by Agatha Frost
“Alright, lady,” the officer cried, pulling himself free of Julia and pushing down his jacket. “I get your point. Tell me this then, Sherlock. Why would anybody want to kill random homeless people in their sleep?”
“Because the human condition isn’t predictable or logical, officer,” Julia said calmly, making sure to retain the sceptic’s gaze. “The question here shouldn’t be why, but how. How are these poor, innocent men being murdered, and what are you doing to catch whoever it is before a fifth man is discovered?”
Both officers looked at each other, each of them seemingly lost for words. The older officer’s jaw flapped, but he didn’t speak. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Barker smirking. Before either of them answered, a call came in over the radio and they doubled back, shaking their heads as they walked away.
“You know he could have arrested you for pushing him through a fence like that?” Barker said. “Technically, you just assaulted an officer of the law.”
“I know,” she said, shrugging and staring firmly at the men as they walked towards the exit. “Technically, those men are idiots.”
“I couldn’t have protected you if they carted you off to the station,” Barker whispered into her ear as they followed the officers towards the gate.
“I can look after myself, Detective Inspector,” Julia said. “If the police aren’t going to take this seriously, somebody has to, and if that person has to be me, so be it.”
Barker shook his head and pinched between his brows. He let out a heavy sigh, but he didn’t try to dissuade her. They both knew nothing he could say could make her back down.
“Do you know who found him?” Julia asked Tommy, who was sitting on the edge of the kerb with Jessie where the ambulance had been. “I’d like to speak to them.”
“Cindy,” Tommy said, hobbling to his feet with Jessie’s help. “She’s at Stella and Max’s soup kitchen a couple of miles away. They were here with their food truck when she found him so they went and opened up especially for them. Most followed on, but I hung back to wait for you.”
“I’ll call a taxi,” Julia said as she dug in her handbag for her phone. “I’ll make sure to call a different one, Barker. I don’t think that driver would appreciate seeing you again.”
Stella and Max Moon’s soup kitchen was tucked away on a dark backstreet, sandwiched between a boarded up nightclub and a twenty-four hour off-license. Just like Fenton Industrial Park, it was tucked away on the outskirts of town, hidden from view.
“They’re good people,” Tommy said as they all climbed out of the taxi. “Good Christian people.”
“I didn’t even know places like this existed out here,” Barker mumbled, almost under his breath. Julia detected the tinge of guilt in his voice.
“Most people don’t,” Jessie replied flatly. “That’s the problem.”
Inside of the soup kitchen, an eerie silence clouded the air. Groups of people sat around tables, some of them whispering, some of them rolling cigarettes and drinking from beer cans, but most were staring blankly ahead. Julia sensed their fear and hopelessness.
“We need to help these people,” Julia whispered to Barker as they followed Tommy across the vast space. “This can’t happen again.”
“Let’s just see what this woman says,” he whispered back, resting his hand in the small of her back. “It’ll be okay.”
Julia wanted to believe him, but she wasn’t sure. The more time she spent in this world, the more she realised how ignored and disregarded the people living in it were. At the end of the day, she could go home to her warm cottage, take a hot bath, and sleep in a comfortable bed. She had never felt more grateful for her privilege than she had in the last week.
“Cindy?” Tommy said quietly as he approached a table where a nervous looking woman sat. “Can we sit down?”
“Free country,” she said, sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “Who are the well dressed folks?”
“These are my friends,” Tommy said, smiling at Julia, who in turn smiled at Cindy. “You remember Jessie, don’t you? Julia here has taken her into her home, and this is her boyfriend, Barker. He’s a Detective.”
“Detective Inspector,” Barker corrected him. “And I’m not here on official business.”
They sat at the table as Cindy tucked her scraggly blonde hair behind her ears. Julia would have guessed they were similar ages, but years on the street had taken their toll on the woman. Her eyes were sunken, her teeth were stained, and her nose was red raw.
“Tommy told me you found Mac,” Julia said softly, leaning across the table to Cindy. “That must have been difficult.”
“I told the police all I know,” she snapped back, tucking her bony knees up into her chest and clutching them with her hands. “I don’t know nuffin’. I just thought he was sleeping. I went to wake him up, to see if he had any money. He was good like that. He always gave me a couple of quid to get some cans or whatever. He’d been sleeping all day, but that’s not unusual, y’know? There’s not much else to do. I’ve never been a good sleeper myself. My mam used to say I’d wake if the wind changed direction. I put my hand on him, but he didn’t move. He was stiff as a board. I pulled back his sleeping bag and I knew he was dead. Not the first body I’ve seen. Probably won’t be the last either, if you know what I’m saying?”
“Did you see anything suspicious?” Julia asked.
“I told the police what I told them,” she said again, wiping her runny nose with the back of her hand. “I said to them that I saw marks on his arm, but I told them, I said ‘Mac doesn’t touch the drugs’. He wasn’t like that. He was a good kid.”
Julia looked down at the woman’s arms as she scrambled to tuck her hair behind her ears. She noticed tiny red marks littering the inside of her forearm. She glanced to Barker and he seemed to have noticed them too, and they both appeared to think the same thing at the same time; whatever she told them couldn’t be guaranteed to be entirely reliable.
“She’s right,” Tommy said. “Mac was clean. He was against all of that stuff.”
“Are you sure you saw some marks on his arm?” Julia asked, lowering her voice and leaning in. “Absolutely sure?”
“I saw what I saw, lady.”
Julia pulled back, glancing awkwardly at Barker, who shrugged. At that moment, Stella Moon walked over and placed a plate of pale golden toast smothered in butter on the table. Cindy dove in immediately.
“We didn’t have any ingredients for soup left, so I tossed some bread in the toaster,” Stella said softly, clutching the tiny silver crucifix around her neck. “How are you feeling, Cindy?”
“Sad,” Cindy said as she crammed a second slice of toast into her already full mouth. “Hungry.”
Stella smiled sadly at the woman before turning and heading back to the counter, where her husband, Max, was opening a new loaf of bread. Stella appeared to be in her early forties, but she dressed like a woman more like Julia’s gran’s age. She was wearing a pleated calf-length skirt, a lilac cardigan, and thick, clumpy shoes. Her long mousy brown hair was scraped off her make-up free face in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Unstylish, functional glasses balanced on the edge of her slender nose. Aside from the small crucifix on a simple chain around her neck, she wasn’t wearing any jewellery.
“Somebody murdered him, if you ask me,” Cindy mumbled through a mouthful of toast. “Injected something into him.”
“It’s the government,” the man, who Tommy had referred to as ‘alcoholic Pete’ said, staggering towards their table with a can of beer clutched in his hand. “They’re experimenting on us. Testing a new super virus.”
“Leave off, Pete,” Tommy cried, rolling his eyes heavily.
“It’s true!” Pete cried, slapping his hands on the table and sloshing his beer on Julia’s dress. “You heard the lady. Puncture marks. Mac wasn’t like that, and neither was the priest.”
Julia remembered what Tommy had told her about Pete finding Mic
hael Thind’s body. She hadn’t been brave enough to approach Pete to ask him questions, but now that he was here volunteering information, drunk or not, she knew it was her chance to ask questions.
“Did you find puncture marks on Father Thind?” Julia asked.
“What’s it to you?” Pete slurred, pointing in Julia’s face and glancing up and down her body. “Make it worth my while?”
Barker pulled out his wallet and slapped a twenty pound note on the table and pushed it towards Pete. Pete and Cindy’s eyes lit up.
“Tell the woman what you know,” Barker said.
“He had three holes in his arm,” Pete said sternly, tucking the note deep in his pockets. “Looked like somebody was trying to find a vein.”
“And you don’t think it was Michael doing that to himself?” Barker asked.
“He was a man of God!” Cindy replied. “’Course not.”
“Michael was as straight edge as they came,” Pete offered, leaning against the table. “Wouldn’t even touch booze. I told him he was missing out, but he wouldn’t listen. I told the police this but they didn’t listen either.”
“I’m not surprised,” Tommy muttered bitterly. “Clear off, Pete.”
“I’m talking to the nice lady,” Pete cried, sloshing his can in Tommy’s direction. “Not you, old man.”
Tommy mumbled something under his breath before standing up and hobbling across the canteen to another table.
“Old fool thinks he runs things,” Pete said. “He’s not so squeaky clean.”
“Don’t you say a bad word against him!” Jessie said, jumping up.
“The prodigal daughter returns,” Pete sneered. “And here I was thinking the aliens had got you too.”
Jessie rolled her eyes and joined Tommy on the other table. They both glanced over their shoulder, glaring at Pete.
“Are you sure you saw puncture marks?” Julia asked, eager to get back on track.
“I’m sure,” Pete said firmly. “The government injected him with something, just like the others. They’re trying to wipe us out, but we won’t go down without a fight.”
“Why would the government want to kill homeless people?” Barker asked, clearly not taking Pete seriously.
“To get rid of us,” Pete said, as though it was an obvious answer. “They’ve been trying to get rid of us for years. I’m going outside for a ciggie. Are you coming, Cindy?”
Cindy nodded, cramming the last slice of toast into her mouth. She untucked her knees and scurried out of her seat, following Pete towards the door. Julia turned to Barker, but it was clear they weren’t on the same page.
“Please tell me you don’t believe any of that, do you?” Barker asked with a heavy sigh, clearly wanting to laugh. “It’s the ramblings of a drunk. Neither of them can be believed.”
“What if they’re on the right track?” Julia asked, lowering her voice and leaning in. “The whole bit about the government and the aliens is nonsense, but what if they’re right about the injections? I spoke to Mac myself and I saw him with my own two eyes. He wasn’t on drugs. What if this is the cause of death?”
“Lethal injection?” Barker asked, pursing his lips. “But why?”
“I don’t know that yet, but this is the best lead we have.”
“You’re talking like a detective,” Barker said, smirking a little.
“Somebody has to,” Julia said, glancing over to Jessie. “You saw how little those officers cared. Somebody has to do something. You have to admit things don’t add up.”
“They don’t,” Baker agreed. “But there’s not a lot I can do. If these deaths are being ruled as non-suspicious, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to try and get somebody in the force to listen. The last thing any of them want is to admit that there might be a serial killer out there.”
“We don’t need the force,” Julia said. “No offence.”
“None taken.”
“We can crack this, Barker.” Julia reached out and grabbed his hands in hers. “You and me. The minute we have something concrete, you can take it to your boss and be the hero.”
“It’s not about that, Julia. I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said quickly, letting go of his hands.
“You always say that but you have a habit of putting yourself in danger, and it scares me.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Julia said as she peered around the full canteen. “It’s these people we need to worry about. Are you in?”
Barker exhaled heavily through his nose. He looked around the canteen, his eyes pausing on Jessie as she chatted with Tommy. He turned back to Julia and picked up her hands.
“I’ll do what I can,” Barker said. “Within the law.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Julia said, concealing her smile as she stood up. “Go and make sure Jessie is okay. I’m going to talk to Sally and Max. They’re at the industrial park a lot and they might have seen something.”
“Why do I feel like you’ve just become my boss?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Julia whispered, winking as she turned around.
Julia left Barker and walked over to the counter where Stella and Max were buttering fresh slices of toast. They both looked up and smiled meekly at Julia as she leaned against the counter and waited for them to finish.
“You’re the doughnuts and coffee lady, aren't you?” Stella asked, peering over her glasses at Julia with a soft smile. “It’s nice to see another Christian woman.”
“Oh, I’m not Christian,” Julia corrected her. “I don’t think so anyway. I believe in something, I think, I’m just not quite sure.”
“God is all around,” Max said, smiling in the same soft way as he buttered the final slice of toast. “There are many roads to Him. Just because you don’t put the label on it, doesn’t mean you don’t believe.”
“Maybe,” Julia said. “I just wanted to say that I really admire what you both do for these people.”
“We’re doing what we can to make the world a better place,” Stella said, putting down the butter knife and opening the door to the kitchen. “Come through.”
Julia thanked her and walked into the brightly lit kitchen. It was three times bigger than her own café’s kitchen, and she couldn’t help but think how much easier it would be to bake in such a space, even if it was a little rundown.
“Is it just you two here?” Julia asked.
“We sometimes have volunteers helping out, but it’s just us most of the time,” Max said, turning and leaning against the counter. “We’re a non-profit organisation. We get a little money from the government, but we stay open mostly from the donations of the kind people in the local community. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Julia,” she said with a kind smile. “Julia South.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Julia,” Stella said, holding her hand out. “If you’d ever want to, we’d love to have you volunteer here.”
“I’d love to,” Julia said. “I own a café over in Peridale so I could bring over some ingredients and whip something up.”
“The people would really love that,” Max said as he shook her hand. “I sometimes think they get tired of soup, but it’s the only way we can make the most of the ingredients. Most of the stuff we get is what the greengrocers and supermarkets send on when things are ready for throwing away. We toss a lot out because it’s already gone bad by the time it gets to us, but we do the best we can with the little we have.”
“From what I’ve heard, the people really appreciate it. I actually wanted to ask you guys a question about the industrial park. You seem to be there quite a lot and I was just wondering if you’d seen anything that might be of use.”
“Like what?” Stella asked, her brow furrowing slightly as she glanced at Max.
“Connected to the recent murders,” Julia said.
“Murders?” Max looked to his wife, his brows furrowing. “I thought the police said there was no fou
l play?”
“That’s what they think but I have reason to think there’s something darker going on.”
“That’s terrible,” Stella whispered as she clutched the cross around her neck. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can help you. We pull up outside, serve soup and leave. We only see what comes to the window of our food truck.”
“I thought as much,” Julia said, nodding firmly. “It was worth a shot at least.”
“Are you working with the police?” Max asked.
“Not quite. They don’t quite believe my theories yet so I’m trying to piece together as much as I can before it happens again.”
“We’ll pray for you,” Stella said, clutching Max’s hands. “Be safe, Julia.”
Julia assured them that she would, and promised she would be back on Sunday with her ingredients to volunteer. On her way out, she spotted a framed newspaper clipping on the wall from the Cheltenham Standard. The headline read ‘Local Heroes Help The Homeless’, along with a picture of Stella and Max with a teenage girl standing outside of the soup kitchen. After scanning the first couple of lines of the article, she realised it was their daughter. Glad that there were still good people out there in the world, she smiled to herself and rejoined Barker, Jessie and Tommy.
“How would you like a hot shower and a roof over your head tonight?” Julia asked Tommy as she sat down in between him and Barker. “It’s only my old couch, but I’m sure it’s comfier than your doorway.”
“Bless you, Julia,” Tommy said, clutching her hands appreciatively. “You’re an angel.”
Barker called for a taxi and they all walked outside. When they were on the kerb waiting for the taxi to take them all back to Peridale, Barker leaned in to Julia.
“I thought you could come back to mine to tuck into that trifle you brought,” he said. “Finish our date.”
“Another time,” Julia said. “Jessie needs me right now. I give you permission to eat my portion.”
Barker chuckled softly and wrapped his arm around Julia’s shoulder. It felt foreign to have a man’s arm around her, but she quite liked it. She grabbed Barker’s hand and leaned into him. Tonight, she realised how much she appreciated him, and everything else in her life.
