Catherine

by A J Hollingsworth

  'I can't imagine you hiking,' commented Logan looking at Rachel.

  'What's that meant to mean?' asked Tanya twisting to look at him with a shocked expression.

  'I just can't imagine her wearing big hiking boots, kharki's and a rucksack weighing down on her back,' he said chuckling.

  'Well I can and besides nobody asked you, did they?' taunted back Tanya, raising a smile on Rachel's lips.

  Logan raised his eyebrows, 'that's my cue to leave, I believe,' he said standing. Tanya shuffled out of her chair allowing him to pass her before retaking her position opposite Rachel. Logan walked in the direction of another detective. 'Did you see the score this weekend?' he asked the other detective and the pair were soon engaged in a lively debate on the failing of the York City manager at the weekend and which players would not make their cut of the first eleven in a million games.

  Rachel was left in peace from his irritating ways, 'thank you,' she said to Tanya once he was out of ear range.

  'You welcome, I honestly don't know how you put up with that man everyday.'

  'I tolerate him at best Tanya, I can't see the two of us ever being friends but he is a good detective and I'm grateful for that Tan.'

  Tanya took a mouthful of salad and savoured the taste, 'how is Nathan coping with all this business?'

  Rachel shrugged her shoulders, 'I couldn't honestly tell you. I think that dean of the University is piling the pressure on him. I told him to leave that job when he was offered promotion-'

  '-he did not thank you for that though!'

  'No he sulked like a baby for a month over that,' she replied laughing finding a grown man throwing a tantrum such as Nathan had, hysterical.

  'I remember. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself,' Tanya added.

  'Can I call on you if I need you Tan?'

  'For the investigation. Always. You know that. I am in the station today catching up on paperwork. My sergeant is riding my back for to get it done.'

  'Well do you mind carrying out a bit of research into the background of Mr Mark Jacobs for me. He is hiding something and I just can't put my finger on it at the moment. I hoping something from his past may just point me in the right direction.'

  'Sure,' Tanya agreed willingly.

  Rachel took out her notepad and wrote down the details she knew Tanya would need to carry out such a search and then continued to eat her lunch.

  Chapter 25

  Nathan had returned to work after spending the majority of his weekend on the University Campus. Rachel had been working too and he was left with a disappointed feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't blame her as such, but he couldn't help feel the way he did and to some extent he was riddled with guilt as the realisation struck him like a punch to the gut. He did resent her career choice. It was important and what she did was remarkable, far greater than he would be willing to do himself. That opened up an whole self analysts he wasn't prepared to answer this morning. He had finished his first two lectures of this morning and was tucking into a ham salad sandwich followed up by a sticky glazed donut and a mug of strong coffee.

  His seminar room was empty, he had opted to avoid the canteen and the numerous conversations about Catherine that was a buzz around the campus at the moment. He had heard enough and with Stephanie stomping around worried about the negative press surrounding the campus, causing several students to have returned home and several more to have requested transferring to another university. The impact could be catastrophic on the university and could even cost him his own job. Student admissions would naturally fall out of fear and then the funding would fall and ultimately, budget cuts would have to be enforced to meet demands. That was Nathans demon with the education system these days. It was now treated like a business and he did not agree!

  Maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was time for a change, a fresh start with a new career. Would Rachel agree though? She loved her job and there was no way he would be able to convince her otherwise. He could always try but he knew she wouldn't go without a fight and it could even mean the end of their marriage. He was stuck. He took a sip of his coffee, desperately wanting a cigarette. He had quit three years ago under duress from Rachel. The nicotine monster he had worked so hard to ignore over the last three years was now beating at the door with all of its might. There was a newsagent across the road from the seminar room, in under five minutes he could be holding a pack in his hand. A minute or so later he could feel the warm heat of the smoke falling down into his lungs and the sweet release of the monster being fed.

  He resisted, he couldn't give up now, over the last three years not only had he not touched a cigarette to his lips, but he had also gone for a run everyday and he was not in the best shape of his life. He was not wanting to throw that away now. He had made the right choice but the feeling he was trying to push deep down inside himself, wasn't budging. He reached over the table, grabbing hold of his laptop bag, placing it down in front of him, unzipping the case and then removing his laptop before placing it down in front of him. He opened it up and pushed the power on button, waiting for the welcome screen to load up.

  In front of him was the picture of his and Rachel's wedding day. She was beautiful. Rachel standing there next to him in here white silk wedding gown with lace trim. A radiant smile of happiness, glowing next to his modest smile. He looked at that picture for a few seconds before the smile was covered over by the password entry box and the flashing cursor. Rachel's eyes caught his attention full of hope and desire. Maybe he was wrong to expect her to leave all this behind. They had vowed to remain together till death do they part and to love one another in sickness and in health. Old fashion he granted, but Rachel wanted a traditional wedding. He let her have it and maybe he could let her have this too.

  Was he being selfish? Was it always a bad trait? Sometimes you have to be selfish or you end up being walked all over and can't that be just as bad? He typed in his six digit password, it was Rachel's birthday. The welcome screen subsided and he waited patiently for the various icons to load up down the left hand side of the screen. He moved the cursor over the photographs folder and double clicked, the window opened revealing another choice of folders. Each labelled up with various categories detailing holidays, days out, family parties and a last one simply labelled miscellaneous. That was the one he clicked on. The folder opened showing a dozen photographs of Catherine and one outside an ice-cream parlour with his arm around her shoulder.

  That was six months ago. The affair snug up on him. He didn't see it coming and certainly didn't plan for it. The guilt after that one night had been eating away at him ever since. He did love Rachel very much. He knew it would ruin her if she ever found out. But what could he do now. If the truth was ever revealed with her being dead, how could he not be an instant suspect and Logan would love that. Nathan knew there was no love-lost between the pair and he disagreed with Rachel's promotion, believing it should have been him instead. This would feed straight into his hands and possibly remove Rachel from the investigation and may even jeopardise her career. What a mess it all was now.

  He could blame Stefanie for not firing him over the affair. God, he had blackmailed her to keep it a secret. How could he not continue with that path? He had to keep her silenced now, too much was at risk. He ran his hand across his forehead, massaging it gently as his mind was now racing faster than it had ever before. The coffee offering him little comfort as he finished the last dregs in the bottom of his mug. He kept looking at the screen at he past of him and Catherine, with both of them smiling. How it has gone so wrong since. Rachel was away fro the weekend with Tan on a police conference thing. He pretended to listen to her when she told him, but instead he was thinking about Catherine and their possible weekend together.

  The difference between then and now was his understanding of what he would do different if he could have had the time again. The problem was he wouldn't change the weekend. He was looking at the photograph, longing for the
touch of her hand against his, feeling the smooth silkiness of her skin. He missed the carefree relaxation in her eyes and he missed the most of holding her close to him whilst talking about rich compelling literature.

  They would do that as much as they could, whilst enjoying a coffee together in the University canteen, over breakfast after Rachel had left for work and he had nipped to Catherine's apartment for breakfast. That was the one thing that Rachel didn't have, the connection in literature. She would listen to him discuss the classics passionately and with a vigour for life like he would only have in that moment. Rachel simply couldn't understand that passion or where it came from. She would only ever half listen, generally five minutes into his lecture, that's how she saw his little chats, her eyes would glaze and her mind beginning to wonder. He knew it as well.

  He looked at the screen of his laptop clicking through the images one by one as his eyes began to well. He had to pull it together though or the only option left for him would be to explain to Rachel why he betrayed her. He moved the cursor over to click on the little cross at the top of the window.

  'Professor,' said a young woman's voice from the doorway of the seminar room.

  Nathan slammed shut his laptop closed and swiped around in his chair to face the young woman standing in the doorway. Her green eyes staring in the direction of his laptop. Did she see? He looked over at it on sitting on top of his desk and then back over to the woman. 'Hello Rebecca. How can I help?' he asked with a smile and joyful tone, pretending everything was normal.

  'I just wanted to drop off my assignment, if that's OK?'

  'Of course,' he replied holding out his hand ready for her to pass her assignment over to him. She moved across towards him and passed over the assignment. 'Thanks, I look forward to reading it.'

  She smiled at Nathan before turning and head back towards the door. 'Unfortunate business that with Catherine,' she said moments before disappearing into the corridor amongst the rest of the milling students.

  Nathan froze. Shit, she saw what was on the laptop. His next step was unclear, he needed to think and think fast. It would look suspicious the photographs on his laptop. He leapt to his feet and made his way into the corridor, it was too late though, she had vanished in the crowd. He followed in the direction she had walked after leaving the seminar room.

  Chapter 26

  Rachel and Logan had been back and forth to Mark so much, it was starting to infuriate the pair. They had full bellies at least and were preparing for another battle. The law was against them at the moment, everything they had against Mark was nothing more than circumstantial. Logan was ready for throwing him behind bars and melting the key into a small blob. It was an old fashioned mentality but it had served him well in the past. He had been instrumental in putting behind bars several of the worst murderers ever to be active in the Yorkshire area. It was a gut instinct he had worked on all of his life and it was telling him that Mark had been involved in the death of Catherine.

  It was now time for him to give the pair some real answers and enough of his bullshit. Rachel pulled up the car outside the main campus of the university. It was quiet, the students that were on campus were in their respective lectures. Since Catherine's murder there had been an increase in patrols made by the police constables either on foot or circling around the area in vehicles. Detective Chief Inspector Jepson had ordered the force to be extra visible in the area to ease the members of public concerns over their own safety or the safety of the remaining students.

  Rachel and Logan exited the car along University Road opposite Heslington Church and began walking towards Derwent College. The path towards 'the Quiet Place' was lined either side with freshly cut grass, short and in perfect lines drawing the eyes from the road side down along the trees and over towards the historical student accommodation. Mark was due out from his lecture in just under seven minutes and if they reached the end of their current path they could stand between the accommodation building and Derwnet College lecture rooms ready to question him about Catherine's phone when he left.

  It was not long after they were stood in position before the doors opened from the lecture rooms and students started to spill out onto the pavements.

  'Keep your eyes peeled,' stated Rachel to an already alert Logan, who was busy scanning the faces of every man that exited the building. Several faces scanned and three minutes later Mark exited the building and turned the corner walking in their direction. They had chosen a spot that they knew the majority of students would walk past. They just had to wait a few more seconds and Mark would pass them.

  He was busy looking at his phone, sending a text and was less than forty feet away when he looked up and noticed the pair standing there. Rachel stood with her legs slight apart and arms folded, in what a psychiatrist would have referred to as a defensive pose and Logan also with his legs slightly apart, however, with his hands buried deep inside his pockets and his right hand fiddling with some lose change in the bottom.

  'What is it now detectives. You didn't have enough of talking to me yesterday then?' he said as sarcastically as he could manage and a little bit of patronising added in.

  'We had Catherine's phone analysed Mark. Thought you may want to discuss that today? Tell us what you know about her phone?'

  Mark paused knowing they had discovered something that would keep him in the loop for Catherine's murder. 'Like I said yesterday. I didn't even realise she had left her phone until her mother had sent a text the day of Catherine's...you know...I put that phone in my top drawer of my desk and left it there until you found it. I don't know what else you want to me to tell you!'

  They were both seeing straight through Mark's aversion to answering the question truthfully. 'Yesterday you said you weren't aware of Catherine having an affair?' she asked.

  'Catherine was not having an affair. I don't know what makes you keep saying that. Catherine and I were very happy,' Mark began to walk away from her.

  'Mark,' she said sternly to his back. 'You had sent messages to Catherine accusing her of having an affair. That makes us believe she was and means you lied about it!'

  Mark stopped in his tracks but refused to turn around and face Rachel and Logan. He could feel their eyes burning into his back and was quickly running through in his head of any comeback he could say. He knew the messages they were talking about and if they had really found them, then he would be only digging himself a larger hole if he attempted to continue to lie now. He turned slowly and looked at the floor avoiding eye contact.

  'Mark you need to start being honest with us, you keep lying and what other option are you giving us than to believe you were the one in fact to kill Catherine?'

  'Yes. I sent a couple of messages with accusations in them, but she said no and I believed her and that was the end of it. We had nothing to say to one another about.'

  'You really expect us to believe it was over that quick?'

  'It was. A few minutes.'

  Rachel looked at Mark with the knowledge of the messages that were actual sent being completely different from Mark's recollection. She raised her eyebrows, no movement from her lips, remaining straight, neither smiling or frowning. 'I would hardly call a two day argument from what we have seen on the messages as a few minutes quick argument and do you really expect us to believe that your ego wasn't damaged? I don't believe for one minute that Catherine having an affair wouldn't get you mad. That your pride wasn't dented or it would repair that quickly.'

  Mark had to concede, 'I did take it badly. I never had any prove so was seeing someone else. I had only a feeling that something wasn't right between us. One night we had made arrangements to go for out for dinner and maybe watch a movie after, but then at the last minute she cancelled stating she was not feeling well. I went over to her room to with a DVD and a big bag of popcorn and some headache tablets. I was going to surprise her. I walked over to her building and when I walked around the corner I saw her leaving all dressed up in a short skin tight red dres
s and high heels.'

  Mark raised his hands, 'what other explanation could there be for the outfit?'

  'Did you follow her>' asked Logan.

  'Not straight away. I was in shock. Where was she going? Why was she dressed like that? Why would she lie to me? I had a million questions and no matter how much I wanted to follow her I couldn't move my legs. By the time I did move she had vanished out of sight, I ran around the corner of the road where her apartment was and I couldn't see her.'

  'She could have been going out with a friend!' Rachel stated.

  'Who dresses that way if it was just a friend?'

  Rachel was offended. In this modern era how can a young man, barely in his twenties be such a chauvinistic pig. She would have expected him to have thought different, but then again so much of the personality of Mark annoyed her. To say a woman dressed in a sexual way would be only to lure a man. She, herself, would wear a skimpy dress to go out for a drink with Tanya. Both of them would actually, didn't mean they were wearing them to attract a man. 'Many women dress without the intention for men to drool all over them!'

  'Why did you delete the messages Mark?' asked Logan, more interested in getting to Mark's intentions.

  'I knew what you would think if I didn't!'

  'And what would that be?'

  'That I killed her.'

  'What makes you say that?'

  'Because that's what you think now anyway. You know it and I know it. Of course it will look as if I'm guilty that we argued before she was murdered.' That was the first time he had said exactly what had happened, but now he was mad. He was innocent and constantly been targeted by the two detectives. What did he have to do to prove to them that he didn't murder Catherine?

  Rachel knew what Mark was saying was probably true, he was a prime suspect, maybe she was now cynical after almost five years on the force but the one's closest to the victim more often than not had been the murderer, whether motivated by greed, money or jealousy. Catherine was most likely having an affair and what better motivation than revenge brought on through jealousy. Mark fitted the profile of a classic passion murder. They had to be right, but then again the evidence was nothing more than circumstantial. Mark and Catherine had an argument, he found - possibly stole - the phone and deleted the argument from it. It was not definite prove of murder, just motivation.