The Last 10 Seconds

‘We’d both been drinking, and I lost my temper. I hit her back, and she threatened to have me arrested. Then she went for me again, and . . .’ He sighed, and ran a hand across his forehead. ‘We fought. It was like some kind of surreal blur, and then . . . Then the next thing I knew, she was lying on the bed, not moving.’ He raised his eyes skywards, as if seeking forgiveness. ‘I couldn’t believe it. I felt for her pulse, tried to revive her, but it was too late. She was gone.’ He looked imploringly at Tina.

Tina didn’t believe Gore’s version of events. He might not have meant to kill Roisín but, having seen his flashes of temper and the way he’d struck his wife, she was pretty certain he’d been the aggressor. However, she knew better than to interrupt a suspect when he was in full flow. ‘What happened then?’ she asked gently.

‘At first I didn’t know what to do. I thought about calling the police, or an ambulance, but I panicked. Even though I hadn’t meant to hurt Roisín, I was afraid that I’d be charged with murder. I know that was wrong, but at the time I wasn’t thinking straight. I knew our affair had been kept secret, and I thought about simply leaving and hoping for the best, but I was worried I’d leave evidence behind. So I called a business contact, a man who I felt would be able to help me in my time of need.’

Tina exchanged glances with Grier. She’d never had too many illusions about the integrity of the politicians who ran the country, and was aware that some of them were corrupt. Even so, hearing such an admission from a high-ranking minister shocked her.

‘And this business contact, who was he?’

‘His name’s Paul Wise.’

If she’d been shocked before, she was almost speechless now. Her head swam with the news that the man who’d done so much to ruin her life had also had a hand in this. It didn’t seem possible, yet there was a grim logic to it. Wise had always been suspected of having high-level contacts within the establishment, which was one of the main reasons he’d never been brought to justice. But now there was a chance that he would be – a thought that suddenly filled Tina with a wild hope.

‘And what did Wise say he’d do, Mr Gore?’ asked Grier, intervening so that Tina had a chance to recover herself.

‘He said he’d take care of things. He told me to remain where I was and that I’d hear from someone shortly. That person would identify himself as Alpha, and he would let me know what to do.

‘The next half an hour was the longest and worst of my life. I had to stay in the apartment with Roisín’s body while I waited for the call, wondering if I’d be discovered. But then, finally, it came. This man, Alpha, asked me a lot of questions: the address; which rooms I’d been in; the security arrangements for the building. He was very calm and businesslike and he covered everything. He told me to leave the address with Roisín’s keys, lock the door, and put them under the front passenger side wheel of the nearest car to the front door of the building. Then I was told to leave the rest to him and just forget it ever happened.’ Gore sighed. ‘I did what I was told. I wish to God I hadn’t, but I did.’

‘Did you ever meet Alpha?’ asked Tina.

He shook his head firmly. ‘No, and I didn’t want to, either. Anyway, the next thing I knew, Roisín had been added to the list of the Night Creeper’s victims.’

Tina was suddenly aware how tense she was. She forced herself to sit back in the seat and relaxed her shoulders, resisting the urge for a cigarette. ‘You had access to the Night Creeper file in your role as Home Office minister, so you would have been able to check his MO easily enough. Are you claiming that you didn’t tell Alpha what to do to make Roisín look like one of his victims?’

‘I am, yes. You must believe me. I had nothing to do with any of the . . . mutilations Alpha may have carried out.’

Tina and Grier exchanged glances once again. Grier looked sceptical. Tina felt the same. If Gore was telling the truth, it meant that Alpha must have had some kind of inside knowledge of the police investigation, which just wasn’t possible. Gore might have been trying to paint himself as as much of an innocent as he could under the circumstances, but it wasn’t a true picture. However, that was for a jury to decide.

‘When did you find out that you were on film?’ Tina asked him.

‘When I received a phone call at my constituency office two weeks later. The caller identified himself to my secretary as Mr Roisín, which is why I took the call. I knew it had to be something to do with what had happened, and I was terrified. As I’ve already told you, I thought our affair was a secret. And I had good reason to be. The caller told me that he had film footage of Roisín’s death, and if I wanted it destroyed, I would have to pay him fifty thousand pounds. He made me give him my email address, and said he would send a sample clip, which he did.’ Gore shuddered visibly. ‘It showed everything.’

‘Did you keep it?’ asked Grier.