Hush Hush

by Mel Sherratt

  The room dropped into silence. Nick glanced at Grace surreptitiously as Jade gnawed at her bottom lip.

  ‘I thought all the pain would stop when I killed him,’ Jade confessed.

  ‘Who?’ Grace wanted a name.

  ‘Our father, Grace.’

  ‘George Steele?’ she pressed.

  ‘Yes! Keep up.’

  As she and Jade stared at each other afterwards, Grace could imagine her team upstairs, punching the air but wanting to stay quiet to listen to every word Jade said. This was clearly just the beginning.

  ‘He started it all,’ Jade added. ‘He locked me in the garage, brought a man to abuse me when I was twelve years old and then, when that wasn’t enough, he took me to a house so other men could abuse me too. He wasn’t content to whore me out to just the one once I got used to it.’

  Grace tried not to flinch at Jade’s words; they were hard to hear.

  ‘While he was around, Megan wasn’t safe, was she?’ Grace continued.

  ‘No. And even more so since they’d started the parties up again. I was damaged goods at sixteen and didn’t have to go to any more. But when I realised they were still happening, I thought I would put a stop to them by killing Daddy.’ She smiled. ‘It was the first time I ever felt powerful, you know? Daddy used to make the boys fight each other all the time. He had nicknames for them, rather than call them by their first names. Little Runt was what he used to call Leon. Eddie was known as Twatface. How cruel was that? Daddy said it was to toughen them up, make them hard so they could continue with the career he had made for them.’

  Grace hadn’t heard any of this and wondered what kick George Steele got out of it, what had started the regime off in the first place. Had his parents abused him as a young boy? Would she ever find out if so?

  ‘And Leon?’ she queried. ‘Did you attack him?’

  ‘Don’t interrupt, Gracie.’ Jade glared at her. ‘As well as set the boys on to each other, George used to make them beat me up too. It was always Leon who hit me the hardest. Eddie used to look out for me, but Leon was just plain old mean.’

  Silence again as Grace struggled to speak.

  ‘Where is Leon, Jade?’ Nick asked, his tone gentle.

  ‘Do you know all the dead have secrets?’ Jade looked at him, almost as if she had forgotten he was there until that moment. ‘Josh was my first love but he treated me really bad. He beat me up, when all I wanted was to be loved.’

  ‘Did he like young girls too?’

  ‘I didn’t think so, but I didn’t actually realise he was involved in the parties until I overheard him and Leon talking one night. Josh was saying how they were bringing in easy money, but Leon was arguing that the girls were young and naive. Josh told him not to worry, that they would be looked after. It wasn’t hard to work out what was going on from that. I bet there would have been some older women there, but they were using them girls, I’m sure of it. Because I was told I would be looked after all those years ago and look what happened to me!’

  ‘So you got your revenge by throwing acid in his face?’ Grace had to know why.

  ‘Not exactly. Have you seen the size of him?’ Jade’s eyes flitted between them. ‘I needed to make sure he would go down, because killing him would cause such mayhem, as well as bring attention to that bloody gym. I watched him writhe around on the floor, heard his screams. He deserved everything he got.

  ‘He was always going on about the things that he had done. The image he’d created of himself was pathetic. He had to have the most expensive car, the best job, the prettiest woman on his arm, even though he was married. He thought he was top man and could muscle his way into everything. He wasn’t. He used to beat me, make me cry, make me beg for him to love me, and he knew what I’d gone through as a child. I hope he rots in hell for what he did.’

  ‘How did you get away, after you’d killed him?’ Grace asked as Jade took a breath.

  ‘I slipped out of the back of the gym car park, over the fence and into the field behind.’ Jade used her fingers on the desk to indicate her walking. ‘It was quiet. Josh had stopped screaming once I’d stabbed him. I ran to the canal towpath. There were so many places I could go from there.’ Jade laughed again, turning to Grace. ‘I couldn’t believe how calm I was when I threw the acid at him. And when he recognised me just before, pure gold!’

  There was silence in the room again. It was hard to take it in; what Jade was saying was so cold. Grace knew they needed to ask about Leon, but she also knew they weren’t going to get anything from Jade until she was ready. So they would let her confess to everything first, to get to what they wanted.

  SEVENTY-SIX

  ‘We need to take a break,’ said Mitchell, checking his watch and sitting forward.

  ‘I’m fine!’ Jade roared, making him sit back again. ‘Chapman – number three! Just like the last time, I was a ninja in the dark. It’s a good job I’m fit though, as I had to run for my life after killing Dale. I was covered in blood. All those years of pent-up frustration and taking those beatings had made me capable of that. He had gone down so easy with that first hit. The look on his face had been priceless. I mean, me making him feel like that!’

  Jade’s eyes were wide with delight, as if she was proud of herself.

  ‘I never thought it would be such a frenzied attack,’ she went on. ‘After killing Josh with the knife, I’d planned on doing that to the others. I hit Dale a few times with the weight to get the upper hand, but that wasn’t enough. It felt so good to just hit him and hit him and hit him.’ Jade banged her hand down on the desk, making everyone jump. ‘I had to stop myself from throwing up when I looked at where his face had been.’

  Grace tried not to retch too.

  ‘Once I’d caught my breath, I got out my knife.’ Jade made a stabbing notion in the air. ‘I plunged it into his heart, just like he’d once stabbed a knife through mine and ruined my chances to have a normal life. Then I leapt off him. I knew there were cameras on me, so I’d been careful to shield my face, keep my back to the lens as I took his brains out. It was a good job Megan was staying at my mum’s that night, I can tell you! There was blood all over me and my clothes! But I’d planned for this. I had brought more clothes just in case this happened. So I got rid of the bloodstained ones quickly.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I just threw them in the bin!’ She giggled. ‘It was collection day. I hid everything inside a black plastic bag and put other rubbish on top of it. It was easy-peasy.’

  Grace sat back in resignation as she worked out the missing links. The real reason why the attack on Chapman had been so vicious. The money being paid out from his account. The age Jade would have given birth to her daughter.

  ‘Dale Chapman is Megan’s father,’ Grace said quietly.

  Jade nodded vehemently. ‘Can you imagine that getting out? Of course, he always denied it. So I made him pay me – a thousand a month. I hated seeing him at the gym, but at least I had something I wanted from him now, so it made it more bearable. Then he refused to give me any more. Well, I wasn’t having that. He was rich. He wouldn’t miss it. But I needed it.’

  ‘And Tom Davenport?’ Grace queried. ‘You told me that you liked him. That wasn’t true, was it?’

  ‘All lies, Gracie. You are so gullible,’ Jade sneered. ‘You thought I was pregnant by that loser, Alex, too.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

  Grace kept her face straight. It probably wouldn’t be the last time she’d find out that Jade had tricked her.

  ‘He didn’t rape you, did he?’

  ‘Of course not,’ Jade told her. ‘Besides, there is no baby.’ She laughed. ‘Everyone thinks he’s been using me, but it’s the other way round. He was good in bed, I’ll give him that, and we had so much fun sharing our knowledge.’ She huffed. ‘But in the end he rejected me, like everyone else did. And so he had to pay for that.’

  ‘Tom Davenport, Jade?’ Grace wanted to keep her on point.

  �
�When I found out about Washington Place, and that the parties were still going on, I had to do something!’

  ‘How did you find out about the house?’

  ‘I saw him with a young girl one night and followed him – it was him that led me there. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Josh and Leon’s cars parked in the driveway. That’s when I realised what was going on. So I kept an eye on things for a while. When Tom finished with that girl, he started knocking off another one at the college he worked at. I thought Lorna deserved better than that. And she needed to know what he was like.’

  ‘So you left the card at his house.’

  Jade nodded.

  ‘And you stole Charlotte Maidley’s bag. Why did you try and set someone else up?’

  ‘You were too good, Grace. You were catching up with me quicker than I had intended. I wanted to have some fun first.’

  ‘And Tom?’

  ‘I hid in their garden. We argued and I hit out at him. Tom lost his footing and fell backwards into the pond.’

  ‘He was alive when he hit the water,’ Grace said.

  ‘Oh, I knew that. I could see his head had come up, so I forced it under again. I watched him for a few seconds, and then I stabbed him.’

  Grace couldn’t believe how heartless she was. She had certainly fooled a lot of people.

  ‘But then Lorna came out,’ she said.

  ‘Yes! I had to get past her, so I pulled down my balaclava before she saw it was me. And then I hit her and pushed her. I was so sorry she got hurt. But, don’t you see, I did my best friend a favour! I saw Megan and Freya’s names in that black book, and I wasn’t letting them do that. They weren’t getting my daughter too.’

  ‘Black book?’ Grace wondered if this would be vital evidence as to who had been at the parties.

  ‘It was in Clara’s handbag. Leon had it on him the last time I saw him. You’ll see it soon.’

  Grace pushed down her emotions. She felt like kicking out at something, anything to get rid of the pain. Jade had used her. She hadn’t wanted to get to know her at all. Grace had been foolish – and it hurt.

  ‘Is Leon alive, Jade?’ Nick joined in once more.

  Jade stared at him.

  ‘Did you …’ Grace stumbled. ‘Did you kill him too?’

  ‘A stab to the heart,’ Jade said. ‘I didn’t beat him too much though. There wasn’t time.’

  A sob escaped Grace. ‘Are we looking for a body?’

  Jade smiled slowly.

  Tears formed in Grace’s eyes and she let them fall. ‘Please, Jade, you have to tell me where I can find him.’

  ‘Don’t cry, Gracie.’ Jade reached across the table and stroked the back of her hand.

  Grace sat forward and put her hand over Jade’s. ‘I have to know.’

  They stared at each other, Grace willing her silently to tell her where he was.

  ‘Please,’ she repeated, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Jade’s eyes were watery too. ‘Don’t cry.’

  ‘Then tell me where he is.’

  A loaded silence dropped on the room. Grace never took her eyes from her half-sister.

  ‘Please, Jade!’

  ‘He and Eddie bought a terraced property in Redmond Street, Bradeley,’ Jade admitted, finally. ‘Number twenty-two. They’re doing it up to rent out.’

  Grace snatched her hand away from Jade and was out of her chair in a flash.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Jade cried after her. ‘Hey! Grace!’

  Nick followed Grace out of the room called her back as she was about to tear up the corridor.

  ‘Excellent work in there,’ he told her. ‘But I think you’ll be better staying at the station. We’ll go and get Leon.’

  Grace shook her head. ‘No, sir. I have to be there.’

  ‘You’re too emotional right now.’

  ‘You think?’ She wiped at her cheeks, took a deep breath and smiled. ‘Played her at her own game in there. These are crocodile tears.’

  SEVENTY-SEVEN

  With lights blazing once more, Perry raced across town in a squad car to the address Jade had given Grace. There were several cars behind them and a small police van, every available officer having been on standby.

  ‘Come on!’ He banged his hand on the horn at slow traffic. ‘Move out of my way!’

  ‘We’re too late, anyway,’ Grace said, failing to keep the emotion from her voice. ‘She will have killed him.’

  ‘You’re so sure?’

  ‘Yes. She’s cold and calculating. She sucked me in. I can’t believe how much I fell for it.’

  ‘You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Jade had us all fooled.’

  Grace disagreed. ‘I should have known better.’

  ‘Why? Because she’s your sister?’ Perry shook his head as he raced across three roundabouts in quick succession in Smallthorne. ‘I know it says “Wonder Woman” on your mug but you don’t have to live up to its reputation. How would you know?’

  ‘She gave me clues, which I missed.’

  ‘The toys? They wouldn’t have led us to her. She was clever to hide her trail, I’ll give her that.’

  They pulled up in Redmond Street, a row of terraced houses whose doors opened out on to the pavement. The officer from the car behind brandished the enforcer, known as the big red key. Grace banged on the door of number twenty-two.

  ‘Police!’ Grace glanced through the window, thick netting hiding clear visibility. But through the intricate lace pattern, she could see into the room. It was unfurnished, bare plaster and floorboards. There was a cement mixer in the middle of the floor, building materials by the side.

  She flicked her fingers before snapping on latex gloves. ‘Break it down,’ she commanded.

  The door went in after two bashes.

  ‘Police!’ they all shouted as they headed inside.

  As rooms downstairs were cleared, Grace and Perry headed upstairs, uniform hot on their tail. But there was no sign of Leon.

  Officers were already in the yard, a tiny three metres squared. A sectional garage that could be reached from the entry behind the property took up the rest of the room. Grace gasped – was it coincidence that he was in a garage similar to the one at Hardman House, their childhood home?

  Perry opened the side door. Inside was a red hatchback. Grace’s stomach gave an almighty lurch as she saw there was someone in the car. A man was slouched, half covered by a blanket. His face was a bloody mess, but she recognised the style of his hair, the two-inch scar just visible to the side of his right eye.

  ‘Leon!’ Grace shouted as she opened the rear passenger door.

  She thought he might have flopped out, but he didn’t move. Perry was round the other side of the car, pulling away the blanket. Leon’s feet and hands were secured together with plastic ties, similar to the handcuffs they often used.

  Was he dead? She couldn’t bring herself to check his pulse, didn’t want to find out. Knew she had to.

  In the distance, she could hear the sounds of an ambulance. She felt around his neck. Nothing. But then …

  ‘There’s a pulse,’ she cried. ‘It’s faint, but he’s alive!’

  SEVENTY-EIGHT

  Going back to her childhood home and facing all her demons in one fell swoop had drained Grace completely. But after an investigation as big as this one, there was always so much paperwork to do.

  So she was at her desk by half past seven, even after working late the night before. All the evidence needed to be collated for the Crown Prosecution Service. Even without a confession, all procedures had to be meticulously checked to ensure they hadn’t messed up gathering crucial evidence that a lawyer would rip apart. Everything had to be in its rightful place so that Jade Steele could be found guilty by a jury. Jade was due in front of the judge that morning. She’d obviously be put on remand. Grace wondered if she would plead not guilty by way of insanity. Either way, she was facing a long time without her freedom.

  Grace still
didn’t know what she thought of that. She couldn’t understand yet how she should feel. She wanted to be a police officer, uphold the law, but learning all those things about Jade, and what had happened to her, Eddie and Leon when they were children, made her feel guilty. She had got away, they hadn’t.

  If her mum hadn’t had the strength and courage to up and leave, how different things could have been for her. At least Grace had Martha’s determination and grit, and not her father’s devious nature and past.

  Was she sad that Jade had killed George Steele? It was certainly bittersweet because it triggered so many more murders, but it had allowed Grace to come back to Stoke-on-Trent. The city had got under her skin. She wasn’t going to leave again. She liked its diversity, its culture, its beating heart. But she wanted to look out for Jade too. She would keep an eye on her, although she wouldn’t let anyone else know.

  Kathleen Steele had come away from the fall with a broken leg and a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. She’d been released from hospital last night. Megan had gone to stay with Eddie and his family. Grace wondered if she would stay there or go to live with Kathleen while Jade was on remand. No doubt the house would go back to the council once the rent stopped being paid, and the house was unoccupied.

  Clara Emery’s interview had been enlightening. After checking all the calls and texts on Trent Gibson’s phone, and some subtle questioning, she’d confessed to delivering the photographs and tipping off the Stoke News, which everyone had assumed had been down to Alex. It seemed as though she was everyone’s go-between. Although she couldn’t prove it, and Clara wouldn’t admit to it, Grace wondered if Clara had been asked by Eddie to take and deliver the photos to put some heat on to her. Either way, Clara was now on charges to pervert the course of justice, and her flat and Trent Gibson’s were being searched.

  The black book had been found in the back pocket of Leon’s jeans. They had scoured it, but technically there wasn’t anything they could do with it. The book was full of names, but mostly first names – no addresses next to them, no emails, no mobile numbers. Grace assumed it had been kept that way deliberately because of its operation.