Scorned

by Denver Murphy

  Which also brought Kate onto her other concern. Donna. She had no idea how the woman was going to react to Scott’s murder and there was a very real possibility that, in her grief, she may look to visit. It was one thing putting on an act for the police; Kate didn’t know them, but it would be another matter entirely if that slut sought to confess to her sins. Not only would Kate have to pretend the revelation came as a complete shock to her, but she would also have to bury all the hatred and anger deep inside her. As hard as it would be to not tear the face off the woman who sought to steal away her Scott, the most important thing was not giving her any reason to suspect anything other than the official version of what had happened.

  Kate sighed. Killing Scott was meant to bring her an inner peace but the voices that both taunted and guided her in equal measure were louder than ever, and there was much to still be achieved before Kate could consider herself home and free.

  When another hour passed without a knock at the door, Kate went to rouse her mother. Listening to her eulogise Scott had been unwelcome last night, but anything would prove a welcome distraction from wondering what the police were doing that was keeping them from wishing to speak to her.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ were her mother’s first words upon waking. ‘It took me a while to get to sleep last night and I…’

  ‘It’s okay, Mum,’ Kate replied flatly. ‘I just needed some company.’

  ‘Of course, of course,’ her mother said, swinging her legs out of bed. ‘You probably don’t feel any better today, perhaps worse even as everything starts to sink in, but I promise you that every day from here on things will get a little better.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Kate replied when all she really wanted to ask was how the fuck would her mum know what happens over time. Kate’s father hadn’t died; as far as they knew he was still shacked up with the woman he’d run off with nearly twenty years ago.

  ‘And I want you to leave everything to me,’ her mother continued. ‘I don’t know when they will release the body but I’ll sort out the funeral arrangements and anything else that needs taking care of; starting with informing your work of what’s happened and that you obviously won’t be in for some time.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum,’ Kate replied with a genuine smile. Other than life insurance she hadn’t even considered any elements of Scott’s passing that weren’t directly related to ensuring the finger of suspicion wasn’t pointed at her.

  ‘Okay then, no time like the present. Why don’t you put on the kettle whilst I get that first little job out of the way? Is it that same number you gave me in case I needed to get hold of you in an emergency?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kate replied, following her mother downstairs and diverting to the kitchen once the piece of paper she had written her contact details at work had been retrieved. She smiled as she reached into the cupboard to pick out two mugs. Perhaps there was an upside to Scott’s death she hadn’t considered whilst planning it. Despite her father’s behaviour, Kate’s mother remained a traditionalist and had very much seen her marriage to Scott as a transference of power. Accepting that Kate’s priorities lay elsewhere, she had backed off in a maternal sense, and their relationship over the last few years had been based purely on swapping information about their daily lives; a chore as far as Kate had been concerned, and especially in more recent times when she found herself having to lie more frequently to cover up how things were really going. Ironically it had been her mother who had inadvertently caused Kate to be suspicious of Scott’s increasingly late finishes at work. It may only have been a passing comment about how he never seemed to be around when Kate phoned but it had sown the seed that had ended up leading them here, and now that Scott was gone everything so far indicated that her mother was ready to take up the reins of caring for Kate again.

  ‘Oh hello, I’m calling up about my daughter,’ Kate could hear coming from the sitting room, and in that ridiculously put-on telephone voice her mother always adopted. ‘Yes, Kate Randall is the name. To whom am I speaking?’ A few moments of apparent silence. ‘I hate to appear rude but it is a very sensitive matter and should probably be left for someone more senior.’

  Kate winced as she imagined how pompous whichever receptionist had taken the call was finding this.

  ‘Ah, hello, is that Mr… Oh, okay, Mark it is. Hello, Mark, it’s Kate’s mother and I’m afraid to say…’

  In the pause that followed Kate wondered what had caused Mark to get in so early.

  ‘…my accident?’ Kate’s heart jumped into her throat and she dashed into the sitting room. ‘I’m not sure I follow, Mark, you see, the reason I…’

  Kate ripped the phone out of her mother’s hand. ‘Hi, Mark, it’s me, sorry about that. My mother is still a little sensitive about things. Listen, something awful has happened which means I can’t come into work today.’ She paused to compose herself, knowing that preventing Mark from finding out her mother hadn’t been ill would be futile if she then went on to speak of her husband’s death as if she were just passing on a message that the photocopier was jammed. ‘My… my…’

  ‘Jesus, Kate, what is it?’ Mark’s voice was the epitome of concern.

  ‘It’s Scott, he’s been… he’s been… murdered.’

  Kate could tell that the next couple of minutes were as awkward to Mark as they were to her. At least his stumbling around offering his condolences prevented her from having to say much more, even if she had been tempted to ask him how important his fucking tender document was now.

  As she put down the phone, she regarded her mother carefully, waiting to be asked for clarification on whatever Mark had said about an accident. She took the fact that nothing was coming as a sign that Mark may also have forgotten about that part of their exchange in what had followed.

  But rather than feel relieved, Kate took it as a warning sign that she needed to keep her wits about her; it might not be her ultimate act of deception that would come to trip her up but some of the other lies she had told along the way.

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  ‘You should consider yourself fortunate I’m not switching you out instead,’ Nelson said as they stood outside the interview room.

  ‘But, guv, I’ve got this handled. I got Taylor to spill the beans and I was this close to getting Lexie to confess too. Had it not been for…’

  ‘And that’s the problem,’ Nelson interrupted, fixing Ruby with a hard stare. ‘You don’t appreciate how much it changes things. I’m not saying that this girl is a picture of innocence but the big fish is still out there.’

  ‘You’ve got to admit that he’s got a point,’ Cooper interjected, seeming not in the least bothered about being cut from the interview. ‘You saw the way he fronted up to us yesterday and that trick he pulled at the airport suggests he’s the brains of the operation.’

  ‘If he’s so bloody smart, why would he go to all the effort of escaping just to come back to St. Albans?’

  ‘He got away with it didn’t he?’ Cooper replied sulkily.

  ‘Enough!’ Nelson declared. ‘You’ve already spoken to the other two this morning and they’ve clammed up tighter than a duck’s arse, so we need this girl to talk. One of them even indicated that she was the best person to speak to.’

  ‘Fine,’ Ruby sighed, deciding there was little point arguing any longer. As Nelson had said, at least she would still be in the interview and she could try her best to ensure he didn’t mess it up; of which there was every chance if Lexie was a smart as Ruby suspected she was.

  ‘You said you wanted to speak with me,’ Ruby said as soon as the formalities of resuming the interview had taken place, and before Nelson could take the lead.

  ‘Yes, I think I know where Jordan is,’ Lexie replied earnestly.

  ‘We think we know too,’ Nelson commented dryly.

  ‘Go on,’ Ruby prompted, ignoring the DCI.

  ‘And I don’t just mean him coming back to St. Albans…’

  Ruby fought to hide the shock on her face and c
ould tell from the way Nelson had shifted his body that he had also been taken aback by this claim. ‘Why would he come back to St. Albans?’

  ‘Even though he took everything… well, apart from that necklace we spoke about yesterday, he said it wouldn’t be enough to just disappear. He said it would be different if we could get a flight abroad; we could use what little we had to get started up somewhere. Use it to get a few months’ rent on a bar or something.’

  ‘You mean to tell me that all those jobs weren’t enough to get you what you needed?’ Ruby asked, the scepticism evident in her tone.

  Lexie was looking confused for a moment. ‘Not us; him,’ she corrected eventually. ‘I tried to tell you yesterday that he was obsessed with money and was prepared to do whatever it took to get it. He was just using us, each in his own way.’

  ‘I thought you told me that Taylor and Cole were in on it… All that stuff about you having to pay for the rent…’ Ruby queried.

  ‘All that stuff is true,’ Lexie responded bitterly. ‘But what I said was that I didn’t know if Cole and Taylor were being forced into carrying out the burglaries.’

  ‘Let’s not downplay what happened,’ Ruby chided. ‘They stopped being just burglaries; they were cold blooded murder!’

  ‘I told you, we had nothing to do with any of that. Jordan was the one who killed those people.’

  ‘Don’t give me that!’ Ruby shouted, leaning forward menacingly. ‘Whilst he was dealing with the man downstairs, someone else had to be checking the rest of the house for other occupants, and on two instances—’

  ‘You’ll have to ask Cole about that!’ Lexie pleaded. ‘But what I do know is that Jordan was the one to finish them off. He insisted on it!’

  Ruby could sense that Nelson was itching to speak, and she placed a hand on the table in front of him in a gesture she hoped would see him back off for a while. ‘You can’t have it both ways, Lexie; if he needed you all so badly, how could he have carried out another attack with you lot in police custody?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Lexie said, shrugging. ‘But I think he may have been running with another gang too. He probably needed their help to get back from Luton and then they helped him…’

  ‘Ah, come on, this is such bullshit!’ Ruby declared forcefully. ‘Now we’ve got another gang led by Jordan still running around!’

  ‘That’s enough!’ Nelson said, removing Ruby’s hand from in front of him. ‘We need to get back to the key point in all this.’

  ‘But, guv, this is the point!’ Ruby protested loudly. ‘This woman is just gathering up all the little pieces and putting them together into whatever makes the nicest story. There is no other gang, and I know this because the woman yesterday wouldn’t have made it into the loft if he’d had others checking the house for him.’

  Ruby waited, with her head flicking between Lexie and Nelson; the silence oppressive. She could see the concern in Lexie’s eyes, but she could also tell from Nelson’s expression that he wasn’t digesting what she was getting at. She opened her mouth to try again but his sudden lean forward stopped her.

  ‘Interview suspended,’ he said coldly, switching off the recorder. ‘DC Knight, would you step outside for a moment?’

  Although livid, Ruby accepted she had little choice but to comply.

  ‘I blame myself,’ Nelson said disarmingly once they were stood outside. ‘I knew it would have been better to take Cooper in with me, but I just hoped that if you could see first-hand how these things are meant to be conducted then you might settle down a bit in future.’

  ‘Jesus, guv, I’m only trying to find out the truth in there!’

  ‘No, Ruby, what you are doing is arguing the toss over every point here; further proof that you have lost sight of the big picture in all this. That girl was about to tell us where Jordan is and, you’ve not only diverted her from that, but you’ve made her think that doing so would be entirely pointless.’

  ‘But, guv…’

  ‘But nothing! I’m not saying all this other stuff you’re talking about can’t be picked through later but for now we need to focus on catching Jordan.’

  ‘Fine,’ Ruby huffed, moving back towards the door.

  ‘I wish it was,’ Nelson said, blocking her path. ‘I want you to go and fetch Cooper.’

  ‘What?!’ Ruby couldn’t believe her ears.

  ‘I’m redeploying you, DC Knight. Whilst Cooper and I carry on with the interviews here you’re to go and get a statement from that woman last night.’ He held up his hand to indicate that he hadn’t finished. ‘And before you think of a response, I would like to remind you who it is you’re speaking to.’

  Ruby glared defiantly at DCI Nelson for a few moments before stalking off, her hands balled into fists.

  Chapter Sixty

  The relief at finally seeing a car pull up outside her mother’s house was short-lived when she saw who stepped out of it. Along with a uniformed officer was the detective from yesterday, DC Knight, and she had a face like thunder.

  ‘Mum, they’re here. Go and wait upstairs.’

  ‘I thought I might fix them some tea,’ Kate’s mother replied, heading towards the kitchen instead.

  ‘They’re not here to drink tea,’ Kate hissed.

  ‘Look, love, I know it is incredibly hard to talk to them about what happened, but you need to remember that they’re on your side.’

  ‘Fine then! Just keep out of the way as soon as you’ve finished being the good little host.’ Kate marched towards the front door but then paused. Would not making them have to ring the doorbell start things on the right foot or would it make her seem too keen? Everything was such a fucking minefield and she silently cursed Scott for forcing her into such a difficult position.

  ‘Hello,’ she said simply, opening the front door after counting to five following the first knock.

  ‘May we come in?’ DC Knight enquired, already stepping through the threshold. ‘This is PC Ramsey but he’s just here for the sake of protocol.’

  ‘My mother wants to know if you would like some tea,’ Kate said by way of a response, leading them through into the sitting room.

  ‘Sure,’ DC Knight replied unenthusiastically and taking a seat in one of the armchairs. ‘Why don’t you go help her with that, Ramsey?’ There was an awkward pause with the officer looking confused for a moment before sighing and heading into the kitchen.

  ‘How’s the investigation going?’ Kate asked.

  ‘It’s ongoing I’m afraid, and part of the reason why I’m here. We’ll need to get you into the station for a more formal statement at some point but I’m hoping the answers to a few questions may prove helpful.’

  ‘I’m not sure there’s much more I can tell you in addition to what I said last night. I didn’t see any of them.’ Kate hoped that saying as little as possible would reduce the chance of her making a mistake.

  ‘You say, them. How many intruders were there?’

  ‘Well it’s hard to say, I was in the loft as you know…’

  ‘Try.’ DC Knight’s tone was flat but her eyes were insistent.

  ‘Well, let’s see. I definitely heard two upstairs. Whether they were the only two or not I can’t say. Perhaps there were more downstairs.’

  ‘Definitely two upstairs?’

  ‘Aren’t you going to write this down or something?’ Kate asked.

  ‘If you wish,’ DC Knight replied, pulling out the seldom-used small notebook she’d been carrying for the past couple of months. ‘Let’s get back to the question, shall we?’

  ‘Well, yes I think it was two because…’

  ‘So not definitely two then?’ The notebook may have been open but DC Knight’s eyes had yet to leave Kate’s.

  ‘What I meant was there were at least two,’ she replied, conscious that she was beginning to wring her hands in a nervous gesture largely forgotten since childhood. ‘I could hear sounds from different parts of the upstairs.’

  ‘Like talking?’


  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You didn’t hear any of them communicating?’

  ‘Er, I don’t think so.’

  ‘No one calling out that rooms were clear or discussing the items they’d found?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘When did you go into the loft?’

  Kate found the sudden change of direction startling. ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I mean, when exactly did you go into the loft? DC Knight repeated, offering no further clarification.

  ‘Well, as soon as I heard what was happening downstairs.’

  ‘And what was that?’

  ‘Well, it was sounds of a disturbance.’

  ‘I’m going to need you to be more specific.’

  Kate was in two minds. Under normal circumstances she would have challenged this jumped up bitch long before now. She would have told her to slow down a fucking minute; her husband had just been killed and, as a consequence, it was understandable if she wasn’t thinking as clearly as she would otherwise. But Kate feared the repercussions of showing the detective any of the anger that was building up inside her.

  ‘Tea’s ready,’ Kate’s mother called cheerily, holding forth a tray with her best china as she entered the sitting room. PC Ramsey followed her, carrying the milk jug as though keen to show he was helping.

  Kate didn’t turn to greet her mother. She remained focused on DC Knight; intrigued by the look of contempt with which she welcomed the interruption. There was definitely something that wasn’t right here. Kate had first sensed it last night, and might even have put down the detective’s insensitive demeanour today as her simply being a heartless bitch, but in combination with the provocative questions alarm bells were starting to ring. There was something about the events of last night that didn’t add up for her but with her giving no clue as to what it was, Kate couldn’t mitigate against it and, worse still, might well be compounding whatever concern it was by her answers to the subsequent questions.