34 Days: A gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist

by Anita Waller

  She left soon after, and everyone else remained in the lounge, talking quietly and trying to make sense of what had happened. Anna listened to the banter between Steve and Tim, and gradually began to relax, although she remained silent for most of the chat; she knew too much.

  They speculated on the who, the why, and the wherefore; they had no answers. Everybody seemed to agree that Ray was a good man to his workforce, that he had been a good father and a good provider, and he had been supportive of his many friends. Anna caught Tim’s eyes flickering towards her several times; each sentence of praise for Ray was followed by a small smile from Tim directed towards her. He clearly knew his father much better than his siblings did.

  Helen just let them talk, and when Jenny returned, looking quite drawn and tired, Anna suggested they all make moves to their rooms, and sleep. Thankfully, everybody agreed with her, and her first full day as a grieving widow was over.

  Anna walked along the small landing to her room, and she could hear Tim and Steve quietly talking in their room, but as she paused outside her door, she heard Caro crying. She hesitated, not knowing whether to go and hold her or just let her grieve in her own way. Anna decided to leave her to her tears, and she entered her own room. She showered and changed into her nightie, before sliding into the coolness of the white sheets. Anna wasn’t sure if she heard a knock or not, and she said, ‘Yes?’

  ‘It’s me. Just checking if you’re ok,’ Jenny spoke quietly.

  ‘Just got into bed. I’m fine. Sleep tight, Jenny love. You looked exhausted.’

  ‘Night God bless,’ she said, and a moment later Anna saw two envelopes slide under the door.

  She flew to the door and opened it, but Jenny had disappeared, having returned to their room, Anna assumed.

  She grabbed a towel and picked up the letters. She could feel herself shaking as she carried the envelopes across to the tiny desk in the corner of her room. Jenny hadn’t been to Leicester solely to pick up clothes; she had been to use the computer. She had clearly felt it was urgent to get the facts down on paper, in order to protect the rest of them.

  Anna couldn’t face seeing their contents; she placed them into the zipped compartment on the outside of the small suitcase she had packed to bring to Lincoln, still handling them with the towel and feeling like a master criminal. Letter number one was still under her double mattress. Helen’s presence in her bedroom while she was packing left her no chance of retrieving it from its hiding place in the other bedroom. For many reasons, Anna needed to get back to Sheffield. If the police had any suspicions at all about their involvement in these three horrific murders, they would search their homes.

  And as the large envelope was still unsealed and contained an envelope which had “Murder Number One” written on it, both she and Jenny would spend the rest of their lives in prison.

  Anna climbed back into bed and tried to get the letters out of her mind. It was only as she was on the verge of sleep she realised she hadn’t called Lissy, or Charlie. Both these women had a calming effect on her life, she needed them.

  Anna had to make the calls. She drifted into sleep with that thought, and woke next day to the same thought and beautiful sunshine.

  Chapter 26

  The call to Charlie was hard. She gave her the facts as they had been given them by the police, and Charlie’s immediate reaction was she would drive straight to Lincoln to be with her. Anna talked her down from this by saying it was all a bit chaotic, and she was being well looked after by everyone. The worst part of the conversation, apart from Anna lying to her, was Charlie couldn’t grieve with her. She knew Ray, knew how he had been with her, and Anna thought she actually felt it was a case of good riddance to bad rubbish.

  ‘Call me if you need me,’ she said. ‘You know I’m always here for you.’

  ‘I will. The police will probably talk to you at some point. I’ve told them about our separation, and how he turned up at yours looking for me.’

  ‘So, can I tell them what he was really like?’ Anna could hear the anger in Charlie’s tone.

  ‘Just tell them the truth. It’s all we can do now. He’s gone, and I won’t deny I feel almost a sense of relief, but it was a horrible way to go. That’s the part I can’t handle.’

  Charlie sighed. ‘You’re right. Look, take care, sweetheart, and ring if you need anything. Anything at all. What happens next?’

  It was Anna’s turn to sigh. ‘I really don’t know. I think they’re coming to take statements from us, but that won’t help them much. Jenny and I were in Sheffield, Mark was in Derby, Tim was in Florida, and Caro was in Holland. From what little I’ve gleaned from them, Ray’s death is linked to two others, so it’s looking as though he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

  They ended their conversation, and Anna moved restlessly around the room. She wanted to go home to Sheffield, wanted her life back on an even keel. Even at this stage, she knew she wouldn’t move back to Lindum Lodge; she didn’t even want to visit the place.

  Anna waited until lunchtime before ringing Lissy, and they had a very brief conversation. She confirmed Eric was still swimming happily around his tank, and she said the new dress for Grace was progressing well. Anna promised to let her know as soon as she knew she could return, and she disconnected with a tear in her eye.

  It was almost as if Ray’s death was a sudden hammer blow. Yes, she had hated him after Jenny’s revelations, but she hadn’t wanted him dead. He was only in his mid-fifties, and should have lived for another twenty years or so; that had been taken away from him in a truly barbaric fashion.

  Anna knew she had to read the damn letters, but she also knew she had to be on her own when she did. She couldn’t risk anyone else even seeing the envelopes, let alone their contents.

  They spent the afternoon with the police, all of them describing where they were at the time of Ray’s death. Anna went into more detail about their relationship, stressing she was on the point of returning home. She hoped Mark’s statement would back her up on that point, as he had been the one to tell Ray she was just taking a break. Both Jenny and Anna spoke of her illness that night, but neither of them mentioned Lissy’s involvement in any sort of detail at that stage. That fact might be needed later. Jenny also confirmed Anna was going back to Ray.

  Anna did admit to herself that the police, without exception, were amazing with them. Solicitous, they explained as much as they could, confirming the second blood type found on the elderly man was Ray’s blood, clearly indicating Ray had died before the third victim.

  They also said they had very little to go on at this stage. The cyclist in Hartsholme Park had been completely cleared, and was actually enjoying a holiday in Benidorm at the moment, so was not even in the running as a suspect.

  What they did confirm was all three killings were done by the same person. They didn’t say a man, they said a person. The bags over the heads of the victims were identical, as were the plant ties around their hands and ankles. They hadn’t found the knife which had incapacitated the victims, but it was the same knife used on each victim.

  And although nobody said it out loud, they were waiting for the next death with a degree of trepidation.

  Two days later, they were allowed back to Lindum Lodge. Tim never left Anna’s side throughout the visit, and she just wandered from room to room, her mind in shut down mode. She was aware things had been moved, but wasn’t sure if by police or Ray. The computer had gone, taken away by the police for examination, and it suddenly dawned on her the lads wouldn’t be paid if she didn’t do something.

  ‘Mark,’ she said, and he jumped, clearly lost in his own thoughts. ‘I have to do something about wages.’

  He laughed, a bitter edge to the laughter. ‘Shall we see if we’ve got a workforce to pay?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Dad took his anger out on them. I think Gary’s still with you, so perhaps that’s where we start.’

  Gary was the foreman and she rang
him with little hope of his answering.

  He did.

  They talked for a long time, and the result of the conversation was work would continue, she would pay set wages until they got the computer back, and everything could be returned to an even keel, and he had, as usual, power of hire and fire. They made temporary arrangements for wages to be paid in cash, as she had no account details, and he assured her the workers would be more than happy to stay with her. It was only at the end of the conversation he said he was sorry to hear of Ray’s death, almost an afterthought really.

  Anna really began to see what monumental damage had been done the day she had swept those bloody anniversary cards off the window sill. That simple action had touched so many lives, and, mostly, not for the better.

  She sat down in the office and held her head in her hands. It felt too heavy to support. She didn’t know what to do next.

  Anna sensed someone approaching from behind her, and Tim’s arms encircled her shoulders.

  ‘Okay?’ he said and kissed the top of her head.

  She nodded. ‘As okay as I can be. At least we’ve saved the business and the jobs. It’s just too much.’ She cracked, sobbing into her son’s arms. Other people came in to see what was wrong, and Anna heard Tim shoo them away; all the time he held her. And yet, she didn’t know what the tears were for. They were tears which needed to be released, but were they for Ray? Everybody assumed they were, including Tim, because he kept patting her and comforting her, saying, “Let it all out, Mum, let it all out.”

  Anna heard the front door open and close, and just that little bit of normality caused her to give a massive hiccup and the tears to finally cease.

  ‘Mark’s gone to get a pint of milk,’ Jenny said. ‘I think we all need a drink.’

  They sat around the dining table, staring at their mugs. Nobody had used Ray’s Sheffield Wednesday mug.

  ‘So, what next?’

  She turned to look at Mark. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean, what’s next? What do you want us to do? Jenny and I need to see Adam and Grace; we need to explain their grandfather is dead, even though they didn’t really know him.’

  It took all of her strength and willpower not to look at Jenny.

  ‘Of course you must go to them! Do we need to ask permission or anything?’

  ‘I don’t think so, but we’ll tell Helen where we’re going. We’ll stay with them tonight and be back tomorrow. Where will you be?’

  ‘Not here,’ she said, just a shade too quickly.

  Tim intervened. ‘We’ll go back to the B & B. We’ll look after Mum, Mark, you see to the kids. And give them my love.’

  They locked up the house, and went back to the comfort of Kathy Williams’ place. Anna stayed downstairs for a short while, and then excused herself, saying she was going for a nap. Seeing the spot where Ray had died had been traumatic enough for today. The front garden had still had crime scene tape around it, and it had wiped her out.

  Anna collapsed on to the bed and buried her head into the pillow until she felt she was suffocating. She rolled over and stared at the suitcase containing the letters.

  She had to know. Jenny’s words would tell her the facts, and then those facts had to be buried. Safely.

  Chapter 27

  Anna waited until everyone had gone to bed for the night before removing the envelopes from the front pocket of the suitcase, again using the towel to prevent her fingerprints showing on them. Jenny had rung to say they had told the children, and Adam had taken it particularly badly. He felt he hadn’t really known his grandfather, and he now knew that wouldn’t happen. She confirmed they were only staying overnight, and her last words were: Be strong, my Kyra.

  Anna looked at the envelopes – one said, “Murder Number Two” and the other, “Murder Number Three,” both handwritten. She moved to remove the letter from the first envelope and then remembered Jenny’s instructions – Do not touch the letter without gloves on! The gloves and sealing wax were under the mattress back in Sheffield.

  She sat for a moment, reluctant to put the letters back, now she had actually found some courage, but realised the towel was too risky to use.

  Kathy had told them to help themselves if they wanted extra milks or sugars during the night, and she had showed where she kept them in her kitchen. Anna suspected she might find some gloves there as well, so she crept quietly down stairs. It took her only seconds to spot them under the sink unit, and hallelujah! They were disposable ones. She helped herself to a pair, and went back upstairs, clutching some extra milk tubs with the gloves stuffed up her sleeve. She now seemed to permanently be thinking like a criminal.

  Anna made a drink to calm herself and then pulled on the gloves. The letter was typed.

  To Whom It May Concern:

  My name is Jennifer Carbrook, née March, and I was born on 10 October 1982 in Peterborough, Cambs.

  On Friday, 10 April 2015, I killed Ray Carbrook. There are many reasons for my killing him, but none of this would have happened if he hadn’t raped me.

  The facts of the murder follow:

  I stayed the night with Anna Carbrook at her new apartment in Sheffield. We went to bed at 11.00pm after a night with her neighbour, Lissy. During that evening, I pretended to be really ill to help with my alibi. Neither Lissy nor Anna suspected I was faking the heavy cold and cough. Both Anna and I went to our rooms as soon as Lissy had gone, and five minutes later I left the apartment. I had parked my car at the back of the apartment block, and hoped this would be enough to avoid detection by CCTV footage.

  I drove to Lincoln and parked the car some distance away from Lindum Lodge, in a car park at the rear of a play area. I had dressed completely in black and heavy cloud cover hid the moon. It was very dark.

  I waited in the garden of Lindum Lodge for a few minutes. I thought Carbrook would be home in bed, as it was now getting on for 12.30am, and I planned to wait another half hour and then enter the house to kill him.

  I was kneeling in the bushes surrounding the front lawn when I heard a car approaching. It stopped, and Carbrook got out. He was very loud and very chatty with the driver. I heard him tell him to keep the change, and he staggered through the front gates. He closed them in a much exaggerated way, and was clearly very drunk.

  He turned away from the gates, and his legs seemed to buckle. He negotiated the first step on the path, but staggered on the second step, and fell on to the grass by the side of the path, falling full length. I waited a couple of minutes before moving.

  He never moved. I believe he was too drunk to get up.

  I stabbed him in the neck just once. He didn’t fight back. I placed a plastic bag over his head and secured it with duct tape, although I believe he was already dead by this time.

  I secured his hands and feet with plant ties and left him.

  I then exited the garden and headed towards my car. There are absolutely no regrets for what I have done to Ray Carbrook. This man was so evil to both Anna and I – and probably other women – and he deserved to die.

  Jennifer Carbrook

  11 April 2015

  Such a short letter, such a massive act. And Anna still had the third letter to read. She put the Ray letter back in the envelope and slid it back into the suitcase. She couldn’t face the third letter yet, so she slipped on her dressing gown and went to sit downstairs in the resident’s lounge. She put Classic FM on, and let the music quietly wash over her and soothe her.

  ‘Mom?’ The whisper startled her, and she turned to see Tim looking around the door. ‘You ok?’

  ‘I’m fine.’ Anna smiled at him. ‘Go back to bed.’ Her smile felt false. It was false. She was starting to think she would never smile again spontaneously.

  Tim came over and sat by her side. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

  ‘Mom, we have to go back for a few days. We’ll come over again as soon as we can, but leaving so hurriedly left a few things in the air we have to take c
are of.’ The American twang in his voice touched her heart, and she squeezed his hand.

  ‘Go,’ she said. ‘You’re only a phone call away, and either Mark or I will keep you informed.’

  They went back upstairs together, and she left him at the door of the room he was sharing with Steve.

  ‘Sleep well,’ he whispered, and Anna just smiled at him. She had a letter to read first.

  Anna used the kettle in her room and made yet another cup of tea. She didn’t really want it, but she was delaying the inevitability of opening that third envelope. She sipped at the tea, and a vivid picture of Charlie flashed across her mind. Charlie knew so much about her, about her marriage, about the abusive nature of that marriage, and yet something as massive as this she couldn’t share with her. Charlie quite simply would not be able to turn a blind eye to it, and yet Anna needed to talk to someone. Someone she could trust.

  Not Lissy; she hadn’t known her long enough to burden her with it, and yet, Anna felt she could talk to her about most things. They had discussed Ray, and why she was now living across the hall from her, but telling her she was pissed off with her husband was a bit different to disclosing her daughter-in-law had killed him.

  The sigh seemed to come from the soles of her feet, and Anna reached into the suitcase pocket for the third letter.

  There were two pieces of paper, one handwritten and the other typed. She unfolded the handwritten one and felt tears come into her eyes.

  Lovely Anna,

  It is over. He is dead. I acknowledge what I have done is wrong, but I can now begin to live my life properly, and I hope what I have done enables the same in you. Killing the last victim was the hardest. He briefly fought back, and that almost became my undoing. I managed to twist the knife, and it was enough, eventually. You now have full descriptions of my actions, so please keep them safe. You may need them one day, but I hope not.