by Gemma Rogers
‘Has Terry ever assaulted you?’ she asked.
‘Yes, he forced me to give him oral sex.’ I cringed at the term, but it was better than saying the words ‘blow job’ to a policeman. I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. Saying the words took me right back to that claustrophobic office and the clinking of Terry unbuckling his belt. My throat narrowed and I coughed.
‘When was this?’
I couldn’t remember the exact date, I’d tried to block it from memory, but I told the police when I thought it was.
‘Did it happen more than once?’
I shook my head. A lie, but I wasn’t going to admit an assault on the night he disappeared, that would be stupid.
‘Do you hate Terry?’
I glared at Wimslow. Here we go. ‘What do you think? Everyone hates him. He’s a predator.’ I bit, unable to hold back. My cool demeanour vanished.
‘Has he ever forced you to have sex with him?’
‘No, not me, others.’
‘Who?’
‘It’s not my place to say. It’s up to them if they want to share it with you.’ I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. Trying to remind myself their job was to make me uneasy and it was stupid to fall into their trap.
‘Jess, we’re just trying to find out what happened to Terry and build a picture of what sort of man he was.’
This time, I remained quiet; I didn’t need to tell them what sort of man he was. The worst kind.
They went on to ask about the camera, did I know it was there, had I seen the photo before? I answered no to everything, praying Karla wouldn’t say differently. I hadn’t told Dan I’d received two photos through my door. If only I’d had the chance to speak to her. I should have rung her last night; it was stupid of me to be so unprepared. Although it was unlikely they’d be able to tie me to Terry’s disappearance.
I shifted in my seat; sure the interview would be near the end. How many more questions could they ask? Wimslow leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table and clasping his fingers together. He looked fixedly at me and I had to stop myself from squirming under his gaze.
‘Let’s go back to the Friday that Terry was last seen. Can you talk us through the day, your movements, Terry’s movements, because we have reason to believe you may have been the last person to see him alive…’
42
Shit. How much did they know? Karla could have been here all night, for all I knew, spilling her guts and telling them everything. A cold sweat settled on the small of my back and I flexed my fingers, the chill making them go numb.
Take it easy, they’re fishing, they don’t know anything. We’d done everything right, left no trace. I was sure of it.
Again, I ran through the events of that day, how I left shortly after five when Terry was still in his office. Afterwards, the questions came about my movements later that evening. What did I do when I left work? I avoided using Karla as an alibi, like we had arranged. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be keeping to her end of the bargain. I told them I walked home, alone. They asked what I’d had for dinner? Did I speak to anyone? See anyone? Did I watch any television?
My voice cracked as my throat dried up and I sipped the water they’d provided whilst trying to answer their questions. Always stick as close to the truth as possible. Karla had said there was no CCTV in the roads we’d walked through, but how could she have been certain? For all I knew it could have all been a pack of lies? She could have been setting me up from the start.
As the pressure mounted, Wimslow suddenly leaned back in his seat, thanking me for coming. The interview was over.
I sighed inwardly; my entire body sagged.
‘When you find Terry, will he be charged?’ I asked, trying to deflect the spotlight off me for a moment, so they’d believe I didn’t know what happened to Terry.
‘We’re gathering evidence at the moment, but with many witnesses coming forward, it’s likely we’ll be able to build a case.’
I smiled tightly and left the room. Fat lot of good it would do now, but Terry got what he deserved in the end, even if it hadn’t been delivered by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Back in the waiting area, both Laura and Karla had disappeared. I assumed they were being interviewed. The clock behind the Perspex window displayed five to eleven.
Unable to sit still, I paced the floor, backwards and forwards, stopping momentarily to read the signs on the noticeboard.
Laura came back first, looking visibly shaken, her face as white as a sheet. I wrapped an arm around her briefly and gave her a squeeze.
She leaned into me, whispering. ‘That was awful.’
‘Did you tell them what Terry did to you?’ I asked, not knowing for sure if he’d ever hurt Laura.
She nodded and I knew from the pain in her eyes she’d relived something she’d rather forget.
‘Well done, it’s over now.’
We flopped into the chairs and Laura chewed the sleeve of her hoody, standing a few minutes later when Karla appeared.
In contrast, she appeared unfazed, her expression rigid. I was dying to know what she’d said to the police, but before I could ask, another uniformed officer was buzzed through from the corridor and announced he was going to drive us back to Bright’s.
I texted Dan on the way back, letting him know we’d be there shortly. He didn’t reply and when we returned, I saw why. It was all hands on deck as a rush turnaround of towels had come through from a top London hotel.
‘Their current supplier has two machines broken down. So, this is our chance to show them what we can do,’ Dan shouted across the sound of the washing machine on its full spin. He’d rolled up his sleeves and helped Natalia unload another batch. I’d never seen Terry get stuck in before. Dan’s forehead glistened as he worked and I found myself staring, daydreaming about peeling the damp shirt off him. ‘Are you giving us a hand or what?’ he called, sniggering as he noticed my eyes had glazed over.
I nodded and hurried to put my stuff in my locker. Catching Karla alone, I pulled her to one side along the narrow corridor.
‘What did you tell the police?’
‘What do you think I told the police?’ She frowned at me, but I fixed my stare and waited. ‘I didn’t tell them anything all right. Can you get off my back?’
‘We need to talk,’ I said.
‘We are talking.’ Her voice dipped in sarcasm and I had to resist the urge to slap the smirk off her face.
‘Guys, Dan’s waiting for you.’ Natalia popped her head around the corner.
I scowled at her timing.
‘After work,’ I said to Karla, as we headed back to the warehouse.
The rest of Friday passed in a haze of bright white towels. We got through them all in the end, my arms ached from the lifting and folding. All of us resembled a sweaty, frizzy mess by the time they were collected. As a thank you, Dan bought cold cans of Coke and heart-shaped doughnuts from the café, and we slouched on the floor, enjoying our treat.
I’d not seen everyone in such a good mood before, chatting amongst themselves, smiling and laughing. It was never like that when Terry was in charge. Dan’s small gesture had been a morale boost at the end of a hard day. I was sure most were relieved their police interview was over, the ordeal of explaining what Terry had done to each of them no longer a weight on their shoulders.
‘We’re back,’ came Agnes’s voice as she peered around the corner into the warehouse, eyes widening at us chilling on the floor, our fingers sticky with icing.
I beamed at Agnes and Hanna as they rounded the corner, the last to return from the cop shop. My smile faded when Detective Wimslow followed behind.
‘Ah excellent. I hoped you’d still be here. Miss Strickland, can you come with me please?’
I heaved myself to my feet at the same time as Dan, my muscles rigid and non-compliant.
‘What for?’ he jumped in as I stared incredulously at the detective.
‘We just need to ask some more question
s at the station.’
The room was silent, all eyes on me as Dan moved to speak to the detective. My heart began to pound and the vein in my forehead throbbed.
‘But why?’ he pressed.
‘If you could come with me please,’ Wimslow repeated.
Had Karla grassed? I shot a look at her. What have you done?
She smirked; one eyebrow raised. Her eyes locked on mine and my gut jolted as though I’d been sucker-punched.
It didn’t feel real as I walked out to the lockers to collect my things, Dan coming to join me. My legs were like jelly, as though they belonged to someone else.
‘They won’t tell me what it’s about. What’s going on, Jess?’ He looked concerned, almost panicked, which put me on edge.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. It’s okay, they don’t know anything. It’ll be fine.
There was no small talk in the car, Wimslow kept glancing in his rear-view mirror at me, but I ignored him. Instead concentrating on trying to keep as still as possible, no fidgeting, no nerves on show. I wasn’t going to give anything away. I wasn’t under arrest, not yet anyway. Did I need a solicitor? How would I even go about finding one? My pulse quickened and I silently gasped for air, sucking in rapid shallow breaths.
Calm down, Jess, or you’re going to hyperventilate.
On arrival, I was escorted into the same interview room as before. Wimslow sat and was joined by Detective Mansfield again, who smiled as she entered. She fixed the machine to record and once the date, time and occupants had been recorded, Wimslow jumped straight in.
‘Earlier we asked you if you knew you were being filmed. You told us you didn’t, but we’ve heard that you had seen the image before, the one that was sent to Daniel Bright.’ Wimslow frowned at me, his hands clasped on the desk.
I remained silent, debating whether to stay that way.
‘We’ve been told, Jess, that someone sent a photo to your home address. In fact, not one, but two photos.’
Still I remained quiet, weighing my options. Did I talk or not? Either way, Karla had fucked me.
43
I considered my choices. If I didn’t talk, I looked like I had something to hide. If I did talk, I had to be sure I wasn’t going to tie myself up in lies I’d already told. Karla had pointed them in my direction, and I had to steer them away.
‘I did get sent the photos.’
‘Why did you lie?’ Wimslow’s eyes were like slits, I’d lost his trust now.
‘Because I couldn’t bear to think of anyone else seeing them, those photos of me, doing… that.’ My eyes watered and I let them, a little emotion would do me no harm. ‘I got sent two and I was waiting for something else, a message or something,’ I continued.
‘Did you think you were being blackmailed?’ Mansfield asked.
‘I assumed so, but I never received anything else. I thought perhaps it was Terry, or maybe Barry.’
Wimslow’s chin jutted forwards, ears pricked up. Bingo. ‘What made you think that?’
‘I believe Terry owed Barry money; I’d heard it mentioned around the warehouse. I’m not sure what for though.’ I had to hope Wimslow wasn’t going to drop my name to Barry, although I was sure he’d know where it came from. I’d have to worry about it later. All I had in my arsenal was deflection.
Detective Mansfield scribbled on her pad, she was left-handed and had smudges of ink beneath her little finger; I noticed as she brushed her fringe out of her eyes.
‘Did you have anything to do with Terry Bright’s disappearance?’ The question came out of nowhere.
I snorted and Wimslow raised his eyebrows.
‘Something funny?’
‘Well, have you seen the size of me? I don’t know what you think happened, but I had nothing to do with it. I mean even Dan thinks his brother is holed up with some prostitute somewhere.’
‘There’s been no bank account usage, no phone records since the Friday when you were the last reported person to see him.’
‘What Terry did or where he went once I left Bright’s, I have no idea.’ I leant back and folded my arms, eyes blazing.
They had nothing; I was sure of it.
The detectives glanced at each other, before Mansfield leant forward in her seat, clasping her hands together.
‘You see, the thing is, Jess, the CCTV we have of Terry leaving the warehouse isn’t great quality. We can’t be sure it’s him. We’re comparing it with other images of him to see if there are any differences.’
The room fell silent, you could hear a pin drop. None of us moved. I froze in my seat as my stomach plummeted. Did they think it was someone else?
Doesn’t matter, can they prove it? the voice in my head counselled.
Saliva rushed into my mouth, making me nauseas, all the time trying to conceal how I was feeling. To keep my poker face.
‘Well, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I saw him as I left Bright’s and that was the last time.’ I hoped my bravado would convince them. Why were they even pursuing it? It wasn’t as though he’d turned up dead. Was Dan putting pressure on them for results?
‘Okay thanks, Jess, you’re free to leave. Don’t go too far though, eh,’ Wimslow said, shuffling some papers, his expression grave.
I wasn’t offered a lift and had to make my own way home. I rang Karla three times, but there was no answer; it was gone six and she wouldn’t have hung around for me. I had to talk to her about Eddie. She was playing around with my life; my freedom was on the line and I had no damn clue where she lived. Was all this revenge for the accident? I’d paid my dues, done my time. What more did she want?
As I walked along, it hit me around the head like a sledgehammer. Fuck! I hadn’t got rid of Terry’s coat, hat and boots. They were still in a bag in the corner of the bedsit, by the clothes rail. I sped up, eager to get home. Too full of nervous energy, I didn’t bother to wait at any of the bus stops and I ignored Dan’s calls. Heart pumping, I walked as quickly as I could, bursting into a jog every so often. How had I been so careless? I’d forgotten about them, sitting there. Incriminating evidence. My DNA would be on those boots, the hat and coat, it would show I’d worn them. That in turn would prove I was the figure on the CCTV. Shit!
Panic rose within and I was light-headed by the time I reached the front door, throwing it open and racing to check the items were still there. The carrier bag remained; some discarded clothes had been thrown over the top, which was why I hadn’t noticed them. At least Karla hadn’t taken them when she stole the money, tied them up in a bow and delivered them to the police. Perhaps she didn’t find them, too busy searching for cash.
I sank onto the bed to untangle my thoughts. What would I do, burn or bury them? What if someone was watching? I shuddered, sure I wasn’t enough of a prime suspect, in a crime the police couldn’t even be sure happened, to warrant being followed. Images of a dark car parked further down the road flashed into my mind. I had seen too many movies for sure. Whatever I did with them, I needed to get them out of the bedsit.
Scooping the entire bag into my backpack and squeezing in the enormous camel coat, I just about managed to do the zip up. On my back it was heavy, but I’d resigned myself to the fact that my Friday night would be spent getting rid of evidence.
Before I left, I called Dan back, I wanted my mobile to point at me being at home if it was ever checked. It barely rang before it was answered.
‘Hey, how are you? I’ve been worried.’
‘I’m fine, just more questions. I think they believe I had something to do with Terry going missing.’ I forced a laugh; it was better for me to tell the truth and point out how ridiculous it was. Easier than Dan thinking it but not wanting to ask.
‘Really? How?’
‘I have no idea, but they keep asking me the same questions. I think I was the last person to see him that Friday. You’ll have to ask them.’ I sighed.
‘Want me to come and get you?’
‘No, thanks,
but I’m home now, I’m shattered. I’m going to chill and have an early night.’
‘Okay, if you’re sure.’ Dan sounded disappointed, but I had other things to do.
‘Yeah, I’m not great company, to be honest.’
‘I know you didn’t have anything to do with it,’ Dan said. My throat felt thick and I swallowed the guilt down.
‘I’m not sure how they think I’d be able to do anything to your brother, he was three times the size of me.’ The line went quiet. Had we been cut off?
‘Dan, you still there?’
‘Was. You said was. You’ve said it twice now.’
My heart leapt into my throat. ‘What do you mean?’
‘The day you got burgled, you said to me ‘your brother was a monster’ in front of your place remember?’
Shit. The walls seemed to close in, the backpack weighing me down.
‘And you’ve just said it again. Was.’
‘I didn’t mean to, you’re reading too much into it,’ I faltered.
‘Jess, is there something you’re not telling me?’
44
‘Of course not.’ I scrunched my eyes tight, my heart shattering into tiny pieces. I knew what I had to do. If I’d learned anything inside, it was attack was the best form of defence.
‘Are you sure…’ Dan began, but I interrupted him, launching my tirade.
‘You know what, you sound exactly like them. How the fuck do you think I could do something to Terry? I’d love to hear your theory. He’s bigger, double my weight. You clearly don’t trust me at all. Perhaps we’re better off stopping this now. After all, shagging the boss is a massive cliché, isn’t it?’
Dan was silent on the other end, but I could hear him breathing, slow and steady.
‘I’ll see you on Monday at work.’ Laying on the sarcasm. I didn’t wait for a response and hung up. Happy fucking Valentine’s Day.
How had things gone so wrong? I had the chance to move on, have a relationship. Dan made me happy, he was lovely, a gentleman and seemed to like me too. But we couldn’t move forward with Terry between us and if he had any suspicions at all, it made him dangerous. My liberty came first. I’d look for another job, scour the papers and ask around. With Terry gone, Barry couldn’t hold me to ransom if I managed to get another employer to take me on.
