Her Last Mistake - Detective Gina Harte Series 06 (2020)

by Kovach, Carla

  Her phone beeped.

  Just having a break. Look, I’m sorry about this morning. I’ll make it up to you later. Elv. X

  Too late. She’d seen the disgust on his face at the sight of her naked. It had happened all too often, leaving her looking desperate when he’d rejected her advances. It wasn’t like when they’d first met a year ago. He couldn’t get enough of her. They’d done it in his car, in the work van, in the cellar at the pub. His hands were all over her, all of the time. She bit into the stodgy sandwich, forcing an uncomfortable amount into her mouth, crumbs puffing out as she let out a sob, the peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth.

  She knew exactly what he thought of her now. And Kerry, she’d only just gained an inroad to her friendship and she’d lost that too. Everything she’d done was for nothing. No one wanted her. She swallowed the bread and washed it down with a swig of fizzy orange straight out of the bottle. Again, she filled her mouth and continued until four of the slices had gone. Acid rose at the back of her gullet, a reminder of how she’d failed again. One day without food, that’s all she had to achieve to prove she could do it. Ugly, disgusting, failure. No wonder Elvis was looking elsewhere. No wonder he didn’t want her like he once did.

  She prodded her stomach and slapped it hard, then again until it reddened and the skin prickled. She parted her dressing gown and pinched her thighs. Grabbing the knife she’d used to cut the bread, she traced a line across her thigh. If only she could slice her disgusting layer of flesh away, just like that. A small prickle of blood emerged, contained in its skin until it was ready to pop. She placed the knife back on the table and shoved her stubby fingers into the chocolate spread jar before placing a blob of it into her mouth as she sobbed.

  She reread his message and replied, getting chocolate all over the screen.

  Am I losing you?

  Who was messaging her man? He didn’t answer her message. Maybe he was taken up with her, whoever she was. That had to be a sign.

  She needed a friend. She needed someone. Kerry. Keep it cool and polite. She’ll need a friend soon and I’m here waiting. After all, one of Kerry’s besties was murdered at her wedding reception. I will be a good friend. I’ll be the best. Just like old times.

  She answered the earlier message from Kerry.

  Kerry. You take care too. I’m here if you need me. X

  Playing it cool was beyond her. Impatience was setting in already. Answer me, answer me, she kept repeating in her head. One of you, say something. Elvis? Kerry?

  She swiped the chocolate spread off the table. Holly took Kerry from her all those years ago and she was going to get her back. She didn’t care how, but Kerry was her friend, her best and only friend and she’d forgiven her for being horrible back then. The glass from the jar shattered, covering the tiles and her bare feet. She didn’t care. All she cared about was fixing her sad meaningless life. She wrapped the bread up and wiped the blood globule from her thigh. No more food today. She’d had enough. She could claw this back by not eating again – not failing.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Someone forgot to put sunscreen on,’ Gina said as she parked the car in the brewer’s car park.

  ‘Shut up, guv! I knew I’d never live this red nose down. I fell asleep on the sun lounger and Jennifer had gone to get a massage.’

  ‘You two make a sweet couple. The crime scene investigator and the detective. Your parents will be as proud as punch on your wedding day,’ she said, teasing him.

  ‘Shut up. Enough. We’re a long way from weddings.’

  The brewery looked like a large barn and was adorned with their signage and logos.

  ‘So this is where Furnace and Blower Ales are made?’

  Gina nodded. ‘Yes, and as we know this is where Holly Long worked. Her mother, Marianne told us that Holly had had an argument with someone here but she didn’t know who or why.’

  ‘What did she do?’ Jacob rubbed his nose and flinched a little.

  ‘Some sort of accounts admin but her mother didn’t entirely know.’

  Gina rang the buzzer, focused on the little camera above it and was buzzed into a tiny holding room with two doors leading off it. She tried one of the doors but it was locked. ‘I suppose we just wait.’

  A yeasty smell seemed to be coming from everywhere. ‘I’d love a pint.’ Jacob smiled.

  ‘When we’ve solved this case, I’ll buy you one.’

  ‘I’ll hold you to that, guv.’

  A man with an identification card pinned to his jacket pushed open the door in front of them. Gina could see that his name was Rick. ‘Hello. Who are you here to see?’

  Gina held up her identification. ‘We’d like to talk to Holly Long’s manager.’

  ‘Has something happened?’

  ‘We would need to discuss that with Holly Long’s manager first.’ Gina needed to know who Holly had been arguing with before speaking to the other staff.

  ‘That would be me. Rick Elder. Come through. We can talk in the lounge.’

  They followed Rick along the corridor that led to a room with a floor to ceiling window. A large mural was painted on the wall depicting the brewing production cycle, from the hops being harvested to the final bottle of ale. Several cosy couches were positioned around small coffee tables and a single white carnation in a miniature vase adorned every table. Gina shuddered as Holly’s body covered with the little petals scattered all over her torso flashed through her mind.

  ‘We try to make the staff as comfortable as possible when they take breaks. Fortunately, no breaks are due for another half an hour.’

  Gina took a seat on the couch and pulled out her notes, as did Jacob.

  ‘I love the smell of this place,’ Jacob said, with a smile.

  Rick ignored Jacob’s comment. ‘Now can you tell me why you’re here?’

  Gina crossed her ankles and placed her hands on her knees. ‘Unfortunately we have some bad news. I’m sorry to tell you that Holly Long was murdered last night and we’re conducting investigations.’

  Rick removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’ She paused, giving the news a moment to sink in. ‘We need to ask you a few questions, about Holly.’

  He walked over to the coffee machine and pressed a button. ‘Want one? I could do with one.’

  They both nodded. Gina needed a coffee more than anything. Her lips hadn’t been wet since her morning coffee during the briefing and she was beginning to feel even more headachy. As soon as she was done, she’d be heading home to work before having a shower and catching up on some sleep.

  ‘Here.’ Rick placed three cups down and dropped a few sachets of sugar onto the coffee table.

  ‘I was surprised but glad to see that you were open on Sundays.’ Gina sipped the hot coffee.

  ‘We’re a twenty-four seven operation. We have orders coming out of our ears and are hoping to secure bigger premises soon. It’s been tough stepping up production but while the going’s good, we keep going.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry. Things aren’t good. I only saw Holly on Friday. She mentioned that her friend who got married in Greece was having a reception in Cleevesford. She said she was looking forward to it.’

  Jacob flicked over to a clean page in his pad.

  ‘How did she seem when you last saw her?’

  He shrugged as he stirred some sugar into his drink. ‘I didn’t know how to take Holly. One day she could be all smiles, the next she looked like she’d just lost her dog or something.’ He slapped himself on the head. ‘I’m sorry. I have this way about me. I sometimes say things that aren’t appropriate. I shouldn’t have mentioned death. Idiot.’ His leg jittered slightly as he took a sip of his drink.

  ‘It’s okay, Mr Elder. Please go on. How did Holly seem on Friday?’

  He inhaled and put his glasses back on. Gina guessed he was in his mid-thirties. No wedding ring, quite handsome with his light stubble and designer suit. Gina wondered if the
man in front of her could be the man Holly was hiding in her kitchen. Mr Blue Shirt.

  ‘On Friday, she seemed distracted. I’m the office manager amongst other things, which means I’m responsible for everything in the office and when things go wrong, I normally have to deal with them. I had a few billing complaints. Holly had wrongly charged a few customers and had sent out a couple of letters containing confidential quotes to the wrong clients. She also sent a notice of court action to a debtor who had paid the week before. I guess what I’m saying is her mind wasn’t on the job. She’d complained of having a headache, feeling sick, feeling tired, anything. I suggested she go to the doctors, she said she was fine.’

  ‘Did this result in any conflict?’ Maybe the person Marianne heard Holly arguing with was sitting right in front of her.

  ‘I’m afraid it did. She’d go on about how much she loved this job and wanted to progress further, to behaving like she didn’t care. She’d come in late, took longer breaks and was always checking her phone. I had to have a word with her.’

  Jacob’s pen scrawled across his pad as he caught up. Gina rearranged the cushion behind her so that she could lean back a little. ‘What was said and how did she take it?’

  A slight redness flushed across Rick’s face. ‘I didn’t enjoy our chat. She was defensive, saying that she was being picked on but she loved the work. She wasn’t happy with me.’

  ‘With you personally?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Had something more than work gone on between you both?’

  ‘Okay, I slept with her but it was three years ago. She thought she’d be okay working for me when I interviewed her but it seems she found us working together uncomfortable. I think that’s what her funny moods were about.’

  Gina wondered if that could be the case but she remembered how Lilly had mentioned Holly’s depression. Could Holly have been going through a bad patch and brought it to work? Maybe Rick had made his way to the party last night through the same route the gatecrashers took.

  ‘You say three years ago?’

  He nodded and finished his coffee. ‘I met her in a nightclub in Redditch. We’d both had a few and went back to my flat. We woke up with a hangover in the morning. She got dressed, said she’d call me and that was it. I really hoped she would call for ages. One-night stands weren’t something I really did but I was out with friends and I really liked Holly. When she came for the interview, I was thrilled. A part of me hoped she might want to go out on a date but being her manager, I could never ask. She would have had to be the one who’d asked me. Workplace dating isn’t frowned upon here like some places but I didn’t want to complicate things unnecessarily.’

  ‘Did your relationship rekindle in any way?’

  He shook his head and bit the inside of his mouth. ‘No. When we shared that night together, we were both a little merry from the drink and music. I realised I had no idea who Holly really was, I just built an image of a person who didn’t really exist. This Holly, the one working here, wasn’t anything like the creation in my head. She looked angry all the time, then sad. I offered to listen if she needed to talk. No strings attached – obviously. I’m here for all my staff. Happy workplace is a productive workplace, and all that. I was prepared to let her mistakes last week go. I felt she had potential. We all have bad weeks, it’s just that Holly had a few more than the rest.’

  ‘Thank you for being so candid about your relationship. Can you tell me where you were last night between the hours of nine and ten?’

  His stance stiffened as he sat on the edge of the opposite couch. ‘Really? Am I a suspect? She just works here. I slept with her once three years ago and I’ve been nothing but totally honest about everything. Others in the office will back me up.’

  ‘We just need to eliminate you, Mr Elder.’

  ‘I was at home alone but I was FaceTiming my sister.’

  ‘Can we see your message history, between you and your sister?’

  His brows furrowed. ‘I don’t have my tablet with me and I don’t use Messenger on my phone as I find it too distracting, so no. I’ll write my sister’s details down if you really want to check.’

  Jacob passed the man a sheet of his notebook and a pen.

  He snatched it off the table and scribbled a name, address and a phone number down. ‘She lives in Australia. I was trying to catch her before she went to work.’

  Gina would get his alibi checked as soon as she got back to the station. ‘Did Holly socialise with anyone from work?’

  ‘Nah. We, all the staff, often met at the pub after work but Holly never joined in. I know she lived alone and, before you ask, I didn’t go stalking or anything. She told us she lived alone. It just surprised me that she didn’t want to come out. There’s a core of us ranging from early twenties to mid-forties and we do all sorts. Bowling, cinema nights. She wasn’t interested. She seemed too preoccupied.’

  ‘In what way?’

  ‘Like I said, she was always staring at her phone like she was waiting for a call or a text. I’d catch her looking out of the window, biting her nails when there were piles of work to do.’

  ‘Was she like this all the time at work?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, only the past few weeks, maybe a month. That’s when she started messing up small things at work. I’d say she had something on her mind.’

  ‘Thank you, we’ll be in touch.’

  ‘I should have been more understanding rather than reprimand her over her errors. Maybe I could have done more.’

  Gina closed her pad and passed Rick Elder a card. ‘If you think of anything else, call me.’

  He placed it in the slit in his phone case. ‘There is one more thing. Elissa is on holiday but a couple of weeks ago she came to speak to me in confidence. She heard Holly crying while in a toilet cubicle. She asked Holly what was wrong and Holly told her to go away.’

  ‘When will she be back?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘Two weeks yesterday.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Gina said as they made their way back to the main door.

  ‘What did you make of all that? He’s a little weird.’ Gina pressed the central locking button on the car key and the lights flashed once as the doors opened.

  ‘I don’t know. He answered everything we asked but he didn’t seem at all upset by what had happened. If I had just been told that you’d been murdered—’

  ‘Thanks, Jacob.’ Gina let out a snort of laughter.

  ‘You know what I mean. We’re colleagues. If that happened to you, I’d be gutted and we haven’t even had a one-night stand.’

  Gina got into the car. ‘It’s nice to know someone would be upset.’

  He laughed and looked away.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Just say it, Jacob.’

  He burst into laughter. ‘Briggs would be upset. Have you seen the way he looks at you?’

  ‘No, no and no. Don’t you dare go there, Driscoll.’

  ‘I’m just pulling your leg, guv. Of course we’d all miss you and we’d all be sad if you were unfortunately murdered. I don’t feel his reactions were genuine. There was just something about him.’

  ‘I agree. He was a bit odd. Maybe it’s just the way he is, as he explained, or maybe there’s more to it. We’ll check his alibi for starters. I need to work out what time it is in Australia.’

  She got into the car feeling her face flushing. If Jacob could see through Briggs’s feelings for her, could everyone else? She had to talk to him and it had to be soon.

  As Gina pulled off a few drops of rain hit the windscreen. ‘Best get on with it. We’ve got to get to Holly’s flat in a short while. Marianne Long called earlier to say she’d meet us there. While I drive, give the team a call and update them with all that we know.’ She glanced back at the brewery as she turned the car in the car park and spotted Rick Elder at the window. He ran his shaky fingers through his hair, turned and walked back towards the offices.

 
Jacob’s phone beeped at the same time as Gina’s.

  ‘Email,’ he said as he checked.

  ‘What is it, Jacob?’

  ‘The post-mortem is scheduled for first thing.’ He paused to read. ‘We have some results back. The blood smeared on the drawers in Holly’s hotel room does belong to her, as does the blood on the wall. Her blood showed no alcohol or drugs at all in her system but get this.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘She was pregnant.’

  Gina swallowed. The murderer had not only taken Holly’s life, they’d taken that of her unborn child. ‘I want the foetus’s DNA sample taken without delay.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  The beast has escaped and it was never going back in its cave now, he was more than just a player – he had an urge. Lives would be ruined but he didn’t care as long as his life wasn’t ruined. He wanted to feel the pulse of a woman throbbing through his thumbs as he throttled her. It was a feeling of power like never before and they loved it, he could tell.

  She loved it and she was begging for more. He’d give her more when he saw her later. She’d asked where he’d been going. He had work to do. That was his excuse. After all that had happened, he didn’t care if she believed him or not. He made her feel good, helping her to float in her sea of misery. I am God and she knows it. I can attach that weight around her neck at any time but I’ll never let her drown, not her. The world needed at least one person who understood his needs and desires.

  He watched as the young woman pulled her bags out of the car, no doubt filled with her sage green dress. She must be sporting one hell of a hangover following the previous night’s drinks and the unfortunate event. He’d seen her wandering about in a stupor. What a let down. He’d always thought more of Francesca.