'Mums in November

by Clare Revell

  “You dinnae seem surprised, Miss Neville,” DCI Fraser said.

  “I knew they were dead. And I know how they died because I was there. I watched them die and tried to stop it, but failed.”

  DCI Fraser scowled. “Then I suggest you start being honest or I shall add perverting the course of justice, withholding evidence, and murder tae the list of charges against you.”

  Amber looked down at her hands.

  DCI Fraser pulled a small tape recorder from his pocket and set it on the table. “Dr. Parker, you need tae leave.”

  “I want him to stay,” Amber whispered.

  “It’s not protocol.”

  “He needs to know all of it. Save me saying it twice and it’s not like he’ll be needed to give evidence. He wasn’t there.”

  “Fine. But I dinnae want tae hear a word from him, is that understood?”

  “Perfectly.” Jackson sat on the bed and grabbed Amber’s free hand.

  DCI Fraser started the tape. “Interview with Amber Neville on November twenty-fifth at fourteen twenty. Persons present are DCI Craig Fraser, DI Millie Jenson, Lt. Austin Parker, and Dr. Jackson Parker. OK, Miss Neville. Start with the theft.”

  “I can’t. Everything is all mixed up and intertwining. Dirk had been hitting Joanne for years. The bruises never showed, he was too clever for that. He slipped up once or twice but because I was so similar to her height and build I had to pretend to be her at a few work functions.”

  “Like the ones you attended here?”

  “Yeah.” She picked at her finger nail. “She couldn’t leave him, she tried, and he found her. He had a document written that said if she left him, she’d get nothing in any divorce settlement. He forced her to sign it. If he’d been drinking his temper was worse.

  “Julian had gotten into a fight at school and Dirk really got mad at him. Joanne decided she had to leave to protect the kids. I began to pack while she went into his study to get the files.

  “He’d turned the dressing room off the bedroom into a study. He’d been laundering money for years, and the police could never pin it on him.

  “But she knew where the files were that would prove it. She downloaded them onto a micro card, then she corrupted the hard drive on his computer. She was going to the police for protection in return for her giving evidence against Dirk.” Amber shivered. She could see it all happening again in her mind’s eye.

  “Only Dirk came home early and found her in the study. He’d been drinking, but he wasn’t drunk. He found us packing. He and Joanne had a huge fight, but she wouldn’t tell him where the files were. She hid the original paper files under the floorboards in Laurie’s room and put the disk with the computer files on in her locket. I had that for safekeeping.”

  “The one he accused you of stealing?” Lt. Austin asked, producing a photograph of the locket. “This one?”

  Amber nodded. “Yeah. He wants it back because of what it contains. Joanne told him she was leaving him, that the boys weren’t his. He went ballistic. He hit her. She screamed at me to get the boys out, to call the cops. He put his tie around her neck and strangled her with it. Then he came to find us.”

  “Where were you?”

  “Hiding with the boys. I tried to get them out, tried to stop him, but he had a knife. He turned on me. Jackson, can you pull up my right sleeve?”

  “Sure, honey.” Jackson did as she asked to reveal the long jagged scar running the length of her forearm. He frowned and ran a finger down it. “Honey, did you ever see anyone to treat this?”

  Amber shook her head. “I put steri-strips on it and prayed it wouldn’t get infected. It’s not pretty, but it doesn’t bother me. If I’d checked into a hospital, the cops would have gotten involved and Dirk could have caught me. I couldn’t risk it.”

  DCI Fraser frowned. “Why not simply go tae the police anyway? Isn’t that what a normal person would do on witnessing a murder?”

  “I was scared,” she said. “Besides, it was common knowledge he had at least one of the local cops in his back pocket.”

  Lt. Parker nodded. “Hence me being brought in to run the case.”

  “When I came around he’d gone and the kids were dead. He was digging in the garden. I pulled the CCTV footage—he’d got cameras in every room. I saved it to a disk and left. But he knew I was still alive because I wasn’t there when he went back to bury the bodies. He found me in Headley Cross. I wanted to tell someone, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know who I could trust.”

  “I’d have protected you,” Jackson said. “Nate or David would have done. That is what the cops are for.”

  DCI Fraser’s gaze bored into her. “Where is the locket and evidence now?”

  Amber reached into the top of her gown. “I kept it safe. Here.”

  He took it. “You need tae stay here until I can corroborate this evidence.”

  “Can’t you at least uncuff her?” Jackson asked. “I won’t let her go anywhere and you have a guard on the door.”

  DCI Fraser nodded. “Fine, but she moves from this room, and I will hunt her down and charge her.” He undid the cuffs. “Freedom of choice does nae mean freedom from the consequences of those choices. You could still go down for your actions, Miss Neville.”

  “I know.”

  Jackson pointed to the burn on her arm. “What’s that?”

  “I said no, and he didn’t like it.”

  Jackson frowned. “If I could have just two minutes with the guy, I’d teach him to treat women a little better.”

  “He’s not worth it.” Amber gripped his hand. “It’s better to be nice to him, than stoop to his level and use your fists and repay evil with evil.”

  “She’s right, Jackson,” Lt. Parker agreed.

  “Aye,” DCI Fraser added. “Then I’d have tae arrest you too and I dinnae need the extra paperwork.” He looked at Amber. “Stay here. We’ll be back at some point.”

  Jackson looked at his brother. “Austin, can I have a quick word outside?”

  “Sure.”

  Amber closed her eyes. It was over. Perhaps. If they pressed charges and it got as far as court, she’d end up in prison. But it’d be justified. Because DCI Fraser was right. She’d known what Dirk had done and kept quiet. That made her an accessory. She’d let a monster walk free and withheld the evidence that would put him away. What kind of a person did that make her?

  The door opened and Jackson came back in. He moved silently to the cabinet next to the bed and pulled out his phone. He tapped quickly and pulled up an app. “I don’t know about you, honey, but I think we need to sit and read the Bible, and then pray for a while. Put us, the cops and this whole situation into God’s hands.”

  Amber nodded. There was something about a man who read his Bible, and prayed, and did so as a matter of course. She leaned against him as he began to read.

  14

  The Messiah concert finished to rapturous applause and a standing ovation. Jackson couldn’t even begin to describe the elation filling him. Never before had he experienced anything like this. He’d been touched, no more than touched, by the music. It had spoken to him as he sang. Well, more accurately, God had spoken to him. He’d never been as aware of God’s Presence as he had been the last couple of hours. And he knew without a doubt what he had to do.

  As the choir moved backstage, he sought out Amber. She was reading her phone, a frown crossing her exquisite features. Her red hair hung in ringlets, complimented by the pale blue dress she wore.

  “Problems, honey?” he asked.

  She glanced up. “DCI Fraser needs to see me. He’s flying down and wants me to report to Manor Road nick first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Maybe it’s good news.”

  “And maybe it isn’t.” Panic flared briefly in her eyes before she managed to tamp it down. “What if he wants to arrest me and press charges this time?”

  “Then I highly doubt he’d send a text. He’d turn up in person or send Nate…”

  “Ta
king my name in vain, Jackson?” Nate chuckled as he appeared beside them. “That was fantastic.”

  “It was fun,” Jackson said. He eyed Nate suspiciously. “Is this a social call?”

  “Not exactly. Amber, did DCI Fraser get a hold of you?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Good. We’ll be using my office. 9:00 AM sharp.”

  “‘K.” Color drained from her face.

  Jackson slid an arm around her in case she passed out. “It’s Sunday, tomorrow.”

  Nate frowned. “And? Cops do work weekends, you know. Same as doctors do.”

  “Can’t it wait until Monday?”

  Nate shook his head. “No.”

  “Fine. But I’m coming with. She’s not doing this alone.”

  “That’s your prerogative.” Nate nodded. “Nine o’clock. Don’t be late.”

  As he left, Amber looked down, all the joy vanishing from her gaze. She appeared at least five inches shorter.

  “Want some dinner?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I want to go home.”

  “Honey?” He checked his watch. “It’s only six. Too early to go home.”

  “This might be my last night of freedom, Jackson. Let’s face it; I’m guilty of all those charges they threw at me. What was it he said? Free to choose but not free from the consequences of that choice.”

  Jackson helped her into her coat and tugged at her hand. “Come on. I’ve got an idea of where we can go on the way home.”

  “Where?” Her steps were slow as she walked with him through the crowds and out into the dark, crisp air.

  “Trust me, I’m the doctor.”

  “The doctor?”

  He grinned. “Yes, and I want to show you my blue box that is bigger on the inside than on the outside.”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “Nice try. I know your car is blue without seeing it.”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, honey.”

  Half an hour later, they sat on a bench on the bridge overlooking the river. He had paper spread on his lap and they were sharing the portion of fish and chips he’d bought. He had to admit the Brits were right. These fat versions of fries did taste better eaten in the open air out of paper.

  Amber still looked as if the world was ending around her. Every joke he’d tried had fallen flat and he’d failed to make her smile. Not even the huge bunch of chrysanthemums he’d bought her had done that. They lay on the bench next to her.

  She glanced at him. “Sorry.”

  “It’s OK.”

  “I’m just scared of what will happen and…”

  “It’s fine,” he repeated. “You don’t have to give an excuse for not having fun tonight. You just don’t appreciate Bessie or my company or…”

  “Bessie was an old yellow car with those funny wheels and no roof.” Amber looked at him.

  “Was it?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh…well, never mind. I’m trying.”

  “Very trying,” she muttered. She picked at the food, eating slowly and quietly.

  She was only eating to please him.

  He, on the other hand, was convinced she felt sick because she hadn’t eaten for several hours. One way or another eating would cure that. He sucked in a deep breath. Seize the moment, Jackson. “Whatever happens tomorrow won’t change how I feel about you.”

  Amber looked at him. “You mean I’ll still be a stuck up, gobby cow who likes to get her own way?”

  He shoved a chip in her mouth. “Shut up and let a guy get a word in edgeways for once. Despite your faults and tendency to talk the hind leg off a donkey, I love you. And I don’t want to lose you.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. For Pete’s sake, let a guy get the last word for once.” Jackson set the newspaper to one side and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out the blue box he’d been carrying around all day. “This was my grandmother’s ring. She told me to give it to someone who lit a fire within me. I never knew what she meant until now.” He opened the box.

  Amber gasped. Diamonds sparked in the moonlight. “It’s beautiful.”

  Jackson slid off the bench onto one knee in front of her. “Amber, will you marry me?”

  She caught her breath. “Jackson…”

  He glanced up, his stomach churning. The possibility of her saying no hadn’t occurred to him until this moment. How would he move on if she did refuse him? He didn’t want to live here, see her every day if she wouldn’t be his.

  “Jackson, I’m honored, really I am…”

  He pushed up, his heart breaking and his stomach pitting. She was going to say no. And he didn’t want to hear it. He closed the lid of the box and started to put it away in his jacket.

  Amber’s hand closed over his. “Jackson, wait. I’m not saying no. I’m saying…”

  “You want to think about it?” he asked, his voice betraying him. “I love you. I thought you loved me.”

  “I do. It’s just, I don’t know where I’ll be this time tomorrow, and I don’t want you to have to wait for me or have a jail bird for a wife or…”

  His hand cupped her cheek. “I don’t care,” he said bluntly.

  Amber kissed him. “I love you. Ask me again tomorrow, please. If I could marry you tonight then I would. Fly over to Vegas and get one of those instant weddings. Only if I’m not here tomorrow then I’ll be in even more trouble.”

  Jackson reached into his pocket. “I can go one better,” he said quietly. “This is a special license. It means we can get married tonight. We just need a minister and two witnesses.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  Jackson nodded. “We can do it again once all this is over, but yes.”

  Amber hugged him, smiling for the first time in hours. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Jackson kissed her and handed her the flowers. “Then, honey, we need to go find a preacher and a couple of witnesses. Maybe Pastor Jack could rustle up some, but I was kinda hoping Jared and Niamh would do it. Then we’ll go back to my place and tomorrow we face the cops together.”

  15

  Amber took a deep breath as she and Jackson walked into the police station just before nine. Church bells had rung across the frosty town calling people to the early morning service. She’d really wanted to attend her own church with her new husband, but she didn’t think it would happen.

  Last night seemed like a dream. She had married Jackson and then spent the night in his arms. Even once he fell asleep, she hadn’t. She’d lain there, listening to him snore, watching the rise and fall of his chest, trying to commit every moment to memory. Just in case their first night together was their last.

  The desk sergeant looked at them. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m here to see DI Holmes,” she said. “He’s expecting me.”

  “Your name?”

  “Amber Nev…Parker. Amber Parker.”

  “Take a seat. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

  “Thanks.” Amber gripped Jackson’s hand tightly and walked over to the side. The plastic chairs creaked as the two of them sat down. “I feel as if I’m about to be executed,” she whispered.

  “You and me both, darlin’.”

  After a minute, the door opened. Nate came into the room. “Good morning. Amber, could you come this way.”

  She stood, Jackson standing with her.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here, Jackson,” Nate said.

  “But he’s my husband,” Amber protested.

  Jackson pulled her into his arms kissed her soundly, making her blush. “It’s fine. I’ll wait and if you’re not back in an hour I’ll find you.”

  Amber nodded, swallowing hard as Nate led her behind the desk.

  “Husband?” he asked.

  “Jackson got a special license. Pastor Jack married us last night. Very late last night by the time we’d found a babysitter so that Jared and Niamh could be our witnesses. Jackson didn’t want me to be alone anymo
re.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Amber nodded, not saying another word as they walked up the stairs and down the hallway to Nate’s office.

  Nate opened the door. “Go on in.”

  DCI Fraser stood as she entered the room. The door echoed shut behind her.

  ****

  Jackson twisted the ring on his finger as he sat and waited. They’d found a jeweler open in the supermarket on their way to see Pastor Jack and had bought matching wedding rings. He’d have just used the engagement ring if needed, but actually having proper rings made it more official.

  Last night had been different. And it wasn’t purely the ring on his left hand that made it different either. With Amber, with his wife, within the confines of marriage it was more than sex, it was a connection of souls and far more fulfilling and satisfying than he could ever have imagined.

  Finally the door opened and Amber came out. She said something to Nate and then crossed over to him. “Hi. You’re still here.”

  “Of course I am.” He wrapped his arms around her. “How’d it go? What did they say?”

  “They’ve dropped all the charges,” she said. Relief was etched on her face. “I have to testify at the trial, although the evidence should be enough to convict him without a trial. That’s up to the Canadian courts.”

  Jackson hugged her. “I’m so pleased, honey.”

  “Me, too.” She glanced at the clock. “We missed the beginning of the service.”

  He grinned. “So we’ll sneak in the back. No one will notice. And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than going to church, except going to church with my wife.”

  Amber grinned. “I like the sound of that. After all, you and I are here now is a God-thing, right?”

  Jackson nodded, kissing her. “So then, let’s go to church and thank Him for all that’s been and all that’s to come.”

  Thank you

  We appreciate you reading this White Rose Publishing title. For other inspirational stories, please visit our on-line bookstore at www.pelicanbookgroup.com.

  For questions or more information, contact us at customer@pelicanbookgroup.com.