by Helen Phifer
‘It’s OK,’ Shannon said, catching the look on Lucy’s face. ‘I wouldn’t say a word to anyone. You don’t need to look so worried. So. What did you come to tell me?’
‘We searched Lauren’s house, and it was empty. It didn’t look as if anyone had been in it for a while, but there were no signs of a disturbance. We also found her passport, so she hasn’t left the country.’
‘So where is she?’ asked Shannon.
‘I’m afraid I don’t know. There was nothing to suggest that she’d gone away, but it doesn’t mean that she hasn’t. Maybe it was a last-minute thing, and she forgot to tell you.’
Shannon shook her head.
‘Well, I’m stumped,’ Lucy said. ‘I’d like to say that she’s probably stopping at someone’s house. Does she have a boyfriend?’
‘No, she split up with him last year when he cheated on her.’
‘Maybe she met someone on a night out. We’ve left a message for her parents and until they make contact, there isn’t a lot more we can do.’
‘Oh, right. It’s just I have this horrible churning in my stomach every time I think about her,’ Shannon said. ‘I’m scared something bad has happened. What if the person who killed that woman has taken her somewhere?’
The more Lucy thought about it, the more she thought that was in fact a possibility. But she couldn’t say anything to Shannon about it. ‘I think that would be unlikely. Was Lauren particularly friendly with her neighbour?’
‘Not that I know of, although they worked together,’ Shannon said. ‘Lauren is a bit of a do-gooder though; it wouldn’t surprise me if she visited her now and again.’
Alarm bells were ringing in Lucy’s head. First thing tomorrow, she would get a forensic team to go through Lauren’s house, just in case. She just hoped they hadn’t trampled on any possible evidence when they had searched it earlier.
‘Hopefully she will turn up and not even realise what a fuss she’s caused,’ Lucy said. ‘If she does, can you let us know straight away?’
‘What if she doesn’t?’
Shannon looked as if she was about to cry and Lucy felt terrible. ‘Hopefully she will. I’ll see myself out, make sure you lock up and keep everything secure.’
She turned to leave, needing to get out of there before she cried, too. Today had been a roller coaster of emotion for her. She wasn’t used to it.
‘Thank you,’ Shannon said.
‘It’s what I’m here for.’
She walked out of the front door, closing it gently behind her. She was glad to be outside in the fresh air, even if it was beginning to rain.
36
Heidi was waiting at Mattie’s house for him. She’d been into work to collect her diary and had then done some shopping before returning to his house. She had steaks on the griddle and a huge bowl of salad prepared: such the perfect girlfriend. She’d even changed his bedding. She looked at the clock, hoping he wasn’t going to be too late. He’d left her on her own for most of last night, then had come home before dashing off again in the middle of the night. She was well aware that this wasn’t going to be a lasting relationship – partly because of his job, but mainly because it was so blatantly obvious that he had a huge crush on his boss, Lucy.
Heidi logged onto Mattie’s computer now, which he never kept locked, and began to flick through his photos. There were an awful lot of him standing close to a very attractive woman. Lucy. His arm around her waist, or draped across her shoulders on what looked like work nights out.
The front door slammed and Heidi clicked off the computer, not wanting to be caught snooping. Mattie came into the open-plan living room/kitchen and grinned to see her lying on his sofa in just her dressing gown, one of her toned, tanned thighs peering at him through the gap at the front.
‘I didn’t realise you were here,’ he said. ‘You should have rung. I’d have tried to get away earlier to see you.’
‘I haven’t been here long – well, only long enough to have a quick tidy around and make tea. I hope you don’t mind?’
‘Not at all,’ Mattie said. ‘It’s bloody amazing. I’m starving. I was going to order a takeaway, so thank you.’
He took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie and top button, then sat down, kicking off his shoes. Heidi prickled at the untidiness, but she ignored it, reminding herself that this wasn’t her house. She sat close to him, laying her hand on his thigh.
‘You look tired. Why don’t you have a shower while I finish the tea?’
‘Would you mind? That would be great.’
He didn’t wait for her reply as he jumped up and went upstairs. He hadn’t even kissed her, which needled her more than the mess he’d come in and made. She heard the shower turn on and began to put the steaks onto plates. As long as he didn’t start talking about bloody Lucy, they’d be OK. If he did, she might just end up walking out and going home.
Lucy had gone straight to the fridge and opened the door, letting her fingers trail over the ice-cold bottle of wine. She was about to pull it out, but then stopped, went to the shelf below and took out a bottle of water instead. She twisted off the cap, took a few long gulps, then grabbed a packet of bacon. Her stomach was groaning so loudly it was embarrassing; she definitely needed to go shopping tomorrow. The fridge currently contained more alcohol than food. If she couldn’t sleep, she might even nip to the twenty-four-hour Tesco later.
Her headache hadn’t eased so she rifled through the drawer for a packet of migraine tablets. She swallowed two, hoping they’d kick in soon. She made a bacon sandwich, smothered it in tomato sauce, and carried it upstairs to her bedroom.
As she set the plate down on the bedside table, she remembered the diary. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Ellie, but she hadn’t been burgled, either. She would have known if she had. And they would have left a mess, not put everything back. She’d checked her jewellery box and everything was still there. The house had been secure, with no open doors or windows, so everything pointed to Ellie having sneaked around whilst Lucy was out at work.
She would move the diary to a better hiding place and forget about the incident, she decided. As luck would have it, even if her daughter had been reading it, all Lucy had written about lately was how much she missed George and her perfect life before it had all gone tits up. At least she wasn’t in the middle of a raunchy love affair that had left her writing pages of lusty porn. She began to giggle: the chance would be a fine thing.
Stripping off, she hung her jacket and trousers up and dropped the rest of her clothes into the washing basket. Turning the shower in the en suite as hot as she could stand it, she stepped under and had the quickest wash possible. She didn’t want her hair dye to run too much – it was amazing how fast it faded.
She wrapped herself in a huge bath sheet, fastened another towel around her head, and went back into the bedroom. She took her iPad off the dresser. There was no point in trying to ring Ellie now: she wouldn’t answer. Lucy logged into Facebook to check her messages, and read the one from her daughter. Ellie sounded full of enthusiasm, telling her how excited she was to have a job in the new café on the retail park. Lucy hadn’t bothered looking on Facebook for days. She’d been too consumed with work to even think about it. Too consumed with it all to even bother to check in with her own daughter.
She typed a message back, telling Ellie how proud she was of her and how very sorry she was about today. Ending it with I love you so much xxx, she then logged out and put the iPad back, vowing to check it in the morning before she left for work. She hated computers and had needed Ellie to set the iPad up for her in the first place.
Lucy finished her cold sandwich and then lay back, tugging the duvet over her and snuggling down into the pillows. She tried her best to clear her mind of today’s events so that she could fall asleep. She pulled the tattered pink teddy that had once been Ellie’s favourite off the bedside table and held it close.
Mattie was sound asleep when he felt a sharp nudge to his ribca
ge. He tried to ignore it, but then it happened again. He stirred.
‘Ugh, what?’
‘Your bloody phone keeps ringing,’ Heidi said.
Mattie groaned and opened his eyes. Stumbling out of bed, he went to the chair where he dug in his trouser pocket to retrieve it. ‘Yeah?’
The phone slipped from his hands and tumbled to the floor, knocking on to loudspeaker. Lucy’s voice filled the bedroom. ‘We should have asked the Clements for DNA samples.’
Mattie bent down and picked up the phone, mouthing ‘sorry’ to Heidi. Then he left the room to go to the bathroom.
‘Yep, we should have. Good shout, Lucy. Why didn’t we think of that hours ago – and why couldn’t you have told me in the morning?’
‘Oh yes, I’m sorry. I’ve been awake for ages thinking about the case. It came to me that if we get the Clements’ DNA, we could cross-match it with the hair from the baseball cap. Then we would know whether Lizzy Clements was our killer, wouldn’t we?’
‘Yes, we would. It’s a great idea,’ Mattie said. ‘We can go and visit them after briefing and ask them. There is one problem, though.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Even if the hair does turn out to belong to Lizzy Clements, we still have no idea what she looks like, or what name she’s using.’
‘It’s better than nothing,’ Lucy said. ‘We could get a picture of her from when she was a kid, then get a forensic artist to draw up what she would look like as an adult. It’s worth a shot.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Night. Sorry I woke you.’
Mattie ended the call and wandered back into the bedroom, where a fully dressed Heidi was putting on her shoes.
‘What’s up?’ he asked.
‘I can’t sleep,’ Heidi said, ‘and your bloody boss needs to realise that you have your own life outside of that job. Does she really think it’s acceptable to phone you in the middle of the night to tell you something that could have waited until morning? It’s not right. You want to tell her to fuck off once in a while and stop running every time she clicks her fingers. I’ll see you later on – if you grow a pair of balls and stop following her around like a lap dog.’
Mattie was shocked by Heidi’s outburst, yet couldn’t really blame her. He could kill Lucy. He grabbed Heidi’s hand.
‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have turned my phone on silent.’
Heidi rolled her eyes at him and walked out of the bedroom. Moments later, Mattie heard the front door slam and he got back into bed. He wasn’t chasing after her in his boxers. It was too bloody cold; he wouldn’t go out in his underwear for anyone. Burying his head under his pillow, he closed his eyes and within seconds was asleep. He could sleep anywhere, at any time.
37
By seven, Lucy had done a full shop, stocking up on food, wine that was on offer, and a load of Ellie’s favourite crap. That included tortilla chips, dips and family-sized bags of chocolates. She hoped she could talk Ellie into coming around. They could have a girly night – stick on Bridesmaids or Bridget Jones’ Diary and chill like they used to, whilst stuffing slices of piping hot cheesy pizza into their mouths.
If she’d checked the damn iPad once in the night, she’d checked it a hundred times. Of course, Ellie would have been fast asleep. Thankfully, she was too young to endure the kind of sleepless nights that Lucy had. Hours spent worrying whether she’d done everything right at work: had she followed all the lines of enquiry, had she asked for the right samples to be tested and so on. Then there was Mattie: it was obvious she’d disturbed him when he had company, and pissed him off as well.
Lucy finished unpacking the food and popped two crumpets into the toaster. As soon as she’d eaten them she might as well go to work and get an early start. Her phone beeped and she saw a message from an unfamiliar number.
Morning, I hope you don’t mind me messaging you. I got your number off the card you gave me. I’ve finished work now for three days and wondered if you fancied meeting up for a bite to eat and a drink. Whenever it’s convenient for you? Stephen King.
Lucy didn’t know whether to be flattered or shocked, but it put a huge smile on her face. Before she even had a chance to consider the implications, she texted him back: I’d love to. How about tonight? 8 at The Black Dog?
Brilliant, see you then.
Lucy let out a squeal, although from excitement or nerves she wasn’t sure. What the hell: maybe it was time to start living again. Now all she needed was for Ellie to stop sulking and to agree to spend some time with her tomorrow, and things would be almost perfect. Today was going to be a good day.
* * *
Lucy had prepared herself for the briefing. Although she was tired, she wouldn’t let it show. She took her place at the front of the room, waiting for the DCI to stop fiddling around with the camera that hooked up to the television and was currently zooming in and out on the left-hand side of the room, making all the officers who were sitting there laugh and yelp with horror. Eager to begin, Lucy turned to stare at Tom, who swore under his breath and switched the thing off at the mains. The television went black, much to everyone’s relief. It was too early to have to sit and watch yourself magnified on a television screen.
Lucy looked around for Mattie, wondering where he was. She couldn’t wait any longer for him, so she began.
‘So, up to now we had two possible suspects: Tommy Wright and Lizzy Clements. Thanks to Colin’s hard work, we have managed to rule out Tommy Wright because he seems to have disappeared in October 1975 and I suspect he may have come to some harm. Unless some new information comes to light to suggest that he’s alive and well, we are going to focus on Lizzy Clements. I spoke to her parents yesterday, who informed me that she died in 1990 of a drug overdose. However, they were out of the country at the time and never identified her body. Until we have concrete proof that Lizzy Clements is dead, I believe we are looking for a female killer who will be in her early fifties.’
Lucy looked at the faces of her audience. They were sitting there in stunned silence –probably wondering if she’d lost the plot. It certainly sounded that way. A hand raised in the corner and Lucy nodded over at the young officer.
‘What makes you so sure it’s Lizzy Clements?’
‘We have a witness who was in the asylum with Lizzy who thinks she would be capable of these horrific crimes. Lizzy Clements killed her baby brother when she was just nine years old – we know she isn’t fazed by murder. We have no actual proof that the body that was identified as Lizzy Clements really was her. It’s possible that she faked her own death. I know it seems a bit far-fetched, but we can’t rule her out at this moment in time.
‘Moving on, there is also a possible link between Audrey Stone’s murder and the disappearance of her neighbour – a Lauren Coates. Both women worked together and lived a couple of doors away from each other. Lauren’s friend hasn’t heard from her since the night of Audrey’s murder. I want two of you concentrating on finding Lauren for me.’ Lucy pointed at Mac and his student officer, who both nodded.
Tom stepped forward to take over and give Lucy some breathing space.
‘As you all know, Lucy and her team have come up with enough of a plausible link to connect both murders. Edwin Wilkes and Audrey Stone worked together in ’75 at The Moore – better known to you and me as the asylum. Col is doing his best to find out what happened on that ward between Wilkes and Stone but we all know it’s better to get it from the horse’s mouth. So I need a volunteer from you lovely lot to go and speak to Florence Wilkes and see if she can shed some light on it.’
Browning stuck his hand up, and for that, Lucy was grateful. She didn’t have the heart to upset the lovely Florence any more than she already had. She noticed Mattie slip into the back of the room and take a seat next to the row of PCSOs. She looked at him and he looked away. He was either avoiding her or he was mad at her.
‘As Lucy has just stated,’ Tom continued, ‘this is a complicated case becaus
e of the huge lapse in time since the two victims were last connected. We can’t afford to not follow up on every possible link. At this stage, I don’t want to rule anyone out. Thank you for your patience and keep up the good work.’
Lucy asked the PCSOs to hold back after the briefing so she could give them their house-to-house questions. Everyone else stood up. Mattie was the first to leave. The rest of them filed out of the door, mumbling between themselves.
Lucy briefed the PCSOs, then was about to look for Mattie when the DCI caught her arm, tugging her back and closing the door.
‘How are you, Lucy?’
‘Fine, thanks.’
‘Good, that’s good. Sara Cross emailed to say you’d attended your session as promised. I have to say that’s a big relief. How did it go?’
Lucy felt the blood begin to rush up her neck. That sneaky woman was driving her insane. Why was she so bothered about what Lucy did?
‘Yes, I did,’ she said, ‘and I can’t say that it helped any. Do you seriously think that telling your problems to a complete stranger – who has no idea how hard this job is – helps? I’m sorry, Tom, but it’s about as painful as pulling your own teeth out. I could shout it from the rooftops and tell the whole world my problems, but when I’m on my own in bed at two in the morning, those images are always there. So don’t patronise me by asking me how the session went. I’ll continue to go because I’m expected to, and that’s all.’
The DCI let go of her arm and stepped away from her. ‘I’m sorry to hear you feel that way. I found her very helpful.’
Lucy nodded. ‘Each to their own. Now, is there anything else?’
He shook his head.
She walked out in search of Mattie. He wasn’t in the office, so she wandered down to the brew station, where she found him chatting to two of the PCSOs. He passed her a mug of coffee and winked.
