by Jim Bennett
‘You’ve been through the ringer a bit then’, Mike said once Julie had explained about what had happened with Jack. ‘It’s understandable that you’re upset. It’s not exactly normal to find a dead body in your spare room. Did you know him well?'
‘I’d only met him a few weeks before. Although…', she said pausing, wondering how much to divulge.
‘Yeah?’
She buried her face in her hands. ‘I’ll tell you but I can’t look at you when I do'.
‘Alright', Mike said, sounding concerned.
‘I slept with him'. She let it hang in the air for a moment before continuing. ‘It’s not something I’m proud of and it only happened once, but it happened'. After 10 seconds, Mike was still silent, so she risked a look at the expression on his face.
‘Is that it?'
She nodded.
‘Bloody hell, Julie. I thought you were going to tell me you’d killed him. I was preparing myself for this evening taking a right left turn'.
‘You don’t think I’m a daft old woman?'
‘People do daft things all the time, it’s nothing to beat yourself up about'.
‘Okay good'.
‘And seeing as I thought you’d murdered him, anything else is going to look pretty tame in comparison'. They both laughed at this. They were met with scowls from some of their fellow drinkers and had to check themselves.
‘Did he have a history of drug abuse then? Do they think he was just a bit out of it and went over the top?'
‘That depends on who you talk to'.
‘Oh yeah?’
‘Well I’ve got this neighbour who thinks there might be more to it?'
‘So you did murder him? And you’re planning to knock off the woman next door so she doesn’t talk?'
‘Not me, you prat. But yeah, she thinks that someone else might be involved'.
‘Jesus that’s exciting’, Mike said enthusiastically. ‘It’s like being at one of those dinner parties, isn’t it? Where one of the guests gets murdered and the rest of you have to figure out who did it'.
‘But in this case it’s happening in my house and I can’t say that I don’t want to be part of it'.
‘Of course’, Mike said, adopting a solemn look, ‘sorry’.
‘Anyway, Mrs McGrath, that’s the neighbour, she’s been dragging me all over the place to question people with her'. She saw Mike’s face light up again. ‘Which isn’t as fun as it sounds'.
‘Do you have any leads? Is that what you’d call them, or is that just something they say on TV?'
‘I wouldn’t know, we don’t have any. We have this jumble of information that doesn’t point to anyone else being involved, or anyone we know at least'.
‘What’s next then? A return to the crime scene to see if you’ve overlooked any clues?’
‘That’s a bit more methodical than the way Mrs McGrath likes to work. She has this theory…', Julie said, chuckling to herself. ‘Oh it’s so ridiculous. She has this theory that she can just tell. When she looks at someone, she’ll be able to tell you if they are the murderer. So in her eyes, all we have to do is keep talking to people who might have met Jack at some point and eventually she’ll bump into the guilty party. And then if she lets me, I ask a few questions while we’re there'.
‘And that works, does it?'
‘I can’t speak for any of her previous cases, even if she has any previous cases. It hasn’t been much of a success this time round. Not yet anyway’
‘It’s nice that you have people living near you that you can depend on though. Especially when something like this happens'.
‘Well…', Julie paused. ‘I was going to say she’s just the mad old lady next door, but she let me stay with her when all of this kicked off, and she came to the station with me when the police were being difficult. I didn’t even have to ask her, she was just there'.
‘That’s a silver lining to all this then, making a friend'.
‘I’m not sure I’d go that far. Especially after this morning. We had a bit of a falling out'.
‘You can’t be blamed for that though. You’re having a hard time and she was being difficult'.
‘She’s just trying to find out who killed Jack. She says it’s everyone's duty to see that justice is done'. It felt odd to be defending Mrs McGrath. ‘I mean, she’s impossible and it’s a bloody wonder that she hasn’t ended up in prison up to this point the way she carries on. But she’s just doing what she thinks is right. Even if she is a bit misguided.
‘I’m sure it will all work itself out in the end’, Mike said with a look on his face like a happy labrador, ‘except for the dead boy that is'.
Chapter Nineteen
Julie and Mike had spent the rest of the evening in happy conversation. Julie wasn’t sure if there was anything more than friendship between them, but there was at least something relaxed and pleasant there that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Maybe that’s what love was when you got on a bit. It didn’t need to be frolicking and wild outbursts of emotion to make it genuine. Perhaps it was enough to find someone that you wanted to watch TV with on a Saturday night. After all, if her brief dalliance with Jack had taught her anything, it was that torrid affairs weren’t all that they were cracked up to be.
Julie hadn’t gone to bed late but still decided to sleep in the next day. She had been due to work again that Sunday. However, Mr Peg had left a very brief voicemail on the answering machine saying that the garden centre was closed. It seemed very odd, given that Sunday was often the only time of the week when they made a sizable profit. In fact, it often saw them afloat through the six barren days that followed.
It was 11 oclock when there was a knock at the door. Julie was sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee and two pieces of toast. Knowing only one person who was likely to ring her doorbell before noon on a Sunday morning, she was very hesitant to surrender her breakfast for another unpleasant encounter. However, when the ringing persisted, Julie felt that she had no choice to answer it. She was astonished to see DI Morris and DS Rowntree standing on the doorstep. Behind them, she could see a flurry of police activity around Brian’s house. One officer was unrolling police tape along the front fence and two others were approaching the front door.
‘Mrs Giles, hello. May we come in?' said DI Morris. He looked around nervously as if he expected Mrs McGrath to materialise at any second.
Julie stood to one side and held out her arm inviting them to enter.
When Julie had provided them both with hot drinks and they were comfortably seated at the kitchen table, she said ‘I’ve told you everything I know. I don’t think I’m going to be much use to you'.
‘It’s all part of the process, all very proper and above board, I assure you. I wanted to ask you about your neighbour, Mr Kent'.
‘Who sorry?’
‘Brian Kent, he lives at number 30. I believe the two of you are fairly well acquainted?'
‘I don’t know him that well if I didn’t know his surname'.
DI Morris mused on this for a moment, as if it was of material significance to his investigation. ‘We have reason to believe that is culpable in the murder of Mr Harper'.
Julie’s heart stopped. ‘You think that Brian killed Jack?'
‘We are still looking into a number of lines of enquiry, but there is a strong indication that Mr Kent was involved'.
She took a moment to think through what she knew of Jack’s murder and then came to a realisation. ‘It’s the fingerprints, isn’t it? They’re Brians. He’s been on the wrong side of the law before, so you had a copy of his print on file'.
‘There is a strong indication that Mr Kent entered your property, yes'.
‘Why though?'
‘It appears that Mr Kent didn’t in fact have a legitimate leg injury and that he was fraudulently claiming Universal Credit. From what Mr Kent tells us, Mr Harper discovered this and used the information to blackmail the suspect. On the night of his death, the suspect claims th
at he entered your house in the hopes of recovering the money that he had parted with'.
‘But then why was there still some money found in Jack’s room?'
‘I don’t think your Mr Kent is the sharpest tool in the box. He claims that by only taking the money that he believed to be his, he hadn’t committed a crime. Benefit fraud aside'.
Julie tried to take this information in. Brian was a letch and a nuisance, but she had a hard time believing that he was a murder.
‘Wait, what do you mean my Mr Kent?'
‘I’m led to believe that there was something romantic between the two of you'.
Julie’s draw dropped open. ‘Brian told you that?’
‘It doesn’t matter where we received the information from. Could you please confirm if it is correct?’
‘He asked me out, but I’m sure that’s true of most of the women that he met. Nothing ever happened'.
‘Forgive me Mrs Giles. Is that entirely the truth? You do have a history of fraternisation with the opposite sex'.
‘By which you mean, what?' Julie said accusingly. DI Morris realised he was in danger of becoming embarrassed again and changed tact. ‘Please don’t shoot the messenger. I’m merely cross checking the facts that have been presented to us'.
‘No. There has never been and there never will be anything romantic between me and Brian Kent, which is apparently his surname'.
‘I see’, DI Morris said, sounding disappointed.
Julie wondered how many criminals succumbed to this very pedestrian form of questioning. ‘I’m sorry', she said, ‘but then why does that mean that Brian would have killed Jack? If he got what he wanted?'
‘The criminal mind isn’t always straightforward’.
‘Yes but Brian is. Painfully so. What would he have to gain out of Jack being dead?'
‘Perhaps out of a misguided sense of pride. Or he may have learned about your affair with the young man and was driven to action through his envy'.
‘It doesn’t quite add up, does it?'
‘Not yet, but in the absence of any other credible suspect, I’m afraid that it doesn’t look good for Mr Kent'.
‘What about those two lads from the bar he was fighting with? Or the jilted lover?' The words were out of Julie’s mouth before she realised what she had said. DI Morris glared at her.
‘Is there something you should have told me Mrs Giles?'
Her cheeks flushed. She felt like a schoolgirl being reprimanded. She relayed what had happened at the bar the night that Jack had performed and gave an abridged account of the interviews that her and Mrs McGrath conducted.
‘I’m sorry, but you seem to know better than most what Mrs McGrath is like. You just kind of get dragged along with whatever mad idea she has on a given day'.
‘That may be the case, but there is no excuse for becoming a vigilante'.
‘I think that’s maybe a bit far'.
He reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed his mobile phone. They sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds before he began to read. ‘Vigilante. A member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority'. He let the definition hang in the air. Julie was marvelling at just how insufferable he was when he continued, ‘would you say that is a fair explanation of your recent activities?'
Julie didn’t want to answer him, but it appeared as if he wasn’t willing to continue the conversation until he did. She mumbled a small ‘yes', and he responded with a curt ‘good’.
‘Do you want their names then? The guy what Jack worked with and the woman they were falling out about’.
‘I don’t think that will be necessary’.
‘You mean you’ll get their details from the bar?'
‘If they are needed, but that seems very unlikely at this stage. Whatever the television programmes may tell you, we don’t arrest members of the public on a whim. There is usually a very good reason for them to be in custody, and so that’s where they tend to stay'.
‘So what? You’re saying that just because you’ve arrested Brian, he must be guilty’
‘No, I’m saying that with almost 200 years of institutional learning behind us, the police force very seldom arrest an innocent party. In the very unlikely event that we have made a mistake, I can guarantee you it won’t be because an old woman and a bored housewife have accidentally discovered a hidden talent for detection'.
‘You said it yourself though, it doesn’t make sense. Why would Brian kill Jack?’
‘Hence why we continue to investigate Mrs Giles. It is very rare that we are presented with a fully formed solution to how a crime was committed. You have to work at it. Otherwise there would be no need for police officers. However', he said moving his chair out to leave, ‘I think you have helped us as far as you are able today, so my colleague and I will leave you to enjoy the rest of your day in peace'.
‘Actually, before you go, could I ask you something please?' He’d been so condescending that Julie wanted nothing more in the world to slap the smarmy detective right across the chops. However, she appreciated that this might be her only opportunity to speak to him without Mrs McGrath present.
DI Morris looked taken aback, like in all his years in the police force, no witness had ever been audacious enough to put a question to him.
Julie attempted to adopt a more conciliatory tone. ‘I wanted to ask you about Mrs McGrath'. The inspector’s face immediately pinkened. ‘Obviously there’s a history between you. Between all of you really', she glanced at Jimmy who smiled at her. ‘But she won’t tell me what it is'.
DI Morris stared at her for a second, probably considering whether or to tell her to mind her own business. Finally he relented and said ‘you probably aren’t aware, but Moira’s husband was a police officer. A very fine one too, even if he did get the occasional lofty idea in his head. Him and I worked very closely together for many years until…', He paused to find the words. ‘Well, there was some unpleasantness towards the end of his career and Moira still harbours some ill will about it'.
‘Can I ask what happened between you?’
‘No I’m sorry', he said, standing abruptly, ‘we must get on’. Jimmy necked as much tea as he could before joining the inspector on his feet.
‘Thank you for your continued cooperation Mrs Giles. We shall see ourselves out’. The detective constable gave her a friendly wave as he followed DI Morris out of the room. With a slam of the door, they were gone.
Julie spent the next hour pacing. She simply couldn’t get her mind off what the inspector had told her. It was a stretch to think that Brian could dress himself in the morning and downright insane to believe that he could murder someone. In an effort to distract herself, she extracted the hoover from the cupboard under the stairs and took it around the house absentmindedly. It didn’t help. If anything, the white noise generated by the machine helped her to concentrate on Jack’s murder more keenly. It didn’t take long for her to give up on the enterprise entirely.
She felt incensed. Brian was a cock, that was no secret. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t considered that the world would be a better place without Brian in it, or at least behind bars. But none of that meant that he was a murderer. Even if he was, it didn’t mean that it was right to ignore potential evidence that may prove that he was innocent. What if Oli had lied about his nan dying? It wasn’t as if they had actually checked his alibi, or anyone else’s come to think of it. It really hadn’t been the most thorough of investigations. Stuffing the hoover back in the cupboard and attempting to close the door before it could fall to the floor again, Julie made a decision. She was involved in all of this now, and she had to see it through to the end. If Brian had killed Jack, then fair enough, but she had to be sure, although she was fairly certain that she couldn’t do it alone.
Walking up the garden path to Mrs McGrath’s front door, she did momentarily consider whether she had lost her mind. A few weeks ago, wild horses coul
dn’t have dragged her here. At this present moment though, she was literally the only person she had any interest in speaking to. Julie knocked and waited. The scrape and tap of the old woman’s cane were audible long before she flung open the front door. Her appearance remained so consistent between their meetings that Julie wondered if she ever changed her clothes. She stared at Julie dumbly, not willing to make the first move.
‘Hello', Julie said brightly, but received no response. Instead the old woman looked at her impassively. ‘It’s me Mrs McGrath, Julie, from next door?’
‘I know who you are'.
‘Can I come in?’
‘What for?'
‘DI Morris was just here. They’ve arrested Brian’. Julie had hoped that when she delivered this news, Mrs McGrath would have been stricken and immediately bustled her into the house. Instead she continued to look at her as serene as a cow chewing the cud. ‘I don’t think that he’s guilty. I can go into the details when we’re settled, but they think it has something to do with the money. Jack was blackmailing Brian you see, because he was only pretending…’
‘I know all that’, Mrs McGrath interrupted.
‘Great’, Julie said enthusiastically, ‘what’s the plan then?' She took a step forward as if to go into the house, but Mrs McGrath didn’t move.
‘Nothing to do. Police have got their man, haven’t they, so what’s left?’
‘But what if they haven’t? What if Brian is innocent and he goes to prison for it?’
She gave another one of her infuriating shrugs. ‘Not my problem, is it?'
‘Look I’m sorry, okay? It all felt like it was getting out of hand. You know, us knocking on that old man’s door like that after it all getting so nasty with Mrs Stuart. I didn’t understand what you were saying, but I get it now. If we don’t do anything, then no one will’. Julie felt proud of this little speech until she saw the look on Mrs McGrath’s face. It remained so unchanged that Julie may as well have read her the shipping forecast.