by Helen Cox
‘I’m going to do a bit more surveillance work when I get the chance but on the surface there are no red flags.’
‘Oh, so you haven’t really found any new leads then?’ Patrick said.
‘Actually, we were given one name, though the source was dubious,’ said Kitt.
‘What was the name?’ asked Cynthia.
‘One of the lecturers we talked to said we should interview Selina Grant about Jodie’s disappearance,’ said Grace.
‘Selina Grant?’ Patrick frowned. ‘Why do they want you to talk to her?’
‘Apparently she and Jodie had a falling-out just before her disappearance.’
‘Oh . . .’ Patrick paused for a long moment, seemingly thinking hard. ‘Yes. I do remember Jodie saying she’d decided to cut ties with her.’
‘That never struck you as odd at the time?’ said Kitt. Grace wished Kitt’s tone could have been a little kinder. Even if she wasn’t letting go of the idea that Patrick had something to do with Jodie’s disappearance anytime soon, she could be a little bit more sensitive given the discovery of those fibres, just on the off-chance he was innocent, and especially since Kitt knew what it was like to be wrongfully accused. Besides anything else, was Cynthia likely to keep funding the investigation if she caught on to the fact that her son was Kitt’s chief suspect?
Patrick, seemingly too fazed by all they had uncovered at the outhouse to notice Kitt’s insinuation, replied, ‘Not really, they hadn’t known each other very long. It’s not like it was a very dramatic parting of ways. Not as far as I knew, anyway.’
‘Why did she make the decision to stop communicating with Selina?’ said Kitt.
Patrick shrugged. ‘She didn’t even say. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because she was a bit of an introvert. She was picky about who she was friends with so not every relationship stuck. All I knew was they’d been close for the first few weeks of term and then for some reason Jodie just decided to distance herself. At least, that’s all I knew then. I have heard a few rumours since that might give some sense as to why she decided not to bother with her any more, though it’s very silly.’
‘Silliness doesn’t scare me,’ said Grace.
‘No, that’s because it’s your bread and butter,’ Kitt said, before turning back to Patrick. ‘What rumours have you heard?’
‘Well, I don’t know how much there is in it, but apparently there’s been some secret society at Venerable Bede’s for generations.’
‘Oh! Yes, I heard rumblings about that kind of thing when I was studying here,’ said Kitt. ‘If the rumours are to be believed, they call themselves the Scarlet Stocking Society.’
‘What kind of name is that?’ said Cynthia, her face scrunching up in distaste.
‘These things always have silly names,’ said Kitt. ‘It’s one of their hallmarks and is the primary reason why people outside the circle can never really take them that seriously.’
‘What does this secret society do, exactly?’ said Grace.
‘Not entirely public knowledge, given they’re a secret society,’ said Kitt. ‘But the rumours were that they got together to attempt daring, death-defying feats and, like any secret society, manipulate institutions and other people in their favour whenever the opportunity arose.’
Grace stared at Kitt. ‘You were one of them, weren’t you?’
‘Don’t be absurd,’ said Kitt.
‘A-ha. That’s exactly what somebody who belonged to a secret society would say,’ said Grace, determined to find some way of lightening the mood after the sadness that had settled over them. ‘All this time you’ve been playing the part of a prim librarian who accidentally finds her way onto murder investigations, when really you’ve had the taste for danger all along.’
Kitt crossed her arms. ‘Prim?’
‘Maybe not prim. But you’ve got to admit you’re a bit . . .’
‘A bit what?’
‘Can I suggest that you don’t finish that sentence?’ said Halloran, who had, apparently, finished his cordoning duties. ‘Unless you are a member of the Scarlet Stocking Society and are currently trying to engage in a death-defying feat.’
The frown on Kitt’s face slackened and she chuckled at Halloran’s dig.
‘Ooh, give over,’ she said. ‘My hard stare is disquieting but it’s hardly lethal.’
‘Only on subjects tested so far,’ Halloran continued to joke.
Kitt shook her head at him but within a few seconds she was back to thinking about Selina Grant. ‘From what I remember about the rumours, every few years the society has to choose a new head. It’s always somebody rich and powerful. A millionaire’s daughter like Selina Grant would be the perfect choice.’
‘The recording,’ said Grace. ‘At the end of the radio recording, Jodie was trying to say something that just came out as a ssssssssss sound. Maybe she was trying to say Selina but was cut off before she could?’
‘Or Scarlet Stocking Society,’ said Kitt.
‘Or both. What if Selina wanted to induct Jodie into the society?’ said Grace.
Patrick shook his head. ‘There’s no way Jodie would be up for that. She was far too focused on doing well on her course. She had a scholarship here and knew she had to work hard to stay in the academy’s good graces. Besides anything else, she kept herself to herself.’
‘Exactly,’ said Grace. ‘Which is why she cut off ties with Selina. How secret is this society? Given you’ve both heard rumours about it while you studied here?’
‘When I was here it was just a silly rumour nobody really believed,’ said Kitt. ‘It was a campus Big Foot of sorts. Nobody gave it any credit.’
‘People believe it now,’ said Patrick. ‘But nobody knows exactly who is involved or what they really get up to. Sometimes there are rumours about certain people being involved, like there were about Selina, but of course they always deny it and nobody knows who’s really calling the shots.’
‘Honestly,’ said Cynthia. ‘It sounds like they’ve got a bit too much free time on their hands to be coming up with nonsense like this.’
‘Can’t disagree with you there,’ said Kitt. ‘Berkeley was acting very strangely in our interview yesterday and we thought she might have been trying to cover for someone. What if it’s Selina? Berkeley’s fixated on keeping the college income up. No doubt she wouldn’t want to lose a student as high profile as Selina. If she suspects Selina is involved she might be willing to lie for her.’
‘I called DI Thompson who coordinated the investigation at Durham nick this morning,’ said Halloran. ‘I asked him what he thought about Berkeley and if they’d uncovered anything. They checked both her financial records and phone records at the time and there was nothing out of place so if she was acting strangely it makes more sense that she was covering for someone else rather than up to no good herself. Especially since she has an alibi.’
‘So what if Jodie knew too much about the society and someone involved was worried that she was going to reveal it?’ said Kitt.
‘Yes!’ said Grace. ‘When she called in to the radio show she said it was about an important figure at Venerable Bede’s. Being a millionaire’s daughter here must have made Selina a minor celebrity.’
‘There was a lot of buzz when she enrolled,’ Patrick conceded. ‘And Berkeley did take full advantage of the media opportunities that came with it. Selina has her own bodyguard assigned by her father. That guy follows her everywhere. Nobody can talk to her unless she wants them to so everyone knows her on sight. The thing is, I really can’t see Selina being involved in this. I only had limited contact with her but she seemed incredibly down to earth – for the daughter of a millionaire.’
‘Limited contact is, unfortunately, probably not enough to make a judgement one way or another,’ said Halloran. ‘If she was involved in Jodie’s disappearance she’d make sure any connection was well hidden, especially given her high profile. People like that often have connections and influence that the rest of us sim
ply never will. They operate in a whole other world.’
‘This theory does seem to hold some water,’ said Grace. ‘It wouldn’t look too good if the society was exposed when Selina had only been running it for a few weeks. Who knows what the consequences would be?’
‘And who better placed to make a person who knows your darkest secret disappear, than a millionaire?’ said Kitt.
Eleven
‘Grrr, nothing!’ said Grace, putting her head in her hands. ‘You?’
‘’Fraid not,’ said Kitt, dropping her phone down on the desk.
Despite Patrick’s scepticism about the idea that Selina could be involved in Jodie’s death, the second Grace’s morning lecture was done she and Kitt had headed straight to the library to conduct as much online research as possible on their suspected millionaire murderess.
That was two hours ago, however, and the search had not proven fruitful.
‘I tried hacking – I mean accessing – the academy database but they don’t keep anything in the student files except core contact details. All the other stuff – like details of students streaking across the football pitch at two a.m., for example – must be kept in those paper files in Berkeley’s office.’
Kitt issued Grace with a hard stare but didn’t reference her cheeky comment about the streaking directly. ‘The academy has always been a bit behind the times. Although, knowing how concerned Berkeley is about reputation, she probably just wants to maintain the option to shred any evidence that might reflect badly on her, or Venerable Bede’s.’
‘Well, I’ve tried every combination of search terms I can think of to find a link between Selina and the Scarlet Stocking Society but there’s nothing there. Which, I suppose, is what you’d expect for a secret society, but I thought someone somewhere would have leaked something.’
‘I’ve not found anything linking her to the society either,’ said Kitt.
‘It’s not just that though,’ said Grace. ‘For a millionaire’s daughter she’s led a pristine, if adventurous, life.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘I mean, there are videos of her on her YouTube channel skydiving from ten thousand feet, bungee jumping in South America and white-water rafting in Colorado, but there’s no headlines about a drug addiction or a drink problem or any petty criminal acts that you might expect from someone who might be more inclined than most to go off the rails in their teenage years.’
‘Maybe her father is rich enough to keep anything like that quiet,’ Kitt suggested.
‘Perhaps, but I doubt it in today’s clickbait climate. He’d have to pay a journalist off pretty big to squash that kind of headline. Is someone who hasn’t had any minor infractions likely to kidnap or kill? Can someone really go from nought to murder in sixty seconds?’
‘It happens,’ Kitt said. ‘People who feel threatened will do a lot to protect the status quo and in this case, Selina’s reputation was at stake. If she’s got a pristine record then arguably she had a lot to lose.’
Grace tapped a couple of keys on her laptop. ‘She still hasn’t responded to that email I sent to her academy email address.’
‘Who knows if she even checks it?’ said Kitt. ‘Even if she did, after what you wrote in said email she’d probably think it a scam.’
‘My email was totally plausible, thank you very much. Given her lifestyle, she might well have won an award for Adrenalin Junkie of the Year.’
‘There was probably a more believable tack, though I admire your attempt at getting the subject to come to us,’ said Kitt.
Grace shook her head. ‘No smirches on her name and no easy way of getting a quiet word with her. I even looked her house up online and it’s a gated mansion. Something tells me whatever staff she has to run the place won’t be letting us in for a cosy chat. So now what do we do?’
‘I don’t know,’ Kitt admitted. ‘I’ll have to have a think about it but if, as Lowenthal suggested, even the police were edgy about going after her, then we’ll have to tread carefully. I’m meeting Mal for dinner tonight so I’ll ask him and hopefully he’ll have word about the police response to the new evidence we found at the outhouse. Maybe I’ll even get invited onto the case to consult.’
‘Doubtful that’ll happen again unless the DI at Durham fancies you as much as Halloran,’ Grace said.
‘That’s not the only reason I was asked to consult on his cases,’ Kitt said, though she didn’t sound too sure. A moment later her phone started buzzing. ‘That’s probably him now.’
She picked up her phone and glanced at the screen. ‘Oh, it’s a Skype call from Evie.’
Kitt tapped to accept the call and Grace shuffled round so she could say hello.
‘Greetings, chums,’ Evie said with a little wave.
‘Now then, Marilyn,’ Grace said. Over the last six months or so this had become Grace’s pet name for Evie. With her full pouty lips and golden blonde curls she looked a lot like Monroe and Evie’s love for all things vintage only made it more appropriate. At first Evie had resisted the nickname – likely because she was sensitive about her facial scars which were still visible a year after her brush with death. Over time, however, she’d just accepted that as far as Grace was concerned she was still film star material.
‘Everything all right? Where are you?’ said Kitt.
‘Yeah, just having a cuppa at Tea by the Tower,’ Evie replied.
‘And you’ve Skyped in just to make me jealous, have you? I don’t know what they do to their Lady Grey but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the best in the city of York.’
‘Funnily enough, I didn’t call to discuss the tea,’ Evie said with a little giggle.
‘Then do put me out of my misery, you know I’m working a case and time is of the essence.’
‘Well, Ruby’s here with me’ – ‘’Ello, love,’ Ruby chipped in off-screen – ‘and I was just telling her about this missing student you’re trying to find. She wants to have a quick word with you about it.’
Kitt closed her eyes for a moment as if preparing herself for an ordeal. Grace wagered that if Ruby hadn’t been listening in to the call she would have had a thing or two to say to Evie about discussing the case with her. As it was, unless she wanted to be cruel, she’d have no choice but to acquiesce. ‘All right, put her on.’
Evie’s face disappeared as she passed the phone over to her companion but unfortunately it didn’t seem Ruby was particularly au fait with Skype. She was holding the phone so close to her face, all Grace and Kitt could see was her chin.
‘Oh my giddy aunt, Ruby! Move the phone back a bit so we can see your face, will you?’ said Kitt.
‘Eh? What’s that?’ said Ruby. But a second later, Evie must have taken matters into her own hands as the phone moved back and Ruby’s wrinkled face came into view.
‘I ’ope you don’t mind me getting in touch but when I ’eard about the case you’re working on I thought of a couple of things you may not have thought of.’
‘Without any background information or evidence, that’s impressive,’ Kitt said, her voice as dry as it always was when she was conversing with the Vale of York University library’s unofficial psychic. Grace nudged Kitt’s arm to signal she was being a touch harsh when the old woman only wanted to help. ‘But do continue,’ Kitt added with half a smile.
‘Well, for starters, I understand that this lass ’as disappeared. Now these things do happen but not without some kind of disturbance in the ether. Given she was studying in the Durham area there’s a chance she might ’ave been spirited away by St Cuthbert. ’is presence is very strong in Northumberland.’
‘Spirited away,’ Kitt repeated.
‘Or!’ Ruby said, getting herself even more excited. ‘’ave you passed any odd-looking hills while you’ve been in Durham?’
‘Hills? No. Nothing out of the ordinary, why?’ said Kitt.
‘Well, I ’ate to think it but there’s always a chance the poor lass was eaten by the Lambton Worm.’
/> ‘Lambton Worm? What’s that?’ asked Grace, not sure if she wanted the answer, given she was supposed to live in Durham for the next three years and worms, though useful in the garden, weren’t exactly her favourite creatures.
‘It’s a giant, poisonous worm that curls itself around hills near the Wear. Killed by John Lambton not long after the Crusades.’
‘Oh God, that sounds grim,’ Grace said.
Kitt tutted, shaking her head at Grace and Ruby simultaneously. ‘If the worm was killed after the Crusades, how on earth could it be responsible for the disappearance we’re looking into now?’
‘Well, it must’ve ’ad a mother. Or maybe it ’ad babies. And who knows how long those things live?’ said Ruby, before frowning. ‘But you’re right, there’s probably a more likely explanation.’
‘That we agree on,’ said Kitt, her nose crinkling. A sure sign that her patience was wearing thin.
‘Now that I think about it, I wonder if she’s been lured away by Jimmy.’
‘Jimmy?’ said Kitt.
‘Aye – Jimmy Allen.’
‘Who’s he?’
‘He was the piper to the Duchess of Northumberland for a couple of years. He died in 1810, like, but people are still seeing ’is ghost round and about. If ’is ghostly piping led her off somewhere then finding her might prove quite difficult, but I could do some scrying for you to see if the powers that be want to reveal anything that might be of use.’
‘OK, first things first, what have I told you about referring to famous local ghosts by their first names like they’re your best mates?’
‘Well, it’s not my fault that those who ’ave passed on feel at peace in my company. That Roman soldier had been marching for a thousand years before he stopped to rest at my ’ouse. No wonder he was ready for a cup of tea when ’e got there.’
Kitt pursed her lips, ignoring Ruby’s madcap explanation. ‘And second, are all of these “helpful suggestions” by chance coming out of the book of Durham Folklore?’
Ruby sat silent and still for a moment. ‘I might have glanced at it for reference.’