Their Fatal Secrets

by JANICE FROST

  Pam looked worried. “No you’re not. You’re not a vigilante, Jess. Let the police do their job.”

  Jess didn’t answer. Her face took on a determined expression. Pam poured some of her tea onto a saucer and put it on the floor for Bunty to lap. She changed the subject.

  “How are things going with Mitchell?”

  “Okay.” Jess was hesitant.

  “Just okay?”

  Jess told her about her fears that Mitch pitied rather than loved her.

  Pam shook her head. “Rubbish. I’ve seen the way that young man looks at you. Besides, it’s early days. You’ve only been together a few weeks, haven’t you?”

  Jess nodded. They’d met, quite by chance, in the multi-storey car park one Saturday morning. Mitch had parked his car beside hers and she’d felt a bit uneasy because there had been plenty of other spaces. She’d waited in her car until he went over to the parking meter, then moved to the deck above. But they had encountered each other again on the stairs. He’d been waiting for her.

  “What about you, Pam? Don’t you ever think about dating again? You’re far too young to stay on the shelf.”

  “I don’t want or need a man to look after me, Jess. I’m perfectly happy on my own.”

  “I didn’t mean to suggest that you weren’t. It’s just that you’ve got so much to offer. You deserve to love and be loved in return.”

  “You know the saying. ‘Once bitten, twice shy.’”

  “Come on. You and Stan had a lovely life together before the cancer. You can’t judge all men by Michael.”

  Pam gave her a withering look.

  “Sorry. That sounded a bit patronising, didn’t it?”

  “A tad.” Pam looked thoughtful. “Actually, I might have met someone.” She ignored Jess’s wide smile. “Just this morning, on the common. It’s nothing to get excited about.”

  “And?”

  “He’s very nice.”

  “And?”

  “I’ll probably see him again.”

  Jess beamed. “I’m so happy for you, Pam.”

  “It’s early days.”

  “I know. How did you meet, exactly?”

  “I was walking Bunty first thing. He was walking Boris, his borzoi. That’s a kind of shaggy greyhound, also known as a Russian wolfhound. He has a beautiful brindled coat. He and Bunty took a real shine to each other.”

  At last Jess laughed. “I’d love to meet him.”

  “Well, you will. I’ll invite you and Mitchell for dinner, then you can invite Henry and I back. It’ll be like Come Dine With Me.”

  “Thanks, Pam.”

  “For what, child?”

  Pam often called her that. It made Jess feel safe, like being at home again.

  “Just thanks, that’s all.”

  Later, back in her own flat, Jess thought about Pam calling her a vigilante. Well, she was no superwoman, but she felt she owed it to Leanne. At the very least she could find out how far the police had got with their investigation. Before going to bed, she set her alarm for six. She wanted to wake up in time to get to the pool and catch DS Merry.

  Chapter Six

  Ollie shook Ava awake at six. She had a crick in her neck and a thumping headache. She was also fully dressed and lying on the sofa. She frowned.

  “What am I doing downstairs?”

  “You were drunk. DI Neal brought you home and we thought it would be easier than getting you upstairs.”

  “Drunk?” Fractured memories of the night before began to appear in her clouded mind. She groaned. “Oh no.”

  “You look awful. And you smell disgusting.” Ollie went back upstairs and a moment later Ava heard the shower running.

  At seven thirty she dropped Ollie off at a friend’s house and drove to the swimming pool. A couple of paracetamol and a litre of water had reduced the pounding in her head to a steady but manageable ache. Ava completed a vigorous sixty-four lengths, fewer than her usual eighty, but not bad with a hangover. She pulled herself up on to the poolside, feeling reinvigorated.

  “Show off!”

  Ava looked down to see a red-faced woman grinning up at her. She hadn’t noticed Jess while she was tearing up and down, most likely because Jess was across the pool from her in one of the slower lanes.

  “Morning, Jess. Good to see you.” Jess was another of the pool’s morning regulars. She arrived even earlier than Ava and dutifully completed fifty lengths before climbing out and declaring herself to be “knackered.” Over the years Ava had exchanged the normal pleasantries with Jess, never finding out her surname or learning very much about her. They both had jobs to rush to.

  “Have you got a minute? Not right now, I mean. After your shower? There’s something I’d like to ask you about. That’s if you have the time?” There was something almost pleading in Jess’s tone.

  Ava wondered if Jess wished to discuss a police matter. She had once mentioned to Jess that she was a detective. Well, she had time. Besides, she wasn’t in any rush to see Jim Neal this morning.

  “Sure. Want to meet in the café when you’re ready?”

  After her shower Ava found Jess sitting at one of the centre’s blue-topped tables, overlooking the pool. Jess jumped up as she approached and insisted on buying her a drink. Ava asked for a sobering black coffee and while she waited for Jess to return from the machine, she gazed down at the pool and noticed a group of schoolchildren troop out of the changing rooms and line up at the poolside. One of them was Jim Neal’s son, Archie. She raised her hand as though to wave, then lowered it, feeling foolish. There was no way Archie would be able to see her from down there.

  Jess handed Ava a paper cup. “You did say no milk, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, that’s how I like it. Sit down, Jess. You look a bit anxious. Is something wrong?”

  Jess seemed to hesitate, and then, sighing deeply, she sat down.

  “I saw you down by the river yesterday morning. I was on the bridge, watching the divers.” Ava blew on her coffee and waited.

  “The thing is, I know . . . knew her, the girl those students found the night before. Leanne Jackson. I heard about her on the morning news and it made me shiver. You don’t expect to hear something so shocking about someone you know.”

  Ava noticed that Jess said she knew Leanne, not that she was a friend. She listened while Jess told her about how Leanne Jackson had helped her when they were schoolgirls. When Jess mentioned her scoliosis, Ava recalled the long scar on Jess’s back that she had noticed the very first time she’d seen her. She glanced at Jess’s shoulder where the scar began. It was hard to believe that her spine had once been the way she described, bent and twisted out of shape, making her stoop and lean to the side and attract cruel taunts from her schoolmates. Besides the scar, there was no evidence of any of that now. Jess looked strong and healthy. Ava wondered about the other scars, the ones that don’t show but often run far deeper. One thing was clear to Ava, Jess carried a heavy burden of guilt for what she saw as her betrayal of Leanne’s kindness.

  “I’d just like to ask what you know about who killed her. I thought maybe as a detective you’d be able to tell me something other people can’t.”

  Ava shook her head. “I’m not sure I can be of much help.”

  Jess looked embarrassed. “Oh. I just thought I’d ask, you know. On the off-chance.”

  “You see, I can’t really tell you anything about an ongoing case,” Ava said.

  Jess gave a small smile. “Oh, I see. I suppose not. I guess there’s a confidentiality issue.”

  “I can reassure you that we’ll be doing everything possible to find out what happened to Leanne, if that’s of any comfort,” Ava added.

  Jess stared at her hands. “They found something, didn’t they? The diver brought something up from the riverbed. I saw him giving a thumbs up sign. Was it . . . the murder weapon?” Her voice faltered. “Do you think she suffered?”

  Yes and yes, Ava thought. She covered Jess’s trembling hands with her own
. “We don’t know how she died yet. I’m so sorry I can’t tell you any more at the moment. I’ll try to keep you updated.”

  Jess gazed into her eyes. “I want so much to help. How can I help, Ava?”

  “By letting us do our job.”

  Jess nodded, but Ava knew she wasn’t satisfied. “Isn’t it strange, Leanne and I, the two of us ending up working in the same sort of field? I wish I’d known. I always thought one day I might . . .” She stared at her untouched drink.

  Ava couldn’t think of much to say, but she gave Jess a sympathetic smile. She stood up. “I’m sorry but I have to get to work, Jess. I really will try to keep you posted on the investigation as far as I’m able. At least I know where to find you.”

  Jess’s return smile was fleeting. “Can we exchange contact details anyway, just in case I miss a swim?”

  Ava took her number and left Jess sitting at the table.

  * * *

  Jess watched Ava’s hurried exit from the café. In her swimsuit she looked lean and athletic. Dressed now in black skinny jeans and a denim jacket, with her hair in a dishevelled bun, she exuded beauty and confidence. Yet Jess also sensed a hidden vulnerability. It was present in her alertness, which could just as easily be read as wariness.

  She was already wishing she hadn’t spoken to Ava. Should she have bothered someone she hardly knew? Ava Merry was probably a very busy woman. What if she thought Jess was taking advantage of her? After all, they weren’t friends. Jess glanced at the clock and grabbed her bag, leaving the coffee unfinished.

  Twenty minutes later, she was at work. Barney called out her name and rushed over for a hug. It was how he greeted everyone, including strangers, unfortunately. It was one of Jess’s tasks to help him become more aware of social conventions. Barney had no way of assessing any threat or dislike on the part of other people. He trusted everyone. It was a loveable trait and a dangerous one too. Jess looked around for Barney’s brother, Jonty, remembering their conversation on the bridge.

  “Morning, Jess. Hope you’re feeling okay after yesterday.” Jonty seemed to appear from nowhere. He ruffled Barney’s hair. “It’s a pleasure to see Barney’s favourite support worker.”

  Jess laughed. “Everyone’s a favourite of Barney’s.”

  “I’m sorry he’s late this morning. My fault, isn’t it, Barney? He stayed over with me last night and I forgot to set the alarm. He was worried about being late for sports, weren’t you, mate?” Barney nodded vigorously.

  “What time are we doing sports today, Barney?” Jess was trying, without much success, to help Barney grasp the concept of time.

  Barney looked thoughtful, counted his fingers, then said, “Eleven o’clock?”

  “And what time is it now?”

  Barney consulted his digital watch. “Nine-o-five.”

  “That’s right. Well done, Barney.”

  Jonty slapped him on the back and Barney beamed.

  She smiled. “Plenty of time, Barney. Barney’s always telling us about all the great things he does with you. What was it last night? Football? Cinema?”

  “Football!” Barney exclaimed. “We won. Free nil.”

  Jonty looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get to work now, Barney. Gimme five, big man.” The pair high-fived. Jonty gave Jess a broad smile. She could tell he liked her. Jonty seemed nice and he seemed interested in her, but she didn’t want to give him any encouragement now that she was with Mitch.

  “You’d better watch out. Warden’s on the prowl.” Jess nodded at Jonty’s car, parked just this side of the parking barrier on college property.

  The morning passed quickly, as it always did when she was busy. The students’ day held plenty of activities. Academic lessons, of course, but also other pursuits designed to equip them with life skills. Jess knew that some of her charges would never achieve true independence. Barney was a case in point. Whatever skills he learned here at college, it was unlikely he would ever be able to look after himself. Nor would he ever be able to work unsupervised. It was her job to help ensure that he reached his potential. Just like any other young man his age.

  Jess left the college at two thirty in the afternoon and walked home. She’d been hoping for full-time hours, but her contract was for twenty-eight hours a week. She liked what she did, but realistically she would need to find something else if she were to keep herself afloat financially. As it was, after paying her rent she had little left to live on. The thought of a second job was unappealing. One of these days she would have to consider retraining, upskilling.

  Jess walked up the steps to her flat, where her downstairs neighbour, Magda, was struggling to find her keys while juggling an outsized box in her arms. Jess stepped forward, holding out her keys. “I’ve got it. You concentrate on your parcel.”

  “Fanks so much, Jess.” Magda had a strong Polish accent. Jess held the door.

  Magda squeezed past her into the dim hallway. “Oh, my gott!”

  As soon as Jess stepped inside, she understood what Magda meant. A putrid stench permeated the downstairs lobby. “What the hell is it?”

  “Somefing det, I fink,” Magda said.

  “Where’s it coming from?”

  It wasn’t a huge hallway. There was really only one place the smell could be coming from. Both women advanced slowly towards the cupboard under the stairs. It held an old bicycle that belonged to Pam and a couple of kitchen chairs stacked one atop the other, some dusty cardboard boxes and a matrix of cobwebs. No one had swept it for a long time.

  Jess grimaced. “It’s coming from one of the boxes. Shit. We’re going to have to take a look. Are any of them yours?”

  Magda shook her head. “Chairs are mine. Boxes must be Pam’s.”

  “She must have put them there and forgotten about them. Either that, or something’s crawled in there and died.”

  Magda grasped Jess’s arm and pointed to a box crammed into the narrowest point under the stairs. It was wedged in with what looked like a triangular chunk of paving stone. But neither the box nor the stone concerned Jess. It was the stain. Wet and sticky. And still spreading by the looks of the widening dark patch.

  Magda tugged at her arm. “Okay. That is blut. We go back.”

  “No! We have to look.”

  “I tell you, is nothink good in there. We call police.”

  Jess took a few tentative steps closer to the box. Then a couple more, wishing she had a stick or an umbrella. The thought of touching whatever was inside made her feel queasy. Magda was right. There must be something dead in there. It wasn’t human, obviously. The box was far too small for that. What then? A rat? That was the likeliest explanation. A rat had crawled in there and died. Jess steeled herself and lifted the lid.

  The stench made her retch. At her back, Magda gagged and uttered a string of expletives in perfect English.

  Jess kicked the now lidless box onto its side and a putrid stew of what looked like some kind of offal slopped out. Heart, liver, intestines, kidneys, brains. It looked as if the innards of several animals had been packaged up, then spilled randomly over the carpet.

  Magda squealed. “Fucking sheet!”

  “It’s just butcher’s meat of some sort — offal, I think. Pam probably got it for Bunty and forgot to give it to her, so it’s gone rotten. God, but it reeks.”

  “Like J . . . Jack Reeper,” Magda said.

  The idea was so ridiculous that Jess burst out laughing. “It’s animal bits, not human.” But there was no convincing Magda. She had her phone out and was stabbing in the numbers. Nine nine nine.

  “Magda! You can’t call the police out for something like this. We’ll look like idiots. Not only that, you’re wasting their time.”

  “You no understanding,” Magda choked. “You not look.” She pointed to the foul-smelling mess on the floor and repeated, “Look!”

  Jess looked. And saw what she had not seen before. Amidst the offal was something else. She recognised it immediately.

  “Oh no!” J
ess lurched forwards and stooped to pick up the strip of soft leather, encrusted with three shiny studs. With mounting horror, she turned it over to read the name engraved on the back. ‘Bunty.’

  Jess took the steps two at a time. Outside Pam’s door, she knocked urgently and squinted through the spyhole. Magda joined her, out of breath, just as Pam called out, “Hold your horses. I’m coming.”

  Hearing a familiar — and totally unexpected — noise on the inside of the door, Jess looked at Magda. She could have swooned with relief. “That’s Bunty scratching,” she said, beaming.

  “Bunty? She is okay?” Magda cried.

  Pam appeared, looking puzzled. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  “We thought. ..” Jess began. What had they thought? It seemed ridiculous now that they had believed someone had slaughtered Bunty and left her innards in a box downstairs.

  “What happened to Bunty’s dog collar?” Jess asked.

  “She’s wearing it,” Pam said. Jess looked down and saw that Bunty was indeed wearing a collar. A blingy new one with sparkly studs.

  “Wait a minute. That’s not the one she usually wears, is it?”

  “We lost that one when we were out on the common the other day.”

  “How do you lose a dog collar?” Jess asked.

  Pam shrugged. “I let Bunty off the lead for a bit and I was chatting to some other dog walkers. When she came back, her collar was missing. I only took my eyes off her for a minute or so. I assumed the leather had worn through, or she’d scratched it loose or something.”

  Someone was pounding on the door downstairs. Jess and Magda jumped. “Oh shit. That must be the police,” said Jess.

  “The police? What on earth’s going on with you two?”

  Instead of replying, Jess ran downstairs and opened the door. A uniformed officer stood on the doorstep.

  “I’m so sorry. I think there’s been a misunderstanding—”

  “What’s that smell?” the policeman interrupted, sniffing. “Bloody hell.”

  “That’s sort of what we called you about,” Jess said. “My friend and I thought we’d discovered some body parts in a box under the stairs.” She almost giggled. If only Magda hadn’t panicked and called the police. The emergency number at that.