Page 92 of The Chapel of Bones

‘Why did you come back to the UK?’ Wesley tilted his head to one side, curious to hear the answer to the question that had been on his mind since they made the arrest.

‘A volunteer started working with us on the reserve earlier this year. Posh lad on his gap year. Turned out he came from Devon and had visited the zoo. Said it was a disgrace and that they had no idea how to look after the animals. He’d heard that the owner had died and that some drunk called Dale had taken over.’ Gadson paused. ‘Once I found out my dad was dead, I decided to come back. I planned to play the long game; maybe wait for an opportunity to get rid of Dale and claim what was mine.’

‘Your inheritance?’

‘Yeah. Once I’d got rid of some obstacles, I was going to reappear as Jon the prodigal son and inherit the lot. It’s mine by right. Why should I risk anyone finding out what I did? And why should I share it with Dale?’

‘When you returned as Jon, what would you have done if you’d met someone who recognised you as George? Darren, for instance?’

‘I would have dealt with the situation,’ he said calmly.

The answer sent a chill through Wesley’s heart.

‘You killed four people.’ Gerry sounded incredulous.

The smirk returned. ‘No comment.’

They ended the interview. Jon Gadson was far too arrogant for his own good.

Aleric Donnal’s notebook

20 May 2011

I am a little nervous about visiting St Julian’s because I know my student Jon Gadson is in residence there. I am concerned about his state of mind, but I am an academic who lives mostly in the past and I am no good at dealing with such strong emotions. I feel I am out of my depth.

I told Ethelred I intended to go to the house to check on the carvings, and he told me I could call round any time. His tenants were hardly the type to object. He also said he thought there might be some ancient tiles. He said his father had put them in an old chest, which is probably still in the house. I should call and ask about them if I had the chance. When I told Ethelred of my plans to return to Brittany soon, he said he would miss my company.

I find I am free today, so I will drive over to Neston. If I do call at the house to ask about the tiles, I feel it would seem remiss of me, as Jon’s tutor, not to try and have a quick word with the boy while I’m there, however apprehensive I feel about the prospect. Perhaps he just needs a little guidance. I will try again to persuade him to make use of the university’s counselling service and reassure him that his situation will be dealt with sympathetically and that he can defer his examinations if necessary. I’m sure this will come as welcome news.

I will call at the house before searching for the carvings. I can regard it as my good deed for the day.

50

The next morning, Jon Gadson was charged. Gerry was confident that they had enough evidence against him to convince the CPS to proceed. It was now a matter of getting it into some sort of order, something the DCI was bound to leave to others. He’d always claimed to be allergic to paperwork.

Jim Baker was now up to being interviewed, so Wesley and Gerry made their way to Morbay Hospital, where the patient had been moved out of the high-dependency unit and was sitting up in bed.

Gerry took a seat by the bed and asked where the grapes were. He fancied a couple. This gained a smile from the patient. The first Wesley had ever seen.

‘You’ve got him, haven’t you?’

‘And we’ll lock him up. Then, hopefully, we’ll throw away the key,’ said Gerry jovially. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Better.’

‘So you’re ready to answer a few questions?’ asked Wesley.

‘Fire away.’

‘Why did the man you knew as Carlo Lanzani try to kill you? Did you know something about his crimes? Dale Gadson wanted to tell us something. We think it was something you told him.’

There was a long silence. When Baker finally spoke, it was almost in a whisper. ‘I was high on acid. I used it a lot in those days. Hallucinogens. They do what it says on the tin. You have hallucinations. Sometimes wonderful rainbow colours and sometimes nightmarish images so you see monsters comingout of the walls and you feel your skin being eaten by giant worms.’ He shuddered. ‘I gave it up years ago. But when I was at St Julian’s, I indulged a lot. I thought it’d open the doors of creativity, but all I got was bad trips. There were weird carvings in the garden there; strange animals. I started seeing them moving towards me. That’s why I paint them now; it helps to exorcise the beasts.’ He shuddered and fell silent. After a while, he spoke again. ‘That wasn’t the worst thing. One day I walked into a room and saw Carlo putting a dead body inside a wall. I always thought I was seeing crazy nightmare things that weren’t there. I never thought for one moment that it had actually happened.’

‘Until a body was found inside the wall and you finally realised it had been real.’

‘That’s about it. After that, I was scared that Carlo would come for me. And he did. But I don’t know how he found me.’

‘He went to see his brother, Dale. He’d been watching the zoo for a while before his visit and he’d seen you go in. When he asked Dale about you, he told him that you’d said you’d had problems; said you thought you’d once witnessed a murder and you thought you’d been hallucinating until a body was actually found. Of course Dale didn’t realise he was talking to the actual killer and putting you in danger as well as himself. Jon Gadson – Carlo Lanzani – was determined to eliminate all witnesses to what he’d done. You were unlucky.’