by Amy Cross
“Alex has already requisitioned her email records, social media, that sort of thing. If she ever mentioned the Border to anyone -”
“She won’t have done. We drill that into them right from the start. Or have you forgotten how the induction session works?”
“What about her phone? Did she have your number?”
“Nothing that can be traced to me. Or to this place.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He laughed. “Yeah, honey, I’m sure. The Border was here long before me, and it’ll be here long after I’m gone. You know this place is protected.” He paused. “Relax, Jane. Go home to your husband and kids. I’m sure they can help you take your mind off things for the night. After all, they don’t have any idea about this side of your life, do they? You don’t want anything to leak from your bag of secrets.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s simply an observation. I wonder how Jack would react if he knew what his wife had been up to in her younger, more carefree days?” He took one final drag on his cigarette, before dropping the butt and crushing it with his heel. “Relax. Just another observation. We both know that Hayley’s death, as sad as it is, has nothing to do with the Border. I promise you, I’d know if it did.”
“And Caitlin’s?”
He stared at her for a moment. “I told you a long time ago,” he said firmly, “that her death was nothing to do with us either.”
“I know you did.”
“We cleaned house before that.”
“So you said.”
“So there’s no need to discuss it further, is there?” Turning, he headed back to the door. “I’ve got work to do, Jane. I already had work to do, and now on top of that I need to find someone to replace Hayley.” He smiled as he opened the door and glanced back at her. “I don’t suppose you fancy coming back for some more shifts, do you? I’m sure some of the older customers would be happy to see a familiar face. And some other familiar body parts.”
She shook her head.
“Mr. Crutchlow sends his regards, by the way,” Simon added with a grin. “I think he misses you.”
“Tell him to go to hell,” she replied.
“Ah, no, I won’t tell him that. I value my life a little too highly.”
As Simon headed inside, Jane took her phone from her pocket and saw that she’d received a message from Jack. Realizing that she had to drop by his sister’s house and pick up the kids, she sighed as she opened the car door and climbed inside. For a moment, she sat in silence and listened, and finally she felt she could just about hear the thumping of music coming from far below the parking lot. After a few more seconds, however, the sound faded and she realized it had probably just been her imagination. She knew the Border was too well isolated from the main part of town to ever leak through. It had been that way forever, and there was no reason to think it would ever change.
She pulled the door shut and started the engine, before easing the car out of the parking lot.
***
“It has been an absolute honor to spend one more day here,” Mac said as he and Jack made their way to the newspaper office’s front door. “Thank you for indulging an old man’s nostalgic whims. I’m sure you were petrified that I’d keel over.”
“You seem fitter than me,” Jack replied, holding the door open for him as Mac hobbled out on his cane. “Be honest. If I wasn’t going home and locking up right now, you’d stay ‘til midnight, wouldn’t you? Just like the old days.”
“Damn straight.” Stopping, Mac leaned on his cane for a moment as he turned to Jack. “Let me tell you something. A warning, maybe. This is the kind of job that never really leaves you. One day, God willing, you’ll be a little old man, just like me, and you’ll get shuffled out the way by some new young hotshot, and you’ll realize that I’m right. Most people, they retire and they get to enjoy themselves. Men like us, Jack, we retire and we feel like half our soul is suddenly gone. Maybe even more.”
“Drop by any time, Mac. We can always use you.”
“And trust your instincts,” Mac replied. “I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to know that your brother’s a monster, but it doesn’t help if you deny the truth. That boy needs serious help, the kind he can only get if he’s locked away. Maybe that’s a harsh thing for me to say, but it’s the truth, and the truth is always non-negotiable.” He paused. “I went by the diner earlier. I was fetching some lunch to bring back to the office. It’s just a coincidence, maybe, but do you know what I saw? I saw your brother talking to the girl who died. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now…”
“Are you sure?” Jack asked.
“I debated whether or not I should tell you. I just saw them through the window, she didn’t seem keen, she was hurrying into the bathroom, but he was trying to start up a conversation with her. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
“It could be,” Jack said cautiously.
As Daniel, the intern, followed them out and turned to lock the doors, Mac patted Jack’s shoulder. “The paper’s in fine hands, Jack. You’re a better editor than I ever was. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get going. Believe it or not, there are people who will still miss me if I’m away for too long.”
“You were always the life and soul of the party.”
“Give my regards to your wife,” Mac added. “Tell her to throw you a bone now and then, just to spice up the paper. Tell her it might be against the rules, but it’s the way the world works. Tell her to be imaginative.”
“I’ll tell her,” Jack replied, smiling as Mac turned and began to make his way along the sidewalk. “See you around!”
“He asked me to explain what the internet is,” Daniel said after a moment. “I tried, but I really don’t think he got it. He still thinks there are tubes involved somehow.”
“Everything I learned about the newspaper business,” Jack replied, “I learned from that man. He’s the finest, most upstanding person I’ve ever met, and he’s certainly not an idiot. I’d bet good money that he was trolling you” He watched as the old man headed around the next corner, out of sight. “We could all do with being a little more like Mac Crutchlow,” he added finally. “What a guy.”
***
“I’m really sorry about this,” Jane said as she followed Beth through to the kitchen. “Jack said he was going to look after the kids while I worked late, and then I found out he’d dumped them on you and that he’d stayed at the office. I thought for one night, he could cover.”
“Don’t stress it,” Beth replied, hitting a switch on the side of the coffee machine. “Lucy loves playing with her cousins. They’re watching a film.” She grabbed two cups and set them on the counter. “I heard there was another murder.”
“Hayley Maitland.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I think we’ve got prints this time,” Jane replied. She paused for a moment. “Can I tell you something in confidence?”
Beth nodded.
“I think we’re going to get him this time,” she continued. “There are processes to follow, but I think he slipped up. We found fingerprints.”
“Seriously?”
“A full set. It’s almost too good to be true.”
“So what, did he just get sloppy?”
“We just need to run the prints,” Jane continued, “hopefully get a match, and then we’ll know who did it. After all these years, I think -”
Stopping suddenly, she saw that Caitlin was standing next to Beth.
“I mean,” Jane added, trying not to appear flustered, “I’m confident. We had some…”
Her voice trailed off as she watched Caitlin reach down and slowly push one of the coffee cups toward the sink. The dead girl was staring at her, fixing her with a dark, determined gaze, as if something was wrong.
“Are you okay?” Beth asked, smiling at Jane. “You seem distracted.”
“No,” Jane replied, “I just…”
She paused again as
she watched Caitlin pushing the cup a little further, until finally it came to rest at the very edge of the sink, on the verge of toppling over.
“You must be under so much pressure,” Beth continued, turning and grabbing a pot of coffee. After filling the two cups, she turned back to her. “I can watch Stu and Olly any time, you know that. I’m only doing a few shifts a week at the hospital, just to get back into the swing of things before the new year, so it’s really not a problem. You just look…” She paused for a moment. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Jane, but you look pretty exhausted. Tired, pale… You need to look after yourself. Fancy a spa day some time?”
“Yeah, Jane,” Caitlin said darkly, “you need to look after yourself. Don’t want to end up losing your mind, do you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Jane replied. “But a spa day sounds good. Next month, maybe, when all of this has been put to bed.”
“You might make a mistake,” Caitlin continued. “Maybe that husband of yours will finally find out what you used to do when you were a Border girl.”
“No.”
“No what?” Beth asked.
“No… coffee,” Jane replied, turning to her. “Sorry, I think I should get the boys home and to bed. You’re right, it’s been an insane day, and tomorrow’s going to be even crazier.”
“I just hope you find this monster soon,” Beth said, as the coffee machine beeped. “We can’t keep living in fear like this. It’s as if there’s some kind of darkness lurking under the surface, and we never know when or where it’s going to burst up next and take someone.”
“It’s not going to take anyone else,” Jane told her. “I promise. One way or another, we’re going to stop him. We’ve got prints now. He touched her and he messed up.”
***
Red lights pulsated all around her as Katie leaned back, giving them a better view of her naked body. Their hands rubbed against her flesh, pulling her closer, and she let them.
***
“Brother, oh brother,” Ben said with a smile as he looked up from the booth in the corner of the bar, “I was starting to think that maybe you’d stood me up.”
“I’m not that late,” Jack replied, glancing at his watch. “It’s only quarter past.”
“A man can become paranoid about these things,” Ben replied, holding his pint out and tapping it against Jack’s glass. “I’m sure it took a lot of un-clenching and effort for you to come here today and -” He stopped suddenly. “No, wait, that’s precisely the kind of borderline offensive statement I swore I wouldn’t make this evening. My tone’s off, too. Jesus Christ, sometimes I just slip into it without even thinking. I guess the wind changed one day while I was being an ass.” He offered a faint smile. “I’m going to be serious and I’m going to be pleasant. I’m going to show you I can do that.”
Jack took a sip of beer. “A girl was found murdered today.”
“I know,” Ben replied, his smile gone now. “It’s just horrible.” He sipped from his glass, before realizing that Jack was staring at him. “And after those jokes I made earlier,” he continued, “the timing… I mean, it couldn’t have been worse, could it?”
“No,” Jack said darkly, “it could not.”
“Maybe I should’ve just stayed away this Christmas,” Ben continued. “I mean, I can’t deny that these things seem to happen when I’m around. Maybe somehow I’m a bad luck charm for the entire town.”
“Maybe you are.”
“Really?” He paused. “I guess I was hoping you’d tell me I’m wrong, but I reckon you’ve got every right to agree. I’ve been back about a week now, and already two girls are dead. Frankly, I understand how it looks.” He took another sip. “I’m just glad that you and Beth don’t take Dad’s ramblings too seriously. I mean, cards on the table, I know I can be weird and I can make wildly inappropriate jokes, but hurting another human being? I couldn’t do that. For all my other faults and sins, I just couldn’t.”
He sighed, waiting for Jack to say something, before looking over at his brother again.
“You should have had help,” Jack told him eventually. “A long time ago. You should have been given the help you so desperately needed.”
“Help?” Ben frowned. “I never needed help. What are you talking about?”
“These things are left to fester, and they get worse. If you’d been helped at the start, it might never have reached this stage.”
“Huh?”
“I blame myself,” Jack continued. “Dad’s an idiot, Mum couldn’t face the truth, Beth doesn’t want to believe such dark things can happen, especially with her brother involved… I should have fixed everything.”
“Have you been drinking for a while already?” Ben asked, with a faint, cautious smile. “Been smoking something, maybe? You’re not making much sense.”
“I think I’m making perfect sense.”
“You do? Care to explain it to me?”
He waited for a reply.
“Jack,” he added finally, “you’re staring at me kind of intensely. You’re starting to freak me out.”
“I spoke to Alex Gordon before I came to see you,” Jack continued. “That’s why I’m a little late. I went to tell him something, and he agreed with me that it might be significant.” He paused. “So then I persuaded him to come in here first, before he arrives. He understood that I needed to talk to you in private first.”
“In private?” Ben shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What… What exactly are you talking about, brother?”
“I know, Ben.”
“You know what?”
“That it’s you.”
Ben paused for a moment, before leaning back and smiling. “Still pushing that line, huh?”
“It’s not a line.”
“It’s a line. It’s almost a mantra, it’s like a tumor that’s been growing in your mind for years. Dad really did a number on you, Jack -”
“This has nothing to do with Dad.”
“It has everything to do with Dad! He’s poisoned your mind!”
“You were with Hayley Maitland at the diner earlier!”
“What?”
“You were seen!”
“I was seen?” Ben paused. “You mean the girl I exchanged all of a dozen words with? She’s the girl who was murdered?”
“The coincidences just keep piling up, don’t they?”
“For God’s sake,” Ben continued, “do you really -”
Spotting movement nearby, he turned just in time to see Alex Gordon stepping into the bar. From the look on Alex’s face, he could immediately tell that his arrival had been planned.
“This is for the best,” Jack said after a moment.
Ben turned to him. “What is?”
“I told Alex about you being seen with Hayley. I had to. It’s relevant.”
“You…” Ben paused, as a sense of horror began to spread across his face. “You did what?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“You went to the police and told them I was with the girl before she was murdered?”
“I did. Because you were.”
Ben stared at him for a moment.
“Benjamin Freeman,” Alex said, making his way over to the booth, “I need you to come with me to the station to answer a few questions.”
Ben kept his eyes fixed on Jack.
“This is for the best,” Jack told him. “It’s time to cut the crap and just focus on getting you the help you desperately need.” He waited for a reply, as the anger grew in Ben’s eyes. “You admitted it, for Christ’s sake!” he hissed. “You came up to me earlier and you told me you’d murdered a girl! Those were the exact words you used!”
Ben swallowed hard. “That was a joke.”
“Was it?”
“Ben,” Alex continued, “I need you to come with me. I’ve learned some information about your movements today, and I need to talk to you in connection with a very serious crime.”
Ben paused, before turning to
look up at him. “Am I under arrest?”
“Not at this time.”
“So I don’t have to come with you.”
“I’m afraid you do.”
“Not if -”
“Please try to make this easy,” Alex continued. “You’re not under arrest at the moment, because I’m hoping you’ll come voluntarily, but if that’s not the case…” He paused. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, I don’t see why you won’t just come to the station with me for an overdue chat.”
“Overdue?” Ben paused for a moment, before taking a long, slow sip from his beer. Finally, he set the glass down and grabbed his jacket. “I think I’m going home,” he added, slipping past Alex and heading to the door. “You guys have fun with your amateur sleuthing. And Jack, I tried, I really -”
“Don’t make me do this,” Alex said, following him.
“Do what? Make an ass of yourself? You’re -”
“Benjamin Freeman, you’re under arrest on suspicion -”
“Based on what?” Ben snarled, turning to him. “The half-cut ramblings of my dense brother? Or does this go back to my father and the time he marched me down to the station?”
“Ben -” Jack began.
“Let’s do this in a more appropriate setting,” Alex said firmly, putting a hand on Ben’s shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” Ben hissed, pushing him away before stepping back over to Jack. “Don’t ever touch me. What the hell do you -”
Before he could finish, he was slammed forward by Alex, landing hard against the table and knocking both beer glasses over. He tried to get up, but Alex already had a pair of handcuffs around one of his wrists and he quickly finished the job.
“Don’t hurt him,” Jack said, unable to match Ben’s angry stare.
“I’ll read you your rights along the way,” Alex continued, pulling Ben back and starting to lead him to the door. “All the lawyer stuff, we can arrange down at the station.”
“It’s for your own good,” Jack called after them as they headed out the door. He waited for a response. “Ben! I’m doing this to help you!”
He waited, but the door swung shut, leaving him sitting alone.
“I’m your brother,” he sighed, leaning back and taking a deep breath. “I’m just trying to help you.”