The room was much bigger than I thought it would be. A king-sized bed, dressed in crisp white sheets and a navy blue bedspread, was unmade. But it was obvious which side of the bed James preferred. The right-hand side by the window appeared as though it hadn't been touched at all, but the left-hand side, although slept on, was still quite tidy.
A large desk to the side of the room had a laptop and piles of paper strewn across the top. There was a two-seater sofa under the window and a small table and two chairs, all upholstered in the same navy blue fabric from the bedspread.
The room had no kitchen as such, just a kettle and microwave.
Once I'd inspected the room, I looked around to see James inspecting me, an amused expression on his face.
"So, I presume you came to see me—not just to check out the hotel?"
"Yes. Sorry to turn up unannounced, but I wasn't sure you'd want to see me." I perched on the edge of the sofa.
He shook his head as though puzzled. "Why ever not?" He walked in front of me and sat on the bed.
I shrugged. "You seemed annoyed with me last night."
"I'm not annoyed," he said, although his eyes told a different story.
"Good, because I need your help."
"My help? What with?"
"When Carl and I left here last night, he was picked up by Vinny for questioning about the rapes."
"These rapes?" He indicated the paperwork on his desk.
"I think so. To be honest, all he said was that he wanted to question him about the assaults in the area. Unless there have been another spate of assaults, I'm guessing he's meaning the rapes."
James nodded his head backwards and thoughtfully rubbed at his bristly chin. "How well do you know him?" he asked.
"He's Auntie Beryl's nephew. Works as a mechanic in Kirkby Mayor."
"I asked how well you know him—not what you know about him. They're two different questions."
"I haven't known him long, but I honestly can't believe he's had anything to do with those rapes. He's a really nice guy, James. Surely I'd know if he was capable of that."
"Don't kid yourself, Geraldine. This rapist is a very intelligent and cunning individual. You wouldn't suspect him unless he intended you to."
"So you think he did it?" I asked, jutting my chin out at him, my hands on my hips.
He rubbed one large hand roughly across his face and exhaled noisily. "To be honest, no. The description of the rapist doesn't fit Carl's description at all. He's taller by all accounts and then there's the limp. Not that I've seen much of this Carl bloke, but I think I'd have noticed if he had a limp."
"No limp," I agreed, shaking my head. My heart now thumping in my chest.
James slowly got to his feet and moved to the desk.
"Remember I told you I'd been doing my own investigation?"
I nodded.
He began reading some notes from the laptop. "I have reason to believe this rapist has been at it for at least seven years. He started out committing minor assaults, gaining more confidence after each one went unsolved."
"Carl's only been here for a few months. He was in Australia for three years before that."
"There you are then." He shrugged, standing up.
"We need to tell Vinny." I also got to my feet.
"He won't listen to anything I say—he's being a pratt."
"So what can I do? I can't let Vinny stitch Carl up just because he's too pig headed to let you help with the investigation."
"He can't charge him without proof, and I can't see he's got anything on Carl. He'll be forced to let him go soon. They can't keep him indefinitely without charging him."
"Do you think?"
"Certain of it. However, I think if I try to speak to Vinny about any of this, he'll dig his heels in. The best thing we can do is just bide our time, you'll see."
"Oh, thanks, James. I owe you, big time." I raised myself up onto my tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek.
He shrugged again. "No problem."
Chapter 13
"Fuck!" James said once he'd closed the door behind Geraldine.
He couldn't believe his stupidity. Things had been going so well on Saturday night. And then, story of his miserable love life, up pops an irresistible cheeky chappie who wins the heart of the fair maiden.
"You should be writing romance, you pillock," he said to himself.
There was no use denying it. Geraldine just wasn't destined to be his, and although they got on really well, she'd never see him as anything more than a friend.
Here they were, less than forty-eight hours after their date, and she was asking for his help with her new boyfriend.
Any other man would go the opposite way—tell her to piss off, or help get the weedy prick locked up for the foreseeable future. But that wasn't his style.
It wasn't as though he had trouble getting women—quite the opposite was true. In fact, Shelly Spears from reception couldn't have made it more obvious that she was interested. And he had to admit, since her re-construction, she was certainly a fine looking woman.
He found himself at the window, and he watched Geri walk across the green to her parents’ cottage. She looked as though she had a heavy weight strapped to her back.
Once she entered the cottage, he turned back to his desk.
Five recent attacks—all rapes and all vicious.
The fourth had been the most ferocious. Up until then, each attack had been worse than the last. However, the fifth attack didn't follow that pattern. Indeed it had been a nasty assault—the victim suffered a severe trauma to her skull, but it hadn't been life threatening.
There was no doubt it was the same attacker though. Samantha Payne hadn't been much help. She'd been drunk when she arrived home, and her statement was sketchy.
She did confirm, however, that the man had been dressed in black and wore a balaclava. But the most important detail was that he walked with a severe limp. All the other victims had reported the limp but none could say if it was his right or left leg. Samantha thought it was both.
The forensic report confirmed the rapist wore size eleven Caterpillar boots. James pulled out the photograph that showed the imprint of the sole. The deep tread reminded him of a tyre tread.
Now, depending on what evidence Vinny had found to the contrary, Carl didn't come close to the height, build or any other physical descriptions they'd received from the victims. Except for the size of his feet.
Chapter 14
Back home, I busied myself in the kitchen. Mum was still feeling under the weather and had gone for a lie down. Dad was out in the garden, pottering and planting up a storm.
The doorbell rang, and I was overjoyed to see Carl, looking slightly worse for wear, standing on the doorstep.
"Well, I am glad to see you," I said. "Come on in."
I led him through to the lounge and he fell in a heap onto the sofa.
"You look terrible. Have you been awake all night?"
"Yeah, I'm done in. I'm gonna go home to bed, but thought I'd better tell you I was back first. I felt awful getting carted off like that. Must have been the worst date in history." His smile lit his face up briefly.
"Yes it was," I laughed. "I was terribly worried about you. I just called in to see James and he told me you didn't fit the profile or the description of the attacker—he knew they'd have to let you go."
"He's right. But the odd thing is, I'd met all of the victims at some point or other and hadn't even realised. Apparently, the first woman didn't have any recent photos so the one plastered all over the news was apparently ten years out of date. I recognised the other two, but couldn’t remember where from. It seems I'd fixed their cars just weeks before they were attacked. The fourth woman I'd chatted up one night in the bar, and I met Saturday night's victim last week in the cafe in Kirkby Mayor where she works."
"I'm not being funny, Carl, but this isn't a big place. Most people who live in Cumberside and Kirkby Mayor will have some interaction at some po
int or other."
"Yeah, that's what I said. But that's not the worst part."
"No?"
He shook his head. "They found my cigarette, you know, my electronic cigarette that went missing?"
"Yeah ..."
"They found it in the house of the fifth victim, yesterday."
I sat beside him, my head in a whirl.
"I honestly can't say how it got there. It's a complete mystery."
"When did you last have it?"
"Saturday night in Penrith. When I woke up on Sunday, it was gone."
"Yeah, come to think of it—I remember seeing you with it on Saturday night. When was she attacked?"
"Early hours of Sunday morning. It doesn't make sense." He rubbed his face, focusing on his eyes.
"You get going, you look shattered. We'll go over everything once you're feeling better."
"You do believe me don't you, Geri? I had nothing to do with any of it."
"I know you didn't, and the police obviously can't pin it on you or you'd still be locked up.
"I dunno. Vinny said he's gonna want to speak to me again. I can’t leave the area."
"It's okay—they can't prove it was you because it wasn't, so don't worry about it. Now, you'd best let Auntie Beryl know you're home. I told her what had happened this morning and left her going out of her mind with worry."
"Yeah, I'm off there now."
Standing by the front door, we both jumped as somebody rat-tat-tatted on it.
My heart leapt in my chest when I opened it to find Vinny leaning casually against the wall.
"Geraldine," he nodded.
"For God's sake, Vinny, give him a bloody break. He's only just got back," I said.
Confusion filled Vinny's eyes until he glanced behind me and spotted Carl standing there."
He shook his head. His lopsided smile made my stomach muscles clench. "I'm here to see you, Geri," he drawled, sexily.
"Me?" I was flabbergasted.
He raised one eyebrow seductively, and I felt as though I might melt.
"Can I come in for a second?"
I nodded, unable to speak, and stepped to the side allowing Vinny to enter the small hallway. There was an awkward shuffling moment as he and Carl changed places.
Going by his smirk, Vinny was fully aware of the effect he was having on me.
"Do you want me to stay?" Carl asked.
"No, I'll be okay. Go and get your head down and I'll see you later."
"Only if you're sure." Carl eyeballed Vinny, who seemed to find it even more amusing.
I nodded and closed the door.
I walked him through to the lounge. "What can I do for you, Vinny? I don't know anything about the assaults so I don't know how I could possibly be of any help," I waffled.
He smiled and indicated the sofa.
I nodded, sitting on the armchair.
He hitched up his formal black trousers and I admired the crease someone had painstakingly ironed into them. He was impeccably dressed and groomed—nothing like the scruffy fat kid I remembered.
"I have a few questions for you about Saturday night. Could you tell me what you did?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I went into Penrith with James Dunn."
Vinny's eyebrow lifted again.
"Did you see anybody else while you were there?"
"Yes. I saw Carl outside the restaurant."
He nodded, his smoky grey eyes drinking me in.
There was an undeniable sexual tension between us—it was all I could do to stop myself from pouncing on him like I'd done to James just two nights ago. What the hell was wrong with me?
"What time did you see him?"
I thought back, trying to work out what the time would have been. I didn't want to let Carl down, but I wasn't about to lie to the police either.
I shook my head. "I'm sorry but I can't remember. Ask James. I'm sure he'll know."
"That's okay," he drawled, causing my stomach muscles to clench once more.
"Just one more thing—do you remember seeing him with a pretend cigarette that night?"
"Yes, I definitely do. I remember thinking how silly it looked. The way he puffed on it was just like a real one."
"Thanks, Geri." He got to his feet.
The hallway seemed even smaller as we reached the front door.
As I placed my hand on the lock, his hand covered mine and he put his other hand on the wall behind me.
"Now we're done with police business, I wanted to say how nice it is to have you home."
My heart was jumping about in my chest, and I didn't have a clue how to respond. He was so close, pressing up against me, and I could smell his minty breath. My eyes wouldn't leave his lips.
"Maybe we could go out one night, now Simon's out of the picture. Maybe we're all fair game."
"Maybe," I heard myself saying.
His head bent and his lips, barely touching, kissed mine.
I thought my heart would stop.
A sound on the stairs had us both springing apart.
"Vinny." Mum nodded at us both, a disapproving expression on her face.
His sexy eyes flashed at me before he turned to face my mother. "Mrs Eve."
I opened the door and was finally able to breathe again.
Vinny, now on the path, turned to me. "How about Friday? I'm on call but, so long as we stay in the village, it should be okay."
"Yeah, why not?" I was surprised at how in control my voice sounded, in complete contrast to my jangling nerves.
"I'll pick you up at seven."
Chapter 15
Mum wasn't impressed.
She didn't have to say a word—her eyes said it all and so much more.
"What?" I snapped.
"You've been back less than a week, and I catch you canoodling with man number three. I'm beginning to understand what's wrong with your marriage." She banged and crashed while unloading the dishwasher.
I shook my head at her in disbelief. "You know nothing, and it's really sad that my own mum can say such hurtful things."
"I say it as I see it, Geraldine."
"Weren't you the one who used to spout all that crap about if you've got nothing kind to say—don't say a thing? I suggest you practice what you preach, Mother." I stomped upstairs.
I managed to avoid her for the rest of the night.
Dad knocked on my bedroom door at around 10pm and seemed surprised when I opened it.
"I wasn't sure if you were home or not and I was worrying with all the terrible things happening around here lately."
"Yeah, I'm here." I stepped backwards and nodded my head for him to enter. "I'm not going out."
"Have you eaten anything?"
"I'll go and make a piece of toast once Mum goes to bed—she's been awful to me again today."
"I'm sorry, lass. She's getting worse. I know she's been to see Doctor Jessop because he gave her some medicine, but I'm not sure it's helping."
"I've noticed you've been staying out of the way more and more," I said.
He shrugged. "Between you and me, I'm terrified."
"Oh, Dad." I hugged him tight. "She's probably just going through the change or something." I didn’t really know the symptoms of menopause, but thought it was as good an explanation as any.
"Yeah, happen you're right." He kissed the top of my head and headed for the door. "Get something to eat, lass. Mum's already in bed."
"Will do. Thanks, Dad."
I followed him onto the landing and watched as he quietly slipped into their bedroom.
He seemed so different lately. Despondent and dejected. Not that he'd always been highly spirited, he hadn't—but he was usually quietly upbeat, happy to bask in Mum's shadow. He always had a ready smile and an encouraging word.
But this problem, whatever it was, wasn't only affecting Mum, that's for sure.
Down in the kitchen, I filled the kettle and put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster.
My stomach growled.
A tap on the kitchen window made me leap out of my skin.
I pulled the thick lace curtain aside and saw Carl's cheeky face pushed up against the glass, distorted and disgusting—his nose had squished right back giving me a perfect view up to his brain.
I laughed out loud and then covered my mouth, worried about waking my parents. I opened the door and ushered him in, my finger to my lips.
"Hi," I whispered. "Thought you'd decided to give it a miss tonight."
"I just woke up—wasn't sure if it was too late. Thought your mum might give me a short shrift. She's been a bit off with me the last few times I've seen her."
"You and me both, in fact, it's becoming unbearable around here. I need to get my life in some sort of order and find somewhere else to live."
"We could get a place together." He raised his eyebrows in way of a question.
"Yeah, right." I laughed. The toaster popped. "Fancy a slice?" I asked.
He nodded. "I mean it. I can't stay living with Auntie Beryl forever. No funny business, just flatmates," he said.
"I've never had a flatmate before." I thought about Simon for the first time today. I buttered two slices of toast and filled the teapot with scalding water.
"Then you've never lived." He laughed.
"We don't even know each other. What if we hate each other after a week?"
"We won't. But I'll tell you what, Auntie Beryl's going on holiday with Julie and her family next week. She'll be gone for two weeks. Maybe you should come and stay with me and we can give it a trial."
I shrugged. "Makes sense, I guess." I placed a slice of toast on a plate in front of him.
"Thanks." He took an enormous bite.
"Have you not eaten today?"
"Nah. I've been in bed all day."
"Here have this." I placed the other slice of toast on his plate and re-filled the toaster. "How do you have your tea?"
"As it comes with two sugars." He devoured the toast.
"So what did Vinny want?"
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