by Jason Ayres
“By heck, your lass has got a good appetite on her,” remarked her grandfather, as Kay wolfed down the pork pies and slices of her mother’s delicious home-baked honey roast ham.
Later they played charades and then watched the Only Fools and Horses Christmas special, leading her to conclude that Christmas TV really had been better in the past.
The day had been pretty much perfect in every respect. The angel had picked a good year. By 9pm she was ready for bed, but Christmas was not yet over. She would get to do it all over again tomorrow.
Chapter Seventeen
December 2018
Back in the present day, Kay took her leave of the angel quickly. Not only did she have a Christmas dinner to cook, but she also had to go out and get back before Maddie woke up. She had bought her daughter a Christmas present but had left it in the flat.
It was mild and cloudy outside, not at all festive, but quite pleasant to be walking in compared to the cold of recent days. There was something special about going out for a walk on Christmas morning. It was different from any other day of the year. You could guarantee everyone you met, from kids to dog walkers, would greet you with a cheery smile and a “Merry Christmas”.
She still wished there was snow, though. Never mind, only another eleven years to wait, according to the angel.
From the new estate, the quickest way to the flat was across the park, the same one where she had lost her virginity to Glen on the night of the summer ball all those years ago. Normally it was a quiet place, but today there was something going on. At the far side of the park, just past the children’s playground, was a wooded area where she normally cut through the trees. This route brought her out onto the main road, only a few minutes’ walk from the chip shop.
As Kay got closer she could see the whole wooded area was sealed off with police tape, warning people not to cross. There were several police officers there. It looked as if there had been some major incident. Swerving past the woods, and diverting further up the park, she reached the main road about a hundred yards further up than she usually did, via the park’s main entrance.
As she walked down the road towards town she could see a number of police and other vehicles around the area. She also recognised Seema Mistry, the local TV news reporter with a crew at the scene. It must be something big if it had brought her out on Christmas morning.
The pavement where the path came out of the woods was sealed off, too, and a young policeman directed her to the other side of the road.
“What’s going on here?” she asked him.
“I’m not at liberty to say, madam,” he said. “But we need to keep this area clear. Please cross to the other pavement and keep walking.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” replied Kay, and crossed to the other side of the road. She would be coming back this way after she had been to the flat. Maybe she could find a more forthcoming policeman who would tell her more then.
The chip shop was deserted, as she had hoped it would be. It was also a complete mess, chip papers strewn everywhere and empty beer bottles and litter all over the floor. It was often a mess on weekend mornings, but never this bad. The townsfolk had clearly had a good party last night.
She let herself in and made her way up to the flat. It was dark and dingy inside, leading her to reach instinctively for the light switch, but nothing happened. The same went for the light switch in the bathroom. It seemed McVie had made good on his promise to cut her electricity off.
No matter, she would never have to see the inside of this hovel again after this morning. She reached under the bed and pulled out the battered suitcase that had been there since the day she moved in, preparing to stuff what meagre belongings she wanted to keep into it.
The bottom drawer of the chest of drawers came off in her hand as she opened it, not for the first time. Inside, she found the necklace she had bought for Maddie, several weeks before. She hadn’t wrapped it up, not having known until yesterday if she was even going to see her over Christmas. No matter, there was still time when she got back to the house. There must be some wrapping paper there somewhere.
As for the creaky furniture, cheap portable TV and the rest of the crap in the flat, she decided to abandon it. In the end all she ended up taking was a few toiletries and half her clothes, abandoning the rest. They weren’t even worth bagging up for a charity shop, the state they were in. As far as she was concerned, this wasn’t her problem anymore. McVie could deal with it.
As she left the flat for what she hoped would be the last time, she felt like she had just ticked off another box on her quest for salvation. She was free of the dump at last! Or so she thought. Unknown to her, circumstances would bring her back to the flat again sooner than she expected.
She was halfway dragging her suitcase across the chip shop floor when her mobile rang in her handbag. This caught her by surprise. Her mobile hadn’t exactly been ringing off the hook recently.
She fumbled quickly in her bag, desperate to get to the phone before it clicked over to voicemail. Grabbing hold of it, she was surprised to see who was calling. It was Kent.
“Hello,” she said, “and Merry Christmas!”
Kent didn’t return her greeting, a sense of urgency in his voice as he said, “Have you seen the news?”
“No,” replied Kay. “Why? What’s happened?”
“There’s been another murder,” replied Kent. “Right here in town. The Christmas Killer has struck again.”
“So that’s what all the police and reporters were about,” said Kay. “I saw them earlier up by the park.”
“Yes, that’s where it happened,” replied Kent. “I’m watching it on telly right now. Can you switch the TV on?”
“I’m not at home,” replied Kay. There was the telly in the flat but she wasn’t going back up there, and in any case the electricity had been cut off.
“Well, I’m watching it and it looks pretty grisly. Another young girl apparently – raped and murdered on the woody path last night. Speaking of which, where were you last night? I thought you would have been down the pub.”
“I decided to have a quiet night in,” replied Kay. “I’ll explain more later.”
“Well, that’s brings me on to the purpose of my call,” said Kent. “I need to see you later – can we meet?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Kay. “I’m sure your wife won’t be too pleased with you leaving her at home on Christmas Day. Can it wait until tomorrow?”
Much as she would enjoy spending some more time with Kent, Kay had already planned to spend the day at home with her daughter.
“It can’t wait until tomorrow,” replied Kent. “It’s about the murders. I know how we – or rather, you – can solve them. If we leave it another day, someone else could die.”
It wasn’t difficult to work out what he had in mind.
“I see where you’re coming from,” replied Kay. “Listen, I need to get back home now. I’ve already taken my trip back in time for today, so we can’t do any more until the morning. Let me think about it, and we’ll try and have a get-together and a proper chat later.”
“OK,” replied Kent. “Craig said he’s opening the pub for a couple of hours tonight, just for the regulars. Can you get down there, then?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” replied Kay. “Speak later.”
It was obvious that he was going to ask her to go back in time to unmask the murderer. She was going to have to go back past the scene of the crime to get home, so it would be a good time to try and see what more she could find out. Walking back up the road, she double-checked exactly where the incident had taken place. Quite clearly it had been somewhere on the woody path between the road and the park.
She tried speaking to another policeman at the scene but was met with the same stony-faced, tight-lipped response as before. She would be better off putting the news on at home.
When she got back, it was past 11am but Maddie was still asleep. Kay really ou
ght to get started on the dinner but her mind was now preoccupied with the murder. She had to find out more.
Watching the rolling news coverage in the living room didn’t do much to add to what she already knew. The attack had taken place exactly where she expected, sometime the previous night, but they didn’t seem to know exactly when. The body had not been discovered until a dog walker had found it after first light. The victim had not yet been formally identified, but the news did state that it fitted the pattern of the other murders. That meant that it would have been a young girl, late-teens or early twenties.
She continued to watch the coverage as she wrapped Maddie’s present with some leftover wrapping paper she found behind the Christmas tree. When she had finished she added her present to the pile underneath the tree. Alan and Lucy had taken the presents they had bought for each other the previous day, but had left some for Maddie.
Kay’s didn’t look like much compared to what Alan had probably spent, especially with his huge pot of dirty cash to draw on, but it would have to do for now. He had always spoiled his daughter rotten at Christmas, whilst Kay’s presents from him had steadily declined over the years, both in value and how much thought had gone into them. If she recalled correctly, last year his generosity had extended to a new iron and a tub of Quality Street.
No matter, Kay would treat Maddie to something special after Christmas when she had her finances properly sorted.
She turned the volume up on the TV and headed back to the kitchen to start the cooking. Kay loved cooking roasts and the Christmas dinner was the best of all, especially this year, because everything she needed was there in the fridge and the cupboard, right down to the cranberry sauce. Sorting through it all, she could see that Alan and Lucy had really splashed out. It was all top-quality stuff, mostly from Marks & Spencer.
So much for only shopping at the retailer he worked for. There were hundreds of pounds’ worth of food and drink in the house. He had never spent this much on Christmas when Kay had been with him. It seemed that he was generous to a T with almost everyone except his wife. That was what made eating the Christmas food he had bought to impress Lucy so satisfying. Today was well and truly payback time.
She wondered where he and Lucy would be spending their Christmas Day. Well, wherever it was, she wasn’t going to allow herself to feel sorry for them. They had brought their current situation upon themselves.
As she was peeling spuds, a sleepy and hungover-looking Maddie appeared at the kitchen door.
“What have you got the telly on so loud for?” she complained. “My head hurts.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Kay. “Sit yourself down and I’ll make you some coffee – and Merry Christmas, by the way!”
Kay went back through to the living room to turn the TV off. It had moved on to sports news now, something about Boxing Day football fixtures, a subject in which she had no interest. Just as she pressed the button on the remote, a chilling thought went through her. The dead girl could have been Maddie.
She offered a silent prayer of thanks that her daughter had got home safe and sound and rushed back through to the kitchen, taking Maddie by surprise by giving her a huge hug.
“What was that for?” asked her bemused daughter.
“Did you hear what was on the news before?” asked Kay.
“I wasn’t taking a lot of notice,” replied Maddie. “Head’s throbbing too much.”
“There’s been a murder in town. That’s why I hugged you. I’m just glad you’re safe and sound. How did you get home last night?”
“I’m pretty sure I shared a taxi with a couple of people from the pub,” she replied, “but the details are a bit vague.”
“Thank goodness you did,” said Kay. She had banged on to Maddie over and over again about making sure she got home safely and she was glad it had sunk in. She then proceeded to tell her more about the recent spate of murders.
It all came as quite a shock to Maddie who, having been up in Durham, caught up in the student Christmas party circuit, had been completely unaware of the murders going on in Oxfordshire.
“Why didn’t you warn me about this last night?” asked Maddie. “And how come no one said anything about it in the pub?”
“Well, the first two murders were in Oxford and Kidlington,” replied Kay. “You know what it’s like in this town. No one takes any notice of anything unless it’s right under their noses. Most of the time they’re too busy gossiping about each other’s sex lives. Plus, nothing big like this ever happens here, does it? I can’t ever remember a murder in this town before.”
“Do they know who was killed?” asked Maddie.
“A young woman is all they are saying,” said Kay. “The last two were both in their late-teens.”
“God, I hope it’s not one of my friends,” replied Maddie.
“Well, let’s try not to think about it for now,” said Kay. “There’s no point speculating until we know more. Now you’re up, you can help me with the dinner.”
The turkey crown went down a treat. Over lunch they shared a bottle of champagne that Alan had kindly left in the fridge for them. It was Moët & Chandon, rather than the supermarket brand that he usually bought. Later they went through to the living room and opened presents.
“I’m sorry it’s not much,” said Kay. “Things have been a little fraught recently, as you know. But I’ll make it up to you.”
“Don’t worry, I love it,” replied Maddie, as she placed the silver chain around her neck.
Maddie proceeded to open her other presents, the ones Alan had left for her. They were predictably extravagant: a cashmere scarf, the latest iPad and some fancy Belgian chocolates. There was also an expensive-looking gold bracelet, which Kay noted that she did not put on, placing it back in the box. He didn’t know his daughter as well as she did. She only ever wore silver jewellery, never gold.
Just after she opened her last present, Maddie’s mobile rang.
“It’s Dad,” said Maddie, answering.
Alan had rung to wish his daughter a merry Christmas, something that Kay could hardly begrudge him. However, there was more to the call than just that.
“Mum, Dad’s spending Christmas with Lucy at The Oxfordshire,” said Kay. “He’s asked if it’s OK for me to go over there this evening and spend some time with them.”
He had managed to find a pretty decent room at the inn, then, thought Kay. The two of them had spent a very happy wedding anniversary weekend at that hotel many years before. How had he managed to get in there on Christmas Eve?
Perhaps people didn’t stay in hotels much at Christmas, she mused. It was a family time, after all. Whatever the reason, he certainly wasn’t roughing it. He was probably trying desperately to keep hold of Lucy, worried that she would dump him in his reduced circumstances.
Kay’s first instinct was to say no, but then she thought about her chat with Kent earlier. Perhaps it was better if Maddie was out of the way for a while.
“Let me speak to him,” said Kay.
Leaving Alan in no doubt that she was doing him a favour, Kay said she had no objection to Maddie joining him and Lucy at the hotel, as long as he came and picked her up and brought her back the next day.
It was dark by the time Alan came for Maddie. Kay didn’t let him into the house, not wanting any aggravation with her daughter present. Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to the murder.
She switched the television back on. It was almost five o’clock, and the channel was showing the latest weather bulletin. The Boxing Day forecast had lots of black clouds spewing out rain all over the country, so nothing unusual there.
According to the presenter, there had been huge snowfalls on the Eastern US coast over Christmas. Kay vowed next year she was going to go somewhere snowy for Christmas. Perhaps she should go back to Rovaniemi, but for the winter solstice this time. Then she could see the Aurora Borealis. There was nothing and no one stopping her now from doing these things.
At 5pm exactly, the main national news came on. The local murders were once again the lead item. Kay watched as the channel’s main news anchor, a middle-aged man in a grey suit and hair to match, delivered the latest update.
“Detectives hunting the killer of three women in Oxfordshire who were raped and stabbed during the past week have today issued a £25,000 reward for information to help catch ‘The Christmas Killer’, as the murderer has become known.”
The picture on the screen behind the newscaster switched to the road next to the woody path, just as Kay had seen it earlier that day, with police and media everywhere.
“The latest victim, Polish national Anna Wiśniewski, died after being knifed less than 200 yards from her home late last night.”
Kay looked on, horrified, as the image of Anna, the kind and downtrodden girl from the chip shop, was flashed onto the screen.
Chapter Eighteen
December 2018
Suddenly things had become all very horrible and all very real.
The news reported terrible events like this all the time, but they were always things happening far away and to people she didn’t know. Being local, this story had caught her attention more than most but until now, not personally knowing the victims, had still left her with a fair degree of detachment.
Now things were different. The loss of the lovely, young girl’s life, who had been so kind to Kay at a time when no one else would, caused her to begin sobbing uncontrollably. How could anyone have done this to her? Anna would never have harmed a fly. It was bad enough that the poor girl had been bullied and abused by McVie while she was alive, but to lose her life in such horrific circumstances was an absolute tragedy.
The footage switched to a picture of a policewoman she recognised from the scene earlier, identified by an on-screen caption as D.I. Hannah Benson, head of the local police. She had never met her personally, but knew of her. Kent had mentioned a while back that it was her who had taken his old job. She was being interviewed by Seema Mistry at the scene.
