by Emily Selby
Her voice trailed off, but she sounded a little happier. Maybe getting her to think and talk about better times was the way to help her cope?
'Did you compete or were you member of a running Club?'
'I was in the students’ running club. I had some plans to start competing in half marathons. But once I started having health problems I had to abandon running altogether.'
'It's sad that you had to abandon such a great hobby.'
'I just had to learn to live with it. It took me a few years. Now I'm happy when I can manage a little walk. I had to give up a lot of things due to my poor health. Knitting for example. I love knitting useful things: cardigans, baby clothes, scarfs and the like. But my arthritis makes it very difficult and painful.'
'Cardigans can get quite heavy,' Katie added. 'I hope you find the same enjoyment in paper crafts. You can also make useful things: cards, jewellery, gift boxes.'
'You're right,' Jane said, giving up another pale smile. 'Paper crafts are fun and much lighter than knitting.'
They were also quite deadly, Katie thought, but didn’t think it was a good idea to share that with Jane.
'Here we are,' Katie announced, relieved. She parked the car as close to the club entrance as possible.
'Let me get you installed in a nice warm corner and let's see how we can make use of your fantastic machine,' Katie said cheerfully and climbed out of the car to help Jane. Surprisingly, Jane was able to get out of the car without any help. There was even a slight spring to her step as she followed Katie towards the entrance to the crafts room.
But maybe that was just Katie's imagination and the bad lighting.
15
Katie flicked on the light switches and headed straight for the thermostat. The room was quite cool. She helped Jane set up her workstation in the corner of the main table. Katie had to pull the boxes off the shelves, but Jane was keen to carry them to the table, perfectly capable of walking steadily and organising her stuff, spreading patterns and cutting dies.
Maybe Jane was not as incapacitated as she let other people believe? Didn't she say she used to run a lot?
A chilling realisation.
A flush of adrenaline tingled through Katie’s body. She glanced at Jane, who was fingering through some paper patterns. Her long brown curls spilled over her slender shoulders, looking golden in the warm light of the bulb above. Her pale cheeks were tinted pink. She shuffled through the colourful scraps like picking her way through tiny flowers. Jane definitely didn't look like a killer. If anything, this picture made Katie think of old paintings of Madonna.
Katie bit her lip. Jane looked just as innocent as many of the murderers she had recently helped bring to justice.
'Hey, Katie,' Jane lifted her head and looked at her. 'What do you think of this pattern as the background for a few of our wedding photos?'
'Let me have a look,' Katie replied and moved to the other end of the table. She leafed through the colourful sheets, enjoying the feel of the glossy, thick paper. She loved the colours and delicate flowers.
'I think, this one would look great,' she said choosing a plain green and white zig-zag pattern. 'But I suppose the final effect would depend on the photo you want to frame,' she added. 'Do you have the photo with you?'
'Not the actual photo, I'd need to print it out, but I have it on my phone,' Jane replied and reached for her handbag. She pulled her mobile out and flicked through the photos. Her fingers seemed to work much better than on the day of Keith's death, too.
'Look, this is the one,' she said, her voice breaking again. 'This is Keith and me on the morning of our wedding. It was in April, but it was quite warm...' She succumbed to another wave of sobs. Katie's hand jerked, automatically, wanting to stroke Jane's head, but she pulled it back. After a second of hesitation, she rested her hand on Jane's shoulder.
'I'm sorry, Jane,' Katie said soothingly. 'I can see it's very hard for you. Are you sure you want to do this now? Maybe we'll try...'
'No, no, I'll be fine,' she said sniffing. She pulled a tissue from her sleeve and blew her nose. 'Or maybe I'll take one of those calming pills that the doctor prescribed me.'
Katie glanced at Jane. Was she becoming over-suspicious of the grieving widow again?
'Are you sure?' she asked.
'Yes. They help me. Otherwise I won't be able to sit here,' Jane took in a breath loudly.
Katie worried she was about to break into another wave of sobs, but she exhaled slowly and seemed to calm.
'Breathing slowly helps, you know,' Katie jumped to add.
'I know it does, Katie, and I try to do it, believe me. But sometimes all I want is the numbness from those pills. I haven't put them in my medicine box yet, I still keep them in a carrier bag. But I think I left the bag in your car,' she added nervously. 'Can you please, bring it to me? Do you mind?'
Katie suppressed another shudder. A simple request - bring her bag from the car, she should not be long.
'Yes, of course. Will you be okay here?'
'You’ll only be a minute, won't you?' Jane asked, looking at Katie with her watery-blue eyes.
Katie gulped. Of course, only a minute or so. It's not like Jane had another journal to hide under the floor. Besides, Katie knew this room very well. There was no loosened floorboard to shove things under. There were, however, plenty of other nooks and crannies...
No, she was definitely becoming paranoid again.
'Katie, please...' Jane moaned softly.
Katie strengthened her back.
'Okay, I'll be back in a tick. I'll leave the door open. Call out if you need me.'
She rushed out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar - a compromise between wanting to keep an eye, or rather an ear on what was going on with Jane, and not letting too much cold air in. The evening temperature was falling quickly, heading towards freezing point.
Unfortunately, the stream of light coming from the door didn't reach the car, forcing Katie to fumble with the key for a while. Her cold fingers didn't help, and her eyes were adapting to the darkness all too slowly. Once she finally opened the door on the passenger side, she started to shiver.
She should have grabbed her jacket. Her grey cardigan was not warm enough. She reached under the rear mirror and flicked the light. A few raindrops splashed on the windscreen.
Freezing rain? If so, the drive home might be a problem.
Katie looked at the passenger seat but couldn't see the bag. She checked the floor in front - nothing. She glanced behind the seat - it was too dark to see. She stretched her hand to feel the floor, and then under the seat. Her teeth started to chatter.
'Bother,' she snapped, annoyance growing. She flexed the back of the chair forward, but it wouldn't move. She pushed hard - still nothing.
'Bother,' she said again, this time louder.
She pushed the back of the seat away. A piece of white plastic appeared in the slit between the parts.
'Ah, here it is!' she mumbled and pulled out a small plastic bag, seeing a blister pack of medicines inside.
Katie stuffed the bag into the pocket of her cardigan and folded the seat into its usual position. She switched the light off. With her teeth still chattering, she fumbled with the key again, trying to fit it into the lock. In the end, she slammed the door and went around the car to close it on the driver side.
She ran back to the crafts room, trying to ignore the piercing cold of the large rain drops but still shivering, with her teeth tapping their own 'rain song.'
'Darned weather!' she puffed, closing the door behind her. 'Freezing rain!'
'Oh, you should have taken your jacket.' Jane called out from the little corner where the kettle and cups were.
'Are you okay?' Katie asked.
She’d only been gone a couple of minutes. What was Jane doing there, by the kettle?
'I got quite cold, actually. The heating is not working very well in here. Would you like a cup of tea?'
Katie jumped towards Jane.
'Oh, I'd love one. But let me make it. Don't tire yourself,' She wrenched the kettle form Jane's hand. 'Sit down and take the medication I've brought.'
She pulled the bag from her pocket and pushed it into Jane's hand.
'Oh, thank you,' Jane stuttered. 'I've just poured some wa–‘
'No worries, the water is probably old, from last month's meeting, I'll pour some fresh,' Katie cut in, pulling the cover off and emptying the kettle.
'I've just filled it,' Jane said, but Katie pretended she didn't hear her. Gee, no way she was drinking anything anyone else prepared.
Yes, she told herself, it wasn't about Jane. It was about the drinks prepared by anyone untrustworthy...
Katie let Jane walk back to the table, while she busied herself in the corner; her real goal being to have a quick scout around this part of the room to check if anything looked different. She might have only been absent for a few minutes, but Jane clearly hadn’t been sitting on her hands.
What else did she touch in the room?
With her heart hammering so loud Katie couldn't hear the kettle humming, she inspected the corner. But the cups looked innocent - dry on the draining board. The tea caddy had a pristine layer of dust. The shelves where Katie and many other club members kept their boxes with paper crafts stuff, didn't look in any more disarray than a few minutes earlier when Katie set up the table.
She took a deep breath, counting to three, and slowly exhaled. If her Fairy Godmother had appeared in front of her right now, granting her one wish, Katie would hesitate between being whisked away into the future when the case was solved, and having another club member walk in.
Well, the latter was at least realistic.
'It is quite cold here,' Katie said. 'I wonder if someone could bring an electric heater. Or we'll freeze to death...’ Katie jerked her hand to her mouth! ‘I mean, we'd freeze.'
Yes, she’d call Dorothy. Apart from providing a heater, the old dear would provide a good calming presence.
With the kettle humming in the background, Katie strode to the table for her phone. She found Dorothy's number and pressed it.
'Hi Dorothy,' she said, relieved to hear her friend's voice and not the answerphone. 'Do you mind arriving a little earlier and bringing an electric heater if you have one?'
Fortunately, Dorothy had one and even two, but she stressed she'd be taking them back after the meeting.
Katie didn't mind. In fact, she didn't mind anything except being left on her own with Jane and her own freaking-out thoughts.
16
The club meeting turned out to be really strange. The attendants seemed to split in two groups: one, around Jane, chatting to her, admiring the machine and having a go with it and the other, in the 'kettle corner', making endless cups of tea and chatting about - well, Katie couldn't quite hear what as Jane somehow managed to keep Katie by her side.
But then, one of Dorothy's electric heaters was nearby, so it wasn't all bad.
At least, this was what Katie kept telling herself.
The meeting felt more disorganised, too. Despite Ally Baker's best efforts, nothing worked as usual. The setup took more time, people argued about the positioning of the heaters. Miriam was so absent-minded it would have been better if she hadn't turned up at all.
Maybe it was because Linda McKay was missing. She hadn't come. Apparently, she was on childcare duty.
Katie raised her head over Jane's shoulder. Her back ached and she longed to stretch it, but Jane's hand was still clasped on Katie's forearm and the numbness was beginning to spread up to Katie's neck.
Katie's phone rang. She jumped. Thank goodness!
'Sorry, Jane, have to answer this,' she said into Jane's ear and wriggled her numb limb from the clasp. She grabbed her phone from the table and seeing the name of the caller, she trotted to the quieter corner of the room to answer it.
'Hi, Chris, what's up?' she said.
'Are you still in the crafts room at the community centre?'
'Yes, why?'
'Is Jane with you?'
Katie glanced nervously at Jane, who was explaining to yet another person how to use the scrapbooking cutter machine.
'Yes, why?'
'I can't tell you,' Chris's voice turned suddenly serious. 'Just stay there, please.'
A thought flashed in Katie's mind. 'Have you found anything in her notebook?'
A brief pause filled the other end of the line.
'I have. We've raised a warrant, but I don't want to make a commotion. What time do you finish?'
'About 8.30 pm. But if you want to come, that would be the worst time,' Katie explained, her thoughts swirling. 'It'd be better if you did this now. If you give me a buzz, I can just take Jane outside, to my car.'
'Don't run away with her!' Chris cut in, jokingly.
'Don't be silly.'
'Okay then. If we can limit the drama that would be great.'
'Do you think she did it?'
'Not sure yet, but it looks like she might have had an accomplice.'
'An accomplice?'
'Someone who helped her.'
'I know what 'accomplice' means,' Katie snapped a little too loud, as she could read in the annoyed glance thrown by Ally Baker who’d just passed by with a steaming cup. Katie threw her an apologetic smile.
'Who do you think it could be?' Katie said, returning to the conversation with Chris.
'No idea,' Chris replied, with a note of impatience creeping into his usually relaxed voice. 'I've got to go and make sure we're prepared. Be there in a few minutes. I'll give you a buzz.'
Katie sighed. 'Shall I call her sister?'
'Not now. Once it's all over. She can come to the station.'
A knot started to tighten in Katie's throat.
'Is Jack coming?'
'No. But he's on his way back to town. Got to go, lass. You can steer her out of the room shortly.'
Katie disconnected, slipped her phone into the pocket of her cardigan. Dorothy, who was leaning over Jane, beckoned to her.
The knot grew to the size of a tennis ball and began to pulse. How on earth was she going to tell Jane the police were coming to arrest her without actually telling her?
'Katie,' Dorothy's voice cut through the noise. 'We need some hot glue, can you get it for us, please?'
Katie forced her lips into a smile. She nodded. At least, she had something to busy herself with for the next few minutes before...
'No problem,' she called and turned towards the shelves of craft supplies.
She took extra care taking the box with her supplies off the shelf and rummaging through its contents before she took out the plastic bag of hot glue sticks. She replaced the box on the shelf and fished the glue gun from its container. By the time she was ready to take it to the table, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it with her trembling hand.
'Hello?' she answered, even though she knew full well who it was and what he wanted.
'We're outside,' Chris stated and ended the call.
Katie swallowed, cleared her throat and swallowed again, but the tennis ball was still in her throat. She forced her feet to move towards the table.
'Jane,' she whispered in the woman's ear. 'Can you come outside with me? The police are here. They need to talk to you.'
Jane stared at her, horror glowing in her doe-like eyes. Her lips parted.
'What about?' she asked.
'I-I...' Katie stammered. 'You need to ask them. I'll take you outside,' Katie added, turning her head away. She grabbed Jane's jacket and pulled it off the chair. 'Put your jacket on.'
'But, Katie...' Jane said plaintively.
'I'm sorry, Jane. Let's just go outside,' Katie repeated, holding her shoulders tight. If she hadn't, they might have started shaking. She glanced at the window - it was dark outside. Maybe they had parked and turned the headlights off?
'Uhm, I'll help you with the jacket,' Dorothy's voice pulled Katie back into the present. She glanced at her friend.
Dorothy's face was pale and serious. Had she read her mind?
Luckily, at that moment, the party at the kettle got louder and Ally Baker and Erin Blackburn, who were milling around Jane, got busy with the glue gun.
Dorothy helped Jane stand. Katie threw the jacket across Jane's shoulders.
'We'll just step outside for a moment,' Katie said loud enough to be noticed, but not too loud.
Dorothy escorted them to the door.
'Here is your handbag, in case you need it,' Dorothy said, opening the door and passing the handbag to Jane.
Katie guided Jane outside. In the narrow shaft of light coming from the gap in the door, Katie made out two dark shapes at in the short distance. The silhouettes moved towards them.
Katie shivered in the cold, wet night air.
'Put your jacket on, Jane,' Katie said and pushed it further onto Jane's shoulders. Jane's fingers tightened on Katie's wrist. A sharp pain shot up Katie's arm. Her heart sank. It was one thing was to suspect someone of murder, but quite another to help turn them over to the police.
It would have been easier if Katie was totally convinced of Jane's guilt. But was she really?
Chris and another constable, who must have been 'on loan' from another unit, approached them. Chris took Jane through the arrest procedure.
'But I haven't done anything. Why are you...?'
Jane's sobs filled the silence. Katie jerked her head back, but the door was closed. Thanks Dorothy!
Chris said something so quietly, Katie couldn't make out.
'Katie can you please come with me...' Jane called out.
A heavy boulder fell on Katie's shoulders.
'I'm sorry, Jane, but I can't. I've got to collect my daughter.' However much she might have wanted to help Jane, Julia had to come first. 'I'll let your sister know, though.'
'Thank you, Katie,' Jane whispered and turned to follow Chris and the other officer to the car parked in the distance.