WARNING: This interview contains spoilers for people who have not read Best Served Cold, A Winter Murderland or Old Sins Cast Long Shadows.
Today I’m privileged to be interviewing Ashbeck District Coroner Dr Barry Fox. Dr Fox started out as a fairly minor character in the DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series, but in the last few books he has developed as a character. He has a past and he has ambition. This interview takes place in January 1993.
JULIET: Welcome Dr Fox & thank you taking time out to talk to me as I’m sure you are very busy.
DR FOX: (Smiles) It’s a pleasure, Juliet.
JULIET: So going back almost to the beginning, what made you decide to become a doctor?
DR FOX: My best subjects in school were science based. I had no aptitude for the arts and medicine is a noble respected profession. Back then I had no concept of how important it is for people left behind to have answers as to why their loved ones died. Forensic medicine back then was not what it is today.
JULIET: I understand you studied medicine at the same time as Ashbeck’s Home Office pathologist, Dr Robert Bradley?
DR FOX: Yes. Bradley came into studying medicine later due to illness and family issues. I’m four years younger than he is so we would not have been in the same year otherwise. But he showed an aptitude for pathology early on whereas it was the one aspect of medical study I had real trouble with. Thanks to him I managed to pass the pathology exams.
JULIET: It must have been difficult being separated from Sylvia while you studied?
DR FOX: The old cliché absence makes the heart grow fonder was definitely true in our case. She waited patiently for me and we married six months after I qualified. She is the only woman I have ever loved.
JULIET: How did you get on your twin, Matthew?
DR FOX: (Sighs) Matthew and I were close and as boys were always in cahoots although he was more mischievous than me. We talked about everything. When I realised he was homosexual, or gay as we say these days, I feared for him because back then it was a criminal offence with harsh legal punishment. I still can’t believe that his wife, Yvonne, had no suspicions about his true nature until the day they died. I miss him a lot.
JULIET: Did you and Matthew ever experience that kind of sensory telepathy twins often have?
DR FOX: (Smiles) Well I definitely felt it when he got that tattoo put on his neck, but it was the only way casual acquaintances could tell us apart. The night he died I woke up suddenly feeling like I was choking. My vision was blurry and my chest hurt. Sylvia thought I was ill, but I knew I was feeling what Matthew was experiencing and I knew he was in trouble. A few hours later my muscles began to feel tense and I sensed he was going into rigor mortis.
JULIET: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
DR FOX: Going to identify Matthew’s body at the mortuary. It was then I understood how important answers are for the bereaved to help them make sense of what seems senseless. I never got all the answers about Matthew’s death and I never will know the whole story now. This year will be the twentieth anniversary of that terrible night.
JULIET: Do you think you will ever tell Thomas the truth about the fact he’s actually your son?
DR FOX: If Thomas had been at home he might have died along with Matthew, Rosemary and Yvonne that night. I am tired of living a lie. Yvonne put my name on his birth certificate. I almost lost Thomas last year when he was injured in the explosion at the pub. I have spoken to Sylvia about this and she feels that the right time is coming to do just that. It just breaks my heart that we could not have had him together, but nature conspired against Sylvia. Yvonne caused us enough heart-break but finally I got to bring up my own son.
JULIET: You must be so proud of Thomas?
DR FOX: (Grins broadly) Yes, I am. He’s the best thing I ever did. He’s doing fantastically in his career and he has found the true love with another man that sadly eluded my twin. But those times were different to now. Prejudice against gay men exists and always will, but Thomas is proud of what he is.
JULIET: How did you get appointed as Coroner?
DR FOX: About a year after Matthew’s death I took up a medical post at Ashbeck General. It was a different kind of medicine to general practise and I was exhilarated by the challenges. Shortly after Thomas’ tenth birthday Dr Liam Kierney, the then coroner, retired from his post and my name was put forward. I sailed through the interviews and appointment board, took a course in law and was appointed in May 1978. I finally felt able to provide answers to grieving people and it gave me a great sense of satisfaction, which I still get from the job today. If Matthew had not died then I suspect I’d probably either still be a GP or at Ashbeck General.
JULIET: What emotionally are the most difficult cases you have to investigate as Coroner?
DR FOX: I can’t pin down any specific case, but deaths in house fires always get to me more than any other kind of death, even homicidal. Suicides are tough as well. The inquest into the death of DS Sunil Desai was very difficult too because I respected him as a police officer.
JULIET: Are you afraid of death?
DR FOX: No, death doesn’t frighten me because it’s the one inevitable thing about this life. Death has to be respected because it can take any one of us at any time. When I was at school I read poetry like “Death be not proud” by John Donne and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas.
JULIET: What do you like to do when you’re not working?
DR FOX: I like to spend time with my family. I also like to read and watch television.
JULIET: Well thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Dr Fox
DR FOX: You’re more than welcome, Juliet.
Related Links
Interview with Dr Bradley
Best Served Cold
A Winter Murderland
Old Sins Cast Long Shadows