She was afraid. And she didn’t like the feeling. He made her feel like that bitch Janelle did. Who was he to hold her against the wall like that, his bony fingers squeezing her arms with enough force to leave bruises. What right did he have trying to tell her what to do?
Enough was enough.
‘Let me go.’ She spoke calmly, no gritted teeth, no hissing or losing of her temper. The perfect pitch and tone to allow her father to give pause to his actions. She felt his fingers loosen their grip on her. He still held her there, but the pressure had eased.
‘Let me go,’ this time her tone changed, became a little more menacing. The vein above his eye twitched. She was still scared, but now, so was he.
Embracing her new found power, she pulled herself free of his arms.
‘You think you can tell me what to do? From now on you do not tell me what to do. I decide what I do. And if you ever touch me again, I will burn you in your sleep. I’ll stand over you and watch as you scream and writhe in pain. But, I’ll do Mother first, just so you get to watch and know that it’s all your fault.’
His face paled – she knew he understood.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt free. She wondered how it had taken her so long to stand up to him, wondered how this would change things.
She stared down the hall at her mother, the woman who had given birth to her, who had told on her and stood idly by as her father patted her down and locked her up. She cowered under her daughter’s gaze, visibly shaken by the exchange between her beloved and her child.
‘You deserve nothing less. Now, I’m going to bed. In my room. Not that shithole attic. You’d both best be on good behaviour – cross me and I swear, I’ll make you pay.’
Turning with a smile, she made her way upstairs, entered the musty room she wasn’t allowed to use, closed the door and sat down on the embroidered throw covering the bed. She was in control. No one else would ever take that control away again.
14
3rd October, 1940 hours – Uno Momento Restaurant, Darlington
‘Seems like a nice place,’ said Kevin, lifting his wine glass to clink with Ed’s.
‘Yeah, I’ve been here a few times. Can’t beat a good pasta dish. Tough day today. I’m knackered – dread to think how tired you are.’
‘Am OK just yet, give it a couple of hours,’ joked Kevin wryly. She was right, he was exhausted. As tired as he was, though, and as much as he’d wanted to go to bed, the thought of spending time with Edina had been more appealing.
She looked different in the light of the restaurant – relaxed and at ease, where normally her demeanour was like a warning – don’t get too close. He was sure it wasn’t intentional, she probably didn’t even realise she was prickly on occasion. With everything she’d gone through, he couldn’t blame her.
‘Tell me about Cam?’ he asked.
She coughed a little, her cheeks reddening.
‘What do you want to know about Cam for? It’s past history.’
‘I know, but if he may be the guy stalking you, I’d like to know as much about him as possible. Maybe it’ll help stop him.’
‘I doubt it. If it is him, he’s been doing this long enough not to get caught.’
‘Who else could it be? You seemed pretty certain when you were speaking to Bennett the other day.’
‘I don’t know. Cam was… is a hands-on kind of bully. After we broke up he’d make a point of following me, letting me know he was there, watching. He’d pin me against the wall in the locker room at the fire station, then make out he was messing around if anyone came in. Even after we broke up he still thought I was his property. If I spoke to the other guys, he’d be waiting for me at home.’
‘Sounds like a stalker to me.’
‘It’s hard to explain. He’s a charmer – his own mother used to say he could sell ice to Eskimos. He had a way of talking that made the way you saw something happen twist and turn until you weren’t sure about what had happened at all. I’m not doing a very good job of this, am I?’
Kevin held eye contact with Edina as she groaned and rubbed a hand over her forehead.
‘Before the accident, everyone at the station house would have sided with Cam, and it always seemed like it was me who was the stalker. He’d take the piss and tell everyone that I’d cornered him, make out I was a lost puppy who couldn’t let go. Everyone loved him. And until recently, I thought they all still did.’
Suddenly Ed stilled, freezing in position with her eyes on the entrance.
‘What is it?’ asked Kev, turning to look himself.
‘Don’t turn around,’ hissed Edina. ‘He’s here!’
‘Who?’
‘The bloody pope, who’d you think? Cam! He just walked in the door. Fuck, he’s coming over.’
‘Hey, darlin’,’ greeted Cam, leaning in to kiss Edina on the cheek.
Kevin instantly felt himself bristle as Ed visibly cringed.
‘Not going to introduce me to your friend here?’ The way he said ‘friend’ made Kevin want to thump him on his overly tanned nose.
‘Date actually – Kevin Lang. You must be Cam.’ He didn’t hold his disdain back – it practically dripped from his mouth as he glared at Cam, almost daring him to turn the charm on.
‘Aww she’s been talking about me. Only ever one way to shut her up talking if I recall.’ Cam’s innuendo just aggravated Kevin even more, and he stood, squaring up to Cam.
Height wise, they were matched pretty evenly, though Cam’s muscular arms were probably about twice the size of Kevin’s own. They stared for a moment – the age-old pissing contest.
‘Easy fella, I just wanted to see if my DeeDee is OK. I swung by your house yesterday, your neighbour said you’d had a fall or something?’
‘Cam – fuck off. Whether I had a fall or not is none of your concern. I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to speak to you. Kevin, he’s not worth it. Please, sit down.’ Kev knew Ed was trying to calm the situation down, knew everyone in the place was suddenly paying them attention, wondering if they were going to fight.
Cam glared at Edina, his true colours momentarily shining through. Then instantly his demeanour changed, showing Kevin exactly what Ed had tried to describe.
‘No sweat, DeeDee, I was just coming over to say hi, is all. No need to get all pissy just cos you didn’t get to say hi first. I’ll see you around,’ the last sentence was directed at Kevin, and though not said threateningly, he got the intent behind it.
‘Look forward to it,’ he replied pleasantly, knowing the next time he saw him, they’d be doing more than just exchanging words.
As Cam strode off towards his table by the door, Ed lowered her gaze and spoke. ‘I’m so sorry, Kev. I didn’t know he’d be here.’
‘I know that. Don’t be daft. You don’t have anything to apologise for. I shouldn’t have antagonised the situation. Seriously don’t like that guy. Wanker. Deserves a punch after the way he treated you.’
Ed smiled, ‘I love how you instantly believe my side. How do you know I’m not some mad stalker woman?’
‘Even if you are, that’s OK, I could use a little excitement in my life. And a mad stalker woman would give me that at least. You OK eating here or shall we go somewhere else?’
‘No. Here’s fine. Let’s not let Cam ruin our evening. I think I’ll have the Penne Vesuvio.’
3rd October, 2240 hours – Edina’s residence
‘You sure you’re OK coming here after what happened?’
Ed smiled up at Kevin, feeling his arm around her back and hand on her waist. He wasn’t letting her go.
‘In all honesty, I don’t know. But I won’t let this knob-head keep me from my home. He slipped up the other day, he touched the oil bottle and you got potential prints off it. That’s the first time there’s been anything to prove it’s not all in my head. Besides, you could stay with me, be my knight in shining armour. I don’t want to stay at Mum’s again tonight: as great as she is, th
at’s her home not mine.’
‘Wasn’t much of a knight the other day – I didn’t even see the oil. Trained observer me, you know? And I’m definitely staying – there’s no way you’re sleeping alone in this house until I figure out how the arsehole is getting in.’
‘OK. Let’s go in then, though I am suggesting we sleep on the couch. Don’t much fancy climbing the stairs tonight – my back’s really sore now. I think some tramadol may well be in order. Are you OK? You took a pretty bad fall today on top of falling down the stairs here.’
‘Don’t worry about me. I’m fine, bit bruised is all. You go get settled on the sofa, and I’ll make us a nice cuppa. If I can find your mugs.’
‘Did I mention I’m a little neurotic – the cups are by the kettle. Couldn’t have them anywhere else if I tried.’
Ed hugged herself tightly as she walked up the path to the door with Kevin behind her. As she put her key in the lock, her senses were in overdrive, and she could’ve sworn someone was watching her.
She turned her head left and right, checking up and down the street but didn’t see anyone loitering.
‘I feel like a nervous wreck,’ she admitted, leaning in to Kevin’s shoulder.
‘You’re doing fine. Let me open the door and go in first – I’ll have a check about and make sure everything’s OK. Will that help?’
Ed nodded, holding her keys out for him to take.
‘Damn, light switch?’ he muttered, stepping over the threshold into the dark hallway.
‘Left hand side, about a foot from the door,’ whispered Ed. She had never felt so nervous going into her own home. She had to stop herself gasping as light flooded the hallway.
Exhaling, she glanced around. Nothing was out of place. It all seemed… normal. Her shoes were still in a pile on the floor, her coats hung up on the rail. Even the stupid plastic tree her mum had given her was in the corner.
Kevin was loud as he tramped through the house – both to let Ed know where he was in the house and also to alert anyone that might be there that they were back and they weren’t afraid.
‘All clear,’ said Kev, coming back down the stairs. ‘Hope you don’t mind, but I grabbed you some PJs from your drawer – save you going upstairs. The oil’s still on the landing but I’ll clean that up while you get dressed.’ He’d been in two minds whether to go rifling through her drawers, he didn’t live there, and they hadn’t been seeing each other long enough for any level of comfort. He’d argued with himself as he stood there, knowing she would think he was tapped in the head if she’d come upstairs.
But Ed just nodded, and let him take her hand and lead her through to the living room. She was obviously afraid, but that made her bravery even more evident to him. She was back here facing her demons.
He left her in the living room getting changed, and made his way to the kitchen at the back. The house was the old-style terrace design – the bathroom built into the extension at the back. In the fifties when the houses were built, the extensions had held the old out-houses. For most, it had been cheaper to replace them than to move the bathroom upstairs.
Everything seemed normal – the cups were where she’d said, and he found his way round the kitchen with little effort.
Placing the brew on the table in front of her, he sat down next to her.
Without speaking, she turned to face him, cupping his face in her hands. He felt his guard slip even more. After Madge had died he didn’t think he would ever feel again. And here this firecracker of a woman was, slowly but surely forcing his heart to open up again.
4th October, 0750 hours – Janelle’s residence
Janelle heard the door knock downstairs and groaned loudly, burying her head under her pillow. She’d been too wound-up to sleep and had still been awake in the early hours. No one would blame her for missing college today, especially not after finding out yesterday that Kelly-Ann had died in a car fire. She had been upset, at first anyway, but the more she’d thought about it, the more she’d figured it was actually a blessing in disguise.
Kelly-Ann should never have been part of their group, she’d never really fit in. The only reason she was there was because of Ryan. Thinking about Ryan, Janelle checked her phone. He’d been distraught when he rang her last night to tell her about Kelly-Ann, sobbing and hiccupping down the phone. He’d said that it had to be the same person who’d hurt Glen. Maybe it was – or maybe Kelly-Ann had just got high in the car and set fire to herself. She was dippy enough to do something like that.
Janelle groaned as the door knocking recurred, this time even louder.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ she grumbled to herself, dragging herself from under the warm duvet.
She padded down the stairs and yanked the door open, and stepped back as she was confronted with two men in suits.
‘Janelle Spencer?’ asked one. He stood tall, his face stern as he took in her dishevelled appearance. Embarrassed, she tugged at the hem of her vest top, wishing she’d thought to grab the dressing gown off the floor. With the cold breeze blowing in through the door, she knew without even checking that she’d have a full nipple on. Mortified, she crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself tightly.
‘Depends. Who’re you?’
‘I’m Detective Sergeant Slater, this is Detective Constable Bennett. We need to have a chat with you about a friend of yours, Kelly-Ann Ward.’
‘Why do you wanna speak to me for? I didn’t do anything.’ Janelle felt dread sit in the pit of her stomach, why did they want to speak to her? She hadn’t even seen Kelly-Ann in days. Was Ryan right? Had Kelly-Ann been murdered?
‘Maybe it’s better if we come in,’ said Slater, moving towards the door.
‘No! You can’t. I mean, the place is a mess and my mum’s still in bed. She wouldn’t like cops in the house.’
‘This can go one of two ways, Janelle. We can come in and have an informal chat now, or you can come down to the station and we can chat in one of the interview rooms. Either way, it’s important we speak.’
Janelle didn’t know what to do. Her mum was no doubt sprawled on the couch in a drunken stupor. There’d be vodka bottles and god knows what else. But she really didn’t want to go to the station. What if they arrested her? She couldn’t afford a solicitor.
‘Give me a minute,’ she said, shutting the door and rushing into the living room.
As predicted, her mum was flat out on the sofa, one bare leg poking out from beneath the mink effect blanket. She had a trail of drool running from her chin onto the cushion her head rested on. Snoring softly, she didn’t even stir as Janelle quickly picked up the mess and shouted at her mum to wake up. Tanya Spencer didn’t even stir, not until Janelle yelled in her ear anyway. Then she sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with terror, not knowing what was going on.
‘Get your fat arse off this couch and go upstairs, Mum,’ hissed Janelle. ‘I’ll explain later, but there’s police outside – they need to talk to me.’
‘Police? What the hell did you do, Janelle?’
‘Nothing – they’re here about Kelly-Ann. Now, please, piss off upstairs. I’ll bring you a drink in a bit.’
‘Who’s Kelly-Ann?’ asked her mother, as Janelle herded her physically towards the stairs.
‘I said I’ll tell you later, now please, get up the pissing stairs!’
Janelle watched as her mum half walked, half dragged herself upstairs and closed the bedroom door with a loud click.
Janelle smoothed down her vest, as if it would make a difference, and reopened the front door.
‘Sorry officers, please, come in. You’ll have to excuse the mess, it’s been a tough few days. Can I get you a drink?’
‘No, we’re OK thanks. I can imagine it has been rough. Sorry about your friends. You were close?’
Janelle narrowed her eyes at Slater – she knew all about veiled questions, used enough of them herself.
‘Yes, we were close. No, I didn’t kill them.’
‘Excuse me
?’
‘That was going to be your next question right? You were going to ask if I killed my best friend, and the girlfriend of my other friend?’
‘So you were close to Glen, but not to Kelly-Ann. And I wasn’t going to ask if you’d killed them. Though it’s a little strange that they both died in similar circumstances. Have either of them upset anyone recently?’
‘I didn’t say I wasn’t close to Kelly-Ann. You’re putting words in my mouth. Two of my friends have been murdered, shouldn’t you be out there questioning suspects or whatever? Why are you here hassling me?’
‘We’re not hassling you – we’re merely trying to ascertain who hurt your friends. Did either of your friends give anyone cause for upset?’
‘No they didn’t upset anyone. Except… well, they didn’t get on with the coven. None of us did.’ Janelle didn’t believe for one second that Heather, Susie or Chloe were capable of hurting Glen, or Kelly-Ann for that matter, but she could just see their faces if the police turned up at their door in the same manner they’d turned up at hers. It was too good an opportunity to miss.
‘Coven?’ Slater’s tone was skeptical – he thought she meant actual witches.
‘The group of goths from uni – Heather Blaze, Susie Frankland and Chloe Greenfield. They hate us all, there’s been problems for years. They bullied us all through senior school and then thought it’d be OK to continue it into college and uni. Mostly we just ignore them. But they have been bitchy again lately – petty stuff really, catty comments and what-not. We’ve never retaliated, but well, Kelly-Ann shouted back at them last week, she’d had enough I suppose. I thought Chloe was going to thump her there and then.’
‘And you think these girls are capable of doing something like this?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Janelle thoughtfully, ‘They worship satan or something, so I’ve heard. I’ve seen them setting fires on the wasteland opposite the uni and dancing around like lunatics, chanting or whatever. They used to push us around all the time, we constantly had bruises. I guess, if they wanted to hurt us, I can believe that maybe they’d be able to do something like this.’
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