‘Twenty-five. I’m twenty-seven now.’
‘Oh, you’re only a baby then,’ she smiled.
Ethan beamed, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. ‘I’ve been called many things in my career, a baby isn’t one of them.’
The car pulled up onto a pretty tree lined brick drive, and Jennifer surveyed the two-story building in wonder. ‘Nice house,’ she thought out loud.
‘It’s my mom’s. She lives in America now, but uses this as a base to visit.’
‘Ah, I thought I heard an American twang.’
‘My accent’s a bit of a jumble with all my travelling. Come inside, I’ll make you a coffee.’
Jennifer glanced at her watch, reasoning she could spare time for a break. ‘Go on then, I’m gagging for a cuppa.’
Two white pillars flanked the wide front door. Ethan produced a set of keys from his pocket and went inside. The hall was warm and welcoming, and she followed him to the living room on the right. Beautiful trinkets from exotic lands decorated each room, and artwork delivered colourful splashes to the pale walls. Jennifer looked approvingly at the clean surfaces, complemented by the modern interior design. In the kitchen, Ethan filled the percolator and the smell of roasting coffee filled the air.
Jennifer dumped her things on the brown leather sofa and perused the titles on his mahogany bookshelf. The Karma Sutra stood out along with other titles on tantric sex. A row of leather bound books caught her eye. They were numbered one to ten, but did not bear any title. She slowly slid one out and opened it, the yellowed paper giving off an old book smell. The Occult – Realms of the Living Dead. Jennifer picked out another, The Occult, Significance of Blood. She opened one more to reveal the title; The Book of Forbidden Knowledge.
‘You like my book collection?’ Ethan spoke behind her, and she jumped in surprise.
‘Oh, sorry. This wasn’t what I was expecting for a man of your age,’ Jennifer said sheepishly, sliding the books back where she found them.
‘They’re vintage. I picked them up while on my travels. What were you expecting, Beano annuals?’ Ethan laughed.
‘No, of course not,’ she replied, smiling in apology.
‘I’m just teasing. Can I make you a sandwich? Chicken salad OK?’
‘Yes please.’ Jennifer said, as he opened the fridge door. Her mouth began to water at the sight of the sandwich on thick wholegrain bread. Slices of avocado lined the chicken and lettuce, with a covering of mayonnaise. An open bowl of kettle chips was placed beside her plate, and a saucer held chocolate brownies.
Ethan poured fresh coffee into Jennifer’s cup and pushed the bowl of sugar and a tiny jug of cream towards her. She took a napkin and dabbed her lips before taking a crisp. ‘This beats Tesco’s.’
‘It’s no trouble. I can’t take credit for the brownies, though; they’re shop bought.’
‘So tell me, what’s a successful young man like you doing in Haven? Or is that being too forward?’ Jennifer took another bite of her sandwich to shut herself up.
‘No, it’s OK,’ Ethan said ‘People ask me that all the time, where I’m from, what I’m doing here. My mother is African American, and my dad is British. She met him when she was here on business. It didn’t work out, so she went back to Washington. Against her advice, I came over here to meet my dad and decided to stay. I guess joining the police was an act of rebellion.’
‘I can think of more rebellious things to do. Are you in it for the long haul?’
‘To be honest I’m not sure, that’s why I’m shadowing you.’ Ethan’s eyes met hers. ‘What about you? Are you happy in the police?’
Jennifer quickly chewed the last of her sandwich and washed it down with coffee that was so hot it burnt her throat. ‘I can’t imagine doing anything else,’ she said, clearing up her crumbs. ‘Anyway, time is ticking and we’ve got CCTV to view.’ She began to feel guilty, playing lady of the manor while Will was back at the station buried in work.
They made it to the pawn shop just in time. A far cry from the organised Cash Converters down the road, Mr Marshall’s dimly lit shop was a disorganised clutter mountain. Jennifer squeezed past the jumble of furniture, unwanted exercise equipment and locked cabinets, inhaling the musty smell of items long since forgotten. A stag’s head glared from the wall of the back room, beside shelves piled high with old books and outdated televisions. As Jennifer stared at the grainy image on the CCTV, her thoughts returned to Charlie. Perhaps she could distract Ethan long enough to make some enquiries when she got back to the office. She looked at her watch. ‘Can you do the house to house enquiries while I take a quick statement from Mr. Marshall please?’
Ethan nodded as he took down details of the time of the robbery in his notebook.
Jennifer seized the CCTV disc as evidence and took a statement from the small grey-haired shop owner, who had lived in the area all his life.
Removing his horn-rimmed glasses, he rubbed the indents from the bridge of his nose. ‘Poor old Ethel, she pawned her wedding ring to get that money. One of my regulars she is, Ethel has been coming in here every month since her old man died. She’d save her few pennies to buy back her ring, and then she’d get some bill and end up pawning it again. I don’t have many regulars these days, not with these blooming payday loans springing up all over the place, but at least I don’t rob people blind like they do.’ Mr. Marshall was about to launch into another tirade when Jennifer brought his attention back to the task in hand.
‘We’ve interviewed the suspects, but they’re denying everything.’
Mr. Marshall shook his head. ‘I don’t know why they pulled a knife on her. She’s over eighty years old. She would have just given it to them.’
‘I know, it’s awful. At least she wasn’t hurt.’ Jennifer quickly penned a statement covering the seizure of the CCTV and handed it to him to sign. His watery eyes magnified like saucers as he put his glasses on and read over it, signing the bottom of the page in a scrawl. Jennifer recollected the old Mr. Magoo cartoons she watched as a child. ‘Of course in my day they would have got a good clip around the ear. I don’t suppose you can do that anymore, can you?’
‘No, I’m afraid not, although I’ve felt like it often enough. Mr. Marshall, can you hang onto the footage from the previous few days for us, please? I’d like to ask one of our community support officers to come in and look through it, in case we’re missing anything.’
‘Yes, yes of course. They know they’re welcome here for a cuppa any time.’
Jennifer said her goodbyes and walked back to the car to wait for Ethan. Her phone beeped into life with two texts. The first was from Will asking for lunch. Jennifer quickly texted a reply and moved on to the next one from Susie.
Who is the studmuffin? Is he on our team? Jennifer smiled, and quickly stuffed the phone into her jacket pocket as Ethan climbed into the car.
‘No luck I’m afraid. They’re all saying … and I quote … “Ain’t seen nuffing.”’
The words sounded out of place coming from Ethan and she tried not to laugh. ‘Time to head back to the nick then,’ she said, starting the car.
Jennifer placed the bag of food on Will’s desk. ‘How are you getting on?’
Will shook his head. ‘Not good. Looks like they’re going to walk. The witnesses failed to pick them out from photo ID, and we’ve no weapon and no CCTV. The only incriminating evidence is the hundred quid they had on them when they were stopped. It sticks in my gut that we’ll have to give it back to them.’
‘We don’t even have enough to go to Crown Prosecution Service?’
‘No, I’ve spoken to the DI. It doesn’t meet the threshold test. He’s said if nothing comes back on the CCTV he’ll authorise a no further action.’
Jennifer rubbed her forehead. ‘I’m not happy to NFA yet. How about we bail them for a couple of weeks, issue a local press appeal and make some more enquiries?’
‘Sure, if it makes you happy. But I guarantee you’re wasting your time. Nobody’s
going to come forward.’
Jennifer thought of Ethel, sitting at home alone, too scared to leave her house.
‘There’s no harm in letting them stew. I can justify the bail back.’
Will shrugged his shoulders. ‘As long as they’re answering to you. Run it by the DI and make a date.’
The rest of the working day passed without event. Will managed to rope Ethan into some mundane enquiries, and Jennifer took the opportunity to do some digging on Charlie Taylor’s case. DS Trevor Lowe’s phone extension flashed up on the police online telephone directory, and she punched in the numbers. They had had a brief dalliance before he met his wife and lost touch. While he progressed to sergeant in the murder investigation team, her career had steadily plummeted until she had found herself at the last chance saloon. He seemed happy to hear from her, if a bit hesitant.
‘Jennifer. You only ever call me when you want something. Wouldn’t it be nice if you just called to say hello instead of asking for a favour?’
‘Charming. I was only calling to say hello. How are you?’
‘I’m fine thank you.’
‘And the family?’
‘All good. What’s this really about?’
‘Nothing. I’m glad you’re well, just called to say hello.’ Jennifer hung up the phone and grinned. She pressed the redial button, knowing her name would be flashing up on DS Lowe’s telephone.
‘Jennifer?’
‘Detective Sergeant Lowe, I need a favour.’
‘Funny. Real funny. I am quite busy, believe it or not. What are you after?’
Jennifer began to wind the phone cord around her fingers. ‘It’s about Charlie Taylor. I was wondering if you have any updates.’
‘Ah yes, you spoke to him in custody.’
‘Me and lots of other people who kindly asked him to wind his neck in.’
‘Did he say anything of interest? We’ve got the CCTV back, but the audio’s cut out.’
Jennifer did her best to sound offhand. ‘He rambled on. He seemed very drunk, shouting and crying, didn’t make a lot of sense. Is it a murder investigation?’
DS Lowe lowered his voice. ‘I have to be careful what I say. The neighbour who found him went to the papers and they came up with this daft spontaneous combustion theory.’
‘And what do you think?’ Jennifer said, twirling the phone cord in her fingers.
‘Between you and me, I don’t think this will be going any further. Charlie liked a drink, and given all the bottles of booze around him, it’s no wonder he went up like a match. The furniture was flame retardant and it was just lucky the rest of the house didn’t take.’
‘Uh-huh, I thought as much myself.’
‘Listen, can you write me up a statement on what you spoke about in custody? I’ll need to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.’
‘Sure, I’ll do it today and send it over.’
Jennifer drummed her fingers on the desk as she went through the possibilities. She wanted to tell DS Lowe the truth. There was foul play, but perhaps not of the human variety. But what evidence did she have? Both Johnny and Charlie had appeared fine one minute, then as if they were someone else the next. The classic signs of schizophrenia played out in front of her. But that voice … The words they had used, the mannerisms. If something supernatural was invading their bodies, how did it know so much about her? DS Lowe would not be much help with that sort of investigation. He would merely have a quiet word with her DI, and she would be back up to occupational health so fast her feet wouldn’t touch the ground. For now, behaving normally was the only way to protect herself while she figured all this out.
The ladies’ toilets in Haven police station left a lot to be desired. The absence of windows left them with a distinctly tainted smell, offset by the mechanical air freshener, which squeaked into life every hour. Jennifer wondered if the toilets had purposely been built that way, to prevent forlorn officers spending too much time there. She shook her hands under the soft whirr of the dryer, and inwardly groaned as Susie walked in, her eyes wide with excitement.
‘You didn’t answer my text. Who’s the eye candy?’
‘Ethan? He’s on an attachment for the next couple of weeks.’ Jennifer gave up on the dryer and wiped her hands on her clothes instead.
Susie wasn’t going to let her go that quickly. ‘He can attach himself to me anytime. Is he single? You’d better get in there, girl.’
Jennifer whispered, ‘I’ve no intention of getting anywhere. He’s younger than me.’
‘That’s OK, you can be one of them, um … panthers.’
Jennifer snickered, ‘Do you mean cougar?’
Barging through the door with the grace of a baby elephant, Steph’s presence put a stop to their giggling, and the pair cast their eyes to the floor as they returned to work.
Jennifer remained tight-lipped as she showed the last of the suspects out, his bail sheet in hand. The pimply youth gave her a leery grin as he left via the front exit. ‘See ya later, babe.’
‘It’s “officer” to you, and just make sure you answer your bail date,’ she said.
‘I won’t need to, I’ll be NFA before then,’ he sneered, pulling up his grubby tracksuit bottoms.
Jennifer rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind him. He was in and out of custody so often, he knew the police terms off by heart. He could have papered his walls with the ‘no further action’ letters that came through his letterbox, and unless a star witness turned up, this time would be no different. She looked at her watch; she was late off again. Will had left half an hour ago, and she was surprised to see Ethan sitting at her desk on the phone. His soothing voice murmured comforting syllables, and he gave her a nod as he ended the conversation. Jennifer booked off duty and logged off her computer.
‘Aren’t you going home then?’ she asked Ethan as he hung up the phone.
‘I was just updating the victim. She’s very upset by it all.’
‘I know, I spoke to her earlier. I’ve asked one of the PCSO’s to pop in on her every now and again.’ Jennifer searched the drawers for her mobile phone.
Ethan slid it out from underneath some paperwork. ‘Fancy going out for a drink?’
Jennifer paused, ‘Sorry mate, I’m bushed. It’s been a busy week.’
Ethan cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, that sounded like a come on didn’t it? I just wanted to chat with you about the job, no ulterior motive, I promise.’
Jennifer shifted awkwardly, trying to find the right words. ‘Don’t be silly, I didn’t think that at all, I’m just tired. Next time, yeah? Maybe Will can come too.’
Jennifer walked to her car, cursing herself under her breath for turning Ethan down. She was acting like some hormonal teenager, when the poor guy just wanted to make some friends. A chilled wind whistled around her legs and she gazed up at the black clouds, ready to pour forth with rain at any minute. The streetlamps cast a weak orange glow over the houses and derelict buildings either side of the road.
Approaching footsteps interrupted her chain of thought, and she exhaled in relief as the man behind her crossed the road and pulled out some keys to enter one of the houses. It was the same every late shift. A nearby homeless shelter brought groups of men to the area at night, and despite being a police officer, the short walk to her car made her nervous. But something told her this was different, and the image of a dark figure gripping a knife flashed violently into her mind. It was a warning; far too real to be just her imagination. She pulled her car keys from her bag, threading the cold pointed metal through the first and second fingers of her clenched fist.
Don’t turn around, whispers echoed in her mind, offering protection. This is not the time for confrontation.
Jennifer’s breath hitched as she recognised the voice. It was Charlie Taylor, her old schoolteacher ... but it couldn’t be. Every sense switched to high alert as she pulled the thick material of her coat tightly around her. Quickening her steps, she approached her car. Her legs shaking, sh
e floored her car all the way home, unable to shake off the feeling of being watched.
15 Chapter Fifteen
The maple trees in her back garden were beautiful in the spring, but tonight the bare branches conducted the wind into a symphony of howls. Jennifer jumped as the window blew open, sending the curtains into a reluctant dance. She pulled the thick material shut, turning to answer the phone as Amy’s name lit up on the display.
‘Hi Sis, everything all right?’ Jennifer said, straining to listen over the background noise of children’s TV. She was still shaken after her walk to her car and needed to hear a friendly voice.
Amy sighed, ‘Oh you know, the usual. Lily isn’t sleeping, I’m exhausted.’
‘I’m happy to babysit on my days off, give you guys a break.’
‘I’ll take you up on it when she’s a bit older. I’m planning her christening, Father Kelly is coming around to go through it with us.’
‘Oh right, well let me know when you decide a date as I’ll need to take time off work.’ A glimmer of hope rose. She needed to do something and the christening could be the best way of testing the waters with Father Kelly.
The baby’s screams pierced through the theme song to In The Night Garden and Jennifer held the phone from her ear. ‘Sounds like you’re busy, I’ll leave you to it.’
‘No wait, I rang because I want to ask you something. Will you be Lily’s godmother?’
Jennifer paused. ‘Aww, thanks Sis, but wouldn’t you be better off with someone more virtuous?’
Amy laughed. ‘Thankfully, being virtuous isn’t a prerequisite. You’re still a Catholic aren’t you?’
Jennifer pursed her lips as she considered her answer. ‘Lapsed,’ she replied. Memories of being dragged to mass every Sunday came to the forefront of her mind.
‘That’s good enough for me, come around when you’ve got a day off and we can discuss it,’ Amy said, ending the conversation to tend to her screaming baby.
The next morning Jennifer pulled on her jeans and sweatshirt, hoping a walk in the park would clear her head. She combed her errant dark hair back into a ponytail and looked in the bedroom mirror. God, I look like shit, it would be just my luck to bump into someone from work today, she thought. Pulling on her jacket, her fingers wrapped around a cold, solid object in the right hand pocket. ‘What the hell?’ she said, pulling out a bent spoon. She searched her brain, trying to remember the last time she had worn the coat.
Don't Turn Around: A dark, thrilling, page-turner of a crime novel (Detective Jennifer Knight Crime Thriller Series Book 1) Page 11