by Dan Scottow
‘I’ve got something you might like to play with,’ Margot said in a sing-song voice, while rummaging frantically in her small handbag. She pulled out an expensive-looking lipstick, holding it out in front of her.
Daisy’s eyes flicked to her mother’s face. Beth smiled and Daisy took the lipstick, beaming.
Beth placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. ‘What do you say, Daisy?’
‘Thank you,’ she muttered.
‘Don’t open that unless Aunty Margot is supervising, okay?’
Daisy ran off into the kitchen. Charlie opened the hall cupboard, fishing out his jacket and pulling it on. The familiar smell of his aftershave drifted into Beth’s nostrils and almost made her feel safe. Almost made her forget about the terrifying prospect of someone waiting outside her house. Almost.
Beth’s head began to spin. She wobbled, steadying herself against the wall. Sweat began to form on her brow again.
‘Are you okay?’ Margot cocked an eyebrow.
‘Actually, I’m not sure I’m feeling that well.’
‘Oh nonsense. You look fabulous.’
‘Thanks. But I really don’t feel it.’
Charlie approached the front door with his car keys in one hand, and a bottle of red wine in the other.
‘It’s too late to cancel now. Derek would be so pissed off. You’re gonna have to suck it up.’
‘Really, Charlie, maybe you should go by yourself.’ Beth looked at her husband.
‘Beth.’ The tone of Charlie’s voice, the look on his face… Beth knew this wasn’t up for discussion. And for a moment she resented him.
Perhaps she should tell him about the text messages?
But then he would insist on calling the police. And Beth didn’t want that. Too much hassle.
‘Okay.’ She turned to Margot. ‘I’m sure we won’t be late. Thanks again for this. You’re a lifesaver.’
‘Be as late as you like. I’ll be fine.’
‘Daisy’s bedtime is eight thirty. She’ll kid on that she’s not tired, but you have to be firm. You won’t see much of Peter. His girlfriend is coming over so they’ll be upstairs all night. Make sure the door is open.’
Margot nodded, then ushered Charlie and Beth out.
* * *
As an engine started outside, Margot glided into the kitchen. Daisy was sitting by the back door, trying to apply lipstick to a small toffee-coloured spaniel, who wore a pale-blue-and-white polka-dot bandana.
‘Right, my darling. That lipstick is far too expensive for a dog to wear,’ she said, as Daisy looked up, grinning.
‘Cooper is a boy, but I don’t care.’
Margot raised her eyebrows. ‘I can tell we’re going to have fun tonight.’
A knock drew her away from the kitchen. She opened the front door to reveal a young, pretty redhead standing in the driveway. She looked confused as she eyed Margot up and down.
‘Oh… hi,’ she said. ‘I’m here to see Peter.’ The inflection in her voice made it sound more like a question than a statement.
‘You must be Zoe. Come in, dear, come in.’ Margot stood aside, and the girl stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She wore a yellow top with spaghetti straps that should have clashed with her hair but somehow worked. She stood with her phone in one hand.
‘I’m Margot, I’m sitting with the kids tonight while Beth and Charlie are out.’
Zoe’s face instantly relaxed, and she smiled, making her appear even more attractive. Peter has done well for himself, Margot thought. She could see why Beth liked this one.
‘Go on up, you know where you’re going, I’m sure.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Zoe shouted as she skipped up the stairs.
Margot stood on the bottom step and craned her neck to hear. ‘Door open, please!’
Hearing the latch click gently shut, she sighed. Teenagers will be teenagers. She walked back into the kitchen, deciding to let it go. Let them have some fun.
‘Right, Daisy, my darling. What would you like to do first?’ she asked in the poshest voice that Daisy had ever heard.
14
Beth placed a pile of plates next to the sink in Derek and Anna’s immaculate kitchen, turning on the tap to rinse them. She heard Anna’s stilettos clacking across the solid wood floor as she approached.
‘You don’t need to do that, Beth,’ she said softly, standing beside her.
‘It’s fine. I don’t mind. It’s the least I can do after such a lovely meal.’
They stood without speaking, the sound of the running tap breaking the silence. Taking a plate from Beth, she crouched down to place it in the dishwasher.
‘Charlie told me about your latest round of IVF,’ Beth said. Anna smiled, but it failed to reach her eyes.
‘Ah well. When it’s meant to happen it will.’
The tone of Anna’s voice suggested to Beth that she was not feeling hopeful.
‘Anyway, are you okay?’ She placed her hand on Beth’s forearm.
‘Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?’
‘Charlie told Derek about the note you got.’
‘Oh.’
Anna’s face reddened slightly as her eyes darted away from Beth’s. ‘I’m sorry. Was I not supposed to say?’
‘No, it’s fine.’ Beth picked up a tea towel, drying her hands, before folding it and placing it back on the worktop. She closed off the tap, turned around and leaned against the kitchen unit. ‘I don’t know what to say about it. It’s… strange.’
‘And you’ve no idea who it might be from?’
‘No.’
Anna frowned.
Beth paused for a moment. ‘Out of interest, what exactly did Charlie tell Derek?’
‘That a letter came through the door on Friday night, and all it said was found you.’
‘Right.’ Charlie had chosen not to tell Derek about the second note. The one he received at work. Or about what had happened with Daisy. Beth was glad of that at least.
‘You need to be careful, Beth. A friend of mine had a stalker. It all got out of hand. He started turning up outside her work, bumping into her in the supermarket, that sort of thing. She went to the police, but they weren’t helpful.’
‘I don’t think we have a stalker, Anna. It’s probably one of Peter’s friends having a laugh. Besides, we don’t even know who the note was intended for. It wasn’t addressed to anyone.’
‘Right. I’m just saying. You never know.’
‘Thanks for your concern. I’m touched. Really. But don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing sinister.’ Beth checked her watch, and was surprised to see it was almost ten. The plentiful supply of wine had fooled Beth into relaxing a little. Derek was an excellent host. But the conversation had reminded her that her children were at home.
And somebody was outside her house. Watching them.
She shivered, noticing Anna’s eyes flick towards her.
‘Are you cold? I can put the heating on if you like.’
‘No, I’m daydreaming.’
Beth closed the dishwasher.
‘I promised the babysitter we wouldn’t be late, so I think we need to be getting home.’
Anna placed her hand on Beth’s arm. ‘Have I upset you?’
‘No, not at all, I just… I need to go.’
Beth crossed the kitchen, heading down the vast hallway towards the front of the house where the men were sitting in the lounge.
‘I don’t know. She’s being quite weird about it all…’ she heard Charlie’s voice explain as she neared the door. Derek and Charlie stopped talking at her arrival. As they looked up, Beth couldn’t help thinking they were like naughty schoolboys, caught smoking behind the bike shed.
‘Oh hi, love. You okay?’ Charlie’s face flushed. He wasn’t good at hiding things.
‘We need to go. I promised Margot we wouldn’t be late.’
Charlie checked his watch, frowning, but thought better than to say anything.
‘It’s not even
ten yet,’ Derek whined. ‘I’ll open another bottle.’
Charlie glanced towards Beth for approval.
‘No thanks. It’s been a lovely night.’
Beth turned round. Anna was standing in the doorway looking sheepish, holding a tea towel. She’d kicked off her high heels and seemed much smaller now. Beth saw a look between Anna and Derek.
Charlie stood up from the red leather chesterfield he was slumped in, smoothing out his trousers.
‘Right. Thanks for having us. It’s been great. Sorry for shooting off so quickly.’ Charlie approached Anna, giving her an awkward hug. ‘Food really was delicious, Anna, thanks.’
The couple showed them to the door.
* * *
As the door closed with a click behind them, Charlie hissed at Beth.
‘What the hell was that? You were so rude.’
Beth turned to Charlie, swaying a little.
‘Me? Why did you tell them about the note? I was mortified when Anna asked me about it. And I notice you conveniently omitted the bit about your office. They think it’s all got something to do with me!’ Beth’s speech was slurred, angry.
‘Don’t be so ridiculous. Of course they don’t think that.’
‘Anna does. She started going on about stalkers, and a friend of hers, and telling me I need to be careful. I need to be careful? It was you that had someone creeping around your gym delivering you a note!’
‘Yeah, about you!’
Beth turned away from Charlie and marched towards the car. ‘You’re an arsehole.’
‘And you’re drunk. Can you keep your voice down, please? They’ll hear you. You’ve embarrassed me enough tonight already.’
‘I don’t understand why you had to tell Derek. Of all people.’
‘He’s my friend, that’s why. We were chatting at lunch and I mentioned it. That’s all. No big drama. A casual conversation. As you do.’
‘And what were you talking about when I came in from the kitchen?’
‘Oh… you know… bloke stuff.’
‘You were talking about me. I heard you!’
‘You’re paranoid, Beth. We were talking about everything. And you’re my wife, so yes, obviously you came up. It would be odd if you didn’t.’
Beth stumbled as she walked towards the car. But as she got closer, she stopped, eyes fixed on the vehicle. Charlie caught up with her and saw what she was staring at. The paintwork had a deep scratch across it, running its entire length.
An envelope was tucked under the wiper.
Beth didn’t move. Charlie barged past her and lifted the envelope from the windscreen, tearing it open. He pulled out its contents. Charlie stared down at his hands, eyes wide.
‘What the hell…’
‘What is it?’ Beth’s voice trembled.
Trying to make sense of what he was looking at, Charlie’s eyes darted about the page.
A smiling face. Somehow familiar.
It was too dark to read any of the smaller print, but thick black letters at the top stood out. This was all he needed to see.
And then it hit him. He knew that face. Those eyes.
Joining him at his side, Beth looked at the paper.
‘Is this you?’ Charlie asked slowly.
She didn’t reply.
‘Beth. Is this you?’
Beth looked down at the newspaper again. A pretty blonde girl, not much older than Daisy, beamed out from the page. Above the image in large capital letters, the stark headline.
SHE GOT AWAY WITH IT.
15
July, 1985, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England.
Kitty sat on a grown-up chair. Her feet didn’t reach the ground. She swung her legs back and forth as she glanced around the stark room, catching her reflection in a large mirror spanning almost one whole wall. Her mother, who sat next to her, across from the policeman, wouldn’t look at her.
She was upset. Kitty could tell. That was okay. She could cope with her mother being angry. But her father…
Another lady, who’d been introduced as Mrs Whitehouse, sat next to her on the other side. Kitty wasn’t sure who she was. She’d already asked Kitty all sorts of questions about what happened to Billy. She’d told Kitty what to say, and more importantly, what not to say.
‘Kitty, I need you to tell me the truth, okay? Do you understand how important this is?’
Kitty looked at her mother, but her mother stared straight ahead. Mrs Whitehouse nodded, and Kitty did the same.
The policeman spoke again.
‘For the benefit of the tape, Kitty Briscoe is nodding. Kitty, you must speak up, okay. Do you understand?’
‘Yes,’ Kitty replied firmly.
‘Kitty, do you know why you’re here?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you tell me why you think you are here?’
Mrs Whitehouse gave Kitty another nod.
‘Because something bad happened to that little boy.’
‘That’s right. Now, do you know what happened to the little boy, Billy Noakes?’
Kitty shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes. ‘No.’
‘Now you said you would tell the truth, didn’t you, Kitty?’
‘I am!’
‘I don’t think you are. You were at the summer fair in the park that night, weren’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And can you tell me who you were there with please, Kitty?’
‘Kieran. Kieran Taylor. He lives on the posh estate.’
‘Okay. And what did you and Kieran do at the fair?’
There was a long pause. Kitty laced her fingers and fidgeted with them, staring down at the tabletop.
‘Kitty?’
She bit her lip, but still refused to speak.
‘Kitty, did you and Kieran take Billy away from the fair?’
Kitty nodded.
‘Yes.’
‘Right. And why did you do that?’
Kitty stared at her hands as she wrung one over the top of the other.
‘Kieran wanted to play with him. He said it would be okay.’
Her mother let out a quiet sob and put her hand to her mouth. Kitty looked at her, but Mrs Briscoe wouldn’t look at her daughter.
‘Okay, Kitty, so how did you lure Billy away from his mother?’
‘She was talking to another lady at the candyfloss stand. She had her back to him. Kieran made me do it. I didn’t want to do it, but he said the boy would come to me. I waved until Billy saw me. I had this lollipop. Kieran stole it from one of the stalls, it was a big, bright colourful one with circles. I showed it to Billy… offered it to him from across the way.’
‘And then what did you do?’
‘I called him over. His mum wasn’t paying any attention. He came over easy. I didn’t have to try very hard.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘Kieran and me, we took him.’
‘Where did you take him, Kitty?’
‘Into the woods.’
‘Why did you do that?’
‘Kieran said he knew a cool place where we could play.’
‘Can you remember where that was?’
‘The old hotel. The one that had the fire.’
‘And you took Billy there?’
‘Yes.’
‘Was Billy happy to go with you?’
Kitty looked down at the table again.
‘Kitty?’
‘At first, yes.’
‘What do you mean at first?’
‘He was okay cos he had the lollipop. But as we got further away, he started to get upset. He was crying for his mummy.’
‘And then what happened?’
‘Kieran was telling him to shut up. To stop crying, but he wouldn’t.’
‘You didn’t think at that point that maybe you should take him back to his mother?’
Kitty shrugged.
‘You thought it was okay that he was upset? A little boy? He was two. You thought that was okay?’
&nb
sp; ‘No.’
‘So why didn’t you? Why didn’t you take him back to his mum?’
Kitty looked at Mrs Whitehouse for reassurance. She nodded.
‘I was scared.’
‘Scared of what, Kitty.’
‘Kieran. I was scared of Kieran. He’s much bigger than me. And he’s strong. He hurts me sometimes. I have to do what he tells me.’
Kitty’s mother sobbed uncontrollably beside her. She held her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.
‘Do you want to take a break?’ the policeman asked her mother. She shook her head.
‘And then what happened, Kitty?’ the policeman continued.
‘Kieran walloped him. Really hard.’
16
Charlie stared at his wife. She was looking straight at him. He couldn’t read her expression in the dim light. But he thought she looked hurt.
‘Of course it’s not me, Charlie.’
‘It bloody well looks like you.’ He waved the page of the newspaper at her.
‘It’s a little blonde girl. It could be anyone… but I’m telling you that is not me.’
Charlie stomped towards the driver’s side door, unlocked it and climbed in.
‘Can we get in the car, please? Before Derek and Anna hear us and come out.’
Beth opened her door and got into the passenger seat. She didn’t look at Charlie.
‘Beth, I need you to be honest with me.’
She snatched the newspaper from him, looking down at it. He watched her intently as she read the page.
‘I remember this case. It was bloody awful what those kids did to that little boy.’ Charlie sounded as if he was at breaking point.
Beth finished reading and tossed the paper back into Charlie’s lap.
‘You honestly think I could do that? What that is saying? To a two-year-old child? You think I’m capable of… that?’
Charlie swallowed hard before he spoke. His mouth was dry. He licked his lips. ‘I don’t know, Beth. It looks a lot like you. It’s your eyes. I know your eyes.’
‘It says here they tortured him. You think I could torture a child? Kill a child?’
‘She didn’t do it. I remember that. She was found not guilty. It was an older boy who tricked her into helping him snatch the kid. He went down for it. That newspaper got fined a fortune for printing her name and picture.’
