My parents house is very large and I had the use of the granny flat. It was quite possible to live day to day and not speak to them.
I see. Why dont you get on with your parents, if you dont mind me asking?
I do mind you asking and Id rather not talk about it.
Im sorry, Mr Blackheath. I didnt mean to intrude. Warren backtracked slightly, careful not to upset the young man. That was Suttons job.
I dont see why you didnt just move out if you werent speaking to your mum and dad. Sutton spoke up, right on cue.
I couldnt afford to. Not on my own, with the money I earn. Mum and Dad let me have the granny flat for free. Felt guilty, I suppose.
What did they feel guilty about? Is it why you dont talk? Sutton pressed.
Blackheath scowled. Like I said, its private. I dont want to talk about it. Its got nothing to do with Sallys death.
I heard it was to do with the Kim Bradshaw affair.
Blackheath stared at Sutton in stunned silence for a few seconds, before shaking his head slowly from side to side.
Its never going to leave me alone, is it? he asked no one in particular. Everywhere I go. Everything I do. Its never going to be forgotten. He sank forward, burying his head in his hands.
Tell us what happened, Darren, suggested Hardwick, kindly.
Blackheaths voice was muffled, but nevertheless clear enough for the tape. He started slowly.
The whole thing ruined my life. Just one foolish accident and that was it. I was happy until then; life was good.
He sat up and looked the three officers squarely in the eyes, one at a time.
You know, I never planned on working in a tyre fitters all my life. In fact if youd asked when I was sixteen Id have laughed at you. I wanted to be a mechanic, not a technician. He mimed quote marks in the air. I wanted to run my own garage. Do real repairs. I wanted customers to drive in with a weird noise under the bonnet first thing in the morning and drive out good as new that afternoon. Instead I spend all day changing fucking tyres and exhausts. If we do an MOT and the car fails on anything more complicated than a dodgy windscreen wiper, we have to get one of the local garages to fix it for us. Its bloody embarrassing. They barely hide their contempt for us when we drop off the car. They write down what they did on a piece of paper so that we can read it to the customer, as if we dont know one end of a spanner from the other.
So what happened? Hardwick repeated softly.
It was a few years ago. I was about halfway through a motor mechanics course at college, studying two days a week and working the rest of the week as an apprentice at my dads mates garage. Everything was going fantastic. Then I met Kim Bradshaw.
He paused, taking a deep breath. She was the boss daughter. Nothing dodgy, you understand, he added hastily. Shes the same age as me. Anyway, it was just a bit of fun, you know. We went out a few times, nothing serious. But one night we got drunk at a party and ended up around the back of the garage. He grimaced at the memory. Not terribly romantic. Anyhow, I forgot about it for a few weeks we sort of avoided each other, I guess. Then one day she texts me out of the blue asking to come over and see me. She was pregnant.
What did you do?
Well, I shit myself. I didnt know what to say. I was nineteen, in college, earning bugger all. I didnt even love her. She was in the same position. She worked two days a week in the small parts shop attached to the garage and spent the rest of the time studying hair and beauty at the tech college.
I said we couldnt keep it, but she refused to consider an abortion. Her family are strict Catholics. My parents are too. So in the end I proposed.
Warren raised an eyebrow. I thought Sally was your first serious relationship.
Blackheath blushed. She was. Kim meant nothing to me. I was just panicking. Getting married seemed to be the right thing to do. Fortunately, Kim turned me down. Called me a bloody idiot. Either way, we knew we had to tell our parents, which neither of us was looking forward to.
So she went home to tell her old man Blackheaths voice started to shake but I was too scared to go with her. I wish I had now, then maybe she wouldnt have done what she did.
I knew I should tell Mum and Dad, but I couldnt figure out how to, so I went to bed, praying the phone wouldnt ring, promising myself Id tell them in the morning.
I never got the chance. Two a.m., the doorbell rang. It was the police.
Blackheaths voice was getting quieter and quieter. They arrested me on suspicion of rape. Ill never forget it. Mum was in tears and Dad was demanding to know who I was supposed to have done it with.
Blackheaths eyes were looking watery again, but this time his voice was tight with anger. They took me straight down the police station. I was fingerprinted and a DNA sample taken, then I was strip-searched and they photographed me. His lip curled in disgust. It was the most humiliating experience of my life.
Warren ignored the faint feeling of sympathy, knowing that whatever indignities Blackheath had suffered were nothing compared to the violations heaped upon rape victims.
Anyway, I was charged and spent the weekend in jail before being bailed on the Monday morning, pending trial in six months.
It says in the file that the case was dropped. The prosecution changed their case at the last moment. What happened?
Blackheath shook his head, slowly as if he still couldnt believe it.
It was all part of the plan. Its obvious now. She got what she wanted. If her old man knew she was pregnant because of a drunken one-night stand hed have disowned her. As things stood, she was the victim. The fact was, the prosecution case was really weak. We had a really strong defence and we knew that we were going to win. There were holes in her story and her credibility was poor. We had the texts that she sent to me the morning after the night we did it and the text she sent me asking to meet up when she told me about the pregnancy. If I really had raped her, why would she have wanted to meet me again?
The question was clearly rhetorical and Blackheath continued without prompting. Anyway, you know how this country works. Rape victims are granted anonymity, of course, but the accused is dragged through the mud, his life laid out for everyone to see. Obviously I lost my job, I couldnt carry on working for Kims dad, and college suspended me indefinitely in reality they kicked me out. I couldnt continue there.
And the anonymity thing is a joke. They couldnt report Kims story in the papers obviously, but she made sure that everyone in the community knew. And her old man made sure every business in the area knew the story. I couldnt go for a pint without people pointing or staring. Some places wouldnt even let me through the door. I was attacked twice and my parents house was spray-painted and the tyres slashed on their car.
Anyway, finally the day comes for her to testify. It was a Monday and I turn up and after hanging around all day Im told that the prosecution have requested a delay because Kim is ill.
The next day I turn up and she isnt there. Im told that the prosecution case has been dropped and Im free to go.
Well, surely that was a good thing? Karen Hardwick looked confused. Warren said nothing, letting Blackheath explain.
Well, surely that was a good thing? Karen Hardwick looked confused. Warren said nothing, letting Blackheath explain.
No! That was the worst thing that could happen, other than being convicted of something I didnt do. I wasnt acquitted or cleared of any wrongdoing. Everyone reckons I got away with it. The story Bradshaw and her family put out was that the stress was so bad she had a miscarriage and they decided that it wasnt worth putting her through the ordeal and dropped the case.
Its bollocks, of course. Everyone knows that she got a late abortion and that her case was so weak it shouldnt have made it to court. But you lot are under pressure to solve more rapes. They must have figured they were going to lose this one, so they didnt raise a stink when she said she wanted to drop it. The bitterness was strong in his voice and he stared the three police officers straight in the eyes, as if he held them personally responsible for his ordeal.
So what happened next?
Blackheath snorted derisively. Well, you know what they say no smoke without fire. Obviously I couldnt get my job back and those bastards in the college admissions department refused to enrol me again, so I spent the next nine months on the dole. Nobody was interested in employing me.
Eventually, I got a call from Jack Bradley. Here, Blackheaths expression softened slightly. Hes a good bloke. He needed a tyre fitter and he knew I had enough training for the job. Hes a Methodist preacher and he believes in giving people a second chance. He said that in the eyes of the law Im an innocent man and if Jesus could forgive convicted criminals, then the least he could do was give someone like me a helping hand. Blackheath shook his head. Twelve months previously, Id have called him a patronising bastard and told him to stick his job, but I was desperate.
He paused for a moment. He really is a good man. Everyone who works for him has been in trouble of some kind. Two lads have been in jail and Joe is a recovering alcoholic. Ken, our store man, had a nervous breakdown when his wife left him and ended up on the street. Jack took him in, gave him a job and ten years later hes got a new wife and two kids.
Sounds as if it all worked out, then, said Sutton crassly, still playing the role of bad cop.
Blackheaths eyes flashed. Well, I was getting by. I had a job at least and over time people were starting to forget about the court case.
Is all this why you dont speak to your parents? Hardwick asked softly.
Blackheath glared at her for a few seconds, then sighed. Yeah. They stood by me and all that and I know they dont believe I did it, but it cost them. Dad said I had been bloody stupid to get mixed up with the boss daughter, let alone get her pregnant. They said they thought Id been better brought up than that.
What do you mean it cost them?
Kim Bradshaws old man is a big name in the local community. My dad was a painter and decorator with a really good reputation. He never had to advertise he had more work than he needed just by word of mouth. That all dried up. He had to let his three lads go. Theyd worked with him for over twenty years. They were like family. We stopped going to church. Mum couldnt stand the whispering and the pointing. And then Nan died. She took the court case really hard. She was terrified Id go to prison. She had a heart attack just before the trial. I know Mum and Dad blame me.
Anyway, I couldnt afford to move out and Mum and Dad wouldnt let their son go homeless, so I moved into the annexe where Nan used to live.
The tears were back and Blackheath did nothing to stop them. I hated it. Even though Id emptied it all out, it was still Nans flat. It had its own separate entrance, so I locked the connecting door and that was it. I never set foot in Mum and Dads house again. I spent Christmas at a mates.
And then you met Sally?
Blackheath nodded. She was the best thing that happened to me.
And she knew about the Bradshaw affair?
Who bloody didnt? Her father certainly did. At first I think she was attracted by the bad-boy image she was going through a bit of a rebellious streak but pretty soon she got over it and we fell in love. At least living with Mum and Dad was free. I got a pay rise at work after Jack arranged for me to qualify to do MOTs and we managed to scrape together enough to rent the flat and start saving for the future.
He looked into space, a sad, wistful expression on his face. Finally things were going well, you know. We were going to get married and when things picked up we were going to move away. Sally would try for a management position in a travel agent shed get a great reference from Far and Away and Id try and get another apprenticeship, maybe even start college again. Jack has already said hed write me letters of introduction or anything I need.
After a few seconds, Warren started again.
We know that Sally and her father disagreed over you. Were you aware that the day before she disappeared, she met her father and told him that she thought you were going to propose?
Blackheath looked thunderstruck.
What? I dont understand. How could she have known? I never said anything.
Warren shrugged slightly.
You didnt hide the ring as well as you thought. Regardless, she spoke to her dad about it. He claims that she was having cold feet, that getting married seemed like a big step. He thinks she was going to leave you and come back to live with them. This last bit was probably a bit of an exaggeration, but Warren was keen to see Blackheaths reaction.
No! No way!
Blackheath shook his head violently, his voice rising. We were in love. Wed planned our future out together she wanted to get married. She wanted kids. Hes lying.
Why would he lie to us, Darren? He was her father. He just wanted what was best for his little girl. No offence, son, but youre hardly a prize catch, are you? A poorly paid tyre fitter with a questionable police record hanging over you. And what about those football trips, eh? Whilst Sally was away with her mates in the sun, youd be off with the lads doing drugs and shagging birds. I hope at least you learnt from your last mistake and you use a condom.
Blackheath recoiled from Suttons accusation as if hed been physically slapped. How dare you? Ive never so much as looked at another woman since I met Sally. And as for drugs, Ive never touched them. Those football tours are hard work, five games in five days. Were aiming to top our league coach wont let us have more than two beers in the evening and we have to be in bed by midnight. Who told you this bullshit?
Sutton shrugged. Not important. The thing is, I cant help wondering what your response might have been if she decided she didnt want to get married. Youve told us repeatedly how great life was with Sally, how finally things were moving forward and how you had plans for the future. Well, what if you suddenly find out that isnt going to happen? You said yourself how she was going through a rebellious streak when she met you. Maybe she didnt get over it. Talking about getting married and having kids it was just a fantasy. One in the eye for her old man. Maybe he was right and she was coasting, then when she realised you were serious and really did want to get married she got cold feet. It wasnt a game any more. And who would she turn to to rescue her? Well, Dad, of course.