by M K Farrar
They continued to work their way through the room, checking for anything that might be of interest. They also located a pair of jeans and some white trainers, which also matched Paige’s account of what he’d been wearing, and bagged those, too.
Shawn kept his voice low as they left the room. “What’s going on?”
Erica feigned innocence. “What are you talking about?”
“That hoodie? Do you really think it’s the same one Paige Arland described?”
“I think it could be.” But she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eye.
“Really? I’m sure Paige—”
“Don’t, Turner,” she said sharply, cutting him off. “I know what I’m doing.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I hope you do.”
“You’re going to have to trust me on this.”
She didn’t intend on saying anything out loud; she didn’t want to make Shawn complicit, too.
He let out a sigh. “Okay. I hope you’re right.”
She gave a tight smile. “So do I.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Paige woke the following morning, still fragile from the previous day.
The experience at the hospital, and giving her statement, had been horrible. She’d been questioned on every aspect of what had happened, from how long she’d known Lucas, to if he’d ever tried anything like that before—not long and no—and then they’d gone on to question her own background, whether she’d ever been raped before or reported a rape, and why she’d waited so long before coming forward. By the end of it, her head had been spinning and she’d felt like the guilty party.
Though DI Swift hadn’t been at the hospital with her, Paige had been handed over to a specialist team of police who took care of rape victims. Everyone had been kind and gentle, but that didn’t stop how invasive the whole thing had been. She’d felt embarrassed and humiliated all over again, her injuries inspected and photographed, plus checked internally for any signs of forced penetration. The bruising on the insides of her thighs, and the fingerprints on her hips from where he’d held her down, had lightened to yellows and greens, and she’d felt as though she’d been making a fuss about nothing. Doubts had entered her head. Had she given him the wrong idea and so should take some responsibility for that, but then she reminded herself of how he’d punched her, and how badly her nose had bled. There was no possibility she’d mistaken that.
She’d come home and got straight into the shower and had cried as though she’d been forced to relive the whole experience all over again. She knew this was only the start. The detective had warned her that she’d have to go back in to answer yet more questions, and if this went to trial, things would get even worse. DI Swift had encouraged her to call her mother and let her know what was going on, feeling as though she needed the support, but Paige couldn’t do that to her mother. Her mum would feel as though she had failed Paige all over again, that she hadn’t been able to protect her, just like she hadn’t been able to protect her from the fallout of what had happened when her father had been sent to prison.
She had ruined her own life; she couldn’t bring herself to destroy her mother’s as well.
Still feeling dirty, she got straight back into the shower and scrubbed herself raw for the second time in the past twelve hours. When she got out, it was to her phone ringing. Still with the towel wrapped around her body, she raced to answer it.
DI Swift’s number was on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Paige, it’s DI Swift.”
“Yes, I know. I’ve got your number programmed into this phone.”
What kind of life was she living that she needed to have a detective’s mobile phone number saved in her phone?
“I’m sorry, Paige, but we’ve had to let him go, for the moment, anyway.”
Her stomach dropped. “What? So, he’s back on campus?” She swallowed hard.
“I believe so, yes, but he wouldn’t dare go anywhere near you. We’ve warned him to keep his distance from you. If he does attempt to contact you in any way, we’ll have him arrested for harassment.”
She pressed her knuckles to her mouth. “What about his girlfriend, Jasmine? What if he does something to hurt her?”
“I’m sure that’s not going to happen.”
“She’s not speaking to me. She hasn’t answered her phone. I haven’t seen her since I told her what happened with Lucas.”
“Lucas knows not to do anything stupid. Both myself and his solicitor have warned him of that.”
She wanted to believe the detective, but dread had wrapped itself around her heart. Lucas was here, on campus. What if they ran into each other? What the hell would she say? Was he going to spread this all over campus, or would he want to keep it quiet? Did people already know? She wanted to climb into her bed, pull the covers over her head, and stay there forever.
“Okay, thank you for letting me know.”
“That’s okay. Make sure you call if he causes you any problems.”
“I will.”
Paige ended the call and checked the screen. There were still no missed calls from Jasmine. She chewed at a dried piece of skin on her lip, plucked it off, and tasted blood. She understood why her friend wasn’t talking to her. She’d had Jasmine’s boyfriend questioned for rape, and even though Jasmine had told her to call the police, after she’d had time to think on it, she might have changed her mind.
At least when Lucas had been with the police, Paige hadn’t worried so much about Jasmine staying safe, but if Lucas was out, he might do something to hurt her.
No, the two of them are probably cuddled up together in Lucas’s bed, talking about what a psychopath and a liar I am.
Would Lucas tell Jasmine the sex had been consensual, or would he deny it altogether?
Paige quickly got dressed and left the room. She slipped down the hallway, her head down and her heart racing. She knew Jasmine was ignoring her, and she couldn’t say she blamed her, but she also couldn’t bring herself to leave it like this. They’d been so close only a matter of days ago. Surely she’d be able to make Jasmine see that she wouldn’t lie about something like this. She also wanted Jasmine to stay away from Lucas. Maybe it wasn’t any of her business what Jas did, but she was worried for her friend’s safety. Who knew what Lucas was capable of? She probably wasn’t the first person he’d raped, and then there was Adam Humphries to consider. Could the two incidents be completely unrelated? She doubted it. And if Lucas was capable of killing, what was to stop him hurting Jasmine?
She stopped outside Jasmine’s door and knocked. No response came. Could she sense Jas sitting inside, maybe hunched up on her bed, her knees to her chin, her face wet with tears? This must have all been hard on her as well. Paige knew her friend had cared about Lucas. Maybe it hadn’t quite reached the ‘love’ stage yet, but in Jasmine’s mind it had been heading that way. Then Paige’s revelation had blown the whole thing to pieces.
“Jas?” she called tentatively. “Are you in there? It’s me. I really need to talk to you.”
She paused for a moment and listened again for any response. Could Jasmine hear her? If she was in there, she might even have headphones on and have no idea Paige was at the door.
Paige risked knocking harder. “Jasmine! Come on, open up. We need to talk.”
The door beside Jasmine’s room suddenly opened, and a girl with curly hair dyed an intense shade of purple popped her head out. Paige thought her name was Theresa, but they’d never really had a conversation.
“Are you looking for Jasmine?”
“Yeah, I am.” That’s pretty bloody obvious by the way I’m banging her door down. “Have you seen her?”
“No, sorry. Not since yesterday. I’m not sure she came back last night.”
Paige’s heart dropped. “What?”
“I normally hear her moving around. These walls are so thin. But it was all quiet last night. She’s probably with that guy she’s been seeing—the tall
one with the dark hair.”
“Lucas,” Paige said, the name thick in her throat.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
She knew Jasmine hadn’t been with Lucas. Lucas had spent the night with the police. But at the same time, she couldn’t tell her that, because if she did, it would be all over campus within an hour that Lucas had been accused of rape and Paige was the accuser. She was surprised that it wasn’t already common knowledge. Things didn’t tend to stay a secret for long around here.
“Okay, thanks,” she said instead, taking a step away from the door. Then she stopped and, just as the girl was closing the door, added, “But if you see her, can you let me know. Stick a note under the door or something. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
Theresa frowned. “Did something happen?”
Paige forced a smile. “No, I... I lost my phone and I can’t get hold of her, that’s all.”
“Right. No problem.”
Theresa gave her a final smile and shut the door.
Shit. Where the hell was Jasmine? There was no possibility she was with Lucas. Had she been so upset by everything that she’d gone home to her parents? Surely, she wouldn’t just leave in the middle of term like that.
Paige left the floor she was on and trotted down the stairs. In the foyer, she saw a couple of other girls Jasmine was friendly with. Paige wouldn’t normally initiate conversation, but she was getting desperate.
“Have you seen Jasmine?” she asked them.
The dark-haired girl frowned and shook her head. “No, she didn’t show up for lectures yesterday afternoon.”
“Shit. If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her, okay?”
The girl flashed her an unsure smile. “Yeah, of course.”
Paige texted her again on the crappy phone she’d bought with a pay-as-you-go SIM. She still hadn’t got her phone back from the police, though she suspected they were dragging their heels on it. It worried her, though. If they believed the phone had no connection to the murder, why hadn’t they handed it back?
She was also worried about what Jasmine had done after she’d told her about Lucas. She understood why Jasmine didn’t want to talk to her, but what had Lucas said? Had he denied it? She assumed so—what man would admit that he’d raped his girl’s friend? But then, Lucas was hardly the fun-loving, cool person he made himself out to be. He was one of those young men who believed the world owed him everything.
She pushed through the front door and stepped out into the courtyard.
Sirens wailed in the distance. It wasn’t unusual to hear sirens in East London—if anything she’d be more surprised if she wasn’t hearing sirens. But normally they grew loud and then dropped off in volume, and right now they were getting louder.
Her heart lurched, and she picked up her pace, her breath suddenly coming short. Something had happened. Something bad. She felt it in her bones.
Without thinking about where she was going, she followed the noise. She started at a brisk walk and then broke into a jog and then a run. She wasn’t the only one to be heading in that direction. Numerous other students had also seemed to realise something had happened.
She overheard one group talking as she passed and picked up a handful of words.
“—floating in the water.”
She forgot her shyness for a moment to stop and interrupt. “What did you just say? What’s happened?”
The young man she’d interrupted frowned at her. “There’s been the body of a young woman found near the lock.”
Tears filled her eyes. “What?”
“Yeah, a couple of cyclists spotted her and called the police.”
“Oh, no. Please no. Is she blonde? The young woman? Did they say if she was blonde?”
“No, I don’t know? Sorry.”
Paige shoved past them and kept going, running to reach the canal path. Others had noticed there was something going on, small groups gathering, standing on tiptoes to try to see. Paige pushed past them to try to get a view of the canal, not caring if she upset someone.
Please don’t let it be her. Please don’t let it be her.
Chapter Thirty
The forensics reports had come back on the hoodie Erica had seized from Lucas Gill’s room.
It was a match to the fibres found on Adam Humphries’ head wound.
“Swift.” She jumped at Gibbs’ sharp call. “In here. Now.”
Erica exchanged a glance with Shawn. Her DCI must have seen the report as well.
She went to his office and lightly knocked before stepping inside. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Why did you seize and process that particular item of clothing, Swift?”
“I believed it was the same one Lucas Gill was wearing when he raped Paige Arland.”
He sifted through the file. “It says here she reported the hoodie being green.”
“Dark green. But she also said it was dark and she was drunk, and it was hard to tell. This was the only hoodie in the room, sir, so I thought it was most likely the same one as she’d been describing.”
“I see. And it just so happens to match the fibres of those found on Adam Humphries’ body?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Which you just so happened to request to be processed for a match.”
“I noticed that it was the same colour and thought it would be best to process it, just to be sure.”
“I see. And now an arrest warrant has been issued for Lucas Gill.”
“Yes, it has. We have the matching fibres, and a witness in the form of Paige Arland who can place Lucas Gill at the scene at the time of Humphries’ death, plus a possible motive in that Adam had seen what Lucas had done to Paige and threatened him with it. I’m thinking we’ll be able to keep hold of him for a lot longer than twenty-four hours this time.”
Gibbs nodded, his fingers steepled to his lips. “I think so, too. Good work, Detective.”
“Thank you.”
A knock came at the door, and she twisted around to see Shawn standing in the doorway.
“Sorry to interrupt, but you’re going to want to hear this. The body of a young woman has just been found in the canal near the university campus.”
Erica’s heart dropped. “Paige Arland?”
“No, I don’t believe so.”
“We need to get down there.”
Gibbs flapped them out of his office. “Go!”
ERICA AND SHAWN ARRIVED on scene on foot. The canal towpath was too narrow to get any police vehicles down, and they’d been forced to leave their car back on the main road, as had most of the emergency response unit, with the exception of a handful of uniformed officers on motorbikes.
The number of people standing around, gossiping and peering over each other’s shoulders, was staggering. It was as though a local celebrity had been spotted and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse or even get a photograph on their phones.
What was wrong with these people?
Local officers were already there, and she addressed one of them standing by, trying to keep everyone back.
“Jesus Christ. Get all these people out of here.”
The officer was grim faced. “We’re trying.”
She looked around for which sergeant was in charge and spotted Diana Reynolds. She was doing her best with her officers to protect the scene, but it wasn’t easy in the confined space. Across the canal, another group of onlookers gawped, and even a couple in a canal boat stood on deck, watching everything unfold.
Erica caught sight of the body—long blonde hair floating in the dirty water, her limbs splayed. Pieces of rubbish—a crushed Coke can, a polystyrene takeaway box, and old cigarette butts—had gathered around the body, as though drawn towards it by a magnetic force.
“DI Swift,” Reynolds greeted her. “DS Turner. Thanks for coming. The victim has been identified by a friend as nineteen-year-old Jasmine Newton. She was a student at the university.
Erica sucked in a breath. She knew that name
. “Which friend identified her?”
Reynolds nodded towards the gathering crowds, to where one young woman stood sobbing into her hands next to a uniformed officer.
“Paige?” Erica said.
Paige lifted her head from her hands. “He did it! I know he did. That fucking bastard killed her.”
Erica knew exactly who she was referring to.
She held up both hands, hoping to calm her down. There were still a lot of people around, and she was sure the press would be mingling among them somewhere.
“We don’t know what’s happened yet, Paige. This could just be a horrible accident.”
“It isn’t.” Her face crumpled with hurt and betrayal. “You know it isn’t.”
Lucas Gill had spent the last twenty-four hours under lock and key. There would only have been a very brief period where he would have had the opportunity to do this. And what Erica had said was true—for all they knew, for the moment, anyway, this could just be an accident. The poor girl might have got drunk after hearing about what her boyfriend had been accused of, and either fallen into the canal and drowned accidentally, or else chosen to do something stupid. Erica still remembered what it was like to be a teenager, just how strongly she had felt everything at that age. Even the slightest thing was enough to make a teenager feel as though their whole life was falling apart.
“Let us do our job, Paige. We’ll probably need to talk to you soon, okay, but for the moment, give us space to do what we need to do.”
Paige’s gaze drifted over Erica’s shoulder. The girl’s eyes widened, and the colour fell out of her face. Then sheer fury dropped like a mask over her normally pretty features, and she lunged forward.
“You fucking bastard! You did this! You killed her.”