by Emily Selby
'I don't know much beyond the fact that he's on a sabbatical here, studying something. How did he end up here? He comes from Sunnyvale originally and some of the club members know him or his parents.'
'Sparrow? I don't recall anyone with this surname. Do you?'
Dorothy sighed. 'He's only in his thirties. If I remember well, he's been working and living in Leeds, or somewhere down that way, for several years. You see, Katie, I'm local, but don't forget I lived away from Sunnyvale for a while. When I came back, some fifteen years ago, young Edward was probably studying for his A-levels and preparing for university.'
'What about his parents? Do they still live here?'
'I don't think so. Otherwise, he would be staying with them, rather than at the vicarage, wouldn't he?'
'Fair point. I suppose I may need to find another source of information.'
'Highly recommended,' Dorothy chuckled. 'I'm sure Linda will know or will know someone who knows.'
Yeah, Katie agreed. Problem was, Linda didn’t seem likely to be in a good mood to talk to Katie right now.
19
Katie finished chatting with Dorothy and carried on with her work. Just as she was well into the flow, there was another knock on her door and, just at the same time, her phone pinged with a message. She'd check it later.
'Come in,' she called. She was getting more done as an investigator than an office clerk.
'Hey, it's just me,' the velvety voice sent a wave of warm fuzzies all over her chest. The charming, boyish smile on his pale face intensified the effect, even though the dark circles under his eyes gave her cause for concern - he was working long hours again.
'Got a minute for a coffee and a bite?'
A bunch of butterflies fluttered in her stomach. A date? Of course she had time. Even if she didn't, she’d make the time. She opened her mouth to reply and closed it again. The thought of being seen in public with Jack filled her with dread. This would send the tongues waggling and she wasn't ready for that.
'I'd love to, but I'm not quite able to leave my office,' she replied heavily, pointing to her desk. The pile of paperwork, she hoped, was self-explanatory, in case he tried to guess the real reason.
She would have to face being in the spotlight and having to respond to all sorts of questions one day. And maybe even from Julia, which would be even harder. She hadn't quite considered all the consequences of entering the dating scene again. She'd have to think it through. One day. When the current investigation was over.
Jack gave her a long, curious look.
'Okay, what about a chat now, then? I'd like to run something past you in case I'm missing some important local context.'
That seemed easy enough. She gestured him to the chair.
'Fire away,' she said.
Jack sat and rubbed his face with his both hands.
'What are your thoughts on this case so far?' he asked after a long pause.
'I don't have much evidence,' she said cautiously.
'Neither do I. The trip to Leeds to talk to her parents was a complete waste of time. They live in their own bubble, an unhappy one, as the mother is seriously ill and the father looks after her, almost full time. The sister was a little more informative about Jane, but still wasn’t much help during her the interview. That's why I've come to listen to your hunches.'
This was new behaviour indeed from the inspector known for his love of logic and evidence. But did she have anything to share?
'What about his parents?'
'They're much more elderly than I thought. Their first son is much older than Keith.'
'Yes, I've heard about him from Michael. He has autism, I understand?”
Jack nodded.
'So, nothing useful from them?'
'No, unfortunately not. Keith had been living away since university and had minimal contact with them. They seemed quite protective of Keith, his mother in particular. I think she painted him in brighter colours than his father would have, had she given him the opportunity to speak for himself.'
'But they didn't murder him?'
'I don't think so. They both have excellent alibis for the time of the murder. And I can’t find a motive for his death. They were happy when he started getting involved in the company again. This was what the family lawyer confirmed.'
'Interesting. Can you expand? Any idea who benefits from Keith's death?'
'He didn't leave much of an estate. Both parents still own the company. He sold his shares when he opted to study journalism, rather than engineering, as his parents wanted. He had a small salary set by his father for the work in the company. They were considering offering him shares in the company if he agreed to take over it. But this hasn't happened yet.'
Katie sighed and shook her head. 'False trail then?'
'Probably.'
'How much money has he left after selling the shares?'
'There is a mortgage on the house in his name. So, Jane will inherit the house with a debt. He didn't earn much as a part-time manager in his parents' company, nor as a freelance journalist and blogger. I think we can exclude money as a motive, unless there is something hiding very deep. Now, your turn,' he said and nodded at her.
'Okay then,' she blew out a breath. 'I'm confused. I don't know if I can trust my hunches anymore. People I've spoken to so far, were surprised he was the one killed. The people I talked to mentioned his controlling personality. And I can see their point, because that was my interpretation, too. Now, you've found her secret diary, I can see how she might have planned revenge for years. But I doubt she could have done it all by herself, given her physical limitations. I know you are considering an accomplice. And it would make sense. She found a knight in shining armour and convinced him, I'm assuming it's a man, to rescue her. But think how warped the accomplice must be, or how badly influenced by her, to kill Keith? I know your worldview is much darker than mine, but I still think most people wouldn't kill another person, unless pushed to the extreme. I can't see that sort of extreme in this case. Jane may be a victim of long-term emotional abuse, but the accomplice?'
Jack ran his hand through his hair, nodding.
'Good summary, but you're forgetting one important aspect of Keith and Jane's relationship.'
'What do you mean?'
'According to her diary, Keith was possessive. Fair enough, she needed help getting out and about, but also, he wouldn't let her go anywhere. She's reluctant to admit it, but her sister, who fortunately was a little more forthcoming, did describe this sort of behaviour.'
'Ah, yes! I can see that, indeed. It took a lot of persuasion and begging for him to agree to her getting a job she could do from home. She didn't quite say it in so many words, but that was my impression.'
'That's the sister's impression as well. So now, we have a jealous, possessive husband and a wife who wants out of the relationship.'
'Did she?'
'She denies it and swears she loved him. He had his vices, but generally they were happy. At least, that's the official line.'
'What about the content of the journal?'
'She says she used it as a way to vent her frustrations. She doesn't have any friends. She didn't want to be a burden on her sister, knowing her sister hadn’t been keen on her marrying Keith. She didn't, obviously, want to worry her parents. She says, she was tired of constantly hiding how she felt emotionally and physically. She spoke to a psychologist several times who recommended she keep a journal. She used it as therapeutic venting.'
'Makes sense,' Katie said and drummed her fingers on the desk. 'Why get someone to kill Keith, then?'
'That's what I'm asking you. Any hypotheses?'
Katie paused to think before saying, 'How about this? The accomplice acted on his own. Suffered a moment of mad jealousy and put the poison into Keith's cup?'
'Might have. I just wanted to make a comment, that the accomplice, the lover...'
'Lover? I don't think it's a good word; the knight in shining-'
'
That's far too fanciful. What do you call them in Sunnyvale?'
'I don't know... something more old-fashioned? A darling, a sweetheart?'
'Okay, let's settle on a sweetheart,' he said, and Katie's heart flipped. Was there a warmer sparkle in his eye, or was it her wishful thinking?
'So, this sweetheart feels rejected because, despite all his efforts, Jane chooses her husband over him. As a result, he kills Keith in a jealous rage.'
'I can see the logic,' Katie said slowly, 'but you seem to have jumped a step. It assumes that she had a relationship with someone.'
'The diary seems to suggest that she had.'
'How far did she take it?'
'She wrote, "I talked to him this morning, and he was very caring. He told me to be patient and bear my cross. The time to be happy again will come." I paraphrase, of course.'
'It could have been a conversation with a therapist - didn't you say she was seeing a psychologist at some point? Or was it a priest?"
'Yeah...'
'Is that the only mention in the journal?'
'Unfortunately, yes. It's mainly about her feeling trapped in her constantly tired, disabled body and in the relationship. Only the past couple of months have a couple of entries where this other person is mentioned.'
'That's not much to go on.'
'No.'
Katie tucked the stray strand of hair behind her ear, twirling it.
'Hang on, did you say, it's only the last couple of months?'
'That's right. One in September, very vague, sort of a "I miss the conversations with X; they gave me hope," and she just uses X instead of naming the person. The second time in mid-November and it's the one about being patient and bearing her cross. The third one was last week and it says-' Jack reached to his pocket and took out the small notebook. He opened it on a page and read out, '"A heart-warming chat with X. He's hopeful. The time to be free and walk at liberty will come soon."' Jack finished reading and closed the notebook. He watched her in silence for a while.
'This could be interpreted in many different ways,' Katie said. 'What is Jane saying?'
'She is not very forthcoming. She says these were her religious musings, based on her reading of the scripture, her prayers. X is an imaginary friend whom, she says, she sometimes imagines having conversation with. To be honest, when I interviewed her about it, she got so tearful I didn't fully understand what she was saying.'
"Her sister?'
'Claims to know nothing about the man.'
Katie spread her arms in a desperate gesture. 'That's still not much. But I've heard there were some potential witnesses to the poisoning.'
'Ah, yes, I've just talked to one of your friends. A real friend, this time, I believe.' He flashed her a smile.
'Linda came in?'
He nodded.
What a relief!
'What did she say?'
'Nothing of note. She was in the area around the time Keith was in the café, but she didn't see him. She says she didn't even know the café was open. Otherwise, she says, she wouldn't have had to run a ridiculous sprint to the little shop down the street to get a bottle of water. '
'Linda ran to get some water? Bizarre...'
'Your friend was on a walk with another lady, and that other one suddenly felt dizzy and unwell. So, this other lady had to sit on a little bench while Linda ran to fetch some water, so her friend could take the medicine.'
'A little bench round the corner from Café Meadows, just by the pedestrian crossing between Stream Drive and Sunflower Lane?' Katie asked, thinking back to her recent trip to the crime scene.
'I believe so. You can't see the café from there. They'd been walking in the area before, Linda vaguely recalls seeing the café, but it was closed. So, she assumed it had closed down for the winter.'
'They? Who was the other woman?' Katie said, evoking the vague memory of their Monday morning encounter in her mind.
Jack reached to his pocket again and pulled out his little notebook. 'Mavis Crabtree. Mrs McKay's neighbour.'
'Ah, yes, Mavis. She's quite poorly. She has a lot of health problems, I've heard. She doesn't get out much.'
'That's what Linda McKay told me. Apparently, she’s been trying to get her neighbour walking a little.'
Katie had to admit, Linda taking morning walks without Adam in the pushchair sounded a little strange. But Linda helping someone, fitted quite well with Linda's personality.
'What do you think?' Jack asked.
Katie shared the thought with Jack and asked, 'What about the timings?'
'Linda says she didn't look at her watch. At first, she was engrossed in a conversation with her friend. To keep her spirits up, she added. Then, once Mrs Crabtree felt unwell, it was all about getting her some water from the corner shop.'
Katie closed her eyes to picture the Monday scene.
'I saw them walking past the empty plot and heading towards the crossing at about 7.29 am. They walked very slowly. I don't know,' she opened her eyes and jumped to her feet. There wasn't much room in her office to walk, but she took a couple of steps, trying to mimic the speed Linda and Mavis had been walking. 'What do you think?'
'About two seconds per yard, I'd guess.'
'I think it's about fifty yards away from the bench, so it would have taken them about two minutes to reach the bench. Maybe more, if they stopped to let Mrs Crabtree catch her breath. They would have reached the bench around 7.31 - 7.32 then. Right?'
'Good thinking.'
'And then Linda ran to get the water?'
'Apparently.'
'How far is the shop? I've never seen any in that area.'
'There is a little corner shop further along... what's that street with the bench called?'
'Sunflower Lane.'
'That's right. Chris has already talked to the owner and he recalls serving Linda the water.'
'The till must have registered the time. Right?'
Jack scrunched up his nose. 'Bad luck. He says it was early and he was opening the shop, and she was in a hurry, so he let her grab a bottle. She left the money on the counter and exited without waiting for change.'
'Bummer! How long might it have taken Linda to get to the shop and back?'
'She says a couple of minutes. She ran.'
'Linda McKay ran?' Katie repeated. 'I’ve never seen her running.'
Jack shrugged. 'She told me she had been worried about leaving her friend. Apparently, Ms Crabtree has some heart problems.'
'It would make sense, I suppose,' Katie said slowly. Linda running? She recalled a recent comment made by Dorothy. Running doesn't really go with a twinset and pearls.
'Once she was back, Ms Crabtree took her medicine and they set off to walk again.'
'Mavis felt better, I presume?'
'According to Linda, Mavis reported feeling better when she returned with the water. Apparently, resting on the bench helped. But she took the pill anyway. They continued their morning walk, along that street and then turned left and took a back street to Stream Drive. They didn't see anything or anyone. They were back in Linda's car just after 8 am.'
'Not much more information then?'
Jack shook his head. 'No progress, sadly. I'll need to talk to Ms Crabtree as well.'
'What about the young vicar?'
'He's coming in,' Jack replied and checked his watch. 'Very shortly, in fact. I'd better get ready.' He stood. 'By the way, for Saturday, I've found a lovely French restaurant in Carlisle. They do great dinners. Are you okay with French food?'
'Yes, sure. I haven't had much chance to try it, but it sounds lovely.'
'It should be,' he smiled at her, his eyes glinting behind the glasses. Katie pressed her clasped hands to her stomach to contain the butterflies.
'I'll give you an update on the interview,' he added and walked out.
Good job it would be in Carlisle, she wouldn’t have to worry about the local gossips.
Which reminded her to check her phone. The message
was probably Linda reporting. It was, indeed, a message from her friend, simply saying:
'Done. Hope you happy. BTW, I have your key to the crafts room. Will need it tonight, do you mind?'
Her key? How come? Katie blinked. Ah, yes! She’d left it behind when she went home early on Tuesday night.
No, Katie didn't need the key.
'Thanks for talking to them and letting me know about the key. You can keep it for now.'
She pressed 'Send' and returned to her work. She needed to finish typing the minutes from a meeting and to prepare the agenda for the youth program meeting this Friday.
20
Katie finished her notes just before 1 pm. It was past her usual time, but she didn't mind staying overtime as she didn't have anything specific to do that afternoon.
Well, apart from trying to figure out what Linda was doing walking and running (gasp!) on the new estate at 7.30 am on the day of the murder. Why there? Why so early? And why didn’t she'd mention it before Katie pushed her to do so?
Linda had behaved strangely from the beginning. Katie had to investigate that.
But how?
Katie picked her jacket off the chair, threw it over her shoulders and grabbed her handbag. She'd go for a drive to think it all through. She needed a good excuse to call in on her friend. Without doubt, the best way to have an innocent and casual conversation was to meet someone face to face.
She pushed the door to the staff room and her heart stopped. The picture that still haunted her from the previous investigation flashed before her eyes: Celia sitting on the desk, her long legs crossed, her dark curls undone and spilled over her radiant face, and Jack leaning on the filing cabinet opposite, his tie loosened, hands stuffed into his trouser pockets. Only this time, Jack was talking and Celia was listening.
Déjà vu?
Celia shot her a glance that could freeze a mammoth in a second, her face furrowed. Jack turned towards Katie.
'Oh, Katie, just the person,' he said and smiled at her. Warmth tingled in her chest, starting the defrosting process. 'Celia thinks the new vicar is sweet and the embodiment of innocence. What do you think?'
Katie shuddered. She'd probably have to talk to Celia again. What was going on with the girl?