Blades, Betrayals and Broken Ties

by Emily Selby

  'No,' Erin replied. 'I've nearly finished.'

  'That’s not what I meant. After your dad's death, do you need help with anything?'

  Erin lifted her head and stared at Katie, her lips trembling. 'Thank you, Katie, but no. I wasn't very close to my dad. I was hoping we could reconnect after his birthday, but it wasn't meant to be.'

  'Do you have anyone to support you?' Katie pressed.

  Erin shrugged again. 'What you mean?'

  'Family, friends?'

  'I've got Ally. She's been great. I'm shocked by the fact that my father's death is now being investigated as a murder. It's horrible. The police have been ringing me and asking all sorts of personal questions. About my wedding, my mum's death. They've asked me about Dad’s friends, too, but I've no idea who his friends were. I keep telling them I didn't know Dad. I hadn't talked to him properly since I was sixteen. I don't know if he had any friends at all.'

  'A man came to his birthday party, apparently,' Katie tried her luck.

  'Yes, I told the police about him. I don't know his name, though. Never seen him before. He said "hello" and then "goodbye", and that was all. I thought his accent was a bit unusual, but I couldn't place it.'

  Not much.

  Katie felt sorry for Erin - the girl had to go through so much at such a difficult time for her. She was itching to ask Erin about her breakup with her boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend, but it felt inappropriate.

  'Are you going away for Christmas?'

  'Why? I mean, I might be away for work, although I haven't arranged it yet. There is no point in me staying here. I've no one to stay here for, I suppose.'

  A tear glinted in her eye and rolled down her perfectly shaped cheekbone. Erin wiped it away with the back of her hand.

  'Sometimes it's good to stay busy. That's what I did after my divorce. I needed to keep busy. Otherwise, my own thoughts would have killed me,' Katie said, not realising the full weight of her choice of example. It was genuinely accidental!

  Erin lifted her chin. 'I see my breakup has become public knowledge now,' she said defiantly.

  Katie's felt her face and neck blush. 'I-I ... I'm very sorry. I didn't realise. I just wanted to share my own experience of being heartbroken with you. You do look heartbroken, Erin. I can't help but feel for you, and I'm sorry for upsetting you.'

  Erin lowered her eyes and turned her head away. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and dried her eyes. 'Sorry, Katie,' Erin said through a blocked nose. 'I’ve never been comfortable with sharing my feelings. I'm more of a head than a heart girl. I guess this might have been the problem in my relationship with Jason. Never mind, I'll get over it.'

  Katie extended her hands wanting to pat Erin on the shoulder, but the door opened, and the room burst with laughter. The moment was gone.

  People swarmed in and the Christmas party began. Katie moved swiftly among various groups of people keeping an eye on Erin. But she seemed to stick to Ally Baker or kept busy helping to unpack and reheat food.

  At one point, Katie became involved in a conversation with her friend, Trish Bollard, who announced that she would be moving to London after the New Year. Drawn into the conversation with Trish, Katie missed the moment when Erin disappeared from the room.

  'Where is she?' Katie asked Dorothy who was rummaging in her handbag.

  'Who are you talking about?' Dorothy looked at her blankly, holding her phone in her hand.

  'Erin. She's disappeared.'

  'Sorry,' Dorothy shook her head. 'I didn't notice.'

  'Are you asking about Erin?' Suddenly, the tall, slender silhouette of Ally Baker appeared at Katie's side.

  'Yes, I wanted to check how she was doing.'

  'Erin's doing fine,' Ally replied, watching Katie carefully. 'She had to leave early. She didn't feel particularly festive, which is understandable, but I also think she had a meeting. Something to do with work.'

  Katie smiled and changed the subject quickly. Ally Baker was a little bit too sharp for Katie's half-prepared cover stories.

  Even though Katie enjoyed catching up with her friends, she was keen to leave the party. Her head was buzzing with all sorts of suspicions about Dorothy's strange behaviour, her reconnection with her ex-husband, and the fact that Erin's description of Archie's old friends suggested he might be a foreigner. Wasn't Dorothy's husband from Italy? His name would suggest that, and the Marino family came from Italy.

  She also needed to collect the Christmas cake.

  17

  Katie drove to Une Tasse, thinking of all the questions she would like answer. When she walked into the cafe, the smell of the freshly baked cakes and the annoying sound of Christmas music brought her back to reality. As with the supermarket, the place was bursting at seams. There was clearly a Christmas party happening on one side of the cafeteria and quite a few tables were occupied on the other side. It was very generous of Sunita to let Miriam attend the Club’s party on such a busy evening.

  Katie spotted a young woman wearing a pink apron with café's name on it. No doubt, a new waitress. Maybe just a seasonal employee but definitely a good investment. Katie approached the counter.

  'Hi, Sunita,' she greeted the woman who was carefully arranging two cups on a tray. 'Do you still have that Christmas cake for me?'

  'Just a minute, Katie. Let me serve this and I'll be back with you.'

  Katie watched Sunita march across the room to the table in the corner, where a young couple was sitting. She narrowed her eyes to help her focus. Was it Erin? She shifted a little to her right for a better view. Now with the light from the Christmas decorations shining on the woman's face, Katie could clearly see it was, indeed, Erin Blackburn.

  But who was this tall, dark-haired hair guy opposite her?

  By the time Sunita returned with her tray, Katie was ready to launch her little enquiry. Over the years, she learned that the best way to get some gossip out of the gossipers was to share some.

  'So that was why Erin left the party earlier,' Katie whispered, leaning over the counter. 'Apparently, she wasn't feeling too festive...'

  The last words burnt in her mouth. She didn't like gossip. Her only excuse was it might help her catch a killer.

  Sunita glanced to the side and leaned over the counter as well.

  'When he came in, he told me he was here to meet Erin Blackburn. And when she walked in, she came up straight to me to ask if someone was waiting for her. They clearly don't know each other.'

  'A blind date?' Katie implied, still whispering.

  'Could be. You never know. But from what I overheard they were talking about work. Some sort of project he was trying to get her on board with.'

  Ally was right and obviously well informed.

  'If you ask me,' Sunita continued, 'I think it's too early for her to start dating again. Erin is such a beautiful girl. She's got smarts, she's hard-working. She'd find someone in no time, but she's only just split up with her long-time boyfriend.'

  Katie swallowed. Her mouth still burnt from the gossip, but she couldn’t resist such a great opportunity to dig for more information.

  'So I've heard,' Katie said. 'They were to be married next year apparently.'

  'In March. She even came to talk to me about catering. Not for the wedding. They had some fancy venue in a hotel somewhere else. She wanted to organise a little party for her friends.'

  'What about family?'

  'I don't know if she has any family here. It was probably more for Jason’s family and friends.'

  'What does he look like, this guy over there?' Katie asked, gesturing her head at the couple in the corner, desperate to get some more information.

  'Oh, hi, Miriam, what are you doing here?' Sunita suddenly straightened up looking at her business partner, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere. 'Why aren't you at the party? I'm okay with the new girl.'

  Miriam looked around the café nervously. Her cheeks were flushed, her coat unbuttoned. She was holding her hat in her hand and breathi
ng heavily.

  'Did you see Julian?' she asked sharply.

  'No. Not since this midday when he came to you. Didn't he go to McKays' or somewhere for the evening?' Sunita's dark face furrowed.

  'They had a bit of a kerfuffle with him. He got annoyed with something, stormed out and refused to come back. Adam ran after him, but Julian jumped on a bus. The bus was headed in this direction. I hoped he’d turn up at the café.'

  'Have you rung for help?'

  'No, I ran straight here. Adam and Linda are searching. I'll go and look for him outside then.' Miriam started buttoning her coat up, while still scanning the room. The door opened and Julian, Miriam's husband, walked in.

  'Ah, there you are, darling.' Miriam rushed to the door.

  Sunita and Katie watched her trot towards the exit.

  'His situation has become problematic, I'm afraid,' Sunita said quietly once Mr and Mrs Fischer left the café. 'He's getting lost more often, storms out of places. She needs to have him assessed.'

  A lump grew in Katie's throat. Miriam had been trying to support her ailing husband for a number of months, and was trying to cope on top of her full-time job and extra responsibilities as the Paper Crafts Club president.

  'I thought she’d already done it,' Katie said.

  'He was seen by his doctor a couple of months ago. They've referred him to a memory clinic, but he's been refusing to attend. He insists there is nothing wrong with his memory. Miriam and the children barely managed to get him to take some time off work. He wants to go back, but he’s not well enough.' Sunita's lips curved downwards and a worry line appeared on her forehead. 'I've worked in a care home for people with dementia. He's heading that way.'

  Katie gulped and made a mental note to check in with Miriam. Maybe there was something Katie could help with.

  'I'd better get you that cake.' Sunita rushed to the back room and returned two minutes later, holding a neatly wrapped box.

  'I've sealed it tightly for you. You probably need a sharp knife to open it. But at least the cake won't fall out when you’re driving it home.'

  'I hope a sharp kitchen knife would do,' Katie said. She didn't fancy going back to the community centre to pick up her craft knife. 'How much?'

  Sunita told her the price. Katie got her wallet out, while Sunita watched Erin and her potential client.

  'He's quite good-looking, you know,' Sunita whispered suddenly. 'An American. I think I heard her calling him Joe.'

  Katie paid for her cake, grabbed the box and headed for the exit. She stopped by the door to find the car keys in her handbag while discreetly looking at Erin and her potential client. Fortunately, Erin was sitting with her back to Katie, and she managed to catch more than a glimpse of the man's face. He was handsome.

  Katie walked out into the crisp air of the December night.

  A good-looking American named Joe. Probably work-related. She made a mental note.

  She also couldn't help herself noticing that the man had a dark, wavy hair and a skin tone making her wonder if there were a few drops of south European blood in him.

  Maybe even Italian?

  18

  It had been a weird morning. Katie hadn't slept well and had to rely on her autopilot while going through the motions. It resulted in her shouting, "Julia, time to get up," twice before she realised her daughter wasn't home.

  I need to pick her up from Michelle's and drop her off to the holiday program...

  She'd better hurry.

  Katie left the house, trying to decide what to do and in what order. Julia, drama club, work, fir branches.

  Fortunately, Michelle had Julia ready to go. The drop off was smooth and Katie managed to reach the station before the traffic started to build up.

  To her surprise, the staffroom was empty, but someone was sitting in the reception, reading a newspaper.

  'Good morning, sir. How can I help?' Katie greeted the early visitor.

  The man stood and approached the counter. Medium height, wavy hair, still more dark than silver. Katie's heart flipped. His profile looked familiar, except for the beard.

  'I'm here to speak to the inspector in charge of Archie Blackburn's case,' he said.

  His English was smooth and correct, but he definitely had a foreign accent. Italian.

  'You must be Mr Marino,' Katie ventured.

  The man gave a curt nod. 'Ricardo Marino. Ric.'

  'DI Heaton is not in the office yet, but I'll let him know you're waiting,' she said, trying not to stare at the man.

  Why did he look familiar?

  'Thank you,' Ric Marino said and retreated back to the row of chairs and to his newspaper.

  So, here was Dorothy's ex-husband. One of the infamous Marinos. Had she ever seen him before?

  Once back in the staffroom, Katie called Jack's mobile and had to leave a message. Since she had to put the finishing touches to Inspector Lumley's report, she forced herself into her office.

  'Hey, Katie,' Chris' voice pulled her away from the final pesky statistical table.

  Katie lifted her head, full of hope for an update. 'Any news?' she asked him gingerly.

  He nodded, and slipped into her room, closing the door.

  'The guy who has just been interviewed, do you know who he is?' Chris asked.

  'Ric Marino, Chiara Parker's second cousin,' Katie replied, suppressing the smug smile that tried to push onto her lips.

  The corners of Chris' mouth dropped.

  'Oh, you are so well informed,' he said. 'Any more village intelligence on him?'

  'Depends what you're after,' Katie said.

  She took a breath in preparation for sharing some of her findings with him, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

  'Come in,' Katie called.

  Jack popped his head around the door. 'Oh, I see we're having a conference here,' he said, his forehead furrowing. He gave Chris a strange look through narrowed eyes.

  Wow, who would have thought that the officers involved in a murder case would be rushing to discuss the case updates with her! A warm tingling filled her chest, a sense of satisfaction.

  'How can I help, Inspector?' she asked.

  'Ric Marino is the old friend of the victim we've been looking for. He visited Archie Blackburn on the 26th November, at Blackburn's invitation. They talked about old times. According to Mr Marino, Mr Blackburn appeared quite upbeat and positive about the future. That was the so-called birthday party or, according to Mr Marino, just a coffee and some cake. Mr Marino was the only guest, and Erin Blackburn arrived when he was on his way out, which confirms Erin's story.'

  'The description also fits,' Katie added, thinking back to the conversation with Erin from the night before. 'You found him very quickly.'

  'Yes, I think your friend helped,' Jack explained.

  Her friend... How much did Dorothy exactly tell them? 'What did she say?'

  Jack leaned against the door, watching her carefully. 'That she saw a van fitting our description, on the 27th of November, went for a coffee with the owner, and they exchanged a few texts since.'

  Katie bit her upper lip. Was Dorothy being economical with the truth?

  'Anything else about the guy?' she asked carefully.

  'She offered to contact him and get him to talk to us.'

  'And she did?'

  Jack nodded.

  Katie clasped her hands to hide the trembling. She had to talk to her friend! 'Can I help with anything?'

  'The interview didn't add much, beside clearing the mystery of that old friend. Mr Marino admitted that the conversation slipped onto the old house on Stream Drive and that Mr Blackburn offered to assess it. Mr Blackburn was apparently keen to get back to work again. He believed he was about to start new treatment that would help control his problems.'

  It made sense. Sort of...

  'So, the mystery of the keys in Archie Blackburn's pockets is resolved as well?' Katie asked.

  'Yes. Mr Marino admitted to handing a set of keys to the v
ictim.'

  'The rest of the family didn't mind?' Katie pushed on. It smelled fishy.

  'He says he didn't want to bother his cousin, Chiara, who is unwell, and he has not had any contact with Sofia.'

  'And you've checked that?'

  'Doubting our due diligence, Katie?' Jack cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

  'I'm just curious,' she replied, smiling. 'And so?'

  Jack watched her for a couple of seconds as if wondering whether she had been truthful.

  'Chiara has been in and out of hospital with depression, I'm told. Sofia doesn't even want to have contact with anyone from her family,' he explained.

  Katie cast her mind back to the Marino's case, and the legend of the treasure trove hidden at the dilapidated house on Stream Drive.

  'There was a brother, wasn't there?' she asked. 'What about him?'

  'We're still trying to track him down. Ric Marino denies having any recent contact with Chiara's son. Giovanni Parker is his name, by the way.'

  Katie let the information sink in. 'Is that all? It seems a little...' Katie hesitated. She didn't want to share her suspicions and hunches without logic and evidence. 'Too detail-scant,' she carried on. 'How come he had the keys in the first place?' she asked. 'He's not very close family with the owners.'

  Jack rubbed his chin. 'Good point. He says he's had them for ages. He used to help his uncles while they were building the place. When Mr Blackburn invited him to the party, he was going to check on the house. He admits he took a bit of liberty in agreeing to let Blackburn assess the property, but he meant no harm. The way Marino presents it, he received the invitation from the victim, he thought of the old house, and it developed from there.'

  Katie blew out a breath. 'And how exactly did he receive that invitation?' she asked.

  'Well, here’s where his story gets a little ... patchy. Ric Marino returned to England early this year. He says it was to develop a protective clothing business in Manchester. He used to run a similar operation from a small village in central Italy, but he lost everything in the recent earthquakes. That was a family business, so the whole family suffered. He decided to try his luck in the UK again. After he moved, he started reconnecting with old friends and family. Which is how he ended up visiting Sunnyvale and Archie Blackburn.'