by K. L. Slater
Irma regarded him with interest. This was a very different person to the polite, concerned young man she’d interviewed with Marcus all those years ago. It was only to be expected, but his opinion of the police had clearly soured during his time in prison. She’d seen it many times before: a first offender landing a lengthy sentence and getting a good education from the seasoned lags inside. Sometimes they only picked up the attitude. Other times it was a more sinister set of skills on how to evade police detection.
‘We understand Coral McKinty went to the same school as yourself and Jesse Wilson,’ she stated. ‘You must have known her well.’
‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Tom shrugged. ‘She was a mate, sure. There was a group of us that hung around regularly. She was much closer to Jesse than me, obviously.’
‘I’d imagine you might have found Coral was a little unfriendly towards you when you got out of prison,’ Tyra suggested. ‘You moving in with her son’s grandma, I mean. The fact that you were responsible for her partner’s death and also the boy never knowing his father.’
‘And I paid the price for that,’ Tom retaliated, his cheeks reddening. ‘Ten long years for a single punch to defend myself from a knife attack.’
‘A penknife,’ Tyra murmured under her breath, earning herself a piercing glare from Tom.
‘I suppose Coral might not have looked at it like that.’ Irma’s pleasant smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘From her point of view, she’d been left without the support of her partner and forced to bring up their child alone.’
‘Don’t you think I know that?’ The muscle in Tom’s jaw flexed as he tried to control his temper. ‘What exactly are you trying to say? I didn’t agree to come here for you to put me through a second trial.’
He was agitated and it hadn’t taken long. Irma wanted to keep pushing.
‘Course not, let’s move on.’ She glanced at the sheet in front of her. ‘Tell us about Ellis.’
Tom sniffed. ‘He’s Jesse’s son, but you already know that.’
‘How did he react when you moved into the house with your new wife … his grandma?’ Tyra asked bluntly.
‘Like you’d expect any kid to react.’ Tom shrugged. ‘He wasn’t impressed and I tried to break the ice, but then you can’t get much out of them at that age. They’re only interested in gaming and pizza.’
‘Would you say there were heated exchanges?’ Irma pursed her lips. ‘Perhaps a few fireworks between the two of you?’
‘Yes,’ Tom said honestly. ‘But like I’d already said to Brid … Bridget, we have to give it time. He’ll come round eventually, though he’s had a massive setback now and that’s not going to help.’
‘Another massive setback,’ Irma remarked. ‘Lost his father and now his mum.’
‘Yes.’
‘What did Coral think to you spending time with Ellis at the house?’ Tyra asked, sitting back in her seat. ‘Did she object?’
‘Yes. I think she and Bridget had words about it.’
‘What kind of words?’ Tyra pushed.
‘You know, Coral saying that she wouldn’t let him come around any more and Bridget telling her that wasn’t going to happen.’
‘Bridget must have got quite annoyed about it,’ Tyra suggested. ‘Coral telling her what to do.’
‘Course.’ Tom nodded. ‘Ellis is all Bridget has left of Jesse, so it’s a natural reaction.’
‘Perhaps you also felt angry with Coral,’ Irma said. ‘Her being awkward must’ve scuppered your romantic new start with Ellis’s gran.’
Tom laughed bitterly. ‘Maybe I did, but I didn’t hurt Coral, if that’s what you’re getting at.’
‘Nobody is suggesting that, Mr Billinghurst,’ Irma said solemnly. ‘We’re trying to understand where the tensions lay in the family. You marrying your victim’s mother, it’s quite an unusual situation by anyone’s standards, I’m sure you’d agree. Probably a shock for everyone, particularly with the recent press interest.’
‘I suppose so,’ Tom sighed. ‘But it’s nothing to do with anyone else. All that counts is that it’s what me and Bridget want. We knew there would be family resistance to start with.’
‘Coral, Ellis … who else has taken it badly?’ Tyra asked.
Tom blew out air. ‘My mother, Jill. She’s been worse than any of them.’
Irma sat forward, interested. ‘In what way?’
‘Oh, you know, generally kicking off. Making up silly stories in her head about what might go wrong.’ He grinned. ‘Being a mum.’
Irma did not return the grin. ‘What’s your mother’s relationship with Bridget like?’
‘They haven’t got a relationship,’ Tom replied curtly. ‘They used to be best friends, but that ended when Jesse died.’
‘Did you tell your parents you were getting married in prison?’ Tyra asked suddenly.
He shifted in his seat, looked at his hands. ‘No. We thought it would be best to just do it. I knew what Mum’s reaction would be, and she’d have tried to stop it.’
‘And your father?’
‘He doesn’t care. He’s never been interested in my life.’ Irma noted the unmistakable tang of bitterness that was laced through his words.
‘Did your parents have much contact with Coral when you were in prison?’ Tyra broke the brief silence.
Tom shook his head. ‘None. They knew her from when we all used to hang around together. I’d sometimes have people round to the house and Coral was one of them. My dad would ferry us around if he was in the right mood, but that was it. They didn’t really know her. Not like they knew Jesse.’
Irma cleared her throat. ‘And the boy, Ellis? What will happen to him now his mother has died?’
‘He’ll live with us, of course,’ Tom said. ‘We’re his family now and we’ll do fine once we get all this out of the way.’ He indicated the detectives, the room they were in. ‘He’s a good lad. Been through a lot.’
‘Indeed,’ Irma said slowly, noticing the unexpected pride in his face. Some men might resent the boy’s presence, having to take him in at this crucial stage in a new relationship. But despite Ellis’s anger towards him for what had happened to his father, it struck Irma that Tom looked as though he was looking forward to having him around.
Rather curious, really.
Fifty-One
Tyra repeated the interview legalities, introducing herself and Irma again. ‘We have some questions about your relationship with Coral and the family, if that’s OK, Mrs Wil … Billinghurst,’ she said, correcting herself at the last moment.
‘Bridget is fine.’
‘Thank you. We understand you and Coral were quite close, is that right?’
‘Well, she was the mother of my grandson, so yes,’ Bridget said, a little tightly. ‘I’d like to think that if she were here now, she’d tell you I’d been a big support to her after Jesse’s death.’
‘You mean emotional support?’ Irma said.
Bridget smiled. ‘I mean emotional, financial, practical. She told me more than once that she didn’t know what she’d have done without me.’
‘I see,’ Irma said. ‘Would you say you’ve helped raise Ellis? Sort of taken Jesse’s place as a parent figure, in a way?’
‘Absolutely,’ Bridget said without hesitation.
Irma got the distinct impression that Bridget Wilson – Billinghurst – was a determined, independent woman. She knew about her charity work, the way she’d fought for Jesse’s image after his death. She admired her for that. And yet she sensed an edge of steel that she’d seen before in people who would do almost anything to get what they wanted. Sometimes not constraining themselves within legal boundaries.
‘What was Tom’s relationship with Coral?’ Tyra asked.
Bridget frowned. ‘Tom didn’t have a relationship with Coral.’
‘Maybe not after Jesse’s death, but the two of them used to be in the same friendship circle, I understand?’
‘That was years ago, when they we
re still kids.’ Bridget sniffed.
‘Perhaps he tried to get a little closer to her when he came out of prison?’ Tyra suggested.
‘Tom didn’t like Coral, OK?’ Bridget snapped, and then seemed to realise that what she’d said didn’t sound good in light of what had happened. ‘They didn’t get on, for obvious reasons.’
‘Mr Billinghurst told us he’d felt resentment from both Coral and Ellis,’ Irma added. ‘I suppose it might have made the atmosphere at home quite unpleasant.’
‘We expected all that,’ Bridget said in an off-hand manner. ‘That’s why we got married in prison, to force them all to deal with it.’
‘Including Jill Billinghurst?’ Tyra asked.
‘Especially her.’ Bridget wrinkled her nose. ‘Interfering, bitter woman. It was my son who died, yet you’d think she was the one doing all the grieving.’
‘Grieving the loss of her son for ten years in prison, I’d imagine,’ Tyra said. ‘It’s a long sentence.’
‘Yes, but now he’s out. He gets a new life while Jesse is still six feet under in the cold earth. I’ll never get my son back.’ It was a startling moment, and silence cloaked the room before Bridget spoke again. ‘That’s what Jill needs to realise.’
‘If you don’t mind me saying so, you seem quite … bitter about Jill Billinghurst,’ Tyra said softly.
‘The woman annoys me, that’s all. She’s so controlling. Tom is nearly thirty years old and she still wants to call the shots in his life. She thinks I’m out to destroy him, use him for my own ends. You know, older woman, younger man kind of thing.’
‘Mr Billinghurst told us he popped out on the afternoon Coral died,’ Irma said. ‘Can you tell us what time he left and where he said he’d been?’
There was a clear hesitation from Bridget. ‘I can’t really remember the timing of it; I was busy in the house and I’d been out and about myself.’
‘He went back to the gym to pick up something he’d forgotten?’ Tyra prompted.
‘That’s what he said, yes.’
‘We’ve checked and the gym is about a ten-minute drive each way,’ Tyra said. ‘And yet Tom was out of the house quite a bit longer than that.’
‘I didn’t really give it much thought. As I said, I was busy.’
‘After our visit, though, you must have talked about where he’d been?’
Bridget pulled a face. ‘We were reeling from the news that Coral had died, and my priority was Ellis. Tom said he went to the gym and that was good enough for me.’
Irma sensed a reluctance on Bridget’s part to talk about her husband’s alibi. She said, ‘Ellis and Tom’s relationship. How would you describe it?’
Bridget rolled her eyes. ‘Fraught, tense. Tom has tried to make inroads with Ellis, but he’s been difficult. Like we expected.’
‘Ellis will live with you and Tom now Coral has passed away?’ Tyra asked.
Bridget nodded. ‘Tom’s been brilliant with him, never raised his voice or got annoyed. He seems to have a real affection for him.’
‘That’s unusual. I expect most men would find Ellis’s anger towards them a little disconcerting.’ Irma’s interest was piqued again.
‘Not Tom,’ Bridget said, looking pleased with herself. ‘He’s all for us being a little family unit. He said it’s what he’s always dreamed of having.’
Fifty-Two
Tom
When they left the police station, Tom turned to Bridget.
‘We’ll pick Ellis up and then I’ll drop you both off at home. I’m going back to see my mum.’
‘What?’ Bridget’s eyes burned into his. ‘Tom, this is no time to go running back to your mother’s apron strings. We need to discuss everything the police asked us.’
His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he stared straight ahead without speaking. She was right, of course, in an ideal world he should be at home with his wife and with Ellis, who had lost his mum. But this was not an ideal world and he had to sort things out with his own mother. The truth he’d known he must one day tell her had been a glimmering light in the distance for years, but now it shone in his face like a powerful spotlight. It would not wait a day longer.
‘The police think I’m good for Coral’s death,’ he murmured, his chest pounding.
‘Did they say that?’
‘Not in so many words, but I could tell. The way they spoke to me, looked at each other.’
‘It’s your trip to the “gym” that’s screwed you.’ Bridget hooked her fingers around the word. ‘That’s what happens when you lie. And if you didn’t go to the gym, where did you go? Are you ready to tell me the truth yet? Because I’m waiting and I’m fast losing patience.’
That word again. People all wanted the truth from him, but the irony was that once they had it, they wished they’d never got it.
This feeling – like his insides had liquidated, his brain unable to think straight – was pure panic. He felt incapable of facing the prospect of another ten years in prison. He’d rather die.
It was a real possibility. The police were sniffing around; they already suspected that Coral’s death was not the simple accident it had first appeared to be. And Bridget was right about the trip to the gym. When the police checked – and he knew they would – they’d realise immediately that he’d been lying and would come and arrest him. The gym was kitted out with security cameras; it would be obvious he hadn’t been there again in the afternoon.
He’d been somewhere else instead. He’d been to Coral’s house.
If the police found out the truth, it would lead them straight to him as the main suspect in Coral’s death, and that was why he had to speak to his mum right now.
He didn’t know how much time he had before they came for him, but he suspected it wouldn’t be long.
Jill’s face floated into his head wearing that same expression he’d seen a thousand times before. It said, Son, I want to believe you’re telling the truth. I want to believe you are a good person.
Except right now he felt like the worst person in the whole world, and soon everyone else was going to know it too.
Fifty-Three
Audrey
She watched Tom and Bridget pull up outside the house. Bridget went to the door and Ellis came out. Then they all drove away again. Tom didn’t get out of the car at all.
Audrey waited five minutes, then knocked at the front door. Jill took a few minutes to answer. Her cheeks looked puffy and damp and she seemed out of sorts.
Jill’s face hardened when she saw her.
‘Hello, Jill,’ Audrey said.
‘Why did you disappear from the shop without saying a word?’ she replied stiffly.
Audrey stood on the doorstep. ‘I wasn’t ready to tell you there and then. The shock of you walking in like that, seeing Bridget there … I panicked. It felt like fight or flight, and to my shame, I chose the latter. Sometimes you don’t know what your reaction is going to be until you’re under big pressure.’
‘You might’ve said something. I was worried about what had happened to you as well as being put out, having to close the shop up.’
Audrey lowered her eyes. ‘You were already so worried about Bridget ruining Tom, I honestly thought it would send you over the edge if I told you the truth. I drove out of town for a while at first, to get my head around things. Can I come in?’
Wordlessly, Jill stepped aside to allow Audrey to move inside. They went into the living room.
‘I’m sorry, Jill. I didn’t mean—’
‘I’m not interested in empty apologies!’ Jill’s voice rose in alarm. ‘Tell me about you and Bridget!’
Audrey took a deep breath. ‘It’s not what you think. We’re not friends. She came to the shop because she thought I was having an affair with Robert.’
Jill watched her steadily. ‘I came to your house looking for you and I saw his striped scarf on the side in the kitchen. Are you having an affair with Robert?’
‘No! That would be la
ughable if things weren’t so serious.’ Audrey sighed and perched on the sofa. ‘Look, I need to explain everything for it to make sense. From the beginning.’
‘Do you know Coral is dead?’
‘Yes. Look, Jill, I’m begging you, let me speak first.’ Audrey patted the sofa cushion next to her. Jill sat down in the chair. ‘I can see you’re low, but there are some things I need to tell you. Things I should have told you years ago and I’m sorry now that I didn’t. But I had my reasons.’
Jill looked at her but didn’t respond. She seemed to be holding her breath and Audrey wondered if she was strong enough to do this, but it was too late to stop now. The truth had to come out.
‘I don’t know what happened to Coral. I don’t know how she died. But I have something to tell you, and when I’ve finished, I’m going directly to the police to tell them too.’
Jill’s eyes widened, but still she remained silent.
‘These past few years, I’ve got to know Coral well. I didn’t recognise her at first. We got talking in the shop and I treated her like another customer. But then of course, I quickly realised who she was and, over time, we forged a bit of a friendship, mainly me being a sounding board for her rather turbulent life. Anyway, once I did know, there never seemed to be a good time to tell you, because you were so tied up with Tom being in prison.’
‘Don’t tell me you think Tom had something to do with that girl’s death, because I won’t believe you.’ Jill’s voice rose in panic. ‘And if you’re in cahoots with Bridget Wilson too, then you should have the guts to tell me to my face.’
Audrey placed her hand on her friend’s arm. ‘Jill, come on now. I know you don’t really think that of me. Please, let me finish. What I have to say is very important. About a year ago, Coral told me about someone who loomed large in her life. I was shocked, because all the time I’d known her, she’d never mentioned anyone … a man. I’d misunderstood, though. I’d assumed this man was a romantic attachment, but it was the opposite. She hated him.’
