The End

by Dave Lacey

  Having rid himself of the things he could not affect, Clarence now turned his attention to the matter at hand. He wondered if the police had come to the same realisation he had: that Edward Warwick had motive, and that, even though he had not planned it that way, it made some sort of sense that Warwick had potentially killed all three of the victims. Because it wasn’t true, at some point the police would revise their investigation and begin the search for the real killer. So he would consider ways in which he could supply evidence linking Warwick to the deaths.

  The good news was that, when Alphonse had been killed, Edward Warwick had been at home with his good lady wife, who was now dead. No alibi. When Susan Warwick had died, Edward had just walked through the door. No alibi. When Paul Warwick had disappeared, Edward Warwick had been at home alone. No alibi. This was excellent; once more, Lady Luck was playing a wondrous hand. Could revenge possibly drive Edward Warwick to track down his wife’s lover and kill him? Of course it could. And could he possibly do that at a particular time and place, if somebody told him that his wife’s lover was at a church senior members’ meeting at a specific location? Of course he could – it was what any human being might do. Is it possible that Edward Warwick would take a loaded gun, and kill his wife’s lover and the people he was meeting with, considering his mental state at the time? Well, he would need to give that bit some thought – it would not be an obvious leap, but it was feasible.

  If he could ascertain the time and place of the next meeting of the four local senior members of the church, he could make it happen. He felt certain he could get Edward Warwick there, just by telling him who his wife’s fuckbuddy was; that was not the difficult bit. He would shoot all four group leaders himself; that was not the difficult bit either. The difficult bit would be incapacitating Edward Warwick in such a way as to allay his suspicions after he walked in and saw the dead members of the church. If he could do that, without raising any eyebrows, it was job done. At some point he could also drop into the Warwick residence and plant a few items in a hidey hole, though not one that would remain hidden during a thorough police search. The gloves he had used when Mrs Warwick had died, spare ammunition for the gun, maybe the wig and glasses he had worn in the hotel lobby. Clarence burst out laughing; oh, this was too good to be true. It was all a bit convenient, but who cared? He didn’t think the police would.

  A situation that had looked bleak as little as half an hour ago was quite suddenly filled with possibilities. A thought had just occurred to him: what if one of the church members was ‘packing heat’? Hmm, was that just a little too fantastical. By far the neatest way of tying this whole thing up would be if Edward Warwick were to die at the scene of the crime. He would give himself a pat on the back if he could pull that off. He would give it some more thought, but at the same time he had to be quick once he had reached his conclusion. Sooner or later, the police would pull Edward Warwick in, and if they did then he might just be able to convince them he was innocent. And that would really scupper Clarence’s plans. There was no time to dither. If Edward Warwick died, nobody would ever be able to argue that he hadn’t killed all of the victims.

  ***

  It had been a long day for Jack and Smithy, but at least Jack was now on his way home, looking forward to a few beers and an early night. It was always when you made these little promises to yourself that fate threw in a curve ball. As he pulled up to the gates that barred his entrance to his apartment block, Selena, looking small and delicate, climbed out of her car and stood to one side of the gates. The shock of seeing her there, somewhere he just wasn’t used to seeing her, affected him physically. It took his breath away, his stomach sinking as she gave a little wave. He braked to a halt and pushed the button that lowered his window.

  “Hey Sel, what’s up? Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yes. Oh, sorry, no everything’s fine. I didn’t even think how this would look to you. I just wanted to have a talk if that’s okay?”

  “Of course it is, jump in.” He leaned across and opened the passenger side door. She got in and they drove to the underground car park in silence – a silence only enhanced by the womb like sensation of the garage. He parked up and they both climbed out of the car. Neither of them said a word until Jack had closed the front door of the apartment behind them and they had entered the lounge.

  “This is nice, Jack. How come your uncle never offered this to us when we…you know, before?” She smiled. He had missed that smile.

  “He did, but I turned him down.”

  “Always so principled. I always liked that, except when it meant we missed out on something.” She looked shy and laughed quite suddenly. Jack’s eyebrows flew upward, his confusion obviously quite evident.

  “Why the confused face?” she asked.

  “Because I’ve no idea where this came from, this… you being here, and being nice.” He hadn’t meant to sound cruel, but he couldn’t think of any other way of putting it.

  “Hmm, I can understand that. I’m sorry, it’s just that you said you’d missed me–”

  “I have,” he interrupted.

  “Well, I’ve missed you too,” she told him.

  “It hasn’t seemed that way, Sel. It’s seemed as if it was all too easy for you to stay away.” Jack needed some reassurance that her visit wasn’t just a reflex action, that this wasn’t just a one-off.

  “I know. But you must understand, I’ve had to try really hard to stay away. I’ve wanted more than anything else for you to come and sweep my off my feet, but at the same time I’ve not wanted it to be that easy for you. Does that make sense?”

  “I don’t know really, it’s hard to say. Can you imagine how many times I considered doing that, just coming to you and kicking the door down and taking you off somewhere? To tell you that everything was going to be okay, that things would be different. I would be different…better.” Jack paused to get his breath. “But I really couldn’t face the possibility that you’d reject me again. I just couldn’t face that Sel.” He could feel his emotions coming to the surface, rising like an oxygen starved diver.

  “I’ve been a bitch, I know. But I just couldn’t handle feeling like the second most important thing in your life. And this feeling of loneliness… . I did go out with somebody last week. I lied, but I lied because I didn’t want you to feel bad, and I knew you would have. I did it because I wanted to see if what I’ve felt for you since we first met was real, whether it was just how people feel about each other generally rather than something you can feel for just one person.”

  Jack wouldn’t make it easy for her. He stood, arms folded, his face giving little away.

  “It lasted around an hour, then I slipped out and left when I was supposed to be in the loo.” She looked shy and embarrassed again now.

  “So what does this mean then?” Jack asked.

  “It means… it means I miss you, and that I’ve realised that I’m probably never going to get over you or past you. So either I give up men, or…”

  “Or?”

  “… or I ask you if you want to start again. Gently.”

  Jack could feel all of the tension he had been holding in for the last six months falling away and being replaced with a feeling of warmth and elation. Surely this was too good to be true; surely this was a dream he would wake from and find the day still lay ahead of him, stretching and endless. As quickly as the elation and warmth had started, another feeling joined them: anger. Anger that all the pain, all the emotion, had been for nothing.

  “Please say something, Jack, you look angry.” Selena stood waiting, uncertain, desperate for Jack to say something, anything. She knew it was what she wanted; she knew it with utter certainty, and had known it since they had parted. The months had passed painfully slowly for Selena. She and Jack Jr had stayed in the house that they had all shared, but it had been a lonely existence. Lonelier even than the one that had brought them to the breakup. Things had got out of control; they were never supposed to have gone as far
as they did. And then she had made matters worse by saying no every time Jack pleaded his case.

  With all of her being she had wanted to just pick up where they had left off, but for some reason she couldn’t. Deep, deep down, Selena knew the real reason for the breakup. It had a voice, and now and again that voice chimed in quietly. It was a childish, petulant voice she disliked intensely. He doesn’t love you. He isn’t paying you enough attention, it would say. The problem was, it kept talking to her, and eventually convinced her it was true, regardless of the fact that everybody, her family included, could plainly see that Jack did indeed love her. She hated that voice. Hated it because she listened to it, and hated the fact that it made her feel childish and spoilt.

  The only good thing to have come out of the breakup was that she had rid herself of the voice and clarified her feelings for her husband. Jack spoke, finally.

  “Angry? I think I am angry, Selena. I’m angry because it feels like we put each other through half a year of shit for nothing.” Jack’s voice rose. “Why wouldn’t I be angry?” Selena could feel things getting out of control. She brushed her shoulder length auburn hair from her face and held her left arm across her body as she held out her right palm defensively.

  “I know it feels that way, but I believe it happened for a reason. I was lonely Jack, and I did feel like things were getting worse between us. I really didn’t know what to do. Please don’t hate me.”

  “Of course I don’t hate you, I love you, but right now I just don’t know whether I like you a whole lot. I’ve imagined this day for six months now, and I never imagined I would feel anger, just happiness. The number of times I basically begged you to take me back…”

  “I know, I know, and I really am sorry.” She was holding both palms out in defence now. “I was lonely and confused and I missed you terribly and didn’t know what else to do. I thought I was going mad. I thought you didn’t love me, and part of me thought you were working long hours because you didn’t want to be at home with me. With us.” She had started crying; this was the last thing she had expected. She’d imagined that Jack would be delighted, and that they would fall into each other’s arms and that would be that.

  “That’s ridiculous! I never ever gave you the impression I never loved you. I’ve always loved you.”

  “But that’s just it. It didn’t feel like that to me. My stupid imagination took over and blew everything out of proportion. And just like you never intended to give me that impression, I never had any control over how it made me feel. Sometimes, Jack, we can’t control our feelings or our thoughts and they just take a course of their own.” She took a deep breath, and turned and looked out through the panoramic windows which, even though the apartment was ten miles or so from the city centre, gave a magnificent view of the Liverpool skyline. It really was a stunning apartment. Focussing on it meant she wasn’t thinking about the fact that Jack had not spoken, let alone taken her in his arms and forgiven her, for a minute or so. She could hear his laboured breathing behind her.

  “This is a lovely spot. Your uncle really does have a great eye for property.”

  “That’s not going to fly with me, Selena, but nice try.” It had been too much to hope Jack would be distracted from his anger; she knew him better than that. He was, most of the time, the calmest, most placid person you could hope to meet. On rare occasions, though, his mother’s side of the family tree came to the surface and he could be fizzing with anger. He had never become violent, but his anger popped and fizzled in the room. She had seen older men cower with the force of it, and though he was never out of control, the threat was enough.

  “I felt like I should try something. I don’t want you to be angry. I knew you’d react badly, but I didn’t know how else to go about things.” She continued with her back to him. “I was also aware that things had drifted out of hand, but, trust me, I would have felt much sillier, and much less convinced about my feelings, if I’d done this sooner. Can’t you understand that at all?”

  “Yes, I can. But what makes me angry is that I get the feeling that all of this became some sort of game, a way for you to get some attention. And that’s not the Selena I fell for, and I’m not sure it’s the sort of person I want to be with. I didn’t’ think, for a single moment, that I would ever be in this position. Where I would consider sending you away with a big fat no, but that’s how I’m leaning at the moment.” His eyes glittered with anger and frustration. Selena turned back to face him, starting to feel a little angry herself now.

  “Jack Sumner, I want you back, and I do love you. But I’m not going to stand here while you tell me it was all just a game and an attempt to draw attention to myself. It may turn out that I needed attention, but it was never intended that way, and it was only because I hardly ever got to see you!” Selena was out of breath, her arms held stiff at her side, fists clenched. “How did you think this would turn out? That I would just sit at home and wait patiently until you had some time for little Jack and me? No, absolutely not, you’d have ended up pitying me and I would have ended up hating you for it. Like it as not, I love you and I wanted you to be around more. So sue me!” To Selena’s utter surprise, Jack laughed aloud at this.

  “Ha, and now we’re both pissed off, excellent.” His smile faded quickly. “What do you want Selena, tell me?”

  “I want us to sort things out, and I want you to come home. But I think we should take things easy to start with. I think it’ll take both of us a fair while to get over the last few months. Not to mention our current feelings.” She raised her eyebrows to the ceiling at this last comment.

  “Right, well I think at the very least I need to sleep on this, don’t you? Any decision I make right now would be made for the wrong reasons. Besides, weird things are happening with the case I’m working on and…” Selena had raised her eyebrows and shoulders in frustration again. “What, did you think I was going to quit my job?”

  “No, but…,” she sighed resignedly, “you’re right, I’m sorry. Why weird?” She was genuinely curious now.

  “I kind of got kidnapped a few days ago.” Selena’s eyes opened wide in shock. “It was no big deal really, it was just bizarre. And we have a few deaths that are all connected, with two or three possible suspects. Two of whom we have identities for, and one we don’t, and we don’t really know anything about either. It’s pretty messy. But if this all works out, and I’m talking about us now, it’s highly unlikely that my feelings and commitment for my job are going to change. You do understand that?” He looked at her, the implications clear.

  “Yes, Jack, I do. And if you could stop patronising me for a minute or so I’d really appreciate it.” She smiled sweetly at him with her hands held behind her back, rising up on tiptoe.

  “Yes, sorry. I suppose that did sound a bit pompous. But I’m serious. I like my job and I’ve no intention of giving it up. However, I’m also quite fond of you and my son,” he said airily. Selena, still smiling, held up a middle finger.

  “Okay, I’m going to leave now, before I feel the need to dump your body into the boot of my car.”

  Jack chortled. “Okay, I’m going to have a couple of beers, catch up with the news and crash. I’ll walk you down to your car.” He gestured with his head toward the door.

  “No, it’s okay, you stay here and rest. I can manage the walk to the car.” Selena walked past him and brushed his cheek lightly with her lips.

  ***

  Jack sat in the dark, watching the night pass slowly with a glass of beer in his hand. The peculiarities of the case were truly perplexing, and every time he thought he had a grip on anything approaching a common thread it evaded him with a wispy escape. But tonight, he thought mainly about Selena and her surprise appearance. It was difficult to work out why she’d had a sudden change of heart. But then, he reasoned, it was dangerous at any time to attempt to understand a woman’s mind, let alone her heart.

  He loved how the nightscape changed constantly, and the beauty of the uplit
Liverpool landmarks never failed to make him smile. But even as he sat there marvelling at the majesty of the Anglican Cathedral, his mind flitted back to his estranged, or just downright strange, wife. But when he thought about it, he also understood his own culpability in the whole scenario. He knew that the hours he had worked since Jack Jr had been born were excessive, and that Selena had every right to complain.

  What he couldn’t digest though was how she had expected him to just accept her current decision, as easily as he had accepted her previous one, and do the right thing. The shame that came with the knowledge that it was his stubborn streak that had as big a hand to play in it, as much as his pride, was niggling but acceptable. Of course he also knew with utter certainty that they would reconcile; it was that simple really.

  Chapter 26

  “Hello, is this Detective Sumner?”

  “It is. Who’s this?”

  “This is Siobhan Mullins. You left a message for me. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but we were sailing in the southern Mediterranean.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow at the news.

  “I see. Are you back now?”

  “Yes I am. What can I do for you?”

  “Have you had any contact with any members of your church, Mrs Mullins?”

  “No, not yet. As I said, I have been away and have only just returned. What’s this about?” She sounded more strident now.

  “Well, I have quite a bit to tell you, and quite a bit to ask you really. Would it be convenient for me to call round to see you today, now even?” Jack asked.

  “Well, I suppose so. Can you allow me an hour? I suppose you’ll need my address.”

  “Yes, and yes please.” She provided Jack with her address, which was once again in the Bowden area. Jack noted it down and arranged to be there in an hour.