Past Due

by Catherine Winchester

  He didn’t want to say anything yet though, not until he was sure. “Not in relation to this case. Do you have an address for this McNabb?”

  Wilson handed over a printout from the website. “He lives above the club. There’s even a map on the contact page.”

  Will grabbed his coat. “Keep checking for a connection with the first victim.”

  “Where are you going.”

  “To interview Mr. McNabb.”

  “On your own?”

  “For now. We don’t have any evidence linking him to the crimes yet so it’ll have to be an informal chat.”

  “We can get a warrant compelling fingerprint and DNA samples.”

  “I’ll see if he’ll volunteer them first. Good work, Mike.”

  Chapter Nine

  When Alex awoke he wasn’t surprised to feel that the sun was gone for the day. What he didn’t expect was to hear raised voices. He lay still and listened to what they were saying.

  Frankie was arguing with someone. The other voice used the language of a police officer and judging by the familiarity in their speech it was probably her friend, William Campbell.

  They were arguing over him. Not surprisingly Campbell wanted to question Alex. Frankie on the other hand, insisted he was an MI5 asset and point-blank refused to allow it.

  He felt like a child whose parents were bickering about him. Not a feeling he was used to and he realised he also didn’t like it.

  As much as he might find Frankie’s protective streak flattering, it was equally insulting, as well.

  He took his time dressing again and hoped they might be finished by the time he headed through to them but his hope had been in vain. In fact he stood leaning against the door frame for a good five minutes before either of them noticed he was even there.

  Finally Alex cleared his throat and they both whipped around to face him.

  “Detective Chief Inspector Campbell, I assume,” Alex held his hand out, keeping his voice smooth and comforting. He may feel patronised but he had been controlling his emotions for 700 years; he was well practised at hiding things. He knew from their argument that Frankie hadn't called the detective; he had just shown up. “I’m so sorry we couldn’t speak earlier.”

  Frankie took a step towards him. “Alex, no.”

  “There is no harm in answering his questions, Frankie. For heaven’s sake, you act like I’m guilty.” That seemed to have the desired effect and while she continued to glower at the pair of them, she didn’t try to stop them.

  “Please, detective, have a seat,” Alex gestured towards the sofa and sat on the chair opposite. He considered offering the detective a drink but thought that might come off as trying to ingratiate himself.

  Will held up a picture of Kate. “I understand this woman works for you.”

  “Yes, she’s the bar manager.”

  “Why do you need a manager when you live on site?”

  “So that I’m not tied to this place.”

  Will proceeded to ask everything he could about her, how long she’d been there, was she a good employee. Why was she working there when the rest of his staff were students and a myriad of other useless questions. Alex answered as patiently as he could, explaining about Kate’s family situation which no doubt, the detective already knew.

  Frankie continued to hover.

  Will then brought out a picture of Sylvia and went over similar questions. Again Alex remained calm and answered as best he could. He could tell from the detective’s heartbeat that he hadn't aroused suspicion yet.

  Alex had a lot of practice reading people which was why he could tell from body language that Campbell didn’t like him. That he would love an excuse to point the finger at him but he also thought that the detective was too professional to let personal grudges interfere with his work. Alex could only hope this assessment was correct.

  Finally Will took out a picture of Kerry Smith.

  “And this girl?”

  Campbell’s pulse spiked when he showed the picture and he clenched his jaw; which was how Alex knew that something was off with this question. Most people would have missed those signs, but then most people didn’t have Alex’s heightened senses.

  He decided to play it cool. “She never worked for me.”

  “Was she a customer?”

  With Sylvia and Kate, Campbell had stated that Alex knew them and he realised from the question that the police hadn't linked Kerry to the club yet. Still, he decided honesty was best.

  “Yes. Not very frequent but she did come here.”

  “Yet you remember her.” Will unclenched his jaw. Finally they had a link to work with.

  “I have a good memory for faces.”

  “Was your relationship with any of these women sexual?” Campbell asked. He sat back in his seat and his posture became relaxed and confident. This probably succeeded in either dominating weaker people or angering strong personalities.

  Alex smiled because it wasn’t the reaction that was expected of him. “They are all very beautiful women but alas I have personal rules about relationships with staff and I didn’t know Kerry well enough.”

  “But you did know all three women.”

  “Yes, as did most of my staff and many of my customers.”

  Next, Campbell initiated a staring contest. Childish, but effective in establishing dominance. What Campbell didn’t realise though, was that he was in the company of a practised predator who instinctively understood his every action.

  Alex stared back, the incredulous expression on his face asking if the detective was serious.

  It was Frankie who stepped between them and ended the contest with no clear winner. “Okay, enough.” She held one palm out towards each of them. “Are you done?” she asked Will.

  “For now,” he sounded grudging. “I will need to question your staff though.”

  “Of course.” Alex checked his watch and stood up, asserting his dominance. “Some will be setting up now, the rest should be in soon. There’s a bell beside the front entrance, someone will let you in.”

  “You aren’t coming with me?” Will asked, also rising to his feet and following Alex to the door.

  “I fail to see what my presence will add.” Alex opened the front door for Will and although he hesitated, he left.

  Alex was pleased with the way he’d handled that until he turned to see Frankie glowering at him. “What the hell was that?”

  Alex understood she had trust issues, commitment issues and that she’d never really formed close bonds before but if she didn’t grow up soon he was going to lose patience with her.

  “The only reasonable course of action. He wouldn’t have taken no for an answer and you made it quite clear that you didn’t want me to hypnotise him. Answering his questions seemed like the only viable option.”

  “I didn’t mean that, I meant the pissing contest you two were having.”

  Alex smiled. “Please, Frankie, you cannot put two men together in a room with a woman they both have feelings for and not expect something like that to happen.”

  Alex grabbed his coat but Frankie went back into the sitting room. Alex followed her out of curiosity and saw her sitting on the sofa where Campbell had been.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Finding out how much damage you’ve done us,” she peeled off her gloves, closed her eyes and touched the sofa. “It’s not as bad as it could be,” she finally declared, opening her eyes. “He doesn’t think you’re the murderer but he doesn’t trust you and he really doesn’t like you.”

  “I would think less of him if he did trust or like me.”

  Frankie frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that I might not be the murderer in this case, Frankie, but I am still a killer.”

  “Are you saying you think less of me because-”

  Alex cut her off. “No. If you recall your initial reaction to me was even more averse than your friends. Now if there’s nothing else you’d like
to discuss, we have a ghost to question and lay to rest.”

  Kate’s house, or rather her parent’s, was a large detached property in the suburb of Morningside. The driveway was occupied by a police car and two more cars stood on the street. The scene of crime officers seemed to have gone, so the primary duty of these officers was keeping the press away.

  “I could use my psychologist ID,” Frankie murmured to him as they surveyed the scene.

  Alex shook his head. “I doubt they’d let you in without calling Campbell. Let’s check the back.”

  They walked back down the street and turned down the first side road.

  “I doubt there’ll be a handy back passage,” Frankie reminded him.

  “Of course not.” He made another turn and stopped about half way down the parallel street. “We’re directly behind the house now.”

  “So?” Frankie looked at the house in front of her, realising their garden must back onto the crime scene. She also noticed that at the end of the driveway stood a seven foot wooden fence and the gate through to the garden was padlocked. “I can’t climb that!” she told him, “It doesn’t even have any foot holds.”

  “Of course not,” he responded reasonably. “Which is why you’re going to climb onto my back.” He turned his back to her.

  Frankie wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She hadn’t had a piggyback ride since she was a child and even then she didn’t like them. Clothing provided some shielding from her gift but it was far from perfect. Of course she didn’t have that problem with Alex but she still felt uncomfortable. It was just weird, a fully grown woman climbing on a man’s back.

  Alex turned back to her. “Frankie, please. The longer we stand here the more chance we have of being seen.”

  Frankie gingerly climbed onto Alex’s back. Although she wasn’t prone to such thoughts usually, she suddenly wished she’d tried that New Year Detox diet that her mother had been telling her about.

  Once she was on, Alex pulled her arms tighter around his neck then pulled her feet closer together and crossed her ankles over each other.

  “Feel secure?” he asked.

  The answer was no but she reasoned this was probably as secure as she was likely to feel so she nodded, yes.

  “Good.”

  Chapter Ten

  Alex took off so fast that Frankie didn’t have time to register that they’d even moved. The first movement she was aware of was landing the other side of the fence. She tightened her grip.

  The fence at the end of the garden went the same way and the next thing she knew they were standing outside Kate’s house. The whole journey couldn’t have taken more than five seconds, probably less.

  Frankie loosened her grip but Alex caught her hands. “Not yet.”

  “Why?” Her joints felt stiff and aching from gripping so hard.

  “We need to go in through the sky light,” he said, taking a few steps back from the house.

  Frankie forced her already protesting muscles to grip tighter as she realised what he intended. As Alex leapt, Frankie swore her stomach stayed behind on the ground.

  Alex landed softly on the roof and made his way to the sky light. The window was open a crack and Alex opened it fully. He detached Frankie from him and took her hands to lower her through the window. As soon as she was standing on the floor he followed her inside.

  Frankie was massaging her hands.

  “Are you okay?” Alex asked.

  Frankie realised her breathing was uneven and she felt like a fool. Even her hands were shaking slightly.

  “It’s the adrenalin,” he reassured her. “Just like if you’d ridden a rollercoaster.”

  Frankie laughed. “Think of the money I’ll save on theme parks.”

  Alex smiled. “You can’t be too bad if you’re making jokes. Sit for a moment, until you feel more relaxed.”

  The loft conversion looked like an office-cum-spare-room. It had a desk, a computer, shelves and filing cabinets at one end but a double bed, drawers and a wardrobe at the other. Frankie sat on the bed and took deep, calming breaths.

  “Is Kate still here?” Alex asked.

  Frankie nodded. “She’s in the room below.”

  “What does a ghost’s aura feel like?”

  “Just like a human aura but less defined.”

  “Defined?” he queried.

  “I guess it’s the soul I feel,” she explained. “With a live person that soul is confined to their body, it’s a fixed size and shape. With the ghost the energy is the same but the edges are… blurry. It doesn’t have a body so its shape… changes. Sorry, I’m not used to explaining these things.”

  “I think you’re doing a good job.” He could tell that her heartbeat had calmed so he suggested they carry on. Frankie agreed and they headed down to the next landing. Considering they couldn’t turn on a light, Frankie was surprised that she could see so well. She wondered if it was another side effect of ingesting Alex's blood.

  They went into the back bedroom and stood just inside the door.

  “It’s me again,” Frankie told the empty room.

  Alex could feel something was here but not what or where. Frankie on the other hand seemed to be staring directly at it.

  “You can see her?” he asked.

  Frankie shook her head. “Not yet, I can only feel her energy.”

  “Can she hear us?”

  Frankie nodded and Alex stepped deeper into the room. “Kate, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I will find who did this to you I promise.” Nothing happened and he looked questioningly at Frankie.

  “She’s probably scared. She might not even remember what happened.”

  “Kate, if you can hear me, please let me see you.” Nothing. “Now what?”

  Frankie sat on the edge of the bed. “Now we wait and hope she’ll decide to show herself.”

  “And then?” he asked, sitting beside her.

  “We find out what she wants, why she’s still here and we try to help.” They sat silently for a few moments. “It might help if you told me about her,” Frankie suggested.

  “Why?”

  “It might make her feel safe, help her remember who you are. I’ve only tried it once before but it worked.”

  “She was a dear girl,” he smiled at a memory. “And she always thought it strange that I called her a girl since I’m officially two years younger than her, so every time I did she called me ‘old man.’ She was a rare creature, sweet and innocent; most people would think she was weak but she was the sort of person who comes with an unbreakable spirit. Not many people would give up their jobs and move back home to care for a parent these days.”

  “How long had she worked for you?”

  “A year while she was at University, then she left when she graduated. She came back three years ago, when her mother was finally diagnosed. “

  Slowly the spot that Frankie had been watching earlier began to change and an impression of Kate began to form. She was translucent and her edges were fuzzy but it was unmistakably Kate. Alex stood up and smiled at her.

  “She wants to thank you for saying that stuff,” Frankie told him.

  “You can hear her?” Alex asked.

  “Not exactly. I can sort of feel what she wants to say.”

  “Can she speak?”

  Frankie shook her head.

  “Okay, ask her what she remembers about last night?” he said to Frankie.

  “You ask her. She can hear you just fine.”

  Alex repeated the question, addressing it to Kate this time.

  “She doesn’t remember much. She was sleeping on the sofa. Her mum was already in bed; she takes sleeping tablets so Kate hopes her mum didn’t wake up and hear anything. There was a noise just before, like tiny bells, no, she thinks it was probably breaking glass, then it was on her.”

  “It?”

  “She says it wasn’t human. It might have been, once, but now it’s just,” Frankie shuddered. “I think it’s our friend from last night.
She thinks it’s arm was broken.”

  Alex nodded. He pulled the sketch of Bradley from his jacket pocket. “Do you remember this man from the club?” he asked Kate.

  “She does. She says he was annoying but harmless.”

  “We think he’s behind this, Kate. Do you know why he’d want to hurt you?”

  For the first time the ghostly image moved. First her expression turned to one of pain then she shook her head, no.

  “She doesn’t believe you,” Frankie told Alex.

  “Please Kate, just think, did you ever upset him, even unintentionally, rebuff him maybe?”

  “She says a lot of people didn’t like him. That he was weird but she thought he was basically okay. She felt bad for him so she was always nice to him. He began asking her out about six months ago. She said no because he was younger than her and she didn’t think he could handle her situation. She didn’t think he took it personally; she said it wasn't him, only her situation that made her say no.”

  “And after it attacked you… When the attack was over and…” Alex really wasn’t sure how to proceed tactfully.

  The ghost of Kate formed a half smile.

  “She appreciates your tact but says it’s okay, she knows she’s dead.”

  “Did you see what it did afterwards? To the walls?”

  Kate shook her head. And Frankie spoke for her. “She doesn’t know what happened right after she died, she’s not sure where she was until later. The first thing she remembers after the attack is her dad crying.”

  Alex put the sketch away. Question time was over. He hadn't expected much information anyway.

  “Kate, I don’t mean to sound harsh but… why are you still here? Is it vengeance you want?”

  Kate looked shocked by his words.

  “No. She says she can’t leave. Her dad’s a good man and he works hard but her mum’s mental state is getting worse and he can’t manage alone. She’s afraid of what will happen if she leaves.”

  “Oh, Kate.” He stepped closer and stretched his hand out to her, cupping her cheek, even though there was nothing there to touch. Kate turned her head into his hand. “You always did carry the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he told her kindly.