by Emily Selby
Katie gulped. Her heart dropped somewhere into her boots but, however much it pained her to hear it, she couldn't argue with Jack's words.
27
Katie finished her work for the day a little later than usual, trying to get ahead and knowing it would get busier from the following week.
She rushed to pick up Julia from school when her phone rang. Once she parked safely close enough to the gate for Julia to see her (and avoid all the "You're late again, mum!" comments), Katie fished the phone out of her handbag and checked the missed calls screen.
It was Angie, the waitress from Une Tasse de Bonheur. Katie pressed re-dial.
'Hi Angie, what can I do for you?' she asked when Angie answered.
'I'm sorry to trouble you, but you work at the police, non?'
'Yes. Do you need to talk to a police officer?'
'I am not sure what to do, or if it is even important.'
'Something's wrong?'
'At the cafe. It is a bit embarrassing, and I do not want to worry Sunita with it. She is stressed and sick at home.'
'What's happened? Is the café open again?'
'No, we're still closed today. The oven has stopped working, and Sunita got plumbers to fix the toilet. The plumber found something in the pipe. Pieces of paper were ripped and flushed down. I am sure it is the document the dead man signed. The plumber wanted to throw it away, but I asked him to leave it. I've rinsed it a little, because, you know... but I didn't want to, how to I say it?'
'Destroy the evidence?' Katie suggested, her heart racing.
'That is correct.'
'I think you need to call the police.'
There was a silence at the other end.
'I do not know what to say,' Angie said eventually.
'Just tell them exactly what you told me. It may be important evidence. It may help the police find whoever killed those two people.'
'Okay. What number do I call?'
'I'll send you their number. And I'll let them know, too, okay?' Katie added. This information should not go missing.
'Just tell them, it was in the toilet. It smells badly.'
Katie winced. If she wanted to be a forensic specialist, she'd have to find a way to deal with all sorts of nasty stuff.
She disconnected and sent the number to Angie.
Children poured through the school gate. Katie spotted Julia's strawberry blonde hair flowing in the wind. She wasn't wearing her hat again!
Katie opened the passenger door.
'Julia, over here,' she called and waved. Julia waved back but appeared to continue talking with a friend.
Okay, Katie had a minute or two and wouldn’t waste it.
She texted Jack and Chris about Angie's finding. And then, as Julia was still talking, Katie dialled Michael Bower's number. Julia was going to her dad, to York, for the weekend and Katie’s best chance to show Julia the house was today.
'Mr Bower, I wondered if I could view the house again, with my daughter.'
'No problem. When would you like to see it?'
'What about this afternoon?'
'You'd have to go by yourself. I'll give my wife a ring right now, and you could pick up the keys from her office. How's that?'
'That's fantastic!' Katie exclaimed. 'We'll be there in a few minutes.'
'Where are we going, mum?' Julia's head appeared right in front of Katie. This time she was wearing her hat.
'Have you just put your hat now? I saw you weren't wearing it.'
'Mum,' Julia moaned. 'It's not like it's freezing today.'
She was right. The sky was covered with grey clouds, and the wind was swirling old leaves and paper wrappers, but it was not freezing. Oh, the smarty-pants ten-year-old!
Almost eleven...
'Never mind,' Katie sighed. 'Jump in. I want to show you a house we may be able to buy.'
Julia squealed. 'A real house? With a garden?'
'Yep,' Katie replied watching her daughter hurling her school bag in the back and climbing in after it.
'Mum, you're awesome! Can I decorate my bedroom? Please, mum!'
'Julia, honey. We're not there yet, but if we buy it, yes. I’ll even let you choose the colour scheme. Don’t forget your seat belt.'
Julia obeyed and started bouncing and chanting, "I'm going to have a garden" as they drove to Lisa Bower's estate agency, and then to Sunny Meadows.
If Katie had any doubts about her decision of swapping the workshop for the house, they melted within seconds of seeing Julia's beaming face as they walked into the hallway.
That was it! It would be their new home.
28
On the way back from Sunny Meadows, Julia talked incessantly. Excited children could be so exhausting!
Katie tried calm replying, slightly excited replying ("Why aren't you happy, mum?"), "yes-yes-no-leave-me-alone" replying, and finally, she gave up.
'My head is about to explode, baby. I'm ordering some quiet time,' Katie said firmly, pulling the car away.
Julia sulked. Until when?'
'Til dinner. You'll do your homework, prepare your gear, and dad will pick you up after dinner.'
'Can I tell dad?'
Katie's heart sank. She never thought of that. The last thing she needed now was Barry offering unsolicited advice on her financial decisions, or anything else for that matter.
'I'll mention it to him. If he asks, you can tell him about it, but maybe leave it until we actually buy the house.'
'Okay, mum,' Julia said, the corners of her mouth curving downwards.
Knowing Barry, he may not take Julia chattering and chanting too well. Unless he had better news to trump it. Being the way he was, his news had to be bigger and happier than anyone else's.
They entered the flat in silence. Julia headed to her bedroom and Katie, to the kitchen.
With a hot cup of tea safely made, Katie sat at the table. She refused to recalculate the costs of this decision again!
Her mobile rang with a welcome distraction. Katie reached for her handbag and fished the phone out.
'Hi Jack, how are things?' she said. She'd completely forgotten about the case! 'Did you get my message?'
'Yes, and that's why I'm calling,' he sounded... what, amused? 'We're at Une Tasse de Bonheur. You're welcome to join us if you dare.'
She hesitated for a second. 'I'd have to check with Julia,' Katie replied, fighting mummy's guilt.
As if by magic, her daughter appeared at the door.
'I know it's not dinnertime yet, but I've packed up my stuff, and I had no homework. Can I do something else if I promise to be quiet?'
That was a quick decision.
'You haven't found anything gruesome, have you? I can come with Julia?' she asked Jack, who was still waiting for her reply.
'No, it's not bad. A bit smelly, though. We need to cordon the area off. You'll need to keep an eye on Julia, but otherwise, it's okay.'
'Excellent, we'll be there in two ticks,' Katie replied and ended the call.
'Julia, get your favourite soft toy or a book and let's go for a quick ride. I've got to see something.'
A few minutes later, Katie parked on the side of the café, and she and Julia climbed out of their green Micra. Jack's car was blocking the main entrance. A white, unmarked van approaching from the main road.
The forensic team.
The beeping of a reversing car behind her made her jump. In the back service alley, where she parked, a big, skip bin lorry negotiated its way towards her car. Katie glimpsed at the large, red bin standing just a few steps away from them.
They'd come to collect the bin in which, Chloe had been hiding.
A sudden thought crossed her mind. What if there was some valuable evidence inside? Obviously, Chloe could not see anything outside the bin, but maybe she saw something inside it?
Katie stepped into the middle of the lane and waved. The lorry driver should see her in the side mirrors. The beeping stopped. The side door opened and a man in a blue
overall jumped out.
'You're blocking me. Can you move away and move your car as well?' the man yelled.
'Can you stop for a while?' Katie shouted back. 'Didn’t you know this is a crime scene?'
'No. I was told to collect the bin today, so here I am.'
'I think you need to wait for the police to clear it.'
'I've got my boss' orders.'
'This is the police car,' Katie said firmly, pointing somewhere behind her back, hoping the man wouldn't realise that none of the cars parked in front of the café were patrol cars. Bummer! She'd been quite creative with truth a lot over the past few days.
'I'll get them to talk to you,' she added and grabbed Julia's hand, and they ran towards the café’s entrance.
Inside, the café had a subtle waft of a classic plumbing-in-distress day. Chris was busy talking to Angie, who hopefully wasn't sobbing. Jack was at one of the tables, talking to a man in white overalls.
'DI Heaton,' Katie called from the door. 'I need to talk to you.'
Jack lifted his head. 'Can it wait?' he asked.
'I'm afraid not. There is a lorry outside about to take away the skip bin. Has it been checked yet?'
'The bin?' A frown crossed Jack's handsome face. 'Chris? Have we?'
'No. Not last time, sir. I was going to tape it off,' Chris hopped away from the counter, relief mixed with guilt on his face.
Yes, poor Angie was in tears.
'I'll sort it out,' Chris said and rushed outside.
Katie glanced at Jack, who nodded and showed her a "two ticks" sign with his hand.
Julia's hand tightened around Katie's.
'Are we okay being here, mum?' Julia whispered. 'Why is that lady crying?' she added pointing at Angie with her chin.
'I think we're safe, baby' Katie replied. 'Let's go and talk to her. She's my new friend.'
When they approached the counter, Angie was wiping her eyes with a tissue.
'I'm scared being here, with all this happening. I called Sunita, but she's not answering. She said she'd needed some rest,' Angie said, still sniffing a little.
'Have you called Miriam?' Katie asked, even though she suspected this was also a no-go.
'I have, but she told me to call Sunita.'
What a mess!
'Are you okay?' Katie looked carefully at Angie. Her round eyes were as red as her snub nose.
'Just scared. I don't know what to do. They let the plumber go but asked me to stay.'
'They're in charge now. You just do what they ask you to do,' Katie tried to reassure her. 'Did you see what was on that document?'
'I did. It said-' Angie took a deep breath. 'It said "codacil" or something like that.'
'A codicil. It's an addition to a will, like the last will and testament,' Katie explained. 'Did you see any more?'
She probably shouldn't be pushing Angie for more information. Jack would fill her in, but her curiosity was too strong to ignore.
'A name: Ava Fischer.'
'It was his wife. The woman who came to meet with him on the night.'
'He left her money?'
Katie licked her lips. 'Did the document mention any money?'
'Yes, it did. And my signature was there was well. It was all in pieces, but they found all of them, I think. Why did he put it in the toilet?'
'Good question. Why did he rip it in pieces and flush it down the toilet? And when did he do it? Did you see him going to the toilet?'
'No. After I signed the paper, he went back to the table and I went to the kitchen, to make sure everything was ready to close. It was so late.'
'They must have gone to the toilet when you were in the kitchen, just before they left.'
'Did he pay?'
'Oh, yes. He paid when he ordered. In advance.'
That certainly sounded like Benjamin Fischer –always settling his financial affairs first.
'So, they just walked through the main door out there?' Katie asked, pointing to the door behind her.
Angie bit her lip. Her face tensed. 'Now I think about it, I'm not sure. They might have left through the side door. The one over there!' she pointed to her right.
The door beside the bin.
'I forgot to lock the door because I was putting some stuff the workers left behind in there earlier,' Angie added.
Adrenaline shot through Katie's system, setting her face on fire and sending her heart into a gallop.
'Putting it in the bin?'
'No. It was in a bucket. I put it beside the bin.'
The bucket Chloe used to climb into the bin, of course.
'Hi, Katie and Julia,' the familiar, smooth baritone reminded Katie she wasn't doing this investigation on her own.
'Hello Jack, why does it stink here?' Julia asked.
'They've got a toilet problem and we're helping them,' Jack replied, with a nice mix of truth and not too much truth.
'Oh, yuck!' Julia pulled a disgusted face.
'Sorry, I didn't realise it stank so much. I must have grown used to it,' Jack said, smiling apologetically. 'Let's go outside then. You can sit in the car and make sure your teddy is warm and I'll talk to your mum,' he said and led them outside.
'You found the codicil. Ava didn't lie,' Katie said.
'Not about this, no. Indeed, he wanted to make sure in case of his death, the split of the estate was completed after the divorce, as if this was happening during his life.'
'But he changed his mind somewhere between signing it and leaving the cafe.'
'So it seems. Now the echo in the voicemail left on the solicitor's phone makes sense. It may even be that what he said in that message changes the meaning. He said, "I'm not sure what to do in this situation,"' Jack added looking away.
'He called the solicitor from the toilet, so Ava couldn't hear him?' Katie asked, sensing the familiar tugging in her gut. The story was taking a twist and suddenly a lot of things started to make sense in an unexpected way.
'Something happens in the last few minutes of their meeting and Benjamin is no longer convinced that this is how he should deal with the situation,' Katie said slowly, thinking aloud. 'He destroys the document, in an overdramatic way, I suppose. He could have just ripped it into pieces and put it into his briefcase.'
'But then she would see it,' Jack joined in. 'The waitress saw Benjamin slipping the document into his jacket pocket before he walked back to the table. He might have done the same with his phone. No big deal, people keep their phones and pieces of paper in their pockets. He could slip away to the bathroom with his jacket on, but not with the briefcase.'
Katie twirled the strand of hair on her finger. It helped her think. 'I wonder what made him change his mind.'
'So do I,' Jack agreed, watching her intently.
'I remember Ava saying she watched him put things into his briefcase. It looks like she was more invested in what was going on than she let us believe.'
'I agree,' Jack said, cocking his eyebrow.
'What?' Katie asked, sensing another twist to the story.
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Chris burst through the door.
'Sir,' Chris' voice, brimming with excitement, cut in. Jack straightened his back. 'I found something in the skip. You need to see it.'
29
Fortunately for her, as she didn't want to leave Julia sitting in the car on her own, Jack gestured Chris to join them.
'This is the drug we found in Benjamin's system,' Chris said, waving the plastic bag with an empty foil pack.
Jack grabbed the bag between his fingers. 'Propranolol, the beta blocker Benjamin Fischer was not supposed to take. Anything else?'
'A handful of soft, colourful pills, I guess, some other medicines,' Chris added and lifted his other hand. 'And this!'
'It's an apple,' Katie said confused. 'A bit rotten.'
Chris grinned. 'A bit bitten as well. And it's not rained since Monday.'
'I don't think it'd be of much use though,' Jack said.
'W
hy?' Chris asked.
'Yes, why? And by the way, what are you talking about? That's unfair!' Katie protested.
I thought we were done with showing me my place!
'Sorry, Detective Redford,' Jack said, winking at her. 'Can you try to deduce it? It's an apple, bitten. It hasn't rained.'
Katie chewed on her cheek, really struggling with this one.
'I can't see the dots you have obviously already connected,' she said reluctantly, allowing a scowl to form.
'The pills are there. How did they get there?' Jack asked patiently.
'The murderer must have put them there?' Katie half-stated half-asked.
'Very likely, if these are indeed the medication and the packaging discarded by the person who swapped Benjamin Fischer's pills.'
'How could you tell?' Katie shook her head as if this could get rid of the thick fog weltering in her head.
'The apple. There may be some saliva left on the apple,' Chris said, a little less enthusiastic now.
'Saliva?' Katie suppressed a shudder. She had to learn to deal with the yuck factor, it looked as though forensic sciences would be full of similar ‘yuck’ moments.
'DNA?' Jack prompted.
'Ah! Indeed.' Katie looked away, focusing on the tugging in her tummy that returned and a little stronger. 'But throwing half-eaten apples into skip bins is not a crime. Anyone could have done it.' Katie said.
'That's right,' Jack replied. 'Which is why checking the empty package for fingerprints is more important.'
'Chloe might have discarded the unused pills. She told us how she had ended up inside the bin, but we only have her word for it.'
'Yeah,' Jack said and blew out a breath. 'Still more work to do, Sergeant Fox,' he said and nodded to Chris.
'Off to the lab, sir.' Chris hurried towards the white van.
'Ava bothers me,' Katie said, shaking her head. 'She needs money. It looks like she hasn't worked for a while, and she's travelled and wanted to continue travelling. But her reassurance she would have been equally well off as his ex-wife as she was as his widow still confuses me. Have you had any more feedback from the Irish police?'
