Make You Sorry

by Christine Rae-Jones

  Chapter 14

  From the moment of Abigail Slater’s smile, that day in court, he was obsessed.

  He started to invent excuses to be absent from work so that he could go back to the Magistrates’ Court and watch her. It was risky, because he couldn’t afford to lose his job but she was in his mind from the minute he woke up to when his head hit the pillow. He wanted to see her. Needed to be near her.

  Sometimes she was there and rewarded him with another of those smiles which made him tingle. Sometimes she breezed past, in conversation with a scumbag she was defending, or absorbed in thoughts of her next case.

  One of the ushers had asked him if he was doing his observations. When he didn’t know how to reply she’d continued, ‘You know. Your observations before you apply to be a magistrate.’

  He’d nodded enthusiastically and always ensured that he carried a notebook after that. It would stop people being suspicious of his frequent visits. Soon, he was acknowledged by Legal Advisers and other solicitors. He felt that he’d joined Abigail’s professional family.

  He started going to the club more often too. Once, he even took out a payday loan because he had no money for the entrance fee and he just had to be where she was. The repayment amount was scandalous, but it was worth it because that was the night he had the courage to ask her to dance with him. She’d agreed and they were inseparable until closing time.

  ‘Where do I know you from?’ she’d asked as they waited to be served at the bar.

  ‘I’m doing my magistrate observations. I’ve seen you at court.’

  ‘Does my performance meet with your approval?’ She flicked her hair back, her smile, alluring and mischievous. He started to fall in love with her.

  He spent the last of his loan money on a taxi to take her home and his heart sank at the length of walk he faced to get to his own bed. The driver scowled when he saw how ungenerous his tip was.

  ‘It’s all I’ve got, mate,’ he said quietly, hoping she would not hear.

  ‘I hope she’s worth it. Don’t hang around here, son, it’s not safe.’

  When the taxi left, he followed Abigail to her doorstep where she was already opening her front door. She turned and kissed him hard. He wondered if he might not be walking home after all. Then, she stopped.

  ‘Early start,’ she said. ‘Will you be at the club on Friday?’

  He nodded.

  ‘I’ll see you there.’ In contrast to her earlier passion, she planted a chaste kiss on his cheek, stepped through the door, and was gone.

  Chapter 15

  Monday 10th February

  When Morgan got up at 6am on Monday morning he saw it was frosty outside. He pulled on jeans, thick socks, and the heavy jumper Sam had packed for him and tiptoed out of the bedroom to avoid disturbing her. Truffles greeted him, head up and tail wagging and Nick smiled as he fussed over him. He shoved his feet into the rubber boots he always had in his car in case he needed them at a crime scene and set off into the darkness.

  When they got back from their walk Sam had breakfast ready. Truffles left prints on the floor and when Nick went to clean them, she said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll do it when you’ve gone to work.’

  ‘Apart from exploring, how are you going to keep the kids amused?’ he asked. They had planned to spend half term week unpacking and settling into their new home as well as establishing exactly what needed to be done to make it habitable again. ‘It may take a few days before they release Cliffside.’

  Sam thought for a moment before replying. ‘I still need to shop for uniforms, and Vicky will need new shoes. This school won’t let her wear the ones she’s got. They have a flat heels only policy.’

  Nick nodded as he got up from the table and put his personal mobile in his pocket. ‘I expect I’ll get the health and safety lecture today and the allocation of my new equipment. It’s a bit like being the new boy at school for me too.’

  ‘I’m also going to see Mum again. She seemed a bit off when I took the twins on Saturday.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference,’ he said, ‘she’s always off with me.’

  Samantha’s mobile rang. ‘Talk of the devil,’ she said glancing at the screen. ‘Hello, Mum.’ Nick leaned over to kiss her cheek as she continued, ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. He probably overslept.’ Nick whispered his goodbyes, picked up his keys and went to leave. At the door, he turned back and blew her a kiss. Sam half smiled and rolled her eyes and he wasn’t sure if it was in response to her mother or the kiss.

  Arriving at the station, he pushed the button at the car park barrier and spoke to a voice which sounded as if it came from the next county. ‘I’m DI Nick Morgan and it’s my first day here so I don’t have a code or a pass.’ Once he had provided his registration number and mentioned Johnson’s name, the barrier lifted. He noticed that the space where DS Spence had parked on Friday was vacant and was tempted, but decided against it and chose one further down the row.

  He was about to endure the same security ritual at the staff door when Morgan heard Johnson’s voice behind him. ‘Tell them I’m here and I’m letting you in.’ Morgan stood to the side while Johnson swiped his pass and pushed through the door. He followed him.

  They walked down the corridor, Morgan a half step behind as it wasn’t wide enough for the two of them to walk comfortably side by side. ‘Coffee to start you off,’ said Johnson, ‘then there are some induction procedures and after that, I’ll get someone to update you on our on-going cases.’

  ‘What’s happening at Cliffside?’ asked Morgan.

  ‘Correction. I’ll get someone to update you on our on-going cases, except that one. I’m sure you understand why. You’ll have to meet up with DI Patel sometime today. I understand she has some questions regarding the statement you provided on Friday.’ Morgan winced. That wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to.

  Johnson made the coffees again and carried them to a meeting area in the corner of his office. He started by asking where they were staying and how they were settling in.

  ‘It’s early days, sir. My daughter is upset by what’s happened at Cliffside, my son, a little less so, unless he’s hiding it better. We’re staying over at East Gullhaven in a park home which has all we need at the moment but I can see it won’t take long for the novelty to wear off. It’s half term and the twins will miss the extra TV channels we had at home.’

  Johnson took a sip of coffee. ‘And what about you?’ Before giving Morgan a chance to respond he continued. ‘Now that you’re here, I can tell you that we had reservations about accepting your transfer. It’s no secret that you had a high profile at the Met. Life is quieter here so you won’t have the same celebrity status.’

  Johnson was watching him and Morgan returned his stare, determined not to react. ‘I didn’t consider it celebrity, sir,’ he replied, ‘and it came with its own problems. My children were picked on at school and I was sometimes door-stepped by the tabloids. My wife was threatened and both our cars were vandalised when my name was released as lead investigator in a gang execution case. If we’re both being honest, then yes, I’ll miss the high profile jobs, but I won’t miss what comes with them.’ He decided to remind Johnson of his reason for requesting the transfer. ‘Anyway, as I explained when we spoke before, my wife needs to be near her mother for a while. Over the years, she’s made some personal sacrifices for me and I’m pleased to do this for her.’ As he placed his cup and saucer down on the table, his phone rang. Johnson’s expression was pained. ‘I’ll turn it off, sorry.’

  For the next half hour Johnson lectured him on the differences between coastal, rural and town centre crime as he presented the latest statistics for the area. He explained that, before the discovery of the body at Cliffside, the area of Gullhaven Cove’s fastest growing problem had been internet fraud. The ageing population was targeted in the hope that its members may not have a good understanding of the technology they were using. Also, they were incl
ined to be more trusting than streetwise youngsters. Johnson said he was also concerned that these crimes were under-reported because the victims felt embarrassed. He told Morgan that he looked forward to learning how the Met were dealing with the problem even though it didn’t fall under the remit of the Major Crimes Unit.

  There was a timid knock and a young PC came in. ‘Sorry to interrupt, sir,’ he said, ‘Mrs Morgan has rung in. She wants to speak to DI Morgan and won’t take no for an answer.’

  The pained expression returned to Johnson’s face. ‘Is this something she does a lot?’ he asked with a sigh.

  ‘Definitely not, sir. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Well you’d better find out what she wants, I suppose.’

  Nick cursed his wife’s timing. Another ten minutes and his meeting with Johnson would have been over. He was sure that the whole of CID would hear about this and if they didn’t make fun of him to his face, he was certain they would be doing it behind his back.

  Safe in his own office, Morgan rang his wife’s mobile and before he had a chance to remonstrate with her, she yelled at him. ‘Where have you been and why didn’t you take my call? I need you back here now!’ She was breathing hard and Truffles was close by, making a noise he hadn’t heard before. Somewhere between a bark and a howl.

  ‘What’s happened? Where are you?’ Morgan knew his wife didn’t cope well with stress but he had never heard her sound so panicked. ‘Take a deep breath and tell me what’s happened. Where are the children?’

  ‘The children are with me. They’re okay.’ He heard her start to breathe more slowly, the exhalations long and loud before she continued. ‘We came out to explore and to let Truffles have a good run round. We planned to go to the lake, but I decided to drive to the woods and walk on the path that cuts through. I thought that if it rained, we could shelter under the trees.’

  Nick tried to remember the map. ‘Do you mean the path that’s closed due to flooding?’

  ‘That’s not the issue, Nick,’ she snapped. ‘I took the lead off when we got into the woods. We must have walked down the path for about ten minutes before we came to a clearing. The sky was black. We were all calling for Truffles so we could get back to the car before the rain. I could hear him howling, but he wouldn’t come back, even when the rain started. Then, when he did appear... he had a garter in his mouth.’ She started to hyperventilate again.

  ‘A what?’ Nick wasn’t sure he had heard correctly as the reception on Sam’s mobile was poor.

  She shouted at him. ‘A garter. A blue silk garter thing with lace edging.’

  ‘And on my first day in a new job, you rang me to tell me that?’ Even as he said it, he felt a chill creep through him.

  ‘Nick, it’s got a date embroidered on it. It’s last Saturday’s date,’ her voice quieted to a whisper, ‘it’s a bride’s garter.’

  Chapter 16

  Monday 10th February

  ‘Oh, shit.’ He sat down heavily and leant his elbow on the desk. ‘The missing solicitor was due to marry on Saturday.’

  ‘That’s why I rang,’ she said. ‘It was in the papers. You need to come now. The kids are with me and we’re all holding on to Truffles because he’s trying to drag us back into the woods.’

  ‘Okay here’s what to do.’ Morgan tried to balance the preservation of evidence at the same time as keeping his family safe. ‘Have you got a bag?’

  ‘Of course I’ve got a bag. I’m walking the dog so I’ve got a whole roll of them.’

  ‘Okay, sorry. Put the garter in a bag. Have you handled it much?’

  ‘I’m a policeman’s wife, Nick, I understand about evidence. I’ve handled it enough to get it out of Truffles’ mouth and to read the date but I’m wearing leather gloves.’

  ‘That’s great. Get everyone back to the car and I’ll meet you in that little car park. I don’t know how long I’ll be, or if I’ll be there before uniform can respond, but I’ll be on my way as soon as I’ve spoken to Johnson.’

  ‘I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve done the right thing, you know, coming here. It’s not started well, has it?’

  ‘Let’s not think too much about that. Before I go, what was your mother in a flap about when she rang earlier?’ He really didn’t care what was bugging Dotty but hoped it would give Sam something else to think about before he ended the call.

  ‘God, I’d forgotten all about her. She rang to tell me that Steven hasn’t turned up for work this morning. It turns out that my lazy brother hasn’t been at work for a while, but whenever she’s rung and asked to speak to him, someone has covered for him. She’s furious and she rang to ask me to take over from him from today.’ At forty-two, Sam was eight years older than her brother and when she had chosen marriage and a new life in London, Steven had buckled under relentless parental pressure to take up the reins of the family business. He was artistic and scruffy, neither of which were ideal attributes for a funeral director, but he was also sensitive, which made him popular with clients.

  ‘Does she not realise it’s half term?’

  ‘Don’t panic, I’ve told her I’m not even thinking about the business until we’ve moved in and the children are back at school.’

  ‘We didn’t move here so that you could go back to work.’

  ‘For God’s sake, Nick, I’m not having that conversation now. Can you just get here, please?’ She ended the call and Morgan made his way back to the DCI’s office.

  Johnson was incredulous. ‘You’ve not been here four days yet and in that time you’ve found a body and your wife has found an item of clothing you believe may belong to a missing girl. It’s like a TV drama.’ He put his glasses on. ‘But of course, go and make sure your family are okay. I’ll get them to send uniform to secure the site and I’ll see if someone from CSI can be freed from the scene at Cliffside House to follow on. For the moment, you’ll need to be SIO because I’ve no one else. Pick up a decision log from the office. I assume you’ve got whatever else you need?’

  ‘I’ll need a radio and mobile, sir.’ Morgan carried a grab bag in his car with everything he was likely to want at a crime scene plus a few bits and pieces that he’d found useful as Senior Investigating Officer in the past.

  ‘I’ll have them forwarded to the scene. Go and make sure your family is okay and report back as soon as you can.’

  Chapter 17

  Monday 10th February

  When Morgan got back to Gullhaven Park, Sam and the twins were waiting in her car with the windows open a little to stop them fogging. Sam got out, walked round to his door and opened it.

  ‘Nice place you brought us to,’ she said.

  He ignored the barb. ‘Uniform’s on the way and there’s a dog coming too, so we need to keep Truffles in the car. Which direction did you take?’

  She nodded towards an obvious path which led from the east side of the parking area. There was a rustic sign with arrows pointing towards three different walking routes. Morgan took a few photographs with his mobile but their quality was limited by the dark sky. He returned to the cars and sat in Sam’s passenger seat unwilling to discuss the significance of the garter in front of the twins. They sat in silence until the arrival of the police dog handler. Morgan got out and greeted him.

  ‘I’m PC Barber, sir. And you’ve no need to introduce yourself, I know who you are.’ When Barber opened the van doors, two dogs in separate cages were pressing their noses through the bars. Both tails were wagging enthusiastically. He unlatched the cage on the left and attached a lead to the collar of a large tan and black German Shepherd. ‘We’ll take Kaiser. He’s more for tracking and cadaver searching.’ He pointed to the smaller dog in the neighbouring cage. ‘I use Oscar here for drugs, money, firearms, that sort of thing.’ Kaiser leapt down and started to drag on the lead until Barber calmed him. ‘Now, which direction are we heading in?’

  Morgan pointed to the gap between the trees and repeated the details of the walk his family had taken.

  Barber asked
if Truffles had a blanket in the car to see if his dog might track Truffles’ scent back to where he had found the garter. He said it might be a long shot, but with more rain threatening he thought it was worth a try.

  ‘I’ll be behind you,’ said Morgan. ‘Don’t worry, I know to keep my distance. I’ll fetch my torch.’

  The smells of rotting vegetation and wet soil intensified as they advanced through the woods and into the clearing Sam had described. Kaiser’s nose was down. He was intent on following whatever scent had grabbed his interest. Morgan could see footprints in the mud. The shelter offered by the trees must have protected the ground from the overnight frost. He thought it likely that the prints belonged to Sam and Victoria as they were clearly defined and there were dog prints alongside. It was Alex’s habit to wander off pathways when they walked, so it made sense that his were absent. The Crime Scene Team would want to take their footwear for examination which he knew would upset Sam. It had taken her a while to break-in her walking boots.

  Without warning, Kaiser veered off to the left and into rough ground. He was moving faster than before and both men had trouble keeping up as they avoided slippery mud, exposed roots and low branches. The air was still. There was an eerie silence. Morgan looked behind him and wondered how they would find their way out again, but Kaiser was still tracking so he pressed on. Barber spoke over his right shoulder. ‘He’s not following your dog’s scent anymore. He’s found something else.’