Desolate Hearts

by Robin Roughley

  A small dark-haired boy dressed in Iron Man pyjamas peeped around the kitchen door and smiled shyly before vanishing again.

  'Does the name Shaw mean anything to you?'

  Sarah thought for a moment then looked at Bannister and shook her head. 'I don't know anyone called Shaw.'

  'Is your husband about?' Lasser asked.

  This time there was no doubting the sour look on her face. 'We're not together,' she said in clipped tones.

  'Can I ask why?'

  Folding her arms, she looked at them both, a hard glint in her eyes. 'Mark is a bastard and I'm in the process of divorcing him.'

  'He cheated on you?'

  'God, no, he would never do something so obvious, but let's just say he hated me having any kind of life.'

  'He's overbearing then?' Bannister asked as he picked up the cup and took a sip of the hot coffee.

  'We've been married eight years and at first he was fine, but over the years he just became too bloody much. He wanted me at home all the time, never wanted me going out with friends or family.'

  'What about you working, how did he feel about that?'

  She moved her gaze to Lasser and actually smiled as if seeing him for the first time. 'He hated it, he said we didn't need the money, but there was no way I was giving it up just to sit in four walls and play the dutiful housewife.'

  'You like your job then?'

  'Yeah, I do, the Deans are great to work for, they understand I have a young son and sometimes I can't make it to the office, so they let me work from home. To be honest it could all be done remotely but the others who work there are all great and I like getting out of the house.'

  'Is that what your husband wanted you to do, work from home?'

  'No, he wanted me to pack it in altogether, I know this sounds pathetic but a couple of times he turned up at work, trying to get me to go back to him, but I told him to sod right off.'

  Lasser glanced sideways, he could see the sudden interest in Bannister's eyes as he eased forwards and planted his elbows on the table.

  'When he turned up at work, what actually happened?'

  'He started out by trying to be nice but then again he's always been that way, he likes people to think he's a good guy. When I told him it was over, he began to rant and rave but when he saw the rest of the team were looking out of the office window at him he stormed off and drove away.'

  'What does your husband do for a living?' Bannister asked, his hands closing around the coffee cup.

  'He's a landscape gardener – and that was another thing – he wanted me to give up work, but who the hell wants their gardens doing when they're under eight inches of snow?'

  Bannister pushed himself up from the chair. 'Right, Mrs Shipley, I want to know where your husband's living?'

  'But…'

  'Right now, please?' he demanded.

  Sarah Shipley suddenly felt the sense of unease mutate into outright fear.

  62

  Jackie waved as Suzanne drove away over the bridge, she was standing at the rear of the wide beam, hand raised, the sound of the engine fading, leaving only silence behind. The afternoon had been eventful to say the least, Suzanne had told her all about her life, and the really strange thing was that Jackie had reciprocated, telling her about how she was born and raised on the Isle of Wight, and how she had found herself in Wigan.

  Suzanne had smiled, taking a sip from her coffee, as Jackie told her about her family, the ones she got on with and the ones she didn't.

  'Well, they say you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends,' Suzanne had said.

  They had looked at one another and burst out laughing at the truism.

  Three coffees later and Jackie had felt as if she had known Suzanne for years.

  Now, she whistled, and Poppet leapt up the steps onto the back of the boat before jumping to the towpath.

  Closing the door, she locked it and set off walking, pausing beneath bridge number sixty-four to light a cigarette, before setting off again, her mind full of the afternoon's conversation.

  Suzanne had told her all about the girls and how Belle had been rescued from a life that had consisted of neglect and terror. She had even told her about her own recent health scare.

  'I got the all-clear earlier this year and, so far, everything's fine.'

  'Do you think that could have anything to do with the stress Alan's been under?' Jackie asked.

  Suzanne sighed and nodded. 'I know he comes across as full-on but underneath all the shouting and bawling he has a heart of gold.'

  'That's basically what Lasser said about him.'

  'Yes, well, that man has the patience of a saint. I would never put up with the stuff that Lasser takes on a daily basis.'

  'Well, he seems happy enough.'

  'He does now, but that hasn't always been the case.'

  Jackie had eased back in the chair, her foot tucked beneath her. 'He's told me about Medea.'

  'I thought he would have done.'

  'He blames himself for the breakup.'

  Suzanne had shaken her head, a hint of sadness in her eyes. 'That's his problem, he blames himself for everything. He didn't drive Medea away, he was just doing the job as he always does, and she was the one who decided she couldn't live with that.'

  'How do you cope with the stress?' Jackie asked as she stroked the dog's ears.

  Suzanne thought for a moment before answering. 'The truth is I would love him to be doing something else, but I don't want to pressurise him, he gets enough of that through work. I spoke to Lasser earlier about the dreams Alan's been having, and he thinks it's something he has to sort out himself.'

  'He could well be right.'

  'But there has to come a point when he simply can't do it anymore, he and Lasser are the same, they take too much on their shoulders. Anything bad that happens and they think they should have been able to stop it from happening.'

  'Perhaps that's part of what makes them good at the job,' Jackie offered before pulling out her cigarettes. 'Do you mind if I have one of these?'

  Suzanne smiled and shook her head. 'I know I make Alan go outside for a smoke, but the truth is it doesn't bother me, but I know if I let him smoke indoors then he would have one after the other.'

  'I think they call that reverse psychology,' Jackie had said, rising to open a couple of windows before lighting the cigarette.

  'Lasser really loves you, you know,' Suzanne suddenly said.

  Jackie had sat back down, feeling the heat in her cheeks at the unexpected change in the conversation. 'I love him too,' she almost whispered.

  'I can tell, and to be honest I have never seen him as happy. I mean, we both know what a good-looking guy he is, but he never seems to realise that fact.'

  'That's part of the attraction I guess, having a man who doesn't spend longer in the bathroom than I do, and can pass a mirror without checking himself out.'

  Suzanne smiled again. 'Yes, he's something of a one-off that's for sure.'

  'And I wouldn't want to change any of that.'

  Suzanne had looked at her keenly as if searching for some hint of deception then the smile had widened. 'You two are perfect for one another, you see the real guy and you're happy with that.'

  'Others have tried to get him to change?'

  'To be honest I have no idea, Lasser hasn't had many girlfriends. There was Medea and…'

  'Ruby,' Jackie said.

  'Yes, Ruby, but that didn't last long at all, not sure what happened there but to be honest it didn't seem to really bother him that much.'

  'I suppose the job makes it difficult.'

  'It does, but you learn to live with it.'

  Poppet dashed by, enjoying stretching her legs.

  Stopping for a moment, she took a pull on the cigarette and looked out over the fields, the temperature dropping as the sun eased towards the snow-white horizon.

  She thought about Lasser and smiled, the truth was he made her happy and there was someth
ing about the man that made her feel protective towards him.

  There was a vulnerability there, something that he tried to hide, but occasionally she would look at him and see a kind of bewilderment in his eyes as if the whole world was a mystery that he would never fathom.

  Then there was the job, a job that had him out there trying to catch a killer before he struck again. She tried to imagine what it must be like working under that amount of pressure, knowing that the clock was ticking and if you didn't come up with the answers then someone else would lose their life.

  She shivered at the notion before tossing the cigarette into the snow and slipping her hands into her pockets.

  When she spotted movement in the distance she turned slightly, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the figure standing on the bridge looking out towards her. Instinctively, she knew it was the same man who had stood there when the snow had been falling. He remained unmoving, standing stock-still, it was almost as if she could feel his eyes on her, watching, waiting.

  Poppet came dashing back and sat down by her side, the dog's breath billowing, her tongue hanging out, eyes bright with trust and affection.

  'Come on, Pops, let's go back,' she said, turning away.

  With every step she took, the urge to glance over her shoulder grew, yet she carried on walking, doing her best to keep her gait even and steady, though inside the frightened voice urged her to run.

  The whippet trotted along by her side as if suddenly aware that something wasn't quite right with her mistress.

  She had covered fifty feet when the urge to look behind her became too much. Glancing over her shoulder, she felt the apprehension turn to fear as she saw a figure jogging along the towpath. Her eyes flicked to the bridge in the hope that she would still see the man standing there, though inside she already knew it was the same man. And he was following her. Stalking her.

  Turning away, she quickened her pace; suddenly, it felt as if the deep snow were slowing her down, trying to anchor her boots in the white depths, freezing her to the spot, trapped while the figure behind drew ever closer.

  The image quickened her heart and she threw another glance over her shoulder, her eyes springing wide as she saw the man had broken into a run.

  Jackie almost screamed and then she was running, the hood of her jacket flew back, her hair streaming out as she tried to lift her feet from the deep snow.

  What little light was left faded rapidly, her breath came out as short gasps, the whippet staying close to her side as if reluctant to leave her behind.

  Glancing up, she saw bridge sixty-four growing closer, though somehow, she knew the man behind would now be sprinting towards her, every long stride bringing him closer. Soon, she would hear his boots crunching snow, then he would reach out and grab her hood snapping her back and…

  She almost came to a stop as the horrific images rocketed through her paralysed brain, then the dog barked, and the spell was broken. Springing forwards, she increased her speed, the terror was still there but the core of her was suddenly flooded with determination, adding strength to her legs as she dashed along the towpath, the frozen canal to her right, snow-covered fields to her left.

  The bridge grew closer, when she saw the figure in the distance, walking down from the car park to the towpath she almost stopped again.

  'Trap,' she hissed the single word, convinced that she would soon be ensnared between the two people, having to stand there… waiting… as they closed in.

  Despite the fear, she carried on running, her arms thrusting back and forth, legs pumping. The cold air blurring her vision as the figure ahead made its way down to the towpath and turned towards her before pulling the hood free. Jackie slithered to a halt as she saw the mass of black hair spring free.

  Taking a huge shuddering breath, she spun around to see her pursuer turn and walk away.

  She watched in shivering disbelief as the view of the man diminished into the white.

  When she heard the sound of footfalls behind her she spun around.

  The woman looked at her, concern on her face. 'Was that guy chasing you?' she asked.

  Jackie nodded, her eyes locked on the woman's face, for a moment, the fear and confusion was scrambling her brains.

  Then the woman moved forwards, and Jackie blinked, trying to get her head around it all.

  'Jackie, you OK?' the woman asked.

  All Jackie could do was nod.

  'I think we should get away from here.'

  Taking hold of Jackie's arm, the woman turned away, leading her back towards the bridge.

  'Is the boat locked up?' she asked.

  'Yeah, yeah, but…'

  'Then we can sit in the car while I ring my brother, he'll know what to do.'

  Suddenly, her brain unscrambled the pieces, 'Natasha! Thank God you arrived when you did.' she said in relief.

  Tasha smiled as they hurried through the snow.

  'Come on, let's get a move on.'

  63

  Carmen could hear Ashley in the conservatory, his voice rising in anger. She was sitting in the kitchen, every few seconds her eyes would flick to the door that led to the garage, her skin crawling as she wondered how she would ever be able to walk through that door again.

  She knew that the head had been removed, even the contents of the freezer had been taken away for analysis, but every time she closed her eyes she could see a faceless man pulling one of the garage doors open slightly to sneak inside, the severed head clasped by the hair in his fist.

  She shuddered again and swallowed the sense of disgust before taking a gulp of red wine, the contents of the bottle rapidly disappearing as she filled the glass for the third time.

  'Unbelievable,' Ashley said as he stormed into the kitchen.

  'Problem?' she asked before wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

  'Bloody Auntie Joan still expects me to go and pick her up on Christmas Day, I mean, what is wrong with that woman.'

  'You told her what happened, right?'

  Pulling out a chair, he slumped down and nodded. 'Oh, I told her all right, but she acted as if it was no reason to cancel the party. She started to complain that she had turned down numerous invitations to visit other people to come here and she expected to be picked up as promised at ten o'clock. I mean, we never even said we would go and collect her, she…'

  'That's my fault I'm afraid, she was on the phone to me just before I opened the freezer and I said we would sort something out to get her here and back home.'

  Ashley looked at his wife and sighed heavily. 'Yes, well, I put her straight and hung up on the old cow.'

  Carmen nodded in gratitude. 'Does everyone else know what's happened?'

  'Yeah, I emailed most of them, some already knew and had either emailed us or called, but it's all sorted, thank God.'

  'I don't understand any of this,' Carmen said as the tears spilled from her eyes.

  Reaching out, Ashley picked up his glass and drained it, his hand shaking as he placed it back on the table. 'I know what you mean, I've been racking my brains trying to make sense of what happened, but I can't seem to think straight.'

  They looked at one another, seeing the confusion and dread mirrored in each other's terrified gaze.

  'I can't stay here,' Carmen said.

  'But I don't even know if we're allowed to leave the house,' Ashley answered as he ran a hand over his eyes.

  'We've done nothing wrong, Ash, and I can't just sit here knowing there's a maniac out there that knows who we are and where we live.'

  'Look, it could have just been random, I've been watching the news and Shaw was killed near the Blue Bell, it's only a couple of miles from here, the killer could have been passing, saw the house in darkness, the drive empty and…'

  'I don't care about any of that, I think we should go up to the cottage until they catch this animal.'

  Ashley looked at her and reached out to take her hand. 'The weather's bad enough here, Car, so God knows what it
will be like in the Lakes.'

  'I still want to try, and if we can't make it then we can book into a hotel.'

  Dipping a hand into his pocket, Ashley pulled out the card given to him by Bannister. 'I'll ring this Bannister just to make sure we're not breaking any law if we do go.'

  'If he refuses, give the phone to me and I'll insist that we have armed officers outside the house until all this is over.'

  He could see the sudden steely glint in his wife's eyes and nodded in understanding. He might have been the accountant, but Carmen was the real brains behind the business, the one who could drum up new clients and chase the ones who were slow at paying up.

  Taking a deep breath, he tapped in the number and pressed the call button.

  64

  Lasser listened with a mounting sense of dread as his sister told him about the man chasing Jackie along the towpath. By the time she had finished, the palms of his hands were moist, the anger and fear mounting.

  The loudspeaker was on and Bannister listened with disbelief as he eased the car along the snow-packed road.

  'Where are you now, Tash?' Lasser asked.

  'On the car park by the canal.'

  'Right, I want you two to get away from there and…'

  'I've spoken to Jackie and she's agreed to come back to my place.'

  Lasser heaved a sigh of relief as Bannister handed him a lit cigarette. 'Did either of you get a look at the guy?' he asked.

  'To be honest no, I thought I'd pay you a visit, see how life on the water was suiting you. But the guy was definitely running flat out towards her and when he saw me he immediately stopped, turned and hurried away.'

  'OK, I want you to get on the road right now and for God's sake don't try and go down Red Rock you'll never make it.'

  'I may not be the best driver in the world but I'm not an idiot,' she replied.

  'Ring me as soon as you get home,' Lasser said, ignoring his twin's barbed response.

  'Will do,' Tasha answered before ending the call.