Hard Truth

by Jay Gill

  Cotton said, “Let’s get one thing straight. No one is asking you to do anything you don’t want to do. I don’t need you holding my hand. That’s not why I asked you here. I know you usually work alone – well tough, you want to work the case, we’re working it together. You want to walk away? Fine, walk away. I’ve had just about enough of your crap. And I certainly don’t need you treating me like a kid. I’ve seen enough and done enough to know how this world works.”

  I sank my hands in my pockets. I’d just had my butt handed to me.

  Cotton kicked a small stone and stared at the ground. “I don’t know everything that happened to you in the past. I’m sorry you got hurt. I was told you were one of the best detectives at Scotland Yard. The best serial homicide detective. I want to catch Lyle. I know you do too. The fact you’re here shows me you want her stopped. So let’s get her. Together.”

  Cotton pushed her hands deep into her pockets.

  We walked over to the cliff’s edge and looked out to sea.

  I spoke softly. “If I do this, I want to know you’re in it too. For the long haul, I mean. You need to understand that this game of hers is leading somewhere and I don’t know where. That scares me. It should scare you.”

  Cotton could see I had concerns she didn’t fully understand.

  Cotton said, “Yes, I’m in. I’ve always been ready to do whatever it takes.”

  I’d cleared the air and laid my cards on the table. I said, “I’ll see you in the morning.” Cotton was growing on me. Her straight talk, tough love and grit were infectious.

  A part of me felt like it had been rekindled. And seeing Lee Nunn’s blood-soaked and mutilated body and knowing that Lyle might come after my family were the impetus I needed to put early retirement behind me – at least for a while. I was ready to take on ‘the Mentor,’ Kelly Lyle. I hoped Detective Emma Cotton was ready.

  Neither of us was truly prepared for what was coming.

  I should have been.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Monica and Alice finished lighting candles on the cake while I stood back with my phone set to video. Nana Hardy and Grandad were keeping Faith occupied. I discreetly gave them the thumbs-up when we were ready to parade in with the birthday cake.

  The excitement on Faith’s face was magical. We sang Happy Birthday, and she prepared herself to blow out the candles and make her wish. “I want Alice to help me blow out the candles,” she insisted.

  “Are you sure?” said Monica. “That’s really kind. Don’t forget to make a wish.”

  Alice and Faith blew out the candles while we cheered and clapped, then Faith made her wish.

  Alice handed out plates then gave Monica her secret sign. Monica and Faith cut the cake.

  Monica passed everyone a piece, and as she did, she announced, “There is somebody I need to introduce, someone with incredible powers, who has been practising her illusions for almost a week and a half.”

  Faith’s eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face. She could barely contain her excitement as she waited for her big sister – who had vanished from the room – to prepare herself.

  “I wonder what this is all about?” asked Dad.

  “It’s a magic trick, Grandad. Alice has been practising and practising. She wouldn’t let me see what she was doing. She said it was a surprise.”

  “What a wonderful idea,” said Nana Hardy. “How exciting.”

  “I’ll just go and check to see if she’s okay,” said Monica as she disappeared upstairs. The wait added to the anticipation.

  A few moments later Monica reappeared halfway down the stairs. “The Astonishing Alice is now ready, so if the ladies and gentlemen of the audience would please take their seats. Our magician would also appreciate complete silence while she performs the disappearing coin trick.”

  We giggled and whispered to each other before falling silent.

  Alice appeared in a long cape, a black t-shirt, black leggings and her black school shoes. She narrowed her eyes, which were made up with dark eye shadow to make her look more mysterious. Stepping purposefully down the stairs, she entered the room with a sweeping arm gesture quickly followed by a low bow. By this point, Faith was on the edge of her seat, and I put my arm around her and hugged her.

  Alice pulled a wand from her sleeve, then held up a coin and showed it to everyone. She tapped the coin on the table to prove that it was real, and then, without speaking, gestured for Monica to once again check that it was real. Monica agreed it was. Alice took Monica’s hand and placed the coin flat on her palm. She placed her own hand on top and Monica placed her other hand on top of Alice’s.

  Now Alice spoke for the first time. “Would the birthday girl, Miss Faith Hardy, please say the magic words?”

  Faith looked at Grandad, who nodded encouragingly. Faith said, “Abracadabra.”

  Alice waved her free hand over the top of the three flat hands then tapped them three times with her wand.

  Monica took her top hand away. Alice removed her hand. Monica showed everyone that her hand, which had only moments ago held the coin, was now empty. The coin had vanished.

  The whole room erupted with excited gasps and applause.

  Monica pointed to Alice and said, “The Astonishing Alice!”

  Alice then walked over to Faith and, with a flourish, pulled the coin from behind Faith’s ear. She executed a confident bow, waved her cape again and left the room to rapturous applause.

  “Again, again!” cried Faith. “That was amazing! I want to see it again.”

  Alice reappeared a few moments later without her cape and agreed to do the magic trick again very soon but not straight away, as there was a little bit of preparation to be done before the trick could be performed again.

  We all spent the next while happily playing board games, which is Faith’s favourite thing to do on her birthday. Finally, I gathered the dirty plates and took them to the kitchen, where I interrupted Mum and Monica having a quiet conversation.

  “Whatever you two are plotting, it won’t work,” I joked.

  The two women looked at each other. Mum grabbed my cheek and gave it a loving pinch. She winked at Monica and left the room, leaving the two of us alone.

  I put my arms around Monica and gave her a kiss. “Mum’s excited about something. What was that all about?” I asked her. “I swear she was skipping as she left the room. The last time I saw her like that she was tipsy on New Year’s Eve.”

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning…” started Monica.

  Music from the other room was getting louder and louder as Alice and Faith found some karaoke on the TV.

  Monica took my hand. She continued, “I’ve been waiting for the right time.”

  The TV suddenly got much louder. I stepped into the other room and gestured to the girls to lower the volume. “I think that’s a little too loud, girls. Can you please turn it down?”

  I stepped back into the kitchen and said, “I’m sorry. You were saying?” My phone began to ring on the worktop. I ignored it. “You were about to say something,” I said.

  “It’s okay. It can wait. We’ll do this another time. You’d better get your phone. It could be important.”

  I kissed Monica and grabbed my phone. I said, “It’s probably Cotton. She said she’d call if forensics got a hit.”

  We both thought forensics finding anything was long shot, but Cotton had said she’d call either way. I stepped outside for some quiet and had a long talk with Cotton.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I spent a couple of hours in my study before bed. I flicked through notes I’d made on the case reports while I was on the phone with Cotton. We could have gone on all night, but I was aware we both had a busy day coming up.

  Trying to shake off the stresses of the investigation and allow my mind to change gear for a while, I took Sandy for a late-night walk.

  The air was cold and refreshing. There was a beautiful clear night sky. I looked up at the stars a
nd searched for the star I always thought of as Helena’s. I blew her a kiss. The tranquillity and feeling of solitude felt almost spiritual.

  Back home, I gently closed the front door and slipped off my shoes. I checked the rooms downstairs and then crept upstairs, trying not to disturb anyone. Sneaking into the bedroom, I could see Monica was fast asleep. I shrugged off my fleece jacket and placed it on the back of a chair.

  I went to Faith’s bedroom to say goodnight and, finding the room empty, I made my way to Alice’s bedroom. Faith was snuggled up next to her. She usually climbs into bed with her big sister when she’s got something on her mind that’s worrying her. I needed to talk to her in the morning to find out what was going on.

  I knelt down beside the bed and gave my two girls a kiss good night. “Good night, Faith, my little birthday girl. Good night, Astonishing Alice.”

  I sat and watched them sleep. They looked so peaceful and angelic.

  “Is that you, Daddy?” asked Alice sleepily.

  “Yes, it is, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “That’s okay, I wanted to see you.” She looked at her sister. “Faith wanted to get into my bed. She said she was scared you wouldn’t come back. She said she had a bad dream and that a bad person wouldn’t let you go.”

  I felt choked inside. “I’m sorry I’m doing this. I know I told you I wouldn’t do any more investigations. I really wanted that sort of work to be over.”

  “It’s okay. We both know that you’ve got to do it. Nana Hardy told us that what you were doing is important and that only you can do it. Monica said you wouldn’t do it unless you really had to. She told us you don’t want to do it, but you have no choice. She also said it will be over soon and we shouldn’t worry. I’m worried you might get hurt again. I don’t want you or Emma to go to hospital.”

  “Things are different now. I won’t get hurt. I’ll make sure Emma doesn’t get hurt.” I tucked Alice’s hair behind her ear.

  “Can Emma come here again soon? She looked nice.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “That means no,” said Alice.

  “It means we’ll see.”

  I straightened Alice’s blankets and put Faith’s teddy bear sitting up next to her.

  I said, “I need to work with Emma to make sure this person we’re investigating stops doing the bad things they’re doing. You’re such a clever, brave little girl. You are both brave. We’re so proud of you. You’ve both been through so much. I love you.”

  I leaned over and gave Alice another kiss and a hug.

  “Do you have enough room? Would you like me to take Faith back to her bed?”

  Alice wriggled and smiled. “No, she’s okay. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but I like having her here with me.”

  I said, “You’d better get some more sleep. It’s really late.”

  I left the girls asleep and closed Alice’s bedroom door, leaving just the slightest gap, the way she likes it. I went back to my bedroom and found Monica climbing back into bed.

  I said, “Were you spying on me?” I leaned over and gave her a kiss.

  “Not so much spying as checking out who the dishy stranger was in my house.” She pulled me down onto the bed, rolled me over and climbed on top of me. She gave me a long, deep kiss.

  “I’m not sure who that was, but this dishy stranger is still fully dressed and is in need of a shower.”

  Monica started unbuttoning my shirt. “You’d better go and take a shower then. If you’re quick, perhaps we can do a little catching up.” For fun, Monica flicked her hair and slipped a strap of her nightdress off her shoulder. “But you’d better be quick.”

  I rolled off the bed and ran for the door. “I can shower and be back here in under a minute. Don’t go anywhere.”

  I could hear Monica laughing as I grabbed a towel from the airing cupboard and ran for the shower.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Emma threw her car keys down onto the coffee table. They landed with a loud clatter, a sharp reminder she was returning home to an empty house.

  There was an unsettling stillness about the house. Everywhere she looked were memories of Dave. Though he was gone, his presence lingered.

  Emma flicked through her music collection and put on some ABBA. “Mama Mia” never failed to put a smile on her face. With a wiggle and clapping hands, she went to the cupboard, took out a bottle of red wine, poured herself a large glass and took a small sip. She considered phoning her mother or a girlfriend, but decided against it. She cranked up the music, then took her glass of wine upstairs and ran a hot bath.

  Later that evening, Emma sat surrounded by case files. On the coffee table in front of her was a near-empty bottle of red wine and the remnants of an M&S microwave-ready meal.

  The doorbell rang.

  Emma looked at the time on the wall clock, but the hands wouldn’t remain still. She frowned at the bottle of red wine. Damn it. Red wine always went straight to her head when she was tired. She made a mental note to stop drinking alone.

  She squinted at the clock again. It read 11.45 p.m. She shoved herself to her feet and went into the front hall. Leaning against the door, she peered through the spyhole. It was Dave.

  Her heart skipped with excitement. Had he changed his mind and wanted her back?

  In an instant she remembered all he’d said and the pain he’d caused. What the hell did he want at this time?

  Emma partially opened the door, which was still on the chain. Through the gap she said, “Hello? Yep?” Damn it, she sounded drunk.

  Dave looked uneasy and was shifting from one foot to the other.

  “Hi, Em. I’m so sorry to come around so late, but I really had nowhere else to go.”

  Emma spoke slowly and tried not to slur her words. “What do you mean you had nowhere else to go? You can’t just waltz back into my house and my life after what you said.”

  “I know what I said, and I’m sorry, Em. I’ve made a mistake, been an idiot. I know that now.”

  “It was you who left. Your choice to go,” said Emma.

  “I was wrong. I can’t stop thinking about you, and about us. I just need somewhere to crash for the night. Perhaps we can talk? Come on, Em. Please – just for one night.”

  Emma shut the door and hesitated, wondering what to do. Keeping the door on the chain, she opened it again, she said, “Just for one night? On the sofa?”

  “Yes, I promise, it’s just the one night. If you still want me to leave in the morning, I’ll go. I can sleep on the floor or on the sofa. I just need somewhere. I’m really sorry to be doing this to you.”

  Emma sighed deeply.

  Don’t let him in. You’ll regret it.

  “Stay there. Give me a few minutes to think.” Emma closed the door again. Her eyes scanned the room – what a mess. She ran about tidying, dropping the remnants of her meal for one in the bin, putting away the case files and the remaining red wine. Cushions plumped and kitchen worktop wiped. She took one last look.

  Satisfied, she ran upstairs to her bedroom.

  Quick, quick, quick… Roll-on deodorant, change of top, brush teeth, brush hair, a light lipstick. Mascara? No, too much. One last mirror check. Not great, but good enough.

  Only slightly out of breath, Emma opened the front door once more.

  “Come in. One night only. You can sleep on the sofa. I want you gone by lunchtime tomorrow.”

  “It’s really good of you, Em. I know I’ve been a total idiot. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d told me where to go.”

  He looks good, Emma thought. His brown eyes are concerned. He’s had his hair cut. He smells nice. New shirt?

  Don’t be stupid. Make coffee, find a blanket for the sofa. Don’t get sucked in, not tonight.

  Dave went on, “I realise now, Em, I made a terrible mistake. I’m not expecting anything from you. I just want to say how sorry I am.”

  “You hurt me. I’m not going to lie. What you did was unforgivable.”

&
nbsp; The pair of them stood in silence for a moment.

  Emma said, “Put your bag down. I was about to make coffee. Want one?”

  “I can make it,” said Dave.

  Emma said, a little too quickly, “No. No, I’ll do it.”

  Dave looked away sheepishly.

  Emma opened the fridge. “The milk is old. Is black coffee okay?”

  “Yes, perfect. Thank you.”

  Emma filled the kettle in silence and put coffee in two mugs. In her mind, she’d underlined with a big fat marker pen that Dave couldn’t just walk back into her life, that they could not just pick up where they left off.

  Was she dealing with this correctly? She’d been only months away from marrying this man, hopefully having babies together. She’d really wanted Dave’s babies. They’d been just months away from spending the rest of the lives together, and now he felt like a stranger. She knew she should feel angrier, but secretly, relief was all she felt.

  They sat down together, an awkward silence between them. Two hot coffees steamed on the glass coffee table.

  The obvious question was, ‘How have you been?’ But neither of them wanted to ask it.

  “You still have my bottle of whisky under the stairs?” asked Dave.

  Emma went to the cupboard under the stairs, opened the door and pulled out a bottle of single malt. “This one?” She set the bottle down on the coffee table and fetched them each a Royal Doulton cut crystal whisky glass.

  “You got me this bottle for my birthday,” said Dave.

  “Christmas. I got it for you for Christmas. The glasses too,” replied Emma. She watched as Dave poured them both a double.

  Dave raised his glass “To you, Emma Cotton. The world’s hottest cop. By day she’ll arrest you with her badge and powers of deduction. By night she’ll seduce you with soft curves and Victoria’s Secret.”

  Dave hadn’t used that line in a while. In the early days, when they couldn’t get enough of each other, they’d rented a beautiful stone cottage in the country. Somewhere, she didn’t remember where. At the time it didn’t matter; it could have been on the moon, as long as they were alone together. They never saw any of the countryside; instead, they’d spent the weekend fooling around, drinking, getting Chinese food and pizza delivered and fooling around some more.