by Emily Selby
'Oh.' Katie glanced at the woman. 'I understand. Don't worry, I won't run around town telling everyone about you.'
But I will tell the police.
Katie shuddered. 'Yes, it's a bit of a shock. I've heard Erin has been planning their wedding.'
Jackie Burns' cheeks took on the colour of her cherry scarf. 'I know. Jason has been trying to break up with her for a while. He shouldn't have waited so long, but...'
He didn't have the guts to do it, Katie thought and chastised herself for it. People were entitled to as much happiness as they could find.
'Mum, are you coming?' Julia cried, pulling at Katie's sleeve. 'Look what I've found - a few pinecones. Can I put them in my decorations?'
'Of course, baby,' Katie replied.
'Mum, why is there so much rubbish in that garden?' Julia pointed to the allotment in front of which they were standing.
Katie shifted her gaze from Jackie's face to the piece of land in front. It was probably the worst looking patch of land she had seen here. The ground was covered in tall weeds, most of them brown and dry. There were bits and pieces of corrugated steel lying all over the place, and the only tree was charred, just like the pile of rubble in the corner.
'This is Erin and her mum's allotment,' Jackie Burns said quietly. ‘It was. Still is. I mean, Erin has tried to sell it but no luck. Jason doesn't like coming here, but he insisted he was fine to pick up the tree.'
'Does Erin come here at all?'
'She couldn't for a long time. But according to Jason, she's planning to do some work on it. Knock it all down, and maybe put something nice. Maybe even a summer house, if she can get planning permission. Apparently, she came to have a look a few weeks ago.'
'It must be so hard for her,' Katie said quietly. 'It's strange how nature hasn’t claimed it back. You can still see the results of the fire all over the garden,' she pointed to various pieces scattered in the weeds.
'That's because no one has actually ever cleaned it. To be honest, I suspect a few of the families who used to come here often stopped doing so. It's hard to enjoy your own garden if you have this to look at.'
'Mum, look, the rubbish is everywhere.' Julia bent and picked up a piece of plastic.
'Julia, leave it.'
'But mum, it's rubbish. It should be put into the bin. Where is the bin?' Julia asked Dr Burns.
'There is no bin for rubbish here. Only compost. You have to take your rubbish home.'
'Yuk,' Julia moaned. 'It still stinks of fire.'
'Now you've picked it up, Julia, you need to follow up on it,' Katie informed her deeply disappointed daughter. She pulled a plastic bag she prepared for the fir and handed it over to Julia, who obeyed the request.
'There's something else over there.' Katie pointed to a white, half-melted plastic soap dispenser, lying by the gate to the next garden. 'It must have been a massive explosion. I didn't realise quite how huge,' Katie said.
'It was quite big. We found stuff in our garden.'
'That was petrol fumes, wasn't it?' Katie asked, remembering the gossip.
Jackie looked away, towards the main gate where Jason struggled to load the tree into the back of a car.
'Yeah, apparently so. But I wouldn't be surprised if this stuff,' she gestured with her chin towards the piece of debris Julia was putting in the plastic bag, 'was involved, too. Highly flammable.'
Katie read the brand name on the bottle, and an image flashed through her mind. The same brand as she saw in Archie's room. Was it relevant?
'Had Archie Blackburn ever been here since the accident?'
Jackie's long, perfectly made-up face flinched. 'I don't think so,' she said reluctantly. 'Maybe. I don't know,' she added quickly.
'Poor man, what a death,' Katie said, watching the woman closely. But Dr Burns turned around and waved. 'Sorry, I'd better go. Jason's waiting for me. I've got to get to work on time.'
Work! Katie shivered. She also had to get to work, but first, she had to collect her thoughts. No, fir branches first, then collecting thoughts.
With the firm decision in mind, Katie trotted towards the trees and beckoned Julia to join her.
With a bunch of fragrant firs, spilling needles all over the floor of her Micra but filling the air with one of the best smells in the world, Katie dropped her daughter off at the community centre and then sat in her car.
She needed to think.
26
Katie’s thoughts were tumbling and whirling like a load of washing on a fast cycle.
And, just as during washing, the only thing coming out looked like murky water.
The only thing she could see clearly was the impulse to go home. Now. Put the branches in water so they didn’t lose any more needles.
There was also another reason why she wanted to go home. Some other undefined force pushed her to do it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the true reason.
Maybe she should talk to Jack. Tell him about Dr Jackie Burns’ new boyfriend. Maybe they shouldn't remove Jackie Burns from the suspect list.
She pulled out her phone and texted him.
"Dr Jackie Burns is dating Erin's ex-husband-to-be."
She pressed send. Then, she remembered the allotment and added, "Erin is planning to build a house on the old allotment. How come she has money for it?"
She watched the screen go dark, her head still humming.
Ah, maybe the impulse to go home was related to the notebook she left on the kitchen counter last night.
Yes, it was about her notebook. She had to write down her thoughts. ASAP.
She drove home, parked the car and ran upstairs with the bunch of fir in her hand and the plastic bag with the collected rubbish. Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a tall glass, poured water into it and froze, looking at the soap dispenser by the sink.
Hand sanitiser in Archie's bedroom. Lots of it, everywhere. Mrs Weatherspoon saying his room often smelled of it. But, on Monday, everything had been overpowered by the stench of rotting potatoes.
She put the glass with the fir away and fished the half-melted bottle of hand sanitiser from the plastic bag. The top of the container must have been cut off because the edge was sharp. The bottom was charred and partially melted.
Alcohol evaporates, it's highly flammable. Particularly if you leave the bottle open, on a hot day in a tin box of a garden shed.
The thoughts in her head were still turning, but she was beginning to see clearer.
She mulled over her thoughts for a few seconds.
'So, this is how it all happened?' she whispered to herself.
Yeah, it would make sense.
She rushed to her phone, found Erin's number and pressed it.
'Hi, Erin. Found something which belonged to your dad. I think it'll be helpful in understanding why he died,' she said quickly when Erin answered.
'Sorry?' Erin's voice was a mixture of surprise and... was it fear?
'Come over. Quickly. I'm at home.'
'What are you talking about?' Erin's voice became shrill.
'Come over. It won't take long. I've got something important to tell you.'
She hung up and rushed to the notebook. She had to write it all down.
No, she had to tell people at work she'd be late.
Back to the phone. A quick call to the station.
No answer. She waited for the voicemail to click in.
'I've had a small emergency at home. I'll be a little late.' She texted the same thing to Chris, and then, she called Jack.
'I'm driving,' he said.
'Pop in with the hammer, if you have it. I'm home. Now.'
'Stuck in the traffic,' he replied and said something else, but it disappeared in background static.
'What did you say?' she asked, her heart pumping so hard, she started to rock. 'Are you there?'
She listened, but only heard some more incomprehensible chopped up words, and more static noise.
Poor reception area! What a bad luck.
&nb
sp; Katie waited a little longer, but it didn't get any better and the call dropped.
She returned to her notebook, wrote 'Timeline', and underlined it.
Sunday, 26th November:
1.10 pm Ric Marino leaves Archie's place. He meets Erin on the way out.
1.30 pm Erin leaves Archie's place and goes back to her own flat. She packs up and drives to Lake District.
3.00 pm Erin checks in at the hotel.
It gets dark at about 4.30 pm.
It takes about 1 hr to drive back from Windermere to Sunnyvale
Katie sat back looking at her notes. Yes, the timeline fit. But what about her logic? And more importantly, would her knowledge of human nature be correct?
She rolled her shoulders back and forth a few times. A knot tightened on her stomach. She checked the wall clock.
It had been twelve minutes since she'd called Erin. The woman should arrive any minute.
And hopefully, so should Jack.
The doorbell rang. Katie pushed the chair away so hard, it hit the cupboard behind. She jumped to her feet and ran out of the kitchen, down the steps, to the door.
'Hi Erin,' she greeted the young woman. 'Come in, please.'
Erin obeyed, silently, her face serious and unreadable, as usual.
Katie discreetly made sure the door was left slightly ajar and beckoned Erin to follow her to the kitchen.
'Tea? Coffee?' Katie offered, keeping her voice steady. Oh, her stomach hurt, all twisted. It made her want to fold in half, but her head was clear.
Erin looked at her through narrowed eyes. 'You said you found something to do with my father's death, and that it was important. I've things to do and don't have time for a coffee.'
Katie wiped away the sweat gathering on her upper lip. 'Yes, of course, I'm sorry,' she said quickly. 'Do sit down, please. It'll be a bit of a story, I'm afraid.'
Erin clutched her handbag, shook her head, but sat at the table.
Katie slid onto the chair opposite. 'I'm sorry, Erin, but I'm afraid we've got you.'
Erin's jaw tensed. 'What are you talking about?'
'You killed your father. You tampered with the attic hatch.'
Erin jumped up from the chair. Her eyes shone, red spots appeared on her cheeks. 'Are you crazy?'
'No. And neither are you. You just very, very angry at your dad. For what he did to your mum, and your ex-fiancé.'
'My mum died following a tragic fire, and Jason has nothing to do with any of this.'
Katie pressed her trembling hands against the cool tabletop. 'No, he doesn't. Jason left the relationship a long time ago. You thought you could save it with marriage, but he just doesn't feel the same anymore. You've grown apart, Erin. You guilt has led you to keep holding onto him. The guilt that maybe if you had been there, you could have prevented the fire. You would have known not to enter the hot shed filled with highly flammable fumes. And if you had, you would have known what the risks were. You would have left the door open for a while. And you wouldn’t, under any circumstance, have turned the light on.'
Erin's face drained of colour. Her lips trembled, and she slid back into the chair. 'Stop it, Katie, please,' she croaked.
'I know it hurts, Erin, even after so many years. Your dad said he had checked the shed and that it was safe, didn't he? Your mum believed him. You wanted to believe him. You wanted your dad to be functioning again, and you were so happy when your mum asked your dad to help with the shed. You thought they could get back together...'
Erin covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook. 'I did,' she whimpered. 'I really hoped. He said he had it all under control. He said he'd be fine.' Her voice trembled.
'And that’s what he said when you came to his so-called birthday party. And then you saw the hand sanitiser bottles all over his room. You could smell it.' Katie stood and walked to the counter. She reached for the half-melted plastic bottle and put it on the table. 'You saw that he was still cutting bottles in half to dip his tools in, leaving the container open, probably for an easy access, with highly volatile alcohol evaporating gradually. Or quickly, on hot, sunny days. That's what happened all those years ago, isn’t it?'
Erin broke into a sob. 'Stop, Katie, please ... I really can't take any more.'
'I know. I'm sorry. But it's necessary.' Katie paused and listened out. Did she hear the entrance door open? Were there footsteps on the stairs?
Katie reached across the table and touched Erin's forearm. 'You couldn’t take it anymore. You couldn't take his promises any more. His broken promises. Yet another betrayal. He swore he would do something for you, and he would maybe try for a while, but his obsessions and compulsions would not let him finish. So, he would stop and walk away because it caused him too much stress to deal with it. He would walk away, locking all the doors and windows, making sure everything was secured. He would check and recheck everything dozens of times. Doors, windows, attic hatches. You knew how it all worked. He would pull and push, and sometimes the handle would come off. He was a sick man.'
'He was...' Erin gasped between sobs. 'But he should have got treatment for it. He had been offered it so many times.'
'Jackie Burns was probably closest to getting him to take it.'
'Jackie...' Erin moaned softly.
'Yes, Jackie, your old school friend. Who also betrayed you, she's stolen Jason from you.'
Erin rubbed her face. 'Jason ... It was him. He couldn't cope with me. I don't think it would have worked anyway. If it wasn't Jackie, there would be another woman, sooner or later. I'm just a person who nobody loves.' Erin’s head bobbed in another wave of silent weeping.
'You're not a bad person, Erin. You're good, too good. You take too much on. You saw your dad's hand sanitiser and realised what happened in the shed. You realised his OCD added to the problem. You knew the fumes from the hand sanitiser must have mixed with the petrol fumes.'
'Is that true, Erin?' A familiar, smooth baritone broke the silence in the kitchen.
Katie lifted her head. Jack stood in the doorway, his dark jacket unbuttoned and his arms folded. 'Is this how it happened?' he repeated.
Erin's arms dropped on the table with a thud. She looked at Jack through tear-filled eyes and stretched out her hands. 'Yes, it's true. Just arrest me now,' she said calmly. 'I deserve it. We used to leave the window propped open for ventilation, particularly in summer, but he locked it all up, tight. And then, he told my mum, my poor mum who trusted him, that the shed was safe, that he'd checked it.'
Katie jerked her head from Erin to Jack. 'What about evidence?' Katie asked, her voice screeched as she pushed air through her tightened throat.
Jack pulled the plastic evidence bag from the inside pocket of his jacket.
'Did you use a coin to loosen the screws in the hatch frame, and in the fence?'
Erin's hands flew to her face again. 'I did,' she said heavily.
'This coin was found by the fence. We found fingerprints.'
'They're mine,' Erin replied.
'You also didn't tell us that you drove to Lake District in a rented car. Can you tell us what it was?'
'A dark blue 4x4. I think it was a Dacia.'
'Dacia Duster. We've checked with the rental agency. One of my colleagues is comparing the tire tracks with those found near the crime scene as we speak.'
Erin shrugged. 'No need. It was me. I drove there, on Sunday afternoon to prepare the accident. And then again, on Monday night to check what happened. I also sent the postcards to his landlady and myself. They were old postcards I saw in his diary and took.' Erin's voice sounded wooden and hollow. 'You have to arrest me. Please. Take me to prison. I can't live with the guilt.'
Erin lifted her hands off her face and stretched them out again, inviting Jack to put handcuffs on her wrists.
Jack strode towards the table. 'Erin Blackburn, I'm arresting you on suspicion of Archie Blackburn's murder.'
Erin stood and walked out of the kitchen, clutching her handbag, before Jack
could finish reciting her rights.
'Let's get on with it,' she said.
Jack followed her into the hallway.
Katie leant on the table, breathing calmly. When the main door clicked shut, she straightened her back.
She poured herself a glass of cold water and drained it in one go.
It was a close call...
27
Katie drove to the station on autopilot. The staffroom was empty. She must have missed another little celebration as there was an open and half-full box of chocolates on one of the desks, together with a Christmas card signed by Andy Lumley.
Darn it, she’d forgotten to wish her team and her boss Merry Christmas! The moment she had a break, she'd get home and bring a few mince pies.
Back in her office, she checked her phone and found two messages - one from Roy and one from Chris. She read the text from Chris first.
"Congratulations! Well done! We're taking Erin to Carlisle for faster processing".
Katie tried to focus on her work, but her mind was still spinning, and her body jittered with excited energy. She cleared her desk, put away all the files and then moved to the staffroom. Never before had she welcomed a pile of dirty dishes in the sink so much. The simple act of washing dishes couldn’t have been more therapeutic.
As her head cleared, she remembered Roy’s message and hurried back to her office to give him a call.
'I need to talk to you about the workshop,' Roy said, his voice was heavy. 'It’s important.'
'What is it?'
'I don't know how to put it, but it looks like there is not enough cash in the estate to pay the inheritance tax.'
An invisible cold hand clenched on Katie's throat. 'What do you mean?'
'Aunty Phyllis wasn't that well-off, but her house, the workshop and the land, which belongs to them is worth more than £325,000. It means we need to pay the inheritance tax.'