by D. S. Butler
Cressida seethed silently. Her body shook beneath Karen’s hands. But it wasn’t down to fear. It was fury.
‘And what about the polo shirt. The one on the roof. Did you plant that?’
Cressida was silent for so long that Karen started to think she wasn’t going to answer, but then she lifted her chin and gave Karen a mocking look. ‘You can’t prove anything. Maybe Ella did it. Maybe Ella needed a fall guy. You have to admit, it almost worked.’
‘A fall guy?’
Cressida’s smile widened. Karen shook her head as she studied the skin around Cressida’s fingernails. Though still red and inflamed, the skin had started to heal and was no longer bleeding. She thought back to when Ella had found the shirt . . . Just after Cressida had returned to Chidlow House, saying she had come because she wanted to help find Natasha. She’d been so believable. Her grief had seemed genuine. ‘You tried to frame Mike Harrington because it was you who killed Natasha.’
Sophie sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Why?’
‘Because she thought Natasha was going to ruin her life,’ Ella said quietly.
‘Shut up!’ Cressida spat, trying to pull away from Karen.
‘Lord Chidlow would have been a better scapegoat,’ Ella said with a sigh. ‘Lord Chidlow would have been more believable – easy to believe a sicko like that who recorded women getting undressed and showering could have killed a teenager.’
‘Hang on, you’ve lost me,’ Sophie said, staring at Cressida. ‘Why would you kill Natasha? She was your friend.’
‘She wasn’t my friend. She was an evil cow who was trying to ruin my life,’ Cressida said.
The raging energy had left her now, so Karen loosened her grip. Just a little though. She had started to believe the pretty blonde teenager in front of her was a psychopath.
Sophie shot a confused glance at Karen, then looked back at Cressida. ‘What did she do to you?’
‘She wanted to destroy my family. Her parents were a nightmare, and she was jealous of mine.’
‘So you killed her?’ Sophie looked dumbfounded.
‘I didn’t say that! If you’re trying to trick a confession out of me, it won’t work.’
‘We won’t need your confession, Cressida. Your blood is on Mike Harrington’s shirt that you planted on the roof. Did you think we wouldn’t check and find out it wasn’t Natasha’s blood?’
Cressida swallowed hard and hesitated before replying. ‘That’s because he hurt me. He killed Natasha. He would have killed me too if I hadn’t got away. I remember now.’
‘That’s not true,’ Karen said. ‘You planted the shirt.’
‘You can’t prove anything,’ Cressida said calmly.
They weren’t making any progress, so Karen tried another angle. ‘Where does Ethan Grayson fit into this?’
‘Ethan?’ Cressida scoffed. ‘Nowhere. He just followed instructions. All he did was play those stupid recordings on his phone when I told him to. He’d do anything I asked. He’s pathetic.’
‘You lured Ella here in order to kill her. You promised her money so she would turn up?’
‘No matter how hard you try, I’m not going to say anything to incriminate myself.’ Cressida rolled her eyes. ‘Although I will say Ella was supposed to meet me in the park. It’s quieter there.’ Her eyes glinted as she gave the other teenager a cruel smile.
Ella turned away, hugging her long wool coat around her.
Karen straightened and looked at Sophie. ‘Cressida killed Natasha because she found out she was having an affair with her father.’
‘You know about that?’ Cressida asked, the cold smile slipping from her lips.
‘We do. He’s in custody.’
‘Why?’
‘For the murder of Natasha Layton,’ Sophie said.
Cressida burst out with a high-pitched laugh, tinged with hysteria. ‘Oh, that’s just classic. Typical police. You couldn’t find your way out of a paper bag.’
‘But he didn’t murder Natasha, did he?’ Karen said. ‘You did.’
Cressida gave a sly smile. ‘Whatever I tell you now won’t be admissible. I’ll get an expensive lawyer, and they’ll get me off. It’s the way the system works.’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ Sophie snapped.
Cressida gave her a patronising look. ‘So naive,’ she said in a sing-song voice. ‘And to think you’re a police officer.’
‘So tell us what happened,’ Karen said.
‘No, you tell me what you think happened.’
‘All right,’ Karen agreed. ‘You were furious with Natasha. She was seeing your father behind your back. She lied to you. She was one of your closest friends, and she’d betrayed you like you meant nothing. So you lured her to the lake. You hit her over the head, put her in the boat and then threw her into the water.’
‘Close,’ Cressida said, tilting her head and nodding. ‘But if I’d killed her, I’d have waited until she got into the boat before I hit her. There’d be no point exerting myself unnecessarily.’
She laughed. It was sickening to watch her describe the murder as though it was an amusing memory.
Karen breathed a sigh of relief when she saw four uniformed police officers enter the alleyway.
‘They’ve sent four?’ Cressida said. ‘For little old me? I’m impressed.’
As one of the officers approached, Cressida spotted the taser in his hand.
She pulled back, yanking Karen’s arm. ‘They’d better not use that on me. I’m not resisting arrest. I swear I will sue you for everything you’re worth!’
‘Calm down. Nobody’s going to shock you if you just behave yourself,’ Karen said, handing Cressida over to the other officers.
‘I’m really glad to see you guys,’ Sophie said before she briefed the uniformed officers on the situation.
As they began to lead Cressida away from the alleyway, Karen put a hand on Ella’s shoulder. ‘Are you okay to walk?’
‘Um, yes. I think so. My legs feel a bit shaky, but I’m okay.’
They walked together. ‘How did you know about Natasha and Ryan Blake? Did she tell you?’
Ella shook her head. ‘I found out by accident. I was about to walk down the stairs on Tuesday evening before dinner and I saw Cressida peering through the banisters. She was spying on Natasha and Miss King.
‘I wondered why so I stopped and watched them. I overheard the conversation. Miss King saw Cressida’s father and Natasha together on Monday evening in Harmston. Miss King said she was going to tell Mr Doyle.’
Karen closed her eyes and took a breath. Alison King had discovered the affair, and unfortunately for her, Cressida was prepared to do anything to stop that becoming public.
Ella continued in a shaky voice. ‘Then Cressida sensed me behind her and turned. When she saw me watching her, she smiled. She said we were friends and I should keep the secret because that’s what friends did for each other. I . . . I wanted to believe her. I wanted to have a friend like Cressida. She’s so popular. Everything I’m not.’
‘That’s when she started giving you things to keep you quiet?’ Karen asked.
‘Yes, she told me they were gifts, and friends were supposed to give each other presents. It wasn’t really wrong. It’s not like I asked for the phone or the bracelet.’
Karen wasn’t that easily swayed. ‘But you came here today for money?’
Ella looked sheepish. ‘Yes.’
‘I hope that’s a lesson in what greed can do, Ella. If we hadn’t arrived when we did—’
Ella shuddered. ‘I know. I’ve been really stupid. I’m sorry.’
As things fell into place, Karen recalled the handwritten study notes she’d seen on Ella’s desk.
‘Did you write Natasha a note?’
‘A note?’
‘Yes, we found one in Natasha’s room that said “Somebody knows”.’
‘Oh, yes, that was me. I wanted to warn Natasha that Cressida knew, but didn’t want Cressida to find out, so I put the note und
er her door.’
‘Did you know what Cressida was planning to do?’
Ella’s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head.
Tourists and locals gaped as they walked to the police cars. Cressida scowled at everyone they passed.
Sophie helped Ella into one of the marked cars, and Karen walked over to the other car just as Cressida got into the back.
Karen put up a hand to stop the officer shutting the door and asked, ‘Miss King didn’t commit suicide, did she?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ A smile twitched at the corners of Cressida’s mouth.
‘She didn’t just fall from the roof.’
Cressida giggled, then leaned over to Karen and said in a whisper, ‘Well, just between you and me . . .’ She pulled an exaggerated sad face. ‘I was so confused about what was happening with my dad. I was so upset and had no one to talk to.’ Then the sad expression evaporated and she grinned.
Karen shuddered. It was scary the way Cressida could easily switch between moods. She was terrifyingly believable. She’d managed to fool them all.
‘You pushed Miss King off the roof,’ Karen said simply.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Cressida smiled with menace.
Karen swallowed her distaste, turned and gave the signal to the officer to close the door and take the teenager to Nettleham.
Then she walked to the other car, where Sophie was speaking to Ella.
‘Did you know what had happened to Natasha?’ Sophie asked.
Ella shrugged. ‘No. I thought maybe Mr Blake lost his temper and killed her. I thought that was why Cressida had disappeared too. Maybe she’d seen or suspected what he’d done and hid away for a while.’
Karen looked at Ella’s pale face as the teenager clutched her trembling hands together.
Ella Seaton had been way out of her depth. The silly girl had had a lucky escape.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
‘Do you want to fill me in?’ Morgan asked when he met Karen and Sophie in the custody suite.
‘I suspected Ella knew more than she was letting on,’ Karen said. ‘Rather than tell us what she knew, Ella used the information to her advantage, gaining a bracelet and a mobile phone. She was meeting Cressida today to receive another little gift. Money, this time. But Ella’s plan backfired. Cressida held a knife to her throat.’
‘Do you think she was just trying to scare her, to stop the blackmail?’
‘Possibly. But we saw a side of Cressida today that was very different to the young woman we’d previously seen.’
Morgan looked away for a moment, thinking. ‘So Ella was extorting her? And we really think Cressida killed Natasha?’
Karen nodded. ‘Looks that way.’
‘It’s hard to believe.’
‘Wait until you talk to her. She’s . . .’ Karen shook her head. ‘It’s hard to explain, but it’s like her carefully constructed façade has fallen away.’
‘So how did Ella find out what we couldn’t?’
‘She saw Cressida eavesdropping on Miss King when she was talking to Natasha about her relationship with Ryan Blake.’
Morgan frowned as Karen explained what she’d managed to piece together from Cressida and Ella’s stories.
When Karen finished talking, Morgan rubbed his hands over his face. ‘So we’re looking at a double murder?’
‘Yes – we are,’ Karen said.
‘She’s dangerous,’ Sophie said. ‘At first Cressida was content with buying Ella off, telling her that they were friends and friends kept each other’s secrets, that sort of thing. But when we found them today, I really thought Cressida was going to kill Ella.’
‘In the middle of Lincoln?’
‘Well, they were in an alleyway, but yes, there were people shopping within shouting distance. Cressida has no fear. She doesn’t think she’s going to be punished. She believes she’ll get away with everything.’
Morgan raised an eyebrow. ‘Not if we have anything to do with it.’
Later, Karen sat in the viewing room, watching Cressida Blake being interviewed by Morgan and Rick. Cressida sat between her solicitor and her father. As she was seventeen, Ryan Blake was permitted to be present during the questioning.
Superintendent Murray and Sophie were on either side of Karen, watching the screen.
‘It’s not going well, is it?’ Sophie said when Cressida refused to comment for the tenth time. ‘She won’t talk.’
‘We’ve still got the physical evidence,’ Karen said. ‘We have her DNA under Natasha’s fingernails.’
‘But look at her face. It’s like butter wouldn’t melt.’
Sophie was right. Cressida looked like an angel. Her freshly brushed blonde hair glimmered like a halo around her peaches-and-cream complexion. She looked sweet. Vulnerable. The perfect little actress, Karen thought.
They’d had the post-mortem results back now and knew that Natasha Layton had not been killed by the blow to her head. She’d drowned, which meant that when she went into the lake, she was still breathing. But with the sandbags tied around her waist, she didn’t stand a chance. Karen hoped she hadn’t regained consciousness.
Cressida’s solicitor began to read from a sheet of paper. He recited details of the psychologist’s report, describing Cressida’s mental crisis, which he said was brought on by extreme stress after her abduction.
Karen rolled her eyes. Cressida hadn’t been abducted. But by presenting their case this way, the solicitor was providing a reason for Cressida’s attack on Ella. No matter how good Cressida’s legal team was, they couldn’t deny Cressida had held a knife to Ella Seaton’s throat. Not when both Karen and Sophie had witnessed it.
Karen’s gaze fixed on the teenager. She kept her hands together on the table. A puzzled frown creased her forehead, and her eyes were wide as she glanced between her solicitor and Morgan. Anyone watching her without knowing the history of this case would be sure to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Not once had Cressida lost her temper during questioning. She’d kept up the innocent, little-girl-lost routine since her attack on Ella. She was so convincing.
Karen was glad Sophie had been with her when Cressida spilled her fury, otherwise she might have started to think she’d imagined it.
Superintendent Murray’s mobile rang. She spoke for a few moments, then sighed and hung up before turning to Karen. ‘That was the front desk. Jasmine Blake is here, demanding to know what’s going on. Would you mind coming with me, Karen?’
‘Not at all,’ Karen said, standing up.
They made their way to the front desk, where Mrs Blake was standing. The woman looked more dishevelled now than she had during the time Cressida was missing.
She wore an oversized, tan wool coat and a mustard scarf. Her usually smooth, gleaming hair looked greasy and tangled.
Jasmine slammed her palm hard against the surface of the desk, sending a pile of leaflets flying to the floor. ‘I demand to know what’s happening!’
She was shouting at the officer behind the desk. When he spotted the superintendent and Karen approaching, he gave them a relieved smile.
Jasmine turned to face them and pointed a finger at Karen. ‘You’ve destroyed my family. You’ve ruined our lives.’
‘I’m sorry you feel that way, Mrs Blake. Your husband has been released. He’s staying with your daughter during her questioning, but he’ll soon be able to collect his personal possessions, and you’ll be able to take him home.’
She looked incredulously at Karen. ‘I don’t want to take him home. I want to know what you’re doing with my daughter. You were supposed to help her. She was the victim.’
Karen shook her head slowly. ‘No, Mrs Blake. Cressida was never the victim.’
Jasmine’s face crumpled, and Karen wasn’t sure whether she was about to cry or become violent.
‘Why don’t you come to the visitors’ room? You can wait for your husband there,’ Superintendent Murray said.
Jasmine shook her head, gripping the front of the desk. ‘This isn’t fair. You’ve got it wrong.’
‘No, I don’t think we have,’ Karen said softly. ‘We’re interviewing Cressida now. She’s safe. Her solicitor is with her, as well as her father.’
She looked at Karen with hatred. ‘How could you do this to her? She’s just a child.’
Karen looked into her eyes. Had this woman lived with Cressida all this time and not realised? Had Cressida’s evil not once broken the surface? Did she believe that the front Cressida showed to the world was the true version of her daughter? Karen found it hard to believe that in seventeen years there had been no hint of the wickedness lurking beneath the surface.
Jasmine broke eye contact and looked down at the floor, smothering a sob.
The woman knew the truth. It just hurt her too much to admit it.
The following week, there was an odd mood among the team. Though the evidence they’d gathered was strong, and they were reasonably confident of a conviction, Cressida had been assessed by an independent psychiatrist and it appeared she would plead diminished responsibility.
Karen was polishing off some paperwork when she got a call from Superintendent Murray, asking Karen to come to her office.
She entered and saw Chief Constable John Grayson.
Grayson smiled. ‘Ah, DS Hart. I’d like to congratulate you. I was very impressed by your and DI Morgan’s work on this case. It was certainly not a straightforward investigation.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Have a seat, Karen,’ Superintendent Murray said warmly, and Karen took the chair beside the chief constable.
‘How’s Ethan, sir?’
Grayson frowned. ‘Subdued. It was a harsh lesson for him.’
‘He wanted to fit in, to impress them.’
Grayson nodded. ‘He thought they were everything he wasn’t. Popular, happy. He had no idea what Cressida Blake was really like. A lesson for us all in there somewhere, I think.’
‘The chief constable has some good news related to the corruption investigation,’ the superintendent said.
Karen felt a spark of hope. ‘You do?’