by Diane Ezzard
“Los Cristianos,” Sharon replied.
“You want to get to Playa de las Americas,” the dark-haired woman said. “That’s where the best bars are. You can have a bazzin’ night there.” Sharon laughed.
“I haven’t been wasted since Christmas. I overdid things at the office party.” Mel one of the other beauticians chirped in.
“You can say that again.” Sharon shook her head. She turned and spoke to me.
“The hangover was so bad, Sophie. Never again.”
“I’m sure it was a good night though,” I said.
“Oh yes, what I can remember of it. I know they had to carry me into the taxi on the way home.” Pangs of identification flooded back.
“Thankfully, I don’t suffer hangovers anymore since I stopped drinking.” I observed the dark-haired woman’s eyes narrowing. The more she looked over, the more I did the same. She seemed keen to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t recall who she might be. I watched her as she removed her hands from the drying machine and got up to leave, tottering on her high stiletto heels. She flashed her false lashes at me one last time and I thought I saw a hint of recognition in her eyes.
“Who was that?” I asked Sharon as the woman closed the shop door on her way out.
“I think you’ll know her partner.” Sharon leaned in towards me and spoke in a whisper.
“Oh?” Sharon glanced around the room before she spoke.
“It’s the gangster, Dirk Duggan.”
“Ah, that explains it.” I nodded. “Is she a regular, only I haven’t seen her in here before?”
“She usually comes in when it’s quieter at the beginning of the week. I think she’s going to a special do or something tonight. She normally insists that Mandy does her, but she had to make do with Alicia today because we couldn’t fit her in.” Sharon laughed, and Alicia raised her eyebrows.
“Is she a handful then?” I asked,
“Yes, Charlene loses her temper if she doesn’t get her own way, isn’t that right, Mandy?” she called out, so Mandy could hear.
“You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Charlene Morgan. I wouldn’t want to upset her. She might have me shot.” The girls laughed but there was a sinister irony about their words. There was every chance Mandy could be right.
“Does she talk much about Dirk?” I asked.
“Not really. She’s mentioned his nightclub once or twice and she’s even offered us VIP tickets but, to be honest, it’s not my kind of place. I don’t want to be mixing with that crowd.” I nodded. Coming here today proved to be more interesting than I might have expected. Jack would be fascinated to know who I’d been rubbing shoulders with.
Driving home, I mulled over my encounter with Charlene. Her ears pricked up when I mentioned the fire at Jack’s. I hadn’t imagined it, the way she kept looking over, I felt sure she knew who I was. I thought about Jack staying at mine. He had a valid point why it wasn’t a good idea to stay there indefinitely and why I shouldn’t get involved with his business. The more I thought about it, the more my stomach churned. If the Duggans were on to Jack, then it wouldn’t take them long to discover he was staying with me and if that was the case then my life might also be in danger.
Chapter 29
Sophie
Jack suggested I should treat myself to more pampering sessions when I told him who I bumped into. It would be nice if he was paying but unfortunately, my budget didn’t run to any more time at the salon. I doubted Charlene would divulge anything of interest anyway. It might be worth having a quiet word with Mandy to see if Charlene ever spoke about Dirk’s business interests.
Right now, I was more interested in baby things as I was going to be an auntie. I thought about them all the time. Before Steph’s news, it wasn’t something I ever noticed. Of course, most women considered having children at some point in their life. For a long time, I couldn’t even look after myself, never mind a child. I surfed the net looking at baby outfits and cuddly toys. I kept suggesting baby names, but Steph wasn’t impressed with my choices. She wouldn’t give me any clues about their decisions. It was an exciting time for Steph and Tim.
I even allowed myself to daydream about having a child with Jack. He told me in no uncertain terms he didn’t want any more. It was because he went through so much heartache when he split up with Vivien, he said he couldn’t cope with the intense feelings of missing his children. He worried too much about anything bad happening to them. He was selfish and not considering me, but that was Jack through and through.
Before Steph got pregnant, I’d never even heard of placenta previa. The fact Steph wasn’t having an easy pregnancy brought us closer together. I downloaded an app that told me about the stages and the growth of the baby. Steph was in constant touch by phone and text and I was genuinely pleased for her and Tim. Since going into the third trimester, she incurred all sorts of problems from constant back pain, heartburn, and sleeplessness. She had countless extra trips to the hospital and now due to them discovering issues with the placenta, she had to have permanent bed rest. I offered to stay with her for a few days, but she told me to wait until after the baby was born.
Driving into work this morning, all I had on my mind was babies and children. I tried to put myself in Louie and Marcus’s mums’ shoes. It must be sheer hell having a child disappear. I couldn’t imagine what that must feel like. I hadn’t seen Louie’s mum Christine at the centre for some time. I waited until my break and gave her a ring. There was no answer. I tried again at lunchtime and left a message. She didn’t reply. That wasn’t like Christine. I decided to call to see her on my way home from work. I walked up to her front door and knocked. The door opened slowly, and I was shocked at the appearance of the woman stood in front of me.
“Christine, I thought I’d pop by and see how you were.” She wiped her nose on the sloppy jumper she wore and sniffed. Her hair was matted. She looked gaunt.
“You’d better come in.” I followed her through into the kitchen, surprised at how untidy the place was. Crockery was piled up in the sink. Breakfast cereal was left unopened on the side with spillages not cleared up. I frowned.
“You’ve not been to the centre. I wanted to see how you were getting on.” She looked down and spoke in a low voice.
“As you can see, I’m not doing very well.”
“You should have phoned me, Christine. I’d have come over.” I stroked her arm.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to face anyone. I hate it when I get like this.”
“Don’t be sorry. It must be hard for you.”
“I can’t motivate myself to get out or do anything when one of these low waves comes over me. The trouble is, I never know how long it will last.”
“Have you seen your doctor?”
“Yes, he’s upped my dosage of anti-depressants, but they won’t have kicked in yet. It’s so difficult at times, Sophie.”
“Here, let me put the kettle on.” We talked for some time. It didn’t help matters that Christine blamed herself for what happened to Jack.
“If he hadn’t been looking for Louie, it would never have happened.”
“We can’t know that and you’re certainly not to blame.” I tried to lighten her mood. “So, it’s all your fault.” I laughed. “I’ve now got a man in my house who doesn’t put the toilet seat down and leaves his dirty socks and undies lying around.” She mustered up a half smile.
“How is Jack? I haven’t spoken to him this week.”
“I’m sure he’ll update you himself. He is making progress, but the petrol bomb incident has affected him more than he’s letting on.”
I left Christine after making her promise to pop in to see us all at the centre. I felt sure if she could make the effort, it would cheer her up. It wasn’t just her who needed brightening up. All this was affecting me. What with Jack’s low moods and having him around all the time, I hadn’t realised how negative he could be. Then there was Steph’s problem with the pregnancy for me to worry about. I wasn�
�t even enjoying work anymore. Karen was still giving me the evil eye. It seemed like she was waiting for me to put a foot wrong, the way she followed me around the building. She picked up on any triviality.
I kept going over in my head the mantra that this too shall pass. Whatever I was going through right now, it wouldn’t always be this way. I had to cling on and ride out the storm.
Jack sent me a text to say he wouldn’t be home until late so not to make him any food. I worried about what he had got himself involved with. I felt it was too big for him to deal with alone and I wasn’t much help. Later that evening, the phone rang. I thought it was an update from Jack but when I looked at the screen, I saw it was Tim. Just seeing his name come up on my screen filled me with fear.
“Hi, Tim. What’s up?” A hunch told me this wasn’t good news. Steph still had ten weeks to go.
“Hi, Sophie. I can’t stay on long. I’m at the hospital now. Steph’s been bleeding heavily. They’ve been trying to control it but they’re taking her to do an emergency C section.”
“Oh, Tim. I hope they’re both okay.” I didn’t know what to say.
“Can you let your dad know. I want to get back in there as soon as I can?”
“Of course, is there anything I can do? Shall I come down?”
“Let’s wait and see what happens. Just pray for them both, Sophie.”
“I will.” We ended the call. I didn’t know what to do. I walked up and down the room. My mind was all over the place. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I phoned Jack and Dad to let them know. Looking out of the window, I bit inside my mouth. I couldn’t sit in one place for more than a couple of minutes. I glanced at the time. There should be news by now. I was too anxious to get excited. I’d been googling information about her condition and worrying myself silly. It wasn’t a good idea to be armed with too much knowledge. I changed my dial tone for Tim’s number, so I’d know straightaway when he rang. The piercing shrill tones made me jump when he finally called.
“It’s bad news, Sophie.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“She’s lost the baby. They couldn’t save her.” My hand went over my mouth and I sunk onto the sofa.
“No, no, no,” I cried. “Oh Tim, I’m so sorry. How’s Steph?”
“She’s heavily sedated at the moment.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“My parents are on their way over.”
“Listen, I’ll organise something and come down for a couple of days.” Tim burst out crying and I joined him in his grief.
I got off the phone as Jack walked through the door. He dropped his bag and rushed over to comfort me. I couldn’t speak for some time. The tears flowed. Life was chucking all it could at us right now. Once my tears subsided, I phoned my boss to organise emergency leave. Jack offered to drive me to London, but he had enough to contend with sorting out his insurance from the fire and his heavy work commitments. I would travel alone to see Steph and do the sisterly thing. She’d done the same for me in the past and now she needed me.
Chapter 30
Jack
The gloom of the grey sky seeped into my pores. I couldn’t shake it off. A steady rain fell from under the blanket of dark clouds. People walked past me, tussling with umbrellas, soaked through. An old man trundled along, his cloth cap offering little protection, while the newspaper under his arm became soggy and ruined.
I’d do anything to get away from this place. I’d love to escape the drudgery, but I couldn’t afford a holiday. Running away wasn’t an option. I had to stay and face my responsibilities. This was the life I had chosen. The bleak weather didn’t help though.
As if the fire wasn’t enough, I found out Vivien had another fella in her life. It hurt like hell. Maybe deep down, at some subconscious level, I clung on to the hope we could salvage our relationship at some point in the future, but not now. Her meeting Stephen had made it so final. She kept it hidden from me for some time, but to ask the kids to do the same was evil and manipulative.
I didn’t want them to have another dad. They would soon nose me out. Vivien promised me that wouldn’t be the case, but I wasn’t so sure. I’d seen it happen with some of my mates. If I wasn’t careful, I’d become the substitute dad. Sadness spread inside me like a germ, sending out roots to choke the hope from my heart. My life weighed me down and the load felt too heavy to pick up.
With my hands in my pockets and my head held low, I trudged through the streets of Bury. I had to get back on track. The only way I knew how to do that was to concentrate on work. I called in the police station to fill out the police report regarding the arson attack on my home. They confirmed it was a petrol bomb thrown through the window. It was fortunate I was in the kitchen at the time. If I’d have been a few yards nearer the front of the property, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I’d have gone up in flames, the same way as my possessions had.
At this stage, there were no leads on who might have done it. I had my own theories. I’d be curious what forensics picked up though. After downing the last of my coffee, I got up to leave. Jimmy Carlton, the constable I’d been dealing with stood up and shook my hand.
“Where did you do your training, Jimmy, Sedgley Park?” I asked.
“Yeah, do you know it?”
“Yeah, I’m an ex-bobby myself but it was a long time ago when I was there. I’m sure there’s been plenty of changes.”
“Yeah, I was there last April. It was tough going.”
“What, tougher than on the streets?”
“The tests and exams were a nightmare.”
“I know what you mean. Still, you made it through,” I winked at him and patted his upper arm. “Anyway, thanks again, Jimmy and you’ll let me know if anything comes back from forensics.”
“Of course.” I turned to leave. It made me feel old stood next to him. He was by my side.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to show me out, I know my way.” He looked around, unsure of what to do. I didn’t wait for his response. I was off.
I walked towards the exit. A pang of remorse about my past life hit me when I was here. There’d been lots of changes since I left. There were still some stalwarts here who knew me. I’d already bumped into a couple of ex-colleagues on my way in. I was nearing the exit when coming up the corridor towards me was a grey-haired officer with his head looking down at his paperwork.
“Jeez, they must be working you too hard, Mike Harper. When did you go grey?” He looked up and his face changed to a massive grin.
“Blood and sand, if it isn’t my old mucker, Jack North. How the devil are you?” We hugged, and I nodded.
“I’m doing okay. You heard about the fire at my place?”
“I didn’t realise it was your place they targeted.”
“Yep, seems I’m still rubbing people up the wrong way.” Mike shook his head.
“I’d invite you for a pint to catch up but are you still not drinking?”
“That’s right, still sober, but it doesn’t stop my social life if you’d like to get together sometime?”
“Sounds like a plan, Jack. Here, let me take your details and I’ll bell you.” I gave him my number.
“So, how’s life treating you? Working on anything juicy?” I asked.
“I got married last year. The missus wanted to do one of those weddings on the beach, you know, that romantic stuff women go for. We got hitched in the Seychelles. Yeah, and I’m part of this murder investigation team, did you hear about it? The woman found on waste ground near the hospital?”
“Yeah, didn’t they charge her bloke Billy with it?”
“You know him, do you?”
“That’s correct.” I tried to remain calm and not appear too excited about this turn of events. Sharing information with Mike might prove to do us both a good turn.
I added, “but I don’t believe he did it.”
“Oh?”
“No, my money is on the Duggan brothers.”
“We
must get together, and I can listen to your far-fetched theories,” he laughed.
“I’ll look forward to seeing you then, Mike,” I said, shaking his hand. “Good to see you.”
“You too, Jack.” He stood and waited as I passed him and left the building.
I met up with Mike the following week. He was a good copper. I wondered if he’d be prepared to put his job on the line for me. This meeting was off the record, but he knew what he was doing, feeding me with information, hoping to get twice as much back. I wasn’t daft. I would keep well in with him if he wanted to pump me for what I knew.
The least I wanted to do was share my concerns over Billy’s arrest with him. I was upfront about my own knowledge of Carmen. I gave him the details of my case and hoped in return he would share something back. Most of the police officers I knew loved talking about their work even though they weren’t supposed to. They found it hard to keep information confidential and didn’t always consider the potential consequences. Mike Harper liked to talk, and he trusted me. I was onto a winner. I bought him another pint and sat there with my coke.
“Strictly between the two of us, right?” I nodded at him.
“Of course, you know anything you say won’t go any further.”
“I don’t know how much you’ve heard about Carmen’s murder, but the injuries were horrific.”
“Yeah, I heard it was a frenzied attack. Has Billy any previous for violence?”
“Not as a civilian, only when he was in the army.”
“Right.”
“The pathologist said he had never seen anything as bad in a case where there was no sexual assault. There were wounds to her neck that had cut through the muscles, windpipe, jugular vein and carotid artery.”
“Phew,” I blew out.
“She’d have been unconscious in seconds after the artery was cut. Death would have occurred a few minutes later. He didn’t stop there though. There were extensive injuries to her face, chin, neck and head consistent with blows, kicks or punches and a blunt instrument was used on her. There were deep cuts to her face and inside her mouth.”
