‘I honestly don’t recognise the name.’
‘She is… was an English teacher at a place called Heathcrest which is…’
‘I know exactly what it is,’ he whispered, reaching out to the sofa for support. All colour had drained from his face.
‘Mr Downing, what is it?’ Kim asked.
‘Dear God,’ he said to himself. ‘Will that infernal place never let us go?’
Seventy-Six
Kim and Bryant had waited patiently while Rupert poured himself a generous measure of whisky. He sipped, scowled at the burning in his throat and then sipped again.
‘Monty and I met at Heathcrest when we were fourteen years old. I was the new boy having moved into the area.’
‘There was room for you?’ Kim asked, remembering the pregnant couple being shown around, planning years in advance.
‘My father is Lord Rumsey. If your parents are wealthy and powerful enough, they’ll make room,’ he said, taking another sip.
Kim wasn’t sure who Lord Rumsey was, but clearly, he’d been known to the people at Heathcrest.
‘On my second day, I received the ace of spades in my bed.’
Kim frowned.
‘The calling card to join one of the most influential clubs on site,’ he said. ‘Completely expected, of course. I’d been a member of a similar club at my previous school. I accepted, obviously, thinking it would be similar to my old place.’
‘And it wasn’t?’ Kim asked.
‘Good gracious, no,’ he said. ‘Far more rules and regulations that were dressed up as guidelines. But Monty and I soon found out they were not merely guidelines.’
‘Go on,’ Kim said, sitting forward, remembering how they had all been amused at Dawson paying so much attention to these secret societies. She wasn’t laughing now.
‘A very important guideline was no fraternising with members of the other male group. You see, Monty was a Club at that time. The Four of Clubs.
‘We both thought it was a silly rule and ignored it. We were found out and suitably advised, verbally, by our Kings. We ignored the warning and continued to see each other in secret. Of course, we were found out again and the second warning was a little rougher.’
‘You were hurt?’
He nodded. ‘We both were. My punishment was a broken ankle on the hockey pitch, and Monty a dislocated shoulder due to falling down some stairs.’
‘And did the warning work?’ she asked, wondering how far these groups went in enforcing the rules.
He sighed heavily. ‘Not for me but it did for Monty. He was threatened with excommunication from the group. A thought he couldn’t bear. Being part of the elite was more important to Monty than it was to me.’
‘But you’re together now, so…’
‘Oh, it gets worse, officer,’ he said, lighting a cigarette. ‘We went our separate ways. I built my own business trading textiles, which grew into a success over twenty years.’
Looking at their location on Hollytree, Kim found that hard to believe.
Rupert caught her look. ‘And I had a very nice home in Romsley,’ he said. ‘And in that time Monty had achieved career success as a chartered accountant.
‘We met again five years ago, quite by accident, and realised our feelings hadn’t changed. We both had disastrous, failed relationships behind us and suddenly we knew why. Because we’d never been with the right person. We realised that we were meant to be together.’
This should have been the point at which he told her they lived happily ever after, and there was a part of her that wished he was. It was like watching a film for the second time and hoping for a different ending.
‘So, we got together and for a couple of years our life was idyllic, perfect. We set up home together in a wonderful old chapel in Shipley and finally began to enjoy life.’
‘Until?’ Kim asked.
‘Three years ago, after we appeared together in a newspaper article for our charity work with an AIDS foundation. From that moment everything changed. Suddenly every one of my business loans was called in. I lost three major clients who collectively represented seventy per cent of my business. A few months later Monty was audited, and irregularities were found in VAT submissions made to HMRC on behalf of some global, influential customers. His reputation was destroyed overnight, along with his career.’
‘What happened next?’ Bryant asked.
‘We limped along for a few months, selling our possessions to pay bills. Sold our lovely home with negative equity because we couldn’t find the monthly mortgage payment but were forced to declare bankruptcy eighteen months ago anyway. We can’t get a mortgage, credit card, anything.’
‘And you think someone was behind all this?’ Kim asked.
‘No, officer, I think someones were behind all this.’ He shook his head. ‘You really have no idea how deep these bonds and rivalries go. The rules didn’t just apply when we were at school. These ties are for life.’
‘But you were just kids?’ Bryant said.
‘But we swore an oath, sergeant, for life.’
‘And how did Monty react to this treatment?’ Kim asked.
‘It’s destroyed him,’ he said, sadly, extinguishing the cigarette. ‘The club always meant more to him than to me. He still tried to make contact with them, to beg forgiveness, to be allowed back in but they wouldn’t even take his calls.’
‘And who exactly are “they”, Rupert?’ Kim asked.
‘Very important and powerful people, Inspector,’ he said, standing. ‘And I think I’ve said enough, so if you don’t mind I need to try and find Monty before—’
‘Mr Downing, are you still so afraid of these people that you won’t offer us any names at all?’
‘Officer, I am far more terrified of their power than I am of yours. I have lost my business, my career, my home and possibly the man I love because of an oath I made over twenty-five years ago. Now I’d like you to leave.’
Kim stood and followed him along the hallway. ‘But we have crimes that are happening now, Mr Downing, children are being hurt at that bloody school,’ Kim said, frustrated.
This man had names and he wasn’t prepared to give them up.
‘You could help us if you chose to stop living in the past.’
He smiled wearily as he opened the front door.
‘You should remember, Inspector. That the past never stays in the past.’
Seventy-Seven
‘So, you think he’s being a bit overdramatic or what?’ Bryant asked, as they reached the car.
Kim gave it a little thought. ‘Not sure. Could be coincidence that everything went wrong at the same time but then again…’
‘You don’t care much for coincidences, do you?’ he asked as they got into the car.
She took out her phone and held out her hand for the photograph they’d asked Rupert for before he’d pretty much thrown them out.
She studied it. ‘Don’t you think there’s a sadness to this man?’ she asked.
Bryant glanced at it before putting the key in the ignition.
‘I think you’re projecting,’ he said. ‘After what Rupert just said about him.’
‘Maybe,’ she said, and yet she detected an air of hopelessness around his eyes. There was a smile on his lips that didn’t touch any other part of his face.
‘What is this need to belong to some kind of group?’ Bryant asked.
She shrugged. ‘Human nature. The need to belong is among the most fundamental of all personality processes. It spans all cultures. There are many psychological theories and even an evolutionary opinion.’
‘Our ancestors?’ Bryant asked.
‘Back in the day belonging to a group was essential to survival. People hunted and cooked in groups so it’s kind of ingrained in our DNA,’ she said. ‘If you consider that we all belong to some kind of group whether it’s family, friends, co-workers, religion. There’s a need to be part of something greater than ourselves.’