by Emily Selby
A box!
A wooden box no bigger than her hand, with intricate marquetry. The patterns of coloured wood were geometrical and organised in neat, oblique stripes.
She lifted the box and shook it carefully. Something inside rattled. She turned it around in her hands, looking for the lid, or lock, or any hint of a way to open it. But found absolutely nothing.
Now, that was a secret! Sunita was right - William Dunbar was a man full of secrets.
The box looked familiar. Katie thought back to the last visit in Phyllis' house and the box on the shelf between the family photos. Was it one of William Dunbar's creations?
She would need to open it in a proper light. But it was getting late. She had to go. Mrs O'Brien would be dropping Julia off at any minute. She needed to hurry. She reached inside the hole once more, to check if there was anything else.
She fingered through a pile of crumbled, wet plaster. There was something smooth and cool under it? She stretched her body and extended her arm as much as she could. Yes! There was another smooth surface underneath. Felt bigger, bigger than her hand anyway. No way could she grab it though. She needed a boost.
Reluctantly, Katie dragged herself away from the hole. There was nothing in the workshop she could use as a step, she would need to check outside.
The sky had already lost most of its colour. It was quite grey outside. The nearest street lamp by the Dunbars' house flickered and came to life. She should really go. But she wanted the other box. It would take only a couple of minutes. The street was empty and quiet. No sign of anything or anyone suspicious. She'd be quick.
She squatted by the bushes looking for a large stone or a brick. There should be a brick somewhere here, she’d seen one the other day. She reached under the bushes. Movement behind her caught her eye. She spun, glimpsed a small figure in dark clothing. Something hard and heavy hit her on the head.
All the lights went out.
24
Katie came around to the sound of a familiar voice. She opened her eyes. Her head spun and hurt. Something warm trickled slowly down her neck.
'Katie! Thank goodness, you're alive. I've called the ambulance.' Chris's freckled face brightened with a smile. 'You're friggin' lucky Jack told us to check on you. He said he had a bad feeling. Don't move.'
'I've been attacked. Where is she?' Katie croaked.
'Did you see the attacker?'
'I didn't. Not really. Except it was a small person, wearing dark clothes.'
'What else do you remember?'
'The box. On the bench. Inside.' Katie lifted her arm to point. But Chris held it down.
'Don't move, lass. We'll get it in a sec. Let's wait for the ambulance.'
The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. The paramedics put a stiff collar around Katie's neck and lifted her carefully onto a stretcher.
'Chris,' Katie called and reached into her pocket. 'Here's the key. Get the box and lock the door.'
Chris took the key from her. 'No worries. You'll be fine!'
The ambulance took her to the local Accident and Emergency department. After a number of detailed examinations, a CT head scan and a chat with a doctor she was given a little peace and quiet. With her handbag still missing, and her phone probably still on the bench in the workshop, unless Chris had picked it up as well, Katie was worried about Julia. Luckily, one of the nurses happened to live in the same street. She rang her parents, who left a note on the door for Julia and Mrs O'Brien, to ring the hospital. Thank goodness for neighbours in Sunnyvale! At least the ones who weren’t murdering people or hitting them over the head!
Mrs O'Brien rang a few minutes later and offered to have Julia overnight. Katie spoke to Julia for a few minutes, holding back her tears. It was really stupid of her going to the workshop by herself. She could have died, leaving her little daughter...
Julia was clearly petrified at first but seemed reassured by Katie's words.
Katie hung up and a second later there was a light knock on the steel frame of the movable screen separating her bed from the rest of the ward.
'Who is it?' Katie asked, hesitantly.
'Jack Heaton. May I come in?'
Katie gulped. Police. Not surprising. After all, she had just been assaulted.
'Okay, but only if you promise not to say, "I told you so!"'
After a hesitation and an annoyed growl, Jack poked his handsome, if angry, face around the screen.
'I was really hoping to get that off my chest, because I did tell you to keep away from it-'
'Jack, please... I know. You were right, and I was wrong. It's pointless dwelling on it.'
'Yes, it's pointless. I have my share of shortcomings to ask for forgiveness about. Not listening to claims unsupported with hard evidence. Let's forgive each other and have an honest, open chat. Deal?'
Well, it was a fair offer. He did admit his own mistakes—one of his most endearing traits. Along with that boyish smile and the sense of humour.
'Deal! Come in.'
His face looked crumpled, as if he had been sleeping on his desk, on a pile of papers and had just woken up. He brushed the hair back from his forehead.
'How are you?'
'Better than some forty minutes ago, but you’re all fuzzy around the edges. Can you come closer? And please keep your voice down. I have a thumping headache.'
He nodded, sat on the chair beside her bed and reached out as if to touch her hand. Katie's heart missed a beat and a hot wave crept on her cheeks. She caught his dreamy gaze. He froze for a second, hand hovering just above hers and then backed off to pick an invisible piece of fluff off her covers.
So much for a bit of affection! Chicken!
He turned his eyes away and cleared his throat.
'I'm glad I sent Chris down,' he said, a warm hint in his voice.
'Yes,' she said, trying hard to hide her disappointment with his reluctance to hold her hand. 'Thank you for keeping an eye on me.'
'Our pleasure. I'm happy to still see you alive. And even more so as I need to interview you. The doctor said it's okay.' He said, his voice all serious again.
'I can't remember much.'
'Anything might help,' he said and pulled his notebook from his pocket.
Katie hesitated. 'The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it was a woman, or a young person. Slim, small, very agile. She must have been hiding behind the door. And then she jumped at me in one smooth move.'
'Did you see her face?'
'No.'
'When you were in the workshop, did you see any lights? A car or a bike? Any sounds?'
'No. But to be honest, I was busy knocking on walls.'
'What?'
Katie told him about the hole in the wall and the jewellery box.
'Where is that box now?'
'Hasn't Chris brought it?'
'No. He didn't find anything new in the workshop, apart from the pile of crumbled plaster and a piece of plywood.'
Katie's heart sank. It was all gone, including her handbag...
'Tell me about the box.'
Katie glanced at Jack carefully. 'Are you sure this is the best place to talk about it?'
Jack sighed again. 'You need to stay overnight for observations. We're talking with the hospital management to move you to another ward.'
'Why? I'm perfectly happy here!'
'But we aren’t. And we need to keep an eye on you.' He leant closer, his chin hovering just above her head. She could smell his aftershave. Nice, musky fragrance.
'I think the killer will make another move tonight,' he whispered. 'A living witness is a very dangerous thing.'
Katie's heart sank again. And she thought she'd escaped bad luck!
'How long are you planning to keep an eye on me?'
'As long as necessary. I can't afford to lose any more lives.'
'Or your career.'
His face grew pale. 'I don’t give a damn about my career, Katie. I know it may be on the line, but your life, and
the lives of everyone else in this town depend on us being smarter than a ruthless killer.'
A thought crossed Katie's mind. 'Being smarter and listening to other people, even if they're not very logical?'
He glanced at her, his cheeks taking on a darker shade of pink.
'All right, what do you have to say?'
Katie took a deep breath. 'Can you please check if it’s safe to talk?' she asked.
Jack nodded and stepped out. He returned after a couple of seconds.
'The bed bay next to you is empty. The other one has an elderly man attached to a noisy machine. There is just hospital staff around, and I've got Chris at the nursing station keeping an eye on comings and goings.
'All right then,' Katie said carefully. 'I think the killer is after those boxes.'
'Boxes? You said you'd left a box on the bench, and it looks like the killer's got it.'
'There was a second box, still in the hole. I don't think the killer would have got it, because the hidey-hole was deep. She would need a step to reach inside. There was nothing like that nearby. It would have taken time. Please get someone to fetch it. '
Jack nodded.
'Hang on,' he said and stepped out again.
'I had to send Chris over there, so we're not covered. You're right by being super-cautious. The nurses still have a couple of things to do, but they'll move you for the night to the surgical department.'
'Surgical? Why?'
'Because you've just been hit on the head and needed some stitches?'
'But it's not really serious.'
'They still need to observe you.'
Yeah, right.
'What are you planning?'
Jack sighed. 'Okay, miss Don't-Pull-Wool-Over-My-Eyes, I have someone else in this hospital we need to keep an eye on.'
Katie's jaw dropped. 'Who's this?'
'Another lucky victim.'
'Roy's here as well?'
'Transferred in this morning.'
Katie felt blood draining from her face. She shivered. 'You've been watching Roy since the fire, haven't you? He's the only person I can think of who's been behaving strangely around the workshop. Looking through the window, having weird reactions to any questions related to it. He's much taller than me but I still can't stop thinking of him as a suspect.'
'Yes, he's been watched all that time.' Jack replied, frostily. 'There are still some things he's not been clear about, but we're working on it. Please, stop meddling in this investigation. You see what it's done to you?'
'First of all, you promised not to say, "I told you so," and anything else that has the same meaning.'
'I didn't promise not to say anything else with the same meaning-'
'Don't interrupt and don't wiggle!'
'I don't-'
'Oh, this is ridiculous. I don't want to argue about it anymore. But I wanted to tell you I've got some more thoughts on the investigation. May be a little on the hunch side, and you have to promise to listen to me.'
Jack held his breath and Katie bet he was swearing in his thoughts.
He spoke after a short pause. 'I don't think it's a good idea to-'
'I totally agree.' She cut across him again, as a nurse's face appeared in the gap in the curtains. 'It's not a good idea to talk about it now. Let's put it off till later.'
'Mrs Redford,' the nurse said. 'We'll be moving you to the surgical ward on the first floor. Get your stuff ready.'
'Let me just collect my thoughts,' Katie said. 'Yup! I'm ready to go!'
'I see you upstairs? With Chris?' Katie asked, as the nurse detached her from the monitors.
'See you upstairs with Chris,' Jack replied and grinned at her.
25
The move went surprisingly smoothly, and fifteen minutes later Katie was comfortably installed in a single room, again attached to monitors, but at least with a little more privacy. A uniformed constable sat between the entrance to her room and the room next door. He was a young man, who Katie didn't recognise. Probably someone "on loan" from another station.
A few minutes later, Jack walked in, followed by Chris, who wore a big smile on his broad face and carried a plastic shopping bag.
'Got your box, lass!' Chris waved at her.
They sat beside Katie's bed. Chris pulled a wooden box from the bag.
It was the size of a shoebox and made from plain wood boards that had been varnished.
Katie ran her hands over the sides. Plain, smooth, but as equally mysterious as the missing one. Katie shook it carefully, but there was no sound. She tried harder. It felt as though something moved inside, very softly. Fabric? Paper?
Katie turned the box around several times, but to no avail.
'Can you open it?' Chris asked. Jack just watched her.
Katie smiled. 'Does it look like I can?'
Chris pulled up his eyebrows.
'Do you have a hammer?'
'No, I don't think using force is a good idea. We may damage whatever’s inside.'
Jack nodded. 'So how are you planning to open it, then?' The shadow of a smile played on his lips.
Katie touched her forehead.
'Elementary, my dear Watson.' She smiled and paused for effect, but she was disappointed. The two men looked at her. Chris blinked. Katie thought Jack was close to rolling his eyes.
'You're gonna use some Jedi mind tricks?' Chris asked incredulously.
Now, it was Katie's turn to roll her eyes, but she suppressed that urge.
'Is Roy next door?' she asked simply.
'Yes, why?' Jack looked at her with another sparkle of interest.
'Can he come here?'
Chris stood. 'I'll go and get him.'
He was back in a few seconds, accompanied by Roy, who was dressed in hospital pyjamas.
'Good to see you again and alive, Roy,' Katie said, thinking back to the moment Chris said the same thing to her. She’d often wanted her life in Sunnyvale to be more exciting, but she never meant this level of excitement.
'Good to see you alive, too, Katie,' he said grimly. 'We’re both lucky, huh?'
She lifted the box from her lap and shook it carefully.' 'Is this your uncle's work?' she asked.
Roy's face went pale, his eyes opened wide.
'Where did you find it?' he croaked.
'It was hidden in a wall, in the workshop. Can you open it?'
Roy lunged towards Katie's bed. Jack put a hand on his shoulder.
'Slow down, Roy. It's a murder investigation. Whatever is in this box may help solve it. Let's not fight over anything.'
'Sorry, Roy. We're still trying to solve your aunt's murder,' Katie added.
Jack threw a 'dagger glance' the moment the "we" left her lips, but whatever he wanted to say, he kept to himself.
'And Barbara's death, and the fortunately unsuccessful attempt at Katie's life,' Chris added, pulling up a chair. 'Sit down, mate.'
Roy flopped into the chair, his face burning red. Katie thought she saw tears glistening in his eyes. His face had aged several years over the past couple of days. His cheeks were sunken, and dark circles had formed under his eyes. Roy sighed and put his hands on his knees. They were rough and red.
Roy noticed Katie's glance. 'Yeah, got a few burns, but my hands are okay. It was mostly my legs but I’m healing well. Good 'nuf to be transferred back home, they said.'
Katie nodded, holding onto the box tightly. Although she still didn't think Roy could have done any of the horrible things that had happened over the past eight days, his reaction to the box freaked her out.
Why was he so interested in the box?
'This box, Roy - what's inside?'
'He glanced at Jack and then at Katie. 'No idea,' he said.
'Roy,' Jack interrupted. 'I wanted to remind you this is a double murder investigation and you're still one of the suspects. Please, answer the question.'
Roy grunted. 'I've never seen this particular box before, but it looks like one of the puzzle boxes Uncle William use
d to make,' he said, reluctantly.
'Was this what you were looking for the other day, in the workshop?' Katie asked bluntly.
Roy flinched.
A pang of power punched her in the stomach. A knot of fear tightened her throat. Her mind was clearing by the second. Maybe it was the medication they had given her, maybe being faced with death herself that made her see things this clearly. The force to speak out was pushing through her body. She had to get it out.
Roy glanced at Jack again.
Jack gave a curt nod. 'Was it?' he asked.
'Maybe, or maybe not.'
'Roy, I warn you.' Jack's voice raised a tone.
'Hey, hey! No need to do that with me.' He raised his hands. 'I'm not playing games, all right? I didn't know what I was looking for. Except that it had to be a box, a Japanese puzzle box. I thought it would be smaller.' He extended his right hand. 'Like it would fit into my hand.'
Katie blinked.
'There was one like that as well. But my attacker took it.'
Roy swallowed. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple of times.
'That's probably the one.'
'The one you’ve been looking for?' Katie asked.
Roy nodded glumly. 'Did you see it?'
'Yes, very pretty. Multicolour wood, polished, patterned. I thought it looked like a jewellery box.'
'It was a jewellery box. I think.'
'How do you know?'
Roy sighed, glanced at Jack again and reached to his chest pocket. He pulled out his phone.
'Hang on, I'll show you something,' he said, fumbling with his phone.
'Here it is,' he said after a couple of minutes. 'Can you read it? I don't have my glasses.' He handed the phone to Jack.
'Dear Mr Dunbar,' Jack read aloud. 'I hope you forgive me contacting you, but I don't really know what else to do. I understand you're the only remaining relative of Mr William Dunbar, beside his elderly wife. I wondered if you have some knowledge of your uncle's professional activity.'
Jack glanced up from the screen, his eyebrows raised. 'Professional activity?'
