Page 103 of Vengeance is Mine

‘He was sad. Reflective,’ Rita said. ‘He missed his wife terribly.’

‘Did he mention his son at all?’

‘Yes.’ Rita continued speaking for Dawn. ‘He said…’ She trailed off.

‘Go on,’ Terry prompted.

‘Well, the thing is, his wife killed herself because of what Dominic had done. I think Anthony thought that if someone had killed Dominic in prison all those years ago, or he’d killed himself when he first went to prison, then Carole would still be alive, and they’d be happy.’

‘He blamed his son for his wife’s death?’

‘Yes.’

Terry and DS Kyra Willis exchanged glances.

‘What’s going on? Why the look?’ Rita asked.

‘In Anthony’s bedroom, we found an envelope addressed to me,’ Terry said.

From a folder, Terry took out a white envelope and placed it on the coffee table between them.

‘In it,’ Terry continued, ‘Anthony states that he killed Dominic.’

‘What?’ Dawn exclaimed. ‘No. That’s not possible.’

Terry took a single sheet of paper out of the folder and opened it. ‘He says that he didn’t believe he had long left to live, and he felt justice needed to be served. So he killed him, and then himself.’ Terry left the revelation hanging in the air before continuing. ‘He had told us he was ill, but why did Anthony believe he didn’t have long left to live?’

‘He has bone cancer. Had bone cancer,’ Rita explained. ‘He was diagnosed around September last year. It was spreading quickly. There was nothing the doctors could do other than try to ease the pain. He was taking medication, but I don’t think it was working. There were days when he looked in agony. He never complained though.’

‘The thing is, we don’t think Anthony murdered his son. The level of violence inflicted upon Dominic is not something a man in his physical condition could have managed. Why would he admit to a crime it’s so obvious he didn’t commit?’

‘I don’t know.’ Rita shrugged.

‘Dawn?’ Terry asked.

She didn’t say anything.

‘My years of experience tell me he’s confessed to cover up the identity of the real killer.’

‘Why would he do that?’ Rita asked.

‘Because he wants to protect them.’

‘But…’ Rita started to speak then trailed off. ‘You think… You think he confessed to protect Dawn? That he thought Dawn killed her own father? Why would he think that?’

‘Why would I want to kill my dad? I’d only just met him. I was getting to know him. I helped him find that house. I got him a job. I had no reason to kill him,’ Dawn said, her words tripping over each other as she finally started to speak.

‘How are your finances?’

‘What?’

‘You live on your own. You run a car. You’ve not long left university. You can’t be earning much as a junior paralegal. Your father had been awarded a million pounds in compensation. I’d say that was motive enough for killing him.’

‘What? No,’ Rita exclaimed. ‘She wouldn’t. I can’t believe you’re even suggesting this. I’ve brought Dawn up on my own. I’ve taught her that if she wants anything in this life, she has to earn it herself. She had two jobs while at university. She saved and saved for everything she needed. I wanted to buy her a car, but she wouldn’t let me. She bought that old Golf for a few hundred pounds.’

‘And how much did the Peugeot cost?’

‘That is none of your business,’ Rita said.

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