by Diane Ezzard
“Is something wrong, Jack?”
“Yeah, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” He grabbed the collar of his jacket and looked away from me. I knew it. My female intuition had been right. My skin tingled. In an instant, I lost my appetite. The waitress arrived with our drinks and I took a sip to moisten my dry mouth. He wasn’t smiling. This didn’t look good. I closed my eye, scrunched my face and braced myself. Silence.
I opened my eyes and raised my eyebrows. Whatever it was, he wasn’t making it easy on either of us. He picked up his glass of coke then put it down without taking a drink. I emptied the rest of the sparkling water from the bottle into my glass and waited.
“So, what is it?” The suspense was killing me. I wanted him to put me out of my misery before my irrational fears took over. I leaned forward with my elbow on the table and my hand under my chin. My stomach rolled, and it wasn’t hunger pains.
Jack took a big long sigh then pulled a face. He looked me in the eye.
“It’s about Caroline.” Ah! What did I say! They had slept together after all. He lied to me. Why did he bring me for a meal? Why didn’t he tell me at home, in private? Maybe, he worried I would lash out. This was horrendous. I had to compose myself. His face looked serious.
“Yes?” He hadn’t spelt it out yet, and I was ready to burst out crying.
“I knew it was a mistake to go to her house. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.”
I had to look away. My eyes welled up. I felt my emotions changing to anger. My nostrils flared. If he was looking for sympathy, he had come to the wrong place.
“I’m such an idiot,” he said shaking his head then he put his head in his hands.
“So, you’re sleeping with her then?” My lips narrowed, and my face went into a grimace.
“What! No! Nothing like that.” I frowned. I was confused. What was he trying to tell me?
“Sorry?”
“No,” he tried to take hold of my hand, but I jerked it away out of his reach.
“Well, what then?” My voice was raised now. He looked to see who heard my outburst. I was ready to flee out of the restaurant.
“She won’t stop texting and phoning me. She’s become a bunny boiler. I’ve told her I’m happy with you and I only called to her house in a professional capacity, but she won’t accept it. She’s become obsessive.”
“Can you just repeat that,” I said, leaning forward.
“She won’t stop texting me…”
“No, not that bit, the bit about being happy with me.”
“Sophie, I love you.” He took hold of my hand. “Surely, you’ve never doubted me?” I began to cry, tears of relief.
“Oh, Jack, I’m sorry. I jumped to the wrong conclusions. I still feel insecure with you sometimes.”
“What am I going to do with you, Sophie? I’m so sorry if I make you feel like that.” He got up from his chair and came to my side of the table and gave me a hug. “What are you like?” he smiled then kissed me. I hadn’t lost my man.
“Perhaps, I should have a word with her?”
“I don’t know if that would be a good idea with your temper. I wouldn’t like it if you were arrested for fighting.”
“Jack, I’m not that bad. I could have a little word in her shell-like. I’d be happy to tell her to stay away.” I settled back in my seat. He smiled.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, the offer’s there, if nothing else works.”
“We’ll see. I wanted to let you know, but I didn’t want you getting angry with me. I’ve had to keep my phone off a lot of the time. That’s why I can’t always get back to you when you call.”
“Oh, Jack.” My face must have beamed with relief.
“I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”
“Of course. I feared the worst. Just tell her to sling her hook or she’ll have me to deal with.”
He smiled as the waitress arrived with our food.
Tucking into his pizza, he said, “Mm, this is good.” He licked his fingers after picking a slice up and popping half into his mouth. Once he finished chewing, he swallowed, and said, “It’s important that I am honest with you, Sophie. I don’t want us to have any secrets.”
I nodded, in agreement. How typical of me to get the wrong end of the stick. Hopefully, now I could put Caroline out of my head and learn to trust Jack enough to get on with his work.
Chapter 21
Jack
Sophie wanted to let the police know about how agitated Carmen was just before she died. I went with her to the station. We were put in an interview room and asked to wait. DS Colin Dobson entered the room with a colleague, and they introduced themselves. Dobson was older than I expected. His face was weather-beaten with a fine mesh of red thread veins around his nose. He was thick set with muscles bulging out of his sleeves. This man liked to work out, even at his age which I deduced from the grey hair was in his late fifties. His dark brown eyes bore into mine and I saw a fierceness and pride in them as he offered us a drink which we both declined. We sat opposite the two police officers and Dobson popped on a pair of glasses. He flicked through the file in front of him.
“So, how well did you know Carmen?” he asked. I could just detect a hint of a Liverpool accent.
“She was a drinker, so no doubt was used to getting battered and bruised. I mean, it goes with the territory and I should know,” I said. I was met with nods from an officer who I guessed had done his homework on me.
“We didn’t know her that well,” Sophie said. I looked at Sophie and let her continue. She explained our involvement and hinted at her concerns over Carmen’s wellbeing prior to her death. I waited for Sophie to finish, then I continued. “I don’t know if she was an informant of yours, but it seems she knew something, enough to make her frightened. Whatever it was, she had obviously been in touch with someone and was regretting it.” The two police officers looked at each other.
“Had Carmen seemed different than usual when you last saw her, Jack?” Dobson asked.
“I couldn’t say with any conviction. I hadn’t known her long enough. She was of a nervous disposition but then so are most alkies in need of a drink.” I shrugged my shoulders and raised my hands in the air.
“Yes, well thank you for that, Jack. You know from the results of the post-mortem, she probably wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.”
“Oh?”
“She had severe alcoholic hepatitis and advanced cirrhosis of the liver. I’ve little sympathy for a woman who abused her children.” I was about to intervene, but he continued. “She may not have abused them physically, but they were neglected. The young kid, Jonathan was dropped off at school every morning by his sister, Jade and when she wasn’t about, the poor blighter never went in and Social Services weren’t aware of it.” He held his hands up in the air. “It makes you wonder what they do with their time.” Sophie asked for a drink of water. I could tell from her facial expression, she’d had enough of Dobson’s lecture from the moral high ground. Her interruption stopped him his tracks. “Anyway, that’s all by the by. We investigate every case, irrespective of our personal feelings and no, I know no one deserves to die and be left the way Carmen was.” Sophie finished giving the details relating to everything she knew about Carmen. Dobson turned to face me. “So, Jack, I believe you have been investigating the Duggan brothers. What do you know about them?”
“Enough to give them a wide berth when I can. I went to school with Dom We go back a long way. He was a shady character, even back then. His temper got him into a lot of trouble. Dirk was the brainier one, but both were a few sandwiches short of a picnic.” He nodded and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs.
“What do you know about their business dealings?”
“I’ve been doing surveillance work at a couple of their properties. It’s difficult to do more being a one-man band.”
“Tell me about it. With our resources, we don’t have the funds to put men out
there in the field.”
“The case I’m working on at the moment, I’m convinced they’re behind Louie’s disappearance.” He pushed his glasses up over the bridge of his nose.
“They seem to have their dirty little fingers in lots of different pies.”
“Yeah, and they’re friends with some unsavoury characters.” I looked across at the detective, my eyes narrowed. “But you lot don’t think they had anything to do with Carmen’s death?” The officers looked at each other.
“Billy’s been charged with that one. We’re happy we got the right man,” Dobson said.
“Oh?” PIs didn’t always have the best relationship with the police. I was surprised at how candid he was. Sometimes I came unstuck, stepping over the line, but I tried to keep the police sweet and passed on any info I had. It didn’t always work that I got anything back. I was keen to build relationships with them. There were people working there who still had respect for me.
“Do you have any witnesses?” I asked.
“Yeah, a retired fireman came forward and said he cycled along the path at around 11.30 pm. He came from the west end of the path, going eastwards when he thought he heard a noise like strangling sounds. He thought the sounds came from behind the wall. At the time, he guessed it was a fox. A middle-aged couple walked their dog at a similar time, but they neither heard nor saw anything.” I nodded.
Sophie left the room to use the toilet. The police officer seemed happy continuing talking about the case. I was surprised and pleased at him passing this information onto me. It wouldn’t help my case though. He told me about Carmen’s injuries. He said it was a prolonged attack and the instrument used must have been blunt. There were signs of a sharp-pointed weapon being used on her both before and after death. He said there were a series of incisions across her neck, deep enough to cut through her neck muscles as well as her jugular vein, windpipe and carotid artery. The forensics expert told him that cutting the carotid artery would have caused unconsciousness within a few seconds, followed by death within minutes. He said the pathologist confirmed that this caused the death. He tapped his pen and looked at me.
“There were a dozen cuts to the neck, extensive facial injuries. These matched injuries consistent with being punched or kicked. It was possible that another instrument was used to cause blows to the head and body. One blow had caused contusion to the brain. She was strangled with the use of her clothing as a ligature to cause asphyxiation.”
“There were deep cuts to her eyes and inside her mouth. More deep cuts were found on her breasts, arms and abdomen but these were inflicted after death. Her hands and arms were bruised indicating that she tried to defend herself. Even though her body was naked, there were no signs of sexual assault. The pathologist said it was the worst case of a frenzied attack he had dealt with. It was concluded that because there was no sign of a struggle by the outer wall area that she probably knew her assailant. She probably went through the gap in the wall voluntarily.” He looked up from his notes and stared at me. This man liked to talk. It was as though he had forgotten I was there and was deep in thought.
“The lads haven’t found the murder weapon yet, but they live in hope and we’ve still a long way to go with forensics, of course,” his colleague said.
My thoughts were disturbed when I was asked again about my involvement with Billy. I repeated how I met Carmen and Jade and told him the little I knew about them. I didn’t know Billy so couldn’t comment on their relationship.
I was shocked that the police had charged Billy, and they didn’t suspect the Duggans.
“So, did Dom Duggan have an alibi for when Carmen was murdered?” DS Dobson looked stern. His cheeks reddened.
“His wife, Maggie said he was with her all night.”
“Very convenient,” I muttered. The interview ended. Sophie returned and we left the building. Walking down the steps, I asked Sophie what she made of it. She wasn’t impressed with DS Colin Dobson.
“I could tell that from the faces you pulled.” I laughed. “You know, the police may not suspect the Duggans of any connection to Carmen’s killing, but hopefully they are keeping an eye on them for their other escapades. I would hope they know more than we do to charge Billy. I don’t have a lot of confidence in them though. Last week when I was watching one of the properties the brothers were involved with, I spotted the police surveillance vehicle. It wasn’t hard to tell who they were. In fact, a school kid would have known who it was sitting there. They stuck out like a sore thumb. They looked right idiots in their suits, trying to appear tough. I left when I saw them. I knew nothing would happen with them hanging around.” I put my arm around Sophie’s shoulder. “The police might need our help on this case more than they realise.”
Chapter 22
Jack
Walking up the path, the stench from the bins hit my nostrils. I glanced at the ever-present dimp ends on the ground by the front door as I pressed the bell. A dishevelled looking Jade wearing a thin satin dressing gown answered. Her skin looked pale.
“Morning Jade. I’ve not woken you, have I?” She didn’t answer but stood with her arm holding the door. “Are you letting me in?” She pushed the door wider and turned and walked into the kitchen without a word. I followed her. “Do you want a cuppa?”
“We’ve no milk,” Jade said, sitting down at the kitchen table. I walked over to the fridge and peered inside. An open pizza box lay on the middle shelf with the remnants of a pepperoni pizza. Two tomatoes sat on the bottom shelf and a solitary egg was in the top compartment of the door.
“Are you looking after yourself properly, Jade?” I asked.
“I’m getting by.”
“Yeah, I see that,” I nodded. “You’ve not been on the brown again, have you?”
“I’m not a smackhead, you know.”
“Right. Have you got any tea bags? I can nip next-door and borrow some milk.”
“There’s some in the cupboard.” I opened the cupboard door that she pointed to. There was a box of cereal, a tin of beans and half a packet of sugar. I checked through the rest of the kitchen. There was no other food anywhere.
“Come on, get dressed. I’ll treat you to breakfast.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“You look in need of a good meal. Get your skates on.” Jade scowled at me and walked out of the kitchen. She left me to have a mooch around. I didn’t find anything of interest.
Fifteen minutes later we were in my car making our way into Bury town centre. We parked up, and I took her to the Polish café I liked to frequent. It was market day, so it was busy with people rushing around. We weaved past the elderly ladies with shopping trolleys and young mothers with buggies and small children in tow. I knew Jade would want a fag, and it was just about warm enough to sit outside. We found a table in the corner and sat waiting for our order to arrive.
I watched Jade as she lit up a half-used ciggie. She was dressed in her customary tracksuit and trainers. She gazed out at the shoppers. Close up, her skin looked older than her years. A large woman wearing a turquoise raincoat shuffled along the barrier of the café. Holding onto the rail, she moved in towards Jade.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your mam, Jade. You’ll let me know when the funeral is, won’t you love?”
“Course I will, Betty.” She gave me the once over.
“Is this your bloke, Jade?” She asked, smiling.
“Is it ‘eckers like, Betty. He’s far too old for me.” She gave a playful grimace. That remark hadn’t gone unnoticed. Too old, indeed. I was in the same class as Dom at school. How come he wasn’t too old?
“Oh well, not to worry, only he looks a good catch, know what I mean?” She winked and smiled at me. I shook my head, laughing.
She toddled off and Jade turned to me.
“Sorry about that. She’s a nosey cow, and I didn’t want to tell her your business.”
“I wouldn’t have minded if you’d lied about fancying me.”
“Don�
�t worry, you’re not my type.” My face turned serious.
“How’s your little brother doing?”
“He’s okay.” Jade turned away.
“You know you can still apply to be his guardian. If you get yourself straightened out and steer clear of Dom, you could look after him. I’m sure he’d prefer that than living with a stranger.”
“I think we both know I’m not capable of looking after anyone. Social Services would never allow it. It’s not going to happen, Jack.”
“I wouldn’t rule it out. Have a think about it, eh?”
“Nah, he’s better off as far away from me as possible.”
“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself and spare a thought for the poor little mite.”
“Just leave me alone will you,” she shouted. Heads turned and looked at us.
“Whoa, I’m only trying to help,” I said, showing the palms of my hands in a stop sign. I mustered up a smile.
“Stop acting as if you’re my dad.” I laughed at the very idea.
“Do you ever see your dad?” I asked. She turned to me and frowned.
“Don’t be stupid.”
“I didn’t know that was a stupid question.”
“Are you joking?” I noted a tone of belligerence.
“Sorry, have I said something wrong?”
“I don’t talk about him.”
“Why’s that then?” Jade glared at me. She didn’t seem keen to expand. “Look, whatever it is, it won’t shock me. I’ve seen and heard it all before.” Jade gave a miserable shrug, and the waitress arrived with our food. Tucking into my bacon sandwich, I waited for a response from Jade. She had ordered the same as me and had a mouthful of food. The soft freshly baked bread overflowed with slices of crispy bacon. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to savour the taste. “Oh, this tastes so good,” I drooled. I spotted a hint of a smile on Jade’s face. “So, when did your dad leave you?”
“He walked out five years ago, but it was good riddance as far as I was concerned. Those two should never have got together.”