Her Secret Past: A completely gripping and heart-stopping crime thriller

by Kerry Watts

  The lock clicked and Dylan stood up straight to see the door move slowly open. He held out his arms to her. Jessie slammed her body into Dylan’s and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. Through the open door she could see Gordon sitting in the back of a police car, staring back at her and grinning, his face covered in blood. She pulled out of Dylan’s arms and ran to slam the front door shut, then stood for a moment, her eyes fixed on the closed door. She turned round and leaned her back against it. She caught sight of Dan watching her and nodded to him. Dan nodded back. Neither of them had to say anything.

  ‘Here – drink this.’ Dylan handed her a cup of sweet tea once everyone else had left. ‘There’s three sugars in it.’

  Jessie took the cup from him and took a sip before screwing up her nose. It was far too sweet. She’d declined the paramedic’s offer to take her to get checked out at the hospital. There was no need. Thanks to Dan, that was. Jessie shivered at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn’t turned up. It felt like a bad dream.

  ‘I don’t mean to pry but who was that guy?’ Dylan probed.

  ‘Dan is someone from another lifetime ago,’ Jessie said without looking at him. She glanced into her living room through the open kitchen door. There was nothing out of place. Nothing to suggest a maniac had been here less than an hour earlier trying to kill her with a hammer.

  ‘You don’t have to talk about it,’ Dylan commented. ‘I’m just glad he was here when you needed him.’

  Jessie took another sip of the sickly-sweet tea and had to put it down. She pondered the irony of Dylan’s remark. She’d been trying to shake Dan out of her life for so many years. The phone calls. The flowers. His relationship with Haley. Jessie thought that was part of his sick game too. Where did she think Dan was at that time of night? Why was he even there at that time of night? Had he been stalking her all this time? She shuddered at the idea he’d just saved her life.

  76

  The sun was just starting to rise when Rachel crept past a sleeping Caroline on her way into her kitchen. The walls in this tiny flat were beginning to close in on her. She intended to spend the day with the horses. Being with them was the only place she knew could keep her calm. Another local trainer had agreed to step in and take over starting tomorrow. He was going over to take the horses back to his yard, which was just a few miles along the road. Rachel was lucky to have him.

  ‘Good morning,’ a small voice spoke from the darkness.

  ‘I’m putting the kettle on. Would you like a cup of tea?’ Rachel asked.

  Caroline yawned and winced from the pain in her lip. ‘That would be lovely.’

  The women heard Kenny move through to the bathroom. Caroline got up to join Rachel in the kitchen.

  ‘Kenny will take you over to your flat this morning,’ Rachel promised. ‘See what needs doing and what needs replacing.’

  Caroline tried to smile. ‘You’ve both been so kind. I don’t know what I would have done without the two of you last night.’

  Last night. Rachel recalled the enlightening chat she’d had with Caroline over a nip of whisky. Caroline’s childhood sounded tragic. Her mother had died when she was just five and because there was nobody else to take care of her, Caroline had been shuffled between foster homes until she was adopted by the Peters when she was eight. She’d hinted that some unpleasant experiences had taken place in that home but neither Rachel nor Kenny had pressed her on it. Now even they were gone, Rachel recalled from an earlier conversation. Tragic. It had seemed Caroline was just grateful to have someone to talk to. Rachel could relate to that. She’d felt alone once upon a time. She was glad to hear that Caroline had struck up such a friendship with Julia too. The two women were around the same age, and both had been adopted at a young age too.

  ‘There you go.’ Rachel placed a mug on the kitchen table in front of Caroline. She seemed fragile sitting there. Thin, even bird-like.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Did you manage to get much sleep? I’m not sure that sofa is particularly comfortable.’

  Caroline sipped from her mug then smiled. ‘It was perfect.’ Her smile quickly fell into a frown, followed by tears. Rachel moved to put her arm around her shoulder.

  ‘Hey, you’re safe now. I know you’ve been through an awful ordeal. It must have been very scary for you, but you’re safe now.’

  ‘I know and I’m sorry. I think it’s still just the shock,’ Caroline admitted. ‘You never think something so terrible will ever happen to you.’

  Rachel heard Kenny coming out of the bathroom and moved over to pour him a cup of tea. Caroline’s words echoed in her ears. How she wished all she had to worry about was a petty burglar. She kissed Kenny’s cheek when he joined them in the kitchen.

  ‘I’m off,’ she told them both. ‘I’ll try not to be too late back.’

  ‘Would you like me to come with you?’

  Rachel was pleasantly surprised by Kenny’s offer. Perhaps he wanted a day out in the country. He must be feeling the strain of the situation too. That and not having his dogs with him. They were lucky the kennels they often used had space for all three Labradors. Especially at that time of year.

  ‘No, you stay with Caroline. Help her get things straightened out. I’ll be fine.’

  She kissed Kenny’s cheek one last time before grabbing her jacket and keys. She stepped into a pair of boots by the front door and pulled it shut behind her. Outside, she inhaled a huge breath of the biting winter chill – the cold didn’t bother Rachel. It was the suffocating heat in the small one-bedroom flat that made her uncomfortable. She was terrified at the prospect of the prison cell she might soon have to endure. But the plan she’d put in place would hopefully help her avoid that. It wasn’t exactly a lie – more a welcome secret that she’d discovered. Her solicitor had been excited to hear of the development. It had come as a shock to discover he felt that way about a woman he hardly knew and wondered if she was being cruel to use that to her advantage now. But what choice did she have?

  77

  ‘Wow,’ Jessie exclaimed when Dylan told her what Gordon had said the previous night. ‘An alibi?’

  Dylan nodded. ‘That’s what he said.’

  ‘Did he tell you why he—’ Jessie had to stop for a moment to collect her thoughts. Her chest tightened at the memory of last night. ‘Why he came to my flat?’ She couldn’t bring herself to say what had really happened. Why he came to kill her.

  ‘He said he was ready to know how it felt to kill someone.’

  Jessie shuddered at the simplicity of his reason. ‘But why me?’ she asked.

  Dylan shook his head. ‘No, sorry, he didn’t say.’

  Jessie didn’t know if she was disappointed or not. She wasn’t sure if knowing why made any difference.

  ‘What do you make of the alibi?’ she asked.

  Dylan shrugged. ‘It gets Rachel off the hook, that’s for sure. Says he saw her that morning his grandparents were killed. It couldn’t have been her that killed them. She was in the stable with the horses.’

  ‘And he knows that because he was watching her.’ Jessie balked at the suggestion.

  Jessie realised she and Rachel had more in common than either of them knew. Gordon had been stalking Rachel in the same way Dan had been watching her. Neither woman had known they were there, observing their everyday lives, yet in an obscene kind of way both men had saved them from their respective fates.

  ‘At least he’s being remanded in custody. The thought of him being out there doesn’t bear thinking about,’ Dylan remarked.

  Jessie couldn’t agree more. There was no way she’d have felt able to stay at her flat with Gordon on the loose even if she could rely on Dan to be her saviour. Dan. Jessie knew she’d have to talk to him about what had happened. This wasn’t something that could easily be forgotten by either of them.

  78

  ‘You better come in,’ Rachel told Jessie and walked away, leaving the door open for her.

  Jess
ie stepped inside and followed, closing the door behind her.

  ‘I’m making tea. Would you like a cup?’ Rachel asked and as she filled the kettle.

  ‘No, I’m fine, thank you.’ Jessie sat down and unzipped her jacket in the small, stuffy kitchen space.

  Rachel leaned behind Jessie to open the window – just enough to allow air to penetrate the stale atmosphere. She wiped a little of the condensation and peered out onto the frost covered ground, shivering at the thought of the freezing temperatures this afternoon.

  ‘I don’t think there’s a lot more I can tell you, Detective,’ Rachel remarked.

  Jessie smiled. ‘I’m here to tell you some good news.’

  Rachel tossed the tea towel onto the draining board and sat down with her cup of tea. ‘Good news?’

  Jessie nodded, unsure exactly how good it was. ‘A witness has come forward to say that he saw you—’

  ‘Gordon Angus,’ Rachel interrupted.

  ‘You already knew?’ Jessie said.

  Rachel sipped from her cup then licked her lips and laid the cup down. ‘I’ve known for a little while. He was going to give evidence at my trial for my defence.’ She smiled. ‘He said he wanted to help me.’ Rachel stood up and tipped water from the kettle into her cup. ‘Can I be honest with you?’

  A little taken aback, Jessie nodded but before Rachel could continue, the front door opened, distracting her from her story. Both women were surprised to see Caroline walk into the kitchen.

  ‘Caroline, what are you doing here? I thought you and Kenny were sorting things out at your place?’ Rachel declared; then her eyes narrowed.

  Caroline lifted a mug from the tree on the worktop and switched the kettle on again.

  ‘He’s gone to get some bits and pieces for me. A new lock for a start.’ She smiled awkwardly at Jessie.

  ‘That looks nasty.’ Jessie pointed to Caroline’s painful-looking lip and black eye.

  ‘Caroline was burgled yesterday. They attacked her when she disturbed them,’ Rachel told her. ‘Kenny is helping her sort through her things.’

  ‘That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that,’ Jessie said.

  Caroline took the milk from the fridge then stirred sugar into her tea before flopping down in the empty chair next to Jessie.

  ‘Has there been any news on the fire?’ she asked, then sipped her tea without taking her eyes off Jessie.

  ‘That’s not why she’s here,’ Rachel announced. ‘A witness has come forward that proves I didn’t murder Malcolm and Jean Angus.’

  Caroline swallowed a gulp of tea. ‘Oh, that is good news. You must be so pleased. After all you’ve been through that must be such a relief.’ She moved her attention to Jessie. ‘What happens now then?’

  ‘Investigation remains ongoing,’ Jessie informed her. ‘There are further lines of enquiry that I intend to follow up.’

  ‘You think it was Gordon, don’t you?’ Rachel’s suggestion made Jessie turn.

  The sound of his name sent shivers through her. Last night’s visit was still raw in her mind. She had to quickly snatch her breath back from the mounting panic. She’d managed to persuade Crawford that she was fit to return to work immediately on the agreement that she saw the force’s counsellor.

  ‘Among other possibilities,’ Jessie told her as she stood up to leave.

  Caroline smiled. ‘At least you can relax now, though, can’t you, Rachel?’

  Jessie headed back to her car with an odd sensation she couldn’t shake. Caroline seemed rather overly familiar with her boss, in her opinion.

  Her phone buzzing in her pocket distracted her.

  Just checking in to make sure you’re OK after last night. D x

  Jessie pushed her phone deep into her pocket without answering. She unlocked her car, got in and slammed the door shut. She felt the tears trickle over her cheek before dripping off her chin onto her shirt and clenched her hand into a fist until the skin turned white. She focused on her breathing. In and out. In and out.

  Jessie was angry with herself for breaking down but had to acknowledge that it had been cathartic. It had helped her focus on what was important: finding out who had killed an innocent elderly couple in their own homes. Gordon Angus became her target. She’d seen first-hand what this young man could be capable of and now she was on the hunt for proof that would put him away for a long time.

  She nodded to the officers parked out front of the Anguses’ farmhouse and unlocked the front door. There was something in that house that would lead to the killer. She knew it. She might have to look a little harder but it was there, she was sure. Jessie handed Dylan a pair of gloves and overshoes.

  ‘You start upstairs and I’ll take the kitchen,’ she instructed him.

  ‘What are we looking for exactly?’

  ‘Anything and everything. The answer is in here somewhere. Rachel’s alibi means there has to be something in here that we missed. Our killer is still on the loose.’

  79

  Kenny drove the six miles from their flat in the centre of Perth towards Stanley. The fire service had finished their examination of the house and given him the go-ahead to visit the property: the only good news in the past twenty-four hours. He thought about the way Caroline had responded to his suggestion that they cool things for a bit, because Rachel needed him to be there for her more. She’d seemed upset at first, then the tears seemed to evaporate just as quickly as they had started. He figured the assault had taken more of a toll than she’d admitted. He’d given her some cash and told her to take a couple of weeks holiday. He wouldn’t be needing her for much in the coming days anyway.

  The sun that split over the hills that surrounded the village might have lifted his spirits on another day but not today. The wind turbines whirred gently, blowing the soothing sound in the air towards the shell of his home. The acrid smell of smoke lingered and the eerie silence unnerved him. He knew the horses had been collected so there was no neighing against the sound of wind. Kenny would have loved to hear the sound of his three dogs barking to greet his Land Rover; he couldn’t wait to collect them.

  He stepped out of his car and locked it up before walking across the driveway. He unlocked the front door and gently leaned a finger on the wood until it swung slowly open. The smell was much stronger inside. Kenny coughed then covered his nose with the palm of his hand. He stood in the hallway and just stared. It was overwhelming. The damage would run into the tens of thousands, if not more. There hadn’t been any update on the arson investigation for several days. Kenny would give DI Blake a call later – see if she had any news.

  He moved into what had once been a beautiful galley kitchen. A place he and Rachel had shared many delicious meals and talked about everything and nothing. It was all gone and would have to be rebuilt from scratch. Whoever did this had been intent on destroying their home. The realisation they wouldn’t be able to return here for months – perhaps even a year – broke his heart. He’d worked hard to make this place a home for him and Rachel. He wanted to give her everything she’d ever dreamed of. He’d promised to take care of her.

  A noise behind Kenny startled him into spinning round. Nothing. He turned back, wondering if he’d imagined it until he heard it again. Footsteps – he was sure of it.

  ‘Hello, who’s there?’ he called out and retraced his steps to the front door. Nothing. ‘Hello.’

  This time he raised his voice. ‘Is someone there?’

  The eerie silence was broken by the sound of running behind him, which made him turn quickly and almost lose his footing. He was briefly aware of a heavy thud on the side of his head then it all went black.

  80

  Jessie and Dylan searched Gordon’s room at his grandparents’ farmhouse. They found nothing to link him to their murder, but they did find Gordon’s diary, which gave the two detectives further insight into the sickness that was inside him. His plan to make Jessie his victim was laid out in black and white. When he planned to do it. How he planned to
do it. What he would need was written in the form of a shopping list.

  Jessie lifted a laptop out of his bedside drawer. She tried the first password that came to her mind and the screen opened immediately. Alice Connor. His wallpaper was a photo of Rachel. It was obvious Rachel had no idea someone was watching her. Taking her picture. He was obsessed.

  ‘Have you found anything on there?’ Dylan asked as he rummaged in the bottom of Gordon’s wardrobe. He closed the door and joined Jessie on the edge of Gordon’s bed.

  ‘Not yet – nothing to connect him to the murder.’

  ‘Is he getting a psych evaluation?’ Dylan asked.

  ‘His defence hasn’t asked for one,’ Jessie replied. ‘He probably will at some point, though.’

  ‘Look, tell me to shut up if you think I’m prying but—’ Dylan began clumsily.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Jessie chirped.

  ‘Sorry, I’m just concerned.’

  ‘Concerned about what, Dylan? Spill it.’

  It was clear that Dylan was searching for the most diplomatic way to say it. ‘There’s nothing here to suggest Gordon killed them. This house has been torn apart by forensics. There’s nothing.’ He paused. ‘He’s a weird kid but he didn’t shoot his grandparents.’

  Jessie could see the anxious look on Dylan’s face but he’d been right to speak up. She knew there was nothing in that house or on the bodies to prove his guilt, but Jessie was so desperate to find something: a single fibre, a fingerprint, a bullet, anything. He’d given Rachel an alibi. The reality of finding nothing meant she was back to square one – a dead couple and no suspects. She had considered the possibility of using a polygraph on Gordon but evidence based on lie detectors could easily be ruled inadmissible by a good defence solicitor. It wouldn’t surprise her if Gordon knew how to beat the test anyway.