They trouped back to class with smiles all around. But it set Jade to thinking along a different track. This guy was no longer the poor picked upon, grieving guy she’d thought. She’d need to know more. And she would learn more. Oldies couldn’t do it. But she could.
After school she ran straight home. After changing into jeans and a discarded black pullover of her father’s, she opened the garden shed to drag out her bike, the layer of dust showing how she’d ignored it for the last year or so. She pedalled off, traversing up and down each street methodically but quickly, searching for any sign of freshly mown grass. She knew the old guy who mowed their neighbour’s lawns had territories. He spent the day in separate smallish areas. Fingers crossed Brody’s brother used the same technique.
Half an hour later, the smell of mown grass alerted her. She spotted an open van full of gardening tools parked in front of a large house set on a double lot. She got off her bike and walked on the footpath pushing the bike alongside of her. Sure enough, she soon heard sounds of a lawn mower. Do gardeners work normal hours? It was almost five. She stopped several metres past the van and turned her bike upside down. And quietly let some of the air out of her front tyre.
She didn’t have to wait long.
“Problems?”
She was standing with one hand squeezing the tyre, looking into the middle distance. She whirled around. “Oops, sorry. Startled me.”
“Puncture?” The young man looked enough like Brody to be his brother, as long as Brody hadn’t made big changes since they’d met at the forest party some months before.
“I suppose so. I haven’t been on my bike for yonks. Maybe just a slow leak?”
Brody came from around the side of the house pushing a lawn mower. “What’s up?” He and his brother were both tall with wavy dark hair and sleepy grey eyes. The brother was heavier, most likely because he’d been doing a physical job for some time. They were obviously brothers.
“Oh, hi, Brody. I didn’t know you were working now. Mowing, I see.”
He frowned. “Yeah. Gardening. For now, anyway.” He stared at her. “I know you. Can’t remember your name. Friend of Freya’s, right?”
“That’s me. Jade. Remember?” She turned to the bike. “Got a slow leak here. I think, anyway.”
“Get the mower in the back, bro,” the brother said. “Then pull the red bag out from under the bench. Should be a foot pump in there.”
“You’re Brody’s brother, then?” Jade asked him.
“For my sins,” the young man said. He turned away and yelled, “Find it, Bro?”
“Yeah. You get on with things. I’ll do it,” Brody said, emerging from the van with a large red sports bag. He knelt by the bike while his brother occupied himself placing gardening tools into the back of the van.
“Thanks, Brody,” Jade said. “Hey, look, I’m sorry about Linsey.”
He shook his head. “Bad.” He connected the screw fitting onto the tyre and started pumping. “I’ll do the other tyre now we’re at it,” he said.
When he finished, Jade and Brody righted the bike. “I appreciate it, thanks.” She was flummoxed on how to continue the conversation.
“You going to Alfie’s bash on Saturday?” He looked straight into her eyes.
She’d heard about the party. Usually she paid little attention to the more wild sounding social activities open to most and she had intended ignoring this one. Still…. “Yeah, thought I’d go. For a while at least.”
“See you there, then, okay?”
She smiled at him. “Okay.” Code for a half promise they’d look out for each other.
Maybe.
Saturday morning, Jade had to wait for Freya to wake up. It was fun having her over, but there was something to be said for having her bedroom to herself. She wondered how Kim survived having to share with her little sister. She and Olivia had always had their own bedrooms. As soon as Olivia got married, her old bedroom was turned into her mum’s home office.
Jade heard noises in the kitchen. She quietly slipped out of her room and headed downstairs.
“Morning,” her mother said. “What are you two up to this weekend?”
“The flicks tonight. Might have a bite afterwards.”
“Home by the last bus, please, Jade. Everything by the board this weekend.”
Jade knew that was because Donald and Sharon were unseen presences. She nodded. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Studying?”
“I know. I have only two exams to go, thank goodness. I can get a bit done after Freya leaves on Sunday,” Jade said. “We’re going to do some English together today. And I’m about to start my swot for history tomorrow. Should have been last week.”
“And you haven’t started it yet? Jade!”
“I know. I wish I was more interested in the medieval period. Stupid – I thought it would be all about lords and their battles, and ladies and their castles, not stupid politics.”
“I have an ancestor who came over with William the Conqueror,” a voice said from the hallway. “Dad knows all about stuff like that,” Freya said as she sat at the kitchen table. “He’s always banging on about the Dymock family tree. He can tell you all sorts of stories from way back. You should ask him for some stuff you can throw in.”
“Too late at this point.” Jade smiled at Freya. “But it does sound interesting.”
“Yeah. Whatever. Everything becomes boring by the time it’s part of the school curriculum.”
“I should have chosen the Victorian era,” Jade said. She turned to her mother who was pouring mugs of tea for the two girls. “Remember Princess Victoria when she was a child and going to church in Esher? The old church?”
Victoria, as a child, spent a lot of time at Claremont with her mother and her favourite uncle. Claremont, the most famous house in their general vicinity. And it was only a few miles from where they lived in Surbiton. She loved Claremont. The Brooks family had often motored out there for picnics and countryside walks when the girls were small. They’d heard many anecdotes over the years and probably, she figured, was the origin of her interest in history.
“Remember the story about Victoria sitting up on the special royal balcony at the old church in Esher and getting too close to a burning brazier?” she asked her mother.
“Of course,” Maddie said, joining in Jade’s enthusiasm. “It was designed to shield the royals from the winter cold,” she said to Freya. “Nobody else had heating in the freezing church, of course. Have you been there?”
Freya, busy with a bite of toast, shook her head.
Jade enthused about Claremont to Freya while they ate.
“I’m not sure why you didn’t choose that era for your A Levels,” her mother said.
Jade looked up, annoyed. “I just didn’t, all right? But it’s not relevant now. So let’s forget it. I’ve got to concentrate on the stupid twelfth century.” She glared at her mother then remembered how things weren’t going very well in her life. “I mean thanks, Mum, for reminding me of why I love history. And I mean thanks. Now it’s my job to make something of this stupid exam, yeah?”
Her mother smiled. “So much more to choose from next year. You’ll get your enthusiasm back, I bet. I certainly did when I started uni.”
“It’s what keeps me going. But don’t remind me of anything but the twelfth century, for the next little while, okay?”
“Got it,” Maddie said.
“You ready yet?” Freya said as she completed her face with black lipstick. “Hurry up. We’re going to be kicked out.”
The girls had dawdled in the John Lewis loos, putting on the layers of makeup a true Goth needed to obliterate all signs of freckles or natural colouring. But the shops were closing and it was almost late enough to go to the party. Not that they could stay long. Back by midnight, Jade’s mother had insisted, in spite of pleas to the contrary. She thought they were going to the flicks then out for a sweet afterwards.
The plan was to split up when they got
to Alfie’s and meet again outside the front door of the house at eleven-thirty so they could catch the last bus home together. Plans made well ahead of time knowing how noisy it would be once they got there.
The music from the party was audible as soon as they turned into the street. Once inside, the noise was deafening. Before heading towards the kitchen, Jade waved at Freya who gave her a thumb’s up. A lot of guys hung out in the kitchen, in her not-so-vast experience. Freya had disappeared into the lounge in search of someone – anyone – interesting.
It was crowded and it seemed everybody was taller than her. She finally made it to the kitchen bench where someone asked if she wanted a beer. She nodded and was handed a bottle. She pretended to take a long swallow. She planned on making this beer last her the whole time of the party. She needed all her wits to cope with a maybe-murderer.
Time dragged. She pretended to drink, occasionally greeting people she knew, listening into several conversations and wishing she were elsewhere.
“Jade. You’re here.” Brody, speaking directly into one ear, gave her shoulders a quick squeeze.
She turned to him with a smile. “They have a garden?” she asked.
He nodded and grabbed the hand not occupied with the beer and elbowed his way outside dragging Jade behind him.
“Better?” he asked once outside.
“At least I can hear you,” she said. She looked at the scene before her. “Nice place.”
It was. Fairy lights had been strung along bushes behind a grand swimming pool. Wide steps led down from a narrow deck. The noise of music and people yelling at each other faded as someone closed the back door. It was cool, but almost pleasant after the overcrowding inside the house. Brody sank down on the top step and patted the spot beside him. Jade joined him. So far, so good.
“Looks as if you’re back in the social merry-go-round,” Jade said with some hesitation. It was all she could think of to say to turn the conversation to where she wanted it to go. She needed to avoid anything that could lead to the sort of situation Kim had faced.
“Yeah, I guess,” he said.
“You really cared for Linsey.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t know she was only thirteen. She said she was sixteen.”
“She could have been,” Jade said. It was hardly the truth. Linsey was small and young looking. She hadn’t been surprised she was only thirteen.
Brody was silent. He made a slight noise and Jade looked across at him.
He was crying.
“Oh, Brody,” she whispered, her heart lurching. This wasn’t fun anymore. This was real. She put her hand on his forearm.
He shook her off. Stood up, facing down the garden. “Tell the truth, we didn’t have that much in common,” he said in a strange voice. “You know. She was into boy bands in a big way. She’s caused me trouble. Big trouble.”
Jade noted the sudden change of direction. Safer subject for him, she was sure.
“The police?”
“They’ll want to question me, for sure. Linsey was sort of my girlfriend even though I was breaking up with her. Always crying to get her own way. She was bloody thirteen. I shoulda known.”
“Yeah, that’s trouble,” Jade said softly.
He sighed. “And she’s dead.” He gulped. “I didn’t do it, you know.” He flopped back down beside Jade and pulled his knees up to his chin. “I never forced her to do anything. She was willing. More than.”
Jade realised with a start that he was talking about sex, not the murder.
He laughed. “Bloody begging for it. Can hardly tell that to the cops, though, could I.”
Jade kept silent, following him without difficulty. “The thirteen stuff. Okay.”
“I’ll have to tell them it was all innocent.” He shook his head. “As if.”
“Maybe she was willing to … um … you know, with some other guys.”
He whirled on her and Jade cowered back. “Sorry, Brody. Sorry. Just a thought, okay?”
He slumped back. “She wasn’t a virgin, yeah? So, okay, somebody else had been there.” He shook his head violently. “Drop it, okay?”
Not a particularly useful bit of information. Like, it wasn’t as if anybody would come forward to admit having had sex with a thirteen year old, especially when she’d turned up dead in the Thames. Jade took a swig of her beer. A proper swig this time. She wanted to look at the time but didn’t dare interrupt what was going on.
“Look, she has … no, I mean, she had this arsehole of a stepfather. A right minger, okay?”
Jade stared at him. What was he saying? “She told you…? She did it with her father?”
He stared back at her. “Step.” He reached over her arm for her beer. “Can I have some?”
“Sure.” Jade hated saying so; she was squeamish about other people’s saliva. Knew it was the last time she’d put that bottle to her own lips. Ick. “It’s all yours. I’ve had enough.”
He tipped the bottle back and drank deeply.
Jade stole a quick glance at her phone. Time to wrap this up. She stood and stretched. “Look, any time you want to talk, just call, okay?”
He looked up at her, surprise showing on his face. “Hey, thanks. I think I’ve turned the corner now, but thanks, anyway.”
She touched him lightly on the shoulder and headed down the steps so she could walk around the house to the front without having to elbow her way through the crowd inside.
“You meeting Freya?”
“Yeah. Outside at the front.”
“I’ll walk you there.”
Freya was already waiting. She frowned as she saw who was with Jade.
“Thanks, Brody. See you later,” Jade said to accentuate their parting.
On the bus, Freya turned to Jade. “Why were you with that eejit?”
“Getting info for my mother. But don’t you say anything. I have to handle this very carefully, yeah?”
Freya gave her a quick smile. “Don’t worry. I get it.”
Chapter Eleven
Sunday, unlike on any other weekend, was just another day for Maddie without the usual relief of being away from Romania. After a leisurely shower she wandered down to breakfast close to nine o’clock. Plenty of time before cooking Sunday lunch. Olivia, son-in-law Brian and the grandchildren were coming, which made, including Freya, eight at the table.
Weekends were usually busy for Wayne, as all the other members of his group worked at day jobs and were only free to be at the studio weekends. Given the dirty crockery still on the table Maddie knew he’d breakfasted on cereal and toast and was long gone off to his shared studio.
No sign of the girls. Freya’s parents said they’d be returning Sunday afternoon. Maybe Freya would be there for Sunday lunch, maybe not. Maddie was cooking a large joint, which should be enough for several dinners through the coming week even with eight to feed today.
Freya had been an easy guest. The girls were at an age when constraints probably should be lifted, but Maddie found it difficult. Jade was young for her age, as was Freya. And she didn’t trust them to make sensible decisions. Even as the thoughts were passing through her head, she realised she was being over-protective. She also felt the usual burden of having another child in the house under her care.
She rang her older daughter.
“Hi Olivia,” she asked. “All okay for Sunday lunch?”
“Absolutely. See you later,” Olivia said. “I’m just off to take Robbie to his baby swimming lesson.”
“So you did decide to enrol him, after all.”
Olivia prattled on about what a good idea it was, the safety aspects of teaching a child early on how to swim and then rang off when she realised the time. Maddie came from the phone call reassured life was progressing as it should in some parts of her world, at least.
An hour or so later, the two teenaged girls appeared in the kitchen, eyes still heavy with sleep. As they grabbed breakfast food, Maddie asked them about the film they’d seen the night before.
“Not so great,” Jade said. “But we got ice cream sundaes afterwards. Worth the evening out, weren’t they, Freya?”
“Yeah, great,” she said, her eyes on the cereal she was eating.
Maddie inwardly sighed. So, they didn’t go to the flicks. But they did come home on time as she well knew. No harm done. But she’d have to figure out a way to indicate they didn’t have to lie. Somehow.
“I gather you know this Brody fellow,” she said to Freya. “What do you think of him?”
“Not much,” Freya said with a quick glance at Jade. “Not my type.”
“He’s not so bad,” Jade said. “I like tall boys. And he has nice eyes.”
Maddie frowned. Jade was vulnerable. She’d had a romance during the winter, which, when it broke apart, had left her silent and more stroppy than usual for several weeks. First loves. Always a problem. But a short problem. Jade was now back to her usual awkward Goth-type self.
“He’s working now. In his brother’s gardening business.” Jade kept her head down, concentrating on slicing cheese for a grilled sandwich. “I think he’s over Linsey. We saw him in town last night, didn’t we, Freya.”
“You talked to him, not me,” she muttered.
“Jade, I told you….” Maddie glared at her daughter.
“Hold on, Mum. If I’d been rude to him, that would have alerted him that something was up, okay? I chatted to him and now you’ve got something you can follow up.” She shoved her sandwich under the grill. “Man, I can’t do anything right around here.”
Maddie inwardly rolled her eyes. Teenagers. She straightened and lightened her tone. “You’re absolutely right. An easy chat is exactly what was appropriate given Freya knows the boy.”
“And is it important you know where he’s working?”
“I imagine it’s very important.”
Maddie went upstairs to collect washing from the bedrooms. At the top of the stairs, she realised she could hear the girls talking in the kitchen. Talking about somebody. Still discussing Brody? She paused.
“Do you believe him?” Freya asked.
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