Dinosaur Diet

by Sam Speed

  She gave me a look as if to say, 'Who me?' Then sat down and proceeded to give herself a thorough wash.

  Wendy Rebels

  After breakfast, Snowball decided to go out and do her rounds. Jean and I washed up together. We laughed as we worked and I found myself enjoying how company could make the most mundane of tasks more fun.

  Back out of the kitchen, I heard the gentle patter of paws trying to push down the outside door. When I opened the door, Sbowball always streaked past me as though I'd close the door in her face. Or perhaps the hounds of hell were after her. I'd put my money on Snowball if they were.

  'C'mon Jean,' I said, sitting down, 'let's have a look at this notebook before we change our minds again.'

  She sat on the floor in front of me resting her back on my legs.

  'I'd rather find something else to do,' she said, holding the book out of my reach.

  'You don't want me to do this, do you? I said. 'Dawn told me.'

  'I can think of better things to do with your time,' she said suggestively.

  'Give it to me,' I said laughing, 'or you might be the next victim.'

  I put my hands gently around her throat and it seemed like a mild electric shock shot down the length of my body. When Jean turned around to look at me, her mouth apart I couldn't resist kissing it. At first, it was almost an affectionate brush of our lips but soon it became more intense. Jean turned into my arms and as our bodies clung to each other, the notebook was forgotten. I could not believe how much I was enjoying this relationship.

  That might well have been the end of our sleuthing for that day. If it had been things might have turned out so differently. But Snowball decided that this looked a fun game and leapt onto the back of my neck, claws extended.

  Jean stopped biting my upper lip when I screamed. She jumped back with a horrified look on her face.

  'It's not you,' I said spluttering with laughter.' It's this little madam with her claws in my neck.'

  I grabbed hold of Snowball and pulled her around to the front where I proceeded to tickle her tummy to emphasise what a bad girl she was.

  Jean and I abandoned everything to give Snowball the attention she wanted. For about thirty seconds she allowed it then jumped away from us. She licked herself to remove the smell of human and demanded I open the door to let her back out.

  As it turned out it was as well she had interrupted us because when I opened the door I found Dawn standing outside.

  'I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to call,' she said, flustered when she saw Jean sitting on the floor with rumpled hair. Then she burst into tears.

  With an apologetic grimace to Jean, I put my arm around her and led her into the flat.

  'I'll go,' said Jean getting up.

  'No please don't,' said Dawn. 'I didn't mean to spoil your day. It's just, I miss Michael so much.'

  I was surprised. She had never been this anxious or this needy when she was with Donald. Even after he left her, all she cared about was him being happy with the new love of his life. It had never occurred to her what a rat he was. And when she struggled to pay her bills, she made excuses for him not helping. After all, he had a new family now. Donald's new woman gave birth only three months after he left Dawn.

  We heard the raised voices long before we got into the hall, that Thursday night.

  Detectives Mike and Wendy were standing there scowling at each other. From the red faces and glares, we could tell the detectives had been arguing. And they were not happy about being caught doing it in public. Jean stood between me and Mike.

  'What do you want?' she said.

  'That's none of your business.'

  'It is if you are planning to harass my friend again.'

  'Friend!' The sneer in his voice left me in no doubt that my relationship with Jean was no longer a secret. Perhaps it was the contented glow we both gave off.

  'If your 'friend' has nothing to hide, she won't have to worry.'

  While I would have loved to see Detective Mike getting floored by the petite but deceptively strong Jean, I didn't want Jean getting into trouble. So, I pulled her away as Wendy stood between us and her superior.

  Jean and I gave him a contemptuous look and as we walked away Wendy called, 'See you later.'

  She was making the point that Michael Black need not think he had any control over what she did in her spare time.

  Before they left I asked Wendy if she'd like to come over to my flat tonight once she finished work. I felt guilty when I saw her face light up and pointed out that Jean and Dawn were coming as well and we were going to be detecting.

  'I still can't believe this is happening,' said Dawn, later that night, 'a serial killer in Nu Faran.'

  The rest of us exchanged a smile.

  'Technically, 'said Wendy, 'a serial killer kills at least three people. Usually, it's for psychological reasons only they can understand. We still don't know why Yvette was killed, but it seems likely that Christine's murder was because she asked questions of the wrong person.'

  'But what if you're wrong?' Dawn persisted. 'What if it is a serial killer and there's no reason for their murders?'

  'Serial killers,' Wendy explained patiently, 'will have a signature. That is something they do the same each time and quite often they use the same methods as well. Often the murders will be planned methodically as well. These murders have both been opportunistic. For Yvette's murder the killer took advantage of your new class to hide the baneberry in among some other berries. They knew Yvette well enough to realise she would sneak some before the class. Then they took the opportunity provided by Christine's accident to attack her when she was lying helpless in hospital.'

  'Do the police know anything new about Christine's murder?' I asked.

  'It's proving very difficult to find out anything,' said Wendy. 'There's very little security in the hospital. No-one noticed any strangers about. But there are so many people wandering around unchallenged all the time that's not unexpected.'

  'That's not entirely true,' I said. For some strange reason I felt obliged to defend my work. 'There are a lot of people around at visiting hours and the ward will be more relaxed then. Sometimes people turn up other times, but mostly they are known to the staff. Outside visiting hours, most staff would challenge a complete stranger.'

  From the way Wendy snorted I don't think she believed me. She had a point. The hospital had expanded from a pleasant cottage hospital to a massive teaching hospital. Now it was not unusual to see strangers wandering around. If they looked as though they knew where they were going, who had time to challenge them?

  'What about fingerprints?' I asked

  'Mainly yours,' said Wendy with a laugh. 'Seriously, forensics is completely useless because of the number of people who dealt with Christine while she was in the hospital. The attempts to resuscitate her destroyed any clues there might have been.'

  'Did you ever get Yvette's laptop back from her cousins?' I asked.

  'We tried but they had formatted it and sold it through social media. They don't even have a name for the guy who bought it never mind an address.'

  'So, in other words, you don't have a clue,' said Jean. I guessed relations with Wendy hadn't improved much after all.

  'We believe the murderer was known to Christine and must have been someone she trusted since she didn't call out. They could have said they were going to sort her pillows. Then slipped the bicycle spoke in before she had any idea what was happening. At first, we thought she might have had a hand held over her mouth to stop her calling out. But then we found fluff from a pillow slip in her nose so the killer must have held a pillow over her face.'

  Dawn beat me to it. 'I don't understand. If they had a pillow over her face why not just smother her with it?'

  'Believe it or not we think the spoke was used because it was a quicker and more merciful way of killing. Yvette's murder was slower and more painful. We believe the murderer hated Yvette but only killed Christine because she was too close to the tru
th.'

  'So how come you're giving us this info all of a sudden?' said Jean. 'I thought your job was all that mattered to you.'

  'You've got a cheek,' said Wendy. 'How many times did you cancel arrangements because you had to go in for extra hours?'

  Dawn flushed. I knew she would be feeling embarrassed for the other two. Personally, I was rather enjoying it.

  'What has changed to allow you to talk to us?' Dawn said, trying to change the subject.

  A look of pure hatred crossed Wendy's face.

  'Detective smarty pants Michael Black has given me an oral warning for being friendly with you and Lisa. He'd still like you, Lisa, for the chief suspect, but can't find any evidence. And he says since he stopped seeing Dawn while the investigation is re-opened, that I should stop coming to the classes. I pointed out that being romantically involved is different from happening to attend the same class. My union rep says he can't stop me and they'll fight it if he goes any further.'

  'That's rotten,' I said.

  'Exactly what I'd expect from him,' said Jean.

  For a moment Wendy looked as though she was about to argue with Jean then she seemed to collapse into herself.

  'You were right,' she said to Jean.

  Wendy left soon after. She and Jean had a brief hug before she left, the type that says you're a good friend but no more than that.

  'I can't believe Michael would be like this,' Dawn said.

  'Well I'm afraid I can,' said Jean. 'I've met his type in the ambulance service.'

  'Make that the health service in general,' I said.

  Dawn looked miserable and the idea of having her over had been to cheer her up. To take her mind off the bold detective.

  At my quiet prompting, Jean got the notebook out along with her notes on Yvette's work colleagues. We started to go through and match up initials with names. Soon it was obvious Dawn was not in the mood. Meantime Jean had sneaked her arm around my back and under my top and was currently fiddling with the clasp on my bra.

  'We should try this another night,' I said to Dawn. 'Or you go and Jean and I will do some more work with the notebook.'

  Jean looked at me from under her eyelashes with the half smile on her face. We barely noticed when Dawn left.

  'Do you really think we're going to read through the notebook?' she said, running her tongue over her lips.

  'Well not right now,' I said.

  Jean in Trouble

  Between Jean's shifts and mine, we would not be able to see each other before the following Thursday. Jean took the notebook pages away again, promising to do some work on her own. We planned to meet up at the class.

  When I arrived, I noticed a small table at the side. Dawn had avoided putting a table out since Yvette's murder so I was curious about what was going on.

  'Jean promised to bring some examples of food she has foraged and we're going to arrange a date for another outing.'

  'Oh goody,' I said somewhat less than convincingly.

  The hall was a bit emptier than recently. People were losing interest again. Even some of the people who had been coming from the beginning like Sheila and Anne were not there. But they both had responsibilities that could hold them up elsewhere. There was no sign of Jean yet.

  'We'll leave the foraging bit until after the class,' said Dawn. 'Jean called and said she'll be a bit late because she's something she needs to do on her way.'

  We were back down to one class for which I was grateful. That meant I didn't have to take a class and could hide at the back where Dawn couldn't see my lack of enthusiasm.

  As I looked at the other class members, I couldn't help noticing the difference the diet and exercises were making to people. Sheila might not be there, no doubt performing some wifely duty, but her churchy ladies were. Suzy was looking very trim. Lorna didn't appear to have lost weight but she didn't seem as stiff as she had been and was keen to get started. Angela looked much the same but she had no weight to lose.

  Reluctantly I decided that the exercises were good for people and that I had better make an effort myself. I soon found that I was actually enjoying myself. The time passed so quickly that Dawn ended the exercises before I even noticed that Jean still hadn't turned up.

  'Do you know where she is?' I asked Dawn, 'she might need help carrying things.'

  'No, she didn't say where she was going. Anyway, it's a bit late to start it now. She can freeze her stuff and we'll do it next week.'

  I was beginning to get worried. It wasn't like Jean to let Dawn down. I was worried she might have decided to check out a clue from the notes. She had promised me she would only look at them, not speak to anyone, but I had a bad feeling.

  The rest of the class left. Dawn and I were clearing the hall when Sheila burst through the door panting and flustered. She tried to speak but couldn't and bent over trying to catch her breath.

  Dawn rushed over with a chair and we sat her down.

  'Take deep breaths,' I said, knowing that in her state there's no way she could. But for some reason being told to take deep breaths seems to calm people down.

  Sheila gasped and managed to say, 'It's Jean.'

  I felt a pain in my chest. I wanted to run away and not hear what Sheila had to say, but I forced myself to listen.

  Sheila blurted out between gasps, 'I found her outside the manse. She was on the ground. So much blood.'

  I wanted to grab hold of her and scream at her to tell me where Jean was, but I was struggling to breathe. For once, Dawn was the one who stayed calm and took charge.

  'Where is she now? Did you call an ambulance?'

  'Yes. Yes. They've taken her to the hospital. I came as soon as the ambulance left.'

  'Lisa,' Dawn called as I ran to the door, 'wait. Let me take you. You're in no state to drive.'

  She was right. When did Dawn become so sensible?

  At the hospital, Jean was still in a cubicle at A&E. Dawn was asked to wait outside, but the staff knew me and allowed me to stay. Sheila was right there was a lot of blood. I stood helpless. Years of training and experience forgotten. I must have shown how I felt because Marie, one of the nurses glanced up at me.

  'Try not to worry,' she said.

  How often had I said the same thing to anxious relatives?

  'It looks a lot worse than it is. She's got quite a few nasty bruises but most of the blood is from a nose bleed. And a couple of minor injuries on her head. You know how much they bleed.'

  The next few hours passed in a blur. Both Jean and I were known to the staff so she got first class treatment. Following scans, the registrar confirmed that it did indeed look a lot worse than it was. Jean begged to be allowed to go home. Because I was a nurse she was released on the understanding she came back to my flat with me. I would keep an eye on her for any signs of concussion.

  I tucked her up in bed and gave her a cup of sweet tea before I even thought of asking her what happened.

  'I don't remember much,' she said. Not surprising with the shock and the level of painkillers she was on. 'I thought the bike spoke that killed Christine might have been one from Sheila's bike and went to look. I found the bike behind the manse and there was a spoke missing. Then I heard the gravel crunch behind me. Someone, I don't even know if it was male or female, said, "Stop sticking your nose in." And that's all I remember.'

  I thought that was quite a lot to remember under the circumstances.

  Before long Jean drifted off to sleep and I sat beside the bed watching her chest rise and fall. I was almost dozing when the doorbell rang. Then a few seconds later it rang again.

  Jean moaned and cried out in her sleep and I rushed to open the door before whoever it was, rang again.

  When I flung open the door, DI Mike was standing outside with a worried looking Wendy behind him.

  'How is she?' said Wendy, and got a dirty look from her superior.

  'I believe Ms Jackson is staying here. We'd like to take a statement about what happened.'

  'You won
't be taking any statement from her tonight,' I said, 'she's sleeping.'

  'Can't you wake her up for a little while?' he said, 'the sooner we can move on this the more likely we are to catch her attacker.'

  'No, I will not wake her up. She's been through a lot and she doesn't need to cope with you on top of it all.'

  'Don't you want us to catch her attacker?'

  'Of course, I do, but she didn't see anything anyway.'

  By this time Snowball had joined me at the doorway and stood there with her back arched hissing at the detective.

  'If and when, Jean feels like talking to you, we will let you know,' I said, shutting the door in his face.

  Shortly after there was a gentle knock on the door and when I opened it, Wendy was standing there.

  'I need to know she's going to be ok,' she said.

  'She'll be fine.'

  'Because we are no longer together doesn't mean I don't still care for her. Please let me know how she gets on and tell her I was here asking.'

  'I will,' I said, then gently shut the door.

  Jean was resting peacefully so I lay down beside her. When Snowball jumped up, I put my arm around her and drifted off to sleep.

  By the morning, other than a black eye and loads of bruises Jean seemed back to normal.

  No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

  One good thing came out of the attack on Jean. It happened while Dawn and I were at the class in front of lots of witnesses. Even Detective Mike had to admit it was linked to the murder investigation, so I was no longer the main suspect. Unfortunately, it also meant Dawn was not a suspect, so she and Detective Mike were able to start dating again.

  I saw very little of Dawn over the next week while she and the detective made up for lost time. She seemed to have a permanent smile plastered across her face. I wished she had picked someone else to fall in love with, but at least she was happy. And if he ever hurt her, I'd kill the guy. Oops, better not say that too loud.

  I was spending a lot of time with Jean. I felt guilty for being more worried about protecting Dawn than her.