6.0 - The Face Behind The Mask

by Helen Phifer

  He went to the small stall and tugged the case out from underneath it. Then he turned, whistling, and walked back to his caravan. He was tempted to put the case in and go and have a beer with the rest of the clowns, but he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on their conversation. If they came looking he could say he was coming down with what the lad had. That would make them leave him alone so he could sit and revel in what he’d done.

  Chapter Seven

  Annie fastened Alfie into his car seat. Shutting the door she turned to hug John, who was waiting with his arms open wide. There was something very comforting about being hugged by a priest. They broke apart and she smiled at him.

  ‘You are officially the best hugger I know.’

  ‘Well thank you; I’ll take that as a huge compliment, especially considering the size of young Jake’s arms – not to mention your dashing husband.’

  Annie giggled. ‘Don’t get me wrong, they’re both very good at it, but there’s something extra special about a hug from you.’

  He ruffled her hair. ‘Ah, Annie, I like to think when I’m lying in my lonely bed, wondering what it would have been like to have children, that I could have had a daughter like you. I sometimes wonder if I’ve wasted my entire life.’

  His pale blue eyes filled with tears and she felt fear inside her chest. Her heart tugged at the sight of him being upset.

  ‘Are you okay, John?’

  He nodded.

  ‘I’ve spent the last hour blarting on about myself; we haven’t talked much about you. Are you sure everything’s okay? You’re not ill, are you?’

  ‘I’m fine – just being a soppy, sentimental old man. You know I keep thinking about what my life would have been like if I’d given up God years ago.’

  Annie took hold of his hand. ‘Let me tell you now that you would have made an amazing dad; there’s no doubt about it. You also make one heck of a good priest as well. Look at how many people you’ve helped over the years. You saved me when I needed help. There aren’t many men around who are as selfless and strong as you.’

  He smiled and squeezed her hands. ‘And you saved me, Annie, so we’re quits; well, until the next time you turn up with some crazy old witch’s bones stuffed into a plastic box.’ He winked at her.

  She blushed. ‘I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, I hope to God that never, ever happens again. Some nights I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking that she’s there, scraping her long fingernails along the windows.’ Annie shuddered.

  John let go of her hand and stepped back. ‘You and me both; now away with you and don’t be standing around wasting any more of my time. I’m a busy man, you know. It will soon be time to go and speak to the old dears at the bridge club in the church hall who are all probably younger than me.’

  She leant in, kissed his cheek, then walked around to the driver’s side of the car and climbed inside. John made shooing movements with his hand and she turned the key in the ignition. It was time to go home. She looked in the rear-view mirror to take one last look and thought she saw a tall, dark shadow standing behind John. Turning around to look at him she felt a huge sigh of relief escape her lips to see there was no shadow.

  She was tired. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. Lifting her hand, she waved, then set off. She hoped there wasn’t some dark shadow hanging around John, draining his energy and making him feel so down. She’d never seen him anything but jovial, warm and happy, except for the two occasions when they’d been fighting to save themselves.

  Alfie was cooing away in the back of the car and Annie smiled to herself. She didn’t mind if Sophie or Alice had come to play with her baby, but she didn’t want any other ghostly visitors. As she was driving through busy Bowness to get back home, she passed Jake, who was standing directing traffic outside the pier where there had been what looked like a minor road traffic accident.

  She beeped her horn and he turned, his face a mask of anger until he realised it was her, and then he grinned. She blew him a kiss and he waved, then she was past and on her way. God, as much as she sometimes disliked being a police officer, she also loved it; well, she loved working with Jake. They had so much fun in between chasing serial killers and finding dead bodies.

  She still had no idea what she was going to do. She knew Will wouldn’t want her to be out working on the streets like she used to. But Annie knew she wouldn’t survive if she was stuck in one of the stations working in an office. She could put in to do her detective’s course, but what if she ended up working in the same office as Will? She loved him more than anything, but working with him might not be quite the same. She didn’t know if she could take orders from him, and it would cause no end of hassle if she did.

  He would never let her do anything more dangerous than boring inquiries and she would go insane if she couldn’t get out and pitch in. She passed a boarded-up shop near the pier and wondered if she could do something with it: a bookshop, café, antique shop? Maybe a combination of all three; then she would see Jake every time he was working because he wouldn’t keep away if there was coffee and cake on offer.

  She would be able to keep herself busy. She had no end of babysitters for Alfie. Will’s stepmum, Lily, had offered countless times, as had Tilly, her niece. In fact, she’d had a tearful Tilly on the phone a couple of days ago moaning about how crap and boring her life was. Although Annie didn’t know if babysitting Alfie while Annie was working could be classed as exciting, Tilly could also work in the shop and maybe live with her and Will. They could take it in turns to open the shop and look after Alfie.

  The more she thought about it the better the idea seemed. Will would be over the moon to think she wasn’t out there working nights and putting herself in danger. She decided to pay Lily and Tom – Will’s dad – a visit; see what Lily thought of the idea.

  As the turn came up for their beautiful mansion set on the shore of Lake Windermere, an image flashed across her mind of the white house with the bright blue door. She blinked, shaking her head. That was the last thing she wanted to think about, especially when Alfie was with her. Annie had this strange, irrational fear that he would pick up on what she was seeing.

  A few times when she’d watched Will pacing up and down with him, he’d look over Will’s shoulder and smiled at no one she could see. What if Alfie had inherited her psychic gift? Annie hadn’t known she possessed one until the days after Mike had almost killed her. Gosh, that seemed such a long time ago. So much had happened to her since then, most of it amazing, but some of it horrific.

  She turned into the drive and was about to get out of the car and key in the code on the keypad for the automatic gates when they started to open of their own accord. Good, that meant someone was home. Since Will had been kidnapped by a half-sister none of them even knew existed, Tom had upped the security around the house. He had the same CCTV cameras Will had installed in their home and a very expensive burglar alarm, which went straight through to the police switchboard if it was activated. All of their lives had changed so dramatically over the last couple of years.

  Before she could park the car, Lily was running down the concrete steps towards her. Tom was leaning on his wooden cane and waved from the top step. Annie waved back, feeling a rush of love for this kind, loving, forgiving, older version of her husband. They looked so alike. She knew that when Will was the same age, she’d still find him attractive.

  Poor Will. Annie had no idea what she was going to look like, but he didn’t seem to mind and there was always Botox. Lily had offered a couple of times to take her to meet her fixer-upper. Up till now Annie had declined, but give it a few years and she might feel a whole lot different. Annie released the lock on the door so Lily could lean in and take Alfie out of his seat. He waved his hands at Lily as she expertly released his seat belt, tugged him out and smothered him with kisses.

  ‘Give the kid some air, Lily; you’ll suffocate him.’ Tom was laughing as she walked up the steps. Lily pushed Alfie close so Tom could kiss h
im.

  ‘My, what a big boy you’re getting. What’s your mother feeding you on?’

  Lily didn’t hang around and went inside. Annie ran up the steps and kissed Tom’s cheek.

  ‘How are you? You look amazing.’

  ‘Funnily enough, so do you. I’m all the better for seeing you two. Thank you for calling in. You might have just saved me from bankruptcy. Lily has decided that we need to redecorate.’

  He winked and she laughed.

  ‘You’re welcome, but the house is beautiful as it is.’

  ‘I completely agree, but I made the mistake of offering to take her for lunch at the newly refurbished Laura Ashley Hotel. Have you and Will been there? It’s very nice. The only fault I could find was the catalogues on every table; it’s a man’s worst nightmare. Lily kept looking at the fixtures and fittings then pricing them up and making a very long list of what she’d like in here.’

  ‘Oh dear, that’s not a good idea, is it? Maybe I can talk her round for you. I think I’ve come up with a plan for what to do instead of going back to work. I was thinking of opening a shop myself. There’s a boarded-up one near to that hotel.’

  ‘Annie, what a wonderful idea – and you have my blessing. I would much rather invest in a business with you than waste it on new chandeliers to replace the ones we have that aren’t even twelve months old.’

  They walked inside the hallway and Tom closed the door behind them, turning the key and locking it. Annie felt responsible that they’d had to change their lives so much since she’d come into it. Tom led the way through to the living room where Alfie was on a huge rug surrounded by every baby toy that Fisher-Price had ever made. Lily was playing with him. ‘Was he moaning about my idea of decorating?’

  Annie shook her head. ‘No, but seriously, Lily, this place is beautiful. It really is. I was just telling Tom I’m thinking about opening a shop in Bowness. You could come and help me out on the days you’re not too busy.’

  __________________________

  Tom nodded in encouragement because he knew Lily was intrigued and he winked at Annie.

  ‘Well, I’ll leave you ladies to discuss what you think. I’ll go and make us all a drink.’

  ‘Shout me when you’re done. I’ll come and get them.’

  Tom nodded again, leaving them to it. He’d had a stroke last year. Luckily it hadn’t been too serious and he’d pretty much regained all of the use of his arms and legs. He just needed the cane to stop him from wobbling too much. He set about filling the fancy coffee machine they used twice a week if they were lucky and began making lattes. He would have loved it if Will and Annie had moved into this house with them. With little Alfie it wouldn’t feel so big and empty.

  Will had always been independent, though, and wouldn’t hear of it; Annie even more so. It tickled Tom how she always insisted on working and paying her own way. Not that he didn’t admire her for it, but he was glad she and Will were equals. Tom hadn’t come into money until well into his forties and he’d worked hard his entire life to build up his business until he’d sold it so he could take it easy.

  One day all of this would belong to both Will and Annie. Tom had left them equal shares as well as a trust fund for little Alfie. Tom didn’t ever envisage Will and Annie getting divorced, but even if they did he wouldn’t change his mind. He loved Annie like a daughter, which then reminded him of his daughter, Amelia, who he’d had no idea about and who was now locked up in a high security mental hospital.

  Tom had taken care of everything despite what she’d done to Will. It wasn’t her fault he’d never known about her and it broke his heart to think of the life she’d led when it could have been so different. Before he knew it he’d made three lattes and filled a plate with freshly baked biscuits. Lost in his memories he’d been on automatic pilot. He shouted Lily, but it was Annie who came to get the tray from him.

  __________________________

  ‘Oh my God, Tom, what are you trying to do to me? You know how much I love your biscuits and I’ve just eaten cake from Father John.’

  He smiled. ‘Well, someone has to eat them. There’s only you and me. Lily is either carb counting or pointing or trying not to sin, so it’s no good offering them to her.’

  He bent his head towards Annie’s ear and whispered, ‘She gets so crabby when she’s on one of her many diets. It drives me mad.’

  Annie laughed. ‘Yeah, I know all too well about that. I’m a member of every slimming club in South Cumbria.’

  He shook his head. ‘You women are mad. Why don’t you just accept yourselves and enjoy your lives? It really is beyond me – the fact that you’re both perfect as you are isn’t good enough for you?’

  Annie pecked his cheek. ‘Aw, you are such a charmer, Mr Ashworth. I know where Will gets it from.’

  She picked up the tray and carried it through to the living room. For the millionth time she asked herself what she’d done to gain such a wonderful family. There was one thing she did know, and that was that she would never take them for granted.

  Chapter Eight

  Adele snapped off her gloves, clearly relieved she’d been in charge of the exhibits so hadn’t had to watch the entire post-mortem as closely as Will. He did the same and threw his gloves into the bin in the corner of the room. Matt had been thorough with his procedure; it hadn’t taken a genius to work out that the victim had died from severe loss of blood due to the number of stab wounds inflicted on her body.

  Amazingly, Pauline Cook’s internal organs had pretty much been intact; her arteries had not, which had made her bleed to death in a matter of minutes. That was either a blessing in disguise or a curse. If anyone have found her in time, they might just have been able to put extreme pressure on the major wound and stem the bleeding.

  They all agreed that whoever had held the knife had been angry enough to carry out a sustained attack, which was messy and violent. Will was grateful he hadn’t regurgitated his greasy bun all over his shoes and the clean, shiny floor.

  He met Adele outside the changing rooms and they left. Matt had promised to email his report over as soon as it had been typed up and Will had made him promise to come and visit him and Annie soon because it had been too long. They left the mortuary, walking back the way they’d come. Will looked at the people who were walking along the corridors – either sick, injured or visiting someone who was. They were the lucky ones; they had no idea what it was like to watch what he’d just had to.

  Despite how sad and cruel it could be, he wouldn’t have changed his job for the world because he loved it – most of the time; but it did get depressing and downright terrifying sometimes. Sometimes he almost laughed aloud. Christ, sometimes it was almost deadly. This reminded him he needed to try and push Annie to come to some sort of decision on what she was going to do about work when her maternity leave was over. They couldn’t go on as they had; not now they had Alfie.

  The past eight months had been blissfully peaceful since he’d been born. Annie had been too preoccupied with the baby to get involved in anything she shouldn’t. She hadn’t even mentioned any ghostly visitors from the other side, which had been a relief for him because he really struggled to get his head around the whole speaking to the dead thing.

  Now there was another murder. It had been a while since the last murders had happened in Hawkshead, and before that Bowness. This time there had been one in the lovely coastal town of Barrow. It didn’t seem as though this had been some jilted lover, yet it was violent enough to be. There weren’t any jealous family members around to be involved. Making this a stranger murder, which by rights in this quiet part of the country should be very rare.

  Unfortunately for Will, they were more common than the reports would have you believe, and in his own experience they always led to more. The thought that there could be another serial killer on the loose glared in his mind. He tried his best to quash it, but it was no good. He had to take precautions and he needed to keep Annie as far away from all of this
as possible. He made up his mind that he wouldn’t discuss any of it with her. He wouldn’t take an evening paper home with him or have the news on, and he hoped that she would be far too busy with Alfie to pay too much attention to it all.

  There was only one flaw in his brilliant plan and that was Jake, who couldn’t keep his mouth shut for love nor money. Will would ring him as soon as he was on his own. He didn’t want Adele wondering what was going on or knowing too much about his private life just yet. He felt bad enough that he’d thrown her in at the deep end on her first day. He didn’t want her worrying that she was going to end up dragged into something deadly. They reached his car and he began the drive back to the station, neither of them talking because they were both lost in their own worlds. The station came into view and Will didn’t know whether he felt relieved to be back or not.

  ‘If you don’t need me for anything, I think I’ll go and collect the CCTV from the shops I rang earlier.’

  ‘That would be brilliant, thanks. If you come inside I’ll sort you out with a car.’

  They went back in and up to the first floor; Brad was sitting with his feet on the desk playing on his phone. He reminded Will a little of Stu, who had been addicted to that bloody stupid game Candy Crush and his mobile.

  ‘Brad, what are you doing?’

  At least he had the decency to look embarrassed when he realised Will was watching him.

  ‘Nothing, boss, just catching up with stuff.’

  ‘Well, do me a favour; take a plain car and drive Adele to pick up the CCTV, please – if you’re not too busy.’

  Adele pulled a face. ‘I can actually drive myself, boss, and I know where I’m going.’

  ‘I know you can, but Brad here is going to become Candy Crush King if we don’t give him something to do and I’m not prepared to let him take that title just yet. We all know it belonged to Stu.’