34
Keri insisted they go to the office the following day. ‘We need to keep our wits about us a little more than usual but otherwise, we get on with life. Our contracts need to be fulfilled, our employees depend on us, as do our suppliers.’
‘Business as normal.’ Nathan looked at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘How can you be so calm and cool about this? I barely slept last night for worrying.’
Because one of them had to keep it together and as usual, it was left to her. She’d never resented it over the years, she was made of far tougher stuff than he. A rod of steel ran down her backbone, marshmallow down his. It had been a good partnership but sometimes, like now, she wished the burden didn’t feel so heavy.
She’d packed a holdall each for Abbie and Daniel earlier that morning. A taxi had picked the bags up and Keri had given the driver a generous tip to deliver them to the administration office where they’d be safe till they were collected. A quick message to Abbie and Daniel to remind them and she could put her children out of her mind for the moment.
The journey to the office was uneventful as usual but Keri noticed she was looking closely at every face, her eyes flitting from one commuter to the other trying to keep them all under observation. She regretted not getting a taxi when she felt close to tears as commuters crowded around. Nathan, on the other hand, shut his eyes as he always did and she had to shake him awake when they got to their stop.
Luke was in reception, looking as if he’d always been there. Despite the recent revelations about Roy, Keri missed him desperately. He’d have known what to do for the best.
Annoyingly, because she craved solitude, Nathan followed her into her office, flopping into the spare chair as she slipped off her jacket. She hung it up and sat behind her desk resisting the temptation to tell him to go to his own office and leave her in peace.
‘There has to be a connection to what happened to Roy.’
Keri was staring through the glass to where Luke stood, wondering how many times she’d come through reception without remembering that awful final sight of Roy sitting in his chair covered in blood. She dragged herself back from the memory and looked at Nathan, puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Roy. Dexter Sylvester. There has to be a connection.’
Keri shut her eyes and dropped her head back on the headrest.
‘Don’t you agree?’ Nathan’s voice urgent, agitated.
She had wondered about a connection between all the terrible things that were happening. All the liars and their lies. But that was before she’d heard Nathan’s terrible secret, and about Dexter Sylvester’s murder. Now, nothing made any sense. Worse, she was back to wondering if Barry Morgan had anything to do with Roy’s murder. Okay, so he didn’t send the wreath or the rat, but he’d lied about working next door. And he had threatened her. Maybe he’d come to the office on that Friday to have it out with her, and poor Roy got in the way. Was it possible? Or was she totally paranoid.
Nathan was staring at her waiting for an answer. ‘No, I don’t,’ she said firmly, her eyes burning as tears fought for a way out. She searched in her pocket for a tissue and pressed it against them, one at a time.
‘There has to be a connection,’ he insisted, rolling his chair closer to the desk.
She was tempted to get up and run over to his office, lock the door, and hide. Except how could she, with those damn glass walls? ‘Even considering Roy’s secret past, what possible connection could there be between him and the corrupt Sylvester? Don’t forget, Roy wasn’t even working for us when you did that job in Stevenage.’
Nathan had that sulky expression he wore when he was convinced he was right about something. Usually, she’d put herself out to placate him, agreeing with whatever ridiculous plan or idea he had to re-establish the status quo. She’d pacify him, wait, then do whatever it was she’d planned in the first place and he was never any the wiser, assuming she’d done things his way.
But with Roy’s bloody body sliding full colour into her brain, the terrifying thought that Barry may have been involved in his death, and the gut-churning worry that someone was intent on revenge for something that happened years before, she didn’t have the energy for games. She thought about the wreaths that had been left, the entrails and the dead rat. Whoever was out for vengeance had a twisted mind.
‘Let’s talk about it later,’ she said, shutting her eyes and resting her head back again. When she didn’t hear him leave, she opened them and sighed. He was still wearing his sullen, sulky expression like a martyr. ‘I really don’t think what happened to Roy had anything to do with Sylvester.’ She was using her pacifying voice and it irked her that she needed to. ‘But the items left outside the Stevenage premises and our home… the wreaths, the rat, and entrails… they definitely connect us. We’ll have to think about what we’re going to tell that detective…’ She searched for his name and failed. ‘The one with the terrible ties.’
‘Elliot.’ Nathan pushed the chair away from the desk and folded his arms across his chest. ‘I think we should give it a few days. Maybe I’m wrong about Roy, but maybe whoever is responsible has done all they’re going to. You know, a life for a life. Dexter Sylvester’s life for Jim Cody. The wreath and rat might have been left to let us know they knew about our part in Jim’s death. Or something,’ he added when he saw a sceptical light in her eyes.
‘Maybe,’ Keri said without agreeing. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to organise the wreaths and the macabre bloody offerings. Plus, by all accounts, Sylvester was a big man who was used to dealing with the seedier element of society, yet someone had managed to gain access to his home and kill him. She acknowledged the truth that was rattling around her skull. If it hadn’t been for her own guilty secret, she wouldn’t have thought twice about ringing the police. But that detective was no fool… he’d ask why she hadn’t told Nathan about the wreath when it was delivered.
She conjured up a smile. ‘Okay, let’s leave it a couple of days and see what happens, but we need to be careful and stick together. A taxi between home and here. No disappearing on your own, okay?’
He got to his feet then, came around the desk and planted a kiss on her lips. ‘Sensible as ever.’
Remembering his criticism of her tendency to want to fix everything, she wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic. But his mulish expression had vanished, so she decided to take it as a compliment.
When he left, she put her head back and shut her eyes. She’d liked to have gone home, but after her argument that they stay together for safety, it wasn’t an option.
She was amused at how remarkably calm she was being but there was a sense of unreality about it all. Ordinary people like them didn’t get involved in murderous plots.
No, they just lied and cheated.
Keri looked across to her husband’s office. The police still had Roy’s computer but Nathan had brought in an old one from home and was probably going through the outstanding contracts and quotations. It was what she should be doing. Instead, she drummed her fingers on the desk before reaching for her keyboard to tap ‘Jim Cody’ into the search engine. Maybe if she could locate the boy’s family, it would be a start. Hundreds of results appeared. She added his age to narrow down the search, surprised when there were no details, no reference to the sixteen-year-old Jim or James Cody who had died so many years before. With no idea where the boy had lived it was impossible to narrow down the search for his family.
Not a great start. She decided, instead, to pinpoint exactly when they’d worked on the window of that manor house. It had been Roy who’d insisted every job they’d ever done should be computerised. He’d spent several weekends sorting through the handwritten records and inputting them into a programme of his making. So it was thanks to him that it only took a minute to find the job for DS Construction. She wrote the date down, then sat back with a laugh. What had she achieved? Absolutely nothing.
Nathan had been right. She was a fixer. Over the years, s
he’d managed to iron out so many creases in their business and personal lives but this was beyond her experience. It was also, and it was time to admit it to herself, slightly terrifying. They should go to the police with what they knew. It was the safest option but still she hesitated.
Nathan’s part in the death of that boy would come out and Metcalfe Conservation might lose custom if it became public knowledge, but she guessed most people in the business would simply shrug and say how great it was that things had changed.
But if her secret came out… Nathan would never forgive her.
35
Nathan would never forgive Keri, how could he when she couldn’t forgive herself for risking so much for so little. Needing to see his face, she looked across to his office, expecting to see him working away. Surprised not to see him sitting behind his desk, she got to her feet and craned her neck to see the further corners of his office. He wasn’t there. It was possible he’d gone to speak to someone in accounts, or one of their surveyors. She pushed down the dart of anxiety, shook her head and started to answer the business emails that were waiting for her.
Some were urgent, many complicated. All kept her attention on the computer screen. Eventually, satisfied with what she’d achieved, she leaned back and stretched her hands over her head. There were some less pressing emails to answer but she’d done well. It was nearly eleven. In happier days, Roy would come through her door with her favourite Costa coffee. She’d have to settle for what was available in the tiny staffroom.
She looked across to Nathan’s office surprised to see he’d not returned.
Worry slithered cold fingers over her skin.
She picked up her phone and ran the extension for accounts. ‘Hi, is Nathan there?’
‘No, but while I have you can I discuss an issue with invoices?’ Their accountant proceeded to complain about an ongoing problem they had with a couple of their customers. One had asked for extra discount if they paid within two months. ‘It’s ridiculous, we should stop doing work for them.’
Keri wanted to snap that she had more on her plate than worrying about what was his job to sort out. ‘They’re one of our best customers. Offer them a one per cent reduction. Add it on to their invoice the next time we do work for them.’ She hung up before he could think of something else to complain about and redialled the surveyors’ office.
When Nathan wasn’t there either, Keri hung up, got to her feet, and went out to reception.
‘Luke, where’s Nathan?’ Her voice was tight with anxiety but if he noticed he didn’t comment. Or maybe he hadn’t noticed. He wasn’t Roy, after all.
‘He went out for coffee.’ Luke twisted his wrist to look at his watch. ‘About an hour ago. Costa must be unusually busy.’
The café was only a five-minute walk from the office. No matter how busy it might be, Nathan should have returned by now.
Keri walked to the glass frontage overlooking the street. Five minutes’ walk. Nathan would have assumed he’d be safe. He should have been, but what if whoever was responsible for the wreath, the rat and the murder of Dexter Sylvester was waiting for the opportunity to get Nathan alone. Maybe they’d been stupidly foolish to assume one death was sufficient revenge for Jim Cody’s death.
Conscious of Luke’s quizzical stare, she turned, threw him a wavering smile, and headed back to her office. She tried Nathan’s mobile, left a message when it wasn’t answered then stood staring at the phone. It was time to ring the police. Time to tell them everything. Secrets and all.
Instead, she reached for her jacket, slipped it on and ignoring Luke’s what’s going on? hurried from the building.
It was only a short walk, but the café was two streets away. Keri walked briskly, pushing past people without apology, breaking into a half-run as she approached the corner of the second street. She came to such a sudden halt that a pedestrian behind walked into her and swore loudly before he moved off holding up his middle finger. Keri didn’t hear the words or see the action, her eyes fixed on the flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance halfway down the street. Outside the café.
Shock sent blood rushing to prop up her major organs, leaving her feeling faint. Jerky steps on trembling legs took her to a barrier of crime-scene tape that deterred entry. It didn’t stop the sightseers, the curious, the inherently nosy, all those who lived vicariously. Many had mobile phones held high, trying to film what they could of the tragedy that was unfolding before them.
Keri pushed her way through, stopped then by the flimsy tape and the stern-faced uniformed officer who was pacing back and forth as if he expected an intrusion any moment.
‘Excuse me.’ Keri held a hand up to stop him as he passed. His expression wasn’t encouraging. ‘My husband.’ She swallowed. ‘He left our office an hour ago to get coffee but hasn’t returned. He’s had threats. I’m worried that…’ Her voice faded as the reality hit home. Nathan could be lying there injured, maybe dying. Or dead. He could be dead.
‘His name is Nathan Metcalfe,’ she said. ‘Can you find out if he’s involved in whatever is going on here? Please.’ She was afraid he might brush her off but instead he stepped back, turned away and spoke in a muffled voice into his radio.
When he turned back to her, his expression had changed. Keri swayed, held upright by the crowd that pressed from behind, desperate to be part of the drama. She would have given up her part in a heartbeat, would have happily traded places with any of the people she could feel breathing and muttering around her, people who’d be heading home later to their loved ones with a tale to tell. She’d have traded with any one of them.
The officer said nothing, merely putting a thumb under the tape in front of her and pulling it up. ‘Come with me,’ he said, waiting until she’d ducked under to stride away with her following behind.
A cordon of police cars and one ambulance formed a semicircle around the entrance to the café. The police officer stopped at a group of his colleagues who stood nearby. ‘This is Nathan Metcalfe’s wife.’ With a nod to her, he turned away and went back to his position at the barrier.
Silent faces regarded Keri for a moment before one of the officers took a step forward. ‘Mrs Metcalfe, I’m afraid your husband has been injured.’
Injured, not dead. Keri grabbed onto that thought and gulped a sob. ‘Can I see him?’
The officer indicated the ambulance. ‘The paramedics are stabilising him. They’ll let us know when we can have a word.’ He handed her the wallet he’d been holding. ‘You might as well take this.’
She took it; had she been alone, she’d have held it to her nose to get Nathan’s scent. She settled for pressing the leather between her fingers. ‘What happened?’
The officer pursed his lips as if wondering how much to tell her.
‘Please, I need to know. We’ve been having problems recently. Threats.’
‘Right, not simply a random attack then, that makes it a different situation.’
It didn’t make a huge difference to Keri, Nathan was still lying injured in the ambulance. ‘Can you tell me what happened?’
‘We’re still trying to piece it all together but initial reports suggests he was attacked as he was leaving the café. He was carrying a tray of take-out coffee in one hand and a bag of pastries in the other. A witness said he was struggling to open the door when someone came to help him. It’s not clear what happened but it appears this is when he was attacked. The person who helped open the door then fled and your husband collapsed.’
There were so many questions Keri wanted to ask, but only one seemed important. She looked over to the ambulance. ‘Is he badly injured?’
‘The attacker had a knife. I’m not sure what the extent of the injuries are but there was a lot of blood.’
Keri remembered the blood soaking Roy’s chest and shivered.
One of the other officers stepped forward. ‘Lots of blood isn’t a reliable indicator of the seriousness of an injury. Superficial wounds can bleed quite extensively
. Plus, your husband was lucky, a first responder was here within minutes of the call and had intravenous fluids going into your husband before the ambulance arrived. That would have made a huge difference.’
Keri was grateful to grab any positive remark to keep her from drowning in fear.
36
Anxious skin-crawling minutes passed before a paramedic jumped from the back of the ambulance and approached the group. He looked curiously at Keri.
One of the police officers hurried to say, ‘This is the man’s wife.’
‘Okay.’ The paramedic jerked a thumb towards the ambulance. ‘Your husband was lucky. He’s lost some blood but the injury doesn’t appear serious. Not from want of trying by the attacker,’ he said pointedly, addressing the remark to the officers. ‘It was sheer luck. I’d guess the attacker was smaller than the victim.’
Keri winced and he looked back to her. ‘Sorry… smaller than your husband.’ He ran a finger across his neck. ‘They cut here. From the direction of the cut, I’m guessing the knife initially hit the clavicle.’ He tapped his collarbone. ‘It probably threw the attacker, then he overcompensated and brought the knife upwards but managed to miss the carotid artery on either side. It’s deep enough to need suturing so we’re taking him to hospital now. He’ll be left with an interesting scar, no doubt, but that should be it.’
‘Can I come with you?’ Keri wanted to see Nathan, wanted to see for herself that he was alive. To hold his hand, keep holding on to something she almost lost.
‘Sure.’
She followed the paramedic back to the ambulance and climbed the steps, her eyes on the body she could see lying to one side, tears washing her eyes when she moved closer and saw Nathan’s pale face. The second paramedic finished checking one of the monitors that beeped reassuringly and moved to let her sit beside Nathan.
The Couple in the Photograph Page 13