Behind Closed Doors Read online

  ‘No,’ the other man returned calmly, ‘but there were extenuating circumstances.’

  ‘Which were?’

  ‘I had a phone call from my son saying that his mother had frightened him and his little sister and had sent them both to bed with no supper. And they were hungry. While we were talking I heard Serena screaming at him for using the phone and then the line went dead. I tried to call her back several times but she didn’t pick up. Obviously, I was worried and I couldn’t be sure how long it would take you lot to get round there if I phoned you—or if you’d go at all, even—so I took matters into my own hands and went round to investigate. Of course, as soon as Serena saw my car she called the police and tried to stop me from entering, but I’m afraid I was having none of that. I needed to check the kids were okay.’

  ‘I understand from the officer who attended the scene, that you threatened to break the windows if she didn’t let you in and that you barged in in a rage and laid into her when she tried to stop you from going upstairs?’

  ‘I was worried about the kids and wasn’t going to be fobbed off. And it depends what you mean by laid into her. I moved her out of the way so I could pass, but I was careful not to use excessive force, bearing in mind her previous allegations.’

  ‘Maybe your idea of excessive force isn’t the same as most people’s?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say that and I don’t like what you’re implying.’

  ‘I think most people would call a punch to the stomach and throwing her into the wall more than the use of reasonable force. Wouldn’t you agree?’

  There was a significant pause. ‘Yes I would. But if she’s claiming I did that to her, then she’s lying again.’

  ‘Mr Hamilton, your wife has been examined and she has a confirmed head injury—a large lump on the side of her head which she says was caused when her head hit the wall. Are you seriously expecting us to believe it came from nowhere?’

  ‘Maybe you missed it first time round when she went to the hospital? I don’t know—I have no answer for how she received that injury. As I say, if someone pushed her against a wall, it wasn’t me.’

  ‘And are you saying it was this same mysterious person who attacked her the other day too?’

  Their eyes clashed.

  ‘No.’

  ‘So, moving on, you then went upstairs to find your children?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Where they were in bed, asleep and unharmed, I understand?’

  ‘Well, I’d driven over from my parents in Saffron Walden. Things had obviously calmed down by the time I got there.’

  ‘But you tried to take them anyway?’

  ‘I was worried about their safety, constable—as you should be. In fact, I’d like to formally record my concern here and that I’ll hold you personally responsible if anything happens to them. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes with the press in those circumstances, either.’

  His words wrong-footed Harry, as they were intended to. Nobody liked the idea of having something like that on their conscience, or having the media breathing down their necks when things went wrong. He pushed the thought to one side, pressing on with the job in hand.

  ‘You must have known you wouldn’t be allowed to keep them if you took them?’

  ‘I wasn’t thinking straight. The minute I saw them I just knew I needed to take them for their own protection. I’ve realised we can’t go on covering over the cracks.’

  ‘Your children are still with their mother, I believe?’

  ‘Yes.’ His displeasure about that was made obvious by the tightening of his mouth. ‘I was going to take them to my parents—their grandparents, but your lot arrived before I could move them.’

  ‘Your son doesn’t back up your version of events. When he was questioned, he said that he loves his mum and wants to stay with her.’

  Edward Hamilton’s lips tightened even more. ‘He’s eight-years-old. Children are easily manipulated.’

  ‘You realise the seriousness of your situation, forcing your way into your home like that? You’ve broken the terms of your Restriction Order and that’s something we don’t take lightly. I’m sure you’re aware you can even go to prison for that?’

  For the first time in the whole interview, Harry felt he was one step ahead as he saw the confidence in the other man’s expression falter.

  ‘That could be ruinous for my career.’

  Harry didn’t quote the obvious, that he should have thought about that before breaching the Order. Instead, he stood up, bringing his part in the proceedings to a close.

  ‘I’ll get someone in to take a formal statement from you about tonight’s activities. On this occasion we’re letting you go. That won’t happen if you breach the Order a second time. I’m now heading over to see your wife, to have a chat with her.’

  ‘Well good luck with that,’ Ed Hamilton said sourly, ‘she’ll do her best to bad mouth me, I’m sure.’

  As Harry pulled up outside the Hamilton’s home, he couldn’t help noticing the twitching of curtains in the house next door. Was that their witness? Had he seen anything of that night’s events too?

  Walking up to the front door, he tapped quietly on the wood and waited. Serena Hamilton didn’t keep him waiting long.

  ‘Hi,’ she said in a subdued voice, standing aside to let him in. She closed the door behind him and he noticed her quick, nervous sweep of the street before she did so.

  ‘I was just about to make myself some tea. Would you like a cup?’

  She had an accent that was as precise and well spoken as her husband’s, but he guessed that was where the similarities ended. She didn’t have his air of confidence—and her eyes were doing a good job of looking anywhere but at him as she made the offer of tea.

  ‘That would be good, thanks.’

  He followed her into the large, modern kitchen and watched as she filled the kettle with filtered water and removed two mugs from their hanging tree. He didn’t push her, waiting instead until they were both sitting at the large, cream-coloured table in the breakfast area.

  ‘I’ve questioned your husband over tonight’s incident, Mrs Hamilton. Needless to say, his version is somewhat different to yours.’

  She nodded as if she’d expected that. ‘I’m sure it was. Where is he now? Have you arrested him?’

  Harry hesitated. ‘We’ve let him go with a caution. I don’t think he’ll be bothering you again.’

  Her stare was apprehensive. ‘I wish I could be as sure. He’s already really angry with me for reporting him.’

  ‘He knows he’ll be in serious trouble if he comes back. I understand you didn’t want to go to the hospital to have your injuries verified?’

  ‘I didn’t want to leave my children—they’re upset enough about all this.’

  ‘Do you mind if I take a quick look at them?’

  Serena Hamilton’s eyes were keen. ‘To make sure they’re still safe, you mean? What’s he been saying about me? That I’m not a fit mother?’

  ‘It’s usual practice in an incident like this. Could you lead the way?’

  When he put his head around the doors, Harry could see that the children had dim night-lights on, showing that they were both fast asleep and their rooms were spotless. Picture perfect bedrooms, he thought, as she closed the second door quietly behind them.

  ‘They look angelic, don’t they?’ Serena said, the first hint of a smile cracking her face. ‘But they’ll be demanding little monsters in the morning. It’s for them that I’m doing this, you know. It’s not good for kids to grow up with parents who fight. I know that from experience.’

  ‘Your parents were divorced?’ Harry asked as they made their way back down the stairs to the kitchen.

  She shook her head. ‘It would have been better for us children if they had been.’

  Harry thought for a moment, considering how to broach the next matter. ‘I’m afraid I have to ask you a couple of sensitive questions that your husband has raised with us.�
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  ‘Fire away, nothing he can say would surprise me.’

  ‘He’s intimated in his interviews that you have quite severe mood changes?’

  Her eyes flashed agitatedly. ‘That’s not true. I’m not saying I don’t get a bit low sometimes—I think anybody would, being married to Ed. He has exacting standards and lets you know when you don’t live up to them. But I’m not the fruit cake he’s trying to make me out to be.’

  ‘You say this isn’t the first time your husband’s hit you. How long has it been going on?’

  She shrugged. ‘You lose track of the time, but several years.’

  ‘And you only reported it the once?’

  ‘It all felt too much. He’s a solicitor... how can someone like me beat that? I was terrified I’d lose the children. They’re all that matters to him and he’s always said that if we split, he’d move heaven and earth to make sure I didn’t get custody of them.’ Her eyes filled and she wiped them with a tissue. ‘That’s why he’s latched onto this moods issues thing— but if anyone’s got mental issues, it’s him, not me.’

  ‘But this time, if we prosecute, you’ll go through with it? We need to know that, because it’s a costly exercise both in terms of money and ti—’

  ‘Yes, I will.’ The interruption was emphatic. ‘I won’t back out this time. I need him out of our life and I’ve realised this is the only way I can do it. I’ll do whatever you want me to.’

  ‘All we want, from you both, is the truth, but on the basis of what you’ve reported and the evidence we’ve collected so far, I’d say we have a fair chance of a successful prosecution if we do go ahead. It’s not down to me though, I’m afraid. We have to wait for the powers that be to decide.’ Harry rose from the table. ‘You said your husband pushed you into the wall, causing you to bang your head. Could you show me where?’

  ‘It wasn’t a push—he threw me. He was so angry.’

  She led the way into the hall, to the bottom of the stairs. ‘I was trying to stop him from going upstairs here and he punched me in the stomach, then flung me against that wall there. By the time I’d rallied, he was already upstairs telling the kids to get dressed again. The police turned up just in time before they actually left.’ She touched the side of her head gingerly. ‘The lump’s still there and massive, if you want to feel it?’

  Harry shook his head. ‘There’s no need. It’s already been documented by the officers attending the scene.’

  ‘You know, the first time I met you, I was worried because you looked so young,’ Serena Hamilton said, her eyes sombre. ‘I wasn’t at all confident that someone like you could take my husband on. He can be very convincing... it’s his job, after all. But I can see now you’re an intelligent guy. Please don’t be taken in by him.’

  Harry didn’t miss the desperation in her voice, and wouldn’t have been human if he hadn’t felt a small sense of satisfaction that someone had faith in him and thought he was doing a reasonable job. But he also knew the importance of remaining impartial until all the facts were in.

  ‘We’ll do our best to get the right result,’ he said.

  As she showed him out he stopped for a moment to look at the array of photographs on the hall table and it struck him forcibly how wrong that statement was that a photo never lies. Looking at the Hamilton family, all beaming out at him from the large frame in the middle of the table, you’d never have imagined the ugliness that was going on beneath the surface.

  And the happiest and proudest looking of them all, was Edward Hamilton.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  IT WAS 8:15 IN THE morning, and Kim sat huddled in her car, a few doors up from the Hamilton’s, waiting for Serena Hamilton to leave the house.

  She couldn’t believe she was doing this and every instinct was telling her that she shouldn’t be. Yet what choice did she have? She loved Ed and she needed to do this for him to show him she believed in him. And he was right. He couldn’t ask anyone else to do it, because no one in his or her right mind would agree.

  She looked for the hundredth time at the set of instructions on her lap. After they’d released him from the police station last night, he’d come round to hers and given her a spare house key—something that was a violation of his Restraining Order in itself. He’d also given her a detailed description of what she needed to do. She hoped to God that the information he’d given her was correct, and more importantly, that her task would reap the sort of reward he was hoping for. If it didn’t—or if she got caught in the process—the recriminations didn’t bear thinking about.

  They’d made love again last night for the second time and it had been amazing, but Ed had made it clear that they probably still needed to be low-key about their relationship, until all this was over. He didn’t want Serena using the information to muddy the waters, and Kim understood that. Although nothing had happened between them prior to all this trouble, she had no doubt Serena’s solicitors would have a field-day if they found out.

  She tensed, sinking lower in her seat as Ed’s front door opened and Serena and two young children exited. She watched them climb into their car, her heart racing. This was it... the point of no return.

  She sank even lower, averting her head as she realised with panic that the car was heading her way. Oh, man! She wasn’t designed for this sort of stuff. What if Serena recognised her?

  Still time to back out, she thought. Ed might never speak to her again, but she couldn’t really believe that. He’d been really apologetic last night about involving her.

  ‘If there was any other way I could do it, I would. I hate that I’m dragging you into this, but I wouldn’t put it past the police to be watching me... waiting for me to make another mistake. And this could be crucial to getting me off.’

  And in the after-glow of their lovemaking, she’d been only too eager to help.

  But that was last night and today was the reality of it. Could she do this?

  Unbidden, the image of Serena's bruised face swam before her eyes. How had that happened if it hadn’t been Ed? Was it really possible that she’d knocked herself on the banister? Possible, yes... likely, no. She felt sick at the thought it could have been Ed—but she knew him, didn’t she? They’d been mates for several years before the nature of their relationship had begun to change and she simply couldn’t see him doing something like that.

  She braced herself. He didn’t deserve what Serena was putting him through, and she was the only one who could help him.

  She left it a full five minutes after Serena had driven past before swinging into action. Taking a deep breath and making sure no one was around, she opened the car door and walked calmly up to Ed’s front door. Within the space of a minute, she’d entered the house and de-activated the alarm with his fob.

  Her heart was pounding so heavily she felt sick but she didn’t give herself time to think about the enormity of what she was doing. Studying Ed’s plan, she worked her way methodically through the list, carrying out his instructions to the tee. She had just put the last item in the shoulder bag she was carrying and was about to make a speedy escape when the sound of the doorbell made her jump.

  Shit.

  Should she make a run for it out of the back door that she could see through the kitchen? But maybe it was only the postman or a delivery, and if she did that, she wouldn’t be able to reset the alarm to cover up that she’d been here. She’d prepared herself for this possibility; she just needed to keep her bottle.

  Her mouth was dry as she made her way to the front door but her heart completely plummeted when she saw the uniformed policewoman standing on the doorstep.

  ‘Hello,’ she said. Her card showed her to be WPC Sarah Davidson and her tone was pleasant enough, but Kim didn’t miss the sharpness of her gaze.

  ‘Hi... can I help you?’ she blustered.

  ‘We had a phone call from Mrs Hamilton’s neighbour that someone had entered the house. You may be aware that there are a couple of issues surrounding the Hamiltons
at the moment? Can you tell me who you are and what you’re doing here?’

  Ed’s bloody neighbour has a nose that is way too big for him, Kim thought agitatedly. How the hell was she going to talk herself out of this one?

  ‘I’m uh... a friend of Ed’s. I was just picking up a couple of bits for him.’

  The policewoman’s gaze dropped to the canvas bag in Kim’s hand. ‘Perhaps you wouldn’t mind letting me see what’s in the bag?’

  Kim found herself clutching onto it more tightly. ‘It’s private stuff that belongs to Mr Hamilton. I don’t feel it’s for me to let you have it? Do you have a right to take it?’

  ‘I think in the circumstances, I do. You could be removing anything from the house. Give it to me please.’

  Reluctantly, Kim handed it over and the WPC cast a quick eye over the contents. Her gaze narrowed. ‘I think in the circumstances, Miss...?’

  ‘Simpson,’ Kim supplied, biting her lip.

  ‘Simpson...’ the woman repeated. ‘You’d better accompany me back to the station. I think the investigating officers might be very interested in what we have here.’

  Back at the station, Harry was busy filling Sergeant Cowper in on the previous night’s activities.

  ‘So you believed her version of events then?’ Cowper said when he’d finished.

  ‘I think the facts spoke for themselves. Mrs Hamilton had further documented injuries of a red mark to the stomach where he punched her and a large lump to the right side of her head. Plus we caught him in the act of breaking the Order. Do we need more evidence than that?’

  Cowper sighed, but inconceivably to Harry, he still seemed reluctant to give the final go ahead to pressing charges. What was the matter with the man? Harry was beginning to wonder if there was a hidden agenda going on that he wasn’t a part of. Or maybe Cowper had just got too cynical over the years.

  ‘Sir, I really don’t see how much more evidence we need.’

  ‘A witness would be good for a start. If we had that, I wouldn’t hesitate.’

  ‘But we’ve got the neighbour—’