It happened on Monday. The police car pulled up outside the gate just after Alex had got back from dropping the girls at school, which seemed a particularly cruel payback for her first solo act of bravery.
‘They’re here!’ she gasped, appearing in the kitchen, looking at me wide-eyed with panic as I got to my feet.
We were at least slightly prepared.
The day before, the first local news reports had emerged:
BODY OF EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD MAN FOUND
* * *
The discovery was made at Broadwater Woods in the early hours of Saturday morning by a member of the public. The police were called to the incident at 07.50 BST and an investigation is now under way with Kent Police treating the death as unexplained. A police cordon is in place at the location. Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone who may have any information to assist the investigation to come forward.
‘You see?’ said Alex, shakily. ‘An eighteen-year-old man. It’s him. I told you.’
‘Should we “come forward” then?’ I said, looking up from the laptop screen as Maisie and Tilly played happily with their toy kitchen.
‘I’m making a salad for you, Mummy!’ called Tilly. ‘Get ready!’
‘Thank you, darling! I’m very hungry!’ She turned back to me. ‘But come forward with what? We don’t actually know anything. Wouldn’t that be even weirder? I think we just have to wait.’
‘Are you all right?’ I asked, reaching out and taking her hand.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Because I know I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t want to have to tell them David was here longer than he was, but there’s no other way. I can’t have an hour and a half unaccounted for.’
‘You’re absolutely certain David won’t change his mind and say you asked him to cover? I wish you’d just tell them the truth.’
‘He won’t do that, and I can’t. I can’t risk them thinking I was involved in whatever has happened. I’m telling a lie to protect the truth.’
‘Here you are, Mummy!’ Tilly appeared proudly and placed a plastic plate laden with green felt leaves and a carrot on the table between us. ‘It’s your breakfast!’
‘Thank you, Tilly. You’re such a kind girl.’ Alex kissed her.
‘And I made a chocolate cake.’ Maisie appeared behind Tilly, carrying a more elaborately laid tray, complete with napkin.
‘Well aren’t I a lucky Mummy!’ said Alex. ‘How delicious. Thank you, sweetheart.’
I watched as my wife hugged my daughters to her and they both relaxed into the embrace of the mother they adored more than anything in the world – their sun, moon and stars – and I thought, fuck it. She’s right. This is about protecting them. Whatever it takes. We’ll do it.
‘Deep breath,’ I said, taking her hand and remembering my determination to keep my family together. ‘They’re not here to arrest you, they’re just asking questions. That’s all. Remember everything we’ve both agreed to say and don’t say any more than that. You’ve done nothing wrong. Stay calm. I love you.’
Transcript
* * *
DC Teresa Hart: So Mr Inglis, outside his school you asked Jonathan Day to retract his allegations in return for payment?
Robert Inglis: ‘Yes. I was desperate. He seemed to be very motivated by money, what with the book deals and the paid public appearances he was undertaking, so I thought I would try and appeal to that side of his nature.’
* * *
TH: But he declined your offer?
RI: ‘Yes. He was quite agitated and verbally abusive – as you saw in the footage you’ve just watched, he spat at me as I was walking off. I called out ‘I’ll pay you’ and he replied: ‘I don’t need it where I’m going.’
* * *
TH: And after you left your parents’ house on the evening of 6 October, you drove straight home, arriving at nine p.m?
RI: ‘Yes. I came in, went upstairs to check on Alex. She told me Gary Day had been to the house. We talked about that and I said I wouldn’t go out again to get some food if she’d rather I didn’t. She said she was OK but not hungry, so I went back out, got a takeaway for myself, checked on Alex, who was reading in bed when I got back, ate my food, watched a movie and went to bed myself.’
* * *
Little white lies. One alibi – all for the greater good – because Alex was not involved in whatever happened at the woods that night.
* * *
A couple of days after our voluntarily helping the police with their questioning, a story appeared on the BBC news website.
NO OTHERS INVOLVED IN DEATH OF JONATHAN DAY
* * *
Kent Police are treating the death of eighteen-year-old Jonathan Day as ‘unexplained’ pending toxicology results from the post-mortem examination carried out after the teenager’s body was found on Saturday in woodland near his home.
Det Supt Greg King said: ‘The post-mortem examination has not identified any injuries to suggest any other person was involved in his death, but our investigation is ongoing at this time.’
Mr Day, a type 1 diabetic, was found by a member of the public in the early hours of Saturday morning. ‘The area where the body was located will remain cordoned off until forensic examinations have been concluded,’ confirmed Det Supt King.
Mr Day’s family has asked for privacy at this time. Mr Day’s sister Ruby posted on Facebook, ‘I cannot explain our loss. The ‘little’ brother who I always looked up to and loved with my whole heart has left us. We will miss you forever.’
Dr Alexandra Inglis (40) and her husband Robert Inglis (41) who were known to Mr Day were questioned by detectives and released under investigation.
We knew we had done nothing wrong, and eventually it seemed the police started to see that too – and the flipside of the situation. Whatever had happened to Jonathan that night – whether a tragic accident where he’d collapsed because of his diabetes or that he had taken his own life – he had still been in the woods alone, less than a mile away from my wife who was at the time lying asleep in her bed completely unprotected… I found that so scary a prospect I’d had to push it away from my mind the second I thought it.
We co-operated fully with the investigations and were not arrested, although we were told the police ‘had grounds for arresting us on suspicion of Jonathan Day’s murder’. I still don’t know what that means. We let them into the cottage all white-suited up and with dogs. It was several days before we were allowed back home, but we didn’t complain once, made no comment publicly about the stress it had caused us and our children. We didn’t want to give anyone any reason to feel aggrieved whatsoever.
JONATHAN DAY SUFFERED HEALTH CONCERNS PRIOR TO DEATH, PARENTS CONFIRM
* * *
The parents of Jonathan Day, whose body was found in woodland in Kent on Saturday, have said that their son had long-standing issues with his diabetes before his death. After paying tribute to his ‘bright and beautiful boy’ Gary Day said, ‘Jonny didn’t always find it easy to manage his illness and could really struggle with it at times’.
The police are treating the teenager’s death as ‘unexplained’ but have confirmed Robert Inglis (41) and his wife Dr Alexandra Inglis (40), who were questioned, have been released from the investigation without any further action. ‘Mr and Dr Inglis have remained appreciative that in any investigation like this the police are obliged to investigate every line of enquiry, and we thank them for their co-operation and understanding in a matter that must have caused them stress,’ said Det Supt Greg King of Kent Police. ‘We can confirm they will face no further action.’
Six months later
(present day)
19
Cherry