The Silent Ones: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller

by K. L. Slater

  She pulled it out and glanced at it. Elizabeth Chambers.

  Strange seeing Lizzie’s full name like that, and something buzzed in her head, like she’d heard it before.

  A strap of some sort had hooked itself around the purse, and Dana shook it free impatiently. It was attached to a laminated lanyard. She extracted it from its tangle and inspected it. It featured a familiar black and bronze colour scheme.

  Ashfield Angels

  Carer name: Beth Chambers

  Beth Chambers had been one of Bessie Wilford’s carers. And wasn’t she also Juliet’s friend who was taking care of her son and the business?

  Checking that Lizzie was still on the phone, she replaced the contents, put the bag back on the table and then, her whole body trembling, she let herself back out of her house as stealthily as she’d entered.

  Fifty-Eight

  Juliet

  I calculate I have enough time to sort this out with Beth before Maddy’s final interview in about an hour’s time.

  I drive to her house on automatic pilot. I don’t register the journey at all as my thoughts are focused on Maddy probably being charged today. It’s all I can do to keep breathing.

  Beth had sounded a bit weird on the phone, and she’s looking after Josh. I haven’t spoken to him since she picked him up and it would be just like Beth to keep something from me – like if he was unwell – to stop me from worrying.

  I pull up in front of her small terrace and rush around to the back door. It’s ajar.

  ‘Beth,’ I call urgently. ‘Beth?’

  She appears at the kitchen door, smiling. I take a deep breath.

  ‘I thought I’d pop in just to say hi to Josh before I go back to the juvenile centre.’ I try to say it casually, but my voice comes out strained.

  ‘He’s sleeping at the moment,’ she says slowly, and smiles, an unhinged expression spreading over her face.

  ‘Can we wake him up?’ I can’t stop the rising panic in my voice. ‘I really need to wake him up, because if I don’t get back right away, the police will come looking for me so they can interview Maddy.’

  There’s no chance of that; they’ll just get Carol and Seetal to sit in with Maddy on her interview but it’s the first thing that comes into my head.

  ‘I know the game’s up,’ she says. ‘I know Dana heard me on the phone. I heard a noise and saw her driving away.’

  ‘Dana?’ I frown, not understanding. Is Beth unwell herself? She’s never met Dana so far as I know. ‘You know, I can take Josh with me after all. I bet you could do with a break yourself.’

  I’ve been dying to tell Beth about Corey… that I wasn’t to blame after all these years but I can sense now is not the time. She seems confused, disorientated.

  ‘Josh isn’t here. I gave him a little something to help him sleep.’

  ‘What? Where is he?’ I step forward, feeling a bit light-headed. ‘Is he OK? What have you given him?’ Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions and she just means some warm milk or something.

  It occurs to me that each time I’ve spoken to Beth on the phone, Josh has always been too busy watching Netflix to chat. My neck muscles tighten.

  ‘I want to see him, Beth. If he’s unwell I’ll need to take him to the doctor.’

  ‘He’s OK… for now. You’ll have to take my word for it. But let’s not talk about Josh, let’s talk about you. You and your heartless family.’

  My heart is thudding against my chest, but I have to try and keep calm. There’s clearly something very wrong with Beth. I’ve never seen her like this before; she’s usually so rational and calm.

  With rising panic, I realise that I’ve left Josh in the care of someone who has possibly had some kind of a breakdown.

  ‘Beth,’ I say gently. ‘Are you feeling OK?’ I place my hand on her upper arm, but she shrugs it off.

  ‘All you ever bang on about is this supposed kinship we share because our brothers both died. You never knew how I’ve despised your mother ever since my brother’s death.’

  A jolt like electricity shoots through my torso.

  ‘Why would you blame my mum, Beth? She was part of the team who cared for Andrew when he was admitted after the accident.’

  Beth gave a bitter laugh. ‘Cared? That’s hardly the right word for letting someone die.’

  She’s making no sense whatsoever, and my patience is wearing thin. I need to see my son right now.

  ‘Andrew died of the injuries he sustained in the accident, you know that’s true.’ I turn back to her. Again I make a real effort not to raise my voice, but I’m firm. ‘Before we talk any more I want to see Josh.’

  ‘You’ll see him all in good time. First I have some things to say that you need to listen to very carefully.’

  I rush to the kitchen door and shout upstairs. ‘Josh?’

  ‘I told you, he’s not here,’ she says, folding her arms. ‘Trust me. You’ll want to hear what I’ve got to say.’

  I grab her hand. ‘Beth! Stop this now, or I’ll call the police.’ All thoughts of keeping calm are forgotten now.

  She laughs, shakes me off. ‘Call the police. Let them hear everything I have to say. In fact, while you’re at it, call the press, too. They’ll have a field day.’

  I doubt the press are interested in her ramblings about poor Andrew’s death. She’s deluded. But Neary and March will help me get my son back, I know that. I fumble in my handbag for my phone.

  ‘It’s always been family first with you, hasn’t it?’ Beth sneers. ‘Even though they treat you like a second-class citizen. Blame you for what happened to Corey when it was never your fault at all.’

  I stare at her, disbelief prickling every inch of my skin. Beth knows it was Chloe who was responsible for Corey’s accident? How is that even possible?

  ‘Did you know that Bessie Wilford was the ward sister on duty the day Andrew was brought into hospital?’

  ‘How do you know that?’ I frown, trying to get to grips with all this. ‘You knew Bessie Wilford?’

  ‘I went to her house in a carer capacity a few times. She’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Now that really turned out to be a blessing in disguise.’

  I stare at her. She’s not making any sense, and in the meantime Josh is possibly drugged somewhere. What if he chokes… or wakes up somewhere strange and panics? I have to call the police. I pull my phone out of my bag and open up my call list for Neary’s direct number.

  ‘Do you know how Alzheimer’s works, Juliet?’ She’s conversing in this casual tone, as if we’re just having a regular chat over coffee. ‘Bessie had a near-perfect memory for years ago; it was just the more recent stuff she had a problem with. When she said she worked at the hospital – mad old bat thought she was still there, actually – I asked her about my brother on the off chance, mentioned your mum’s name, too.’ Beth’s face screws up with disdain. ‘Bessie remembered the day Andrew was brought in perfectly. She told me his injuries were too severe and there was nothing they could do for him.’

  For a moment I see a glimmer of my friend again. She seems so vulnerable and sad. Getting angry with her obviously isn’t helping and isn’t getting me closer to seeing Josh, so I try a different tactic.

  ‘Beth, this has raked up all your sadness about Andrew. You’re bound to feel bad.’ I shake my head. ‘But you’ve never told me or the police that you knew Bessie. Why not?’

  ‘Do you know what Bessie told me? She said they could’ve tried one or two procedures but they all knew he was too far gone. So a team decision was made and they did nothing.’ Her hands ball into hard fists. ‘They did nothing.’

  ‘I’m sorry you’re feeling so bad, Beth, but Bessie was old, and as you say, she had—’

  ‘Her distant memory was clearer than yours or mine!’ Beth retorts. ‘And when I found out about Corey, that’s when something snapped inside me. It felt like someone flicked a switch. Both Bessie and your mum were part of that team. They were instrumental in letting Andrew die. A
nd then Corey, too… I can’t handle it.’

  Her hands fly up to her head, pressing hard against her temples.

  Corey… Andrew… who exactly is she talking about? She’s in a bad way.

  ‘I’m giving you one more chance, Beth.’ I hold my phone up in the air. ‘I want to see Josh right now or I’m calling the police. Nothing you’re saying is making any sense at all. ’

  With lightning speed, she snatches it from my hand and tosses it into the sink, which is filled with soapy water.

  ‘You idiot!’ I plunge my hand in and fish around for it. When I pull it out and shake off the excess water, the screen is predictably black and unresponsive.

  Instead of screaming at her, I turn and walk towards the door. I’ll knock on a neighbour’s door and ask them to call the police.

  ‘You’re as bad as them,’ Beth says, following me, jabbing me hard in the back. ‘Your sister, your parents… you are all liars, the lowest of the low. You must’ve laughed so hard behind my back, called me a gullible fool believing Andrew never suffered… but not now.’ She smiles. ‘Now, none of you are laughing. I’ve ruined all of your lives. Your business is finished, and the villagers hate each and every one of you.’

  In that one sentence she reveals who has been informing my customers and also the local press. She’s probably behind the terrible online reviews for InsideOut4Kids, too. How could I have trusted her so blindly? There must have been so many signs if I’d only paid attention.

  ‘Beth, you’re making no sense. I’m a victim here, just like you. I didn’t know about Andrew and I didn’t know until today that Chloe was responsible for Corey’s fall. They all lied to me, and now I find that you knew all about it too. Did Chloe tell you?’

  Her face is twisted as she looks at me with utter contempt.

  ‘Bessie Wilford told me. Her husband Charlie was best friends with your dad since they were at school together.’

  Bessie Wilford again? A dark uncoiling of something too awful to describe starts in my lower abdomen.

  ‘Ray confided in Charlie to assuage his own guilt about going along with your witch of a mother and protecting her favourite eldest daughter.’

  I hate what my family did to me, but I’m not about to share that with Beth and fuel her crazy hate-fest.

  ‘You sicken me, all of you. Even you, Juliet.’ She continues, ‘You made your sister a director in favour of me, the person who encouraged you to start the business in the first place…’

  ‘And you know I was grateful for that!’

  ‘But not grateful enough, it seems. Not grateful enough to give me a job when it took off. You knew I was struggling financially.’ She took a breath, got control of herself. ‘But I digress. Your dear family only told you part of the truth today. You want the whole story?’

  I take the final couple of steps and reach for the back door as she takes her phone out of her handbag and presses a couple of buttons.

  She places it on the table in front of me. I look at the photograph that fills the screen.

  ‘Meet George,’ she says.

  A smiling young man sits at a table covered in playing cards. He’s holding one up at the camera and smiling. One side of his mouth droops slightly, but he’s got a cheeky look about him, and he’s handsome.

  I look at Beth vacantly.

  ‘I don’t know who this person is.’ I’m tired of her games. The only thing I want is to see my son. Now.

  ‘George lives at an assisted living centre in Edinburgh,’ Beth says, watching me. ‘When he was five years old, the manager of the place told me, he suffered a fall in which he incurred a head injury and suffered a bleed to the brain. His family gave him up for adoption because they couldn’t cope with his subsequent disabilities.’

  Her words sound far away and my legs feel weak.

  ‘George is your brother’s new name, Juliet. Corey didn’t die; your parents lied to you and had him fostered. All this time he’s been alive and living in Scotland.’

  The ground falls away from me.

  Fifty-Nine

  ‘I had to punish them all, don’t you see that?’

  I slump down on a kitchen chair and Beth stands over me. My friend’s kind face, the happy demeanour I love so much, is no longer in existence. Her features twist into a hard knot.

  ‘I had to ruin everything for you all, and I’m sorry you and Maddy are the worst casualties of that. There are members of your family who deserve it more. But I was angry with you too.’

  ‘Angry with me?’ I feel like I’m fading away, drifting. I need to see Josh, need to make sure he’s safe and get back for Maddy… but everything feels too far away. I can’t get the face of the boy she has on her phone out of my mind. His eyes…

  ‘For being so stupid, so gullible. For making it so easy for them to ruin people’s lives… Andrew’s, Corey’s. They had to be stopped.’ She shakes her head. ‘Your mother was as guilty as Bessie Wilford in neglecting my brother at the hospital, but having Corey adopted was even worse. Your dad told Charlie that it nearly killed him to do it but that your mother made him choose between Corey and her. She threatened to kill herself rather take on a disabled child with all the stress that entails. And all this time, Bessie Wilford and her husband, before he died, knew and they protected the Voce family. Bessie was as guilty of abandoning my brother and Corey as they all were.’

  Even through the fog of my shame and sadness, it sounds just like Mum to choose a peaceful life over having Corey back home. But why did Bessie keep their secret? It’s so sad.

  ‘Even that old woman had more than me, do you know that?’ Beth was jumping from one thing to another. She’s definitely been in no fit state to look after Josh. ‘Bessie was losing her mind but she could still pay her bills and had valuable items sitting around the house she’d forgotten were there. It was the final humiliation.’

  ‘Did you have anything to do with Bessie Wilford’s death?’ I ask her quietly.

  ‘It’s true I visited Bessie a few times unofficially, shall we say, extracted every detail I could about Andrew and about Corey. She even knew where Corey lived after all this time, can you believe that? Your dad apparently visited him secretly without ever telling Joan. I found him easy to find.’

  I think about Dad’s periodic trips away to Scotland. All this time he’s kept the secret to himself? Let Corey grow up without us around him? How could my kind, loving dad have been so heartless underneath?

  I look at Beth, her face puffy, her features twisted, like a mask of hatred has been fused to the best friend I’ve known and loved for so long.

  ‘I was burning up inside, trying to control my fury and plan my revenge.’ She forced the words out in one long stream between gasping in air. ‘But I knew I had to force myself to wait for the right opportunity to cause maximum damage. I started by sending anonymous texts to the phone number Bessie showed me she had for Brianna. Spooking them out a bit but promising them there would be terrible consequences if they told anyone. Brianna wasn’t supposed to have a phone, but she’d asked if she could have the one Bessie’s daughter gave her ages ago and she’d never used.’

  So the phone I found doesn’t belong to Maddy; it’s Brianna’s. Maybe she just gave it to Maddy to keep safe.

  Beth looks pleased with herself. If I listen for a few more minutes, maybe she’ll stick to her word and tell me where Josh is. If I can get the truth about what happened to Bessie, maybe it could stop Maddy from being charged.

  ‘Then yesterday morning those two spoilt little girls skipped down the street near Bessie’s house.’ Her smile stretches into a grimace.

  ‘I rang earlier that day, put on a crotchety old voice and asked them over for biscuits and lemonade but not to tell anyone. Only interested if there’s something in it for them, those two.’ She grins again. ‘Like mother, like daughter, it seems.

  ‘Turned out Bessie’s house was a treasure trove beyond my wildest dreams. Nearly five grand in notes hidden under the spare-room
bed. Can you believe that?’ Greed glittered in her eyes like black diamonds. ‘Loads of jewellery on her dressing table, and genuine artwork in the cupboard under the stairs.’

  ‘The girls didn’t hurt her, did they?’ I can feel something shifting inside me, trying to untether itself. ‘You tried to frame them.’

  ‘Well that’s not strictly true. It all worked out far better than I anticipated,’ Beth continues. ‘I gave Bessie a little something to help her sleep. Brianna played a trick on her to startle her, and the silly old bat woke up suddenly, tipped out of her chair and hit her head on the tiled hearth.’

  ‘You were there?’

  ‘Oh yes. I stepped out from the hallway then and told them that Bessie had a son, a violent man who would kill their families if they breathed a single word about what had happened. I told them the only way of getting out of the situation was to remain completely silent. Not to say a word to anyone, even the police. I said if they didn’t breathe a word, I’d speak to Bessie’s son and get them off the hook.’ She laughed. ‘So gullible, the pair of them. Would never have worked on an adult but they just swallowed it all without explanation. Touching really.’

  I press my hand to my mouth, sickened by the thought that Bessie was hurt because Brianna startled her, but also by the fact that Beth was present all along, coolly observing proceedings instead of getting her help. The level of fear the girls must have suffered was off the scale.

  But something doesn’t quite fit. There’s still a niggle at the back of my mind.

  Then I get it.

  ‘Hitting her head on the hearth is one thing, but the detectives told us Bessie was battered to death. That’s quite a different take on it.’

  Beth’s face darkens. ‘I never planned to kill her. I just wanted the girls to get into trouble for assaulting her, something bad enough to take your mind off the business so I could move in on it. But the business was just an aside; more importantly I wanted to destroy your twisted family unit, expose all your lies. I could’ve done that without killing her. But the silly old bat woke up, didn’t she, after they left. Just as I was packing the money and jewellery into my holdall.’