‘It was a woman called Jilly Freeman,’ said Frieda.
‘That’s it, that’s the one.’
‘How do you know?’
Reuben emptied his glass. ‘Because they’ve done it to me as well,’ he said. ‘They’ve fucked me the way they’ve fucked you. Jilly rang me up and broke the news to me, and in the middle of our conversation she mentioned your name as well. I tried to ring you but there was no answer.’
‘I’ve been out,’ said Frieda.
‘I thought I’d better come straight round. Jesus, I need a cigarette. Can we go outside?’
He fetched another can of beer from the kitchen, then opened the door and stepped outside on to the street. Frieda followed him. He handed her the beer while he lit his cigarette. He took a succession of deep drags on it. ‘This young man,’ said Reuben. ‘He said he wanted to talk to me. He’d heard such good things about me. He was worried about himself. He’d been cruel to animals as a child, he had fantasies of hurting women. Blah blah, you know the rest.’
‘What did you say to him?’
‘I said I’d see him for a bit. And then Ms Jilly rings me up and tells me that I’m going to be on the front page for letting a psychopath loose on the streets.’
‘What did you say to her?’
He took another deep drag on his cigarette. ‘I should have said what you said. That sounded good. I lost it. I just shouted at her and slammed the phone down.’ He jabbed a finger at Frieda. ‘We’re going to sue them. That fucker Hal Bradshaw and that fucking journalist and her paper. We’re going to take them down.’
‘What for?’ said Frieda.
Reuben banged his fist against the wall of the house. ‘For deception,’ he said. ‘And violating our privacy. And for libel.’
‘We’re not going to sue them,’ said Frieda.
‘I was going to say that it’s all right for you,’ said Reuben. ‘But you’re in a state of distress. You’re recovering from injury. They can’t do this to us.’
Frieda put a hand on his shoulder. ‘We should just leave it,’ she said.
Reuben turned to Frieda and something in his look alarmed her, fierce and defeated at the same time. ‘I know, I know,’ he said. ‘I should just shrug it off. Ten years ago I would have laughed it off. I would almost have welcomed it. But I feel I’ve had it. That journalist. I’ll show her fantasies about hurting women.’
People had been gathering since midday, but there had been minor delays, the last spasms of a clogged bureaucratic system that had kept George Conley in prison for months after it had become clear he would have to be released. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon when he eventually emerged from Haston Prison into watery sunlight, clutching one plastic bag and wearing an overcoat that was too tight and much too thick for a spring day. There were beads of sweat on his pale, fleshy face.
Most of the people waiting for him were journalists and photographers. His local MP was there as well, although Fearby knew how little he had done for Conley, only joining the campaign when it was clear it would be successful. A small group from a revolutionary organization had come with banners proclaiming the bigotry of the police force in general. But there were no relatives waiting for Conley. His mother had died while he was in prison and his sister hadn’t been to see him since he was arrested. She had told Fearby that she was glad she was married and had taken the name of her husband, because his name made her feel sick. She wanted nothing to do with him. And there were no friends either: he had always been a lonely figure in the small town where he had lived, someone who stood on the edge, looking in baffled wistfulness at life going on. After he was arrested, neighbours said that they had always known he was odd, creepy. It hadn’t surprised them at all. Apart from Fearby, he had had no visitors in prison until the last few weeks.
Diana McKerrow, Conley’s solicitor, stood near the gates holding a bottle of sparkling wine in readiness. She spoke to the press on behalf of her client, reading from a piece of paper that she pulled out of her jacket pocket: words about the scandal of the police investigation, the lost years that Conley would never recover, the faith of a few good souls who had never ceased to believe in his innocence. She didn’t mention Fearby by name, and Fearby himself stood apart from the small crowd. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. After so many years of working towards this moment, it felt thin and dreary. One overweight man shuffling anxiously out of the gates, wincing as the cameras flashed.
The journalists surged forward. Microphones were held out to him.
‘How does it feel to be free?’
‘Are you going to sue?’
‘What are your plans now, Mr Conley?’
‘Where will you go?’
‘What’s the first thing you’ll do?’
‘Are you angry?’
‘What have you missed?’
‘Can you tell us your thoughts about the police?’
Fearby was certain that some of them had chequebooks ready. They wanted his story now. All these years he’d been vilified and then forgotten; now he was a hero – except he didn’t fit the role of hero. His replies came out in mumbles, half-sentences: ‘I dunno,’ he said. ‘What d’you mean?’ He glanced from side to side anxiously. Diana McKerrow put one arm under his elbow. His MP arranged himself on the other side, smiling for the cameras.
Fearby knew that they would all soon forget about Conley again. He would be left in peace, in his little room in a house full of other misfits and loners, passive and defeated. He felt a pang of simultaneous guilt followed at once by resentment: was he going to have to be Conley’s only friend even now? Visit him and take him out for a drink, try to find him an occupation? Was this his reward for freeing him into the world?
He inched his way through the crush and touched Conley on the arm. ‘Hello, George,’ he said. ‘Congratulations.’
‘Hello,’ said Conley. He smelt unwashed; his skin had a grey prison-pallor and his hair was thinning.
‘You’re going to be busy for the rest of the day. I just wanted to say hello and give you my phone number. When you want, give me a call and I’ll come and see you.’ He forced enthusiasm into his voice. ‘We can have a meal, go for a drink, a walk.’ He hesitated. ‘You might find all this attention hard, but it’ll die down soon. You’ll need to think about what you’re going to do next.’
‘Next?’
‘I’ll come and see you.’
Conley stared at him, his lower lip hanging loose. He was like a small, fat child, thought Fearby. It didn’t feel like a happy ending.
Later, at the press conference, the officer in charge of the investigation read out a statement. He wished to be candid about the fact that mistakes had been made. George Conley’s confession to the murder of Hazel Barton had been obtained – here he coughed, grimaced – without following the proper procedures.
‘You mean illegally,’ someone shouted from the back.
Steps had been taken, the officer continued. Reprimands delivered. Procedures tightened. The same mistakes would not be made again.
‘What about Mr Conley?’ asked a young woman in the front row.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘He’s been in prison since 2005.’
‘And we’re sorry for the mistakes that were made.’
‘Has anyone been fired?’ called a voice.
The inspector’s face tightened. ‘As I say, we have looked very carefully at the way the investigation was conducted. Individual officers have been reprimanded. But it would not be in anyone’s interest to make a scapegoat out of …’
Fearby thought that the message was very clear. The police believed that Conley was the killer but had got off on a technicality. What was more, they were making sure that everyone else in the room understood that. He felt anger rise in him.