34 Days: A gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist

by Anita Waller

  Anna slid her legs out of bed. ‘I’ll shower while you’re making the coffee. We’ll get through this. Somehow.’ She heard the bitterness in her last word and Jenny looked at her.

  ‘Yes, we will. And I think the next few hours are going to be the hardest. Anna, just in case everything does go pear-shaped very quickly, I will tell them I went out within five minutes of our going to bed, I faked the illness, and you had no idea I had gone anywhere. I came back and switched on the cough and flu symptoms so you would go and ask Lissy for help. You will not be implicated in any way. I will need you free to look after Adam and Grace – and Mark. If I am arrested, all of the truth about Ray will have to come out, and Mark, above all the others, will need you. Go get your shower, and keep the worried look.’

  Jenny moved into the kitchen and began taking the now dry clothes out of the tumble dryer, while Anna went to the bathroom. Anna leaned her head against the glass shower surround and sobbed. She sobbed for herself. She wanted to turn back time, to go back to being that scared, battered wife who had learnt to live with it.

  And now, she wasn’t a wife, she was a widow. A widow who didn’t officially know she was a widow. Still a grey widow, not a black widow for about another hour. Anna had just lived through thirty-four days of turmoil; she remembered the feeling of happiness as she had driven away from Lindum Lodge for the last time that bright March morning.

  A mere thirty-four days later, Anna’s life had imploded in so many ways, and she knew worse could follow.

  Chapter 24

  Mark arrived just after five, along with a Detective Inspector and a WPC, who asked them to call her Helen.

  Mark pulled his mother into his arms and kissed the top of her head. ‘Mum,’ he said quietly and sighed. ‘It’s Dad.’

  ‘Dad?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mum, he’s dead.’

  She didn’t need to act. She felt horror-struck at hearing the news she had known for about three hours. ‘What...?’ The tremble in her voice was all too apparent, and Jenny moved to her side. She coughed, and Anna held on to her until the bout had stopped.

  ‘Come over here, Anna. Come and sit down. Mark?’ She looked at her husband, and he moved to Anna’s other side and supported her as they moved to the settee.

  Mark looked concerned. ‘Jenny, you okay?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I’m quite poorly, but I’ll live. Anna’s the important one, so just ignore me if that happens again. I’ve been like it all night.’

  The DI, whose name Anna couldn’t remember at all, sat in one of the chairs and leaned towards her.

  ‘Are you ok, Mrs. Carbrook? Can we get you anything?’

  Helen interrupted, and said she would make them all some tea.

  ‘Why is he dead? He’s only in his early fifties, and there’s nothing wrong with him.’ The last words came out almost as a wail. Mark hugged her again.

  ‘There’s more, Mum.’

  ‘Mrs. Carbrook, your husband’s body was found in his front garden. A taxi driver who had taken him home half an hour earlier found his wallet in the back of the taxi and took it back to him, because he was in the area with another passenger drop off. He found him.’

  ‘But, how...?’

  Mark took hold of her hand, and Anna looked directly across at the DI.

  ‘He had been stabbed in the neck, and then a plastic bag had been placed over his head. His hands and feet were tied with plastic plant ties. I’m sorry to be so brutal, Mrs. Carbrook, but this appears to have all the hallmarks of an escalating crime. Ten minutes away from where your husband was found, another body was discovered, an elderly man killed in an identical manner. We have very strong reasons to believe we have a serial killer in Lincoln, and your husband was either the second or third victim. We’ll know more after the post-mortems.’ The DI now took hold of her other hand. ‘I’m so sorry, Mrs. Carbrook, I know it sounds very harsh and clinical, but we have to move fast. There may be other bodies as yet undiscovered. Did your husband have any enemies, or have any threats made against him you are aware of?’

  Only Jenny.

  Anna stared at him, shock plain to see on her face. ‘No,’ she said, ‘not that I know of. He got on well with his workforce, was really good company to have around. I’m sorry; I’m not being very helpful, am I?’

  ‘You’re doing fine,’ he said. ‘I understand you don’t live with your husband...’

  ‘It’s just a break.’ Anna looked down at her hands; she didn’t want her face to reveal any lies. ‘I just needed a couple more weeks of personal time, and I would have gone home. When I left Lincoln – and Ray – it was a forever kind of decision, but I changed, he changed. He wanted me home, and I was on the point of telling him that was going to happen. Now, he’ll never know...’’

  Helen placed a tray of teas and coffees on the low table, and they all began to drink. Anna was grateful for the distraction.

  The DI turned to Jenny. ‘I understand this is the first meeting with anyone from the family?’

  She nodded. ‘Yes, Anna needed space, and we all respected that. I spoke to my mother-in-law last week, and arranged I would come up and see her this week. She wanted to talk, but her own children are too close to her. And Anna and I are very close, so I suppose I’m the logical one to listen. We had a long chat, and she made the decision to go home to Lindum Lodge, but with some ground rules in place. Ray could be a bit controlling, and that really was why she left.’

  Jenny turned to Anna. She sneezed quite violently, and everyone waited while she finished coughing. ‘I’m sorry, Anna, I shouldn’t really be saying all this. This was a private conversation between the two of us...’

  Anna vaguely waved her hand around. ‘It doesn’t matter, Jenny. Truth always surfaces, and I would prefer to be upfront about the relationship between Ray and me. I just had a bit of a midlife crisis, felt unloved and unwanted, so I walked away. But, I missed him, because when all is said and done, we had been together nearly forty years. I wanted to walk back. And now I can’t.’ For the first time, she broke down in tears. She wasn’t acting. The tears were genuine; she just wasn’t sure what they were for.

  Helen knelt down in front of her. She was a very pretty girl, and Anna felt really sorry for her – it couldn’t be easy telling people their loved ones were dead.

  ‘Anna, we need you to come to Lincoln. Shall we go and pack a bag?’

  ‘Just a minute,’ she sobbed. ‘I need to clear my head. You said three victims, didn’t you? All in the same area? Is it safe for me to go back there? I don’t want anyone close to me to be victim number four.’

  ‘We have reason to believe there was an earlier victim, but we’re saying nothing until forensics have finished.’ The DI spoke gently and followed up by telling her there would be police outside Lindum Lodge for the foreseeable future anyway, and they wouldn’t be able to stay there until the forensic team gave them the all clear.

  ‘Anna,’ Jenny took her hand again. ‘We’ll stay with you until you’re ready to be on your own again. Mum and Dad will look after Adam and Grace for us, so don’t worry.’ Once again she was racked by the cough, and Mark held her.

  ‘You’ve really picked up a bad one with this,’ he said softly and smiled down at her.

  ‘I’ve been so ill,’ she said. ‘Up and down all night. Thank goodness for Lissy across the hall. She brought me medication at some god-awful hour, but I haven’t really slept.’

  She turned to her mother-in-law. ‘Anna, you really should tell Lissy what’s happened, because she’ll worry about you if she doesn’t see you. It wouldn’t be good to come back here and find the door boarded up because someone had broken in looking for you!’

  Anna nodded. ‘I will. I’ll ask her to feed Eric for me.’

  Mark looked puzzled. ‘Eric?’

  She pointed to the tank in the corner of the room he obviously hadn’t noticed. ‘That’s Eric,’ she said.

  He nodded then turned and looked at her. Inscrutably.r />
  She felt uncomfortable and walked towards the door of her bedroom. ‘I’ll just pack a bag,’ she said.

  ‘Mum...’

  She turned to look at Mark, and he said, ‘I’ll ring Tim and Caro. They’ll be here soon.’ His tone was quite flat, and then suddenly he moved towards her and held her tightly.

  ‘I love you,’ he whispered.

  ‘I know,’ she whispered back.

  Helen accompanied her and suggested things she might want to take – after all, she implied, she didn’t know when she would be back.

  Anna went to Lissy’s door, once more followed by Helen. There was a long delay while they waited for either Lissy or Jon to answer; Anna heard the soft sound of the wheels and knew it would be Lissy.

  ‘Is Jenny... oh?’ Lissy stopped talking when she saw Helen.

  ‘No, Jenny’s still as poorly as ever, but there’s been a development overnight, and I have to go to Lincoln. My son is here as well...’

  ‘Anna, what’s wrong? Can I help?’

  ‘Ray... my husband... dead,’ she gulped.

  ‘No!’

  She nodded. ‘We have to go.’ She handed her a key. ‘Can you feed Eric for me, please? I’ll ring you tomorrow when I know more. I’m sorry to burden you Lissy, but I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Just go,’ she said. ‘Of course we’ll take care of the fish. And I hope Jenny soon starts to feel better. Take the medication with you; you might need it for her. You don’t want another night like last night.’

  *****

  They booked into a bed and breakfast place about two miles away from Lindum Lodge, and, after hearing their explanation of why they were there, the owner, Kathy Williams, offered to make their evening meals for the duration of their stay.

  Once again, Anna burst into tears, and Mark stood by helplessly while Jenny hugged her. She breathed the word cough into her ear, and she obliged with a very nasty spell. Mrs. Williams offered to make them a drink, and they sat in the resident’s lounge for about half an hour. Anna’s tears had been genuine; she was crying because Ray had gone, not because she was going to miss him. She was crying due to his manner of dying and Jenny’s involvement in it. That involvement was not clear to her yet, other than she had killed him.

  *****

  Once again, Anna couldn’t sleep. Her mind wouldn’t close down and it occurred to her that not knowing the details was possibly worse than if she had known them. Now she could only imagine the horror. She tossed and turned all night, drank endless cups of tea, and tried to cope with the crushing feeling inside her. She desperately needed to speak with Jenny on her own, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime in the near future. She hoped she was remembering to cough and sniffle; she feared Jenny’s cold was the only thing keeping her from thirty years in prison.

  The next morning, they made the decision to stay put, after leaving most of the excellent breakfast cooked by Kathy. None of them felt like eating, and they played around with the eggs and bacon until she came, smiled at them, and took away their plates. She knew exactly why they hadn’t eaten it.

  The DI, who she now knew to be called Gainsborough, arrived at eleven o’clock with information that shocked only one out of the three of them. There were three murders, which they were linking together as having been done by one person; the lady in Hartsholme Park, Ray, and an elderly man, who lived within walking distance of Lindum Lodge. As yet, they didn’t know whether Ray or the other man had been killed first last night, but they were guessing Ray, because there were two blood types on the elderly man. Thankfully, they didn’t name him; it was really difficult for Anna hearing Mrs. Jackson’s name that first time, as it made everything all too real. She didn’t want to know the third victim’s name.

  All the police personnel were really good to them, and assured them they would be back in Lindum Lodge very quickly – Ray had been killed in the garden and not the house, so the garden was really the main crime scene.

  When they asked one of them to go with them to identify Ray’s body, Anna visibly shook and Mark said he would go. She had been so afraid she wouldn’t be able to carry out this charade, but she found she didn’t need to act any of it – she was traumatised by events. Jenny was still sniffling, coughing and barking, and Helen, who had been named as their designated liaison officer, was clearly sympathetic towards her, and completely left her to get on with having the flu.

  Mark left to go to the morgue, and Anna hoped to have a few minutes with Jenny, but that wasn’t to be. Helen stayed with them, and they just couldn’t talk of anything which needed to be discussed; platitudes were the order of the day.

  Mark returned within the hour, and just nodded as Anna turned towards him.

  ‘Will you two be okay?’ he asked. ‘I have to pick Tim and Steve up later today, and Caroline should be here by two o’clock. She lands just after twelve, but her car is at the airport.’

  ‘Airport?’

  She’s in Amsterdam, flying back now, and landing at Humberside. I’ve spoken to Kathy, and she has a single room for her and a double for Tim and Steve. I’ve booked them in; they’ll want us all to be together.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Anna said. ‘I need my family as close as possible.’

  ‘No, Mum, that’s not what I meant. The police will want us all to be together. Thank goodness none of us were in Lincoln last night and can all prove it.’

  ‘Where are Tim and Steve landing?’

  ‘Manchester. They got the first flight they could.’ He kissed the top of her head. ‘You’ll have us all here soon enough, so stop worrying. We’re here to look after you, now. All of us.’

  Helen sat quietly in the corner and watched their interaction. She smiled at her. ‘Anna, do you need anything?

  ‘Sleep,’ she said. ‘And all my children.’

  Chapter 25

  Caroline entered the room like a tornado. Her beautiful brown eyes now reflected the horror she felt, and she had clearly been crying since getting the news.

  ‘Come here, sweetheart,’ Anna said and pulled her close. She sobbed and sobbed uncontrollably, and Anna continued to hold her until the tears subsided. If she had known of her father’s violence towards her mother, and Anna now believed she did, she had loved him despite that knowledge. And that love had been steadfast all her life.

  Finally, Caroline took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa, pulling a cushion towards her and holding it across her stomach. Her comfort action, there since childhood. She reached into her bag and fiddled around inside until she located a hair bobble. She pulled the long brown hair up into a ponytail, giving her face a more elfin look. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked at her mother for support.

  ‘Can I see Dad?’

  Anna shook her head. ‘Not yet. They still have tests to do...’ Her voice trailed away. She didn’t know what to say to her, her Caroline.

  ‘We need to wait for everything until Mark gets back. He’s at Manchester Airport waiting for Tim’s flight to come in.’

  Kathy came into the lounge and looked at Caro. She smiled. ‘You must be Caroline. Let me know when you want to go to your room. Would anyone like a cup of tea?’

  A chorus of affirmations made her smile again, and she said, ‘I only have one room left now, and while you’re here I won’t be letting it. You need time to grieve and recover, and I can at least give you some peace.’

  She left to go to the kitchen, and soon returned with a tray of teapots, cups and biscuits. ‘Shout if you need more,’ she said and walked out of the room.

  Helen stood to pour out the tea, and they sat around making small talk. It felt so strange. Surreal. Anna’s husband was dead, her daughter-in-law was a murderer, she herself was a liar and an accomplice, Caro was an innocent, and they were all behaving as if nothing had happened.

  Caro asked a few questions, but Anna felt she didn’t really want answers. It was still too raw for her. They saw nobody from the police, other than Helen, who actually went
around 3.00pm, saying she would be back later.

  Anna went up to her room just after she left and finally dozed off. The knock on the door woke her from quite a deep sleep, and for a moment she was startled, not sure where she was.

  ‘Mum, you awake?’

  She flew to the door and into Tim’s arms. Finally, they were all together. He held her tightly and continually kissed the top of her head.

  ‘I’m here now,’ he whispered.

  They stood for a long time just holding on to each other, taking comfort from the closeness, and then he led her downstairs. Steve was in the lounge with Mark, Jenny and a newly returned Helen, all of them drinking yet more tea. Tim moved to stand by Mark, and Anna was hit afresh by how alike they were – dark blonde hair, vivid blue eyes, a slight dimple in the chin; how had she not realised how unlike Ray they actually were? She tried to imagine how Michael would look now and failed. She could remember how he looked at Tim and Mark’s age though; exactly as they looked now.

  Jenny was discussing with Helen the possibility of a flying visit back to Leicester to pick up some clothes, and she saw Helen take out her phone. She spoke briefly into it and then nodded.

  ‘That should be fine, Jenny,’ she said. ‘Can you make it there and back today?’

  ‘Yes. That’s no problem. You can come with me, if that makes it easier for your bosses.’ She coughed spectacularly, and the WPC moved away from her.

  Helen shook her head. ‘No, I’d rather stay with Anna. And I can do without catching whatever it is that you’ve got! Just take care, you’re all still in shock, you know. We don’t want any accidents through lack of concentration.’

  Anna saw the brief flicker of relief pass across Jenny’s face, and she picked up Mark’s car keys. He had driven down from Derby in his Toyota before transferring to a police car for the journey over to Sheffield. Jenny and Anna’s cars had remained in Sheffield.

  ‘I’ll be careful,’ she said. ‘This car drives itself, to be honest. Mark will worry about it all the time I’m away,’ she said with a laugh. They heard her coughing in the hallway as she put on her coat.