by Emily Selby
Katie pulled her cardigan closer and ran back to the door, her heart still heavy.
An accomplice? Who could it be?
17
When Katie returned to the room, Miriam approached her.
'Is everything all right?' she asked anxiously.
Katie was relieved to see that, despite all the problems in Miriam's life, she was still able to keep an eye on the club.
Dorothy moved closer.
'Jane has been...' Katie hesitated. Sharing a piece of news with one of the biggest gossips in Sunnyvale before the police could even arrive at the station? Not a good idea! 'She had to leave early,' Katie finished her sentence. It would be all out the following morning anyway.
'Is she sick?' Miriam cocked her head and looked Katie straight in the eyes.
Katie suppressed the shudder. Sometimes Miriam's questions felt like interrogation.
'She's never fully well,' Katie replied and stepped aside in an attempt to escape. 'I need to turn off the glue gun and clean it,' she added.
'I'll help you,' Dorothy said, suddenly appearing by her side and pulling Katie by the sleeve.
They both moved to the end of the table.
'What's happened?' Dorothy asked whispering.
'I can't tell you.' Katie lowered her eyes, busying herself with the glue sticks and the box.
'Okay, I understand,' Dorothy replied. 'Will we know by tomorrow morning?'
'Probably.' It was a safe enough reply.
They collected the elements and put them neatly in the container without speaking. Katie slipped the container back into the big box and onto the shelf.
The tea party didn't even appear to notice her, busy draining their cups and chatting.
Katie stood by the shelves for a while listening to their conversations. Maybe they were making comments on the Starrs?
'It was the police, wasn't it?' Dorothy appeared at Katie's side once again. Was Katie a little more distracted today, or had Dorothy acquired an uncanny skill of appearing and disappearing at whim?
'Uhm,' Katie mumbled and squatted by the bottom shelf. The boxes seemed a little disorganised. She realigned them.
'You know what keeps bugging me?' Dorothy carried on, now squatting by Katie's side. 'Jane could have had an accomplice.'
A chill skittered down Katie's spine. Dorothy was behaving like a witch today. She glanced at her friend.
'Why would you even think that?'
'Because it makes sense. A wife, a long-suffering victim of a jealous and controlling husband, does him in with the help of a lover'
Katie gasped. 'Where did you get that from, Dorothy?'
Dorothy blew out a long breath. 'Alright, alright. I might have gone a little far in my assumptions, but you see, I can't shake off the first impressions. And I keep thinking they were both controlling each other. He was caring and overbearing, while she was keeping him on a short leash with her poor health. You see, it always takes two to tango.'
Katie shook her head. 'I understand what you mean, but I don't think there's enough evidence to support it.'
'It may just be a matter of time,' Dorothy mumbled and walked away, pinching her spiky hair.
Katie grabbed her box and rummaged through it to find her last Christmas card project. She tried hard to focus on it, but she couldn't find her rhythm.
'I need to go home early,' she told Miriam. 'I'm very tired. It's been a long day.'
Miriam opened her mouth, probably to ask some more probing questions, but fortunately, Dorothy came to Katie's rescue again.
'I bet it was. Do you need any help putting your stuff away? I'll take care of Jane's stuff as well.'
'Thanks, Dorothy.' Katie reached for her jacket, which was hanging on the chair nearby and her handbag from under the table. 'I've got a curious question, if you don't mind,' she ventured.
'Fire away, my dear.'
'Has Jane or anyone else said anything that might be of use in the case?'
Dorothy shook her head. 'People have been quite tactful not to mention Keith's death or anything related, at least not in my presence. But Jane looked quite comfortable throughout. Surprisingly so.'
'She took a calming pill,' Katie remembered.
'Ah, I see. It probably helped.'
Katie zipped her jacket up
'So, what's been going on over there, in the tea and biscuit corner?'
'Nothing interesting, unless you count the gossip about Linda.'
Katie's ears pricked. 'What about Linda?'
'That she's joined some exercise classes. It must have been a shock to her system. She's such a proud person, always wanting to be seen doing the right things.'
'Yeah, I can't imagine Linda wearing Lycra tights and a t-shirt.'
'Someone suggested she probably goes there in her twinset and pearls.'
Katie stifled a giggle. 'No, she dropped that fashion statement when Adam was born. Don't be so cruel. She can be very practical, our Linda.'
'That's what I said to the person who made that comment,' Dorothy retorted. 'But I was ignored. Anyhow, apparently Linda doesn't have a choice. The doctor told her she needed to lose some weight otherwise she'd have serious health problems.'
'Poor Linda,' Katie stopped thinking back to the declined drink earlier today. 'Yes, it makes sense now,' she mumbled to herself, and before Dorothy could make any further comments, Katie pressed the handle.
'Thanks for your help with Jane, Dorothy. Let me know if you hear anything interesting. I'm off.'
She stepped out into the cold, wet night.
Sneaking out early from the meeting meant Katie had time to do some housework before collecting Julia from Ines' place. And then, once her daughter was in bed, she could sit with a cup of tea and her notebook at the kitchen table. The rain was hammering on the dark window. At least, it was milder and the rain had stopped freezing. Hopefully, Jack had managed to return safely.
Before nerves could make her change her mind, she called his number and to her relief, he answered straight away.
'Hi, Jack, are you back home safely? The weather is awful.' It was a safe enough opening. Caring yet not too personal.
'Yes, got back in just before the roads turned dangerous. I've just finished talking to your friend.'
'If you're talking about Jane, she's not my friend. I'm just her home help. But if you've arrested one of my real friends-'
'No, no!' he cut in. 'Don't worry. I meant Jane.'
'Have you found out who her accomplice is?' Katie was too tired to beat around the bush. 'And, please, skip the 'I need more evidence bit,' she rushed to add.
'Oh, in that case,' he replied and paused. 'No, I haven't. She's still denying direct or indirect involvement in her husband’s death.'
'A happy couple?'
'Ah, not really. We know that from her journal - he was jealous and controlling.'
'Old news,' Katie murmured to herself. Dorothy would be all "I told you so."
'Do you think it might have been another man who was an accomplice?'
'Interesting hypothesis,' Jack said. Was there a note of admiration in his velvety baritone? 'We are considering it.'
So, Dorothy's theory wasn't all that batty...
'A knight in shiny armour, who came to her rescue?' Katie said slowly, reluctantly returning to the images from the crafts room and Dorothy's comment during the club meeting. 'She can look quite ethereal, like a Madonna.'
'I won't comment on that, not enough evidence,' retorted Jack.
'Anything on her phone?'
'Nothing. But she could have had a second phone.'
'Why would she?'
'She had a secret diary. Her husband was controlling. She was planning to-'
'Oh, you never said that!' Katie interrupted. Adrenaline buzzed through her system. 'Was there anything about planning a murder in her little notebook?'
'Maybe I've gone a little too far in my interpretations. But there is a mention of "becoming free" and "walking at liberty",
or something like it.'
'I think it's a biblical reference. Maybe she just used it in a spiritual sense. I wouldn't be surprised. She is a religious person.'
'That's what she says.'
'But you don't believe her?'
'I'll keep investigating,' Jack said. 'By the way, we need to widen the net and ask people to come forward if anyone saw or heard anything the morning of the murder.'
'It'll be hard. It didn’t exactly happen on the high street.'
'Yeah...' Jack's voice trailed off.
'It's strange we're not getting any closer, isn't it? Last time we had plenty of leads, even too many. This time – nothing.' Katie heaved a sigh.
'Nothing,' he repeated and paused. 'Katie, I've already asked, but I'll ask you again...'
'No, I haven't. No one suspicious,' Katie replied automatically. 'No, wait!' she added as a sudden memory popped in her mind. 'Not suspicious at all, but maybe she saw something and you’ve probably already talked to her.'
'Who?'
'Linda McKay. She was there that morning. Walking with another woman. I'm not sure who the other one was. But I'm pretty sure I saw Linda, even though she pretended not to see me.'
A long 'uhm...' filled her ear. 'She hasn’t come forward yet. I recall her as a straight to the point, common sense woman who is definitely on the side of the law. Quite strict, isn't she?'
'Yep. That's Linda.'
'We'll go ahead with the public announcement, but can you mention to Linda that she should come and talk to me, please? I could ring her myself, but I've noticed that in Sunnyvale a friendly, local face can achieve more than a police warrant.'
Katie opened her mouth to snap back at him, but in fact, this was proof that DI Heaton, a city boy, had learnt how to manage relationships in a small town.
'Okay,' she replied. 'I'll try, but I've had problems getting any information from her lately. I've tried talking to her about it, but she's just... kind of avoided answering my questions.'
'Do you think she's hiding something?'
'Possibly, but it’s hard to tell,' Katie paused, thinking back to that unfortunate encounter in the garden centre cafeteria. 'It looked like she had genuine reasons for not responding to me. I'll phone her, maybe even right after this chat with you.'
'That'll be great, Katie,' Jack said. Katie could hear a smile in his voice. 'Thank you.'
Thirty six hours after she had found the body they were finally getting some leads.
Maybe.
18
As much as she liked the club's monthly meetings, Katie dreaded the morning after. The late finishes meant that Julia went to bed later and had difficulty getting off to sleep. Which, in turn, meant she didn't get enough sleep, and was grumpy in the morning.
Katie trod so carefully, trying to avoid any major drama and get Julia to school on time, her whole body was aching and her hands were numb from clenching the steering wheel.
'See you later baby,' Katie said with so much positive energy her mouth felt radioactive.
'Uhm, 'Julia grumbled and slammed the car door.
'Love you, too,' Katie said to Julia's back and peeled her hands from the steering wheel.
She drove to work breathing slowly. She needed to ring Linda. She’d tried the previous evening, but Linda’s mobile was off, and Katie didn't want to ring the landline and risk waking Baby Adam.
Katie reached the station, parked her car, and fished her phone out of her handbag.
'Hello Linda, good morning! Can you talk now?'
'Very quickly. What is it, Katie?' Linda's voice seemed rushed and clipped.
'A bit of an awkward thing, actually. The police are looking for people who were in the neighbourhood when Keith Starr was murdered; I mean near the café on the corner of Stream Drive and Begonia Drive.'
'Why are you telling me about it?'
There was a sharp edge in Linda's voice. Katie interpreted it as an accusation.
'It's just that you haven't talked to them yet.'
'Talked to whom? Katherine Redford, you're not making much sense this morning, I'm afraid.'
Katie pressed her lips into line. She was making perfect sense, but maybe she was being a bit too polite. She didn't like the head teacher's tone Linda sometimes took with her, nor did she like being treated like a fool.
'Linda McKay,' Katie fired back, controlling her voice. 'I'm pretty sure I saw you that morning walking in the direction of the café. And it was shortly before the murder was committed. I tell you, you'd better go and talk to the police about it.'
There was a dead silence on the other end of the phone.
'Are you there, Linda?' Katie asked a little more softly.
'I am,' Linda replied, the frost in her voice palpable. 'You didn't need to shout at me.'
'I didn't shout at you, I just wanted to make sure you understood what I had to say. This is a murder investigation, Linda. I don't care what you were doing there or why. By the way, it's too late to pretend you weren't there. I've already told the police I saw you.'
'Okay, okay. No need to argue with me,' Linda replied after a tense pause. 'I'll talk to them. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?'
'Yes, unless you don't mind catching up with me over a cuppa.'
'So you can run to the police and nark on me?'
'Linda, do you realise you’re speaking like a person who doesn't have a clear conscience?'
'Katie, I haven't done anything wrong. I'll go to the police and explain why I was there, what I was doing at what time and everything. I didn't see anything suspicious, I promise. I didn't kill anyone, either.'
'Okay,' Katie gave in, considering the potential effect of being too harsh on her friendship with Linda. 'Sorry if I came across as a nark,' Katie apologised. 'I just don't want Keith's murderer to get away with it.'
'No offence taken, Katie. Just be careful. You don't want to make too many enemies in your pursuit of justice.'
Linda's parting comment hurt, probably because it was true, and Katie didn't have a clue how she could have handled the situation differently. She felt uncomfortable. She hadn't wanted to upset Linda but, then again, she was very keen to make sure Linda passed any useful information to the police.
She disconnected and massaged her stomach. The massive brick of guilt seemed to have taken to her stomach again. How on earth did police people manage to keep any friendships?
When she walked into the staff room, the place was buzzing with life and smelling of coffee. Jack was sitting at the desk, working on his laptop. Chris was on the phone, fiddling with a pen with his free hand. But since Celia was the one pouring the steaming roasted brew, Katie quietly sneaked into her office.
She booted up her computer and cleared the desk of the paperwork she had left out the previous day.
'Hey, Katie.' Chris' face appeared in the open doorway. 'Don't you want a coffee and an update?'
'Yes please, but in here,' Katie replied as lightly as she could. She had very little of her usual ability to accommodate other people's needs and wants left this morning. No doubt, the result of the tense morning with Julia and her chat with Linda.
Chris slid into her office and shut the door.
'Anything wrong, again?'
'No, I'm just not in a mood to pussyfoot around this morning.'
Confusion grew on Chris' freckled face.
'Never mind,' Katie sighed and waved her hand. 'Please give me the update, officer.'
'Sergeant,' Chris corrected her.
'Will you just get on with it?' Katie snapped.
'All right, here it is. So far, we've found nothing. Jane Starr denies any involvement in her husband’s death. We've found only some lovey-dovey messages to Keith on her phone. And same on his. The last message was -' Chris pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read out: '"Katie just left to pick up the shopping, don't worry, darling. Have a safe trip!" And one, two, five crosses. These are kisses, right?'
Katie nodded. 'What about the jo
urnal? Jack told me that the journal is full of mentions of someone coming to her rescue.'
'Ah, yes, this one,' Chris said hastily. 'This is what I wanted to talk to you about. The secret accomplice. Have you ever heard her talk about anyone else in her life?'
'No. I don't recall. She's got no friends apparently,' Katie added and quickly summarised her chat with Jane in the car on the way to the club meeting last night.
Chris scratched his temple. 'What about a certain Edward Sparrow?'
'Edward Sparrow,' Katie stared at Chris. 'I think I've heard that name before. Who is it?'
'Someone who is staying locally. Just rang in response to our appeal for information on the local radio this morning.'
'Staying where?'
Chris flipped the piece of paper he was holding. 'The vicarage, but he didn't want me to write it down. He said he'd be moving soon.'
'The vicarage? That's strange. Ah, yes! Isn't it that guy who is helping at the vicarage?'
'He'll be here soon and we'll be able to ask him. I gather you have no local intelligence on him, right?'
Katie blew out her cheeks and shook her head. 'Sadly, not much. I vaguely recall someone mentioning there was a young vicar to help, or who may be able to help, but not much more. I'm not a regular churchgoer. Sorry!'
'Do you know anyone who is and may have some insider information?'
Katie did know, but currently she’d burnt her boats with this particular insider contact. Speaking of whom...
'Can you just let Jack know that Linda McKay promised to pop in and talk to him? And by the way, she may be able to shed some more light on the issue of Edward Sparrow.'
Chris thanked her and walked out of her office. Katie slid back into her chair. She was losing it a bit today, her emotions raw.
Who was Edward Sparrow, and who else could know about him?
Dorothy! Of course!
Katie reached to her handbag for her phone. A few seconds later she was chatting with her friend.
'Edward involved in the murder?' Dorothy exclaimed.
'I'm not saying he's involved. Only asking who he is and how he ended up here?'
