Curious Campers

by Anne Lown

  “You missed a right sight yesterday. Colette was on the pull, but I doubt she got any takers.” Nick laughed. He seemed to think the woman was a joke. “Couldn’t leave quick enough, could we?”

  He nudged his elbow towards Harvey who didn’t appear to see the funny side.

  “Hey, Harvey,” Nick said, “what if it’s Colette in there and someone’s bumped her off? That would solve all your problems, now wouldn’t it?”

  “That’s awful,” Jenny said, flicking her gaze to Harvey to check his reaction, but there wasn’t one. He was probably already over her.

  She tried to keep her distance from anything to do with Colette. Jenny didn’t know her well, but what she’d seen of her behaviour, the woman liked to get her own way. It was understandable what attracted him to her, she was a good-looking lady, but could certainly be hard work. Still, it was none of her business.

  Something moved over by the entrance to the woods. Jenny caught it out of the side of her vision and turned her head in that direction. Nick had also reacted. He straightened his posture and lifted his chin to get a better view. She watched in disbelief as two of her colleagues were led from between the trees. Jenny bent her neck forward, jutting her head out in front. She noticed after a moment her mouth had slackened and promptly closed it, but not before Nick saw.

  “Catching flies, are we?” He winked.

  She grimaced at him, not happy to be the butt of one of his poorly timed jokes. In front of everyone, the police escorted the pair out and under the police tape. For a change, Pete had an arm wrapped around his crying girlfriend. It was a side of the immature man Jenny never thought she’d see.

  “Are they letting them go?” She glanced back to the two men she stood with to see if they’d worked out what was happening.

  Nick and Harvey appeared to be wondering the same. All three of them made a beeline for the couple, trying to get there before they were swamped by other villagers. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. Nick grabbed Pete’s free arm, stopping him in his tracks and whirling him around.

  “Come with us.”

  The five of them wandered off down the road, in the direction of Jenny’s house. It was the nearest property to the location of the police emergency. She walked alongside Harvey as Nick stayed with the other two, his arm around Faye’s shoulder in a comforting gesture, pushing her onwards towards the safe place. A few of the people standing around attempted to follow, but they were soon left behind because no one would answer their questions.

  Once inside, Jenny locked her front door while Harvey proceeded to close all the downstairs curtains, giving them some privacy and blocking out a few of the stragglers. She entered the living room, and Nick had seated the pair on the sofa and himself on the coffee table, ready to start the inquisition.

  “What did you see?”

  “A body, we found a body?” Pete’s voice trembled. He was more emotional than Jenny expected.

  “Do you know who it was?” Nick asked, pushing for more information.

  Pete shook his head. He turned to Faye, but she did the same.

  Jenny stood nearby, feeling too wired to sit. “Did you see what he looked like?”

  Pete nodded. “Bomber jacket and fair hair. Stocky build.”

  “What?” Jenny’s mouth fell open. She raised her hand to cover it with her fingers. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, it was the guy Scott and Jason fought with, I saw them when I arrived.”

  “You’re telling me you got to the pub while Scott was outside? What did you see?”

  “Them arguing, Scott saying he’d paid him already, and the man having none of it. I saw the fight, Scott pretending to be beaten. We all know he loves a punch-up; he’s good at it, too. Then they were laughing after the bloke walked away.”

  “Did you see anything else?”

  “Yes, I saw you. You were there, too.”

  Now Jenny sat on the sofa next to Faye. She’d hoped no one had seen what had gone on, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case. First there was Les, and now there was Pete. Could the day get any worse? “Did you tell the police what you saw?”

  “Of course, I could hardly lie, could I? They wanted to know how I knew the man, and I said he was someone from the pub. I’d seen him there earlier.”

  Jenny’s heart pounded. She moved the hand from her mouth to her chest, holding it there until she managed to steady her breathing. Her gaze darted around the room, but she didn’t register anything she saw.

  What the hell am I going to do?

  She brought her attention back to Pete. “What were you doing in the woods?”

  Nick sniggered. Jenny glared at him. Now was not the time to be stupid.

  “I was getting my weekly seeing to,” Pete said.

  Faye slapped his arm. She seemed embarrassed by his juvenile remark. She wasn’t the only one not impressed. Now Harvey was glaring at him, too.

  “You got Faye to lie in the dirt on a cold night, so you could get your oats?” He was shaking his head. “What the hell does she see in you?”

  “No,” Pete protested, “we found someone’s campsite. We did it in a tent.”

  “You mean to say someone else was there?” Jenny’s eyes widened. It was a glimmer of hope Scott wasn’t involved.

  “You did it in someone else’s bedding?” Harvey wasn’t letting Pete off so easily.

  “No, only on top of the sleeping bag,” Pete said. “We got disturbed.”

  “Someone came back? Did you tell the police?” Now Jenny was back on her feet, too wound up to stay seated.

  “No way. Told them we got lost searching for somewhere comfortable.”

  Pete didn’t seem to get the severity of the situation. He was more concerned with his image than telling the truth.

  Nick slapped Pete’s knee. “So what happened? Did they see you?”

  “I dunno, they were on the other side of the clearing by the trees making strange noises. Faye got upset, so we grabbed our things and ran off into the woods the other way. That’s how we found the body.”

  “What about them?” Nick didn’t let up. “Did you see who they were?”

  “No, they were dressed funny. One looked like an alien, might’ve had blood on him.”

  “And you didn’t think the police needed to know this?” Jenny was so angry she could’ve hit Pete herself. He’d put Scott in the crosshairs with the police and left out the people camping near where the man had died. She was about to walk out of the room to try to calm down, but a thought leapt into her mind.

  Carmie saw an alien with blood on it, but that was before Scott fought with the dealer.

  She exhaled. Maybe he wasn’t in the clear just yet. She’d best speak to Carmie again. Now she’d had a chance to calm down, her account might be somewhat different to yesterday afternoon. Jenny picked up her mobile from where she’d put it on the coffee table. Scott hadn’t replied.

  Damn him. I bet he’s at Jason’s place.

  She sent him another message, marking it urgent in the hope he’d get the hint. If he didn’t know something was going on in the village, she was going to be the one who told him. No doubt he’d wave his hand at her and say it was all a stupid mistake. Dismiss it like he did everything else. Jenny pressed her lips together in a tight smile. He wasn’t going to get out of this so easily.

  Chapter Nine

  The four colleagues didn’t stay too long after the facts had been gleaned from Pete. Harvey was sickened by Pete’s behaviour in general, and this just added to his low opinion of him. Nick left when Harvey did, following him about like an unwanted sidekick. Jenny knew it was unfair to think of their friendship in that way, but Harvey truly was top dog. The other two were given a hot drink and waited while Faye’s mum came out to the village to fetch her, with Pete sneaking off down the road just before the woman arrived, clearly not wanting to face her wrath.

  The whole business on top of her lack of sleep made Jenny weary. She yawned, exhaustion setting in.
The thought of going back to bed seemed like a good idea. At least after a nap she would be more robust to get on with the day. Her eyes fluttered as she lay her head on the pillow again, the cool material beckoning her to relax and drift into a dream. Jenny didn’t resist; she was gone in seconds.

  A floorboard on the stairs creaked. Jenny’s eyes flew open. Someone was in the house. A movement by the bedroom door was caught in the side of her vision. Her first thought flew to Martin—he’d been in the house before and he’d grabbed her arm yesterday evening.

  Would he dare to return so soon?

  What a stupid question—the man was brazen to the point of rudeness. By now he would’ve worked out she wouldn’t say anything about his behaviour towards her. She should’ve spoken up months ago. To mention it to the police now would make her feel a fool. Jenny gathered together what little confidence she had and slid back the covers, ready to face her intruder.

  It was too late.

  A figure strode towards her in the darkened room, swooping in and clamping a rough hand over her mouth. She tried to suck in air, fill her lungs and let out a scream, but the fingers pressed down on the area surrounding her lips and nose. She couldn’t breathe. Jenny tried to turn her head, but the intruder pushed down harder, forcing the back of her skull into the pillow. Tears trickled over her ears and into her hair. She clasped her hands on their wrist, trying to pull it away.

  “Jen, you awake? It’s me.”

  The hand released. Jenny’s chest heaved as she gulped in air, sobs escaping with each exhale. She’d recognised the voice. It was Scott. He sat on the side of her bed, apparently unaware of what he’d just done. “I got your message. I heard something had happened.”

  Jenny sat up and slapped at his arms, anger bubbling inside her to match the tears cascading down her cheeks. “I thought you were Martin come to get me again.”

  Scott caught her forearms with his hands, holding them tight and digging his fingers into her growing bruise, and she writhed in pain. “Why would I be Martin?” Scott still didn’t get it.

  “He threatened me again. He hurt my arm.” Jenny managed to wrench herself free from his grip before leaning over to a lamp beside her bed and switching it on. Its gentle glow illuminated her nightdress. She drew back the sleeve, revealing reddish finger marks already turning purple.

  “What the hell?”

  He wasn’t the only one shocked. Scott was still dressed in his costume—he couldn’t have brought clothes with him to change into when he’d left home, an oversight on his part. Now she looked closely, he appeared in worse shape than he had the night before. Mingled in among the dirt and bits of foliage were more smears of blood that couldn’t have come from his nosebleed during the fight. Jenny stared, her fears for him reemerging.

  “It’s not what you think. I cut my hand, see?” Scott held up the other hand to the one he’d used to cover her mouth. It was wrapped in a makeshift bandage; the blood had soaked through.

  “How did you do that?” Part of Jenny didn’t want to know, she was afraid of what he might say, but not knowing the answer was even worse.

  “I cut it with a knife, but it’s okay, it’ll stop bleeding eventually.”

  “You need to go to a hospital and get stitches.”

  “Yeah, right, Jen. And say what, I’ve been smoking dope?”

  That was something she’d already worked out. The aroma from the weed was still caught in his clothes, the pungent smell seeping into the room. He must’ve just smoked some before coming round.

  What if someone had seen him?

  “How did it happen?” she asked.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does, Scott. That dealer you were with last night, he’s turned up dead in the woods. Someone killed him.”

  “Wasn’t me.” A wide-eyed Scott got off the bed, holding his hands up in front of him and pacing the floor.

  Jenny had an eerie sensation of déjà vu. Jason had behaved in the exact same way when she’d asked him about the death of Annalise Jessop. Then he’d walked out of the house, leaving her all alone and not knowing if he’d return.

  “Where were you last night?” Jenny wet her lips and then bit the lower one.

  Please don’t say in the woods.

  “With a mate, having a smoke. What’s the big deal?”

  “Pete found the body. He recognised him and told the police you’d been fighting with him at the pub.”

  “What the hell? Why’d he do that?”

  “You know him,” she said, “he was covering his own arse. He didn’t want the police to know he was in someone’s tent having sex. The owners caught him and scared him off.”

  “Well, that’ll prove I wasn’t there. They can just get the campers to confirm they hadn’t seen me.”

  Jenny shook her head. It was clear he didn’t get it yet. “Pete never said a word about the camp. They were in costume, so he has no idea who they were. He just said about you.”

  Scott’s face drained of colour, his skin taking on a pasty appearance where his rabbit makeup had worn off. He lowered himself onto the bed, not saying a word. She waited while he stared straight ahead, giving him time to process what was happening.

  “What am I gonna do, Jen?”

  The anger she’d been feeling towards him for the last few months slipped away and was replaced by fear of the unknown. He was likely to be one of the lines of enquiry the police would be investigating. They would search for him if they didn’t find him at his house, and here was a possible place they’d come. Suddenly, her issues with Martin were nothing in comparison.

  Jenny flinched at a loud knock rapping on her front door. Her gaze met Scott’s—they both clearly thought the same thing. It must be the police. She slid out of bed and wrapped herself in a bathrobe, leaving him in her bedroom while she went to see who it was. At the bottom of the stairs she hesitated. The shadow of at least one man through the glass churned her stomach. It seemed like her fears had come true. Jenny swung back the door to find DS George and a uniformed officer in front of her.

  “Yes?” she asked, afraid to say anything else.

  The look on DS George’s face told her he was there on business, as if she couldn’t have guessed that already, but she wasn’t about to do his job for him.

  He introduced them both and then said, “You were down by the woods earlier where an incident had taken place overnight, I saw you there myself.”

  “You had better come in.” Jenny led the two men into the living room where she sat on the sofa. Now they were in her house, she couldn’t make eye contact. Instead, she rubbed her palms over the tops of her knees and waited for George to speak again.

  “Do you know why we are here?” DS George got straight down to business.

  “It’s about the body that was found.”

  “Yes. We are following up leads, one of which is about your boyfriend, Scott Harris. Do you know where he is today?”

  She blew out a breath. She hadn’t realised she’d been holding it. Now she stared directly at George. “Upstairs. I’ll just go get him.”

  Jenny didn’t bother to correct George about the state of her relationship with Scott. They’d split up at the beginning of the year, but right now that didn’t seem relevant. She stood and walked past the two men, reluctantly ascending the stairs while clutching at the banister for support, her hand trembling. Inside the bedroom, Scott still sat on the bed. He didn’t respond on her re-entry, his expression vacant while he gazed straight ahead.

  “Scott, the police are here. They want to speak to you.” Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze because she wasn’t sure he’d heard her.

  Scott broke away from wherever his mind had been and turned his face towards her. “I didn’t do it, Jen. You believe me, don’t you?”

  “Yes. Of course I do. Just tell them the truth.”

  “I can’t. Help me, Jen, get me out of this.”

  Scott stood and wrapped his arms arou
nd her, holding her tight. His body was quivering. Jenny gasped at his apparent display of fear. It was something she hadn’t witnessed before in all their years together. Aware of the men waiting downstairs, she peeled his arms from her and caught his attention.

  “Say ‘No comment’ if you are that worried and ask for a solicitor.”

  Scott nodded, then walked past her, his feet shifting along the carpet, each step audible. Jenny followed him down the stairs, her free hand on her stomach to quell the fluttering inside.

  No sooner had he entered the living room than George’s voice boomed out. “Scott Harris, we’d like you to accompany us to the station to help with our enquiries. It’s just an informal voluntary interview.”

  Scott’s pale face turned a shade of grey. Her heart ached for him. She remembered the state of Jason after he’d been asked in to answer questions. It had virtually tipped him over the edge, pushing him back into mental illness.

  The three men left her holding open the front door, helpless to do anything to fix the situation. All she knew was what Pete had admitted to when they’d caught him leaving the scene of the incident. On the road at the end of her garden, the police car pulled away with Scott in the back while Jenny stood rooted to the spot, wringing her hands in front of her, anxiety welling in her chest. There had to be something she could do. The thought of waiting hours until he could leave the station filled her with dread.

  I can’t stay here. I’ve got to do something.

  She sighed. There was only one place to go, and it wasn’t one she wanted to visit, but at that moment she didn’t have any other plans. If things weren’t so dire, she would’ve dismissed it, but right that second, all Jenny could do was hope Jason was home.

  Chapter Ten

  Jenny got dressed in the jeans and jumper she’d worn earlier that morning. She slid her feet into the tops of her boots and grabbed a thick jacket from the coat pegs by the front door. It might be later in the day, but after she looked out of the living room window, she could see the weather hadn’t gotten much better. The streets were still buzzing with pedestrians huddled around garden gates and comparing notes in hushed voices. It seemed the police arriving had stirred excitement in the village, and no doubt the pub would be busy with people hoping to hear more details.