Love and Truth

by FRANCES, KAREN

  “I hope so.” I lean forward, resting my head against him. “When do you need to leave?” I ask, disappointed that he’s already dressed in a suit.

  “Soon. Craig and I are having a meeting before the rest of the team gets into the station.”

  “I wish we could run away.”

  “No, you don’t. I don’t want either of us or anyone else staying here having to spend their lives looking over their shoulders. Always waiting for the past to catch up.” I don’t say anything, but of course, he’s right. I just want my life to be normal. “So, what exactly are you doing today?”

  “I’m already feeling sorry for poor Joe because I have a few meetings at Crave with reps from some fixture and furniture warehouses. I know what I want for the club, but I also know how much I want to spend.”

  “Sounds like you have a busy day. You’ll have your phone on you at all times?”

  “Of course I will. Any signs of problems and you’ll hear from me and Joe. Now, if you’re going to work, go. Because if you stand here much longer, I’ll remove that jacket.”

  “I’m going.” He kisses my forehead. “I’ll see you here tonight.”

  “Can we not stay at yours, or even at mine?”

  “No. Not yet. I better go. I have so much to do in the office. I love you.”

  “Love you.” I step out of his hold and watch him turn and walk away. My heart is heavy and I’m not sure why. I hear Lou in the hallway saying good morning to Jack before he leaves the house. There’s only one set of footsteps, so I presume the girls are still sleeping. I switch the kettle back on because I know she’ll want a cup of tea.

  “Morning,” she says sleepily, entering the kitchen.

  She looks tired, as though she’s had a restless night. “Morning. Are you okay?”

  “Just tired.” She sits down at the table, resting her head in her hands. I nod and continue to make her tea. She’s not kidding me that she’s just tired. Lou is a woman with a lot on her mind. Which is understandable. She’s just lost her home and now she finds herself living in my brother’s home.

  “Thank you,” she says, taking the cup of tea I offer.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” She takes a sip of her tea before her tear-filled eyes settle on me. “Oh, Lou. Everything will be okay.” I take her free hand.

  Silence fills the air around us and I can see the internal struggle she’s having with her own thoughts. “I shouldn’t be here. What was I thinking? This is too hard. I never expected to feel this way. I love Mark. I really do. And as for my girls, I’d give my last breath to ensure their safety.”

  “Lou, I know all that. You’re not telling me anything I don’t know. But you and Giovanni, I never knew. I knew you saw each other when we were all younger. How could I not see how much you both love the other?”

  “Tony made it easy to forget. Let’s face it, he managed to keep you away from Giovanni for most of the time. Over the last fourteen years, you’ve only seen your brother a handful of times each year. There was so much hatred on Tony’s part toward Giovanni. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if we became something more permanent? I can. Blood would’ve been shed, and you were already with Tony. I thought you were happy. I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardise our or your relationship.”

  “So, you put your own feelings and happiness aside?”

  “Yes, because it was easy to do, especially when I met Mark. I’m not proud of my feelings, but for the sake of my family, I’ll never act on them and Giovanni knows this. I’d never go back and change my path of life because meeting Mark has given me two amazing gifts in our girls.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything. It’s better that way. Hopefully we’ll get the life we all deserve. I know Giovanni has said we can stay here as long as we want, but it’s not fair on either of us if we do. I made my choice and I feel as though I’m rubbing his nose in it by showing him what could’ve been.” Tears are running down her face and I feel myself getting teary-eyed with her. What a bloody mess this is.

  Tony Fraser has a lot to answer for.

  My heart is torn in two for Lou.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jack

  Craig and I haven’t even made it inside the building and there’s a rush of activity. It’s barely eight a.m. What the hell is going on at this time of the morning? A deep sense of worry seeps through my veins.

  “Ah, good. The superintendent had just told me to call you, but you’re here.” A young officer rushes the words at me.

  “Well, get on with it.”

  “There’s a fire at Saint Cuthbert’s. The super thought it might be relevant to your ongoing murder investigation. There were reports of a few men going in and out of the building last night.”

  Honestly, the school building again. What is it with that place? And another fire. I’m getting sick to death of the smell of fire.

  “I suppose we should head there,” I say, already dreading how today is going to go. I’d like to think this was some kids playing a stupid game that’s gone wrong, but I’m not naïve enough to think this has nothing to do with Pete Jamieson. It has his name written all over it. But why the school again? Is there some sort of connection that we’re missing?

  “Can you do me a favour?” I ask the officer.

  “Of course.”

  “Can you run a check and see if there is any other connection to the school other than the security company, to either Tony Fraser or Pete Jamieson?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Craig raises his eyebrows. “We can talk on the way,” he says as we walk toward my car. The drive out to the school isn’t that long; less than ten minutes. Which isn’t long enough to discuss all the things Craig wants to know.

  “What are you thinking?” I ask him, catching him watching me from the corner of my eye.

  “We’ll get back to the school in a minute, but for now, I’m thinking you are crazy in love with Maria.”

  “I am. I won’t deny it.”

  “At least you’re being honest with me. What about Lou? How is she coping?”

  “She’s coping. It’s hard on her because of the girls. They miss their home and everything they’ve lost.”

  “I can only imagine. How long will you be staying at Giovanni’s for?”

  “I don’t know. Until Pete is put away or…”

  “I hear you. You don’t have to say it.” I’m glad because I don’t want him in the position that he might have to cover for me. Although, I don’t doubt Craig would have my back in any situation, no matter how difficult it may be. We discuss a few issues surrounding the cases as we travel across town. All the evidence pointing to Pete is circumstantial. There’s no hard proof.

  But we both know he’ll slip up. Sooner rather than later, hopefully. Maybe something will show up in the search I’ve asked for from the officer.

  We turn into the street Saint Cuthbert’s is on and, bloody hell, it looks like a scene straight out of a war zone. We have four fire engines on site along with two ambulances and several police cars.

  “What the fuck?” Craig says, parking the car where we’re directed to by a police officer. “This is a mess.”

  I stop and look around as soon as we exit the car. He’s right. There’s a small crowd of people gathered behind the safe taped area. “I want someone to speak to them, then move them all along. And can we make sure that any reporters don’t get too close? I don’t want anyone talking to them.”

  Craig wanders over to the small crowd, whilst I seek out the fire officer in charge to see what information he has for me. He’s giving out some orders to a few of his firefighters. “McKenzie,” he says as I approach him.

  “Derek, I’d like to say it’s a pleasure.” He’s one of the good guys, but it would be nice if we weren’t meeting like this all the damn time.

  “I know what you mean. You really need to get these scumbags behind bars.”

  “I won’t
argue with you on that. So, can you tell me anything?”

  He doesn’t have many details and isn’t sure how long it will take to put out the fire. Which means there’s going to be a lot of waiting about, drinking coffee. Or I could go back to the station, and get on with a few things while waiting for some news.

  I decide to hang around. The crowd of people is starting to thin out as Craig and a few officers that are now on the scene question them. No one ever wants to give us information willingly. One of these days, someone will come forward with the information we so desperately need. I wander around the areas that I’m currently allowed, my eyes taking everything in, when my phone rings. Maria’s name flashes before me.

  “I thought you’d be too busy to speak to me,” I say, answering, but grateful in amongst all this madness that I get to hear her voice.

  “I thought so too.”

  Something is off; I can hear it in her tone. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “Maybe I should be asking you that. Where are you? It sounds really busy.”

  “I’m at Saint Cuthbert’s at a fire. Never mind me, what’s wrong with you?”

  “I was meant to be meeting James, but he hasn’t shown up. He isn’t answering his phone.”

  “Okay. Maybe something has come up in his personal life.” There’s a long stretch of silence between us. Maybe it’s all my years of investigating, but when I shiver and feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand, I know I’m not going to like what she says next. “Maria, what?”

  “I called his home; his wife hasn’t seen him since yesterday morning.”

  There’s a deep, heavy feeling in my gut. A feeling I know only too well during investigations like these. “Where are you now and who are you with?” I ask as I start walking back toward Derek.

  “I’m with Joe.”

  I sigh. “Okay. Just make sure you stay with him, please?”

  “Okay. And you be careful,” she says softly, and we end the call.

  “Derek.” I pull him to the side away from prying eyes and ears. “I think there’s someone inside.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “A hunch and the fact I’ve just been told that the accountant who worked for Tony Fraser hasn’t been seen since yesterday.” As I speak to him, there’s a rush of activity. A fire officer is carrying someone over his arms. “Can I?” I ask as we both look across to the door.

  “Yes, go on.”

  I quickly stride toward the paramedics that are waiting with a trolley on hand. From the way the fire officer is moving, whoever is in his arms is dead. I’m hoping and praying that it’s not James Stevenson, for his family’s sake and Maria’s.

  I stand back and watch as the fire officer places the body on the trolley. The paramedics fuss around the body for a few minutes before stepping back. I walk toward them and gasp. “Holy fuck.” I close my eyes and try to shake the vision from my head. My gut churns and I think I’m going to be sick.

  “Boss, what’s wrong?” Craig asks, joining me. “Who is she? I’ve seen her before, haven’t I? At the station?”

  “Yes. Colette. She was Tony Fraser’s personal assistant. They were also having an affair. She was pregnant. Can we get Rachael from forensics on the scene? This is now a murder investigation.”

  “McKenzie.” It’s Derek’s voice that grabs my attention as another of his officers has something bundled in sheets in his arms. “She wasn’t pregnant before the fire took hold.”

  I lift my head and look into his shocked eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack. You are dealing with one sick bastard.” The fire officer places the bundle down beside Colette’s body that the paramedic has already covered up.

  Stepping forward away from Craig, I look at the paramedic. The officer has already turned his back to them and is crouched over. Derek is trying to comfort him as he throws up.

  “Sir, don’t,” one of the paramedics tells me. And I know I shouldn’t because I already sense what that sick fucker has done. I lift the cover back off Colette and shiver when I see her naked body before me, her stomach cut open.

  Turning away, I fight the bile that’s rising in my throat. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot, but never have I witnessed anything so fucking horrific on a woman. Colette came across as a pain in the arse. She knew what she was doing to Maria, but even Colette didn’t deserve this brutality. I hope I’m wrong, but I think she was alive when this happened to her.

  My eyes drift to the small bundle that has been placed beside her and even I draw the line at opening the blanket. She must’ve been halfway through her pregnancy. So that bundle will be a formed baby. I cover her body back up and turn away. I walk toward a quieter area. I need a few minutes alone.

  Why Colette?

  I lean back, sitting on the wall, trying to gather my thoughts. Trying to put the pieces together. Pete is set on destroying everyone that Tony was involved with. That’s why Colette.

  “Boss, are you okay?” Craig asks, sitting beside me.

  “Truthfully, I don’t know. I don’t know who he’s going for next and it fucking frightens me. He’s butchered a young pregnant woman. He’s a man with no morals. All he seems to be doing is killing for the fun of it.”

  “Are you going to tell Maria?”

  “I’ll have to. She has a right to know.”

  “Rachael is here. She’d like to speak to you. I’ve already warned her about what she’s about to see. Even she looked disturbed at what I told her.” I’m not surprised. The vision in my head is one I could do without.

  “Give me a minute and then I’ll speak to her.” He nods and walks away, giving me some time to myself. I take my phone from my pocket and stare at it. I should call Maria, but I can’t. God, it’s going to be a long day. I type out a message to Giovanni.

  Me: Can you get Joe to bring Maria back to the estate and make sure everyone stays there, and make sure you only have security you trust?

  Giovanni: If you’re asking, I presume you have good reason.

  Me: Yes. I’ll tell you everything when I get back although I’m not too sure when that will be.

  Giovanni: Okay. If you need me, you know where I am.

  Putting my phone away, I glance back towards the carnage; there’s no other word to describe it. I take a deep breath and try to push Maria from my thoughts so I can concentrate on getting through today.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Maria

  My head is pounding as I roll over, feeling the bed empty and cold beside me, and I already know it’s from lack of sleep. Jack wasn’t here when I finally gave in and went to bed at two a.m. I’ve tossed and turned all night without him beside me. I look at my phone. Eight. Does that mean he hasn’t come back here, or he has and is already away back to the station?

  I drag my tired body from the bed and freshen myself up in the bathroom before throwing on some clothes, not really caring how bad I look, and go in search of him.

  Jack and my brother might be hoping I didn’t notice the increased security close to the house yesterday, but I did, and it had me on edge all day. I tried to call Jack a few times to find out what was going on, but it went straight to voicemail every time, leaving me feeling anxious and isolated. I’m not sure if Lou noticed or not; she and Mark had their hands full with Daisy who was sick all day. Poor wee soul. We’re all hoping it’s just some twenty-four-hour bug. Although, if it is, I’m sure we’ll all end up coming down with it. Giovanni kept Rebecca occupied with one of the horses and he looked to enjoy it. Although, he stayed within sight of the house at all times.

  I was hoping yesterday would be a turning point for me, but yet again, I was left feeling hopeless. I had hoped it would be a productive day with work. So many plans. After James not showing for my meeting, I couldn’t get him out of my head. He’s never missed a meeting, not without good cause.

  I know Jack had good reason to request that Joe and I came back here, or at least I hope he did. The more time I spend here, away from the real world, the
more detached I feel.

  This isn’t living.

  I’m barely surviving.

  I’m hanging on by the skin of my teeth. Trying to stay strong, when all I feel like doing is crumbling. But if that happens then both Tony and Pete have won. They’ve had power for too long, and neither of them deserved it.

  Jack and my family are all that are keeping me sane in this fucked up world. Work should be keeping me occupied. I’m meant to be re-designing Crave. But if I’m truthful, my heart isn’t in it at the moment. Crave was the one business I was determined to keep. But now, I’m not so sure. Maybe I should start with a clean slate. My head is spinning in so many directions that I don’t know what I should or want to be doing.

  Decisions will need to wait. I can’t rush in. There’s other much more important stuff to deal with. Like keeping Lou and the girls safe. The club can wait.

  At the bottom of the staircase, I hear voices, and turn instinctively toward the kitchen. This house is so big you could get lost in it, but if you’re looking for someone, you’ll find them in the kitchen. It must be like a maze for the girls. I smile at the thought of them tearing around here playing a simple game of hide-and-seek.

  I rub my head as I pause in the doorway of the kitchen. Jack is sitting beside my brother, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, looking exhausted, yet still handsome.

  “Morning,” I eventually say, taking steps toward them. Jack stops talking, my breath catching in the back of my throat as he offers me a weak smile. He needs to sleep.

  “Good morning,” they say in unison.

  “I’ve not decided what’s good about it yet,” I say as Jack reaches his hand out and pulls me onto his lap, much to Giovanni’s amusement. I inhale, and straight away, I want to move from his hold. That smell. I hate it with a passion. The fire at the school.

  “Is there more coffee in the pot?” I ask, trying to shake off the nausea that runs through my body.

  “Yes,” Giovanni says, pushing his chair away and walking over to the counter to make me a cup. It has to be said, he makes the best cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted, but I won’t be telling him that. His ego is big enough already.