She Did It: You think you know her - think again.

by Mel Sherratt

  ‘Wait!’ Reggie put his hands down a little. ‘What has that got to do with Jack?’

  Jack.

  She had killed him for nothing. Esther felt vomit in her throat and pushed it back. These despicable people standing in front of her were good for the punishment, but Jack had been an innocent in all this.

  ‘Why did you kill Jack?’ Reggie asked.

  ‘Keep up, will you? I thought he was watching us!’ Esther slapped at her head, as if to get rid of the images she’d created over the years. ‘I thought he had enjoyed it, and then I thought he had been lying about what happened too. I wasn’t to know it was her!’

  ‘You stupid bitch!’ Gabrielle screamed.

  ‘It was his fault!’ She pointed at Reggie.

  ‘I knew there was something about you from the minute I set eyes on you again.’ Gabrielle lunged towards her. ‘You’re going to pay for this.’

  ‘Get away from me,’ Esther warned, bringing the gun in line with her. ‘Get me some money and I’ll go, but I’m not leaving without any.’

  Gabrielle’s hands were up in the air, coming at her. ‘I’m calling the police.’

  ‘Don’t come any closer!’

  As Gabrielle continued, Esther stepped back, her foot hitting the doorframe. But she still came towards her.

  When she was too close, Esther had no choice.

  She pulled the trigger.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  Tamara froze when she heard the bang. It sounded like a gun going off.

  Where had they stopped? Where was Esther? Was anyone injured?

  She banged on the boot lid again. ‘Please!’ She yelled, her voice cracking. ‘Someone, anyone, help me!’

  But there was nothing. Only silence.

  And then she heard a car pulling up beside her. She banged again.

  ###

  Esther stood, frozen to the spot, as she watched Gabrielle fall. She almost let go of the gun as Reggie dropped to the floor next to his wife.

  ‘Gabrielle?’ he cried, pulling her into his arms. ‘Gabrielle, can you hear me? Speak to me.’

  Esther watched the woman who had caused her so much pain throughout her life gasping for breath. Her eyes began to glaze over in the same way that Jack’s had.

  With an animal-like roar, Reggie launched himself at Esther. His hand sliced across her face before she had time to move.

  ‘You bitch!’ His fingers around hers, he tried to prise the gun from her hand.

  ‘No!’ she shouted, keeping a grip on the handle. He squeezed his hands tighter, pinching her knuckles. He was much too strong for her. She had to let the gun go. It dropped to the floor and he kicked it away.

  ‘I am going to kill you!’ Reggie pushed her into the wall and his hands went around her neck. Squeezing her this time, she grappled with him.

  She dug her nails into the back of his hands as he squeezed harder, restricting her breathing. Flashes appeared before her eyes.

  ‘I should have done this when you were fifteen,’ he said, tears pouring down his face. ‘You ruined me then and I let you come back and do it again. I could have buried you on my land. No one would have known. No one would care to come looking for a slut like you.’

  Esther wanted to shout back at him, defend herself as he blamed her for everything, but he was too strong to push off. She gasped for air, her hands grappling around for anything she could hit out with but there was nothing this time. She was going to die in Reggie’s Maitland’s house.

  ‘You’ve taken away everything I have,’ he seethed.

  She tried to get to the knife in her pocket but her eyes were blurring over. She pushed at his face with the heel of her hand. His head went back but still his hands kept squeezing. The room was fading out.

  With one last attempt, she kicked at his shin. It had the desired effect of making him drop his guard. In that split second as the pain registered with him, she punched him in his stomach.

  She was about to hit him again when there was a commotion behind her and her arm was grabbed in mid-air. It was pushed behind her back and she was slammed up against the wall.

  ‘He came at me with a gun!’ Esther yelled as Carley cuffed her. ‘I tried to run but she got in the way. He shot her, not me. He did it!’

  Behind her, Max was handcuffing Reggie Maitland, and reading him his rights.

  ‘It wasn’t like that!’ Reggie tried to drop to his knees next to his wife. ‘Gaby? Gaby, darling, wake up.’ He looked up at Max. ‘Please, take off these cuffs. I want to comfort her.’

  ‘The emergency services will be here soon.’ Max called the incident in, requesting an ambulance. At his feet, Reggie roared in pain.

  ‘You got what you deserved,’ Esther told Reggie quietly. ‘All this was your fault.’

  ‘I – I—’

  ‘All your fault! Do you hear me?’ she yelled.

  ‘Esther Smedley – also known as Bethany Williams – I’m arresting you for the murder of Jack Maitland.’ Carley walked her out into the hallway. ‘You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’

  ‘No!’ Esther cried. ‘It wasn’t me. Tamara did it! It was her, I tell you. You can’t arrest me! She did it!’

  But no one listened to her protestations, despite her continuing. It was then she realised there was no way out of this now. She had got her revenge but she was going back to prison.

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  Tamara woke with a start and sat up. She listened but there was no noise.

  The clock by the side of the bed said it was 8.35 a.m. The sleeping tablets she’d been prescribed were helping in one respect, but only every now and then. She hadn’t wanted to take them straightaway. She was more opposed to interrupting her sleeping pattern than not sleeping at all.

  And even when she did go to sleep, images of that day came rushing back to her. Being trapped in the boot of her own car, fearing for her life while she was with some mad woman.

  It had been a moment of relief after all the banging when she had heard the policewoman’s voice outside her car. At least DC Evans had been spared a punch in the face because she’d shouted out to her before getting the keys and opening the boot. Carley had helped her out on to the driveway where she had lain until the ambulance arrived.

  She’d been straight into surgery after having numerous tests and had stayed in hospital for two days. Her parents had insisted she went home with them afterwards, while the flat was cleaned of her blood.

  Two days later it had been time to face the music and start her life again. She knew she needed to get over the firsts. First time driving in her car which Esther had driven to the Maitland’s home, where Esther had killed Gabrielle Maitland with the bullet from a hand gun.

  The first time going into her flat and seeing blood everywhere, even though it had been removed.

  The first time being alone since that day. She had to do it all again. It was the only way to get on with her life.

  She pulled back the bed covers and padded through to the kitchen. Outside, the weather was dry but overcast. She wondered what the day would bring. Maybe she would feel like diving into work today. She had so much to catch up on.

  She showered and dressed, all the time wary of her wound. The dressing was off now; the stitches dissolved a few days ago. The bruising from her face and body was mostly gone; what was left of it a fading yellow-green. She had been lucky, she’d been told, the knife having missed vital organs and arteries. She would make a full recovery in time.

  Her mind, however, would take a lot longer to get over the trauma. She still couldn’t believe Esther had changed so much in the time that she’d known her. Yes, she said causing Jack’s death was an accident, not like when she attacked her, but she was the one who had lost her temper. She did it. Plain and simple.

  The intercom buzzed. Tamara was expecting DC Evan
s. When she opened the door to her flat, Carley was holding a bunch of flowers.

  ‘I’m not supposed to buy gifts for members of the public but I was on my way to work and saw these at the petrol station.’ She smiled apologetically. ‘I’m not sure which looks more exhausted. Me or these, but it’s the thought, I guess.’

  Tamara smiled as she took them from her and closed the door. She clicked the double lock into place, something she had never done until a couple of weeks ago. She had always felt safe in her home. Not anymore.

  ‘You’re looking well,’ Carley said when they were both in the sitting room.

  Tamara would have laughed if it weren’t still so painful. ‘That’s what people say when you’ve lost weight on a diet,’ she said. ‘I haven’t felt much like eating. Even I jumped at the reflection staring back at me from the mirror this morning.’

  They chatted about the case in general before Carley sat forward, putting down her coffee.

  ‘We went to Bethany’s flat when all the evidence came in and we wanted to question her. When she wasn’t there, a warrant was put out for her arrest. With the call from your neighbour, Raj, who had seen you being dragged outside, plus the call from the petrol station, we put two and two together once we had a description of your car, and it was so close to the Maitland’s home.’

  Tamara still couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Jack hadn’t been pushed down the stairs as she had suspected. Forensics had revealed that his body had been moved from the kitchen to the hallway. Esther had admitted to hitting Jack with a marble paperweight she’d found on the worktop. Then she’d dragged his body through to the hallway to make it seem as if he had fallen down the stairs. The paperweight was still missing. Esther hadn’t told anyone its whereabouts.

  ‘We’ve since found out that she has been travelling the country using a few names but always coming back to Shoreditch. If she was caught doing anything and bailed, she would move on.’

  ‘Esther mentioned she’d been in prison for GBH,’ Tamara said. ‘Was that true?’

  Carley nodded. ‘Amy Farmer said—’

  ‘Amy Farmer?’ Tamara bristled.

  ‘She was Esther’s probation officer.’

  ‘Esther told me Amy was a friend who had been raped and then killed herself.’ Tamara shuddered. ‘Just how many lies did she tell me?’

  ‘Esther is very damaged and mentally unstable. She’s also extremely calculating. You aren’t the first victim of hers. Did she ever mention a Danny Bristol to you?’

  Tamara thought for a moment, then shook her head. ‘She didn’t very often open up about her past.’ She smiled weakly. ‘I know why now.’

  ‘We found his body in the back garden of the house where Esther was staying.’

  Tamara almost dropped her mug.

  ‘She had beaten him with a bat and then buried him in a compost container in an old garage that no one was using. It helped to mask the smell of the body decomposing.’

  ‘When was this?’ Tamara hoped it wouldn’t be while she had known her but knew it was going to be.

  ‘He was murdered approximately a month ago. According to Amy, he was someone who caused Esther a lot of pain. It seems she came out of prison and went after some members of the gang she hung around with. We think she might indirectly have been involved in the murder of another man, Jamie Kerrigan, too but we can’t be positive. She could have been with a group of people who lured him into an entry where he was beaten up and then shot.’

  ‘Wow, how stupid was I for not checking her out.’ Tamara shook her head.

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Carley insisted. ‘Because she handled the same gun that had been used for that crime to then kill Gabrielle Maitland, we can’t be certain her fingerprints are on it because of that alone, or if she pulled the trigger on both occasions. Personally, I don’t think she did but it’s very complicated to prove either way. As you know, she was very good at manipulation.’

  Tamara’s hand covered her mouth.

  ‘We also found her fingerprints at another murder victim’s flat, Ewan Smith. But until we knew she wasn’t Esther Smedley, she wasn’t linked. When we questioned Danny Bristol, he gave Williams’ name as an alibi, saying he was with her, but we could never find her to question her. She may have been going under both Esther and Bethany then. So, it was only when the evidence came back from Jack’s house, that she was in fact Bethany Williams, that we were able to shed any light on it.’

  ‘You didn’t take them when you interviewed her after Jack died?’

  ‘It isn’t necessary at that time in the enquiry. We thought his death was an accident. She wasn’t under arrest then, nor under suspicion so we had no reason to request it.’

  ‘But you had mine!’

  ‘You were already on the system.’

  Tamara looked away in embarrassment.

  ‘You mustn’t blame yourself,’ said Carley. ‘I think you should be thankful that you came away with your life.’

  She nodded. ‘I won’t let her win.’

  And she wouldn’t. Later she would start looking over her shoulder for Esther. But for now, Tamara felt safe knowing she was locked up in prison.

  ###

  Esther lay on the thin mattress in a room where plans were made but often never realised. The room where everything was taken away.

  The lights were out, the doors locked, but the voices were still loud and vulgar. Women shouting things to each other – declarations of love, hateful slagging matches. Banging as soon as the lights went out. She covered her ears as she curled up on her side.

  At least she had a cell to herself for now. And even though she’d been bullied before, she’d become stronger since then. She had done what she had set out to do. No one would get the better of her inside again. Not now everyone knew she was on remand for the murder of three people.

  Esther had got wise this time. She’d already set out her stall by confronting one of the main ringleaders as soon as she got there. Mandy Dixon was in for three years for attacking her partner and leaving him with no sight in one eye. At first Mandy thought she had one over her, but killing Danny Bristol had made Esther realise that standing up to bullies gained you a lot of respect.

  It was incredible how quickly Mandy backed down after she’d laid into her. She was always smiling at her now. Overnight, Esther had become someone to look up to. Being a murderer does that for you, she surmised. She knew things could change whenever a new inmate came along, but, for now, it seemed easier in there than last time. Which is just as well considering the sentence she was going to get.

  Killing Gabrielle Maitland with the gun had set her up good and proper. If only she’d thought of that at the time. But no, she had been too busy keeping herself away from the police to stop and think that her fingerprints would now be on the gun too. Once they had it in their possession, the police were able to match it up with the one used in Ewan Smith’s murder. Esther’s prints had been found in Ewan’s flat too. Three days before he was killed, a load of them had gone back to Ewan’s flat for a party.

  She’d found out that the police linked the bullets in the gun used to kill Ewan Smith to the murder of Jamie Kerrigan too. There had been a warrant issued for Danny’s arrest. He’d stayed on the run for quite some time before turning up at her flat.

  Still, no one would have seen him since that night she’d found him waiting for her when she’d arrived home. She’d learned to defend herself while she was in prison, so picking up that baseball bat and hitting him over and over had been easy. And it solved the problem of always looking over her shoulder.

  The police must have had quite a shock when they found him in the rear garden. And now she was in here for so many crimes, no one would believe she’d acted in self-defence when she’d killed Danny, fearing for her life, would they?

  She supposed she could plead insanity, cite hearing voices inside her head. She could even say, ‘it wasn’t me. She did it.’

  Now that would be somethin
g to work on while she was planning her revenge on Tamara.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a meddler of words. My novels take you to the heart of the crime. I write police procedurals, psychological suspense and crime dramas - fiction with a punch. Shortlisted for the prestigious CWA (Crime Writer's Association) Dagger in Library Award 2014, my inspiration comes from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante, Mandasue Heller and Elizabeth Haynes.

  I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter (named after the TV serial killer) and make liberal use of my hometown as a backdrop for some of my books.

  Connect me online:

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Website

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  I’d love to hear what you thought of She Did It, and it can also help other readers discover one of my books for the first time. Please consider leaving a review online:

  Amazon UK

  Amazon US

  Also, many thanks to anyone who has emailed me, messaged me, chatted to me on Facebook or Twitter and told me how much they have enjoyed reading my books. I’ve been genuinely blown away with all kinds of niceness and support from you all. A writer’s job is often a lonely one but I feel I truly have friends everywhere.

  You can sign up to receive an email whenever I have a new book out here (you can also get a free book on the second link:

  Join my mailing list

  Join my mailing list and get a free book

  OTHER BOOKS BY MEL SHERRATT

  DS Allie Shenton Series

  Taunting the Dead