Page 69 of The Chapel of Bones

‘Your pathologist must have got it wrong.’ Baker sounded desperate, as though he was clutching at any remote possibility that would let him off the hook.

‘Let me get this clear,’ said Wesley. ‘The girl who was mauled to death in 2011 was Dale’s sister?’

‘His half-sister. But he wasn’t around when she died. He was in the States and he only heard what had happened a lot later.’

‘The news must have come as a shock.’ Wesley tried to sound sympathetic.

‘You were seen going into the zoo on the morning Dale died.’ There was a challenge in Gerry’s statement.

‘I need to study the animals for my work. I’ve already told you that. Don’t you listen?’

Wesley took over. ‘How long have you known Dale Gadson?’

‘Only since I moved into the bungalow. I asked if I could sketch his animals and we hit it off. Kindred spirits, you could say.’

Gerry leaned towards the suspect, putting his face close to his. ‘What happened after you’d killed Mr Gadson? You were caught on someone’s dashcam going back into the zoo. Was that to transport the body to the lions’ enclosure?’

‘I didn’t kill him. Why would I do that?’

‘I don’t know. You tell us. Did you argue? We know you’ve got a temper. It wouldn’t have taken much to push you over the edge.’ Gerry sat back, arms folded, waiting for a response to his question.

But Baker looked at his solicitor. ‘I’ve had enough. I want a break.’

The solicitor opened his mouth to say something, but Gerry got in first. ‘After you’ve told us exactly what happened.’

Baker sighed, resigned to the inevitable. ‘OK. I called round first thing to sketch the chimps for a new painting I’m working on. When I’d finished, I went to Dale’s office and we had a drink. I think he’d been hitting the bottle before I arrived and he seemed a bit unsteady, so I left him to it and went home to paint.’He hesitated. ‘Then, a couple of hours later, I realised I’d left my phone in his office, so I went back.’

‘And . . . ?’

‘I found the phone, but Dale wasn’t in the office, so I went to look for him, to tell him I’d picked it up.’ He fell silent for a few moments. Wesley saw that Gerry was about to prompt him, but he nudged the DCI’s leg under the table. He wanted Baker to speak in his own time.

‘I saw him lying there,’ Baker said in a whisper. ‘It was horrible. The lions had got him. They were mauling him, gnawing at him. I’ll never forget it as long as I live. That’s why I went off. I couldn’t face . . .’

Unexpectedly, tears began to trickle down the man’s face. The hard shell he’d built around himself was showing signs of cracking. And Wesley intended to take advantage of the situation.

‘Why didn’t you call for help?’ he asked.

‘Yes, why?’ Gerry said almost in a growl. ‘If a mate of mine was being attacked by lions, I’d at least try and scare them off.’

‘I could tell he was dead. It was too late.’

‘You didn’t think to alert anyone?’

‘There wasn’t anyone else around, and I didn’t want to get involved. Dale ran the place on a shoestring. Employed a couple of casual workers but did most of the work himself. He didn’t call it a zoo, he called it a collection. The private collection he’d inherited from his father. He didn’t really like the public coming. But he said it brought in some whisky money.’

‘Can you tell us what happened to Carla?’

Baker appeared to be surprised by the change of subject. ‘You mean his sister?’

‘What do you know about her?’

‘Only what Dale told me. The subject came up one evening when we were drinking. Got very maudlin about it, he did. Theysaid it was suicide, but Dale was sure it must have been a terrible accident. Like I said, he was away travelling in the States at the time, doing odd jobs to support himself. He didn’t get back until a year later. He was devastated when he heard what had happened.’

‘It didn’t put him off keeping animals?’

‘He never had another tiger. His father got rid of it.’

‘How?’