your brother spoke to you about?’ Max asks.

I bite down hard on my lip. Harvey’s voice echoes in my head telling me not to go to the media. ‘I wanted him to tell me why he did what he did all those years ago. It’s been hell for me growing up knowing everyone in the country knows what happened. He, he didn’t say anything new to me, he just . . .’ I’m not sure what to say to Max. I don’t want to tell him everything. If I tell Max Harvey might be innocent, it could make him want to do another podcast again, despite the threats he’s received.

‘I’m sorry if you think I might’ve played a part in what you’ve had to endure, Danielle,’ Max says. His eyes flicker away for a second, then focus back on me ‘But I can assure you I’ve only ever dealt with the facts. I’ve never given the conspiracy theorists time of day and whenever people discuss different theories on my Facebook page, I always shut the comments down.’

I nod. Tears prickle the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision. ‘Harvey told me to go to this address in Essex. I’ve since been told this is the place I was born. I found out, how true it is, I don’t know, but Ian got it into my parent’s heads that they needed to leave, I still don’t know why though. This was three weeks before the murders. It kind of suggests he was trying to help them, doesn’t it?’

‘This is some scary stuff, um, do you have any memories from the time before your parents were killed?’ he asks, curiosity etched in his voice.

I rub my forehead. ‘I . . . there are snatches of things. I remember hiding in the wardrobe the day my brother murdered my parents. There are memories of me playing in this garden, which I’m pretty sure is the garden at the house, where Harvey told me to go and memories of Harvey reading to me. I’ve never been sure if they’re real. I went to this place at the weekend, it was quite weird. They all seemed pleased to see me and wanted me to stay.’

Max leans forward in his seat. ‘Danielle, I would urge you to be careful here. These people may claim to be like your family, but they sound dangerous. I’ve already told you about what happened to me, and now I think it might’ve been them who threatened me.’

Would Oliver or Luke have threatened Max because of his podcast? It could’ve been someone who was jealous of Max because of his success threating him.

I shake my head. ‘I don’t know what to do. I want to get to the bottom of what happened to my family so badly, but . . .’

‘I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you,’ Max says. ‘Look, when I was speaking to various people about the case, before the threatening letters started arriving, I spoke to a police officer, who worked on the investigation. He was the contact I spoke about in the final episode. He’d been let go by the force due to some sort of misconduct, which made him quite angry. He was willing to talk to me when I spoke to him, turns out he was a fan of my podcast, but God could he drink. I wouldn’t say he was particularly reliable, if you know what I mean.’

‘What did he say to you?’ I ask the back of my neck prickling. This was what I wanted to hear.

‘He . . . look, Danielle, he could’ve been spouting lies because of the way he was treated, but . . . he told me the DNA of an unidentified person was recovered from the scene at the house the night your parents were murdered. It was compared to the owner of the house, but it wasn’t a match. It, of course, wasn’t a match for Harvey. It appears no one else visited your family while they were staying there during those three weeks. So the question is who does this DNA belong to?’

I swallow. Sweat patches are forming underneath Max’s arms now.

‘What else did the police do to look into this?’ I ask.

Max shakes his head. ‘Not a lot, they had your brother’s confession. It was what they needed to wrap the case up. I think they took a swab from near enough everyone in the village but again came up with a negative result. There’s only a small population there, no more than a few hundred. It wouldn’t have been hard to trace the person if they came from the village.’

‘What about this police officer who spoke to you, d’you know what happened to him?’ I ask. Perhaps there’s a way I can speak to him, he might be willing to give me more information.

Max shrugs. ‘Sorry, but I think he ended up going off the rails, he was spouting out all kinds of stuff about the police and the government. It’s why I would take what he’s said with a pinch of salt, Danielle. I haven’t tried contacting him since, his name’s Ben Parker. He was only a Detective Constable. But the DNA could’ve been from anyone, I think there were reports of people breaking into the house where your family were murdered, before you lived there . . . so it might not necessarily be from the killer.’

He can’t expect me to put this to the back of my mind. I shake my head. Harvey could be right. He could be innocent. My brain swirls. ‘And this is everything, there’s nothing you haven’t told me?’ I ask, my voice trembling.

He sighs. ‘I wish I could be of more help, Danielle, but please . . . I’m not sure what it is you’re thinking of planning, but please be careful.’

I smile. ‘Don’t worry, I will,’ I say. ‘Thank you for talking to me.’

‘I’m here for you if you need me,’ he says. ‘If there’s anything you want to talk to me about please don’t hesitate to contact me.’

‘Sure, thanks, anyway, I think I better get going, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.’ I want to get off the call now.

‘Stay safe, Danielle,’ Max says.

The call ends. I pull up Google and search for the detective’s name, my heart beating fast. The words swim in front of my on the screen. There’s an article right at the top dated from a few years ago. I click on it and read the first few lines.

            Ben Parker, a former Detective Constable who worked with Essex Police, has spoken out about his time investigating the murders of the Cole family in Little Castle, Essex. Ben Parker, who was dismissed after sharing confidential information on conspiracy theorist websites, unrelated to this case, has made a series of outlandish claims, which Essex Police have emphatically denied. Ben is claiming there are lines of enquiry the police have still not been followed up. When approached for a comment, a spokesperson for Essex Police said, “All lines of enquiry have been pursued and we are satisfied the right person is behind bars. We will be making no further comment.” Ben responded by saying Essex Police are trying to gag him. Ben’s also been outspoken about his claims that UFOs are real and the police are assisting the government in a nationwide cover-up.

The article abruptly ends. There are a couple of other reports covering what Ben’s supposed to have said, but they’re not extensive. Perhaps people did think he was a waste of space, particularly with what he’s said about UFOs. But there’s got to be something in what he’s saying.

I get up and drift out of the living room and into the kitchen, my head swimming. There was a stranger’s DNA recovered from the house. Harvey could be innocent. I grip hold of the edge of the kitchen work surface, and throw up in the sink.