Hope to Die

Yes – though I don’t know where you got that from –

GQ: I asked one of our forensics team to do it for me. Could you show me, on this diagram, exactly where the gun safe you mentioned is located?

* * *

Margaret Swann looks irritated, as if she’s dealing with a halfwit. ‘Of course I heard the gun go off.’

‘And did you hear anything else? Voices?’

A pause. ‘I think I heard Richard shouting something before the shot. But I couldn’t hear what it was.’

‘And then what happened?’

‘I went out on to the landing and called down to Richard – I was frightened – I thought he’d been shot. But he came out of the kitchen straight away and told me to stay upstairs. I didn’t come down until you people came.’

‘How did he look – your husband?’

That was clearly unexpected. ‘Shocked,’ she says, after a moment. ‘As you would expect.’

‘So you must have been able to see him pretty clearly – if you could see his expression?’

She shifts in her seat. ‘Clearly enough, obviously.’

But no mention of blood. Not on his face, not on his clothes, even though the kitchen was an abattoir.

Ev allows the silence to lengthen a little, makes another note, and then looks up. ‘Where are your husband’s nightclothes, Mrs Swann?’

* * *

GQ: Thank you for confirming that, Mr Swann. The gun safe is indeed in the cellar. You see, that’s what we’re struggling with.

RS: [silence]

GQ: Because we tried it. There’s no way you could have gone down there without putting on the light. Not to mention the fact that the cellar door makes quite a racket.

RS: [silence]

GQ: So you’re asking us to believe that you managed to open that door, put on the light, go down and retrieve the gun and come back up, all without the intruder noticing what you were up to?

RS: [silence]

AF: You can see why we find that troubling.

RS: I think I’d like to speak to my lawyer now.

GQ: You will now be returned to the cells. You should also be aware that, given the nature of the possible charge, we will be seeking authorization from a magistrate to hold you for up to 96 hours, pending further enquiries. Interview concluded at 12.57.

* * *

Margaret Swann is not blinking. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘When our uniformed colleagues arrived, Mr Swann answered the door in a shirt and cardigan, and a pair of slacks. But you said he was watching television in bed. So where are his nightclothes?’

‘What difference does it make?’

Oh FFS, thinks Ev. I don’t believe you’re that stupid. But if you want me to spell it out, I’ll spell it out.

‘If someone’s shot at that close a range, it causes a huge amount of damage. Explosive damage. Body matter is flung in all directions.’

Swann looks revolted.

‘So you can appreciate why I’m asking about your husband’s clothes. His dressing gown, pyjamas, whatever it was he was wearing. Because one thing’s for sure – it wasn’t that cardigan and slacks.’ She stops and leans forward, stressing the point. ‘They’d have been literally drenched in blood spatter, brain tissue –’

Swann turns away, squares her shoulders a little. ‘I put them in the wash.’

Ev can hear the gasp from the officer behind her, and she’s a hair’s breadth from doing the same herself.

‘You washed them? Even though you must have known it would be crucial evidence in the police inquiry?’

Swann makes a non-committal noise that manages to convey an equal measure of indifference and disdain.

Ev glances back at the officer. ‘Can you check the washing machine, please, and get everything in there bagged up? Assuming CSI haven’t done so already.’

The officer nods and heads for the door. Ev returns to Swann. ‘Is there anything else you haven’t told me, Mrs Swann?’

Swann has her hand to her chest now, her breath rasping. She makes no move to reply.

‘So let’s get this straight. Your husband shot and killed someone, you didn’t call the police to report it, either before or after it happened, and in the meantime did everything you could to eliminate the evidence. You do realize that alone is a criminal offence?’

Swann turns to face her. There’s a flush to her cheeks. ‘I’d like you to call my doctor, please. I’m beginning to feel unwell.’

* * *

Oxford Mail online

Monday 22 October 2018 Last updated at 07:24

BREAKING:

Fatality after ‘serious incident’ at Wytham

Thames Valley Police have confirmed that an unnamed person lost their life as a result of a ‘serious incident’ at Wytham last night, after residents reported a significant police presence in the area around 10.30 p.m. Officers and vehicles remain on-site at an isolated property on Ock Lane, on the outskirts of the village.