MURDER AMONG FRIENDS a totally gripping crime thriller full of twists

by JANICE FROST

  “Thea is my concern.”

  Steph snorted. “Hardly. What is she, fifteen? She’s her parents’ concern, not yours. Obviously, as she’s a minor, I’ll ask their permission to question her.”

  “She’s sixteen and her parents aren’t available. They’re in London. I’d be happy to represent them if Thea’s okay with that. I’ll give you her phone number and you can ask her.”

  Damn, damn, damn. Steph took down the details and ended the call with an abrupt thank you. Then she contacted Thea.

  Elias was extracting a couple of pills from his packet. He swallowed them the way they do in the movies, without water.

  “We’re visiting your fangirl this afternoon. She gets home from school around four.”

  Steph spent the day reviewing her cases, obtaining updates from other members of the team and chasing forensics. At four fifteen, she and Elias arrived in Thea’s village and located her home, set at the end of a tree-lined drive. A scruffy little Skoda was parked outside, a meerkat grinning at them from its back window.

  “Looks like Bell’s beaten us to it,” Steph remarked.

  Elias rang the doorbell. It was answered by a lot of loud barking, prompting Elias to quote, “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”

  Steph rolled her eyes. She hoped he wasn’t going to start spouting the bard at every opportunity now that he’d come out as an actor.

  The door was answered by the young woman who had been at the stage door the previous evening. She held the collars of two excited labradoodles.

  “Thea Martin?”

  “Yes, come in. These two brutes aren’t as fierce as they look or sound. They might lick you to death though.”

  “You shouldn’t invite strangers into your home without asking to see some ID, you know.”

  Thea looked puzzled. “You aren’t strangers. He’s Florizel and you’re his boss.”

  Steph raised an eyebrow. She and Elias followed Thea inside. They were in a wide hall with a central staircase and rooms leading off either side.

  “I’ll just put these two in the orangery. They’ll soon settle down. They like it in there. You can wait in the sitting-room if you like.” She nodded at one of the rooms to the left of the staircase. “Back in a sec.”

  Steph led the way. As soon as she walked into the room, she came face to face with Jane Bell. She was sitting on a brown leather sofa, a laptop balanced on her knees. They nodded at each other. Jane again congratulated Elias on his performance. As if his head wasn’t big enough.

  Thea returned and sat next to Jane on the sofa. Steph and Elias took an armchair each.

  “You were brilliant in the play last night.” Thea beamed at Elias. To Steph’s dismay, he gave a little bow.

  “It’s one of my favourite Shakespeare plays,” Bell said.

  “I didn’t know it at all before I was offered the part of Florizel. I—”

  Steph gave a cough. All eyes turned on her as if she too were about to give a performance. She looked at Thea.

  “We’re here to ask you some questions about your dealings with Mark Ripley, Adam Eades and Phil Lavin, Thea.”

  “Sure, but I thought Jane already filled you in on what I told her.”

  “Yes, but we need to hear it from you. Jane isn’t currently a police officer.”

  Thea frowned. She gave Bell a puzzled look.

  “Hasn’t Ms Bell told you about her suspension?” The young woman’s dismayed expression answered her question.

  “Ms Bell was suspended for endangering the life of a young woman.”

  “I was never in any danger!”

  “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about a young woman who was murdered.”

  There was a prolonged silence. Steph was unsurprised to sense the hostility directed towards her. She looked at Elias. He avoided her gaze. Had she gone too far? Was spite her main motivation for sharing this with Thea?

  “You came across Mark and his friends at the leisure club, didn’t you? The one on Outer Circle Road.”

  “Hi! To Fitness, yes. I’d been swimming there with my friend, Stacey. Afterwards, we went up to the café for a hot chocolate.”

  “Mark and his friends were already in the café when you arrived?”

  “Yes. We sat at a table near theirs. Stacey whispered that they were hot. She started sort of trying to attract their attention.”

  “How so?”

  “You know. Giggling and taking selfies. Posing a bit, I suppose.”

  Steph thought Thea looked embarrassed. She pictured Thea and her friend pouting and striking poses for the camera. Given that Thea looked about fourteen, she couldn’t imagine grown men taking an interest, but she already knew that Mark Ripley had no scruples about pursuing underage girls.

  At a nod from Steph, Thea carried on. “Stacey dared me to go over and talk to them, but I told her that was a silly idea. They were a quite a bit older than us and I could tell they thought we were being stupid.”

  “What did Stacey say?”

  “She thought one of them was interested in us.”

  “Mark Ripley?”

  “Yes. He hung back when his mates left and came over to speak to us. He asked if we’d like to join him for drinks later. I said no. I had a feeling Stacey was thinking about it, but she said no eventually too.”

  “Did he try to persuade you?”

  “He said we could all go back to his place. He probably thought we looked too young to go to a pub. Stace looks older than me, but she got asked her age when she tried to get us a bottle of wine in the supermarket last week.” Thea’s eyes slid to Bell’s as though expecting a frown of disapproval. Bell obliged.

  “Your friend Stacey is lucky you had the sense you were born with,” Steph remarked dryly. “What happened then?”

  Thea shrugged. “He just said something like, ‘Have a good day, girls,’ and left.”

  “Were there many other customers in the café at the time? Anyone who might have noticed Mark talking to you?” She noticed Jane Bell look up at the question. One she’d probably never thought to ask.

  Thea took a few moments to think about it, raising her eyes to the ceiling and frowning deeply. “Nope. There weren’t any other customers, just a couple of members of staff hanging around, but they were chatting to each another. I don’t think they were paying us much attention.”

  “Right,” Steph said. “I also wanted to talk to you about the information you shared with Ms Bell about Kylie Bright. I understand you obtained this from your friend Stacey, whose sister is at the university?”

  “Yes. I told Jane everything Stace told me. About Tristan being disgusted with Mark for encouraging him to hit on an obviously underage girl, and about Mark bullying Kylie into . . .” Thea looked at Elias and blushed. “Doing it with him.”

  “Yes. We know about all of that. What else did your friend’s sister discover?”

  “That’s it. Except . . .” Thea looked at Jane uncertainly.

  “Out with it,” Steph barked.

  “It’s probably not relevant, but last time I spoke to Stacey, she said that her sister told her that Ivy, Tristan and Lottie have been bad-mouthing Adam and Phil on Lottie’s blog. All sorts of rumours are flying around that they had something to do with the murders. Not mentioning them by name, but sort of making it obvious that it’s them.”

  Great. Steph hoped she’d warned them off this sort of thing, but it seemed they’d ignored her. She’d need to have another word. Not least because they might be antagonising the killer.

  “Thanks, Thea. You let me know if you learn anything else from your friend Stacey, or if anything else comes to mind, okay?” She looked pointedly at Thea as she said this and put a slight emphasis on the word ‘me.’ Me. Not Jane Bell. She hoped the message got through. “Or you could contact Detective Sergeant Harper here.” Thea’s wide smile suggested that she’d be more than happy for an excuse to speak with Elias again.

  * * *

  When the detectiv
es had gone, Thea turned to Jane and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the blog thing. Stacey only told me about it this morning and it didn’t seem all that important.”

  “That’s okay.” Jane smiled. “If Stacey tells you anything else, you should get in touch with DI Warwick or DS Harper in future.”

  “Okay. Is it true what she said? That you’ve been suspended?”

  Jane gave a heavy sigh. “Yes.”

  “Was it her that got you suspended? I could tell she doesn’t like you.”

  It was good to hear that. It meant she wasn’t alone in sensing hostility bouncing her way every time she encountered Warwick.

  “Sort of. She reported me, but I was the one who did a stupid thing.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t put Kylie Bright off when she told me she’d try to identify a suspect for me. It might have put her in danger, even got her killed.”

  “I bet that Warwick woman’s just trying to make you feel bad.”

  Jane appreciated Thea’s loyalty.

  “Why do you think she hates you?” Thea said.

  “I’m not sure.” Jane had been giving the matter some thought. “Maybe she just doesn’t like specials. And she seems to think I’m compromising her investigation with what she calls my ‘meddling.’ I can’t help wanting to be more involved. I’m a curious person.”

  Thea laughed. “I’m not going to argue with that. Hmm. Maybe you just upset her in a past life.”

  “Maybe.” Thea was joking, but Jane had a feeling that Warwick’s dislike of her went beyond her voluntary status. It seemed deeply irrational. The way Warwick had flown off the handle when she came to her house. It was like she brought out the worst in the DI, and she had no real idea why.

  After looking into Warwick’s eyes and seeing so much pain behind them, Jane couldn’t bring herself to hate her. Still, that didn’t mean she had to like her.

  Did Warwick have any friends? Anyone she could confide in? Jane knew nothing at all about her. She didn’t wear a wedding ring. Was she divorced, single, in a relationship? Jane couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to live with someone with such a volatile, prickly personality.

  She didn’t seem particularly close to her colleague. Yet she had suffered through a play that she clearly didn’t enjoy for his sake. Suggesting she wasn’t all bad.

  The lesson over, Jane began packing away her materials. Thea’s phone rang. She covered her mouth and whispered, “Stacey.” Jane excused herself and went off to the kitchen. Often, before, or after a lesson, they would have a drink together. Thea seemed to like Jane’s company — odd considering the age difference. Of course, it had occurred to her that Thea possibly saw her as a surrogate mother. She didn’t mind. She didn’t see much of her own daughter these days. Maybe it was a two-way thing.

  She made two cups of hot chocolate and popped them on a tray, along with some biscuits from the biscuit barrel, a forlorn looking ceramic dog. I’d look forlorn too, Jane thought, if people kept yanking off my head and stealing my chocolate digestives.

  As she crossed the hallway, she heard Thea still talking with Stacey. She paused at the foot of the staircase.

  “. . . So, the cops have been round asking me about what your sister told you, and some other stuff . . . I know. Mad, isn’t it?” At that moment, Thea looked up and saw Jane waiting in the hall. Jane held up the tray and Thea nodded vigorously. “Listen, Stace, I’ve got to go. My tutor’s here. Speak to you later.”

  Jane put the tray down on the coffee table and they sat side by side on the sofa.

  “Did DI Warwick ask where your parents were?” Jane said.

  “Yes. I told her they were at our home in London.”

  “She asked me too. When are they coming back, Thea? You keep changing the subject when I ask you.”

  “They’re not,” Thea said. “Not for a while anyway. They met a ‘wonderful couple’ who own a yacht, and they’ve been invited to sail around the world with them and their friends for at least six months. I don’t suppose Mum meant literally around the world, maybe just half of it.” She gave Jane a weak smile.

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “Don’t care really. It’s not as if they’re ever there for me, even when they’re home. And I’m not close to my brother, Hugo. Because of the age difference, I suppose. He’s actually my half-brother. Dad was married before. I don’t think he really wanted any more children, but Mum wanted to experience being a mother. Don’t think she realised a kid was for life, not just for Christmas.”

  Jane squeezed her arm. “You can talk to me any time you like, Thea. About anything.”

  “Sure. Thanks, Jane. That means a lot.” She let out a sigh. “My brother’s coming for the dogs at the end of the month. Pearl and Buddy are his. He’s moving in with his girlfriend, so there’ll be room for them now.”

  “I’m sorry, Thea. You’ll miss them, won’t you?”

  “Yep. They’re crazy, but I love them to bits. Still, it means I can have a sleepover at Stacey’s whenever I like.”

  “Is there anything I can do for you right now?”

  “A hug would be nice.”

  Jane smiled. “Come here,” She hugged Thea, thinking not just of her, but of Norah.

  Jane hugged Buddy and Pearl too, before she left. She wouldn’t see them again. She had grown fond of them, but she wouldn’t miss the itchy eyes and runny nose whenever she came to visit Thea. Dog and cat fur always triggered an allergic reaction. Even hypoallergenic ones, it seemed.

  As soon as she got home, Jane texted Norah and asked if she was free for a chat. Her reply came back immediately. Not now, Mum. I’m busy! The words were accompanied by an emoji with rolling eyes. Jane didn’t mind. Norah knew Jane would always be there for her. That’s why she could afford to be dismissive. Jane’s heart went out to Thea, alone in that big house, her parents cruising around the world. She texted to remind her to contact her for whatever reason. A moment later, her phone pinged. It was Thea, thanking her for her kindness. At the end of the message was a big red heart and three kisses.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Elias had been reading Lottie Purdey’s blog. Steph asked him for a summary of the contents.

  “There’s plenty to summarise,” Elias said. “Lottie Purdey is an angry young woman and she has a lot to say.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m mostly interested in what she has to say about Adam and his mates.”

  “She started her blog a couple of weeks into her first term at the uni,” Elias said.

  “So, after Kylie had told her about her experience with Mark Ripley.”

  “Yes. And some posts are obviously a response to what Tristan told her about Adam and co.’s group and the strategies employed by so-called seduction experts. She dedicates one blog to Kylie’s experience without actually naming Kylie or any of the others. There are references to the sort of lad culture that she believes is prevalent in young men at universities. Mostly she’s trying to raise awareness among young women of the sort of behaviours to look out for when they’re out socialising, or in a relationship. For example, she describes negging and gaslighting, and gives some classic examples. Talks a lot about consent. Responses from her readers range from positive to obscene, as you’d imagine. She has been speculating about the murders and making thinly veiled accusations.”

  “I think we need to have another talk with Lottie.”

  This time Steph called ahead to arrange a meeting. Recalling the lack of space and seating in Lottie’s room, she suggested that they meet in a café near the campus.

  Lottie was already seated when they arrived. “I’d get you both a drink, but I’m broke. I don’t get paid till Friday.”

  Steph sent Elias off to queue for three coffees. “So, where do you work?” she asked.

  Lottie named a popular bar and restaurant on the Brayford. “I do two shifts a week, Friday and Saturday, so it’s not so bad. I get Sundays off.”

  Steph nodde
d. “What are you studying here?”

  “Politics and gender studies.”

  Elias returned with the coffees. Steph was relieved. Small talk wasn’t her thing. She got down to business. “Lottie, why didn’t you tell us about your blog last time we spoke?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I thought you’d think I killed Mark.”

  “Why would we think that?”

  “Because of what I wrote, and because—”

  “Because you felt protective of Kylie,” Elias said.

  “Yes. I told you how I kind of took her under my wing. I thought of her a bit as my little sister.”

  “Didn’t you think not telling us about your blog would make us more inclined to suspect you? It makes us wonder why you kept quiet about it, and whether there’s anything else you’re keeping quiet about,” Steph said.

  “I told you why I kept quiet about it. But of course, I knew you’d find out about it eventually. Give me a break. Last time we spoke I’d just heard that Kylie had been murdered.”

  She turned fiery eyes on Steph. “Have you interviewed Adam Eades and Phil Lavin? What did they have to say for themselves? Let me guess — their mate Mark was absolutely respectful of women. He would never have belittled Kylie for being reluctant to have sex with him. Adam claimed that respect for women underpinned everything that their pathetic pick-up group taught.”

  She practically growled as she strove to articulate her anger. “But everything he and the others practised and preached proved just the opposite. I wish I’d named and shamed them in my blog, even if it did get me into trouble.”

  “It’s as well you didn’t. But I think most people would have a good guess about who you meant from what you wrote,” Elias said. “You stopped just short of revealing their identities.”

  Lottie glared at him. Just for being a man, perhaps.

  “Tristan told me how rubbish their course was. I bet you didn’t know that they paid some women to respond favourably to their stupid chat-up lines during their street harassment exercises. No wonder their success rate looked impressive to their clients.”