Rock Bottom (Second Chances Book 2)

by Jason Ayres

  When she got back, it was past 11am but Maddie was still asleep. Kay really ought to get started on the dinner but her mind was now preoccupied with the murder. She had to find out more.

  Watching the rolling news coverage in the living room didn’t do much to add to what she already knew. The attack had taken place exactly where she expected, sometime the previous night, but they didn’t seem to know exactly when. The body had not been discovered until a dog walker had found it after first light. The victim had not yet been formally identified, but the news did state that it fitted the pattern of the other murders. That meant that it would have been a young girl, late-teens or early twenties.

  She continued to watch the coverage as she wrapped Maddie’s present with some leftover wrapping paper she found behind the Christmas tree. When she had finished she added her present to the pile underneath the tree. Alan and Lucy had taken the presents they had bought for each other the previous day, but had left some for Maddie.

  Kay’s didn’t look like much compared to what Alan had probably spent, especially with his huge pot of dirty cash to draw on, but it would have to do for now. He had always spoiled his daughter rotten at Christmas, whilst Kay’s presents from him had steadily declined over the years, both in value and how much thought had gone into them. If she recalled correctly, last year his generosity had extended to a new iron and a tub of Quality Street.

  No matter, Kay would treat Maddie to something special after Christmas when she had her finances properly sorted.

  She turned the volume up on the TV and headed back to the kitchen to start the cooking. Kay loved cooking roasts and the Christmas dinner was the best of all, especially this year, because everything she needed was there in the fridge and the cupboard, right down to the cranberry sauce. Sorting through it all, she could see that Alan and Lucy had really splashed out. It was all top-quality stuff, mostly from Marks & Spencer.

  So much for only shopping at the retailer he worked for. There were hundreds of pounds’ worth of food and drink in the house. He had never spent this much on Christmas when Kay had been with him. It seemed that he was generous to a T with almost everyone except his wife. That was what made eating the Christmas food he had bought to impress Lucy so satisfying. Today was well and truly payback time.

  She wondered where he and Lucy would be spending their Christmas Day. Well, wherever it was, she wasn’t going to allow herself to feel sorry for them. They had brought their current situation upon themselves.

  As she was peeling spuds, a sleepy and hungover-looking Maddie appeared at the kitchen door.

  “What have you got the telly on so loud for?” she complained. “My head hurts.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Kay. “Sit yourself down and I’ll make you some coffee – and Merry Christmas, by the way!”

  Kay went back through to the living room to turn the TV off. It had moved on to sports news now, something about Boxing Day football fixtures, a subject in which she had no interest. Just as she pressed the button on the remote, a chilling thought went through her. The dead girl could have been Maddie.

  She offered a silent prayer of thanks that her daughter had got home safe and sound and rushed back through to the kitchen, taking Maddie by surprise by giving her a huge hug.

  “What was that for?” asked her bemused daughter.

  “Did you hear what was on the news before?” asked Kay.

  “I wasn’t taking a lot of notice,” replied Maddie. “Head’s throbbing too much.”

  “There’s been a murder in town. That’s why I hugged you. I’m just glad you’re safe and sound. How did you get home last night?”

  “I’m pretty sure I shared a taxi with a couple of people from the pub,” she replied, “but the details are a bit vague.”

  “Thank goodness you did,” said Kay. She had banged on to Maddie over and over again about making sure she got home safely and she was glad it had sunk in. She then proceeded to tell her more about the recent spate of murders.

  It all came as quite a shock to Maddie who, having been up in Durham, caught up in the student Christmas party circuit, had been completely unaware of the murders going on in Oxfordshire.

  “Why didn’t you warn me about this last night?” asked Maddie. “And how come no one said anything about it in the pub?”

  “Well, the first two murders were in Oxford and Kidlington,” replied Kay. “You know what it’s like in this town. No one takes any notice of anything unless it’s right under their noses. Most of the time they’re too busy gossiping about each other’s sex lives. Plus, nothing big like this ever happens here, does it? I can’t ever remember a murder in this town before.”

  “Do they know who was killed?” asked Maddie.

  “A young woman is all they are saying,” said Kay. “The last two were both in their late-teens.”

  “God, I hope it’s not one of my friends,” replied Maddie.

  “Well, let’s try not to think about it for now,” said Kay. “There’s no point speculating until we know more. Now you’re up, you can help me with the dinner.”

  The turkey crown went down a treat. Over lunch they shared a bottle of champagne that Alan had kindly left in the fridge for them. It was Moët & Chandon, rather than the supermarket brand that he usually bought. Later they went through to the living room and opened presents.

  “I’m sorry it’s not much,” said Kay. “Things have been a little fraught recently, as you know. But I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Don’t worry, I love it,” replied Maddie, as she placed the silver chain around her neck.

  Maddie proceeded to open her other presents, the ones Alan had left for her. They were predictably extravagant: a cashmere scarf, the latest iPad and some fancy Belgian chocolates. There was also an expensive-looking gold bracelet, which Kay noted that she did not put on, placing it back in the box. He didn’t know his daughter as well as she did. She only ever wore silver jewellery, never gold.

  Just after she opened her last present, Maddie’s mobile rang.

  “It’s Dad,” said Maddie, answering.

  Alan had rung to wish his daughter a merry Christmas, something that Kay could hardly begrudge him. However, there was more to the call than just that.

  “Mum, Dad’s spending Christmas with Lucy at The Oxfordshire,” said Kay. “He’s asked if it’s OK for me to go over there this evening and spend some time with them.”

  He had managed to find a pretty decent room at the inn, then, thought Kay. The two of them had spent a very happy wedding anniversary weekend at that hotel many years before. How had he managed to get in there on Christmas Eve?

  Perhaps people didn’t stay in hotels much at Christmas, she mused. It was a family time, after all. Whatever the reason, he certainly wasn’t roughing it. He was probably trying desperately to keep hold of Lucy, worried that she would dump him in his reduced circumstances.

  Kay’s first instinct was to say no, but then she thought about her chat with Kent earlier. Perhaps it was better if Maddie was out of the way for a while.

  “Let me speak to him,” said Kay.

  Leaving Alan in no doubt that she was doing him a favour, Kay said she had no objection to Maddie joining him and Lucy at the hotel, as long as he came and picked her up and brought her back the next day.

  It was dark by the time Alan came for Maddie. Kay didn’t let him into the house, not wanting any aggravation with her daughter present. Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to the murder.

  She switched the television back on. It was almost five o’clock, and the channel was showing the latest weather bulletin. The Boxing Day forecast had lots of black clouds spewing out rain all over the country, so nothing unusual there.

  According to the presenter, there had been huge snowfalls on the Eastern US coast over Christmas. Kay vowed next year she was going to go somewhere snowy for Christmas. Perhaps she should go back to Rovaniemi, but for the winter solstice this time. Then she could see the Au
rora Borealis. There was nothing and no one stopping her now from doing these things.

  At 5pm exactly, the main national news came on. The local murders were once again the lead item. Kay watched as the channel’s main news anchor, a middle-aged man in a grey suit and hair to match, delivered the latest update.

  “Detectives hunting the killer of three women in Oxfordshire who were raped and stabbed during the past week have today issued a £25,000 reward for information to help catch ‘The Christmas Killer’, as the murderer has become known.”

  The picture on the screen behind the newscaster switched to the road next to the woody path, just as Kay had seen it earlier that day, with police and media everywhere.

  “The latest victim, Polish national Anna Wiśniewski, died after being knifed less than 200 yards from her home late last night.”

  Kay looked on, horrified, as the image of Anna, the kind and downtrodden girl from the chip shop, was flashed onto the screen.

  Chapter Eighteen

  December 2018

  Suddenly things had become all very horrible and all very real.

  The news reported terrible events like this all the time, but they were always things happening far away and to people she didn’t know. Being local, this story had caught her attention more than most but until now, not personally knowing the victims, had still left her with a fair degree of detachment.

  Now things were different. The loss of the lovely, young girl’s life, who had been so kind to Kay at a time when no one else would, caused her to begin sobbing uncontrollably. How could anyone have done this to her? Anna would never have harmed a fly. It was bad enough that the poor girl had been bullied and abused by McVie while she was alive, but to lose her life in such horrific circumstances was an absolute tragedy.

  The footage switched to a picture of a policewoman she recognised from the scene earlier, identified by an on-screen caption as D.I. Hannah Benson, head of the local police. She had never met her personally, but knew of her. Kent had mentioned a while back that it was her who had taken his old job. She was being interviewed by Seema Mistry at the scene.

  “We’re offering this reward because it’s vital that we catch this evil man before he kills again,” said Hannah. “Someone out there must know something. Please, if you have any information, anything at all, that you think may help our investigation, come and talk to us.”

  Kay switched off the television, grabbing a tissue to wipe the tears away from her eyes. She didn’t have any information she could give Hannah yet, but she was going to make damned sure she soon would. The evil animal that had killed Anna was going to be brought to justice and she was the one who was going to make it happen.

  She decided against ringing Kent in case his wife wanted to know who was calling and sent him a text instead, confirming that she would meet him in the pub later in the evening.

  Kay was nervous walking to the pub and stuck to the well-lit main roads. Even if she didn’t fit the profile of the other victims, she certainly wasn’t taking any chances.

  By 8pm, she was banging on the thick, wooden door of The Red Lion. The curtains were closed and the place looked deserted, but a few seconds later, the door opened a crack and she was surprised to see Andy peering around from the other side.

  “It’s alright!” shouted Andy back into the pub. “It’s just Kent’s bit of stuff.”

  “Let her in, then,” she heard Craig call.

  Andy opened up the door and said, “Sorry about that. Craig doesn’t want anyone to know he’s open tonight. It’s strictly a private party, just for his friends.”

  “How come you are here, then?” quipped Kay.

  “Me and Craig, we’re old muckers, we are. Go back years, we do,” protested Andy.

  “I expect you are,” remarked Kay. “You’ve probably paid for his pension by now.”

  “Any chance of a Christmas kiss, then?” he asked, gesturing at a sprig of mistletoe he had crudely attached to the top of his trousers directly above his crotch.

  “You must be joking,” replied Kay, thinking what a twat he was. Still, the little exchange of banter had temporarily alleviated the distress she still felt at the death of Anna.

  Making her way over towards the bar, Kay could see that there was a small but select group of drinkers in the pub, about fifteen in total. They were all people she recognised, mostly long-time regulars, middle-aged divorcees and losers like Andy who had no one else to spend Christmas Day with.

  It was quite a sorry-looking crowd, if she was being honest, the sort of people she used to feel sorry for until she become one of them herself.

  Kent was at the bar with Nobby, who was rabbiting on about the horses as usual. She also recognised the captain of the pub’s newly formed quiz team. The others had nicknamed him ‘The Beast’ after a character on a teatime TV quiz show on account of his vast knowledge and opinions on all manner of trivial subjects. He had been boring her silly at the bar a few nights ago with some theory about the Star of Bethlehem being an alien spaceship.

  “The worst thing about Christmas is that there’s no racing for three days,” said Nobby. “Thank God it’s Boxing Day tomorrow and we can get back to normal: I’m getting withdrawal symptoms.”

  “Can’t you go on the fruit machine or something?” said Kent, gesturing towards the large, noisy box with flashing lights in the corner.

  “There’s no value in them things,” said Nobby. “Strictly for mugs, they are. Now, listen, you want to take my advice. I’ve been running tomorrow’s cards through the computer and I’m telling you now, I’ve got the winner of the King George at Kempton Park. It’s going to piss down tonight and this thing’s been waiting for soft ground. Absolutely nailed on, it is.”

  “Well, good luck with that, then,” said Kent, who had lost interest in betting after an attempt at a time-travelling betting coup on Auroras Encore in the 2013 Grand National had gone awry.

  “I can name every King George winner since it started in 1937,” boasted The Beast, who was like a walking Wikipedia on such matters. He wasn’t captain of the quiz team for nothing.

  “I bet you can,” said Kent, who had spotted Kay approaching the bar and needed an out from the conversation. “Why don’t you tell them all to Nobby here.”

  The Beast turned to Nobby and started listing horses, giving Kent an opportunity to greet Kay.

  “What are you drinking?” he asked her.

  “The usual,” replied Kay. “Double vodka and Coke.”

  Kay had decided that now she was getting her life back, she was going to cut out the binge drinking. When she was at rock bottom, she had drunk to drown her sorrows, but those particular problems were behind her now.

  However, tonight was an exception. The news of Anna’s death had hit her hard. She needed a drink tonight. She could make staying off the booze her New Year’s resolution, once all of this was over.

  The two of them made their way over to their usual table and sat down, ignoring the usual jibes from Andy who was still revelling in his role as impromptu doorman. He seemed proud of his temporarily acquired status, unaware that he had only been sent over there to give the others at the bar a bit of peace from him.

  “I can’t believe poor Anna’s dead,” said Kay.

  “You knew her?” asked Kent.

  “Yes, she worked in the chip shop below my flat. She was a lovely girl, always friendly and hard-working, even though her boss exploited her and treated her like crap. I just can’t believe this has happened.”

  Kay began to cry again. Kent reached over and took her hand, not caring whether Andy noticed or not.

  “Don’t let her death be in vain, Kay,” said Kent. “I’m sure you’ve thought this over. You know what you have to do.”

  “Yes, I have,” replied Kay, “I have to go back two days and find the killer. I can’t save her, though. Whatever I do back there, she’ll still be dead here.”

  “I know. It’s too late for Anna now, but you can potentially sa
ve future victims. It’s vital this monster’s caught before he kills again. That’s three in eight days. We need to move fast.”

  “Even if I do find out, will the police believe us? Would you have believed me?”

  “I don’t know, to be honest,” replied Kent. “I’ve never been put in this situation. Would you believe it? All those years in the police force and I never got anywhere near a murder. As soon as I retire, three come along at once. But I’ve still got contacts on the force. Now would be a good time to use them.”

  “So what’s the plan, then?” asked Kay.

  “Find out who the murderer is,” replied Kent. “Then, when you get back, we’ll go and see Hannah together. She’ll have to hear me out. She owes me that much after all our years working together. Even if we don’t have any evidence, we’ll find a way to make her listen.”

  “OK, well, before I go back, I need to find out as much information as I can about the night of the murder,” said Kay. “I only know what we’ve been told by the TV news. I know where she was killed, but do we know when?”

  “Not exactly,” said Kent. “I could try and find out more from Hannah, but it might look a bit odd, me making enquiries, bearing in mind it’s not supposed to be anything to do with me anymore.”

  “So what do you suggest, then? I go and camp out in the woods all night, wait for her to come along and then watch her get butchered to death?”

  “There’s no need for you to freeze your tits off in the woods,” replied Kent. “That lot up there at the bar were talking about this earlier and apparently Anna was in here last night. So was I, but I don’t recall seeing her, but then I’ve never met her before, so I would have been unlikely to have noticed her – it was packed again last night. Craig reckons she was hanging out with that group of teenagers that’s always around the pool table.”

  “If that’s true, then surely all I’ve got to do is go back to yesterday, come down here for the evening and then follow her home?” asked Kay.