Her Secret Past: A completely gripping and heart-stopping crime thriller

by Kerry Watts

  ‘You better come in,’ she said as she moved away.

  ‘Thank you,’ Jessie responded and closed the door behind her. ‘It’s Kenny I’m here to speak to – is he in?’

  Rachel stopped and turned back round. ‘Why do you need to speak to him?’

  ‘I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask him, that’s all. Is he here?’

  Jessie turned on hearing the front door open and shut again behind her.

  ‘Hello, Detective,’ Kenny said. He removed his heavy jacket and hung it up on the hooks by the door.

  ‘She needs to speak to you, apparently,’ Rachel commented.

  Kenny frowned. ‘Really?’

  Jessie sensed the atmosphere darken. She was clearly not welcome there but that was too bad. She went where the evidence led. She wondered if Dylan’s presence was being any better received but sincerely doubted it.

  ‘I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. Can we go and sit down?’ Jessie suggested. Kenny threw a glance at Rachel, who walked away, closing the bedroom door behind her.

  ‘Come through. We can talk in the kitchen.’ Kenny brushed past Jessie in the narrow hallway and opened the kitchen door to the smell of some kind of cake baking in the oven. Jessie wasn’t sure what it was but it made her hungry.

  ‘Please sit.’ Kenny lifted a jacket from the back of an empty chair and pulled it away from the table for her then flopped down opposite her.

  Jessie noticed his anxiety immediately. He avoided her gaze and didn’t look comfortable at all.

  ‘Why did you lie to me about not having seen David Law?’ Jessie got straight to the point and watched Kenny’s wide-eyed response. His cheeks blushed pink as he shuffled forward in the chair. He leaned heavily on his elbows before closing his eyes and sighing. Then he shrugged.

  ‘I didn’t want to admit what a fool I’d been.’

  Jessie hadn’t anticipated that as his answer. ‘How so?’

  ‘I thought I could talk him round. Make him see the damage exposing her would cause but he insisted that if I didn’t pay he would.’ He stopped and shook his head before inhaling a long, slow breath. He exhaled loudly as he stared at the ceiling. ‘She wouldn’t be able to cope if it got out. It would destroy her. You’ve seen how fragile she is.’

  Jessie opened the text that blinked into her phone. It was from Dylan.

  Law has admitted to the blackmail. Seems adamant Rachel has convinced someone, maybe even Kenny, of killing the Anguses. See you back at the station.

  She tucked her phone away. ‘What did he want?’

  ‘Ten thousand now and another ten in three months and so on. Quarterly instalments.’

  Jessie whistled. ‘That’s no small change. He clearly thinks you can afford it.’

  ‘Look, what does this have to do with the death of Malcolm and Jean? We’ve already told you everything we know. The rest is my business.’ He sighed. ‘I can handle it. I have to, for Rachel’s sake.’

  Jessie felt sorry for the pathetic sight sitting opposite her. He’d aged considerably in the past week.

  ‘You must love your wife very much,’ she suggested to him, and for the first time since she’d arrived she saw him smile. His whole face lit up and he made proper eye contact with her.

  ‘From the minute we met. I’ll give him everything if it means he keeps quiet.’

  Jessie believed him when he said that. What was it about this woman that had men risking it all for her?

  ‘I have to ask. A witness has told us they overheard you arranging to have someone killed?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Who were you calling at the Seagate project?’

  ‘David Law – you know that by now, I expect. I haven’t asked someone to kill him, for God’s sake.’

  ‘Did you ask David to—’

  Kenny stood up. ‘Are you insane? Are you suggesting I asked him to kill the Anguses? That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard and I want you to leave – now.’

  ‘Kenny, what’s going on?’

  Neither Jessie nor Kenny had heard Rachel arrive.

  ‘It’s nothing, sweetheart. DI Blake was just leaving.’ Kenny lifted his hand to indicate the door. ‘If you wish to speak to either me or Rachel again, please do so through our solicitor. We won’t be answering any more questions without him being present. Goodbye, Detective.’

  ‘Kenny?’ Rachel repeated with a frown.

  ‘I said, goodbye, Detective,’ Kenny repeated.

  Jessie stood. She didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him and she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him today.

  ‘I’ll be in touch,’ she commented and smiled at Rachel. ‘I’ll see myself out.’

  Jessie pulled out her phone and dialled Dylan’s number as she crossed the car park, shivering in the cold wind that nipped at her cheeks.

  The slender figure watched Jessie’s car reverse out of the parking space and disappear out onto the main road back towards town. She slipped past the officer in the patrol car nearby, pulling her scarf up over her mouth and nose as she walked. He knew who she was by now. She gave him a nod when he glanced up and made her way to the front door of the flat.

  72

  ‘Caroline, what’s happened?’ Kenny was aghast at the sight of his PA standing in his doorway, blood pouring from a split lip, her eyes blackened. ‘Come in, come in!’ He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. ‘Rachel, grab some ice,’ he called out.

  ‘What – oh my goodness!’ Rachel gasped. ‘Wait, I’ll get the ice – go and sit down. I’ll be as quick as I can.’

  Rachel jogged into the kitchen and snatched a bag of peas from the bottom drawer of the freezer. She wrapped the bag in a tea towel.

  ‘Here, take this.’ She handed it to Caroline, who held it to her swollen lip.

  ‘What the hell happened? Who did this to you?’ Kenny asked, moving Caroline’s fringe out of her painful-looking black eyes. ‘Rachel, call the police.’

  ‘No, I don’t want any trouble!’ Caroline shouted and pulled the ice from her face. ‘I didn’t get a look at them anyway. They were coming out of my flat.’

  ‘Your flat?’ Rachel asked. ‘Did a burglar do this to you?’

  Caroline nodded slowly. ‘They snatched my bag after hitting me on their way out.’

  Rachel sat next to the visibly shocked young woman. She almost felt sorry for her.

  ‘You’ll need a police number for your insurance. What do you call it, a – erm, a crime reference number, that’s it,’ she informed her.

  Caroline’s head dropped.

  ‘Don’t tell me you don’t have insurance?’ Rachel announced.

  ‘Let’s not worry about that for now,’ Kenny interrupted. ‘We can replace any belongings, you know that.’ He pulled her face close to his chest and stared at his wife over the top of Caroline’s head.

  A small pang of unexpected jealousy rose inside Rachel, which unsettled her.

  ‘I’ll go and put the kettle on,’ she said. ‘Strong, sweet tea. That’s what you need.’

  As she walked away she heard Caroline cry on Kenny’s shoulder, touched by his concern. Kenny was a good man despite his carnal weakness. Who could possibly want to hurt Caroline like that? But was she just the victim of a random burglary that had turned violent when she’d arrived home unexpectedly? Or was something more sinister going on? Rachel wondered if she was being paranoid, wondering if Caroline’s misfortune was connected to her situation. There was such a thing as coincidence, after all.

  ‘Here you go. I’ve put three sugars in it for you. For the shock.’ Rachel pressed a large mug of tea into Caroline’s trembling hand. ‘I’ll go and find some blankets. You can stay here tonight and we’ll come back with you tomorrow to assess the damage.’ She smiled. It was the least she could do. She knew Caroline was estranged from her remaining family and she didn’t know of any friends to speak of.

  ‘I can’t expect—’

  ‘Nonsense. You’re staying here an
d that’s the end of it.’

  Kenny’s father-figure persona was beginning to show through. Despite her reservations about Caroline, Rachel liked this part of her husband. It was what she’d fallen for all those years ago. Perhaps Caroline was more like her than she allowed herself to recognise. Kenny had picked Rachel up from a very dark place. A very dark place indeed.

  ‘Thank you. Both of you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. It’s what friends are for.’ Rachel had said it before she knew it.

  But perhaps taking care of Caroline in her hour of need was what she needed to take her mind off the coming week. Fixing her husband’s broken little mistress would take her mind off the impending double-murder trial.

  Who was she kidding? There was nothing that could do that. No – that wasn’t true, Rachel reminded herself. Her horses. They could help her through even the darkest day.

  73

  Jessie must have drifted off to sleep because the text that rang out made her jump, sending Smokey heading for the floor. She and Dylan had gone over what both men had said. From the brief intelligence she’d been able to gather from Kenny, it appeared they had the facts. A simple case of blackmail with a big secret at its heart.

  Law had gone on to tell Dylan more about Gordon and how finding out who and where Rachel was had made him feel. Jessie had suggested to Dylan that David Law must hold such resentment against her. The thought that he was setting Rachel up for the murder did cross her mind but there was no proof of that at all. Jessie doubted him being a criminal mastermind capable of that anyway. She’d told Dylan to get off home because they were both tired, and he’d told her things were better on that front. They’d sought advice for Katie’s sleeping problem and so far it seemed to be working, which had made Shelly feel better. The knock-on effect was less stress on her leading to a happier Dylan, Jessie was relieved to find.

  ‘Shit!’ Jessie sat bolt upright and struggled to see the buttons on her iPhone. ‘No way,’ she muttered when she could see another text from Haley waiting for her. She didn’t bother to read what it said. Jessie had no interest in developing any kind of friendship with Haley. Watching her being destroyed by Dan was the last thing she wanted to witness first-hand.

  Then a thought occurred to her. She wondered if this was Dan’s doing and not Haley’s at all. A horrible feeling hit her gut. Perhaps Dan was using poor Haley’s phone now. Was his grip on the young, naïve girl tightening? Jessie knew that coercion crept up on you before you realised what was happening. Little by little, Dan would be chipping away at her confidence followed by her self-worth, before she lost all sense of reality altogether. Jessie had to do something, didn’t she? It was the right thing to do. No matter how awkward and difficult. Over coffee maybe?

  Hell, now Jessie would never get back to sleep. This case. Double murder. Dan. Haley. Her mind spun as she got up to go to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and jumped when Smokey leaped onto the toilet seat to nuzzle into her leg.

  ‘You daft thing,’ she said and scratched behind his ears, causing a loud purr to vibrate against her bare leg.

  Jessie headed into the kitchen and filled a tall glass with cold water from the tap and took it through to her bedroom. She set her alarm and grabbed her Kindle. She flicked through the books on her digital bookshelf but nothing grabbed her attention and she yawned as she closed her eyes.

  Dan laid the phone back down onto the bedside table and smiled at Haley, who was in bed beside him.

  ‘Was that my phone?’ Haley asked.

  ‘Shh, come here, you.’ Dan pulled Haley close and placed a long, lingering kiss on her lips and covered her body with his. Then he coldly got up and grabbed a sweater from the back of the chair next to the bed.

  ‘I have to go out,’ he said abruptly. ‘Don’t wait up.’

  74

  The knock on the door startled Jessie out of a deep sleep. She sat bolt upright and listened. She frowned at the time on the clock – 1.30 a.m. All she could hear now was its gentle ticking. She reached around for Smokey, who wasn’t there. He must be in his own bed for once, she thought. She switched on the bedside lamp and waited. She wondered if she’d dreamed the knocking.

  When only silence filled the room she switched the light off and snuggled back down. She tugged her duvet up around her shoulders against the cold night air, sighed deeply and closed her eyes – then sat straight back up. There it was again. She hadn’t imagined it. Shivering, Jessie grabbed a cardigan from the chest at the bottom of her bed and zipped it right up. She crept quietly to the door and peered through the spyhole then gasped and moved away.

  ‘Shit,’ she muttered and looked again.

  How did he know where she lived? Had he followed her? The thought sent shivers down her spine. He knocked again. Jessie looked again. She lifted her phone from the hall table and dialled 999 but didn’t press the call button. She wanted it there just in case before she did anything. She paced back and forth and heard the handle moving. She took a deep breath and slid back the chain, dropping it down out of her fingers. Her heart raced.

  ‘What do you want, Gordon?’ she called out, her hand hovering over the lock.

  ‘I need to talk to you.’

  ‘Can’t it wait until morning?’ she suggested. ‘Come to the station first thing. We can talk then.’

  ‘I have something I need to tell you. I—’ She heard him hesitate. ‘I know who killed my granny and grandad.’

  Jessie looked at her phone then picked it up, fingers poised over the call button, then she slowly unlocked the front door and pulled it open. Smokey hissed and ran out past Gordon and into the garden. She really was completely alone with him now. What the hell are you thinking?

  ‘Can I come in?’ Gordon asked and brushed past before Jessie had a chance to respond. Her heart raced and a pounding headache burst forward between her temples. Jessie pushed the door shut and exhaled the large breath that crippled her chest. She followed Gordon deeper into her flat and found him sat on her sofa with a rucksack she hadn’t noticed earlier on the cushion next to him.

  ‘You said you know who killed your grandparents.’

  Gordon nodded.

  Jessie swallowed hard. ‘Was it you?’

  Gordon’s head snapped up, a look of disgust on his face. ‘No,’ he blasted. ‘Why would I kill them?’ he scoffed.

  ‘Why set fire to Rachel Ferguson’s place?’ she added.

  Gordon’s jaw tightened but he ignored Jessie’s question.

  A strange sense of relief enveloped Jessie in that moment. Confusion, too, but certainly relief. Perhaps he wasn’t a murderer.

  That relief quickly evaporated once Jessie spotted the blade glimmering inside the bag.

  ‘W-Why are you really here, Gordon?’ she stuttered, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry.

  ‘When I found David Law I couldn’t believe my luck – until I realised maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe finding him was the first step in fulfilling my purpose.’

  Jessie couldn’t speak. Fear gripped her. She’d been so stupid. What had she been thinking letting him in? She watched him pull a hammer out of the bag and place it gently onto her coffee table.

  ‘Give me your phone,’ he instructed her.

  Nausea gripped Jessie’s stomach. She had to fight the urge to be sick as she lifted her phone from her cardigan pocket then handed it to him in her trembling hand.

  ‘I’m disappointed.’ He held up the phone and deleted the 999 as he shook his head. ‘I only came here to talk.’

  ‘You know, you won’t get away with whatever you’ve planned tonight.’

  Gordon smiled. ‘Sit down, Detective.’

  Jessie lowered her trembling legs onto the chair behind her. Gordon lifted a pair of gloves from his bag and slid his hands into them. Keep it together, Jessie. She fixed her mind on getting out of this no matter what. Think, Jessie, think. She scanned the immediate vicinity for something to defe
nd herself with. One thump on his temple with something heavy and hard should do it.

  ‘Don’t be scared,’ Gordon whispered. ‘This will be beautiful. You will never be forgotten.’

  ‘Gordon.’ Jessie’s voice sounded more confident than she felt but she couldn’t let him see that. ‘I don’t know what you think you’re going to achieve by doing this. Do you want to be like your heroes, is that it?’

  ‘Get on your knees and turn and face the wall.’

  ‘No,’ Jessie murmured.

  ‘I said, turn round!’ Gordon screamed.

  Jessie got down onto her knees and did as she was told. Benito’s face slammed into her mind as she shook. She couldn’t feel her legs. They’d gone numb with absolute terror. She had pins and needles through her feet. She felt the breeze created by Gordon’s arm as it lifted above her head. Then nothing until a familiar voice filled the space.

  ‘Dan!’ Jessie called out and watched him punch Gordon into submission, over and over, until he no longer resisted.

  Jessie couldn’t stop the tears that tumbled out unchecked until she vomited on the floor next to her. She struggled to regain control of her breathing and gasped for air.

  ‘It’s OK now.’ Dan held out his hand.

  Jessie stared at him without saying a word. She grabbed for her phone, which Gordon had tossed onto the sofa. She had to step over Gordon’s still body to get away. Jessie ran and locked herself in the bathroom to dial 999.

  75

  ‘Jessie, it’s OK – Gordon’s gone,’ Dylan said softly through the bathroom door. He glanced back at Dan, who was giving a statement to one of the uniformed officers who had attended the scene within ten minutes of Jessie’s 999 call. He listened for movement inside then tapped his knuckles on the door. ‘Jess, it’s me,’ he added gently.