by Sam Speed
Many of the visitors started to leave, but that wasn't an option for the other patients. So, I borrowed a wheelchair and encouraged the man's daughter to take him down the cafe. I even told her she didn't have to hurry back for the end of visiting but to take as long as she liked. It was almost a week before the volunteers at the cafe would speak to me again. We are all grateful she hasn't been back since.'
'Wouldn't it be better to give him his own room?'
'It would be better for the other patients, but we have to consider his needs as well. He has no visitors and if he was in a single room, he'd have no-one to talk to. At least in the ward, he can talk to the other patients and sometimes their visitors.
'Besides, if you put him in a room on his own he'd be calling you all the time out of sheer loneliness.'
I'd forgotten that Jean could read my mind.
'Let's go for a coffee after work,' said Jean.
Jean chuckled away as she left to get back to work and I went to tell Mr McPherson that he had no visitors yet again.
Before my shift ended I was called back down to the trauma ward. Detectives White and Black were there.
'How appropriate it's you,' I said. 'Maybe now you will believe us that Yvette's death was murder. Christine was obviously murdered because she was investigating.'
DI Black shot me a look that was more poisonous than the baneberries Yvette ate.
'The cause of death has not been established. But in the meantime, we will be treating the room as a crime scene.'
Wise for once, I refrained from pointing out that was obvious from the blue and yellow crime scene tape all over the door. When I start saying the worst of my thoughts out loud, I'll know I've turned into my mother.
'Once the cause of death is established, we may require you to come down to the station to make a formal statement. For now, we would appreciate it if you would keep any information you have, or think you have, quiet.'
He could appreciate all he wanted but I was not about to let him tell me what I could or couldn't do. Besides, the hospital was one giant grapevine. The news would be all around the place by the end of today.
Jean and I met down in the hospital volunteer cafe. It was such a relief to meet with her after my run in with the bold detective. I sat nursing my cappuccino and delicately munching a cream scone. I smiled as I watched Jean licking the cream from the outside of her scone with the tip of her tongue. She looked so cute.
'Everyone's talking about Christine's murder,' Jean said. 'They think it hilarious that the big important consultant couldn't figure out what happened and you did.'
'Detective Wonderful is not admitting it's murder yet,' I said, 'but I've seen that mark too often from bike spoke murders in Africa to have any doubts.'
'The gangs in America use that method as well. Did you manage to speak to Christine before she was killed?' Jean asked me.
'No, I didn't, but I guess we can knock her off the list as our main suspect,' I said. 'I wouldn't be surprised if Detective Mikey has me as his number one.'
'He'd love to do that.'
'It does seem to be dangerous to know me,' I said with a laugh.
'If the police call you in,' Jean said earnestly, 'take a solicitor with you.'
'What? I've got nothing to hide. I'm just a witness and not even that.'
'Possibly. But I know how twisted they can be.' From the bitterness in her voice, she knew from personal experience how much. 'At least if they caution you or say they are going to record the interview, then tell them you want a lawyer.'
'Ok thanks.'
We chatted for quite a while. I found myself watching with a warm feeling the way her mouth curled up at one side and her right eyebrow seemed to have a mind of its own.
As we left the building Wendy White was leaving as well. She frowned when she saw Jean and me together.
'Well it didn't take you long,' she said to Jean.
'You've a nerve to talk,' Jean replied. 'Anyway, it wasn't my idea to split up.'
'I can tell you're heartbroken.'
I blushed as I realised what this was all about and what Wendy presumed about my relationship with Jean. Still, would that be such a bad thing? She had a wicked sense of humour and there was that cute smile. It's not like I could ever hope to have my one true love.
'I'd better go,' I said.
'No wait,' said Jean. 'I want to talk to you.'
We walked over to my car together.
Once out of earshot she put her hand on my arm.
'I'm sorry you had to witness that.'
'No problem.'
'Well, now you know. Would you like to go out?'
There it was. All those years I had covered it up and now it was out in the open. I took a deep breath.
'Yes,' I'd actually said it. 'But I need to talk to Dawn first.'
'You mean she doesn't know? You've been friends for so long and she has no idea?'
'I was worried it would spoil our friendship.'
'Especially when you are in love with her.'
I started and stared at Jean.
'Is it so obvious?'
'Probably only to me. You do know she's straight?'
'Oh yes,' I sighed. 'Why would you want to go out with me when you know?'
'I can work on it. Dawn is unobtainable. You might find you prefer the company of someone who's not.'
'Let's go for a drink after Thursday's class. I'll tell Dawn before it starts.'
'Done.'
When I got to the community centre on Thursday, Dawn was not her usual chirpy self.
'What's wrong?'
'Michael says they are re-opening Yvette's case and we can't go out anymore. He got into trouble for closing it too soon. He's worried they will have to bring in an Major Investigation Team. I get the impression he blames you for the whole thing. I wish you two would try to get on.'
Damn. This would not make it any easier to give her my news.
'Don't worry. They'll soon sort it and you can go out again.'
'Maybe. Do you fancy going out after class? I could do with a night out.'
'Sorry, I'm going out with Jean.'
Dawn looked confused. 'You're going out with Jean on your own? Without me? Is this because I've been too tied up with the class? Is Jean your new BFF?'
'Don't be daft. You are my best friend and always will be. If Jean and I were going out as friends, of course, we'd expect you to come. But we are not exactly going out as friends.'
'I don't understand. If you're not friends with her why would you go out with her?'
Dawn could be a bit slow on the uptake at times.
'We're going out as more than friends.'
I swear I could see another light bulb ping on over Dawn's head.
'Oh my god you mean? Why on earth haven't you told me before? I thought I knew everything about you. You certainly know everything about me. And all those times I tried to fix you up with men. You must have thought me an idiot.'
'I don't think you're an idiot. I chose not to let you know because I was afraid it would affect our friendship. And that means more to me than anything else in the world.'
We hugged each other but I couldn't help noticing that Dawn broke off the hug more quickly than usual.
The class was quite subdued that night. I can only say is that if we had been cave women we'd all have starved to death. Everyone had heard about Christine. Sheila couldn't stop crying. She felt so awful that tripping over her bike had led to Christine's death. I kept my reservations about that to myself.
Rambling Lisa
After a couple of drinks, Jean and I were feeling much more relaxed. I'd left my car at home for once, so I could have a glass or two of wine. Since walking was exercise, going out for a drink was actually good for me. It was good for the environment too. I was such a saint for doing this.
'Are you working tomorrow?' Jean asked.
'No, I'm off until Sunday.'
'Want to come on a foraging ramble?'
> I could think of more romantic things to do, but I liked that Jean was taking things slowly with me.
'Why not?'
She smiled.
We met the next day in a village not far from Kilmarrick. Half way up a side road was the entrance to a walking/bicycle path created from an old disused railway line. Thankfully it was a warm sunny day. A change from the recent rain.
'I hope you brought your camera,' Jean said. 'I've heard the wildlife along here is amazing.'
'My phone has a camera,' I said, refraining from saying that it would not be taking pictures of wildlife.
I thought Jean would be taking a class, but it was only the two of us.
'I've not used this path before. I want to try it out before bringing a class here.'
Jean was carrying a rather large backpack and I worried about how much foraging she thought we were going to get done. We wandered along the path with Jean pointing out berries and edible mushrooms. Like I was ever going to risk eating them. Despite my lack of interest in walking or wildlife, I enjoyed Jean's enthusiasm. She often stopped to pick some berries or nuts or to admire a colourful dragonfly.
'Look, look.'
To the side of us was a field of long grass, with a rain-formed natural pond. The morning sun warmed the water, creating tendrils of mist, looking like a scene from the distant past. All it needed were some of Dawn's dinosaurs to complete the effect. Beyond the water, weeds and wildflowers flourished and bushes mingled with the edge of a wooded area.
A small reddish-brown deer, a roe deer Jean told me, not much more than the size of a large dog left the cover of the trees. The legs were long and thin. Her ears were large and constantly on the move as she looked all around her. Then shortly after, bouncing along behind her, came two smaller versions. They came down to the pond to drink. The mother glanced around frequently, but it seemed to be more cautious than nervous. I had to admit they were cute, and I might even have taken a photo or two.
We came to a patch of grass, remarkably dry, and Jean said we would pause for a bit to eat.
'I'm not hungry,' I said hastily.
Jean laughed. 'Don't worry, you won't have to eat what I've foraged. I don't think I've got you to that stage yet.'
She started unpacking her backpack and produced an amazing number of objects. It was like watching a magician's hat. First was a blanket to sit on, and then came a hamper with real plates and glasses and an assortment of finger foods. The wine she brought was, unfortunately, alcohol-free, because we were both driving.
We spent some time there enjoying the sound of bird song and each other's company. The heat from the sun made us feel drowsy. I could have sat there all day relaxing, but Jean was not one for sitting still and she soon started to pack up the dishes. As we cleared up, kneeling beside each other on the blanket, my fingers brushed against Jean's. I caught my breath as I saw her looking at me, as though waiting for permission. Hesitantly, I started to move towards her. Our lips were nearly touching when a bike rider shot past. He called a cheery hello and shot through a puddle sending up a fountain of water that covered us both in cold muddy water.
Jean laughed and I found myself joining in. Despite being muddy, wet and rather cold, I enjoyed the brisk walk back to our cars. We chatted and laughed and I decided I wanted to see more of Jean.
'Why don't we go back to mine? I'll get your clothes washed and dried, you can have a shower and we can go over Yvette's notebook again?' I suggested.
I could see in Jean's eyes she hoped this was more than a polite invitation to get her clothes laundered. But I was more interested in solving the murders before Detective Mike. At least that's what I told myself.
He thought he could make me keep my nose out of the investigation. As if I'd let that overbearing love child tell me what to do.
Snowball was not happy with the noise and laughter in her normally quiet home. She showed her disapproval by perching on top of the bookcase, doing her sphinx imitation and looking down at us with big green eyes wide open. Jean went for a shower and threw her dirty clothes out of the bathroom for me. I tossed in a towelling bathrobe for her to wear.
After she came out I had a shower and we sat down with the copy of Yvette's notebook, now much tidier thanks to Jean. We were both taking things slowly as we were a bit unsure of where this was going. We need not have worried because we hadn't even started looking at the notes when there was a loud insistent knock at my door. When I opened it Detectives Black and White were standing there.
'Lisa Cameron we'd like you to accompany us to the police station to help us with our enquiries into the deaths of Yvette Wright and Christine Murray.'
DI Black did not sound as though this was going to be a nice informal chat.
I glanced at Wendy for support but saw her glaring behind me as Jean came up and breathed in my ear.
'Remember what I said.'
'Do I need a lawyer?' I asked feeling rather stupid at asking. How could I?
'There's no need for that,' said DI Black moderating his tone to slightly less intimidating, 'it's an informal chat.'
'I'll come as well,' said Jean.
'I'm afraid that's not possible,' said Wendy scowling at Jean.
I dressed and could feel the eyes of my neighbours on me as I was led out to the police car. As soon as we were away they would be out there enjoying the excitement and gossip about what I could have done. I'm sure quite a few of them would be enjoying this, having been censured by me in the past for bad behaviour.
Before long I was at the police station in a small room which held only a plain table and four hard chairs. The detectives sat on the opposite side of the table.
'We're going to record this interview so nothing gets forgotten,' said DI Black.
It sounded so reasonable until I heard his next words.
'You do not have to say anything. But anything you do say may be noted in evidence. Do you understand what I said?'
'Of course, I understand it. I'm not an idiot. I just don't understand why you said it or why you're recording it. You told me this was going to be an informal talk and I'd nothing to worry about.'
'This is only a technicality in case you say anything we can use in court.'
His tone reminded me of my father when he was annoyed at me.
'The wording you used was "it may harm your defence". If I am here as a witness why would I need a defence? I want a lawyer and I want a phone call to find one.'
DI Black turned off the recorder with a sigh. He visibly controlled his temper.
'You can organise a lawyer if you think you need one. We can if necessary provide a court appointed one. But it will take forever to get one here. Do you really want to wait that long?'
I kept quiet. I was taking Jean's warning not to say anything very seriously.
'I'll go and rustle up some coffee for us all,' he said. 'DC White can explain the procedure to you.'
I expected Wendy to start the good cop bit as soon as he left the room. Instead, she sat silent, with a frown on her face staring above my head.
'It wasn't what it looked like,' I said.
'What wasn't?'
So, we were going to play it that way.
'Jean and me. Our clothes got soaked when we were out foraging. We took them off so I could wash them.'
'Oh,' her tone suggested she was not convinced.
'Nothing happened.'
'It's not my business.'
'That's right.'
If DI Black expected to come back and find me pouring out my heart to Wendy, he was disappointed. When he came in, we were sitting in hostile silence.
The coffee was instant, but at least it wasn't out of a machine. I noticed he left the recorder off.
'Let's try again,' he said. 'You are not, at present, considered a suspect. You are a material witness having been present at Miss Wright's death and shortly before Mrs Murray's. Should your status change at any time, I will re-read the caution.'
The rest of the inte
rview went smoothly although I had little to tell them. They made me go over and over the day of Yvette's death. Had I seen anyone near the berry salad? How soon had I noticed Yvette looking ill? What had happened then? Did I notice anything about how other people reacted?
Then they took a note of everyone I had seen visiting Christine. And they wanted any details I could remember of the gang killings I'd seen in Africa. I pointed out the method was also used in America. They noted my comment about the figure I didn't quite see outside the trauma ward but didn't seem to take it seriously. DI Black did the talking, with Wendy keeping her mouth shut. Tight shut.
By the time I got home Jean had dressed and left my flat. She'd left my half of the washing on top of the tumble drier and Snowball was curled up on it purring. She raised a sleepy head to look at me as I scratched under her chin then tucked it under her paw. Enough with the touching. I'm trying to sleep.
Saturday was the second day of my weekend and I was back to work the next day. I decided to laze about with Snowball for company. Snowball loved it when I stayed in bed. I tried to encouraged her to sleep in the spare room. When I had a twelve-hour shift the next day, I needed to be sure of getting as much sleep as possible. But when I had a long lie, she would curl up between me and my book or my laptop, rumbling away for hours at a time.
So, she was not amused when the doorbell rang and I disturbed her by getting up to answer it.
To my surprise, Wendy White stood outside.
'I'm not disturbing you, am I?' she said checking out my nightclothes.
'No. Lazy day. No sidekick today?'
'I'm not here officially.'
'You'd better come in then.'
Wendy looked embarrassed.
'I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I wasn't professional.'
'I see.' I wondered what sort of trick her Inspector had put her up to.
'No really. I'm afraid I was jealous seeing you with Jean.'
'I told you nothing happened. If you still have a thing about Jean just tell her.'
'It's not that. I broke it off with Jean. My sexual preferences can't officially affect my career. But if they found out I would never be 'quite right' for promotion. I made the mistake of putting my career first. It did hurt a bit how quickly she got over me. But I was jealous because she asked you out before I had a chance.'