THE GUILTY ONES a gripping crime thriller filled with stunning twists

by Joy Ellis

  * * *

  Marie arrived back in the empty CID room to find a note on her desk. Ring pathologist before you leave. She has something for you. Rob.

  Marie picked up the phone, and was surprised to hear Rory’s voice.

  ‘Ah, the very woman! My dear Marie, how are you? Personally, as I know you were about to ask, I’m recovering from a ghastly day in the capital! All that traffic! And the noise! Give me my lovely homely mortuary here in the damp and dreary fens any day. So much better.’

  Marie smiled to herself. This was more like it! He’d only been away a day but she had missed him. ‘Sorry to hear that, Rory, but I’d expect nothing less from you. Now, I was asked to ring Lisa Forbes?’

  ‘The lovely Lisa! Actually the dear girl hung on to get my opinion on the deceased gentleman that you so kindly provided her with earlier. And he was a gentleman by the way — well, up until recently that is. He’s new to the streets, that’s for sure.’

  ‘Max guessed that from his trendy haircut. Robbie looked at his manicured hands and corroborated it.’

  ‘Astute young men, our Max and Robbie. But listen, it’s not his history that interested Lisa, it’s the deep laceration at his wrist. I’ve looked at it with her and we both agree, you will find the dead man’s prints on that Stanley knife.’

  ‘He killed himself? But I thought—’

  ‘Patience, woman! Rory hasn’t finished his tale.’ He paused for dramatic effect. ‘But. The laceration is a strange one. There are several what we call hesitation wounds visible. Small nicks and cuts inflicted prior to finding the courage to make the fatal incision. These, from close examination, were made by a shaking hand. Then we get to the main cut. It too was inflicted to begin with, rather hesitantly. Then there is the slightest change of direction of the blade, and a deep killing wound is administered. We suggest that although our man began the deed, another, gloved, hand exerted extreme pressure over his, and “helped” him on his way.’

  ‘A deliberately assisted suicide?’ Marie exhaled.

  ‘Forensics is so exciting, is it not?’ Rory was almost purring. ‘The tiniest deviation from what you expect to find and a whole new scenario opens up before you!’

  Marie shook her head. ‘Doesn’t it just!’

  ‘Well. Now the interesting bit is over, I should tell you the rather sadder news about my trip to London.’

  ‘Sarah?’

  ‘Poor girl. Drowning is a particularly unpleasant way to take your life. It takes almost two agonising minutes to lose consciousness, after an automatic struggle for survival as the air supply is shut off.’ Rory made a tutting noise. ‘Thing is, without a reliable eyewitness to the whole event, it is difficult to determine the manner of death. She drowned, no question, but did she fall into the water as the result of a slip, a trip or a dizzy spell, or did she actually jump?’

  ‘CCTV shows she jumped.’

  ‘Have you seen it yourself?’

  Marie frowned. ‘Jackman saw it.’

  ‘Not the same thing. He is personally involved. You should look too. Impartially.’

  She would, first thing tomorrow. ‘So what next?’

  ‘I’ve performed a complete toxicology analysis, just to determine whether there were any drugs in her system that could account for her actions, but the tests will take a little time, I’m afraid. And to be honest, I saw nothing physical to indicate that she had taken anything.’ He sounded unnaturally sombre. ‘I hate to say it, but in this case I think you may deduce more from the circumstances surrounding her death than from my lab reports.’

  ‘Will you be ringing Jackman, Rory? Or shall I tell him?’

  ‘I’ll phone him immediately, but I suggest you check on him later. I hope he didn’t expect more of me, only drownings are such a complicated business.’

  ‘Don’t worry. He’ll know that no one could have done more. And I’ll check that CCTV and talk to you tomorrow, okay?’

  ‘Nighty-night, sleep well. If you can.’

  Marie wasn’t too sure about that. But whatever, she’d probably sleep better than Jackman, after he’d received both Orac and Rory’s news. She gathered up her things and was about to go when she saw Annie, the cleaner, waving to her. Part of a private cleaning company, Annie had been working at the station for years and was on first name terms with most of the officers.

  ‘Are you finished in here, Sarge? Only it’s just Stefan and me tonight, and we need to get on.’

  ‘Sure, I’m just off. There’s only one duty officer on tonight and he’s had to go out.’ She grinned at Annie. ‘Eric sick again?’

  Annie’s face darkened. ‘That man! If I didn’t have my lovely Stefan on my rota, heaven knows what I’d do. He never takes a day off, not like bloody Eric!’

  Stefan waved at her from across the room. ‘Evening, Sarge. You okay?’

  She waved back, wondering vaguely what part of Eastern Europe Stefan came from. His accent was very slight. One day she’d ask him, but not tonight. ‘Gotta go. I’ll let you guys get on.’

  She rode home, deep in thought, stopping at the local chippy on her way to pick up a fish and chip supper. She was glad to shut the door on the day.

  She indulged in a glass of white wine with her meal, and after washing up, finally summoned the courage to ring Jackman.

  * * *

  By the time Jackman spoke to Marie, he’d digested what Rory had told him. He’d expected nothing less of him, in fact he wondered if he’d overstepped the mark by requesting that Rory carry out the post-mortem personally, but he had felt he owed it to Sarah to provide the very best.

  For a few moments they discussed the pathologist’s findings, and then he became aware that Marie had more news for him. ‘Okay, Evans, cough up.’

  He heard her draw in a deep breath. Then she told him of Orac’s sinister discovery from Sarah’s laptop.

  ‘I knew it! She was being targeted by some psycho!’ His brain reeled.

  ‘Jackman? How much do you know about Sarah’s past?’

  Marie’s words brought him back to earth. He thought for a moment. ‘Well, she . . . I . . .’ He stopped. ‘Not much, Marie. In fact, surprisingly little. To me, she had no past. Sarah was a wife and mother, the centre of her family. I know she and my brother met at some charity function, and that both her parents had either died or gone abroad, I’m not sure which, but they were not at the wedding.’ He sounded embarrassed. ‘And I suppose that is more or less it.’

  ‘So you know more about me than you do about your own brother’s wife?’

  ‘Okay, Detective, what are you getting at exactly?’

  ‘I hate to say this, but you, or we, really need to make some serious enquiries into Sarah’s past.’

  Jackman sat back in his chair. She was right, but it wouldn’t be easy. ‘My brother will be key to that, but he’s at breaking point. I’m going to have to tread carefully. Although,’ he thought about Ella Jarvis, ‘Ella knew her better than anyone as far as I can tell. I’ll start with her.’

  ‘And your mother?’

  ‘Maybe she knew more than me, but I get the feeling she saw Sarah much as I did, very much in the present.’

  Marie sounded tense. ‘Jackman, shall I bring these printouts to you tonight? I’ve looked through them and I really think you should see them. I sense that this man, if it is a man, had something over Sarah, something from way back in her past. The things he says refer to a particular incident. They are not random threats about trivial things.’

  Jackman was still at his brother’s house. He glanced at the clock and saw it was just after half past nine, and he hadn’t even stopped to eat. ‘That’s asking too much of you, Marie. Look, I’ll drive into town, grab something to eat and call in to you on my way back to Mother’s house, if that’s all right?’

  ‘Fine. I’ll be here,’ Marie said.

  * * *

  He arrived an hour later, full of apologies but clearly excited about something. Marie led the way through to the lounge and
offered him a coffee.

  ‘Please. I could do with a caffeine hit right now.’ He flopped down onto her sofa and let out a long, loud sigh. ‘What a day!’

  ‘But you’ve found something?’ Marie called out from the kitchen.

  ‘Her phone, Marie! I’ve found it, and she didn’t try to trash it either.’ He got up and walked into the kitchen. ‘I think she wanted it found. It was in a drawer in the hall table right by the front door, almost the last drawer I looked in. I only noticed it on my way out. Talk about hiding something in plain sight.’

  ‘Have you checked the call log?’

  ‘Full of stuff from an unknown caller. In one day alone he rang her fourteen times. Whoever this wicked bastard is, he drove her to do what she did, just as certainly as if he’d shot her point blank.’

  Marie handed him a steaming mug of coffee. ‘And when you read the emails, you’ll get an insight into his scary mindset. It’s unnerving, to say the least.’

  ‘Poor Sarah, what she must have gone through.’ He turned to go back into the lounge.

  ‘Did you actually stop and get some food, Jackman?’ Marie asked.

  He looked at her blankly. ‘I, er, no, I must have forgotten.’

  ‘I can do you an omelette and oven chips. You have to eat, you know that.’

  ‘No, honestly, I’m sure my mother will have left me something. Thanks anyway.’

  Marie went and fetched the folder of printouts. ‘I hope you didn’t mind but I took copies for myself. There are some interesting quotes. I thought I’d look them up, they just might give us a clue as to what kind of person we’re looking for.’

  ‘A psychopath, I suggest.’

  ‘Apart from the obvious.’ Marie sat down opposite him. ‘I’ve got a small mystery of my own too.’ She told him about the dead man on the disused footpath.

  For a while he said nothing. Then he looked at her anxiously. ‘What are the odds of having two supposed suicides within two days, and both seemingly involving some kind of coercion?’

  ‘Pretty rare, I’d say. The same thought had occurred to me. But where’s the connection? Not that I even know who the dead man is.’

  ‘You have to make that a priority, Marie. There is a chance he is connected to Sarah, and at least that would mean we’re only looking for one psycho, not two.’

  ‘Whoopee, I do like a glass-half-full attitude.’

  ‘Seriously, Marie. You know we don’t believe in coincidences. Unless we’re unlucky enough to find ourselves looking for two vindictive killers at one time, we need to look at a possible link.’

  ‘I quite agree, and don’t worry. I’ll be hitting this case like a runaway train in the morning. And you, DI Jackman, should get some food into you and have some sleep, then tomorrow you can work your socks off to discover everything you can about Sarah’s past. Oh, what was her maiden name, by the way?’

  Jackman looked perplexed. ‘Do you know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it mentioned.’

  Marie stared at him. ‘You do know this is pretty unusual, don’t you? You are a policeman. Policemen notice things. We listen to everything people say, and we remember. It sounds to me as if your sister-in-law didn’t want anyone to know that she even had a past. No parents? No previous name? No chat about silly things that happened when she was young? It’s like Sarah Jackman didn’t exist before she married your brother.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  When Jackman arrived back at the family home, he was surprised to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him.

  ‘I kept you something, Rowan. I guessed that you’d miss dinner.’ His mother went over to the stove and produced a large soup bowl from the warmer. She was wearing one of his father’s dressing gowns over her silk pyjamas. It was something she had often done when he was a child, and for a fleeting moment it made him feel almost nostalgic for family life.

  ‘You didn’t have to wait up, Mum.’ Jackman gratefully accepted a bowl of delicious smelling chicken casserole and a thick wedge of fresh bread.

  ‘I can’t rest, son. The whole situation is unbearable. I’ve been wondering why you asked about Sarah’s recent state of mind, and now I’m imagining all sorts of things. Do you suspect foul play of some kind?’

  Jackman laid down his fork and looked at her worried face. ‘Yes, I do, and all the time I’m uncovering new facts that confirm it.’

  ‘Oh dear. That’s good news and bad, at the same time.’

  ‘If I can prove it, it will be a huge relief to James and the boys. It will count for a lot just to know that their mother didn’t leave them voluntarily.’

  His mother looked shocked. ‘Who would do such a terrible thing?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I intend to find out.’ He took a mouthful of food. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was. ‘Mum, how much do you know about Sarah’s past?’

  His mother took a long time to reply. Finally she said, ‘Not much, Rowan, and that’s because when James first told us he was going to marry her, he asked your father and I never to pry into her private life, her life before she met him, that is.’

  Jackman screwed his face into a frown. ‘Why on earth ask that of her future in-laws?’

  ‘He said that something traumatic had happened in her past, and talking about it dredged up old fears and worries.’ She gave a little shrug. ‘So we agreed of course. What else could we do? We liked her from the moment we met her. We decided that if James was happy, then that was all that mattered. It wasn’t much to ask in the grand scheme of things.’

  Except that whatever happened, it finally came back from the past, and it killed her, thought Jackman darkly. ‘He never said anything like that to me.’

  His mother gave him a rueful smile. ‘He didn’t have to, did he? You two were never as close as I’d have liked, and you were both so involved with your careers that frankly, you never spent much time together anyway.’

  ‘That’s harsh, Mum.’ It hurt, but Jackman had to admit that she had a point. ‘I do love James, of course I do, he’s my big brother, but we have grown up to be very different men.’

  ‘You were always very different! Different babies, different toddlers, different boys, teens, and young adults.’ Harriet laughed softly. ‘Chalk and cheese.’

  He sighed. ‘I want to help him now, but I’m going to have to ask him to share whatever he knows, and I’m not sure that will be easy.’

  ‘I’m certain it won’t, although his mood has improved somewhat this evening. He’s not so fraught. He’s calmer, at least.’

  ‘And he’s prepared to return home?’

  ‘Now that he knows Ella will be supporting him, yes. Even in the state he’s in, he wants what is best for Ryan and Miles, and they want to go back to school.’ She gave him a tired smile. ‘But don’t worry, I’ll keep a close eye on him. My friend Clara is covering for me at the stables this week, so I have more time.’

  ‘You look as though you need someone to keep an eye on you. You’re exhausted, Mum.’

  ‘We’ll get through it. We’re a tough family, all things considered.’

  ‘True. I’ll be in and out of Rainham Lodge, and I’ll make sure Ella has everything she needs.’

  ‘Bless you, Rowan. Now, if you’ve finished that, go get some sleep. You can’t function properly without food and rest.’

  ‘You sound just like Marie! She’s told me that once already tonight.’

  ‘Sensible woman. Take heed! And now, off to bed.’

  He did as he was told, but took the folder of emails with him.

  At around one a.m., he was still staring at them, and fervently wishing he had left them downstairs. He didn’t know what had happened, but he did know that they were dealing with a very sick son of a bitch.

  * * *

  Yvette called out softly, ‘Susie? Are you awake?’

  ‘Yes, I have been for hours.’

  ‘Me too.’

  Yvette turned over to face Susie’s side of the bedroom. ‘Worried ab
out Mum coming home tomorrow?’

  ‘Partly. I mean I’m terrified that she might be taken ill again, but I’m more worried about the boys.’

  Yvette wondered why they still called them “the boys” when by now their ages ranged from thirty to forty-five. ‘I wish Mother had never said all that about not resting until Brendan’s name is cleared. It has fired up Dale and Liam all over again.’

  ‘I know. I feel the same. I just wanted Mum’s last days to be peaceful and full of love, not riddled with tension.’

  ‘I bet you can’t wait to get back to your kids and your Stevie?’

  Susie sighed. ‘We all said we’d be here for Mum to get her over this bad patch. After all, she was always there for us, through thick and thin.’ She shifted and the bed creaked. ‘Stevie understands, and he’s so good with the youngsters. He knows it’s not for ever.’

  ‘It’s still good of you, Susie. And it’s good of Kenny’s wife too. I’m really pleased you’re with me right now. I don’t think I would have coped without you.’

  ‘Don’t be daft! Of course you would.’

  Yvette wasn’t so sure. ‘Dale and Liam scare me, Sue. They are so . . . so intense, so driven. And if I’m truly honest, I’ve lost heart. Brendan is never coming back, and we can do nothing to make it happen, so what is the point?’

  ‘Don’t let them hear you talk like that, Yvie. They want us all to be together for this last hurrah.’

  ‘The bloody crusade! I wish it was all over,’ Yvette said. ‘You can’t tell me that you aren’t worried by the look in Dale’s eyes?’

  ‘Honestly? It terrifies me. And Liam is even worse. Hell, he was only eight when it all happened, but I think he’s the most obsessed. I have no idea what they will do next. But I’m here for Mum, so I’ll stay, and say all the right words, until this is finished.’ She waited for a moment then added, ‘And you’d be well-advised to do the same.’

  Yvette drew her knees up to her chest and pulled the duvet tighter around her. It was sound advice. She knew how her family felt about loyalty. But even so, she felt a growing apprehension that something dreadful was going to happen.