Witness

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘Yeah, I was checking the job centre website to see if there was anything worth applying for,’ Rob said. ‘Don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ Suzie said, clicking into the local news sites.

  ‘Looking for something?’ Rob glanced at the screen.

  ‘I rang the hospitals again and Josie hasn’t been admitted,’ Suzie told him quietly, looking out into the hallway to make sure Holly hadn’t come down the stairs. ‘Then I rang the agency she works for and spoke to one of her colleagues. She told me Josie turned up at hers last night asking for booze and painkillers. It seems she sold her some, but she doesn’t know where Josie went from there, so I’m checking to see if there are any reports of women getting arrested for drunken behaviour.’

  ‘Wouldn’t it be quicker to call the police?’ Rob suggested, turning to finish making the brews.

  ‘I don’t really want to talk to them until it’s absolutely necessary,’ Suzie said, speed-reading the news articles. ‘If I tell them Josie’s missing and we’re worried about her, they’ll start sniffing round Holly again.’

  Before Rob could respond to that, the doorbell rang. ‘Want me to get it?’ he offered, putting the spoon down.

  ‘No, I’ll get it.’ Suzie leapt up. ‘If it’s Josie, she might get spooked if she sees you, and I don’t want her running away again.’

  She went out into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her, and then quickly opened the front door.

  ‘Morning.’ PC Spencer smiled at her from the step. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen Ms Evans yet, have you? Only she hasn’t called, and she’s not answering the door.’

  ‘Ah . . . yeah, I saw her last night,’ Suzie lied, thinking on her feet. ‘She popped over to tell me she was taking Holly to stay with a friend for a couple of days.’

  ‘I see.’ Spencer looked disappointed. ‘You wouldn’t happen to know where this friend lives, would you?’

  ‘Sorry, I don’t,’ Suzie said, folding her arms when she noticed Bennett watching her from the car again. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her nervous.

  ‘Never mind,’ Spencer said. ‘Thanks, anyway. I’ll try her again in a few days.’

  ‘To be honest, I’m not sure she’s going to tell you anything even if you do catch up with her,’ Suzie said. ‘She told me she doesn’t remember anything and pretty much wants to forget about it.’

  ‘Can’t say I blame her,’ said Spencer. ‘But we need something or the guy we picked up is going to walk.’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ Suzie murmured, feeling guilty for trying to throw him off the scent if it meant the attacker got away with it. But Josie was so secretive, Suzie genuinely doubted she would tell Spencer anything even if she had perfect recall of the attack.

  ‘OK, I’ll get off, then,’ Spencer said. ‘But when you see her, could you tell her I’d still like to speak to her?’

  ‘Of course.’ Suzie smiled.

  When she’d seen him off, Suzie went back to the kitchen. The door was ajar, and she guessed Rob had been eavesdropping when he asked who she’d been talking to.

  ‘It was one of the cops who came round to tell Holly her mum was in hospital that night,’ she told him as she sat down. ‘They’ve been trying to get hold of her because they want her to look at some mugshots, so I told him they’d gone to stay with friends for a couple of days.’

  ‘A couple of days?’ Rob frowned. ‘I thought you said she’d been seen and she was OK?’

  ‘Yeah, but we don’t know where she is, or what her plans are, so I thought I’d best buy some time – just in case,’ said Suzie. ‘She stayed out last night, and there’s no guarantee she won’t do the same again tonight.’

  ‘And if she does?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Suzie shrugged. ‘I suppose Holly will have to stay here again.’ Giving him a sheepish look when she saw the disapproval in his eyes, she said, ‘Please don’t be angry with me. You didn’t see her face when I asked if she wanted to stay over there and wait for her mum. She obviously doesn’t want to be on her own. And she’s only a kid.’

  ‘Someone else’s kid,’ said Rob. ‘And what if her mum doesn’t come back?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Suzie groaned, resting her elbows on the tabletop and dropping her head into her hands.

  ‘Babe, you need to face facts,’ Rob said, placing a cup of tea in front of her and taking a seat. ‘I know you think you’re helping, but she’s not your responsibility, and the longer you keep her here, the harder the police are going to come down on you when they find out.’

  ‘They’re not going to find out,’ Suzie said. ‘As soon as Josie comes back—’

  ‘Stop saying that like it’s a done deal,’ Rob cut her off, his expression serious. ‘You said she went looking for booze and painkillers last night, so what if she took an overdose? She could be dying for all you know, and they won’t find her in time because you told that copper she’s staying with a mate.’

  ‘Well, I couldn’t tell him the truth, could I?’ Suzie argued. ‘Holly would definitely get taken off her if they heard that.’

  ‘And so she should be, if her mum’s more concerned about getting pissed than looking after her.’

  ‘That’s not fair. She’s bound to be struggling after everything she’s been through. And she knows Holly’s safe.’

  ‘Does she, though?’ Rob asked bluntly. ‘I’m not being funny, Suze, but you’ve only met the woman a couple of times. You could be a serial killer, for all she knows.’

  ‘That’s a bit extreme.’

  ‘No, it’s the truth. And if she cares so little about Holly that she’d leave her with a virtual stranger, what makes you think she’s going to come back for her? She’s probably halfway to Spain by now, thanking her lucky stars that she found a mug to take the kid off her hands.’

  ‘She wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘I’m not trying to make you feel bad,’ Rob said. ‘But promise me you won’t leave it too long before you call the police? I’ve only just got you back, and I don’t want to lose you again because you end up getting arrested for harbouring a fugitive.’

  ‘Fugitive?’ Suzie snorted, unable to stop herself from laughing.

  ‘You know what I mean.’ Rob grinned. ‘Just think about it, yeah?’

  Glad that the atmosphere had lifted and Rob wasn’t going to pressure her into handing Holly over to the authorities immediately, Suzie said, ‘OK, I’ll make a deal with you. If she’s not back in a week—’

  ‘A week?’ Rob’s eyes widened.

  ‘I know it seems like a long time, but I’m going to speak to that woman she works with again, see if she knows more than she was letting on.’

  ‘And what about Holly? Are you planning on keeping her here while you’re waiting?’

  Suzie gave a tiny shrug and gripped the cup between both hands. ‘I can’t make her stay over there on her own, can I?’

  ‘What about school? They’re bound to start asking questions if she stays off for too long.’

  ‘If Josie isn’t back by Monday, I’ll ring them and tell them what I told the copper: that they’ve gone to stay with a friend.’

  Rob breathed in deeply and shook his head. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Suze.’

  ‘One week,’ Suzie reiterated. ‘And if I haven’t found Josie by then, I promise I’ll do it your way. OK?’

  ‘I don’t know why you’re asking what I think, ’cos you’ve obviously made up your mind,’ Rob said, standing up.

  Scared that she’d asked too much of him and he had decided he wanted out, Suzie said, ‘You’re not leaving, are you?’

  ‘I’m going to get some more fags,’ he said, nodding at the almost empty pack lying between them on the table.

  Relieved, Suzie rose from her seat. ‘You bought the last lot, so let me get these.’

  ‘It’s cool, I’ve got it.’ Rob waved for her to sit back down. ‘Need anything else while I’m there?’

 
‘We could do with some more wine.’

  Rob nodded, and Suzie smiled when he said he’d be back in a minute. The smile slipped as soon as he’d gone, and she frowned as she thought over the implications of her decision. If Josie really had done a runner, as Rob seemed to think, how the hell was she supposed to tell Holly that she was handing her over to the police when the week was up? The girl trusted her, and it would feel like a double betrayal if Suzie abandoned her as well. But Rob was right when he’d said that she couldn’t keep Holly here indefinitely. Not only could it potentially land Suzie in a heap of trouble with the law, it was bound to impact on her relationship with Rob, who had already made his opinions on the subject quite clear.

  It was a mess, and all she could do was pray that Josie did come back soon. Because if push came to shove and she was forced to choose, Holly’s heart was going to break into a thousand pieces.

  Outside, Rob zipped up his jacket and stared thoughtfully over at the flats before setting off to the shops. He wasn’t happy about Suzie bringing the girl back to the house, and he had no intention of letting her stay a full week. He’d put a lot of effort into winning Suzie back, and he wasn’t going to allow anyone to come between them. For whatever reason, Suzie had taken a real shine to the girl, and it pissed him off to know that they formed such a tight bond in his absence. And what was with those sexy photos Holly had taken of her?

  Suzie had done lingerie photo shoots in the past and she knew he didn’t like it – even if he had helped her to spend the money she’d earned from them. But those ones he’d seen today were too intimate by far, and he’d struggled to contain his jealousy when he’d looked through them – hence his jibe about her setting up a webcam business instead of an agency.

  She might as bloody well, if that was the kind of thing she’d been getting up to behind his back. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear there was something more going on between her and that girl than just friendship. He’d seen how uncomfortable Suzie had looked when he’d stumbled across the photos. It was like she’d wanted to keep them strictly between her and Holly. Their little secret from which he was excluded.

  Whether or not there was any truth to his suspicions, Rob didn’t like the girl and wanted her out. He’d seen the sly looks the little bitch kept giving him, and it had pissed him off when Suzie had said that Holly had asked her not to tell him what was going on with her and her stupid, neglectful mother. And it didn’t matter that Suzie had eventually told him. It was the fact that she had considered not telling him which infuriated him.

  One way or another, he needed to get rid of Holly. He’d tried to scare Suzie into seeing sense by warning her that the police would come down on her like a ton of bricks if she didn’t hand the girl over to them, but she had stubbornly dug her heels in on that one, so he’d had to let it go. He knew she would be furious if he went behind her back and talked to the police himself, and he didn’t want to risk getting kicked out again now he’d burned his bridges with Angie. So he would just have to find another way around this.

  Brain ticking over as he walked, Rob’s thoughts turned to Josie. Suzie seemed convinced that the woman would come back for Holly soon, but there was no guarantee that was going to happen. But if Suzie was right and she had spent all these years trying to protect her child, would she really abandon the girl? Suzie didn’t think so, and neither did Rob – despite what he’d told Suzie. No, Josie was lurking somewhere nearby, he was sure of it. He just needed to flush her out.

  Still thinking about that when he arrived at the shops, he bought wine and cigarettes using the money he’d stolen out of Angie’s drawer, and then headed back to the house. Suzie’s research into the background of the dead man had led her to believe that the murder was drug-related. Whether or not that was true, the killer had never been caught, according to the articles Rob had read. In his experience, those types of criminals rarely committed only one offence, so it was likely that the man was still operating. And he had to be pretty high up in the game to have evaded capture for so long.

  Rob had reached the corner of Suzie’s road, but he abruptly stopped walking when another thought struck him. If Josie had spent all these years on the run fearing that the killer wanted to silence her, then it had to be a genuine threat. In which case, the killer would probably be prepared to pay a nice sum of money to find her.

  Narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as the idea took root and began to blossom into a get-rich-quick scheme, Rob pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contact list.

  ‘Decca, it’s me,’ he said when his call was answered. ‘Don’t sound so nervous, mate, I’m not calling to have a go at you for grassing me up to Kev. It did piss me off, but he is a cunt, so I couldn’t give a shit. Anyhow, listen . . . remember when we were both in the Strange three years back and I was padded up with Harry Cox? The old dude, yeah, that’s the one. I left before you, and I forgot to ask for his number. Don’t suppose you got it, did you – or know anyone else who might have it? Cheers, mate, that’d be great. Give us a bell as soon as.’

  Grinning when he’d finished the call, Rob glanced over at the flats again before walking on. Decca was lucky he had contacts or Rob would have kicked his arse next time he saw him. But if he managed to get hold of Harry Cox’s number, they were even.

  It was 4 p.m. before Rob’s phone rang. It was a withheld number, and he’d got into the habit of ignoring those in case it was Angie drunk-dialling for another argument. But he’d been waiting all day for Decca’s call, and he didn’t want to miss it if it was him, so he got up off the sofa, where he and Suzie had spent the afternoon watching DVDs, and went out into the hall to answer it.

  ‘Is this Robert?’ a man asked.

  ‘Harry!’ Rob grinned, instantly recognizing the fifty-rollies-a-day rasp of his old cellmate’s voice. ‘Wow, man, it’s been a long time,’ he said, heading into the kitchen and closing the door. ‘How you doing?’

  ‘All good,’ Harry said. ‘So, a little birdie tells me you’ve been asking for my number?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Rob said, guessing that Decca must have given his number to his contacts and one of them had passed it on to Harry. ‘Hope you don’t mind, but I need a favour, and you were the go-to man inside, so . . .’

  ‘How much you after?’ Harry asked bluntly.

  ‘It’s not money, or anything,’ Rob assured him. ‘It’s, um, personal,’ he said, reluctant to say too much over the phone, because he was wary of who might be listening in. ‘I thought maybe we could meet up and discuss it over a pint? My treat.’

  ‘Personal, eh?’ Harry repeated, sounding intrigued. ‘Tell you what, give us your address and I’ll pop round when I get some spare time.’

  ‘I’d rather come to you, if that’s OK?’ Rob said, lowering his voice as he added, ‘The missus doesn’t know about this, and I’d rather she didn’t find out.’

  ‘Like that, is it?’ Harry chuckled. ‘And when were you thinking of?’

  ‘Sooner the better,’ Rob said hopefully.

  After arranging to meet up with Harry later that evening, Rob went back to the living room.

  ‘Everything all right?’ Suzie asked, looking up at him with concern in her eyes. ‘It wasn’t that crazy bitch again, was it?’

  ‘No, it was a bloke about a job,’ Rob grinned. ‘I didn’t tell you this morning, ’cos I didn’t want to get your hopes up, but I applied for something while you were out – when you asked if I’d been using the laptop – and they want me to go for an interview.’

  ‘That’s great.’ Suzie smiled. ‘When?’

  ‘Six.’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘Yep, so I’d best start getting ready,’ Rob said, glancing at the clock. ‘Fingers crossed, eh?’

  ‘You don’t need luck, you’re bound to get it,’ Suzie said. ‘Where’s the interview being held?’

  ‘Wythenshawe,’ Rob lied. ‘It’s a bit of a trek, and I’ll have to switch buses a few times so I m
ight be back late. You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘Of course I don’t,’ Suzie said without hesitation. ‘I know how important this is for you after losing out on the rig thing.’

  ‘It’s important for us,’ Rob corrected her, planting a kiss on her lips. ‘’Cos if I get this we’ll be quids in, and you can forget about the agency and let me look after you for a change.’

  He winked at her before leaving the room and jogging up the stairs, not noticing the flicker of a frown that crossed her brow as she watched him go. He knew she thought of herself as an independent woman, but now they were back together, he was fucked if he was letting her take her clothes off in front of another man – or woman – again.

  36

  Rob hadn’t been to Oldham in years, and he remembered why he’d been in no rush to return when the bus trundled past row after row of boarded-up shops and scruffy houses at six that evening. Although it was within ten miles of Manchester, the atmosphere was so alien to him it might as well have been another planet. And the feeling of uneasiness increased the closer he got to his destination, so that by the time the bus driver told him he’d reached his stop, he was beginning to regret not asking Harry to meet up on his turf instead.

  Reminding himself that he’d done it this way so that he could kill two birds with one stone and try to make contact with the killer while he was up here – providing Harry knew who it was – he squinted when he stepped off the bus and the wind hurled a swirling cloud of dust into his eyes. He was standing at the end of a long narrow road of two-up two-down terraced houses, at the far end of which he could just about make out the dully lit sign of the Dog and Partridge pub where Harry had asked to meet. A squat single-storey building, it sat alone in the centre of its deserted car park, and dark wasteland stretched out into the distance behind it.

  Looking up when he heard the dull thwack of a football hitting concrete, Rob picked out the shadowy figures of several small boys playing footie at the end of the road. The sky was already dark enough to make them look like they’d stepped straight out of a Lowry painting, and he wondered if he’d made a mistake choosing the designer leather jacket and trainers he was wearing. He had bought them off a junkie shoplifter for fifteen quid apiece, but they were probably worth more than any of the tatty cars that were parked along the road, and it showed. Still, he could hardly go and get changed now, so he lowered his head in an effort to make himself inconspicuous as he set off along the road.