by P. F. Ford
‘Exactly,’ said Slater. ‘It doesn’t add up, does it?’
‘People often get these things wrong when they’re in these situations,’ said Brent. ‘Panic can make time seem to fly by, or sometimes stop altogether.’
Slater couldn’t understand Brent’s reluctance to accept Jenny was telling the truth, but he resisted the urge to argue with him and asked a question instead. ‘Can you do us a favour, Eddie? Can you find out who called 999 to report my house fire, and at what time?’
‘If you think it’ll help,’ said Brent, reluctantly.
‘Jenny says she didn’t call it in until she had escaped from the house,’ said Slater patiently, ‘and you arrived about five minutes after that. You’ve just confirmed that’s not physically possible, haven’t you? But it would be possible if someone else had already called it in about ten minutes before Jenny. That stuff’s all logged, so it should be easy for you to check, right?’
‘Ah! Now I see where you’re going with this,’ said Brent. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll get back to you later or tomorrow morning.’
‘That’s great. Thanks, Eddie,’ said Slater.
‘Have you finished interrogating me now?’ Jenny asked Norman. ‘Only I would like a shower, and then I need to get some clothes from somewhere.’
‘Aw, come on,’ said Norman. ‘It wasn’t that bad, and we had to find out the facts, right?’
‘Hmmph!’ was her response as she turned to see what Slater had to say.
‘Eddie agrees with me about the timings,’ said Slater as he put the phone down. ‘And he agrees someone could have reported the fire before Jenny’s call. He’s going to get back to us as soon as he can.’
‘Someone must have made an earlier call or it doesn’t add up, does it?’ asked Norman. ‘Let’s not count our chickens, but we just might have had a breakthrough.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jenny.
‘If someone had already called 999,’ explained Slater, ‘and it wasn’t one of the neighbours, and it wasn’t you, there’s a good chance it could have been the person who started the fire.’
‘Why would they do that if they wanted to kill me?’
‘Maybe that wasn’t the intention,’ said Norman. ‘Don’t forget – we’re only guessing at the moment. It could even be the case that whoever it was didn’t even know you were in there. When they did my flat, they actually waited until I had left to make sure I didn’t get hurt, and they called the fire service and set off the fire alarm so no one else got hurt either. It was all about doing just enough damage to send out a warning.’
‘When you say it like that,’ said Slater, thoughtfully, ‘it sounds like a familiar scenario, doesn’t it?’
‘It’s somewhere to start, I guess,’ said Norman, ‘but only if you assume they didn’t know Jenny was there, and frankly that would surprise me because they certainly knew everything about us both the last time we met.’
‘And why would they come after us now we’re both out of the force?’ added Slater.
‘What if Goodnews has been poking her nose in and stirring things up again,’ said Norman. ‘She did it once before.’
Slater grimaced. Contacting Marion Goodnews was not something he wanted to do. When their brief affair had ended, she had refused to accept it, and he didn’t know what sort of can of worms he might open if he contacted her now.
‘We’ll have some fun trying to prove that,’ he said.
‘Look, I know she’s the last person you want to speak to,’ said Norman, ‘but we need to know. I’d ask her myself, but she wouldn’t tell me if her life depended on it and you know it.’
Slater sighed. ‘Yeah, I know. I’ll give her a call tomorrow morning. But before we start worrying about a ghost from the past, I think we should confirm it wasn’t a neighbour. I’ll go and ask them all tonight.’ He turned to Jenny, ‘In the meantime, I’d better go and buy us both some new clothes while you take your shower.’
***
Half an hour later, Slater’s phone began to ring.
‘It’s Eddie Brent,’ said the voice in his ear. ‘You were right about the 999 calls. Jenny made her call at 10.17, but someone else had already called at 10.06. Our arrival was actually timed at 10.21.’
‘Who was the first caller?’ asked Slater, excited now.
‘That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?’ said Brent.
‘What, no name?’
‘No name, and the voice is muffled, like they were talking through a scarf or something. They can’t even tell me for sure if it’s a man or a woman. I’m going down there tomorrow morning to have a listen myself to see what I can make of it.’
‘Okay, Eddie, thanks for calling me back so soon.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Brent. ‘I’m as keen as you to find out what’s going on now.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was nine-thirty and pitch black. Slater had spoken to every neighbour but one. He had felt guilty talking to those either side of his house, but they were both very gracious about what had happened, assuring him that their houses were fine and there was nothing for him to feel guilty about. These things happen, they both assured him, and as long as he and Jenny were okay, that was all that mattered.
Now, as he walked away from them, he felt guilty he hadn’t got to know them better. He made his way back to the one who had been out and was pleased to see there was a light on indoors. He rang the bell and waited. After a minute or so, the door opened to reveal a man of about thirty, clad in a dressing gown. He had a towel in his hands and his hair was wet.
He smiled at Slater. ‘Sorry, I was in the shower.’
‘No, don’t apologise,’ said Slater. ‘I should be apologising for dragging you out of the shower at this time of night.’
‘I just got home from work,’ said the man. ‘I had a crappy day and needed to wash it away.’
‘The reason I’m calling,’ explained Slater, ‘is my house caught fire.’ He waved an arm in the general direction of his own house. ‘Lucky for me, someone called 999 otherwise the whole row might have gone up. I’m trying to find out who it was so I can thank them.’
‘Well, I would have if I’d been here,’ said the man. ‘What time did it start?’
‘The fire service estimate it was a little after ten o’clock this morning,’ said Slater.
‘I’d just left for work. I’m on this weird ten thirty until eight thirty shift.’
‘Oh well,’ said Slater. ‘I guess whoever it was wants to remain anonymous.’
‘Is your girlfriend all right?’ asked the man.
‘Yeah, she had a lucky escape, but she’s fine. Shaken but not stirred, as they say.’
‘That’s a relief, because she must have got home just before the fire started.’
‘Got home?’ asked Slater, nonplussed.
‘Yeah, I don’t think she noticed me,’ said the man, ‘but it was definitely her. I’d just got into my car when she jogged down the road to your house and let herself in. She runs a lot, right?’
‘Err, yeah, that’s right,’ said Slater.
‘Well, she’d been out for a run, I think. She was wearing her running gear anyway.’
‘And this was about ten o’clock?’ asked Slater.
‘Must have been because the news had just started on the car radio as I drove off. Anyway, whatever, I’m glad she’s okay.’
‘Err, yeah, right,’ said Slater.
‘No problem,’ said the man. ‘And I’m sorry about your house.’
‘Thank you, but these things happen, right?’ said Slater, philosophically. ‘I’d better not keep you from your shower any longer. Thanks for your time.’
As he walked back to his car, Slater was thinking about what he’d just heard. He wasn’t best pleased to find Jenny had been going out running when he wasn’t around. He had specifically asked her not to go out on her own, but then again, he knew she was beginning to feel like a prisoner. Could he really be angry with her for wantin
g to get out? She was an independent woman, what did he expect?
He was a bit miffed about her story though. If she had got home at ten, she could hardly claim to have had a shower and then soaked in the bath for twenty minutes before she became aware of the fire. Was she lying just so he wouldn’t find out she had been out running on her own? Did she really think he was going to make that big a deal out of it? Or was she lying for another reason? But surely she wouldn’t have started the fire, would she? And did this have any bearing on the 999 caller? Did Jenny start the fire and then have second thoughts? He couldn’t believe she would do such a thing, but the seeds of doubt had been planted now.
***
When Slater got back to the pub, Norman was perched on a stool at the bar. ‘Can I get you a pint?’ he asked Slater.
‘No thanks, mate, I’ll go up and see if Jenny’s all right.’
‘Are you okay? Only you look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘What? No, no, I’m fine, just a bit tired, you know?’
‘How did it go with the neighbours?’
‘No one was home when the fire started, and no one called 999.’
‘Someone must have made that call.’
Well it wasn’t one of my neighbours.’
‘It looks like we have a mystery caller,’ said Norman. ‘That often means it’s the person who started the fire, right?’
‘It’s a strong possibility,’ admitted Slater, wondering if he should tell Norman what he’d heard about Jenny.
‘Possibility?’ echoed Norman. ‘Who else would call, and not give a name?
Slater shrugged. Yes, who indeed? he wondered.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I can’t seem to think straight right now. I guess all the excitement must be catching up with me. I think I’m gonna have an early night.’
‘You sure look knackered,’ said Norman, ‘but you’ve had a lot to deal with today. Try and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.’
Slater made his way wearily up the stairs and into the room he was sharing with Jenny. She was sitting up in bed.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, sitting on the foot of the bed.
‘I’ve been better,’ she said, ‘but I’m sure I’ll survive. What about you? It can’t be easy dealing with all this crap and finding you suddenly have nowhere to live.’
He showed her a mask of a smile. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Like you, I’ve had better days.’
‘Norm said you’d gone to speak to some of your neighbours. Did you learn anything?’
‘In a manner of speaking,’ he said.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Well, I now know that none of my neighbours made the 999 call,’ he said.
‘Yes, and?’
‘Is there something you want to tell me?’
‘About what?’
‘About this morning.’
‘I’ve told you what happened,’ she said. ‘You don’t want me to go through it all again, do you?’
‘And you didn’t miss anything out?’ he asked.
She studied his face for a few seconds and slowly folded her arms. ‘Are you accusing me of something?’
He let out a long, heavy, sigh. ‘You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?’ he asked. ‘I do understand why you do it, but I don’t understand why you’re denying it.’
‘I’m not making it easy for you? Really?’ she asked, her voice become more strident as she went on. ‘Has it occurred to you that maybe I’m not making it easy for you because I don’t know what the bloody hell you’re talking about? What exactly do you understand?’
‘I know you’ve been going out running while I’m out, without telling me,’ he said.
‘No, I bloody well have not!’
This wasn’t quite the response Slater was expecting. Why wouldn’t she just admit it? Then he had another thought. Jesus, what else was she hiding?
‘Oh, come on, Jenny. Don’t lie to me.’
‘How dare you accuse me of lying to you! On my life, I have never lied to you, and I never would. After all you’ve done for me, do you really think I would repay you by telling you lies? Is that what you think of me?’
He looked at her sadly. ‘But one of the neighbours saw you coming back home this morning at ten o’clock.’
‘They did not!’
‘He was sitting in his car just getting ready to leave for work. He knows it was you – he recognised your running gear.’
‘I don’t care if he was in your house,’ she said, through gritted teeth. ‘I swear to you he did not see me outside, in my running gear, at ten o’clock this morning. I was as naked as the day I was born, and I was in the bath.’
‘So why does he think he saw you?’ asked Slater, exasperated.
‘I don’t know,’ she hissed. ‘Why don’t you go and ask him?’
‘What?’
‘You heard!’ She threw the covers back, jumped out of bed, and started to put on the clothes he had bought her just a couple of hours ago.
‘Yeah, but—’
‘Look,’ she snarled, ‘I don’t know what it is you think I’ve done, but what I do know is you seem to be trusting the word of someone you hardly know and using it against me. I can’t believe you would do that, but here you are, bold as brass, accusing me of being a liar.’
‘Yes, but—’
‘I don’t want to hear any lame excuses,’ she snapped, so fiercely he took an involuntary step back. ‘What I want you to do is go and see this guy and prove I’m telling the truth. I think that is the very least I deserve.’
‘But it’s ten o’clock!’
‘I don’t care if it’s after midnight,’ she said, adamantly. ‘I’m not backing down. If this was a police investigation, you’d want more proof than the word of one witness. You’d make a real effort to make sure what he said was right. I’m asking you to make that effort for me. And then, when you’ve proved I’m telling the truth, you can come back and apologise.’
‘Are you telling me you haven’t been out running behind my back?’ he asked.
‘I think it’s a bit too late to ask me that now, don’t you? You’ve already made it perfectly clear you think I’m incapable of telling the truth, so you’re not going to believe me if I deny it. No, the only way I can clear my name is by proving your witness is mistaken. If you won’t go and speak to him again, I’ll go myself. Is that what you want?’
‘But he says he saw you run up to my front door and let yourself in.’
‘How could I?’ she asked, triumphantly. ‘I don’t have a bloody key, do I? That’s why I keep asking for one!’
Slater went to open his mouth, but then realised the truth in what she had said. Now he was genuinely confused. Could she be telling the truth? He really didn’t know what to think.
‘Lost your tongue, now, have you?’ she asked. ‘Well, I suggest you find it pretty quickly because you’re going to need it when you get to your neighbour’s. The sooner you get there and learn the truth, the sooner you can stop treating me like a suspect.’
‘I am not—’
‘Oh yes you bloody well are,’ she snapped, now fully dressed.
‘Christ,’ said Slater, snapping back at her. ‘Can I get a word in?’
She glared at him so fiercely he took another step back, half expecting her to launch herself at him, but her expression changed to one of sadness.
‘Quite honestly, David Slater, I think you might have already said far too much,’ she said, grimly. ‘If I were you, I’d stop right now.’
‘Now wait a minute,’ he said, but she was already halfway through the door.
‘Jenny, wait,’ he said, desperately. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I need some fresh air,’ she said. ‘I’m going for a walk.’
‘Yes, but . . .’
***
Downstairs, Norman was still at the bar, but now he was sharing a pint with Naomi Darling. In the mirror behind the bar, he ca
ught a glimpse of Jenny marching purposefully through the bar, heading for the exit. He spun around on his stool as Slater appeared, following in her wake, desperately trying to catch up. Norman gave Slater an enquiring look as he caught his eye, but Slater just shook his head and rushed on.
‘What was all that about?’ asked Darling, as they watched Slater disappear through the exit.
‘Beats me,’ said Norman, turning back to the bar, ‘but she looks pretty angry, and she’s not the sort of person you want to be on the wrong side of.’
‘She’s a bit like the Black Witch, is she?’ asked Darling.
‘Nothing like as poisonous,’ said Norman, ‘but almost as fierce.’ He took a sip of his beer. ‘So, anyway, now you’ve brought her name up, how is she?’ he asked.
‘She gets crazier by the day,’ said Darling.
‘Do you know if she’s been poking her nose into any old investigations?’
‘Like what in particular?’
‘How about the guys who set fire to my flat?’
‘D’you think they started the fire?’
‘We don’t know for sure what started it,’ said Norman. ‘I’m just testing theories, like worst-case scenarios.’
‘I’d put my money on it being an accident,’ said Darling. ‘I’m sure they would have notified us by now if they thought there was anything suspicious.’
Norman quickly looked away. He felt a slight unease at not being totally honest with Darling, but at least now he knew Eddie Brent had kept his word.
‘So, anyway,’ he said, turning back, ‘has she been poking into the past?’
‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Darling. ‘But if you think you know who’s responsible for what happened this morning, you really ought to make it official.’
‘Yeah, of course we should,’ agreed Norman, ‘but you know we’re not going to rush to do that, right?’
Darling shrugged her shoulders. It was no secret how Norman and Slater felt about Goodnews, so she wasn’t surprised.
‘She’s become so erratic, I’m surprised she keeps her job,’ she said.
‘Yeah?’ said Norman. ‘What’s she done now?’
