by Emily Selby
She was definitely a suspect. There was nothing to be jealous about.
The thought helped reassure her, but not entirely. Normally, quite confident and independent, with a healthy dose of self-esteem, Katie couldn't shake the jealousy gnawing at her. What if the woman was a colleague or Jack’s ex-partner?
Perhaps, as Michelle had said, it was time to admit publicly that Katie and Jack were an item.
She tried her best to concentrate on her work, but her mind kept switching between the notes she was typing, the image of Jack's hand on the beautiful woman's shoulder (or did she imagine it?), and the rising panic about the meeting with Michael Bower.
When the time came to leave her office, she was relieved. At least, she could stop pretending she was focused on her work. And if she played it well, she should be able to cross another worry off her list.
Michael Bower was waiting for her at his wife's estate agency. They drove to the Sunny Meadows housing estate in his car and Michael pulled his green Jaguar in front of one of the little two-storey, semi-detached houses.
Katie climbed out of the car with her heart racing.
The former show home looked nice. The miniature picket fence was perfectly white, the front lawn – immaculately mowed, the edges trimmed. The path leading from the cute, white gate right to the shiny door was made from stone in two shades of grey, creating a two-lighter-one-darker pattern.
It was good that Michael led the way, otherwise Katie would have been too scared to step inadvertently on anything and spoil the chocolate-box beauty.
He stopped by the door, which was the same shade of grey as the lighter stones in the path.
'Would you mind removing your shoes?' he asked. 'Mud and dirt don't mix well with light-coloured carpets.'
Katie took off her shoes without a word, and followed Michael inside, equally without a word.
She was most definitely lost for words.
Firstly, because the house was so beautifully built and decorated and secondly, she wasn't sure if she liked it.
'My wife calls these type of houses "boutique",' he said, leading Katie through the hallway into the oh-so-sparkly-white kitchen. 'It's to do with small, unique and luxurious living spaces. It's a modern trend in real estate,' he continued, turning all the lights on as if there was not enough white there already.
Katie blinked. Her stomach twisted and turned, trying to take in a white-and-grey fitted kitchen with a small table. Everything matched perfectly, pristine. Was this a place she and Julia could call home?
They moved to the bedrooms, dominated by cool grey beiges, but fortunately, not heavily furnished. She struggled to see the house under the carpets, behind the curtains and without the matching lampshades.
Katie leant by the window, which gave onto a small back garden, as well-tended as the one in front. Large enough to have a few flower beds, and maybe even herbs and a little veggie patch.
The lounge had a similar ambience, also decorated in muted tones with a view over the stream and the meadows behind. Despite the day being cloudy, with the sky hanging low above the January landscape, a sparkle of joy fluttered in her chest.
The view was worth considering!
She cleared her throat. 'Does the house come with all the furnishings as they are now?' she asked.
'Yes, it's all included in the price. You can throw stuff away, if you don't want it. But all the appliances are new and fully operational. It's been fitted, perfectly matching.'
Yeah, the perfectly matching part was the real problem.
'What about sofas, tables and chairs?'
'When we put a show home on sale, everything is included.'
Katie bit her lip. She didn't have much in terms of furniture, and a new sofa with two matching armchairs would be nice in a new lounge.
She could always add colour to the smooth, minimalist surfaces.
Katie took a deep breath. Her chest tightened. Maybe she should bring Julia to see the place, too. But what if Julia fell in love with it and it transpired that for whatever reason the deal was a no-go?
No, she couldn't do it to her daughter.
She needed to decide for herself. If this was the right choice, they would be able to do whatever needed to be done to make it feel cosy and their own.
'Thanks, Mr Bower. It's a beautiful house. I'll think about it,' she said, her voice trembling.
Michael Bower glanced at her and leant an elbow on the windowsill. 'Lovely view, isn't it? It's even prettier in spring and summer. And those trees across the stream,' he pointed, 'they are oaks. The leaves turn golden in autumn.'
'I know, it's a great location...'
'Have you seen the back garden? Your daughter would be delighted.'
A large lump grew in Katie's throat. Michael's comments didn't make the decision any easier. Katie swallowed hard. It was time to ask the question that had been bothering her ever since she crossed that doorstep.
'So, you are offering me this house, furnishings included in exchange for the workshop?'
Michael Bower clasped his hands. 'That's right. The market value of this house is about £115,000. Your workshop and the land have been evaluated at around £95,000, but I'm happy to do a swap. And, if the subsequent market valuation is higher, I'll pay you the difference between the two.'
Yes, Katie realised that Michael Bower wanted the land rather than the old building. It was the prime location, particularly, if his company was already negotiating the sale of the eyesore property behind her workshop.
Katie started to twirl the loose strand of her hair, going over her options again.
The sound of Michael clearing his throat cut into the silence.
'Sorry,' Katie babbled, embarrassed to be caught daydreaming. 'That's a very generous offer, Mr Bower.' Katie said, desperately trying to find the right answer and the right words to express it. 'I think... I think-' she paused to catch her breath. Her heart hammered against her chest, and her blood hummed so loud in her head she couldn't hear her thoughts.
'Yes?' There was a note of urgency in Michael's voice.
Katie took a deep breath and clasped her hands tight in front of her stomach, which had turned into a giant knobbly coil. 'I think I'd like to take it,' she blurted out and released the rest of the air from her lungs.
Suddenly, the tension in her body disappeared, the coil opened up, the humming in her head quieted and her heart slowed to a more natural speed.
Was it the right decision?
She would only know if she'd put it to the test. A real, live test. By moving in.
12
All the way from Sunny Meadows back to the town centre, Katie’s head was buzzing. She tried deep breathing, counting, and reasoning with herself. She shouldn't have agreed to the deal so quickly. She should have asked for more time, but the offer was too good to refuse.
Yeah, and maybe that was the catch? Was it too good to be true?
But she hadn't signed anything yet, there was still time to backtrack. She had to talk it through with someone - Michelle, Dorothy, who else? Jack?
Ah, Jack.
Her chest tightened. Why was life putting her through so many emotionally challenging decisions at the same time? Couldn't it be one-by-one? Like: house first, heart stuff later?
Well, there was still the additional job, and, of course, the money.
Dang it!
She'd have to attend to the heart matters before anything got too hard to handle.
Katie jumped out of Michael’s Jaguar, carefully closed the door and trotted back to her car. She had some time before the school pick up, she could call into the station to check on the progress of the case.
And to see Jack.
She drove back to the station and parked her car opposite the main entrance. Of course, she could have used the staff car park, but at this time of day, it was likely to be too busy. More importantly, she wanted her unexpected visit to look like a quick "pop-in".
Katie pushed through the main door a
nd stopped dead in her tracks. Someone was standing by the reception counter, talking to Chris.
A tall, slim, copper-red haired woman, in a winter coat. Just like the one she had seen walking with Jack earlier. Maybe looking a little more tired, with her clothes a little less classy.
Déjà vu?
Katie straightened her jacket and tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat. 'Hi Chris, is it okay to come through?'
Chris looked at her from over the visitor's book the woman was signing.
He nodded and pressed the button for the door. Katie walked through, the visitor followed her.
Chris appeared at the door and headed for the interview room. No doubt he was about to talk to the Déjà vu Woman.
'Do you need any help, Chris' Katie asked, as casually as possible. 'Would you like a hot drink or water, madam?' Katie addressed the woman, eyeing her at the same time.
'A cup of water would be nice,' she croaked. Katie noticed dark circles under her puffy eyes, red blotches on her neck and a subtle trembling of her lips. Tired? Upset? Crying?
Whatever it was, the woman looked quite affected by whatever was happening for her at that moment.
'Anything for you, Sergeant, or Inspector Heaton?' Katie added, looking at Chris and trying to gauge who was going to conduct the interview.
Chris shook his head and opened the door to the interview room. 'Nah, we'll be right. Thanks though.'
Katie backed into the staffroom to prepare the drink. She took two cups just in case.
When she knocked, the door opened, and Chris took the tray from her with nothing more than a curt nod.
Then he shut the door in her face!
How was she supposed to gather information if she wasn't listening to the source?
At times, the bitter reminders of her humble position of clerk hurt. Katie retreated to her office and, to distract herself from yet another heartache, she pulled her "detective notebook" from her handbag. She needed to do the summary of Benjamin Fischer's case.
She wrote the name of the victim at the top of the page and then jotted down all she had learnt so far working backwards from the time she discovered Julian standing over the body:
- Suicide or murder?
- Died around 7 pm due to an overdose of his medication and a dangerous interaction with something not prescribed to him
- Left Une Tasse de Bonheur just before 7 pm with the unidentified woman
- He prepared a document, which he got Angie (waitress) to sign
- He ordered food and took his medicines with it.
- They "almost had an argument".
- He looked sick when he walked into the café.
- He met with a tall, slim, red-haired woman at about 6.15 pm.
- BF ordered a taxi from Miriam and Julian's house at 6.10 pm.
- Julian and Miriam left their house at around 6.05 pm.
It was all backwards, but at least provided Katie with an overview of the timeline.
Katie studied the events carefully. What a shame Angie hadn't seen them leaving the café, or heard what that "almost an argument' had been about.
Katie looked at the scarce information she had collected, put a line under it and wrote beneath it, "Questions":
- Where is the will Angie witnessed him signing (assuming is was a will)?
- Who prepared his medicine box?
- What else was in BF’s briefcase? And why hadn't Jack mentioned it?
- Where is BF’s mobile phone? He obviously had one, since he rang his solicitor several times.
- Who was the woman in the café?
- How did Benjamin wind up at the Community Centre?
The list wasn't long, the questions were obvious and some of them, like the one about the briefcase, could be easily answered by simply asking Jack or Chris. Katie wasn't impressed with the quality of her sleuthing so far. What was going on with her brain? She had been under some stress, fair enough, but honestly - this was below her usual abilities. If she was to help her friend Miriam clarify what really happened, she'd better pull her act together.
She had to focus more on snooping around, asking questions, listening to the snippets of conversations, to gossip.
But how? Where?
The victim was not local, and no one seemed to know him well, not even his family. She had to get some information out of Jack, or Chris. That should give her a direction to pursue.
But how could she do that if they were excluding her from key interviews? After all, she didn't know who the tall, copper-haired woman was.
Okay, perhaps not all key interviews.
Katie closed her notebook, tossed it into her handbag, and stood up.
'Right,' she said, giving herself a slight nudge in her side. 'Let's go and interview the interviewers.'
13
Katie busied herself in the staffroom - washing the dishes, clearing the in-tray, and even wiping the desks, all the while, keeping a close eye on the CCTV screen showing the interview room.
Both, Chris and Jack were firmly planted inside, together with the Déjà Vu Woman.
Finally, just as Katie started to worry she wouldn’t be at the school gate on time, Chris walked out of the interview room, heading for the staffroom.
'Hey, Katie, what are you still doing here?' he greeted her with a look of surprise on his freckled face.
'I'm curious,' Katie opted for almost full truth. 'Why are you interviewing that woman again? And what have you got out of her?'
'The woman? Do you mean Benjamin Fischer's wife?' he stared at her, confused.
'That’s Benjamin Fischer's wife, isn't it? The woman who came in this morning?'
'Ah,' Chris' face lit with a broad smile. 'No. That’s his wife,' he said pointing at the screen. The one in the morning was the new model.'
'What?'
'The new model, the girlfriend, fiancée,' he replied, folding his arms.
'That's rude, Chris.'
'Sorry. But I couldn't help noticing. The resemblance is striking, isn't it? Late Mr Fischer seemed to have a clear taste in women.'
'So, this one is his wife.'
'Yes, the current, estranged wife. The earlier woman was the ex-future wife.'
'Who works as a model?' Katie asked before she realised her thought left her mouth. Her hand jerked to her lips. 'Oops...'
Chris gave a sharp laugh. 'Oops! No, she works as an executive assistant in the same company as the deceased. The story sounds familiar, doesn't it? She worked with him for a few years, and they've been together as a couple since June last year. And apparently, they recently got engaged to be married.'
'Anything else useful?'
'I don't know. You'd better ask the DI. He looks strangely at her. Speaking of couples...'
Katie tensed. What was Chris about to say? And why did he mention Jack looking strangely at the victim’s stunningly beautiful fiancée?
'I decline to comment,' Katie blurted out.
Chris rubbed his chin. 'I was hoping you could help.'
'Help with what?'
'You know, Celia and her fiancé. The wedding is planned for the summer. Could you organise a collection for the wedding present or something like that? I've no idea, what to do or how. I know you and Celia...'
Katie smiled. What a relief! Now, she had to cover her misinterpretation. 'Yes, there has been a little tension between us, but she's been ... I mean, she seems quite okay now. Of course, I can take care of the wedding present.'
'Thanks. I've got to go back in,' Chris turned to pick a piece of paper from the pile on Jack's desk. 'Heaton has asked me to bring this,' he waved the piece of paper. 'By the way, what were you trying to say by "decline to comment"?' He glanced at her over his shoulder and held the gaze.
Hot lava spilt over Katie's face and neck. 'I-I thought you were going to ask me about something... Something I don't want to talk about.'
'I figured that one out,' Chris said, still watching her closely. 'Do you wa
nt to call your lawyer first?'
'Good idea,' Katie laughed, but it came out hollow. 'I'll think about it. By the way, a little thing bugs me,’ Katie said, keen to change the subject. 'That woman, the wife,' Katie pointed at the screen to avoid any further confusion between the wife and the fiancée, 'looks a little too upset for an estranged wife, don't you think?'
'Hm,' Chris paused, furrowing his brows. 'She does indeed.'
'But what is she doing here, in Sunnyvale? I thought she was in Ireland.'
'She came here to meet Benjamin. She's signed the divorce papers.'
Katie inhaled sharply.
'And you're not telling me about it?'
'Just told you,' Chris said, frowning.
Katie swallowed the even more reproachful sentence rolling onto her tongue. There was no point arguing with Chris. She really hadn't had the opportunity to catch up with Jack or Chris about the events of the morning. Yeah, she'd been too busy dealing with her own stuff.
Darn it!
'Why come to sign the papers here and not to London, where he lived?'
Chris shrugged.
'Because he was here at the time, and she was not that far away. That's what she says. They met at Une Tasse de Bonheur on Tuesday night.'
'So, she was the woman Angie saw?'
'That's right.'
'And?'
'And she signed the papers. They discussed the financial matters, a little, but she didn't want to stress him. So, they agreed she would call his solicitor for details.'
'Divorce papers? I thought it was a will.'
'He wrote a codicil to his will as well, and made the waitress witness his signature. He told the wife it was to make sure she was looked after financially if anything happened to him between then and when the divorce was finalised.'
'That's very thoughtful of him,' Katie said. If only all divorcing husbands were so generous towards their ex-wives. 'But what did he mean by "in case something happen to him"? Like, he could have gotten killed?'
Chris chuckled. 'My girl! You're as suspicious as I am, Katie. But to be fair, he was a very sick man. And the wife confirmed that he'd always been obsessed with preparing everything in case of his death, anyway.'
