The office was right at the back of the food hall, tucked away in a corner so that if he had not been looking he might have walked past it without noticing it was there.
He turned the handle and pushed the door open without troubling to knock.
***
Julie’s finger stopped in the middle of dialling the last number. It had taken her all morning to get herself in the right frame of mind to phone Adrian and now that she was ready, Ken had to walk into her office.
She replaced the phone on its cradle. ‘Can I help you?’
Ken had never recognized or acknowledged her up to now and she wondered what he wanted. She knew he had made advances to a lot of the women in the store and she toyed briefly with the thought that if she responded that would be a way to get back at Nicole. However, she dismissed the thought almost as fast as it occurred to her. There were some things she drew the line at, besides she did not fancy him.
It wasn’t that he was unattractive. There was an appealing quality about him. He had that little boy lost, hangdog kind of look that made him interesting to a lot of women. However, she got the impression he knew it and played on it. He looked at her now and she could almost feel him trying to exert his charm on her, but she decided she was having none of it.
‘Can I help you?’ she repeated in a slightly sharper tone. The annoyance she had felt, when he came into her office without knocking, increased as he stood there looking at her. She had really wanted to make that phone call and if Ken had not disturbed her it would have been done. Now the chance had slipped away and she knew it might take her a long time to generate the courage again. Besides, she might change her mind about phoning Adrian and she did not want to do that.
Ken slid further into her office and closed the door behind him. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you when you’re busy,’ he mumbled.
Julie’s annoyance lessened and she almost believed him. There was a tone of sincerity in his voice that started her thinking she had misjudged him. However, she caught sight of a glint in his eye that seemed ever so slightly calculating and it rekindled her exasperation.
‘Yes, I’m busy,’ she said, not caring whether she offended him. After all she was going to leave the job anyway. She picked up her pen and rolled it between her fingers before starting to flick her thumb up and down on the button at the end of it making the ink-refill click in and out of the barrel in a staccato movement that reflected her impatience.
Ken sat on the edge of her desk and swung his leg. He leaned towards her making her draw back further in her chair.
Julie’s dislike increased. The man had no manners, no finesse and did not know when he was not wanted. The scars on her arms started to ache as her muscles tightened and she sighed with displeasure. It would be so easy to let her suppressed anger at Nicole spill over onto Ken. But she knew she should not allow her emotions to take over, although she supposed that anger was maybe a healthier reaction than the bitterness she had been feeling, which made her life an emotional desert.
Julie inhaled several times becoming calmer with each breath. At last she was ready to listen to him. ‘Yes? What is it you want?’
Ken seemed nervous as if he had sensed her dislike and annoyance. ‘It’s Nicole,’ he said. ‘She’s having hysterics in her office.’ There was a look that Julie thought might almost be pleading in his soft, brown eyes. ‘I thought you might be able to calm her down, you being her friend and all.’
Julie stared at him. Help Nicole? It was the last thing in the world she wanted to do, but then Ken would not know that. She was tempted to refuse, but curiosity grabbed her. If Nicole was having hysterics, she would love to know why.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
When the darkness cleared, Nicole thought she had gone mad. She had never considered herself capable of fainting or having hysterics, considering this to be weakness, and within the space of a few minutes she had done both.
She sat with her back pressed against the office wall and her arms clasped tightly round her knees trying to make herself as small as possible. She tried to struggle up from the floor, but Evelyn’s firm hand pressed on her head. ‘Don’t move,’ the woman said, ‘stay still and put your head between your knees. You’ll feel better.’
Nicole’s resentment flared. She had never liked Evelyn, thinking the woman was far too smart for her own good and she wanted to shake the woman’s hand off her neck. But she did not have the energy. Instead she did as she was told and, because her throat was raw from screaming, nodded her assent.
‘Take deep slow breaths,’ Evelyn said. ‘It’ll make you feel better.’
Nicole nodded again. She hated having to agree to everything, but she did not have enough strength to do anything else. At last she croaked, ‘Ken? Will someone fetch Ken?’
Evelyn’s hand on the back of her head pushed a little harder. ‘Ken’s gone to fetch Julie. He thought she would be more help to you.’ She did not have to say, ‘Useless men,’ but the implication was there in the tone of her voice. ‘I’ve also sent for the police. Whoever did this must be sick in the head.’
The room swirled. Bile burned in her gullet pushing acid into her throat, forcing her to raise her head again. She pushed back against the pressure of Evelyn’s hand. ‘Water,’ she croaked, in a voice that did not sound like her own. She needed something to wash the taste out of her mouth and thin the acid bile.
‘Nicky!’ Evelyn snapped. ‘Fetch Mrs Ralston a glass of water from the cooler instead of standing at the door looking gormless.’
The smallest and youngest of the office girls clustering round the doorway flinched as if she had been struck. ‘Yes, Evelyn,’ she mumbled, scuttling out of the door.
Evelyn sighed. ‘I don’t know where they get them nowadays. Not a brain cell between any of them.’ She glared at the other girls grouped round the open doorway, ‘And you lot – back to work. We don’t need you standing there gawping, we’ll manage fine without you.’ The caustic tone in her voice was unmistakable and the girls, mumbling under their breath, scattered.
‘They think I don’t know they call me the dragon,’ Evelyn confided in Nicole. A smile twisted the corner of her mouth before it was replaced by a frown. ‘Where’s that damned water,’ she shouted. ‘I could have gone to China for it by this time.’
‘It’s here, Evelyn,’ the junior was almost running as she reappeared. She pushed the glass into Evelyn’s hand, slopping some of the water over her fingers.
‘Careful, girl, careful,’ Evelyn grasped the glass. ‘Now shoot off back to your work, like a good lass.’
She watched the junior as she fled up the corridor, then turning to Nicole she held the tumbler to her lips. ‘Sip it slowly,’ she warned. ‘You’ve had a bit of a shock.’
Nicole grabbed the glass from her. ‘I’m not a baby,’ she croaked. ‘I don’t need help to drink.’
‘Ah, you’re coming round, I see. Back to your usual self.’
Nicole glared at her, ‘What d’you mean by that little remark?’
‘Nothing at all.’ Evelyn stood up, towering over Nicole. ‘Just trying to be helpful, that’s all.’
Nicole struggled to her feet. ‘When I want your help I’ll ask for it, and believe me it’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens. So just fuck off.’
Evelyn shrugged giving the impression she could not care less, although Nicole guessed the older woman was seething underneath her calm appearance. ‘If that’s what you want,’ she said, her voice brittle and cold, then that’s how it will be.’ Evelyn turned and left the office, quietly closing the door behind her.
The room started to revolve again and Nicole leaned against the wall. Taking several, long, shuddering breaths, she tried to ignore the thumping in her chest. At last the spinning stopped and she was able to approach the desk where Freddie was laid out. ‘Poor Freddie,’ she said, ‘you didn’t deserve this.’ A tear dribbled down her cheek, but she made no attempt to touch the bird. Instead she walked to the window and res
ted her forehead on the cool glass. In the street below cars and buses moved in a graceless ballet while pedestrians, ant-like, went about their business. It was as if nothing had happened – and of course, for them, nothing had. She opened the window, leaned out and screamed at them, ‘Who is doing this to me?’ There was no answer apart from the rumble of engines and the usual city-centre sounds.
***
Ken fidgeted. He stood up, straightened his tie, ran his fingers through his hair and adjusted his weight from one foot to the other. He had lost the cocky look he’d had when he opened her office door and really did look like a little boy who was unsure of himself.
Julie ignored him. She was damned if she would agree to his demands as soon as he snapped his fingers, even though she was consumed by curiosity. She riffled through some of the invoices spread out on her desk and deliberately allowed the silence to continue, so that his discomfiture would increase. At last she looked up at him, ‘I would have thought she’d have preferred you to be with her and, as you can see, I have a lot of work to catch up with.’
‘The work can wait.’ Ken levered himself off the doorframe on which he had been leaning. ‘She needs you now.’
‘What if I can’t come now.’ Julie stared at him, challenging him. She could see the realization creeping over him that she was not the kind of woman who would do anything to please him just because he asked.
‘I could make it an order.’ Ken leaned over and placed the palms of his hands on her desk as he glared at her.
‘And I could refuse.’ Julie glared back. ‘Oh, never mind,’ she said, ‘I’ll go to her, but not because you’re ordering me. If I didn’t want to do it there’s no force on this earth that could make me.’ She stood up and pushed past him to get to the door. ‘Anyway, I still don’t know why you can’t help her, everything else considered.’
Julie smiled to herself as she walked away from him. She did not look back, but she would lay bets that Ken would have a bemused look on his face. He was not used to anyone standing up to him or refusing him anything.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Cold air whispered through the open window lifting the ends of Nicole’s hair and bringing with it relief from the overpowering heat that pervaded her office. She threw her head back and turned her face into the breeze until she cooled off and lost the clammy feeling that had contributed to her nausea.
She pulled back from the window, sliding it shut and muffling the street noises. Her eyes darted around the room, looking at anything rather than Freddie pinned to the desk. The office was spacious, plush and comfortable. She had designed and equipped it with the best of everything. The paintings on her walls were originals; she particularly liked the McIntosh Patrick oil, which she was sure would gain value following the recent death of the artist. Her desk was antique mahogany and her chair the most expensive she could find at the time. The computer she hardly ever used was a top spec model and the red-buttoned, leather suite was the best money could buy, although not the most comfortable.
Eventually she looked at the desk and poor Freddie. Now that she had recovered from the shock she was able to look at him dispassionately, although that did nothing to dull the anger she felt over what had happened. ‘Someone’s going to pay for this,’ she muttered to herself.
A shiver rippled up her spine. She had that odd tingling in the back of her neck again, that feeling she had when she thought she was being watched. But there was no one here and there was nowhere for anyone to hide, but she still could not shake off the feeling that there were eyes watching her every movement. Maybe she was becoming as paranoid as Scott believed her to be.
She strode across the room to the well-stocked drinks cabinet, poured herself a generous measure of Scotch and, kicking off her shoes, sank down into the depths of the sofa. She gulped the drink. It would relax her, she thought, but it did not. Instead she felt more uptight, the prickly feeling in the back of her neck increased and the room felt increasingly claustrophobic.
‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ she muttered, bending down to slip her feet into her shoes. She levered herself out of the sofa and hurried across the room, so desperate to get out she nearly fell over her briefcase. Grabbing it she hurried out the door so fast she was almost running. She breathed a sigh of relief when it closed behind her.
The corridor was empty, although in the distance she could hear the muted voices of the clerical staff and the familiar churning noise of the photocopier. Nicole hesitated for a moment, expecting Evelyn to swoop on her again. She shuddered at the thought, while the fluttering sensation inside her chest increased in tempo making her gasp. She had never experienced anything like it before. She inhaled silently, hoping to still the palpitations, then exhaled just as quietly, although she knew that Evelyn could not possibly hear the slight disturbance of air, and that her fear was irrational.
Her footsteps were silent on the carpet as she approached the lift and she breathed more easily when she reached it. The doors creaked open before she put her finger on the button and with a startled glance behind her she pushed herself inside, almost knocking Julie over in her haste.
***
Bill Murphy was seriously fed up. When he transferred to the CID he had imagined life would become more exciting. Exciting, that was a laugh, no one told him he would have to sit in the office and type piddling reports about a piddling emergency that involved hysterical women who imagined bogey men behind every bush and dead animals that did not exist.
He jabbed at the keyboard with his forefinger. He had not joined the police to be a bloody typist either. Swearing under his breath he backspaced to delete the last word.
‘Not finished that report yet?’ Sue Rogers perched on the end of his desk. Sue was one of the more attractive policewomen in the unit. A detective sergeant, like himself, he had once had a brief fling with her before they mutually decided they would rather be friends than lovers.
‘It’s all right for you bloody women. You get taught this stuff, but what about us men. Eh? We just have to struggle with these bloody machines, nobody ever teaches us.’ Bill swiped at the keyboard. ‘Just look at that will you? The damned machine’s just told me I’ve performed an illegal operation. I’ll be bloody arrested next for abusing a bloody computer.’
‘You’re a sexist pig, Bill Murphy, and bad-tempered with it.’ Sue stood up and walked away leaving the faintest whiff of perfume behind her. ‘I was going to offer to bring you a coffee, but you can whistle for it now.’
‘Aw, Sue, you know I didn’t mean it.’ Bill stood up and followed her to the coffee machine. ‘I’m just pissed off because I was pulled out on this job last night. Awkward timing it was … I think she was interested too.’
Sue placed the coffee sachet in the machine and her cup under the outlet tap before pressing the button. ‘Vile stuff that,’ she said as she watched the black liquid spurting into her cup. ‘Don’t know why I drink it.’ She sipped, making a face. ‘Get your own coffee then, lover boy.’ Sue sauntered to her desk further down the room.
Bill filled his cup and followed her. ‘Have a heart, Sue. You’d throw a moody as well if you’d been hauled away from a likely prospect to investigate some neurotic biddy who imagined she was being stalked and rambled on about dead animals that weren’t there.’
‘What’s her name then, this likely prospect?’ Sue looked at him over the rim of her cup.
‘Julie,’ Bill’s tone softened as he said her name.
‘Well, you’ll just have to phone Julie. Otherwise you’re going to be a misery for evermore, although if I know anything about your previous likely prospects she won’t last a week.’ Sue sipped her coffee. ‘Go and do it now and then you might become a human being again.’
‘Can’t,’ Bill slumped into the chair beside her. ‘I don’t have her phone number.’
Sue stared at him. ‘Address, or where she works?’
‘Nope.’
‘I don’t believe it. The hotshot detective didn
’t get the basic information.’ Sue laughed. ‘You’ll never live this down mate.’
Bill hoisted himself out of the chair. ‘Thanks for the sympathy,’ he said sarcastically. ‘It was a great help.’
Back at his desk, he prodded the keyboard and wrote a few sentences. That would do it. The investigation did not deserve much of a report. After all it was only a woman trying to wind up her man, although the supercilious bastard probably deserved it.
***
As soon as the lift doors closed, Julie said, ‘What’s up? Ken asked me to come and see you. He said you’d had a bit of an upset.’
‘Is that what he called it, an upset?’ Nicole’s voice was even.
‘Actually he said you were hysterical.’ Julie studied Nicole, but she did not look hysterical. ‘Maybe he was exaggerating.’
‘Maybe he was, but then maybe he wasn’t. Anyway, how would he know?’ Nicole’s hand tightened on her briefcase. ‘Bastard could have come to see for himself.’ Nicole’s scowl deepened. ‘Men, they’re all the bloody same. Only interested in themselves and what’s in it for them. But as soon as there’s trouble you don’t see them for dust.’
Julie felt a tightening in her chest. She should have been pleased that Nicole was suffering, but instead, she felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman. She shook the feeling off. Nicole was only getting what she deserved. She used people, but did not like it when the compliment was returned.
Julie placed her hand on Nicole’s arm in a supportive gesture, although she would much rather have twisted it behind her back until she screamed. Nicole flinched as if she had been scalded. Julie withdrew her hand. Surely she had not gripped Nicole’s arm by mistake. No, she couldn’t have done. She was too careful. ‘You’re a bit nervy,’ she said.
‘So would you be if you’d been through what I’ve been through since last night.’ Nicole’s breath rasped out in a ragged gasp. She seemed to be in danger of losing her self-control.
Night Watcher Page 18
