‘What did you mean by it?’
‘Just that he was the kind of man who struggled to relate to people, other adults, that is. He lived with his mother and I don’t believe there was ever anyone else in his life. After his mother died, he told me he only lived for his work here. He was dedicated to the children.’
‘Did you really know him?’
The headmaster shook his head, his kindly expression overshadowed by regret.
39
‘So he was a loner,’ Ariadne said, when Geraldine reported on her interview with the headmaster.
‘That doesn’t make him a criminal,’ Geraldine replied. ‘There’s nothing wrong with being happy living on your own.’
She spoke more fiercely than she had intended.
Ariadne laughed. ‘I was brought up with five brothers and sisters and as soon as I had the chance to live on my own, I grabbed it with both hands. Best thing I ever did!’
That evening, as she was thinking about Jonathan, the loner, Geraldine heard a ring at her bell. Checking the security camera, she was surprised to see Ian waiting at her door. She had given him a key to the flat when he had moved in, but since he had left her, she appreciated that he considered it would be inappropriate for him to use it. For a second she hesitated, her finger resting on the button that would buzz him in. Quelling an angry temptation to leave him standing outside, she pressed the button.
‘Come on in,’ she muttered, although she had turned away and he couldn’t hear her. ‘Come in and batter my feelings again, why don’t you?’
She hurried to the mirror in the hall and glanced at her reflection. Her short black hair was neat enough, and she hadn’t yet removed the minimal make-up she wore during the day to accentuate her large dark eyes, but tension was making her look disagreeable. She wondered if Ian would realise how nervous she was feeling. Taking a deep breath, she went to the kitchen, took two wine glasses from the cupboard, and opened a bottle of Chianti, red but light. She had just finished pouring two glasses when she heard her front door close and turned to see Ian standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway. He looked flustered. His hair was sticking up as though he had just run his hand through it, a habit he had when he was feeling anxious, and his eyes darted around the room without resting on her.
Ian’s unease made her suddenly feel very calm.
‘Let’s go and sit in the living room,’ she suggested.
She set the two glasses and the opened bottle on a tray.
‘I’ve opened a red,’ and she lifted it up, pleased to see that her hand remained steady. ‘Or would you prefer tea or coffee?’
She smiled at him, as though this was a casual social visit. Ian shrugged, muttering that he didn’t mind what they drank, and she followed him into the living room, still holding the wine. Taking a seat, she set down the tray and pushed a glass across the table to him. Raising her own, she gave what she hoped was a gracious smile. If he had come to tell her their affair was over, at least she would know where she stood.
‘Cheers,’ she said and drank.
Tentatively returning her smile, Ian picked up his glass. She hoped he had not noticed how desperately she had gulped at her wine. As the silence between them grew uncomfortable, they both spoke at once.
‘How are things at home?’ Geraldine asked.
At exactly the same time, Ian stammered that he owed her an apology.
‘What for?’ she asked.
‘Oh please, don’t be disingenuous,’ he replied with a touch of irritation, although she could tell he was trying as hard as she was to remain composed. ‘I moved in here and then moved out with scarcely a word of explanation, and you want to know why I might think I owe you an apology. Let’s at least be honest with each other. Did my moving in – and out – mean so little to you?’
‘It didn’t seem to mean much to you,’ she snapped.
She pressed her lips together and stared at her wine, annoyed that he had stung her into betraying her feelings.
‘I’ve taken a paternity test,’ he told her.
Geraldine held her breath and waited, aware that this could change the course of both their lives. At the same time, she realised that it actually meant nothing to her. If Ian wanted to move back in with her only because he had discovered Bev’s baby wasn’t his after all, she would never know what might have happened if he had turned out to be the father of the child. Geraldine would never have stood by and allowed him to abandon his wife and child, but this way she would never know if he loved her enough to be prepared to give up everything to be with her. Struggling to hide her dismay, she sipped at her wine and refused to look at him.
‘We get the result tomorrow,’ he went on.
‘So you still don’t know whether Bev’s baby is yours or not?’
‘Not yet. I wanted to make a decision about my life – mine and yours – without knowing if I was the father. It seemed fairer to you. Otherwise you’d never really know how I feel about you.’
Geraldine nodded to show she understood, although she still wasn’t quite sure what he was telling her.
‘If the baby’s mine,’ he pressed on, with an air of desperation, ‘I’ll do everything I can to support Bev and my child, for as long as she needs me to. Despite the way she’s behaved, I’m determined to do the right thing. But…’
He paused and drew in a deep breath. Geraldine felt as though the room was spinning around her. She put her glass down and stared at the dark red wine, willing him to take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her, and only her, no matter what.
‘I’m not going back. I can’t. The marriage is over.’
She waited.
‘Are you listening?’ he asked, a note of anguish creeping into his voice. ‘Did you hear what I said?’
‘What about this?’ she asked, waving one hand around. ‘You and me? I don’t want to sound narcissistic, but how is your break-up going to affect my life? All you’ve told me is that your marriage is over, whatever happens with the paternity test. But you’ve broken up with Bev before. Actually, I think you’re making the right decision not to go back with her, because the marriage wasn’t working for either of you, and it would be a mistake to try and patch it up now just because of the baby. But of course it’s not my place to comment on that,’ she added, aware that she was talking wildly. ‘And you still haven’t told me what you’re planning to do next.’
Now she was the one who was sounding desperate.
‘Well, I haven’t packed a case, but I was hoping to stay here tonight,’ he replied. ‘I left some of my things here, unless you’ve thrown them out.’
It was hardly the most romantic of declarations, but Geraldine felt tears of relief sliding down her cheeks.
‘Your things are in a box. I was going to return them to you, if you asked for them nicely.’
Then, to her embarrassment, she burst into tears. Ian came around to her side of the table and put his arms around her and she cried noisily on to his shoulder.
‘Oh bloody hell,’ he said after a moment, ‘I’ve just walked out on one hysterical woman and now I seem to have saddled myself with another one.’
Geraldine pulled away from his embrace and wiped her eyes. ‘I’m not hysterical,’ she replied, doing her best to stop her voice wobbling. ‘I’m happy.’
Ian grinned at her. ‘Oh, go ahead and cry if you want to. Now, where’s that box?’
‘It’s in the bottom cupboard in the bedroom.’
At the door he turned. ‘You know, if you had thrown my things out –’
‘You wouldn’t have come back?’ she asked, struggling not to break down in tears again.
‘Don’t be so daft.’
He pulled a new toothbrush from his pocket, still in its wrapping. ‘I came prepared. Anyway, thanks for hanging on to my things. Not everyone would have been so understanding.�
�
‘I never gave up hope,’ she said softly, and he smiled.
‘Oh never mind my finding my things,’ he said, coming back and putting his arms around her again. ‘Now you’ve stopped snivelling, I can think of something else we can do.’
40
The following morning Ian summoned Geraldine. He sounded gruff on the phone, and she felt apprehensive as she walked along the corridor to his office. When she arrived, he instructed her to shut the door before telling her that he had received the result of the paternity test. He paused for an instant and drew in a deep breath before telling her the baby was not his.
‘After all that,’ he added, with a sigh.
‘How do you feel about it?’ Geraldine asked.
As she took a seat facing him across his desk, she did her best to conceal her elation, knowing she would no longer have to share Ian with his ex-wife. Only their past connected them now.
‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘Confused. I mean, I’m relieved of course, but a small part of me, a very small part, is bitterly disappointed. Can you believe that? It would have been awkward and complicated but –’ he broke off and heaved a sigh. ‘It’s not as if I ever wanted to have a child, but… anyway,’ he went on more briskly, ‘I’ve had a lucky escape.’
‘What’s Bev going to do now?’
He shook his head. ‘I haven’t told her yet. I wanted to tell you first. But hopefully the father of her baby will take her back once he knows the baby’s his.’
‘Assuming the man she was having an affair with is the father.’
‘Whatever happens, and whoever the father is, I’m not responsible for her baby, or for her. To be honest, I want to wash my hands of the whole affair, and never see her or think about her again. We were married once, but it’s over, bar the formalities of finalising the divorce. There’s no reason why we should ever have anything to do with one another again. I’m free.’
Geraldine was watching him carefully as he spoke. ‘You don’t look very pleased about it. Are you sure it’s over?’
‘If you mean the relationship between me and Bev, then yes. Absolutely. I couldn’t be more certain. You of all people should know that. But – well, I thought I might be – I thought I was a father. Bev told me categorically that the child was mine. Geraldine, I thought I had a son! That’s something, isn’t it? It’s a huge deal. And now I discover she was lying, just because she wanted to come back to me. I suppose she thought my job was better paid and more secure than his. I’ll get a good pension. That would have interested her, especially now she has a child to consider.’ He pulled a face. ‘I can’t say I blame her altogether.’
‘Ian, she lied to you and manipulated both you and the father of her child. She can’t just pick and choose who she wants to select as the father, and then change her mind whenever she feels like it. Parenthood is a biological fact. She tried to put you off taking a paternity test, but you, and the father, and above all the child, you all have a right to know the truth. It would probably come out at some future time anyway, and imagine how painful that would be, for everyone involved. Another man is the father, Ian, not you. She tried to conceal that from him as well, and I dare say it’s important to him too. She was deceiving both of you in the most despicable way imaginable. And you think that’s justifiable on the grounds that you earn more than him? Really?’
‘Yes, I know, I know. You’re right, of course you are. It was despicable behaviour. But – well, I thought her baby was mine and, even though I never wanted it in the first place, I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed to discover that it’s not mine after all. I’m sorry, but that’s just how I feel.’
Geraldine nodded. ‘I do understand. I’d be feeling just the same if that happened to me.’
Ian smiled. ‘That was never going to happen to you. You’re a woman. You can’t possibly imagine what it feels like. I feel – cheated. I can’t really explain, but she managed to persuade me that this was how it was always meant to be between us. A family. It had begun to feel somehow inevitable. Oh well, it’s over and that’s that.’
‘I know it’s not the same thing at all, but I felt angry and betrayed when I discovered the woman I had believed was my mother had lied to me all my life. These emotional relationships are complex and painful. You’re right to want to move on, but you can’t sweep all this under the carpet and pretend it never happened.’
While she was talking, she was thinking about Jessica, and Daisy’s unknown father.
‘I wonder who the father is?’ she said aloud.
‘Whoever the father is, Bev’s baby is nothing to do with me any more,’ Ian replied.
‘No, I meant –’ Geraldine broke off in confusion.
Ian had just told her his momentous news, and she was thinking about the case they were working on.
‘What?’ he asked.
She frowned. ‘I was thinking about Jessica and the missing baby.’
Before she could apologise, Ian smiled.
‘I know you’re just trying to take my mind off my own problems,’ he said. ‘And you’re right, because we have a job to do. We can continue this later, but for now, let’s get back to work. What’s on your mind, Sergeant?’
‘I was just thinking about this kind of situation and the emotional turbulence it causes, and the anger and resentment it can set off. And I was wondering whether anyone else knew that Jason wasn’t the father of Jessica’s child.’
‘You said she didn’t know about it herself.’
‘Let’s just assume for a moment that she was lying. I’m not convinced she’s a hundred per cent reliable and, in any case, as you said, a woman with a child might convince herself it’s justifiable to behave badly if she thinks it’s in the interests of the child. So let’s imagine that Jessica did know Jason wasn’t the father of her child. Who might she have told? Jason? Her mother? Her father? The biological father of her child?’
Ian nodded slowly. ‘Jason might have fatally injured the baby in a fit of anger on learning he wasn’t the father. Or Jessica and the father might have been keen to conceal the truth.’
‘By stealing the baby and killing Jason to prevent him from telling anyone? It seems a bit extreme.’
‘I wonder who the biological father is,’ Ian said, repeating Geraldine’s question.
So far Jessica had insisted she didn’t know the identity of the father, but she might break down and give them a name if she thought that would help them to find Daisy. It was too late to question David, but no one had yet asked Anne if she knew anything about Daisy’s father. It was a tenuous lead. Anne probably believed Jason had been Daisy’s father, but it was worth asking her, just in case she knew the truth. Jason had been killed at around the time Daisy had disappeared, so there was a possibility that Daisy’s father had come to abduct her and killed Jason for trying to stop him. How that tied in with David’s murder was as yet unclear. Perhaps Jessica had told David about her affair with Daisy’s father. If the unknown father had taken Daisy, he might have silenced David to prevent him from betraying his identity to the police. As Geraldine and Ian discussed the theory, it began to seem vaguely possible.
‘It’s all very murky and confusing,’ Geraldine said doubtfully, ‘but it’s as plausible as anything else we’ve come up with, and it could connect the two murders and the disappearance of the baby.’
‘The absent father might be the missing link,’ Ian agreed.
Even Eileen conceded it was worth looking into. ‘We can’t afford to rule anything out, however unlikely,’ she said.
41
The following morning, Eileen held an early briefing to go over the reports that had come in since the previous meeting, even though there was nothing new to discuss. They seemed to be doing a lot of talking, without making any progress. Every member of the team appeared frazzled so that for once Geraldine felt completely out of
place with her colleagues. She was afraid her happiness would be obvious to everyone. Various officers put forward their theories about the case, each one vaguely plausible and all different. Ariadne suggested that Jason might have abducted Daisy after a violent argument with his wife.
‘Perhaps he thought she was unfit to look after a baby. Her own mother described her as emotional, didn’t she?’ Ariadne concluded. ‘And the neighbour told us Jessica and Jason had violent arguments.’
‘Anne told me Jessica’s “not what might be called level-headed”,’ Geraldine said, recalling the notes she had made at the time. ‘She said Jessica’s “very emotional, very difficult and highly strung”, and she used the words “unreasonable” and “hysterical” to describe her. And that was a mother talking about her own daughter whose baby had just been abducted.’
‘It’s a pretty damning opinion,’ Eileen remarked. ‘Although family members aren’t always the kindest judges of one another.’
‘If that’s what her adoring mother thought of her, Jason might have thought the same about Jessica and decided to take Daisy away from her,’ Ariadne said.
A constable suggested Jason might have taken Daisy after learning he wasn’t her biological father.
‘Why would he want to abduct her because he wasn’t her father?’ Geraldine asked.
‘To punish his wife?’ Ian suggested with a bitterness probably only Geraldine noticed. ‘For six months he helped take care of the baby, never questioning that she was his. He worked hard to support his family. Then he discovered he wasn’t the father of the child he had been led to believe was his own daughter. What better way to be revenged on his wife than to take her baby away from her?’
Others dismissed the idea of Jason being responsible for the disappearance of the baby, and thought he might have been murdered because he had witnessed her being taken by her biological father.
‘Perhaps he disturbed the father in the act of stealing the baby, and had to be silenced,’ another sergeant suggested.
Deadly Revenge Page 20
