“Being a teenager is difficult.”
“It is,” Julie agreed. “I have two teenagers now and it isn’t any easier these days. It may even be harder, I don’t know.”
“But you were telling me about breaking the rules,” Bessie said gently.
“Oh, yes, I must get on with it, mustn’t I? I’m sure you have better things to do.”
Bessie could think of a dozen things she ought to have been doing, including ringing John, but she didn’t want to rush the woman, either. Especially not if Julie held the key to the Kelly case.
“When you’re ready,” she murmured to Julie.
“It was spring,” Julie said softly. “I was spending a lot of time with Helen and Karen. They liked it at my house because we had horses that we could ride, rather than just working farm horses. We would go on rides after school, and the other two would start talking about the different boys and how they looked naked and things like that, and I would just blush and hope they wouldn’t notice.”
“How awful for you,” Bessie said.
“Once in a while Susan would come along. I liked her a lot, because she was more like me. She was shy around boys, too. Anyway, one Saturday we were all riding and talking, and Susan started telling us about her new boyfriend and how she was planning to sneak away from home so she could, well, spend the night with him. She was going to tell her parents she was at Margot’s house and then go and stay with him instead.”
“He had his own house?” Bessie asked.
“No, but everyone was using the old Grantham farm for that sort of thing in those days. We all knew the house was empty, but they’d left some pieces of furniture behind. There were even a few beds left in some of the bedrooms and, well, let’s just say they were put to use most weekends.”
Bessie nodded. She shouldn’t have felt shocked, but she did.
“Anyway, I was surprised at Susan, but the way she told it, she was madly in love. She just wouldn’t tell anyone who the boy was, which was frustrating.”
And dangerous, Bessie added to herself.
“A couple of days later Jonas Clucas caught up to me as I was walking home from school and made a few nasty comments to me about being a prude. He said something about how I’d never get a boyfriend because I wasn’t any fun at all. I almost burst into tears, but then Peter came over and told him to leave me alone. He was really sweet.”
Tears began to fall slowly as the woman took a deep breath. Bessie found a tissue in her pocket and handed it to Julie, who wiped her eyes before she continued.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about what Jonas had said. I wanted a boyfriend more than anything else that spring. I felt like the only girl in the whole village who hadn’t even been kissed by a boy. So I decided I was going to start being more like Karen. I decided to sneak out of my house and find out exactly what everyone else was getting up to at the Grantham place.”
Bessie dug out another tissue, her last one. Maybe out here wasn’t the best place for this conversation, she thought as Julie wiped her eyes again.
“The following Saturday I snuck out after my parents went to bed. It wasn’t a long walk to the Grantham farm, really. I took a torch and I cut across the fields. It wasn’t far at all. The back door wasn’t locked. We all knew that Jonas had broken in and fixed the lock on the back door months earlier. Anyway, I walked all through the house and there wasn’t anyone there. After all the stories I’d heard, I think I’d been expecting an orgy in every room or something, but the entire house was empty.”
She stopped and stared out at the sea for a long minute, leaving Bessie dreading where the story was going.
“I’m sorry,” Julie said eventually. “This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“But you may be the key to solving several murders,” Bessie pointed out.
Julie nodded. “I was leaving. There was no one there, so I was going to go home and go to bed, when he came in. He laughed when he saw me there. I don’t know if he was surprised or not, but he laughed. And then he offered me a drink. I’d never drunk much more than a sip or two of wine at family parties and the like. I don’t know what he gave me, but I got drunk really quickly.”
She drew a sharp breath and rubbed her face with her hands. “It’s all a bit of a blur, but I remember him pulling at my clothes and then his hands went around my neck. He was squeezing and I couldn’t breathe and then he suddenly stopped. When I heard voices, I knew why he’d stopped.”
Bessie gasped. “You poor thing,” she said.
“After that he was really nice to me,” Julie told her. “He apologised and said he’d just had too much to drink. I didn’t know what to think, really. I was incredibly naïve. He told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend and that he’d wanted to ask me out for ages, but hadn’t been brave enough. Oh, it doesn’t matter what he said. Basically, he flattered me and made me think he cared, and I pushed what had happened out of my mind. We went out a few times after that, and he was always really lovely and sweet. I more or less convinced myself that I must have imagined it because I’d drunk so much.”
“But you didn’t,” Bessie said steadily.
Julie nodded. “It was only when the police found the bodies that I realised that he must have killed them.”
“You have to talk to the police,” Bessie said firmly. “You have to tell them everything you just told me. They’ll arrest Jonas.”
“Jonas?” Julie echoed. “But it was Peter who attacked me.”
Bessie jumped off the rock and raced up the beach as quickly as she could. Doona was somewhere alone with the man. She had to ring John.
“Bessie?” Julie called after her.
“I’ll explain later,” Bessie called over her shoulder.
When she’d put the kettle on for Julie, Bessie had put John’s mobile number down on the counter next to it. Now she grabbed the scrap of paper and punched the numbers into her phone.
“It’s Bessie,” she said when the call was answered. “You have to find Doona. She’s somewhere with Peter Clucas, and he killed the Kelly girls.”
“Are you sure about that?” John asked.
“No, but from what I just heard, it’s a strong possibility. Doona shouldn’t be alone with him. He was going to her house and then taking her to see the houses his son had built on Laxey beach,” Bessie explained.
The sun was setting outside Bessie’s window as she listened to the inspector mobilising his troops from another phone.
“Hugh is on his way to Doona’s house and Constable Richards is on his way to the houses on the beach. I’m going there as well. You sit tight,” he told Bessie after a while.
“Like heck I will,” she said. John had already disconnected, which saved Bessie an argument.
She headed back outside, rushing past Julie, who was still sitting on the large rock.
“What’s going on?” Julie demanded as she joined Bessie on her trek down the beach.
“My friend Doona had a meeting with Peter tonight,” Bessie told her. “He was going to show her around the houses his son built on the beach.”
“So she’s alone with him in an empty house,” Julie said.
“I’ve rung the police and they’re on their way,” Bessie replied tightly.
“I wish I would have gone to the police thirty years ago,” Julie said.
“You were very young,” Bessie said.
“And I wanted a boyfriend so badly. All of the other girls were so jealous when Peter and I were together that I told myself to ignore the incident. He was a perfect gentleman after that, you know. I even started to wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing and I definitely convinced myself that it wasn’t any big deal. And now your friend is in danger.”
As Bessie walked as quickly as she could, Julie took off down the beach in a dead run. Bessie knew she couldn’t possibly keep up, but she kept walking, hoping that someone would get to Doona quickly.
The walk seemed to take hours, but Bessie was relieved when
she could finally see the new houses in the distance. There were several police cars and ambulances parked in front of them with lights flashing against the dusky sky.
When Bessie finally reached the scene, John was just emerging from the show house at the end of the row.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Where’s Doona?” Bessie asked.
“In my car,” John said. “She’s a little shaken up, but fine.”
Bessie took a step towards the car and then stopped, her knees sagging under her. John quickly took her arm.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think I may have overdone it just a little,” she said, trying to smile while struggling to catch her breath.
John called one of the paramedics over and he insisted that Bessie let him examine her.
“I’m fine, just a bit out of breath,” Bessie complained.
“I’ll just confirm that for you,” the young man said cheerfully.
Bessie sat with gritted teeth as he checked her vital signs. By the time he was done, her breathing was mostly back to normal.
“I think you’ll be fine,” he said. “Make sure someone gives you a ride home, though. You don’t need to do any more walking tonight.”
Bessie considered arguing, but the thought of the long walk home had her pressing her lips together. A ride home was exactly what she needed.
Released from the ambulance, she rejoined John, who was still standing behind the house. He was talking to someone on his mobile as she approached.
“So what’s happening?” she asked as John dropped his phone into a pocket.
“I arrived just as Peter ran out of this house,” John told her. “I called for backup and then went inside. Doona was there with a woman called Julie Mortimer. Apparently, she arrived in time to stop whatever Peter was planning.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Bessie exclaimed. “I almost told her not to run. I assumed you’d get here before she could.”
“They’re doing roadwork on the coast road,” John said. “I got stuck at a temporary traffic light for ages.”
“And Doona is okay?” Bessie asked.
“I’m fine,” Doona’s voice came from behind Bessie.
Bessie gave her friend a hug and then unexpectedly burst into tears. Doona sighed and handed Bessie a tissue.
“Honestly, I don’t know what you have to cry about,” Doona teased.
“You should have told John you were meeting Peter,” Bessie said once she’d dried her tears. “Then none of this would have happened.”
“I told one of the constables,” Doona replied. “And I told Peter that I’d done so. Anyway, he was just showing me around some houses.”
“So what happened?” Bessie asked.
Doona sighed. “Can you take notes now so that this can count as my statement?” she asked John.
John hesitated and then sighed. “Let’s move over to the office and talk there. The younger Peter has offered to let us use the space for tonight.”
“Does he know you suspect his father of murder?” Bessie asked as they walked.
“Yes, but that’s a conversation for another time,” John replied.
Julie, looking slightly dazed, emerged from John’s car as they walked past. “Am I supposed to stay here?” she asked.
“Why don’t you join us?” John invited her. “I’ll need a statement from you as well.”
John stopped one of the constables and issued a series of orders and instructions before they reached the office. Once inside, everyone found places to sit before John began.
“Doona, I need a statement from you. Bessie and Julie can wait outside. It won’t take long.”
“They can stay as far as I’m concerned,” Doona said. “There really isn’t much to tell. Peter came over to my house as planned. He spent about ten minutes walking through it and then we talked for a short time about the changes I want to make. Then he drove me over here. Before we left, I rang the station to let someone know what was happening.”
“The constable on the desk made a note of your call,” John said. “You should have asked him to ring me right away, though.”
“I never imagined that I’d be in any danger,” Doona said. “And Peter heard me ring and tell the man where I was going and that I would ring back in an hour. I’m sure that kept me safe, if he was originally planning something.”
“So what did happen?” Bessie asked impatiently.
Doona smiled at her. “Peter showed me around a couple of the houses. He went on and on about how wonderful they all were. He saved the show house for last. I was starting to think he might be right when we reached the master bedroom.”
Doona stopped and took a deep breath. John looked up from his notes, concern all over his face.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Nothing happened. He made some sort of joke about trying out the bed and I laughed it off. We were just getting ready to go back downstairs when the door burst open and Julie appeared in the doorway.”
“Thank goodness for Julie,” Bessie said softly.
“I was just lucky he didn’t lock the front door behind you guys,” Julie said.
“Doona, let me hear your version of events and then I’ll get Julie’s,” John said.
“The door to the bedroom burst open and this woman I’d never seen before was standing there,” Doona said, winking at Julie. “She looked mighty ferocious and she started shouting at Peter and calling him names that I’d never even heard before. Peter took one look at her and ran out of the room.”
Julie flushed. “I was so angry. I never held him accountable for what he did to me all those years ago. I should have rung the police then, but I was too stupid to realise it. He must have killed the Kelly girls.” She shook her head. “If I’d called the police at the time, they would all still be alive,” she said sadly.
“The police might not have done all that much,” Bessie told her. “It would have been your word against his, after all.”
“And I wasn’t even sure what had happened,” Julie said. “It was all a blur.”
“You mustn’t blame yourself,” John said firmly after Julie had given her statement. She’d told him everything that she could remember from the original attack as well as what had happened that evening. “He was obviously very clever. He managed to get away with murder for nearly thirty years.”
A knock on the office door interrupted the conversation. John opened it to the younger Peter Clucas.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said. “I was hoping for an update on what’s happening.”
John nodded. “Come in,” he said. “I’m sorry about all of this. Your father ran off when I arrived. We have several constables searching for him. He took off on foot, so he can’t have gone too far.”
“He always used to go to the old Grantham farm when he needed to clear his head,” Peter told them. “He said it was peaceful there.”
Bessie shivered. Doona looked at her and then patted her hand.
“We still have a constable posted there,” John said. “If he turns up there, we’ll have him.”
“He killed those girls, didn’t he?” Peter asked.
“We don’t know anything for certain,” John replied.
“But he did,” Peter said, sighing deeply. “I’ve always wondered.”
“Why?” Bessie blurted out.
Peter looked at her for a moment and then sighed again. “There was always something slightly odd about my father. He had secrets and I learned very early on not to ask questions. My mother, well, I think she was afraid of him. I always thought she committed suicide because she couldn’t live with him anymore.”
“Maybe he killed her,” Julie suggested.
“She was alone, walking along a cliff,” Peter said. “My father was with a group of people some ten miles away.” He shook his head. “I’ve read the police reports a thousand times. He didn’t kill her, but I think he drove her to kill herself. Officially, it was a t
ragic accident.”
“You were quite young when she died, weren’t you?” Bessie asked.
“I was nine,” Peter said. “After she died, I went and lived with her sister, my Aunt Margaret, and her husband, Uncle Jerome. They raised me as their own and I had very little contact with my father, which suited me.”
John’s mobile made a noise. “I need to take this,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll go outside,” he added as everyone started to get up.
“I hope my father didn’t hurt you,” Peter said to Doona. “He told me he was going to show a prospective buyer around the site tonight. I said I’d come as well, but he was adamant that I leave him alone with you. He hinted that I would be in the way of his, um, romantic overtures.”
Doona shook her head. “He just showed me around the houses,” she said. “I felt perfectly safe until Julie turned up and started shouting at him.”
“I’m sorry,” Peter said.
“It isn’t your fault in any way,” Doona replied.
“I should have insisted on coming as well,” Peter argued. “I didn’t feel comfortable about him being here alone with you, but I didn’t really think he’d ever hurt anyone.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Doona said.
“I knew he had secrets, but I always thought he had other women,” Peter said, almost talking to himself. “I thought that was why my mother killed herself. I never guessed, never imagined, but somehow I’m not nearly as shocked as I should be, either. He always frightened me slightly.”
“I just hope they find him quickly,” Bessie said.
John’s face was grim when he stepped back inside the small office. “I need to speak to Mr. Clucas privately,” he said.
Bessie, Doona and Julie made their way back outside. “What do we do now?” Julie asked.
“We need to wait and see what John has to say when he’s done with Peter,” Bessie said.
“They must have found his father,” Julie said.
“Maybe,” Bessie replied.
A moment later the door to the office opened and John stepped out. “I’m going to send you all home,” he said. “I’ll have a constable escort each of you.”
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