"The Chief Constable will see you now gentlemen." said Kristina, the receptionist, pointing to the door of Chief Constable Gaskett's office. Myself and my colleague Detective Inspector Ivor Evans ( known to everyone as 'Taff' ) stood up and walked in. Chief Constable Gaskett greeted us warmly.
"Great to see you again, Jock." he said to me - we'd trained together at Hendon many years ago and, like everyone else on the force, Gaskett knew me as 'Jock'.
"And DI Evans as well, hello." Gaskett wasn't on first name terms with Taff obviously "Now gentlemen, you know the Home Secretary I'm sure. Ms May, this is DI Duncan and DI Evans ."
We both said 'Hello' to Theresa May, the Home Secretary. Gaskett had spruced up for her visit wearing his dress uniform complete with medals. Ms May looked sombre in dark grey. Taff and I sat down at the table with them, placing our files in front of us.
"Now then," said Gaskett, "Ms May has asked for a full briefing on the Gary Sparrow disappearance and you two were involved in the case since day one."
"That's right," said Ms May, smoothly interrupting, "Just between the four of us and the doorpost, the question of Mr Sparrow's disappearance is to be raised in the house next week. I need to refresh myself on every detail of the case. It's been 15 years since he vanished, correct?"
"Yes ma'am," I answered "June 28th, 1999 If I may I'll start right at the beginning."
"Please do." answered the Home Secretary as I opened my file.
"Gary Sparrow was, in 1999, a 38 year old man. He owned a shop in Ezra Street, it's near Columbia Rd just by Tower Bridge."
The Home Secretary nodded.
"The shop was called 'Blitz and Pieces' - it sold 1940's memorabilia, Because of the type of business, Mr Sparrow always dressed in 1940's fashions, a 1940's suit, shoes, trilby etc - that fact may, or may not be relevant."
"That fact may be very relevant to the case Home Secretary," said Taff then apologised for interrupting.
"Now on June 28th of 1999, " I continued "Gary was seen entering his shop, he served some customers in the morning. By that afternoon he had completely disappeared. He's never been seen dead or alive since. His disappearance was not reported at the time."
"It was weeks before that happened wasn't it?" asked Gaskett.
"That's right sir." I said "Gary's father, Mr George Sparrow contacted the police and said that he had not seen or heard from his son in 4 weeks. He had spoken to Sparrow's wife - as you know, Home Secretary, that was Baroness Lumbutt - and to his best friend Ron Wheatcroft. He was not satisfied with their explanations."
"What explanations did they give him?" asked the Home Secretary.
"Wheatcroft said he thought that Gary had gone away to visit relatives. he didn't know when he would be back. Baroness Lumbutt apparently became very emotional and told George Sparrow that Gary had gone to live with another woman."
"I see."
"Neither of these explanations seemed realistic to Mr Sparrow so he contacted the police. I spoke to him personally and I decided to question Wheatcroft and Baroness Lumbutt. I did this by visiting them at home. They told me the same things they had told Mr Sparrow and I was not entirely satisfied. For a start, they seemed to be giving two different explanations for the disappearance.
" I made further enquiries regarding Mr Sparrows bank details - his bank account had not been touched for four weeks. He had debit and credit cards that had not been used. He did not have a mobile 'phone but did use e-mail - that had not been accessed for four weeks either. He had also missed a dentist's appointment in that time. A direct debit continued to pay electricity and gas for his shop.
"At that point I decided to question Mr Wheatcroft and Baroness Lumbutt at Brick Lane nick, er I mean, police station. I enlisted DI Evans' assistance during both interviews."
'Taff' Evans continued the explanation -
"Mr Wheatcroft was a very bright and cheerful man when we spoke to him. Suspiciously cheerful, in fact, considering that we were discussing the disappearance of his best friend. He admitted that Gary had not gone off to live with relatives - but was now living with another woman. As far as he knew, they had a son together dating back several years. He had no idea where they lived. He suggested that Baroness Lumbutt would know more about the matter than him."
I took up the narrative again -
"Baroness Lumbutt was quite a different kettle of fish. Not cheerful or relaxed at all. She was very focused and rather cold and distant. That was my impression of her. Speaking through her solicitor she said that Gary had left her and gone to live with another woman called " Phoebe" something or other. She had no address for them and said - I quote - 'I don't think they will be very easy to track down.'"
"I'd like to point out something else that she said," interrupted Taff, " Baroness Lumbutt also said that - em, I quote - 'there isn't a woman alive in this world today, that Gary would leave me for, but she was different, she seemed to offer him a different way of life. One I couldn't give him.' Now note, Ms May, the use of that phrase 'a woman alive today' - I believe there is a very deliberate dissimulation in that phrase which I would like to come back to later."
"Anyway," I continued "With no progress in our search for Sparrow, we appealed for sightings of him on Crimewatch a month later. A few people called in with apparent leads, all of which were checked and found to be hoaxes or mistaken identity.
" By this point it was about 10 weeks since Mr Sparrow had disappeared. That had been no sightings of him, his bank account was still untouched, his bank cards still unused, his passport still at home, no-one identifiable as Gary Sparrow had been seen anywhere in the UK. No-one identifiable as Gary Sparrow had been employed, paid tax, used NHS facilities or claimed any benefits. In short, Gary Sparrow had vanished from the face of the earth. As far as I was concerned, there was only one realistic explanation. Gary Sparrow was dead.
"It was decided that Ron Wheatcroft and Baroness Sparrow would have to be questioned again. This time, somewhat more rigourously. That decision was made on Friday, November 8th and it was further decided that the questioning would be carried out on Monday morning when the two suspects would be invited, forcibly if necessary, to the station to help with enquiries.
" As I say, that was on Friday. Sunday brought something of a bombshell. The Sunday People printed a story claiming that Gary Sparrow had disappeared through a time-portal that he found beside the back door of his shop."
I paused for dramatic effect. Taff sighed quietly while Ms May smirked and asked me to continue.
"The newspaper story was written by a journalist called Kate Byrne. She had been a fairly close friend of Baroness Lumbutt - when she was plain Yvonne Sparrow - and at that time, Baroness Lumbutt and she had become convinced that Gary Sparrow was capable of travelling through time. Ron Wheatcroft told them that Sparrow could travel back to about the year 1941 or 1942 and return to the present day via some kind of gap in the fabric of time which he had found, by accident, in an alleyway near Ezra St. By this time, the alleyway was the back yard of his memorabilia shop. Lumbutt and Byrne tried to catch Sparrow passing through time by hiding in the shop but it turned out, at the time, to be a practical joke."
"Byrne, however, was convinced that the claim was true and that Sparrow had played some kind of double bluff on her by not travelling through time on that particular occasion." Added Taff.
"The evidence that the newspaper published'" I said, "has been extensively examined by my colleague DI Evans."
"Thank you, Jock," said Taff consulting his own notes, "The evidence included the following : a sworn statement by Byrne, Lumbutt and Wheatcroft that Sparrow was able to travel through time, Lumbutt now claimed that she had seen him pass through the portal with her own eyes. He apparently walked through a locked gate and vanished ; carbon dating had been carried out on items in Sparrow's shop. This test showed that the items - which should have been 60 years old were in fact virtually brand new. Genuine but brand new suggesting that they had been brought to the present day via a time portal.
"A marriage certificate for a Gary Sparrow and a Phoebe Bamford dated 1941, a birth certificate for a Michael Sparrow with the same Gary and Phoebe Sparrow named as parents.
" A Pathe Newsreel which apparently shows Gary Sparrow filmed in a hospital in 1941
"A man called Michael Sparrow born in 1941, who claims that his father was Gary Sparrow and, apparently proves this with 100's of photographs in family albums showing Gary Sparrow and his wife - Michael's mother - Phoebe Sparrow. The newspaper carried out DNA testing on Michael Sparrow and George Sparrow that indicated they were related in some way. The Gary and Phoebe Sparrow that Michael Sparrow knew as 'mum' and 'dad' both passed away in the 1990's. Phoebe died first and after her death Gary Sparrow confessed everything to his son about his life of time travelling. His son always believed every word of it. We've made some discreet enquiries regarding this matter and Phoebe Sparrow was cremated. Her ashes were scattered in Buckinghamshire. Gary Sparrow was buried in an East London cemetery.. If necessary, his body can be exhumed and DNA tested." Taff paused for dramatic effect and I could see the Home Secretary hanging on his next words..."His grave has a date of death on it but no date of birth." Said Taff.
"I dread to think what the Sunday People would make of an exhumation." Mused Ms May.
" To be quite honest, Home Secretary," I said, "Its a pretty good collection of circumstantial evidence. Enough even to convince a jury... except that the end result of the evidence is believing something that is simply impossible."
"Then there is the matter of Ron Wheatcroft's address." Interrupted Taff "He lives in a flat in Mayfair. It's a luxury apartment. Way beyond the price range of a working class bloke like Wheatcroft. He claims that Gary Sparrow bought it in 1940 and has always allowed him to live in it. The title deeds confirm this - the flat was bought by a Gary Sparrow in 1940. Paid for in cash. It hasn't been bought or sold since."
"Bloody hell." was the Home Secretary's understandable response.
"That's an awkward little twist isn't it ?" Suggested Taff rather neatly putting his finger on it. "The newspapers haven't published that bit.. yet."
"Now, Home Secretary," Taff continued, " there are only a few possible explanations for this matter..."
It was my turn to interrupt - "And we use the word 'possible' very deliberately. What this journalist Kate Byrne, Wheatcroft and Lumbutt are claiming is beyond the realms of possibility. It must be total fantasy."
"Of course." Said the Home Secretary.
"Possibility one," Taff insisted " is that Sparrow is alive and well. Living with a woman called Phoebe with a son called Michael. A son who must be in his mid teens. This, however, is unlikely because of the evidence regarding his bank account, social security number etc.
"Possibility two and three start from the same premise - that. Gary Sparrow is dead due to foul play. There is a fourth option that he went somewhere and died or committed suicide and his body has remained undiscovered but that's pretty unlikely. So, if we accept foul play, then either Wheatcroft and Lumbutt know what has really happened or they don't. Either way, it makes little difference - there simply is no logical explanation why they would come up with a story so utterly ridiculous unless it really is the truth. I'm speculating now, obviously, Home Secretary but remember what Baroness Lumbutt said to me - 'there isn't a woman alive in this world today that Gary would leave me for...' you see the meaning in that phrase now don't you ? 'Alive in this world today.' When she said that to me she already had this time travel idea in her head. i think that her husband's habit of wearing 1940's clothing is highly relevant in this too. Now there is only one logical reason why they would tell us what they've told us..."
"Oh, here we go." I responded dismissively.
"Never mind all that 'here we go' stuff." He snapped back,"There is a logical reason, if it's true. If what they are telling us really happened."
"But it can't have happened that way." I insisted "You can't travel through time."
"Theoretically it is possible."
"Why don't we 'phone Professor Dawkins and get his opinion eh ?"
"Well, Jock," countered Taff, "If you mean Professor Dawkins, there's not much point because his field of expertise is biology and religious rabble rousing. Maybe you mean Professor Hawking. The point is, that as you say,there is no logical reason why Wheatcroft and Lumbutt would make up all this guff unless... It isn't guff."
"All right you two." Snapped Gaskett, "I appreciate we all have different opinions on this matter. For goodness sake, this story has split the country down the middle. I've never known a case like it."
"Neither have I," said the Home Secretary "And I have to make a decision about it soon."
"I don't envy you your task." I said.
"Now this absence of a body is awkward." mused the Home Secretary, "Makes it very awkward to not only prove that a crime has been committed but very difficult even for us to even know if a crime has been committed. I'm sure I don't have to tell two serving officers about Habeus Corpus. 'Have a body' in other words. If we don't have a body, we can't bring a prosecution for murder."
I sighed inwardly, that was not what Habeus Corpus actually meant - the 'body' referred to is a body of evidence against a suspect, not a physical human body. That, however, is not the kind of thing that one says to the Home Secretary.
"I believe there have been precedents, ma'am. Precedents referring to murder prosecutions without a body." Suggested Gaskett diplomatically.
Ms May ignored his contribution ... "As you say, Inspector Evans, there is no reason on earth why Wheatcroft and Lumbutt should concoct such an absurd version of events unless, as you say, that it was actually true. However, as Inspector Duncan says, it simply can't be true."
'Typical politician' I thought. She'd essentially just said that Taff and I were both right even though we held completely opposite opinions.
"If they had kept 'schtum' and said nothing," continued the Home Secretary "the whole thing could have blown over. If they were innocent and hadn't done anything, they would have stayed quiet. If they had harmed Sparrow, they would have done the same. Coming up,with this time travel thing has blown the case wide open, attracted the media all over again, made it in to a big sensation. More than that, their version of events is so completely outrageous that it makes them look like the biggest pair of liars on the planet. Going public with this is the worst thing they could have done for their own case."
"Unless its true." Said Taff.
"I'm not entirely dismissing that possibility Inspector Evans, but it is at the very bottom of my list of options." Said the Home Secretary. "I might as well tell you that I've discussed this matter with the Chief Justice this morning- there is a legal basis for disinterring the body of this so-called Gary Sparrow who died in the 1990's. I intend to announce that in the house this week. If nothing else it will make it look as if we are doing something. It'll shut up some critics too and, obviously, the DNA testing will disprove everything that this Michael Sparrow character has said."
"Unless he's telling the truth too." Said Taff.
"The man is a lunatic." I said "Completely unreliable and unbelievable. The kind of person that thinks his grandfather was Jack The Ripper or something."
"I found him lucid and intelligent. He seemed to really want to help by showing us his evidence." Argued Taff. "Also, we've seen the death certificate for this Gary Sparrow and in 1995 when he died, he was a man aged about 85. Aged 85 at a time that the Gary Sparrow we're looking for would still be about 30. Unless he went back in time to the 1940's in which case he would be about 85." he paused "Oh and by the way, we found his death certificate. But we've never found his birth certificate. Not for any Gary Sparrow born between 1900 and 1920 anyway. We're dealing with matters here, beyond our understanding."
"They are matters that I understand all too well." I insisted, "Someone has been murdered and in 99% of murder cases, the perpetrator is a spouse or a close friend. In the case of Gary Sparrow - well, what a surprise, the two main suspects are his wife and his best friend."
Two days later, Theresa May made a statement in the House of Commons announcing that a new step was to be taken in the mysterious case of Gary Sparrow's disappearance. A body claimed to be Gary Sparrows was to be exhumed from a cemetery in the East End of London and would be genetically tested. Ms May said that she hoped this would be a major step in clarifying wild and unsubstantiated claims made in the press and would also be the first step to finally solving the Gary Sparrow mystery.
Solving the mystery ! She couldn't really have been more wrong !