Elaine Boyes

That was a bit of a shock, really. He said, I like you. He said, I like your attitude. I like your friendliness. He said, I really could do with somebody like you working for me.

First of all, he said, we could set up an antique business selling antiques. And I said, well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know anything about antiques. So he said, well, what about a secretarial agency? Do you fancy running a secretarial agency? I said, no way. That's the last thing I'd want to do.

I said that if I was really honest and I wanted to set up a business, I would set up doing photography because that's something I had considered.

So he said, that is absolutely brilliant. We could do that. He said, and what I could do is send you to Geneva and you could photograph the fountains of Geneva. He said, because they've got the most amazing fountains. He said, we could do one of these coffee table books with all the fountains of Geneva. He said, that would be absolutely brilliant.

And I actually said, you don't know me from Adam. I said, you don't know anything about me.

The other thing is we're saving up to go to live in Canada with my boyfriend because he's crazy about Canada and he wants to move to Canada. So if I took a job for you, I wouldn't be working for you for very long.

It would be great, he said, because you could save up. I could pay you more than you're earning a year and you can then save up to go to Canada. You get there quicker. It was just like he wanted me, he wanted to do a business that I would be happy doing. You know, if I'd have said, let's do a sweet shop, I bet you would have done that.

Like he wouldn't leave unless I'd agreed to work for him. It felt like that. So I said, look, I'll tell you what, I'll give you my business card and let me have a think about it. You go back to London, you give yourself some time to think about it. And the next time you're up in Harrogate looking for properties, give me a call and we'll go from there.

And he said, you know, this is a really, truly serendipitous meeting, he said. And he was so full of joy.

When I look back, for him, that was a so intrepid meeting. He saw gold when he walked in the office.

I didn't know what to think, to be honest. And I really thought it was just a bit of a fantasy or a joke. I thought, this isn't really happening. This isn't really true.

I said, you would not believe it. This man's walked in and has offered me a job doing virtually anything I want.

That's what it came across as. And Ron said, oh, you want to be careful. You don't know anything about him. You want to be really careful.

He's gone back to London and that'll probably be it.

And then to be honest, I went back to work and I completely forgot about it. But then... A phone call out of the blue and it was David Davis. Oh, hi, he says, it's David Davis from London. He said, I'm coming up to Harrogate on a week on Thursday. How about we meet up and go for a coffee? So I said, yeah, that'll be fine.

He asked me about the job. Had I considered the job? Did I fancy working for him? What did Ron think about it? So we had conversations around that, and he could tell that I was a bit hesitant, wasn't sure.

He said, well, I think really it would be a good idea if I met Ron and then he could see and meet me and then he might feel more comfortable.

It was amazing, actually. They just clicked, really. They hit it off together. And it was the North American accent. And of course, Ron, actually, I could see he was coming out speaking with a soft North American accent. And it was in his element. They were sat there chatting like buddies.

He just turned to me and said, how do you fancy working for me then? So I looked at Ron and said, what do you think, Ron? And Ron just shrugged his shoulders and didn't really say anything.

So I said, well, why not? What have I got to lose? Why not? Okay. So he said, great. It's great to have you on board.

Just before he went to get the train back to London, he said, how do you guys fancy in a few weeks time coming down to London and we'll put you up in a hotel for the weekend. And he said, you can meet my daughter, Noelle, and we'll go out for dinner. And we said, oh, wow, that'd be great. We went to a restaurant called the Thai Elephant in London, and it was amazing.

The decor was like you were in Thailand.

She was a very polite young lady, very attractive young lady. Didn't say a lot, really. Didn't say a lot. She was sort of a bit in awe of her dad. Her dad did all the talking, to be honest.

He took over. He got the menu and he chose. He said, what we'll do is we'll have the set menu for four.

Oh, gosh. Oh, it is really. It's a difficult one, this one, because I've got to talk about what he did really, how he approached it. Let me put myself back there.

photographs of the fountains of Geneva and photograph the properties. That was the initial job. And then what happened was, at the first time going, he said he would meet me at King's Cross.

So when we get to the airport hotel, he signs in, he pays for the room. And then this is the difficult bit to talk about, to be honest. He then says, I thought it would be a good idea if we had dinner at the hotel. So we have a nice dinner at the hotel, at the airport hotel. And then he goes to reception. He pays for the bill.

And I'm thinking that any moment now he's going to say goodbye and he's going to go away. And he is struggling to part. And then he says, he says, is it OK to have a look at your room? And I sort of thought, what? To myself? And he says, yeah, I'm curious to have a look at your room. And I'm thinking, well, I can't say no, can I?

I don't know how to say this, but there was a sense of fear.

I did consider contacting the local police in Harrogate and asking if there was any way they could do a background check on him. And then I thought to myself, they won't be able to do that. People don't do that. And also I did think to myself that if I asked the police to do a background check on him, to suss out who he was, who was David Davis, that he might find that out.

And if he found out that I was suspicious of him in any shape or form, I just had a feeling that that wasn't a good thing. That wouldn't have been a good thing, would it? It certainly wouldn't have been a good thing, that.

He can't really be looking at rooms. He said he travels here and travels there. So why on earth would he want to look at a room?

And he sits on the edge of the bed nearest the window and I'm near the door.

And then he sits on the bed and says, well, I really hope you have a good time in Geneva. And I hope you look at this as a bit of a holiday for you as well.

And he said, but while you're there, could you do me a favor? Yeah. And I said, what do you mean? He says, well, and he reaches into his jacket pocket and he pulls out an envelope with some Swiss francs in it.

Well, he pulls it out and he says, I've got Swiss francs. He said, would you change this money for me into sterling?

And I looked puzzled and a bit shocked, and I said, oh, I don't know, David, I don't think this is legal. He smiled his warm smile. He says, in Geneva, there's bureau de changes everywhere. People are doing this all the time in Geneva, changing money. That's what goes on. That's what Geneva is about.

He said, this is my money, and all I'm asking you to do is change my money from Swiss francs into sterling. So I reluctantly said, okay. I had to get rid of him, basically, out of the room. But I was very, very perturbed about it.

Oh, gosh, this is the difficult bit to talk about, to be honest. I'd better be careful what I say on here. Better be careful.

As soon as he'd gone, I phoned Ron. I said, phone me straight back, won't you? Because it was going to cost, obviously, a hotel telephone bill. So I said, phone me straight back, and I explained what had happened.

And he put me at ease. He said, look, he knows what he's doing. He's a businessman. He's obviously done this before, you know. And just, I said, oh, okay then. So that's how it all, that's how that started, really.

But of course, I never realized that he had a secret agenda. Well, he did have an agenda, didn't he? Yeah.

It was all very strange, to be perfectly honest.

One time he put extra money in the envelope for me to change. So I thought, what's going on here? So he was testing me. He was testing my honesty.

For example, he once told me that he'd been in New York. I don't know what it was, but he said he'd witnessed somebody being crushed to death. And I thought, what a bizarre thing to tell me. And it was just something he was discussing over lunch. And I thought, is this something he's read in a book or is this something he's actually telling me?

And to me, I think it was instilling a sense of unconscious fear. That's what it felt like. Because it's like, normally you would say, well, what do you mean, David? What do you mean you saw somebody crushed to death? But something said, don't go there, don't ask. So I just didn't ask.

It was then that he told us that he'd bought a business off the shelf.

And it was then that he told me that he wanted Ron and I to be directors.

I thought, well, why isn't he being a director? He said, I want you and Ron to be directors because I don't want my name on any of the paperwork because my wife is after me.

He said, I'm concerned because I think she's hired a private detective because she's after me for alimony.

If he sensed that I was maybe perturbed, he was able to deflect that and put the positive aspect on it.

He was so convincing. He was so plausible. When he explained stuff, it sort of, oh yeah, that makes sense. Even though nagging in the back of your mind might be thinking, oh, he was just so clever at being able to put you at ease.

It didn't really say. It never really got discussed and was developed.

He encouraged Ron and I to purchase an apartment in Harrogate.

And that will help you get to Canada. So we ended up buying an apartment there. Oh, my dear, it's complicated. It really is complicated. So what happened was I couldn't get a mortgage because I didn't earn enough money to pay for the mortgage on the apartment. He said, don't worry about that. He said, Cavendish will pay the other half and you can pay me with your wages.

So he was actually getting his own money back.

I can't believe I'm saying all this, to be honest.

He said, I've got something to show you. And we drive to an area in Harrogate, pull up outside on this street, and there's this business that's empty. And he says, what do you think? And I said, what do you mean, what do you think? He says, well, wouldn't it be suitable for Ron to set up a TV repair business there?

Oh, I don't know. I don't think he'd want to do that. He wants to go to Canada. He said, yeah, but if you set up a business, you'd make some money to go to Canada. And I said, yeah, but it takes time to build up a business. Then he explained it to Ron, and Ron wasn't keen at all, but he managed to persuade him to do it.

I think it all happened within a year.

We'd exchange a Christmas present to each other and then he gives us a card. He gives me the card and I open the card and in it is this Christmas card that says to Ron and Elaine, I will purchase, pay for two flights to Canada if you go by the end of February.

When I read it, I'm actually quite shocked because I think, wait a minute, this is 25th of December and he's talking about us going to Canada by the end of February.

How on earth are we going to wind down the business, sell an apartment? And it's all so quick. It's weeks, isn't it?

So I was initially just shocked and Ron just beamed from ear to ear. Finally, I'm going to Canada. He was happy as Larry, but I underneath it. I was camouflaging that because I didn't want to spoil Christmas Day.

Because I'd had quite a difficult childhood. I remember my dad used to argue a lot and my dad could be quite violent. You do everything to appease and you avoid conflict and that's what I was like. This compliant female that's very friendly and outgoing on the surface but underneath it she's not going to ask too many questions.

Ron said to me on the phone, he said, I'm coming back to England. And he said, Mr. Davis has offered to meet me at the airport. And I had a horrible doubt feeling.

Sometimes you've got to trust your gut instinct, and my gut instinct said he was involved. In what shape or form, I didn't know, obviously, I wouldn't know, but he was involved and he was covering it up. And I have to say, I don't like people getting away with things.

Well, meeting Rowan was interesting because it was a blind date. I was introduced by two friends. They kept pastoring me, actually, for about a week. They kept saying, we've got this chap, we'd like you to meet this chap.

It was January 1980 or 81. It was absolutely freezing, and we met up in a pub.

Oh, gosh. I would say he looked like a good-looking Cliff Richard now. Cliff Richard is good looking, but he reminded me of Cliff Richard.

His eyes. Again, it's his eyes. Yeah, yeah. He's got brooding eyes. He's got depth eyes.

I managed to get him to talk about photography and things that he's interested in, and we hit it off quite well, yeah.

When we left the pub, he said to me, he said, how do you fancy meeting and going to York tomorrow for the day? And I thought, oh, that'd be nice. So we did.

I felt safe in his company. Ron was very placid, very quiet. He seemed very caring. And I felt safe with him. I felt safe around him.

He had this rack system installed. One of his main passions was hi-fi equipment. It was a Pioneer rack system with these huge speakers. I've never seen anything so big. And he was so proud to put it on and show me his hi-fi equipment. It looked like jewellery and he touched the, what do you call them, the knobs like they were jewellery. And the first track he put on was Paul Simon, I Am A Rock.

It was heaven. It came out of the speakers, the sound, and it was like, wow.

As time went on, he got depressed, and I came to realize that he probably would never be happy until he went back to Canada, because he would be constantly talking about it.

In walked this gentleman and he inquired about, well, it was a painting that was in a display cabinet outside on the pavement there.

And we had a chat about auctions and about fine art, and that was really how I met him.

He seemed like a gentleman, well-spoken, polite. He had a presence about him, and he seemed very warm. He came across as American. He said he was living in London. He didn't like London. He didn't like the smog. He didn't like the dirt.

An hour of conversation passed in a blink, when finally... He said, I'm thinking of setting up a business locally, and I think you'd be a great person to work for me.

And there was a point in his evidence when they stopped for a break. And in that break, he's sat there in his suit looking like a perfect gentleman, businessman. And he scans and he's looking around the court, cool as a cucumber, and he catches my eye. And I actually think, I'm going to beat you. I'm going to beat you, mate. And I tried to stare him out.

And I stared and I stared and he stared as well. And I couldn't do it any longer. I just had to turn away. So he beat me. He beat me.

It had to be unanimous, a unanimous verdict. And I thought, oh gosh, this is going to be hard. What if one person, what if that little old dear in that corner decides that he might be innocent?

Everybody went to the local cafe in the courtyard there and were all waiting and speculating.

And we all rushed back up to the court. And I remember thinking to myself, there's only one person in the public gallery that this really, really affects. And I thought, that's me. I said, I now really hope and pray that it's unanimous.

I remember looking at him and thought, he just looked like a lost little boy. He looked like a naughty little boy that was in the corner being told off. He didn't look as arrogant as he had done through the trial. So that was a good moment. Yeah. Yeah, it was. What a relief. Can you imagine what it would have felt like if he'd have got away with it?

But I feel really happy that the jury's come to the correct decision. I mean, they really have.

How do I want him to be remembered? As the kind and compassionate person that he was. He was very kind and very compassionate. And he was the perfect gentleman, unlike Albert Walker, of course. He was the perfect gentleman and he was always a gentleman. A very gentle soul. Didn't deserve to have his life taken like this. Yeah.

I don't know why, but quite often the people that get murdered are the good, the kind, the generous. And yet I just don't understand it. I can't get my head around it. I can't get my head why people kill other people when they're gentle souls. I just can't get my head around it. I don't suppose they ever will, really.

I'd actually gone for counseling beforehand and I was explained what to wear and how to ground myself.

I actually went in there feeling quite powerful, if that's the right word. That's not the right word, really, powerful, but yeah, it'll do.

If they didn't have enough evidence, they would have released him on the Monday. And I actually got across to them very clearly because I was really worried about it. I said, if you let him go, you'll lose him. He'll escape. I said, he's got loads of money. I said, he'll just disappear.

Good afternoon.

We can only hold him for so many hours and we need as much information as we can. So I agreed. I said, OK.

A 30-page statement. It was the longest statement that this particular detective had ever done. 30 pages.

In the conversation about when they arrested Noel and David Davis, the detective started talking about David Davis and they were talking about his children.

And I said, oh, yeah, I said, there's Jill, who lives in New York. There's Noelle, who's with dad. And there's a younger one called Heather.

And she said, no, I'm talking about her children, Noelle's children.

And I'm not kidding you. You know when you say that expression, my chin just dropped to the floor. I just was like, huh? What? How could she have children?

She didn't have a boyfriend in Harrogate when I knew her. So why? How? It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense.

I said, no, no, no, she's definitely his daughter. I said, she looked up to him like a daughter looks up to a father. And she said, well, I think we believe that they're husband and wife.

She was using my identity. So that was another shock. I thought, what? I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it now. Yeah. Unbelievable.

And I actually challenged him. I actually said, you know what, he's gone to France. He said, yeah, yeah, he's gone over to the La Rochelle area in France to set up a TV repair business. And I mean, I was shocked. But as I was talking to him, I had a little voice that said, get off the phone. Get off the phone, Elaine.

So I changed the subject and I got myself off the phone because I didn't feel very comfortable with the conversation that we'd had

I could tell by the face of her eyes that there was something worrying her and that she was going to tell me something.

I was stunned and I froze. And I actually thought, I actually thought maybe he'd committed suicide.

If I opened the door and there was no sound, I used to think, I used to wonder, am I going to find him, you know, done something to himself?

And the reason I thought that was because David had told me that Ron had gone to France at the beginning of June and then found his body off the coast of Devon. So it made sense to me that maybe he'd thrown himself, gone on the ferry to France and thrown himself overboard. That was my first thought.

In the conversation, he mentioned that they'd spoken to Mr. Davis. So I said, oh, I said, how long ago did he speak to Mr. Davis? And he said, oh, weeks ago. So I went quiet and I said, how many weeks ago? And he said, oh, five or six weeks ago. And, of course, I just froze. I couldn't speak because I knew I'd spoken to him about two or three weeks earlier.

So he said, what's wrong, Elaine? He said, I'm getting really bad vibes from you. And that's when I turned around and said, well, I spoke to this man, David Davis, two to three weeks ago. And in that conversation, he explained that Ron had gone to France. He told me this story about Ron going to France.

You're saying you spoke to him five or six weeks ago and he should have told me that Ron had died and if he didn't want to tell me Ron had died, he should have informed you so that you could tell me. So that was a shock. That was a real shock and I was really panicking. And he says, well, we want to come and actually talk to you.

And they showed me the Rolex watch. They showed me the tattoo.

They didn't say anything about how he died at all. It was strange because when I got home, I said to my mum, you know, the police, they're not giving anything away. They haven't told me anything. So I was still in the dark, to be perfectly honest. I was still in the dark.

Going in February, it was something like minus 30, 35. And it was absolutely freezing.

I'm at work. I'm concerned about Ron's death. And all of a sudden I get a telephone call. And it's David Davies. And I'm thinking, oh my God, it's David Davies. And I didn't know what to say anyway. He said, oh, hi, Elaine, it's me. It's David. How are you? And he was really, really upbeat. And I didn't know what to say anyway.

I just thought, well, I better be honest and just say to him, well, David, I'm not very good, actually. Have you heard about Ron? He replied that yes, he had heard. And his complete demeanour changed, his voice changed. And he said, oh yes, he said, I was going to send his mum some flowers. And it was very scary because what he said was, he said, I'm in Leeds.

He said, I want to come and talk to you and take you for lunch. And I tried to escape from that. I tried to say, well, actually, I don't have a lunch break. And he said, no, I really want to come and see you. They've got to let you have a break. Everybody's entitled to a lunch break. So I said, well, OK. I said, I actually work in the office at an upmarket coffee shop in Harrogate.

If I give you the directions, we can have a coffee. How about that? So he said, yeah, that's fine. So I said, I'll be there within 40 minutes. Put the phone down and I literally froze.

I was scared because I felt he was guilty. Whether it was an argument, whether it was a fight, whatever it was, he was involved with Ron's death. I just knew it. I just knew in ear. You just know. Sometimes you've got to trust your gut instinct. And my gut instinct said he was involved in what shape or form. I didn't know, but he was involved and he was covering it up.

The priority is I need to phone the police. I need to phone Bill McDonald and let him know that David Davis is actually on the way to the office. So that's what I did.

Limit your time with him. Be with him as short a time as possible. Don't ask him any questions. And as soon as he's gone, give us a ring.

And she said, what's wrong? What's wrong with you? And I said, you and the police both said that he wouldn't come anywhere near me, this man. He's on his way now from Leeds train station through to Harrogate to meet me here. So, you know, she looked at me and she said, you what? You've sent a murderer to my office.

Yeah, well, the move to Canada was difficult, to be honest. Calgary was going through a recession at that time, which we weren't really aware of. I have to say, some of the areas we looked at looked a bit rough. And Ron wasn't very comfortable. He said, I don't like this area. I don't like this. So he wasn't really very happy.

In the moments before he got here, I was extremely nervous and extremely agitated.

This is where he came, yeah. And this is where we sat, probably round about here now, on these lovely cosy armchairs opposite each other. It was a very surreal experience, to be honest, because I hadn't seen David since 1993.

We talked about Ron. We talked about what Ron was like and how sad it was that he died. He explained how he felt sorry, sad for Ron, and how he'd shed tears for him on the way up on the train, which I found a bit disturbing because his eyes glazed over, but for some reason I sort of sensed that it was acting. I didn't feel it was genuine tears.

He asked me something, and he said to me, he said, I don't know what to do with Ron's possessions. And I looked at him and I said, what do you mean Ron's possessions? Well, you know, all his things. And I said, oh, I said, I don't think the police know where his things are. And he suddenly changed the subject.

Ken came out and sort of looked at his watch and pointed, you know, sort of indicated, come back into the office, Elaine. I sort of said, oh, look, I've got to go, David. I said, they've been really, really good. But then with time running out... Just as I was about to leave, he did say, the police don't know what happened, do they? And I said, no, they don't.

And I said, oh, David, it's nothing to worry about. I said, they'll just be trying to close the case, and they're just ticking boxes, basically. So I was actually trying to put him at ease. I wanted him to think that I didn't know anything, and I didn't have any suspicions. I certainly didn't want him to be suspicious of me at all.

I don't want to lose my job, David. You know, I better go, I better get back into the office. And he said, oh, no, no, I don't want you to lose your job either. And then as he stood up and I was walking towards the door, he sort of held my hand in his hand and said, you know, I really do care for you. And he looked me right in the eyes and I just sort of smiled and nodded.

We had enough money to buy a secondhand car because we thought, well, we're going to need a car. And he did his driving test and he failed it. So we were walking everywhere, which was crazy. Yeah, that was hard. And then I managed to get myself a job doing cash in hand as an au pair. That was long hours. I would go to work 7am in the morning till 6pm at night.

And at that point I felt quite sick and I thought, oh, I just want to get into the office. I just wanted to escape, really. Yeah, that was really, really hard. It was almost like you were just desperate to get away and get back into the office and phone the police and get him out, really.

It just seemed like a drudgery and a struggle.

This is the difficult bit talking about my time in Canada because Ron got quite depressed and he got quite morose and it did affect our relationship.

I just thought, I can't cope with this anymore, I can't do it.

Leaving Ron in Canada was really, really difficult because we both went to the airport together and we said our goodbyes. But he didn't know that I wasn't coming back. And that's why I feel really bad because he had no idea. Yeah, it was difficult.

I actually looked at him and I thought, I don't think I'm ever going to see you again. And that's what I thought. That's just the thought that passed through my mind. I thought, I'm not going to see you again. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know what the future had. And I just didn't want to break his heart by saying I'm not coming back.

I was not in a very good state at all. I'd lost an awful lot of weight, and I was a bit like a zombie, to be honest.

Mr. Davis knew that I was coming back and he agreed he would meet me because he was actually coming with me and taking my mum down to my sister's wedding in Norfolk.

I thought we were all going, including Noel, but Noel was otherwise engaged when we got back. He said she was up in Scotland doing a course in Scotland, so she wouldn't be coming to the wedding.

And said, I'm not going back to Canada to Mr. Davis.

He wasn't very happy and he said, no, you've got to go back, give the man a second chance.

And he really tried to persuade me and I did consider it. But then I thought, no, I've had enough. I just wanted to be on my own, I think, to be honest. Then when he realizes that's not going to happen, he says, right, we need to find you somewhere to live.

So he's driving me around these bedsits in Harrogate, and it's like, what a bizarre experience. I'm thinking, is this really what's happened to me in my life? I'm ending up in a bedsit.

We communicated by letter because there's a lot of letters going backwards and forwards where he was trying to persuade me to go back and he was really broken hearted and I felt really, I do feel bad about that.

I'd get these boxes with pans and pots and all sorts and think, why has he sent these back?

So we'd find out from my mum, how's Elaine? What's she doing? That sort of thing.

Can't cope with the winters. And I've decided I'm coming back to England for good.

Mr. Davis rang me and he'd learned that Ron was coming back from Canada. Yeah. And he was perturbed. I could tell that he was annoyed with Ron coming back. Why does he want to come back? And I said, well, he's got it out of his system. He doesn't like the winters, the harsh winters there. He's lonely.

I mean, he's convinced me that he's happy to come back to England and he's got it out of his system. But he was, yeah, he was very perturbed. And that perturbed me, the fact that he was frustrated and annoyed that Ron was coming back. That, when I put the phone down, that did worry me. I remember talking to my mum and saying, I don't understand it.

I don't understand what it's got to do with Mr. Davis, if Ron wants to come back or not. Why is he upset?

When Ron said he was coming back to England, I said, be careful because I don't trust him. Ron said to me on the phone, he said, Mr. Davies has offered to meet me at the airport. And I had a really, really bad feeling. I had a horrible, horrible doubt feeling about him being picked up in his car. And that's how it often stayed with me.

I wanted to speak to somebody else, and I thought, oh, David would be a really good guy. He's a professional businessman. He might be able to give me some advice.

Noelle answered. And Noelle said that Dad wasn't at home.

So I said, well, can you get him to ring me as soon as you can? I need to talk to him about the house case. And she said, oh, OK, I'll do that. And he didn't phone. So that was another blow for me. I thought, well, so much for, you know, ringing me back sort of thing when it was urgent. So I moved on. I sorted the problem myself.

We just had a general chat, and then I just asked him out of the blue, have you heard from Ron recently? And he said, oh, he went to France at the beginning of June. And I was again stunned because I thought, gone to France? Why on earth would he go to France?