Dark Truths

by A. J. Cross

  Merriman’s face flooded with colour. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s rather embarrassing.’

  Watts raised his hand to her. ‘I’ll leave you to talk to PC Judd, Mrs Merriman. When you’re done, she’ll ask for your contact details and arrange for somebody to take you home. We’ll need a more detailed statement from you at some point.’ He headed back to the lane, the dog pouncing on one of his shoes as he went.

  Twenty minutes later, Judd came into the car park. Watts got out of his vehicle. ‘How was she?’

  ‘Fine, considering. Jones has taken her home.’

  ‘What else did she have to say?’

  Judd pulled out her notebook. ‘The man started following her. After a few seconds, he spoke, said, “That’s a nice dog. Is he fierce?” She didn’t respond. Carried on walking. Suddenly, he’s in front of her, exposing himself. She said she was surprised by his quickness because of his arm injury and that she was shocked when she got a proper look at his face. He looked much younger than she’d initially thought.’

  ‘Townsend said he looked to be in his thirties. How old does she think he was?’

  ‘She’s got a son of twenty-four. She thinks he might be younger.’

  Watts’ head fell back. ‘Bugger. If she’s right, we can forget him for Broughton and Barlow. He would have been at most a teenager when that graveyard started and he’d have been on the young side for Rhodes.’

  ‘Old enough to have killed Roberts, Sarge.’

  ‘I’m not ruling him out of anything until we find him, establish his age and a lot more besides. What else did she say?’

  Judd turned pages. ‘He stood in front of her … made comments about her build. Told her he liked well-built women. He asked her to remove her top, that he wanted to see her …’ She held up her notes, pointed at the four-letter word. ‘I hate that. It’s disparaging of women.’

  ‘He “asked” her to remove her top?’

  Judd nodded. ‘That’s what she said.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘Before she could do or say anything, he reached out, grabbed her top. I had a quick look at it. It’s made of some stretchy material. She said he pulled it down, exposing her upper body.’

  Watts reached inside his vehicle for a tissue, patted his face, offered one to Judd. He was starting to loathe the relentless heat and this whole area. His phone buzzed. He lifted it. ‘Yeah? … You have? Bloody hell, that was quick work. Where?’ He listened, cut the call. ‘I sent Merriman’s description of her attacker to two officers down at the scene and asked them to go and have a look for him. Looks like they’ve got him. He’s on his way to headquarters.’

  Watts parked outside headquarters, glancing at the dashboard clock.

  Judd eyed him. ‘Can I be part of the Merriman assault interview, Sarge?’

  ‘That was my plan, but I’ve just remembered I’ve arranged for Alec Prentiss to come in to tell us what he knows of his sister’s personal life. He should be here now. Remember I suggested you talk to him?’

  She brightened. ‘You trust me to do it?’

  He looked down at her. ‘Yes. Keep it low-key, more of a chat, so he feels comfortable. What you’re after is any and all information about his sister’s life, people she spent time with, anybody taking an interest in her recently. If he mentions Christian Roberts, you say nothing, just write down what he says.’

  She nodded. ‘Yes, Sarge. I will.’

  She walked into reception ahead of Watts. Alec Prentiss was there. He looked pale. Unwell. ‘Mr Prentiss?’

  He started, looked up at her.

  ‘I’m PC Chloe Judd. I was at your parents’ house, remember?’

  He stood. ‘You’ve got news, haven’t you?’

  ‘News? No, I’m sorry …’

  ‘I could tell from the way the officer over there on the counter looked at me when I arrived that something has happened. It’s not right to keep information from us.’

  She shook her head. ‘Mr Prentiss, believe me when I say that I’m sorry but I don’t have anything to tell you that relates to your sister’s murder.’

  He stared at her then glanced at his watch. ‘I can’t stay long. I have to get back to work.’

  ‘Shall we make a start?’ She indicated the small interview room.

  He gazed at her, uncertain. ‘I’m supposed to be seeing DI Watts. Where is he?’

  ‘He’s been detained on another matter.’

  ‘What matter?’ He pointed to the officer on the desk. ‘When I told him my name, his face gave him away. He looked like he knows something. What’s going on? Why isn’t DI Watts giving all of his time to my sister’s case?’

  Judd was fazed. This wasn’t what she’d anticipated. She kept her voice even. ‘Nothing’s going on, Mr Prentiss. Your sister’s murder is still a top priority here. DI Watts, Dr Traynor and a whole team of officers are working long hours on the investigation.’ She led him inside the room, reminding herself of the considerable stress he and his family were under. They sat. He ran his hands through his hair, looking agitated. ‘Do you feel up to talking to me?’ she asked.

  He nodded.

  ‘Mr Prentiss, we need to know as much as possible about your sister Zoe’s life and we think you might be able to provide that kind of information.’ Judd glanced at the plastic bottle containing something green which he’d placed on the table between them. She read the label: Kale and Strawberry Energy Rush Smoothie. ‘We know this is a very difficult time for you and your family but can you talk to me about what you know of Zoe’s daily life?’ She waited. ‘I get that it’s probably difficult for you to do that, so soon after what’s happened.’ Judd didn’t get it. When people lost people, wasn’t talking about them what they wanted to do? She let the silence drag on a bit longer, noting the constant small bouncing movements of his legs, his general restlessness. ‘We need that kind of detail to have a chance of identifying what happened to Zoe and why. You understand what I’m saying?’ she asked quietly.

  Prentiss looked across at her then away. ‘I don’t know what I can tell you. I chose not to spend too much time with my sister. You can probably understand why, from what I said when you came to the house.’

  ‘I remember what you said, but—’

  ‘I found Zoe’s personality rather overwhelming. She was an in-your-face kind of person. She got that from our parents.’ He looked up at Judd. ‘I know what you’re thinking. That my dad doesn’t come across like that. Take my word, my parents are both straight-talking, dominant people. Zoe was the same.’ He frowned. ‘You’d never know it because he never says much, but Dad’s totally in charge of the business. And the money.’

  Judd wrote quickly to keep up with his flow of ideas. ‘What about you, Mr Prentiss?’

  He stared at her. ‘What about me? I learned to go with the flow. Zoe was nearly five years younger than me but she was always the dominant one.’ He reached for his drink. ‘Would you believe, when I was about nineteen, I borrowed five pounds from the money she’d earned babysitting and all three of them went ballistic?’ He shook his head. ‘She took my money whenever she saw a chance. Funny, but I think she understood me better than they did. She always knew what was in my head. Sometimes before I did. She still does.’

  Judd looked up at him. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Prentiss, I’m struggling to get what you’re telling me. Can you explain?’

  He looked away. ‘I’m upset. Confused about what’s happened. I hardly know what I’m saying. When I think about it, Zoe must have had real problems when she was young. God knows what else she did.’

  She frowned. She hadn’t got Alec Prentiss down as a religious type. ‘Mr Prentiss, I’m a bit lost here.’

  He rubbed his neck. ‘I’m full of tension. I shouldn’t be here, talking about her. It’s too confusing and upsetting.’ He gave Judd a fleeting look. ‘You know about the family business?’

  Judd nodded.

  ‘Mom and Dad were back there the next day. They expected me to do the same, said it would
“give me something else to think about”.’ His face grew sullen. ‘Our company offers staff discounted spa breaks, treatments, massages, the works. That’s what I need but Dad refused me the time off, said he “can’t spare me during the holiday period”. He told me to take a day off.’ Judd watched sullenness turn to resentment. ‘As though a day would make any difference! I told him I needed a week. He said, “What for? Why a week?”. I told him I needed to get away. That I was upset. Depressed.’ He shook his head. ‘As if it needed saying.’

  ‘Maybe they’re finding it hard to make decisions, given their own upset?’

  He stared at her. ‘Families must look after each other. Is going back to work like they did normal?’

  ‘I suppose they’re doing their best.’ Aware that she wasn’t getting much of what Watts had asked for, yet feeling she couldn’t ignore Prentiss’s distress, she asked, ‘Could that be their way of handling their own emotions?’

  ‘And that gives them the right to ignore mine?’

  Judd covertly studied him, noted the casual-pricey clothing, the styled hair, its sides close-cut, the top longer, carefully tousled. Something in his manner, his appearance, stirred an unpleasant memory inside her head. Josephs.

  ‘Zoe was always the favourite. Their great hope for the future!’ He folded his arms. ‘Well, she doesn’t have one now, does she?’ He stared at the table between them. ‘I’m sorry for what happened to her, but that’s how it is.’

  ‘Tell me about Zoe’s work life, her colleagues,’ she prompted.

  He appeared to consider this. ‘She was the smart one. I don’t mean the first-class law degree, her job at the legal practice, marriage to a successful lawyer. What I mean is, she escaped. I did an English Lit degree and ended up trapped in the family business because I couldn’t think of anything else to do.’ He looked beyond Judd. ‘Zoe warned me. She said that if I joined it, I’d never get away. That all I’d be doing was following Dad’s orders. She got that right. Dad comes across as mild. He isn’t. He’s totally in charge and that’s how he acts. What’s happened to Zoe has brought all this to a head for me. I’m not getting on with him or Mom.’ He looked up, crossed two of his fingers. ‘Zoe and me were like that. Two amigos.’

  Judd stopped writing, looked up at him. ‘I’m really confused, Mr Prentiss. I’m not sure I understand what you’re telling me about Zoe and your relationship with her.’

  He lowered his head. ‘I don’t want to talk about her any more. I’m exhausted. I feel like I’m going mad.’

  Judd had to keep the conversation going, get information about his sister’s life. She changed tack. ‘Tell me about yourself, Mr Prentiss. Your life.’

  He stared at her. ‘That isn’t something I’m ever asked at home.’ He looked away, gave her another quick glance then leant towards her. ‘What I’m about to tell you would come as a shock to Mom and Dad if they knew. I don’t want them to know about it. I’ve decided on a complete change of career. I’ve decided to set up my own business.’

  ‘That’s interesting,’ said Judd, encouragingly. ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Life coaching.’

  ‘That’s popular now.’

  ‘I signed up online for information and the guy whose business it is really made sense.’

  Judd nodded, wondering how much money Prentiss had paid this ‘guy’. ‘What does it involve?’

  Prentiss’s face became animated. ‘There’s a lot of skill to it, but basically, you get clients and you tell them how to reach their potential in business and in life. I’m exactly the type of person that people like that need.’

  ‘Right. So, you’ll run courses, teach them skills—’

  ‘No, no. The kind of people I’ll be targeting are go-getters, energetic, highly motivated. They won’t have time for that kind of thing and I’ve got no desire to deal with the general public. It’ll be done via an app. I’ll be using my own negative experiences of working in the family firm. I’ll just put them on the right track. Tell them what they need to do and how.’

  Judd chose her next words. ‘Might clients have their own ideas and not like being told?’

  His enthusiasm disappeared, like a light being switched off. He stared at her, downbeat, his voice a monotone. ‘No. They’ll be benefiting from my direct experience. What’s happened to Zoe has been a wake-up call. I’m thirty-five. I want a life. Zoe’s future has gone. I still have mine.’

  Determined to get him back to family relationships, Judd asked, ‘Your father started the family business?’

  ‘Years ago. Mom got on board when we were kids. Zoe never wanted to know about it.’ He gazed across at Judd. ‘She was always a quick learner. She really got our parents. She wanted out of the family from when she was a teenager but obviously she couldn’t because she was dependent on them. They had the money. They controlled her more than they did me.’ He shrugged. ‘If it helps them to keep Zoe a saint, that’s all right by me.’

  Judd was thinking back to her and Watts’ visit to the Prentiss home, the wall in the sitting room devoted to the lives and times of both Prentiss children. ‘My impression of your family when I was at your parents’ house is that they were very involved with you and your sister as children—’

  ‘No. They weren’t. It was Zoe and I who were close. They were always too busy, building the business.’

  Already confused, Judd was now picking up what sounded like whininess. She thought of two busy parents who still made time to record and display two childhoods over so many years, wondered what it might be like to have pictures of yourself as a baby, a small child. She re-tuned to Prentiss’s voice.

  ‘When Mom and Dad went on about things when we were younger, we’d laugh behind their backs, Zoe and me. She would impersonate Mom.’ He grinned. ‘She was a fantastic mimic, my sister, with a bit of an edge. Over the years we created an alliance. Us against them.’ He looked away. ‘I talk to Zoe every day. Tell her what I’m thinking.’

  Not knowing how to respond, Judd said, ‘I’m starting to get the picture of Zoe as someone who was very much her own person and—’

  ‘I’m the one who’s like that. Like I told you, I’m starting along my own path.’

  Feeling the beginnings of a headache, Judd asked. ‘You’ll finance your plan yourself?’

  ‘What? No. I’ll float it past my mom and she’ll talk to Dad.’

  ‘Getting back to Zoe, was she popular?’ He looked at a loss. ‘What I mean is, was she a sociable person? Did she have a lot of friends?’

  He was still looking adrift. ‘You mean when she was young?’

  ‘I mean any time.’ She watched him think about it.

  ‘I wouldn’t describe Zoe as popular. I suppose she was sociable, but only on her own terms. She had friends but I don’t think she went out of her way to create friendships.’ He looked up at Judd. ‘That’s the big difference between us. I’m very much the individual but having loads of mates means that if you need to be out there, doing something, and one or two of them aren’t that bothered, you’ve got others to hang out with.’

  Judd tried imagining Prentiss with his loads of mates. The picture wouldn’t come. ‘Did you know Zoe’s friends?’

  ‘Not really. She had three or four from way back. They met at school, stayed friends as adults. That’s something I don’t get. Catch me hanging around with kids I was at school with. Too much like announcing to the world that you’re a bad case of arrested development, but it seemed to work for Zoe.’

  Judd had had enough but Watts had asked her to get all the information she could. She wouldn’t let him down. She took a quick glance at Prentiss, his styled hair, another memory of the wine shop inside her head. ‘Is that how you saw Zoe?’

  He stared at her. ‘Of course not. Zoe was savvy and sharp.’

  ‘As adults, did you and Zoe discuss your lives?’

  ‘I would occasionally tell her about work, the business, but not that often. She heard it all from Mom and Dad when she visited. She w
ould mention what she was doing but I wouldn’t class it as a discussion. Occasionally, she mentioned Christian, but not so often during the last year or so. Just odd comments about him, usually work-related which didn’t much interest me.’

  ‘Did you socialize with Zoe at all?’

  ‘No. The only interest we had in common was fitness, but I’m not into running. I lift weights. Have done since I was a weedy teen.’

  Judd gave him a covert glance, now seeing shadows of well-defined muscle beneath the finely knitted top. Cashmere? Silk? ‘When I came to your parents’ house, you referred to your sister thinking that Christian Roberts was a good catch when they first met.’

  ‘So? What’s wrong with that?’

  ‘Nothing. Maybe it was the way you said it which made me think that you disapproved.’

  ‘Not at all. That was typical Zoe: “Know what you want and go for it”. It was something I admired about her.’

  ‘Is that how you’d like to be?’

  He stared at her. ‘I’m already doing it. I’m running the business.’

  She looked back at him. ‘I thought your parents did that?’

  ‘It’s me who’s dragging it into the future.’

  Judd quickly wrote. ‘What’s going to happen to it when you leave?’

  ‘What do you mean “leave”? I’m not leaving.’

  ‘I thought you said you were. To set up your life coaching.’

  ‘That’s … going to take a while.’

  ‘I understand. Your parents probably need you around. They have a lot on their minds right now.’

  ‘Which doesn’t mean the world stops turning,’ he snapped.

  Judd put down her pen, gave him a direct look. ‘Mr Prentiss, we don’t seem to be getting to the detail of Zoe’s life, do we?’

  He looked away from her, both legs restlessly bouncing. ‘I’m finding it … difficult. I can’t find the words. I loved my sister, but we were brought up to be independent. We didn’t live in each other’s pockets. Actually, I’m feeling unwell. I need to leave.’ He covered his face with both hands, whispered, ‘With all that’s going on, it feels like I’m losing my mind.’