‘Yes. But very few people write letters,’ he said. ‘That makes this a rarity. There’s something about getting a handwritten letter that’s quite a shock. I can’t remember the last time someone wrote to me. And then add to it that we have to presume, from the envelope, this was delivered by hand with no stamp,’ he said, holding up the evidence bag again. ‘There is just his name on the envelope. It would have freaked me out, and I’m a nice guy.’ Crane grinned.
Erika rolled her eyes and smiled.
‘You keep telling yourself that,’ she said. She thought back to the last time they were at Honeycomb Court, on the morning that they had spoken to Maria and then Tess. Didn’t they see Charles at his mailbox, acting a little weird? And thinking about his mailbox, what kind of post did he even get? He’d made sure there was very little about himself on record. If you don’t exist on paper, then no one is going to write to you. Erika took the letter in the evidence bag and went over to where Moss and Peterson were working on Lily Parkes.
‘There’s a criminal record for two people called Lily Parkes,’ said Moss. ‘One is eighty and she’s doing time at Wormwood Scrubs, and the other Lily Parkes was inside from 2009 to 2013 for stabbing her husband, in Scotland. Do you want me to do a deeper dive?’
‘Yes.’
‘What about social media?’ said Erika to Peterson.
‘There are seventy Lily Parkes on Facebook. Lots of anonymous or non-photograph profile pictures,’ said Peterson. ‘There are a lot less on Instagram. I haven’t started on the other social media sites.’
Erika got back in contact with Sheila at the admissions department at GDA and asked about a student they have, or had, called Lily Parkes. Sheila said they didn’t have anyone on the course currently or any past students with that name on the system.
Of course not, thought Erika.
‘We don’t keep extensive records about our staff. This isn’t the Gestapo, Detective Foster. You keep asking me for this bizarre information. We keep names, dates of births, and details about their singing ability. I can give you a list of all the baritones and sopranos, but I certainly can’t tell you who is a deviant who likes raping and pillaging,’ finished Sheila, sounding irritated on the phone.
‘Okay, thank you,’ said Erika, ending the call. The dull throbbing pain in her foot wasn’t going away. If anything, it was increasing. She checked the time. It was two hours before she could take another co-codamol tablet.
Erika then put a call through to Kathleen and Becky to ask if they had any idea about the name, or if Vicky had mentioned it. She left messages for them both asking to call her back ASAP. She also left a message with Cilla, asking the same thing. Morning turned to afternoon, and Erika worked through lunch, sending one of the administrative staff out to get her a sandwich.
Igor called her just as she was finishing her sandwich, and she was about to answer when Charles Wakefield’s solicitor called down to say that he had to leave in an hour, and if they wanted to question Charles after that they would have to wait for one of his colleagues.
For the second time that day, Erika went into the interview room feeling on the back foot. This time Peterson accompanied her and Moss sat with Crane and McGorry in the observation room.
‘Who is Lily Parkes?’ asked Erika, watching Charles carefully across the table. She saw him flinch, ever so slightly, and then he tried to cover it up by scratching at his nose. He had very long shiny fingernails which made Erika shudder.
‘I have no idea what you mean,’ he said. He looked to his solicitor, who shrugged. Erika took out the evidence bag with the handwritten note and placed it on the table.
‘One of my officers just found this in your flat. It stands out, because it’s handwritten to you, and you receive very little post.’
‘How do you know what post I receive?’ he said imperiously, almost offended by the notion no one ever wrote to him.
‘You barely exist on paper, Charles. Your utility bills are in the name “Julian Wakefield”。 This letter was found hidden down the side of your armchair.’ There was a long pause. Charles looked again at his solicitor, who remained blank-faced. Erika picked up the evidence bag. ‘“Two words, ‘Lily Parkes’。 Your silence keeps you alive”，’ she said, reading off it and watching him. He flinched again.
‘It was hand-delivered to you,’ said Peterson. ‘Now, we can believe that you have no idea what the letter means, but you just lied by saying that you didn’t know anything about the letter’s existence.’