out of me.”
Warren glanced at Sutton.
“Why so surprised? Repeat offending in these cases is pretty high — we’ve all seen the stats.”
Pargeter nodded. “Normally I’d agree with you, Chief Inspector, but I thought Cameron was different.”
Warren’s face must have betrayed his scepticism.
“Look, Richard Cameron was sentenced to eighteen years for three rapes back in 1998. He did twelve years and was released on licence this time last year. When he entered the system he was a dangerous man, no question, with priors for drink-driving, domestic violence and petty theft. When the rapes occurred he lived with his wife, Angie, and teenage son, Michael, in a small farmstead about three miles north of Middlesbury, just outside the village of Stennfield. It isn’t much, a couple of acres of potatoes, a handful of pigs and a few chickens. He wasn’t a farmer by any stretch; he just inherited it from his old man, who inherited it from his old man et cetera.
“He basically left school at fifteen and drifted in and out of odd jobs before meeting Angie in about 1980. They had Michael in 1982. The farm was paid off by his father and he owns the land, so even when he didn’t have a job they always had a roof over their heads. Anyway, he wasn’t really on the radar as far as the police were concerned; he had a file, like I said, and Michael’s school raised warning flags with social services but nothing ever happened.
“And then the rapes occurred. You’re familiar with the details; suffice to say, it was luck as much as detective work that nailed him in the end. Michael was barely sixteen when Cameron was sentenced. The girls were all local and everyone knew who his dad was. In the end he finished his GCSEs, changed his name by deed poll to his mother’s maiden name and switched schools for sixth form. By all accounts the move was successful and he went on to get a decent set of A levels and go to university.
“Angie divorced Cameron and reclaimed her maiden name but stayed at the farm with Michael. Cameron apparently signed over the lease without much fuss. He told me when I first met him it was his first step in trying to repair the damage done to his family.”
Sutton looked pointedly at the clock on the wall; where was all this going? he wondered.
Warren tried to be a little more discreet. Pargeter got the hint. “The thing is, Cameron didn’t kill those three girls. He raped them, and beat them, but he isn’t a murderer. That was his downfall. One of the girls gave a description of the mask that he was wearing, which ultimately led to his arrest.”
“You said it yourself, that was his downfall; he left a witness behind. Maybe he’s learnt his lesson — dead bodies can’t testify in court.” Sutton’s tone was getting decidedly impatient; he knew that Det Supt Grayson would probably be appearing any moment with an arrest warrant, to be served should Cameron decline to attend the police station voluntarily.
Pargeter ignored Sutton’s tetchiness. “You’re right. I think he has learnt his lesson. When inside, he worked hard to complete the schooling he should have done thirty years earlier and became a lay preacher, and volunteer counsellor to other prisoners.”
Sutton was unable to resist a snort of derision. In his opinion, the fabled prison conversion, especially amongst dangerous sex offenders, was just that. Nevertheless, an outside observer sitting in on parole-board hearings could be forgiven for thinking that a spell in prison was the making of a man and that HM Prison Service was single-handedly doing more to arrest the decline in active church-going than any number of evangelical outreach programmes. All nonsense, of course. Prisoners had a lot of time to try and figure out what it was the parole board wanted to hear and would do their best to oblige them.
For the first time since arriving at Middlesbury’s little CID unit, Sam Pargeter showed the briefest flash of irritation. “Look, I’m not a bloody idiot. I’ve been in this game far too long to be fooled by the old ‘I’ve found Jesus’ defence; nevertheless, whether he truly has found God or it’s just enlightened self-interest, I don’t think Richard Cameron would do anything that could get him put back inside. He barely survived the place. He attempted suicide three times — and, I mean, really attempted it. He’s made it quite clear to me and anyone else that will listen that he’ll kill himself before he sets foot inside another prison.”
Sutton looked at Warren. “Better make certain everyone knows that, guv. Last thing we need is a bloody suicide or death-by-cop.”
Pargeter scowled. “I doubt it will come to that.” He settled back into his chair and struck a more reasonable tone. “Look, make the appropriate preparations, but I don’t think it’s him.”
Warren shrugged non-committally. “Well, let’s see if we can rule him out. I’m telling you this in the strictest confidence, you understand.” He locked eyes with Pargeter, who nodded briskly and professionally. “We believe that the victim was carried several hundred yards, possibly dead, almost certainly unconscious. We’ve found no evidence that there was more than one person involved. Do you think that Cameron is capable of carrying the body of a young woman of average build and weight that distance?”
Pargeter’s brow furrowed and he pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, before, finally, taking his glasses off and rubbing them on his sleeve.
“I honestly don’t know. Twelve months ago I’d have said no chance. He was a physical wreck. He was overweight and smoked like a chimney. He could walk that distance, but he’d have struggled if he had to carry a shopping bag, let alone a body.
“But since then he’s been working on the farm, trying to make a business of it with Michael. He’s lost about three stone and cut right back on the fags. Last time I dropped in, he was wrestling hay bales off the back of a truck. He must have shifted a dozen whilst I was there; he was out of breath, but didn’t look in danger of a coronary. If he slung her across his shoulders in a fireman’s lift, then I reckon he might be able to do it.”
Warren made a note, before changing tack. “Tell me a bit more about his current situation. You said he’s back at the farm, but I thought his family had disowned him.”
“They did at first. His ex-wife never got over what he did and died a few years ago. Michael hated him at first, but after his mum died he realised that his father was the only family he had left. He received counselling and eventually started going to church himself. A couple of years ago, he visited his father in prison for the first time and was convinced that the old man wanted to change his life. They bought a bit more land from their neighbour and resurrected the farm. Michael has a good job and so they get by OK.”
“What about the local community? Twelve years isn’t that long.”
“The two of them largely keep themselves to themselves. When word first got around that Cameron was back a few things were sprayed on the front of the house and neither of them are welcome in the village pub, but it’s mostly died down. They tend to travel to Cambridge or Stevenage if they fancy a pint.
“The only place they are cautiously welcomed is at the village church. I’ve met the local vicar a few times and he’s taken it upon himself to help me keep Cameron on the straight and narrow. Nobody has invited them to join the choir, like, but they don’t get any bother.”
Warren looked at Sutton. Much of what Pargeter had said was of little relevance, he decided. Richard Cameron had been a very dangerous sexual predator and, as far as Warren was concerned, men like that had something fundamentally wrong with them. The urges that drove them were unlikely to ever disappear entirely. The question was, did Richard Cameron control those urges or did those urges still control him?
Warren and Sutton drove to Cameron’s farm in a tense silence. Behind them, two police cars, each with a pair of uniformed constables, followed, lights and sirens off. Det Supt Grayson had drafted an arrest warrant, but Warren hoped to bring in the former convict voluntarily. Although the killing had now been reported in the local and national