Everything to Lose

by Jade Winters

  “I’ll try, but what’s this about, Ash?”

  “I’ll tell you when I get there.” Please, please, please don’t let this be in my imagination. Please let this be the break I need.

  ***

  Steve was lounging in her chair sharing a joke with Dale as Ashley entered her office. The moment he saw her, Steve scrambled to his feet immediately.

  “Hey, Ashley. Sorry, I didn’t touch anything.” He waved a hand at her less than tidy desk, “I was just chatting with Taylor here.”

  She scrunched her forehead in uncertainty. “Steve. I hope you didn’t mess with my impeccable filing system.” All three officers looked at the high piles of files on the desk surrounding smaller piles of scattered papers that Ashley had written notes and thoughts on. It looked like a filing cabinet had exploded and its contents had all landed on her desk. Steve glanced at Ashley to see if she was being serious. She gave him a tight smile and Steve, looking relieved, said, “Do you guys want a coffee or something? I’m going to make myself one.”

  “Cheers mate. Coffee for me. Black. Two sugars,” Dale replied.

  “Ashley?”

  “No thanks, Steve.” She watched the officer saunter out of the office, whistling some inane tune as he went.

  “You two looked pally,” Ashley said, trying not to sound annoyed.

  “Just having a chat about footy,” Dale said, as he reached into his drawer and withdrew two A4 beige folders, then passed them to her.

  “Nobody knows you’ve got these, right?” Ashley asked intently.

  “What’s with second-guessing me all of a sudden?” Dale said, sounding a little annoyed.

  “I’m sorry.” She briefly closed her eyes. “I’m not second guessing you, I just don’t want anything getting back to Colleen or Ripley. Look, come and see what I found and you can tell me if you think I am barking up another wrong tree or not.”

  Dale rose to his feet and walked around her desk, sitting himself down on the edge as Ashley spread the photos out. She scrutinised them closely until she found what she was looking for. She had been right. Yes! Finally! She tried to keep her voice even, as she lifted two photos up to show Dale.

  She held both photos of the victims’ dressing tables up in the air.

  “Look here. What’s missing?”

  Dale leaned closer to the photos. “All I see are dressing tables. I’m obviously missing something?”

  “Look again. Not at the dressing tables. Only look at the photo frames.”

  He leaned closer and peered at the photos, looking from one to the other until he said,

  “Okay I see it this time. There’s a photo missing from each of the frames.”

  “Right!” She looked excitedly at him. “That’s it! Don’t you think that’s a bit of a coincidence? Two different crime scenes, apparently not related but both have a photo frame with a missing photo.”

  Dale coughed into his hand to cover his laughter. “Now don’t get pissed off with me. But how do we know if they even had a photo in them to start with?”

  “It’s a good question. And I don’t know the answer to it yet, but if I’m right will you agree there’s something strange about it.”

  “Yes I will. If you’re right.”

  There was a soft rap at the door and Ashley quickly gathered the photos together before putting them back in the folder. Dale strode over to the door and opened it. Steve stood there with two mugs of coffee in his hand. He passed one to Dale.

  “Thanks, mate.”

  Instead of turning to leave, Steve brushed past Dale and walked into the office, sitting on the chair facing Ashley.

  “Look I hope you’re not angry with me because I interviewed your brother. I was just doing my job.”

  Ashley raised her chin. “I know, it’s just a difficult situation. There are no hard feelings.”

  “Good. Because I always thought you and I got on well.”

  “We do, Steve.” She tried to lighten her voice and add a warmer tone to it. “What you working on at the moment?”

  “Oh, a sexual assault case. The bloke said it was consensual. Waiting on the results of a rape kit. What you got there?” he asked nodding to the files.

  “These?” She looked down at the folders. “Reports.” She opened her drawer and stuffed them in.” She wished she’d been more casual, but the moment to do it differently was gone.

  They sat in an awkward silence.

  “So, what did you think of that newspaper article I gave you?” Steve suddenly asked. “It seems to have ruffled a few feathers, hasn’t it?”

  “I only skimmed it. I haven’t really been paying attention what with everything that’s happened lately.”

  Steve nodded. “There’s talk round the station there’s a snitch among us.”

  Dale slumped into his chair and swung his feet up onto his desk. “Gossip round here isn’t anything new is it?

  Steve frowned. “Suppose not.” He had the look on his face of a kid having been denied a treat. Ashley wondered if he had thought they would give him a few bits of juicy gossip to share with his mates over a pint later. He’d come to the wrong place for that. Ashley and Dale hated the office gossip, having been the brunt of it themselves, more than once.

  Dale took a mouthful of his coffee. “We’ve been round here a lot longer than you have, Steve. Believe me, after you’ve been here a few years you’ll be just as jaded about the gossip as we are.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Ashley said with humour.

  “You fancy coming down the pub with us tomorrow, Ashley. Arsenal are playing.”

  “I can’t I’m afraid. I’ve got a date.” The word “date” came out of her mouth unintentionally.

  “I thought…” Steve began to say.

  Ashley quickly interrupted him, avoiding them all embarrassment at having to try and untangle the context of what she had meant. “Not like that. I’m meeting a friend for a catch up.”

  “Too bad, maybe another time.” Steve stood and moved towards the door. “Dale, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

  “Yep.” Dale held up his coffee mug. “And thanks for the coffee.”

  “So no guesses who you’re meeting tomorrow,” Dale said when they were alone.

  “It’s nothing to do with Nicola Coleman. Alexis has some information on an old case from a few years ago.”

  “I bet she does.”

  Ashley rolled her eyes. “Women’s minds don’t work the same way as men’s, Dale. Women can actually be friends without any ulterior motives.”

  He raised an eyebrow teasingly, then said. “Okay, I’m just kidding. Forget that for now. So what’s your plan about the photos?”

  “I want to establish that there were photos in the frames before the night of the killings. Can you go and visit Shelly while I visit Jimmy? Take the picture with you and find out if she thinks there is a photo missing. My parents want to go and see Nathan again tomorrow afternoon. I may as well kill two birds with one stone seeing as Nathan and Jimmy are both in the same prison.” She paused, tapping her nails on the desk, then said, “I really think we’re on to something with this, Dale. Once we’ve spoken to Jimmy and Shelly and know for sure that there are photos missing, I’m going to talk to Colleen. Hopefully this new information will be enough to prove to her that there is a link between the two women’s murders and that Nathan and Jimmy’s cases warrant more investigating.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Ashley looked at the clock on the wall. Every second seemed like an eternity. She couldn’t wait to find out if her latest theory was right. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

  “Are you busy? There’s a girl downstairs, she said she needs to see you urgently. It’s about Abbi Connor,” Jason, a soon-to-be retired PC, said.

  Ashley eased her chair away from her desk and stood up. “Okay thanks, I’ll go down and see her.”

  Ashley ran down a flight of stairs and along the corridor that led towards the entrance
of the police station. She was surprised to see Mia. For some reason she thought it would be Kelly, Abbi’s sister.

  “Hi Mia. Is everything okay?” she asked as she neared her.

  “Not really no. I have something to tell you but it can’t get back to me. He’ll kill me if he finds out that I spoke to you.” Her eyes registered regret. “I feel a bit bad now that Abbi isn’t getting any better. I saw her sister down town and she was in bits. I may not like her but the shit that knocked her over shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.”

  Ashley’s heart raced. “Do you know who was driving the car, Mia?”

  “Not exactly. But Adam saw the car. He didn’t see the driver because he only saw the car from behind. But he remembers the private number plate as it took off. It was one of those plates that stick in your mind.”

  “Why didn’t he tell us before?”

  “Honestly? He was scared the driver would come after him, seeing as it was obviously intentional.”

  Ashley frowned slightly. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to speak with Adam to confirm this, Mia. Did he tell you what the number plate was?”

  “BRA 7S,” she said reluctantly.

  Ashley committed it to memory. “Thank you, Mia. You’ve done the right thing, I promise. I’m so very proud of you for having the courage to do this.”

  Mia’s eyes widened. “Is the person going to prison?”

  “I hope so. They’re very dangerous, not to mention callous and cowardly.”

  Ashley walked Mia to the entrance, reassuring her she had done the right thing in coming forward with the information. Once Mia was out of sight, Ashley ran to the control room. Breathless, she stood in front of the operator’s desk. “George, I need you to trace a number plate for me please.”

  “Sure thing,” he said, tapping the numbers on the keyboard as Ashley said them aloud. “Here we go.” He looked up at her. “The car belongs to a Jenny Thomas.”

  Ashley gasped. Helena’s mum?

  Chapter Forty-Two

  After a gruelling half an hour spent cajoling Adam into giving up what he knew, Ashley and Dale were on their way to Jenny Thomas’ home. Adam had confirmed all that Mia had told her. It was a turn of events that Ashley could not even have conjured up in her wildest imagination. Not that she put parents on a pedestal, but she couldn’t get her head around the fact that a mother had knocked over a young girl and left her for dead. Despite the bullying issues she didn’t understand how the woman could have committed the crime.

  Jenny Thomas was a blonde haired woman in her late thirties. Although it was mid-morning she still wore a white bath robe and her hair was ruffled. She didn’t look surprised to see Ashley. In fact Ashley could have sworn that she had seen relief in her light blue eyes as she opened the door.

  “Mrs–”

  Her admission of guilt was out of her mouth before Ashley could say another word. “–I know why you’re here. You don’t have to tell me. Come in.”

  They followed her into a dark room. The curtains were drawn and though the TV was on, the sound was muted. Jenny rolled up a duvet on the sofa and gestured for them to sit.

  “Can I get you a tea?”

  Ashley and Dale sat down simultaneously and shook their heads.

  “I take it you’re going to arrest me?” she said, almost banally, as she tidied the take-away cartons from the small dining table.

  “Do you want to tell us what happened, Jenny?” Ashley said.

  With her hands clamped tightly on the back of a chair, Jenny drew it away from the table and wearily sat down on it. “What happened?” she asked herself as she took in gulps of air.

  Ashley stood and walked over to her. “Are you okay?”

  Jenny looked up at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You must think I’m a monster! A cold hearted monster.”

  Ashley remained silent and took a seat opposite her. That was exactly what she thought, but she couldn’t very well voice it. A lie stuck in her throat, so she remained silent.

  “How can a mother leave someone else’s child…to die?” Jenny wailed as she dropped her head to the table and banged her fist against the wooden surface.

  Ashley refrained from reaching out to her. Nothing she could say or do would help ward off the mental demons that were torturing her. If this woman had mowed down the girl lying in ICU, she was not sure she wanted to alleviate the torment that Jenny felt. Did that make her a monster too?

  Ashley turned to look at Dale who gave her a helpless shrug. It was several minutes before Jenny composed herself.

  “I didn’t mean to.” Her voice quivered with each word spoken. “You’ve got to believe me.”

  “Just take your time and tell me exactly what happened,” Ashley said.

  Jenny smoothed back her hair, took a quick glance at Dale, then turned her attention back to Ashley. She looked around the room as if searching for the words she wanted to speak. “I was in the car park waiting to pick Helena up. She had called me in tears saying she’d been in a fight. I was sitting there minding my own business when Abbi came out of nowhere. She banged on my car window and started taunting me.” Jenny squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed as if she were reliving the memory. “She was yelling abuse about my daughter, really mean, nasty things.” She blew her nose then continued, “I can’t even remember what happened exactly – I just saw red. One minute she was in front of the car the next I slammed my foot on the accelerator and…” Her hands flew to her face. “And the rest you know.”

  Ashley inhaled deeply. How many crimes happened in that split second, when the line between right and wrong blurred and allowed people to do the most awful things to one another? She saw Dale stand from the corner of her eye and was grateful that he was the one to read Jenny her rights, as she was not sure how strong her voice would have been. It wasn’t even that this woman had done it to protect her child directly, she had just been pushed past her breaking point and a young girl may never grow up because of it. There was no right in any of this. Ashley felt the weight of her job lying heavily on her shoulders and even heavier in her heart.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Leaving Jenny in the custody suite was hard for Ashley to do. She knew a wrong didn’t make a right but she couldn’t help feel sorry for all those caught up in the sorry mess. Bullying affected so many people on so many levels – and not just in schools. It was rife in the workplace as well.

  Ashley pushed herself wearily up from her desk. Jimmy Marsh awaited her.

  Dale had already left the station to visit Emily Hill’s flatmate, Shelly, to find out if she knew anything about the missing picture. Within an hour Ashley had made her way to the prison and was waiting for Jimmy to be brought to her. Ashley looked at the dreary room, and the bleak sky that could be seen through the small, heavily-barred windows and felt as grey as the weak light that filtered in.

  She hoped she was onto something with the photos, it would be a great break in the case. The case she wasn’t meant to be working on. That was the next bridge she would have to cross, but for now, she needed answers from Jimmy.

  He was escorted into the visitor’s room by a blank faced prison officer. Ashley watched him leave, without saying a word. She looked at Jimmy to see how he was faring. His face sported a black eye and a swollen lip.

  “What happened?” Ashley asked gesturing to his face.

  “What the fuck do you care? The blokes talk in here, Detective.” He drew the word out, making it sound like an insult. “Someone’s brother is in here, charged with murder – same as me. Is that the reason you’re pretending to help me. To actually free your brother. That’s the truth, innit. You tryin’ to fleece me to get info to free your brother. Tryin’ to get evidence to pin it on me so your brother can go free and I rot in here. That’s the truth, innit Detective McCoy. You are jus’ like them others, looking after your own and throwing the likes of me to the dogs while pretendin’ to help me. That’s pretty scaly, even for a detective.” He sat back a
nd glared at Ashley.

  She sighed and carried on. “Jimmy, I’m trying to help you both because I think you’re both innocent. I’m not trying to use what you tell me to free my brother, I am trying to use it to free both of you. I can’t make you believe me, but that’s the truth. Now please, just have a look at this.” Ashley opened the folder with the photograph inside and slid it across the table to him. “I need you to take a good look at this photo and tell me if you notice anything out of place.”

  Jimmy looked across at her. “Is this some kinda joke? You want me to help you some more after you ditched me and left me in here to be beat up. Why should I help you?”

  “Please, Jimmy. Just do as I ask.”

  She ran a hand over her tired eyes. Jimmy stared at her for a long while, then reluctantly looked down at the photo. His eyes slowly travelled over it then he looked up at her and pushed it away. “I don’t know what you lookin’ for, but nothin’s out of place.”

  Ashley’s heart sank. Damn! Damn! Damn! “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  She picked the picture up feeling a giant wave of disappointment flood her. As she was about to put it back into the folder, Jimmy snatched it out of her hand. Ashley recoiled instinctively and then felt foolish, but the man opposite her hadn’t noticed, his eyes were riveted on the photo.

  “Hey, hang on just a minute! There’s summit missin’. Where’s Justine’s picture?” He stabbed at the photo with his finger. “It should be in that photo frame. There, that one, it’s missing.”

  Ashley tried to play it cool and keep the excitement out of her voice. “What? The photo frame? How do you know Justine didn’t leave that one empty?”

  He gave her an incredulous stare. “I know, ’cause it was her favourite pic. Her pride and joy. I took that photo meself on the day she got her tits done.”

  Ashley put the picture back in the folder. She smiled at Jimmy warmly. “Sit tight, Jimmy. Don’t give up on me yet!” She wanted to hug the sad and broken man, but knew she had to keep herself calm and professional.