by Sara Dalton
“What’s wrong Ian?”
“I’m curious, what was more important?” Ian smiled. Alan glared at him, looking up and down the hall before pulling him into the room before closing the door.
“That’s got nothing to do with you,” Alan said.
“I just wanted to know what was more important than listening to dad.”
“I found something out… about him…” There was another knock on the door and this time he was sure that would be his dad. “Hide in there, I want you to witness this.” Alan ushered Ian into the wardrobe and closed the door.
“What do you want?” Alan asked. He moved away from the wardrobe and sat down at his desk by the window before his dad entered. Anthony walked into the room clearing his throat. Alan watched his dad glance around his bedroom and taking a deep breathe. Alan pretended to ignore him by looking at his college books on the shelf above. There was a poster of a band named ACDC next to his bed. It was Alan’s favourite band. He had a cricket bat and helmet set on his chest of drawers with a shelf beside it full of cricket medals.
“I want to know your reason for not turning up at Mrs. Hammerly’s.” He questioned.
“I want to know where you were last night when it was mum’s birthday,” Alan remarked. He saw his dad’s face turn red, clenching his fists but no words came out. Alan stood up from his desk with his arms folded over his chest, he was slightly taller than his dad. He couldn’t help but have a grin on his face showing he knew about his dad’s secret.
“How did you…”
“How did I find out?” Alan raised his eyebrows as he finished the question. “Mum said you were working late last night, I came by your office and you were certainly working late.” Alan mocked. Anthony stood in an awkward silence. “What? Did I say something wrong?” Alan carried on. Anthony turned towards the door, but Alan burst into laughter.
His dad turned beet red. Alan had never outright challenged his dad before, so he was treading on new territory. “Why you little...how dare you spy on me.”
“How dare I? How dare you. I should run downstairs and tell mum everything.”
“You will do no bloody such thing.”
“And why not?”
“Your history isn’t too good lad, you’re all mouth and no trousers.”
Alan turned back to his desk where his cassette player lay. He lifted it and presented it to his dad whose eyes took on orbs. The red record button was mashed and the spindles on the tape were rotating. “You see, I have you bang to rights.”
“Give that to me.” Anthony lunged at the recorder in his son’s hand, foam forming in the corners of his mouth.
Alan jumped back, holding the cassette player behind his back. “So help me I’ll scream and mum will come running, I’ll spill my guts”
Anthony stood up, sniffed and began smoothing his tie out with his hand. “What do you want?”
“I’ll let you know.” Alan chuffed as the corners of his lips curled upward.
“You won’t get away with this,” his dad’s index finger quivering inches from Alan’s face, “You’ll get yours.”
Alan snickered, pushing aside his dad’s hand, “Go back downstairs and be nice to mum before I decide to blow the whole affair and your marriage goes tits-up.”
Anthony spun on his heals huffing, his hands balled into clenched fists as he stormed out of Alan’s room and down the stairs.
“You know, mum will be heartbroken if she found out that you are having an affair. So, you better stop the affair, or I will tell her myself.” Alan finally said it. Anthony stormed out of the bedroom slamming the door behind him.
“He’s gone.” Alan called. Ian slowly appeared from the wardrobe looking at his brother.
“Are you really going to tell mum?” Ian asked. Alan shook his head and moved towards him.
“Nope, I’m going to use it against him to get whatever I want. Come on, it’s movie time.” Alan grinned. The boys went back downstairs to see that their mum and dad hugging together on the sofa getting ready for the film to start.
“Come on boys,” Shirley tapped the sofa beside her and they all sat together. Alan looked over at Anthony he arched an eyebrow. Shirley glanced up at Anthony and gave him a soft smile. He quickly pecked her on the lips and looked back at Alan.
Chapter
Five
7th April 2016
Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Addison was sat at her desk as she searched for Mandy Phillips inform her the death of her sister. She glanced around the station as she waited for the page to load, desks were scattered around, and officers were in and out of the office. She found her file and a picture popped up with previous arrests.
At first, Addison thought the woman was Wendy, she looked up at the board where Wendy’s picture was and then back to the screen. They were twins. Mandy Phillips was Wendy’s twin sister. She scrolled through the file and saw previous arrests for minor offenses like thieving, damage to a property and public nudity.
Addison scribbled down the address into her notebook as Robert walked in. He strolled into his office and slammed the door behind him which rattled. He threw his jacket on his chair. Addison watched him for a few moments before gathering up the courage to go and talk to him.
Addison picked up her notebook and tapped on his office door. She stood waiting for him to call her in, the longer he took the more nervous she got, but he finally called her into his office. She shuffled her way in and moved over to his desk in front of him. He was slouching in his chair undoing the top button of his shirt. Addison watched as she saw a small reveal of hair on his chest, his voice slowly dragged her eyes back up to his.
“What do you have?” He asked her. Addison handed a file of the information she collected from the system. He took it and started to flick through the pages as she carried on talking.
“I’ve found Wendy’s sister Mandy Phillips.” Addison flipped open her notebook. “I’ve written down her address, so we could notify her about Wendy’s death.”
“Take Fletcher with you.” He waved his hand for her to leave his office, but she hesitated. “What is it?” He raised his voice.
“Who’s Fletcher?”
“FLETCHER!” Robert bellowed. Addison flinched at the sudden call. The sound of the door opened, and she heard a voice behind her.
“Yes sir,” she heard him say. He stepped into view as he came up beside her in front of Robert. The first thing she noticed was how tall he was, his head nearly touched the ceiling. He ran a hand through his dark blonde messy hair as his eyes flickered over to Addison. She turned to face him as he greeted Robert in his chair. She could see a crescent moon shaped scar around his eye.
“Addison McCain, this is Andrew Fletcher, you two will be travelling to Mandy Phillips house to tell her the news,” Robert told them. Addison glanced at Andrew Fletcher who nodded and left the room. She paused before she followed him, Robert had turned to face the window. She closed the door behind her.
“I’m guessing you are the new DS in this case. Robert new partner.” Fletcher asked.
“I’m supposed to be his partner, but he’s not very happy about it. I’m sorry you are left with me. We must go and notify Wendy’s family. I’m Addison McCain, thought I’d introduce myself properly.” Addison put her hand out and Fletcher shook it.
“DI Andrew Fletcher, shall we get going?” Fletcher smiled at her. Addison knew she would get along with him much better than Robert. She glanced back into the office window to see him running his hands through his dark brown hair. She grabbed her jacket from her chair and rushed off out after Fletcher. Robert watched out of his office window as Addison got into the car with Fletcher.
“So, what’s up with you and the DCI?” Fletcher asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s my first day here as a DS and he’s not exactly happy that he’s been partnered up with me. He’s even palming me off on you, which I’m sorry about.” Addison finished and took
in a deep breath. Fletcher watched her from the corner of his eye.
“I think we would make a good pair, let’s show Robert how good you really are,” Fletcher replied. Addison glanced at him and he grinned. She smiled realising how good-looking he was, beautiful brown eyes that glanced back at her.
“Let’s do it.”
Addison pulled out her notebook to look through all the notes that she had made. “Do you think that the kids saw the killers face?” She asked. She knew they were hiding in the closet, but was his face covered. Did Anna recognise her mother’s killer?
“Anna and Jake?”
“Yes,”
“It’s hard to say, it’s possible. But if they did, the killer is holding something over them.” Fletcher suggested.
“The killer could have threatened them?” Addison jotted down into her notebook the theory of the children being threatened by the killer.
“The boy who lives next door to them told me that Anna knows sign language. I think that might be a good route to go down. Find out where she learned it and how long for?”
“That’s good, not many people learn sign language so it’s a good start.”
“Well, there wasn’t a break-in at the house. Wendy must have invited this person inside, so she may have known this person.” Addison carried on. “I’m not sure what the motive could have been. Why did he kill Wendy?” She added. She started to rub a white scar on her right wrist as she thought about the killer’s motive. Addison glanced out of the window trying to push back the memories of her past. Fletcher noticed that she was distracted, so they sat in silence for the rest of the journey.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Fletcher asked as he pulled into the side of the road. There were people coming in and out of the house, the one Addison had written in her notebook. She glanced down to check the address. Addison hopped out of the car as she glanced at all the drunk people. People were hovering around, drinking, dancing and there was even loud music. They were surprised no one had complained. Everyone saw Fletcher and Addison coming up the walkway to the house, staring at them as they walked by.
“Why is everyone looking at us?” Addison moved closer to Fletcher.
“It’s a house full of junkies. Stay close.” Fletcher ordered. Addison did as she was told and stayed by his side. They entered the house and asked around to help them locate the owner. Addison was stunned by the person who approached them, she instantly knew that this was Mandy Phillips. She looked exactly like Wendy, remembering they were twins. Mandy looked a lot thinner, bags under her eyes and a cigarette between her crooked hot pink fingernails.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. If, someone has complained about the music...” Mandy started.
“Mandy, we are here to talk about your sister Wendy,” Fletcher said. There was a short pause before she stumped out her cigarette in an ashtray that sat on a side table beside the sofa.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Mandy mumbled. Fletcher watched her move towards her DJ, she whispered something into his ear. He picked up the microphone and announced for everyone to leave the house. There were some boos and hisses as they left, but Mandy didn’t care. She picked up a dressing gown from the cupboard and wrapped herself inside it. She sat down on her sofa and invited Addison and Fletcher to sit opposite her.
“She’s dead, right?” Mandy asked.
“How did you...” Addison started.
“How did I know? Wendy is trouble, she probably had a relapse.”
“She was murdered,” Fletcher announced.
“Murdered?” Mandy stood up.
“Yes, she was murdered Ms, Phillips, we wanted to ask you some questions about her social life,” Fletcher asked.
“I don’t know much. She wouldn’t let me see my niece and nephew unless I cleaned myself up. But the urge is too strong, so I stayed well away from her and her family.” She replied as she sat back in her seat.
“You mentioned Wendy relapsing, was she a user?” Addison asked.
“She was, but after having her children she cleaned herself up. She did well.” Mandy told her.
“Are you a user?” Addison asked.
“Well duh,” Mandy responded sarcastically. Addison sat in silence and let Fletcher carry on. She moved over to the mantelpiece to have a look at Mandy’s photos of her and Wendy when they were children. There was a photo of Wendy and a man with his arm around her, Addison picked it up and showed it to Mandy.
“Who’s this?” Addison asked. She saw the photo and she leaned back on the sofa resting her head back. Addison put the photo back and perched next to Fletcher.
“That’s Michael, Wendy’s first husband.”
“What happened?” Fletcher prompted.
“He beat her up all the time. She filed domestic abuse against him many times, but the police never did anything, I think it was because of the drugs. Eventually, she ran away from him, met someone else and had a family. I’m glad she did, he was a nasty piece of work. I never like Michael.” Mandy explained.
“What’s his full name?”
“Michael Ray,” Mandy said as Addison jotted the name into her notebook. Fletcher looked over her shoulder to see her shorthand writing that he couldn’t understand. “This is a secret between us, I believe Anna was Michael’s kid. Wendy was already pregnant when she ran away, she wanted to save her kid from a father like that. She never planned to tell Anna the truth and I don’t think Michael knew about her.” Mandy mentioned. It was enough to put Michael as a suspect, his motive to murder Wendy. Addison jotted everything down into her notebook and quickly pocketed it. “I saw a dead crow this morning on my way to the corner shop, it’s a sign of death. I never knew it would be Wendy.”
Fletcher glanced down at his phone and then nodded to Addison. She knew it was a sign for them to leave which she was glad.
“We better get going, but if you come up with anything else that could help us don’t hesitate to contact us.” Fletcher left his contact details on her coffee table. They left her house and Addison drew in a deep breath.
“Finally, I’m able to breathe.” They both headed back over to the car. Addison noticed that Mandy was watching out of the window as they leave. “What do you think of her story?”
“I believe her.” Addison and Fletcher both got into the car.
“I want to talk to the children again. Do you think they’ll let me?” Addison asked.
“You’ll have to run it by Robert first. He wants an update on how it went with Mandy if we got anything that was useful.”
“As if he’ll let me, he hates me as it is.” She replied insolently.
“Are they still at the hospital?” Fletcher asked.
“The nurse isn’t going to release them until the social worker traces down Carl Willis the father. I could ring before arrival to see if they are still there.”
“Make it quick and we will go and see them. We’ll only have a short time.”
“I’ve got a feeling about this. The children are the key, they know something.” Addison expressed. “I’ll give them a quick ring to make sure they are still available at the hospital.” Addison carried on as she shuffled forward pulling her phone out from her pocket. She dialed the number to the peadriatrics ward.
“Hi this is Detective Sergeant Addison McCain, I’m on the case of Wendy Willis who was murdered and wanted to know if Anna and Jake Willis were still available there as I have a few more questions to ask them,” Addison told them. Fletcher watched as she nodded her head to him. Addison hung up the phone. “They said we can have ten minutes with them.”
Chapter
Six
7th April 2016
Morburn Hospital, Sawbridgeworth, United Kingdom
Fletcher pulled up in the Morburn hospital car park. He switched off the engine and they both got out of the car. Addison had filled him in with the interview she had with the children earlier this morning. She led Fletcher into the building and down the corridor towards the lift.
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“Have the children got anyone to collect them?” Fletcher asked. They both stood watching the number above the lift stopping on each floor before reaching the Paediatric ward.
“The social worker was there for them now. I think she was trying to get in contact with their father to come and get them.” Addison replied. “Although, I’m worried that he doesn’t want to take them home with him.” She expressed.
“It’s not our business if he takes them or not,” Fletcher said. “Just a piece of advice, don’t get too attached to the children. Sometimes there is just nothing we can do for them.” Fletcher continued as he exited onto the third floor when the doors opened. Addison watched as he walked in front of her, not knowing what else to say. But she knew he was right. He’s got experience and he’s seen it all before, she knew that. She glanced at the familiar yellow double doors as she pressed the button on the intercom. She flashed her badge and the door buzzed open.
They walked down the corridor until they arrived at Anna and Jakes room. The curtain was pulled to the side and they were in full view. Jake was sitting in the play area playing with the Lorries while Anna was staring out of the window. It’s like she hadn’t moved since Addison left. The television was still there too. She saw Emily walking over towards them as they entered the room.
“What can I do you for you?” She asked.
“I was hoping to get another word with Anna as I wanted to confirm a few things with her.” Addison started.
“Of course, there won’t be a lot of time as their father is picking them up in half an hour,” Emily mentioned. Addison nodded, and she moved over to Anna. Fletcher sat in the spare seat on the other side of the bed keeping a short distance while Addison asked her questions.
“Hi Anna, do you remember me? I came to see you this morning?”
“Addie,” She spoke.
“How was the film?” Addison asked.
