‘OK, that’s settled then.’ Bronski returned to his computer and Annie opened one of the files to review.
Chapter 59
Grace knocked on Bill Williamson’s door and then popped her head round. ‘I’ve got a proposal for you, if you’re free this evening.’
‘Sounds intriguing,’ he replied. ‘Come in and tell me more.’
Grace walked in and stood by the chair. ‘I wondered if I could enlist your help. I need to take the box from the psychiatric unit up to the apartment, but I can’t lift it on my own. It’s been in the car since Sunday. It’ll take two of us. That’s the hard part. The good bit is that in exchange, I’ll treat you to a Chinese takeout.’
‘Sounds like my kind of evening. I can follow you home in my car.’
‘Great, say about six or so? There is visitor parking in the apartments so you can follow me into the underground car park. The visitors’ spaces are at the far end, nearest the elevators.’
‘I’m sure I’ll find a space. Buzz me when you want to leave.’
Grace returned to her office. She felt more settled now that was organised. She hadn’t yet started on Jennifer’s diaries. The stuff from the hospital was more recent and included things Jennifer had written during therapy sessions. Grace thought it might be better to start with those. She remembered how sad she’d felt leaving the unit. The staff had all seemed well meaning, yet the place itself was depressing; too clinical. Jennifer’s room was so stark compared to her bedroom at home, devoid of the essence of Jennifer. Still there was no point in worrying about all this now. She would wait until tonight, and then start to delve into her sister’s past.
She switched on her computer and saw a number of emails from the Dubai office. Opening them, Grace answered what she could, before forwarding others to members of her Dubai team. It was difficult. They were missing her input. However, it wasn’t fair expecting her to be running things in NY and also back in Dubai. She would have to email one of the seniors if it continued at the rate it was this morning.
About eleven o’clock her new secretary knocked on the door. ‘Your meeting is in a half hour, Grace. Do you want me to get a cab for you?’
‘Sure.’
‘OK, I’ll do it now. Here’s the file.’ Sandra passed it to her and left the room.
Grace took the paperwork and flicked through it: most of it comprised forms that the new company had to look over and sign. They could have gone by courier, but Grace liked to establish good relationships with the key staff in new business acquisitions right from the beginning, so the personal touch was necessary in her view. She double-checked that all was in order.
Grace was back in the office by mid afternoon. The meeting had gone very well and the staff were impressed that she came in person with the papers. She’d had a quick sandwich and was still sipping a Starbucks latte at her desk. There were several reports from her staff waiting for her perusal. Getting herself comfortable, Grace began reviewing them. She found herself pleased: the reports were very thorough and professional. She warmed to her new team with each passing day.
Three hours passed before she realised it. There was another knock on the door. It was Sandra. ‘Grace, there’s a Barry Ainscough downstairs in the lobby and he’s asking to see you. He says he’s driven in from Connecticut especially. He doesn’t have an appointment. What do you want reception to tell him?’
Grace was hoping that she didn’t look shocked. In fact, she was angry. How dare he come to her place of work, when she’d already spoken to him on the phone. ‘Tell them I’ll come down in a couple of minutes. Ask him to wait in reception. I know who he is. It has nothing to do with work.’
‘Are you OK, Grace?’
‘I’m fine Sandra. I’ll gather my things and make a call before I go down.’
Grace shut down her computer and placed the unread reports into her briefcase. Then she dialled Bill’s number. ‘Bill, I hope I’m not disturbing you.’
‘No, are you ready to go?’
‘Not yet. I have a visitor downstairs – Barry Ainscough. He was Jennifer’s boyfriend at college before she became ill. Frankly, I’m very surprised that he’s turned up here and I feel uneasy about seeing him in my office. I’m going to take him to the Starbucks across the road.’
‘Is he the one you mentioned over lunch the other day?
‘Yes …’
‘Are you OK, Grace? You sound concerned.’
‘I am a little, I admit. Could I ask you a favour?’
‘Of course.’
‘Could you come over there a little before six and find us? I think I might need rescuing. Make something up, like I’m needed back at the office. I can’t ask Sandra as she’ll be leaving soon.’
‘I’ll be in my shining armour so you won’t miss me.’
Grace laughed. ‘You can have an extra portion of Chinese later, my knight.’ Then she turned off her office lights and locked the door.
Barry Ainscough hadn’t been keen on going to Starbucks. ‘I was hoping I could take you to dinner and maybe a drink afterwards.’
‘Barry, you turned up unannounced after I said I’d contact you. I have plans for tonight. What is it you want from me?’
Barry was opening the door of Starbucks. Surprisingly, it was nearly empty. ‘I’ll get the coffees and we can talk when we sit down. What do you want?’
Grace asked for a latte and found a seat in the corner of the room, within sight of the doorway. Barry would have his back to the door. She wanted Bill to see her when he opened it.
Barry was back a few minutes later. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve annoyed you, when that’s the last thing I wanted to do.’ Barry placed the coffees on the table as he took the chair opposite her.
Grace looked at the man. She could see Jennifer’s attraction to him. Colouring wise, he was a lot like Ed – or at least Ed in his younger days. His hair was dark black and a little too long around the ears. His eyes were dark brown and held an intensity that could be comforting or alarming, depending on your point of view. They had obviously been comforting to Jennifer, albeit over a decade ago.
‘Barry, you’ve come back into our lives after all these years. I don’t know what you want from us. I’m not sure what we have to give you. I’m scared that you make my mother think about what could’ve been. The last thing I need right now is her dwelling on that. It’s hard enough for her having to accept what Jennifer did.’
‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset her. I only wanted to feel close to Jennifer again. You and your mom are all that remains of her.’
‘Barry, we’re not a substitute for Jennifer.’ Grace realised that even if she sounded harsh, this guy needed to hear the truth.
He looked at her as if she would never understand. ‘I know that, yet you were both part of her. She talked about her family all the time. That Thanksgiving, I wanted to propose to Jennifer. I hesitated only because I wasn’t sure the timing was right. We hadn’t been going out more than six months by then. I thought she would think it too soon. I loved her. I wanted to marry her. I think she wanted to marry me. I would’ve made her happy.’
Grace took a sip of her coffee and tried to glance at the clock on the wall without Barry noticing. It had gone five thirty. She wasn’t sure where their conversation was heading. ‘I’m sure you would’ve, Barry. Maybe if you had come years ago, you might have helped her then. Or maybe not. None of us seemed to be able to help. It’s a bit late for all of this now.’
‘Do you know anything about her illness, what triggered it off?’ he asked earnestly.
‘Not really. I was away finishing my law degree. Then I landed the job in Dubai soon after qualifying. Jennifer used to confide in me when we were a lot younger and living under the same roof. However, the geographical distance changed all that. Also a part of me was angry
with her for what she was putting my mother and Ed through. When I saw her, I wanted to tell her off. I didn’t understand depression, especially in the early days. I guess I’m more sympathetic now to what she went through. It wasn’t her fault, although we placed a lot of faith in the medication and the hospital stays. Nothing worked in the end.’
The conversation continued for the next twenty minutes, Grace keeping an eye on the door. As she saw Bill starting to cross the road, she said, ‘Barry, I’d like to ask you not to contact my mother or myself again. There’s no point to it. We’re still grieving ourselves. We can’t take on your grief as well.’ She could see that he was weighing up what she’d said and she knew she would have to be firm. ‘Barry, I’m not asking you this, I’m telling you. Don’t contact me or my mother again.’
Bill was coming through the door. ‘Grace, there you are. I’m sorry to interrupt. Something’s come up that we need you to deal with.’
Grace looked at Barry. ‘I have to go, Barry. Please do as I’ve asked.’ She stood up and retrieved her briefcase. She moved towards Bill and then turned back to Barry. ‘Do I have your word?’
‘Yes,’ Barry answered, his shoulders slumped.
Chapter 60
‘Detective Ellison, Jordan Prentice on the phone for you.’
‘Thanks, Sarge, put him through.’
‘Detective Ellison, my daughter and I are leaving the Cape in a few minutes. I’ve arranged for us to stay downtown so we’ll check into the hotel first, have something to eat and then come to the station. Is it best if I call you when we’re on our way?’
‘That’s fine sir. I’ll be here.’ Ellison put the phone down and looked at the printouts spread across his desk. He had started with the previous month and was working backwards, to cover the previous six months. ‘I reckon Jordan Prentice and his daughter won’t be here till at least three o’clock. How about I get some sandwiches in?’ he asked his colleagues.
‘Great,’ said Bronski, absorbed in what he was doing. ‘I’m fine with anything.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Annie offered. ‘I need a break.’
Ellison and Annie intended to go out the back way again, avoiding the press pack, still camped out in front of the station. Ellison stopped at the desk first to have a word with Sergeant Owens.
‘Sergeant, when Prentice calls again, make sure you warn him about the press pack. They’ll go mad if they recognise Monica Lansdowne. Hell, they should recognise Prentice, although some of them may not know the connection.’
‘I’ll do that. How are you today, Detective Macpherson?’
Annie smiled. ‘Fine, Sergeant.’
‘Poor Owens, pining over you like a love sick puppy dog,’ Ellison said when they were out of earshot.
‘Stop it,’ Annie retorted. ‘I bet he’s married with three kids. Besides, I have a proposition for you. If you refuse, I might have to ask the sergeant, married or not.’
‘Hmm, I like propositions,’ Ellison replied as he opened the back door. ‘I have to warn you, though, whatever it is, it’ll have to be me. I know for a fact that the sergeant is a married man and his wife is the jealous type.’ Ellison unlocked the car and they both got in. ‘So what is it then?’
‘Well, you know I wanted one of the dresses for Saturday night to go out for the meal with Christine James and her family.’
‘Yeah, the blue one is perfect for that.’
Annie was amazed. ‘Not many men would even remember a shopping trip, never mind the colour of the dress.’
‘I remember that it matched your eyes,’ Ellison replied, glancing across at her.
Annie felt herself blush. Maybe Dave’s charm was getting to her at last. ‘Anyway, the other dress, the printed fabric …’
‘Also with blue highlights,’ he remarked.
‘Well that one is for the wedding of Christine James and Michael Turner, a week on Saturday. And …’
‘And what? You want me to help you pick out shoes to match?’ Ellison asked.
Annie stifled a laugh. ‘I think I might already have a pair that will go with the dress. No, the thing is, I need a date for the wedding. I don’t want to go on my own. Before you answer, I have to warn you that Franconi and his wife will be there. So that might influence your decision.’
Ellison pulled up in front of the bakery and turned off the car engine. As Annie went to open the car door, he touched her arm to stop her. ‘Annie, I’d really like to go with you, but not just because you need a date. I’d like to think you want me to be with you.’
The comment made Annie take a sharp intake of breath. ‘Dave, I have an awful track record with men. I don’t know how I feel about anyone at the moment. I thought there was going to be more with Charlie. I still feel like a fool about him. I really value our friendship and don’t want anything to spoil it.’ Then she focussed her blue eyes on him. ‘I do know one thing though, I enjoy spending time with you and I do want you to be my date.’
Ellison smiled. ‘I guess that will be enough for now.’
‘Especially now I know the sergeant is married,’ Annie added, as she opened the car door.
Back at the station the three detectives had lunch. Franconi came in as they were finishing and they provided him with a quick update.
‘So Macpherson, we’d better set out for the hospital to meet Fogarty,’ Bronski remarked when the captain returned to his office.
As soon as his colleagues had left the room, Ellison returned to the phone records. He had nearly two hours before he was expecting Monica Lansdowne. An hour later, he had found some commonalities. He was making notes as Franconi stepped out of his office. Ellison looked up as he heard Franconi’s door shut. He wondered for a minute whether to mention the upcoming wedding, where they would both be guests but then thought better of it. Annie might want to mention it herself.
‘How’s it going, Ellison?’ Franconi asked.
‘Fine sir. I’m trawling through phone records. Contrary to what the mayor told us, there are a number of calls between him and Patrick Mearns. None to Bannister from the mayor so far. There are also calls between Bannister and Mearns and vice versa. That confirms the contact between those two. It’s the solid three-way link that’s still eluding us, apart from the fact they may have been at the University of Westford at the same time. Still, there are thousands of undergraduates at any time across the two campuses. I’m going to question Monica Lansdowne about any known connections later.’
‘Good. Keep me posted.’
Ellison decided to check his emails again before going back to the phone records. He scrolled down the messages. One was from the prison in Pennsylvania that he had emailed about the mutilation case ten years ago that was on the database. He opened the email and read the report. He couldn’t see anything relevant to their cases. It was useful though to tie up the loose end.
*****
Bronski parked the car with fifteen minutes to spare. They both got out without a word. Seconds later, Annie felt her world falling apart. Approaching her and Bronski were Charlie Hegarty and a very attractive woman. The two of them were holding hands and talking animatedly to each other, oblivious to their surroundings. Annie was mortified. It was impossible to avoid the couple.
Bronski reacted immediately. ‘Captain Hegarty, good to see you.’
Charlie and the woman stopped. His jaw dropped slightly. ‘Detectives.’ His eyes went from Bronski to Annie and back again.
The woman by his side smiled and said to him, ‘Charlie, aren’t you going to introduce me?’
‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘Detectives Bronski and Macpherson, this is a colleague of mine, Captain Jane Garry. We were stationed in Afghanistan together.’
The woman shook their hands. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you both and your role in finding Angela’s
assailant. I understand, Detective Macpherson, that you saved her life.’
Annie tried to keep her composure although she was struck by the attractiveness of the woman. ‘I was only doing my job, Captain Garry. How is Angela?
‘Much better,’ Charlie responded. ‘She’s definitely being released tomorrow. Are you here to see her? Have there been any more developments in the case?’
Annie noticed that Charlie was hardly able to engage in eye contact with her. In fact he angled his body slightly so that he was facing Bronski, rather than her. It was clear he was hoping that Bronski would reply to his question.
Bronski did. ‘No, but please pass on our regards. We’ve got an appointment in the mortuary and we’re running late.’
Annie was relieved when they moved off. Of all the people she didn’t want to run into, Charlie was top of the list, especially with Captain Garry at his side. Why hadn’t Charlie told her about Jane Garry before the woman returned from Afghanistan and breezed back into his life so easily? Why did he allow her to? There was no point in raking over the entrails of their relationship. She would have to put the hurt Charlie had caused her to one side. He had clearly moved on, so she had to do the same. Yet she still felt betrayed.
A few minutes later, they reached the autopsy suite and put on the protective clothing. Fogarty was waiting for them. Annie couldn’t believe that this was the third one. The smells and the commentary on the body put all thoughts of Charlie out of her mind.
Chapter 61
Ellison had phone numbers spinning around in his head when his phone went. It was Sergeant Owens. He left the phone records spread out on his desk and went downstairs to take Monica Lansdowne and her father to the interview room. Jordan Prentice’s handshake was extremely firm. Ellison took it as a message: make sure you sort this out, as my daughter has suffered enough. In contrast, Monica Lansdowne didn’t even extend her hand. Ellison realised that the interview room was well below the standard they’d be used to. They had turned down the offer of a drink.
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