Amy Cooper Forever

by Craig Mullins

  “You’re leaving now anyway so it wouldn’t have been much of a relationship anyway.” He heard the regret in her voice and felt sorry for her boyfriend, she should tell him if she felt what they had was going nowhere. He liked honesty in a relationship, if there was an issue it was better to be upfront about it and challenge it head on.

  THIRTY FIVE

  Friday 1st December 2017

  She didn’t know where to start, nearly thirty years of paperwork was hoarded in boxes in this room. This had been her personal incident room away from work. She had worked on frustrating cases into the early hours of many a morning, some still remained unsolved, a few she knew would never be solved. She became distracted as she lifted a box, each of the black and grey archive boxes had an index card slid into a pocket at the front. This particular box bought back bittersweet memories. One of the cases was listed as Cooper,Amy 4/7/1993, a rather brutal murder that was solved in a little under eight months. But something about the case at the time rang alarm bells for Sian, even when they discovered the sick fuck that had cut her heart out and eaten it she still had strong feelings that something was wrong.

  The rest of the house was packed up and ready for the removal van tomorrow morning. It was just this room left, and the single glass and bottle of wine she’d left unpacked. She placed the single archive box to one side and proceeded to move the rest downstairs with the rest of her possessions. In less than an hour she was sat on the floor of her former makeshift incident room with an open bottle of Merlot, a glass and a box of files from twenty five years ago. She wiped the thin layer of dust from the lid and removed it, she took out the bundle of files labelled Cooper, Amy and removed the rubber band. Sometimes cases used to get to her so much that she would take copies of files to allow her to work on it from home, this was one such case. She poured a glass of the wine and took a sip, she opened the manilla file and seeing the photo immediately realised that she should have kept a second bottle of wine out. This was going to be a long night.

  The series of pictures were of the crime scene, she had forgotten just how bad it had been. She took a larger mouthful of wine and started reading over her notes from the morning her body was discovered. She sat with her back against the walk, wearing her faithful grey sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. For a woman in her early fifties she had kept herself in pretty good shape, mostly this was down to her complete disregard for a healthy lifestyle. Couple that with a life of excesses it was a miracle she was alive let alone in such good health. Her last visit to her GP had revealed that apart from an elevated cholesterol level she was as healthy as a thirty year old.

  She found her initial report from the morning of the incident at Belle Vista Chalet Park, she read it a half dozen times. She then read her follow up report after she had spoken to PC Thorne and the receptionist at the park. One thing struck her as odd at the time and still did, the girl who picked up the key on the day wasn’t the victim and it had never been determined who she was. Sian had always felt uncomfortable that the killer was convicted of Amy Cooper’s murder but that there were still several loose ends. She understood the physical evidence couldn’t be disputed, his hair was found at the scene along with his semen inside the victim. He had no alibi for the night she was murdered-he was on the park in a different chalet. The parks records showed him as a guest. As she sat there in the empty room with just her wine and files for company she took herself back to that day. With her eyes closed she could once again smell the scene, stale cooking blended with a strong metallic scent. It was all coming back to her, she hadn’t realised at the time just how warm the room had been, she could put it down to the amount of people in there but thinking back she should have checked the thermostat for the heating. She knew there was a distinct possibility that the heating had been switched on, on what had been one of the hottest days of the year why would the killer have put it on?

  She poured the last of the wine, she knew she would go downstairs and unpack a second bottle. The wine was beginning to make her feel sentimental, this had been happening more and more recently. She thought back to the young PC she had met for the first time that morning, the same one she ended up fucking a few weeks later. No she didn’t fuck him, it was more a case of him fucking her, she remembered back to how rough he’d been with her. The way he had taken her his way, the way he had bitten her in his frenzy.

  She put her glass down as her hand shook, she pushed papers this way and that until she found the one she wanted. In her hand was the pathologists report. She scanned the document until she came to the section she wanted, Final Pathological Diagnosis. With her finger she went down the list, it was at number fifty seven she came to the one she wanted after surgical absence of appendix, bite mark to lower abdomen lower right quadrant. “Did we get the wrong guy?” She questioned to herself out loud, she knew the case inside and out and all the evidence pointed to the man they put away for the crime. Although she had her doubts about aspects of the case she had to admit there was no other suspect that came close to fitting the evidence the way the killer had. Until now.

  She got up from the floor which turned out to be a mistake, her legs buckled as she tried to stand, then the pins and needles hit. She sat back down and frantically rubbed her thighs to quell the pain. She looked down at her watch and saw that she’d been sat in the same position for the past two hours. She wanted the wine badly now, so after a few minutes attempted to get up again. The pain was bearable as she hobbled down the stairs feeling every one of her fifty three years, she went straight to the box she wanted and retrieved another bottle of Merlot before she headed back to her incident room.

  It was three in the morning when her body gave up on her. She slept until a knock on the door woke her from her slumber. “Shit” she shouted, her watch told her it was seven and to make matters even worse it was moving day. She ran down the stairs in last night’s clothes, hair stuck to her head and mascara smeared eyes. She opened the door to two of the hottest guys she’d ever seen stood there, even in her exhausted state she wouldn’t turn either of them down. She was beginning to regret working until the early hours of the morning.

  “Morning, everything downstairs is ready to go, there’s nothing to worry about upstairs I’ll take that stuff. Is it okay if I just leave you to get on with it?” She asked.

  “Sure we’ll let you know when we’re done luv.” They walked past her and proceeded to start carrying the larger items of furniture out. She went back up to where the files were all scattered over the floor, as she stared once more at them she was certain she was right. She gathered up all the files, as soon as her move was complete she would take them to the station and speak to her DCI to see about getting the case reopened.

  Today though was moving day, she’d lived in this flat for the best part of thirty years. She’d decided recently that she wanted something a bit quieter. Over recent years tourism had picked up in Yarmouth and the hustle and bustle that she once thrived on was beginning to get to her and she longed for a slower pace. What she had found for her next home was a wooden cabin overlooking the sea at Hemsby. It wasn’t the most luxurious of places but it offered her the life she craved, morning coffee on the verandah looking out at the sea. Evenings with a glass of wine in front of the open fire. And best of all peace and quiet. Was she really getting old? Although at times she felt as young and youthful as when she was in her twenties, the last couple of years she had realised that her body couldn’t lie anymore. She was still a looker and had many a dalliance with men half her age, but she had never found her soulmate. She was even considering getting a cat when she was settled in her new home.

  After packing up what was left in the room, she discovered that the only clothes she had were the ones she was standing in, everything else was ready to be loaded if it hadn’t already been put on the van. She left the box where it was and headed downstairs to the bathroom, she needed a shower as she’d been in the same clothes now for over twenty four hours. She watched as the
two men carried on with the removal task and couldn’t help notice how their jeans hugged their tight buttocks. In the bathroom she shut the door but didn’t lock it, she was forever the optimist. She ran the water as cold as she could stand, anything to try to wake up. With no soap and just a hand towel she knew it was going to be interesting, she didn’t fancy wearing underwear that she’d already worn for more than a day so would have to do what she had done on many occasions-go commando. As she stepped out of the shower she could hear the men discussing which item to take next, in just her birthday suit her body hadn’t succumbed to gravity like some of her friends. She didn’t know if it was the cold or the thought of the two hot removal guys but her nipples were like bullets and ached, she couldn’t resist rubbing her hand between her legs and then thought better of it, there were more pressing matters than her overactive libido.

  When she emerged from the bathroom her hair was still wet, and the men were carrying the last of her possessions from what would soon no longer be her flat.

  “We’re done Miss Price, is there anything else?” The taller blonde removal guy said, she noticed how he couldn’t take his eyes from her breasts and the obvious absence of a bra.

  “No thanks everything appears to be done, I’ve got a couple of boxes to put in my car and I’ll meet you at my new place.”

  “No problem, we’ll stop and get something to eat to give you time to get there.” His eyes still hadn’t moved from her chest. She watched them walk out and went upstairs to get the first of the two boxes, her car was parked twenty or so yards up the road to allow the removal van to park outside. In ten minutes she was locking the door for the last time, she would miss the place but knew it was time to move on. To be honest her mind kept going back to the Amy Cooper case, her moving home had become an inconvenience. She had been so looking forward to this day, but all thought were blighted by the events back in July of nineteen ninety three. Could they really have got things so badly wrong, and could her theory possibly be right, if it was then a whole mess of trouble was going to open up as a result.

  THIRTY SIX

  Friday 12th November 1993

  It was nearly two months since Philip Thorne had quit his job and moved to Watford, he was sat in his bedsit on Kensington Avenue. The twelve foot by ten foot room had been his home for the last eight weeks, a wash hand basin sat in the furthest left hand corner. The carpet was a grey floral once upon a time, it was now muted shades of grey consisting of indeterminate shapes, much of which had yellowing stains or threadbare patches. The sash window barely opened six inches, the radiator below was rust ridden and he had doubts it would work. The only other items in the room were a battered wardrobe, single metal framed bed and a three drawer chest of which only two opened. But he was happy, happier than he had been in a very long time. He’d discovered that running away, although right for him at the time, was not always the answer and he was glad to be back.

  In the two months since he had been back he had not contacted his parents, nor any of his childhood friends. He had however kept a close eye on the reason for his return, a girl. It always came down the the same thing with Philip-love. He knew from the first time he laid eyes on her as a young woman that she was the one for him. She still had to blossom before he could have her but he was prepared to wait.

  Today was the day when he was going to make his first move on her. It had been a few months since he had last seen her, he had her address and he was going to see her. He’d watched her house for the last two weeks, staking it out from seven in the morning until six in the evening, it had been boring but he had to do it if he wanted to get her alone. And it was important that their first proper meeting should be just the two of them. At nine o’clock on a Wednesday both Mr and Mrs Cooper went to see their daughter Amy, she resided in a burial plot at the cemetery in North Watford. The headstone still hadn’t been placed – he knew this because last week he had followed them, even into the cemetery. He’d watched as they sat beside her for two hours. Sat at a safe distance he’d waited for them to leave before he ventured over to the grave. He still remembered the morning he’d found her in the chalet at Hemsby.

  He watched as the Coopers drove their Range Rover from the driveway of ‘Cariad’. It was five minutes until he drove his own car in through the gates and pulled up next to the door. His adrenaline was like a torrent through his veins as he stood there, hand poised on the knocker. Before he had a chance to withdraw the door opened.

  “Hel…” She started before he interrupted.

  “Don’t say a word, I want things to be different with you, so let me start. Hello I’m Philip Thorne, it is so nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to her.

  “Hello Philip Thorne, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir.” She curtseyed as she said it and laughed. He waited with his hand outstretched until she took it in hers. “Let’s go inside, I am so glad you’ve come back here.”

  She led him through the house to the kitchen where she made him a coffee, she remembered how much he loved his coffee. Philip watched her as she stood with her back to him, her young body in a pair of jeans, and a black t-shirt. Her long brown hair reached three quarters of the way down her back, a slight kink giving it a shimmer as it moved with every word she spoke.

  He knew he needed to get something off his chest before he bottled it, so he just started talking while her back was to him. “I came back for one reason and one reason only, you. I want things to be different, you’ve lost so much and I want to be here for you. I know I’m a lot older than you but…” Before he could finish she turned to face him.

  “I don’t care about the age gap, the only thing I am certain of is that I want to be with you.”

  “Your parents will have other ideas, they won’t want you dating me. I’m twenty two, and your thirteen. If this is what you want then we will have to be very careful.” He said as she walked over to him.

  “My parents barely notice me since Amy died, they are consumed by guilt. Do you know where they are right now? No? They’re with her. They are always with her.” She put her arms around him and he held her tightly as she sobbed. Her body rubbed against his with each convulsion, He tried to think of anything but her to quell what was happening to his body.

  “I am sure they love you Hayley, but it must be hard for them. And remember you have me now. I am always here for you. We just have to keep this as our secret for the time being.”

  “Oooh I like secrets, will we have secret liaisons, clandestine trysts. Hot steamy sex in the back of your car?” She laughed, she could feel him growing against her.

  “Hayley you’re thirteen, I will wait for you. I want to be with you forever and we have our whole lives together.” He said as he freed herself from her and looked into her deep hazel eyes for a reaction. What he saw there shattered his soul, he was looking into her sister Amy’s from that morning. All the emotions of that day came flooding back in a wave of pain and torment. He pulled her to him once more, unable to look in those eyes a second longer and whispered in her ear. “I love you Hayley Cooper more than you could ever imagine.”

  “I love you too Philip Thorne.” She tucked her head into his neck as his large arms engulfed her body.

  After their little heart to heart they sat next to each other on stools at the breakfast bar and drank their coffee. They sat in silence for a while, an unspoken knowledge between them, their fingers entwined below the counter.

  Philip knew that he only had a limited time with Hayley this time as her parents would be back within a couple of hours.

  THIRTY SEVEN

  Friday 1st December 2017

  It had been nearly a week again and Pinky had got hardly anything down on paper. The new inmate had been shipped in on Tuesday and for the last four days all they had heard was that she hadn’t done anything and couldn’t understand why she was there. But today he was determined, writing was going to get done.

  Chapter 12

  Wait. That was all I had t
o do was wait. It was four o’clock and I’d been waiting for nearly an hour. I knew there was a possibility that she wouldn’t turn up, but I had hope. I walked into the bedroom to have a look out the window to see if I could see her coming. I’ll admit I was nervous, nervous and excited. It had been too long since I’d seen her and in some weird way I longed to be with her like before. But my heart told me I could never love her the way I did.

  I looked up and down the road and still there was no sign of her. A man with a dog looked over at the window and I had to duck behind the floral curtain. His dog barked but he tugged at his lead and carried on walking. I could have gone in to the sitting room and watched television while I waited but didn’t want to be caught off guard, instead I sat in the chair situated behind the door so that once she was in I could push the door shut and there would be no escape for either of us. The door was closed but the handle on the outside would allow her to open it when I told her to enter – see I had tried to think of everything.

  I want to be clear about something, my reason for doing this wasn’t to hurt her. If you have read my whole book up until this point you will have realised just how much I loved Amy Cooper, I didn’t want to hurt her. But I also wanted – no that wasn’t the right word – I needed the one thing that only she could give me. The one thing I had invested all my time and devotion to, winning Amy’s heart. That’s why I was here now, I had won it fair and square until she had moved the goalposts, until she had let that loser prick Adam fuck her.