Her Perfect Family

by Driscoll, Teresa

  It was Wendy who Matthew saw at the university campus. As soon as he shared this with Mel, she was furious. Dispatched him to speak to Wendy face to face. Bring her in if you need to. I want everything she knows.

  There’s parking near the office thankfully and Matthew finds coins in the glove compartment to avoid a fine. The office is above a pasty shop of all things, with a separate entrance. As he rings the bell, Matthew wonders how it will compare with his own office.

  Come on. Come on. Answer.

  It feels strange to be turning up at a rival’s place. Correction; not a rival. Wendy is a different kind of PI altogether. Her website is all about the money and all about the matrimonials – the very work Matthew hates. She even offers a lie-detector test. Classy.

  At last the buzzer on the door sounds and he climbs stairs a good deal less steep than his own to find no second door at the top – just a small, open-plan office.

  Wendy March is on the phone but stands the minute she spots him, making apologies to her caller and ringing off.

  ‘Matthew Hill? What are you doing here?’

  ‘I’m here on behalf of DI Sanders.’ Matthew pauses, not wanting to give away too much yet about the new crime scene. ‘We’re investigating the attack on Gemma Hartley.’

  ‘Mrs Hartley gave you my name?’ Wendy looks shocked.

  Matthew’s equally shocked. ‘No, she didn’t.’ His mind does a somersault as he tries to regroup. Rachel Hartley wasn’t pressed for the name of the PI she used to investigate her husband Ed. As nothing was found, it wasn’t important.

  ‘So you were the PI that Rachel Hartley hired?’

  ‘Isn’t that why you’re here?’

  ‘No, it’s not. What do you know of Lily Blake? Are you working for her too?’

  ‘I might be. What’s it to you?’ Wendy now looks less assured, her neck starting to redden, the blush moving up towards her chin like colour soaking on litmus paper. ‘My work with my clients is confidential. We aren’t all in the pockets of the police.’ She widens her eyes. Cocky expression, despite the flush.

  ‘A girl’s in a coma with part of her leg gone. Anyone with any decency and any information has a duty to come forward. I have no idea why you wouldn’t see that, Wendy. And why were you at the university the other day?’

  ‘I’m going to have to ask you to leave. If DI Sanders wants to speak to me, she can do that herself. You have no jurisdiction here.’

  ‘No problem.’ He takes out his phone. ‘I’ll get a uniformed officer here to arrest you. Marked car, flashing lights, all the neighbours watching?’

  ‘On what possible grounds?’

  Matthew looks away to the window and decides to gamble. Hell. It’ll be on the news any moment anyway.

  ‘There’s been another attack. Linked to the Gemma Hartley case, we suspect. And so I’m going to ask you again. Are you working for Lily Blake?’

  The colour from Wendy’s neck moves right up to her chin. ‘Has she been hurt?’

  ‘No. But we need to find her urgently.’ Matthew takes in Wendy’s expression. She doesn’t know, he’s pretty sure of that. ‘Her husband’s dead, Wendy. Sam Blake’s been shot.’

  ‘Dead?’ Wendy’s shock is clearly genuine – the blush fading and her face taking on an altogether paler tone. All her capillaries apparently in overdrive. ‘I’m sorry. I need to sit down.’

  ‘So you found out her husband was cheating? Gave her the evidence?’ Matthew moves closer to her desk.

  ‘Yes. But this isn’t my fault. This is what I do. What clients ask me to do.’

  ‘Never mind about fault. Just start talking, Wendy. I need to know the timeline. What exactly you found. And where Lily might be now. She’s not with her parents. Do you have any idea where she is?’

  CHAPTER 55

  THE FATHER – NOW

  Ed presses the buttons on the coffee machine and watches, in a daze, as the sequence begins. He’s so tired. His mind’s still on the ward, taking in Rachel’s exhausted face, and as the first cup fires into position and the flow of hot liquid begins he realises that he’s got the order wrong. Too distracted. He’s pressed for two cappuccinos. Damn. Rachel wanted black.

  Truth is he didn’t want to leave the unit at all but Rachel was getting in such a state. Another shooting? The day of the final graduation. They can’t believe it. Rachel wants him to quietly check the corridor. The lockdown security. See if there’s an armed presence, Ed. See if there are proper checks on the door. Please . . .

  Rachel looks completely done in and he wonders how much more she can take. He’s found out from the nurses that she never uses the relatives’ room to rest. A lump forms in his throat as he thinks of what a good mother she’s been – has always tried to be. Despite what she went through herself as a child; maybe precisely because of what she went through as a child.

  He genuinely had no idea about her father – the drinking and the violence – and wonders why Rachel’s mother has never said anything either. Their joint secret. All these years. Their blanked past.

  He keeps rewinding scenes and watching through a new lens; all those times it drove him mad to see Rachel dismiss Gemma to her room to try to calm her down. Always shutting conflict down with her babbling and her baking.

  Oh, Rachel.

  The guilt over Laura is like this cancer growing inside him now. If he’s wrong, if Laura is in any way connected with what has happened, he will never forgive himself.

  Ed watches the second cup zoom into position beneath the second spout. He’ll have to find somewhere to pour one away. Order a third? He badly wants to get back to the unit and feels a shiver of unease.

  He waits for the drips to cease and then puts one of the coffees on the ledge to the side of the machine so he can order Rachel’s black one. Again the machine revs into action while Ed takes his phone from his pocket.

  He’s already tried to speak to DI Sanders. That’s the real reason he caved and stepped out. He’s feeling angry on top of his guilt, seeing his wife so very upset. Never mind how busy DI Sanders is. Why hasn’t she phoned? They need to know what’s going on.

  Ed starts to scroll for DI Sanders’ number and for the first time notices the date in the corner of the screen. He pauses and stares – and suddenly it hits him.

  Friday the twenty-sixth.

  It’s all been so much lately that he’d lost track of days, never mind dates. But as it dawns, he feels disorientated. For a second he’s not here at all; he’s transported back in time – Laura frowning as she places two alternative versions of their wedding invitation on the breakfast bar in front of them.

  Which one do you think? I want classy. I think I prefer the cream with gold but I’m not sure. The printer needs a decision today otherwise we’ll lose our place in his queue.

  How could he forget this? Not think of the date. Notice the date.

  ‘Excuse me, but have you finished?’

  Ed turns to find a woman waiting behind him for the coffee machine. He almost tells her to push off but just stops himself. ‘Sorry. Sorry. Distracted.’

  He grabs the two coffees and casts around for somewhere to put them down safely, all the while frantically doing maths in his head. A chair’s the only option. He huffs his annoyance, placing the two cups down near the centre of the seat, but it’s not flat and one cup tips instantly, spraying hot coffee everywhere. Oh, sod it.

  Ed leaves the mess, the woman at the machine tutting loudly as he takes out his phone to dial DI Sanders. It goes to voicemail so he rings Matthew Hill – the PI he went to see, who’s now working as Mel’s sidekick. Which Ed doesn’t quite understand. Don’t the police have their own people?

  ‘Matthew Hill.’

  ‘Matthew, it’s Ed Hartley. I can’t get hold of DI Sanders and something’s just occurred to me. She asked if there might be a trigger. For Laura – my ex-wife.’

  ‘I hope you’re not going to just leave that.’ The woman from the coffee machine has walked right up to Ed, lean
ing in to confront him.

  ‘Look. Could you just mind your own—’

  ‘What did you say?’ Matthew’s tone is confused.

  ‘Sorry. Not you. Someone this end.’

  ‘Oh right. Go on.’

  ‘Well, there might be. A trigger for Laura. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.’

  CHAPTER 56

  THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

  Matthew punches in the search to his sat nav. An hour and a half. Damn. Mel will need to send a local unit but he wants to be there too. In fact he wants to lead on this. He’ll ask them to wait for him.

  ‘I’m sorry Wendy but I’m going to have to make a detour. Emergency.’ He carries on round the roundabout while the sat nav recalculates and then takes the right exit.

  ‘So where are we going now? I thought we were going to the station to wait for your boss. I have work I should be doing, you know.’

  Matthew doesn’t answer but instead is doing the calculation in his head. He should make it to Wells just after 11 a.m. if the traffic’s OK. Doable. It’s a long shot but the best use of his time while Mel focuses on finding Sam’s wife. And he wants to be the one who brings Laura in.

  He thinks again of her standing at the railings by Amelie’s school, handing her the note.

  ‘I asked you a question.’ Wendy’s curt, her arms crossed.

  ‘OK. Start talking and I might answer. Tell me everything you told Lily about her husband. Everything. We need to find her.’ Matthew’s head is practically bursting with the possibilities. Laura, or Sam’s wife? Or Alex hiring someone? What the hell is really going on with this case?

  ‘Tell me first where we’re going.’

  ‘Detour to Wells.’

  ‘That’s bloody miles. You can’t just kidnap me. Let me out.’

  ‘Sorry. No can do. We’re on a dual carriageway and it’ll take too long. You need to help me out here so cut the victim act. You know full well you should have checked in with the police the minute Gemma’s name was released.’

  Wendy stares again out of the passenger window. ‘People don’t trust you if you go running to the police. My clients like to be sure everything we do is confidential. I have the right to make a living.’

  Matthew bites his tongue; Wendy was never in the force. She came to PI work via security. Has a whole different take. It’s a waste of time arguing with her. Outcome’s the issue now. Also time. Wendy’s another pair of eyes; he might not rate her moral compass, but word is she’s very good at what she does. She probably has more undercover hours under her belt than any backup he can get at short notice for this. Fact is, she just might be useful if he can get her to cooperate.

  It’s all a long shot, but if Ed is right and Laura’s going back to the cathedral for their anniversary, they’re going to need a very careful approach. They have no way of knowing if Laura is armed. Just how dangerous she may be. Mel might want to clear or close the cathedral but Matthew doubts they’ll have time or a mandate for that at such short notice on a hunch.

  He’ll just have to keep this as low key as possible. Bad news is Laura knows what he looks like. Must have checked his website and address to reach him through Amelie. He could request an undercover female officer to assist but – no time. The fallout will be horrendous if they get this wrong. Last thing they need is another scene in a cathedral.

  ‘How do you fancy helping me bring in a key suspect? It’s a long shot. Might be a wild goose chase, but if it comes off, you’ll get all the brownie points from the DI. She’ll probably stop talking about charging you for obstructing the inquiry.’

  ‘She can’t charge me. Don’t be ridiculous. I haven’t done anything.’

  ‘You failed to tell us that Gemma Hartley was key in one of your marital cases. DI Sanders is not happy.’

  Wendy narrows her eyes and then turns to him. ‘OK. I might help.’

  ‘Good. But first tell me again about what you passed on to Lily.’

  Wendy talks him through it. How Lily Blake was sick of rumours about her husband and wanted to know one way or the other. She hired Wendy to find out. It didn’t take long.

  Wendy discovered he was seeing two students: Gemma Hartley, and more recently a mature student, late twenties, studying politics. That’s why she was back at the campus – updating on the latest affair. She supplied picture evidence to the wife weekly, got paid and thought no more of it until Gemma Hartley was shot. She said, even then, she was sure it couldn’t be anything to do with Lily. A timid personality. Also heavily pregnant. Matthew remains shocked that Wendy didn’t contact the police.

  He turns briefly to her but parks his outrage. Needs must. She’d better be as good as he’s heard.

  ‘Right. This long shot. I should be completely transparent here.’ He pauses. ‘I’ll request backup but we may not get it and there’s a small chance our target could be armed.’

  CHAPTER 57

  THE DAUGHTER – NOW

  She’s tired of it all. This strange place. This unending sleep – stuck by the ocean.

  She wants so badly to wake in her bedroom at home with the fairy lights wound around the bedhead and all the books on their shelves on the opposite wall. Colour-coded. Spines aligned. She can picture the room so clearly in her head but she can’t make it there; can’t even make herself dream about it.

  Instead she ‘wakes’ always to the sound of the sea. Soft and whispering. But she’s not awake, is she? That’s the cruelty of it here. Every time she opens her eyes, she’s trapped in the same limbo. The same dream? The only new thing is that sometimes now there are distant voices too, as if coming from the sky.

  One time, it was like an audio book playing on the breeze. When she listened more closely, it sounded like her mother’s voice as the narrator. Strange. Impossible. She felt her ears for earbuds and her pocket for a phone to turn up the volume but there was no phone. So where was it coming from?

  She called out – turn it up; I can’t quite hear – but no one answered so she closed her eyes and strained to keep very, very still to listen. Familiar words. Familiar names. Maggie Tulliver. The Mill on the Floss. It took her back to school, reading in the library at lunchtime, and she felt a shiver, remembering how the story ends so badly. So sadly.

  She thinks again of the sea, always stretching so far in front of her in these dreams. Waves rolling in the distance. Sometimes she wonders if she’s supposed to swim. Is that it? But she’s afraid of the currents and the rip tides. She remembers her mother at the beach when she was little – watch the flags; there are rip tides. And she thinks again of Maggie Tulliver. The water. Sinking down, down.

  She wants so badly to go home but she just can’t work out how. She still can’t feel one of her legs properly, as if she’s slept on it awkwardly. She waits for the feeling to return but how can she swim meantime? Will her arms alone be strong enough?

  In the last dream or waking, or whatever this is, when she opened her eyes there was this huge flash of light in the sky. Not blue. No clouds. Just this huge expanse of blinding light. She must, by mistake, have looked straight into the sun. It hurt and so she closed her eyes.

  And then, in the darkness, she felt that lovely thing again. Warmth on her skin. Like the soft spray from the sea on to her forehead. Only somehow she knows that it isn’t the sea mist . . .

  Suddenly she aches for her mother. For the voice on the breeze. And she misses her so very, very badly that it physically hurts deep inside her. She wants to cry but can never find any tears.

  CHAPTER 58

  THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

  Nearing the cathedral, Matthew pulls into a parking space as his phone rings. Mel.

  ‘I’ve got a uniformed team there but no armed response. I’m not happy. Think we should leave it to the locals. They can liaise with the cathedral.’

  ‘Wendy and I have a plan. We can do this, Mel.’

  ‘Wendy? No way. I don’t want that woman anywhere near this, Matthew. Have you gone mad?’r />
  ‘Mel. You have to trust me. We’ve talked it through on the drive. If Laura is there, she’ll respond to her. I know she will. This will work. Laura must know what I look like. Wendy’s our best bet. If Laura sees uniforms, she could panic.’

  Matthew thinks of the message in the note given to Amelie, now in the forensics lab. You have to help me, Matthew. No one believes me. He’s not who he says he is.

  ‘Did you get through to Laura’s mother?’

  ‘Yes. And she confirms that Laura’s been talking about the anniversary – silver wedding. Obsessing again about finding the real Ed. But she didn’t take it seriously.’

  ‘Right. So this could be more than a hunch?’

  There’s a very long pause during which Matthew gets out of the car and moves to his boot. He signals to his backpack and Wendy nods. He watches her take out his bulletproof vest and take off her jacket to put it on underneath. He’s worried it will show but thankfully Wendy’s jacket has a high collar.

  ‘Any progress with Sam’s wife?’ Matthew checks his watch as he moves off, Wendy following as she buttons up her jacket. Eleven o’clock. They need to move.

  ‘Her car’s been picked up on motorway cameras. We’re on it. Local car tailing.’

  ‘Good. That’s good. So will you message uniformed to let me take charge of this here? Please, Mel. I’ve got this.’

  There’s another pause.

  ‘I want you both in vests. Do you have a spare?’

  ‘Yes.’ Another lie. But he needs to be there too, albeit out of sight. He’s thinking of Amelie. The doll with the bleeding eyes. Laura at the school boundary. He needs this to be over.

  ‘We need clearance from the cathedral.’

  ‘There isn’t time, Mel. Laura could get away.’

  ‘I can’t have the public put at risk.’

  ‘If Laura’s about with a gun in her bag, they’re already at risk. I can handle this, Mel. I’ll keep everyone else away. Keep it nice and calm.’

  ‘It’s risky, Matt.’

  ‘Look. You need to trust me. Message uniformed to stay out of sight – and let me know where they are. And can you tell them they answer to me? Can you do that?’