Chapter 8: A Perfect Gentleman

‘After we had lifted her into bed,’ I told mum, ‘Emily kissed her goodnight. Then I did too. She gave me such a lovely smile. I didn’t know it at the time, but mine was the very last kiss she would ever have. It was sad, but a lovely way to go,’ I added.

‘How were things on Monday at work?’ Danny asked.’ ‘I didn’t see Emily until late in the day, she was using Mr Kendricks office. When I did, she gave me a wink and a lovely smile. But she didn’t say anything other than work related things.’

‘That all sounds very exciting,’ Danny said, ‘So what went wrong?’ ‘Sunday afternoon I rang round the other secretaries. I told them that because his last victim was still working at the factory, Mr Kendrick had been given the option to sign a confession and leave.’

‘I told them that the owner of the firm was so upset about what they had suffered, he wanted to send them some money by way of an apology. All but one was content with that and gave me their bank details. One objected saying he had got away with it.’

‘I pointed out that he had lost his job, had no reference and had been stopped from raping any more secretaries.’ ‘Does his wife know?’ she asked. ‘I have no idea,’ I told her, ‘I suppose it depends on what excuse he gives for losing his job.’

‘She was critical of the firm ‘paying her off’ as she put it. ‘You can’t blame the firm for what happened,’ I told her, ‘No one told them it was happening.’ ‘The moment I brought it to their attention they dismissed him. The CEO is just trying to say sorry to you. He has no obligation to give you anything.’

‘In the end she gave me her bank details. I sent them all through to the secretary at head office. I learned later that they had each been sent five thousand pounds. What I didn’t know was that all the secretaries had had Mr Kendricks home phone number during their time at work.’

‘One of them must have still had it and rang his wife. I assume it was the one who thought he had got away with it, but I don’t know that for sure. She told her that she used to be his secretary but had left after her husband had raped her.’

‘It turns out that he’s a serial rapist,’ she told her. ‘He has raped at least five secretaries and that’s why he has just been fired.’ Mrs Kendrick came into the factory later that day to confront him, as she thought he was still at work.’

‘She found Emily in his office. Emily told her that her husband had raped her and at least the four previous secretaries. ‘Rumour has it,’ she told her, ‘That he saved himself from being arrested by signing a confession and accepting dismissal.’

‘He was escorted off the premiss’s in disgrace last Friday. That’s why he lost his job.’ ‘He’s not said a word to me,’ Mrs Kendrick told her, he left home as if he was going to work as usual this morning.’ Then she told Emily about the phone call she’d had.’

‘Emily told her how sorry she was that she had had to find out like that. ‘Why wasn’t he stopped sooner?’ she asked. ‘Like me, everyone was too embarrassed to tell anyone what had happened to them. It only came to light because a caring member of staff saw how upset I was.’

‘He coaxed what he’d done out of me. Then all the others came to light.’ Emily told her. ‘I don’t know what to do,’ Mrs Kendrick told her, ‘I don’t want him around me and we have a twelve-year-old daughter too. I can’t trust him around her after this.’

She gave Emily a hug, and said she hoped she’d be able to get over it.

Then she left. The following week the local paper reported that Mr Kendrick had committed suicide. He had jumped off the top of the local multi-storey car park.’

‘We don’t know why he did it,’ the paper said. ‘Although he had had a lot to drink that evening. His wife said he was a good husband to her and a caring father to their daughter. As far as she knew he had no financial worries.’

‘He had lost his job recently due to reorganisation,’ she told us. I think that that might have contributed to it. He didn’t leave a note. There followed some information about a local suicide charity and a help line number.’

‘And is that the main cause of the problem that’s been worrying you?’ Danny asked. ‘Yes.’ Phillip said. ‘I think you guessed that I wrote all the statements myself. I also made the test tube with the swab in it. So, I killed him.’

‘No, you most definitely did NOT!’ Danny told him firmly. ‘He was a serial rapist, and you caught him. Ok, you may have bent the rules a little to get him to admit it. But don’t forget you were not a policeman back then.’

‘In any case, I have successfully done the same thing myself, several times. Do you still have his confession?’ ‘Yes, I don’t know why I kept it afterwards.’ ‘Well, when you get home, get it out and read it.’ Danny instructed.

‘It will remind you that he signed it because he was guilty of all those rapes, and you managed to stop him. Do you still have the statements and the swab?’ ‘Yes, they’re with the confession.’ ‘Well, I suggest that once you have read the confession, you destroy them all.’

‘Then there is nothing that can come back and bite you. It was not you who informed his wife. I suspect that when she met up with him after visiting Emily, she probably told him to get out of her life and never attempt to see her or his daughter again.’

‘That is probably what made him go drinking and then end it all. You have nothing to reproach yourself about. You did a grand job and saved heavens knows how many other women being raped. I say, ‘Very well done to you.’

‘Phillip felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He beamed at Danny and hugged him. ‘Now, let’s look at the girlfriend situation.’ he said. ‘What happened next with Emily?’ ‘Apart from brief encounters at work I didn’t see her again until her mum’s funeral.’

‘There was a brief service at the crematorium. I accompanied her and she held onto my arm most of the time. There were only a few neighbours apart from us. Afterwards everyone just dispersed, and I took her to a nearby café for some lunch.’

‘Over lunch I told her she should now start rebuilding her life.’ At work she had acted as manager for a full week. Apart from having to make a few phone calls occasionally to another manager for guidance, she had coped well. Patrick had praised her, and she told me she had also received a five-thousand-pound payment.’

‘A new manager is starting next week,’ she told me. ‘He is going to train me properly to be an assistant manager.’ She sounded very excited about it and didn’t say anything about us going out. I decided to let things lie for the moment and give her some breathing space.’

‘The new manager duly arrived. I met him on his second day. He seemed very nice and also very young. I’d have guessed that he was around twenty-one. Two weeks later I was having lunch in the canteen. At the table next to me were a group of the secretaries from Emily’s floor.’

‘I picked up from their conversation that Emily had been seen out on a date with the new manager. I felt so disappointed and sad, I’d been dreaming about our first date ever since we’d spent the two nights together.’

‘Two months went by without any personal contact from Emily. When I had any contact with her at work, which I did at least once a day, she seemed quite cool with me and kept it very brief. She was polite enough but seemed almost to be embarrassed talking to me.’

‘Then the bombshell dropped. Everyone in the place but me seemed to know that Emily and the new manager were engaged to be married. I admit that I cried myself to sleep that night. Two days later I delivered a parcel to the new manager.’

‘When I went into his office, he was sitting at his desk and Emily was sitting at the side of the desk with a notebook in her hand. I put the parcel on his desk, then I said, ‘I’ve just heard the news, may I congratulate you both and wish you a long and happy life together.’

‘Giles the new manager stood up and shook my hand, ‘Thank you.’ he said. Emily just said quietly, ‘Thank you, Phillip.’ When I looked over at her, she avoided my eyes. I went straight over to personnel and handed in my notice.’