Echoes of Guilt

by Rob Sinclair

  Victor gritted his teeth now and slowly shook his head – remembering?

  ‘It’s some story,’ Dani said, not at all sarcastically. In a way she was actually interested to find out more. ‘But I’m not sure of the relevance?’

  ‘The relevance is you asked why I came here. The answer is, why wouldn’t I want to come to a country that has lived through so many decades of peace, is rich and prosperous, rather than a country which is still scarred by that recent bloodshed?’

  ‘Fair point. So what about Nicolae Popescu?’

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘Why’d he come here?’

  ‘I don’t know. There’s nothing more to tell. I knew him at one time. I know his family. I look after his grandmother. She’s an old lady who can’t take care of herself.’

  ‘Very generous of you. And Nicolae is… where?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘In England?’

  ‘I doubt it. He was deported. Surely you know this already?’

  ‘So you’ve had no contact with him recently?’

  ‘Not for years.’

  ‘And you have no information as to where he now is?’

  Victor turned his hands outwards. ‘I’m very sorry.’

  Dani sighed as her brain rumbled. Victor made a big deal of checking his watch.

  ‘I have a call to make in three minutes,’ he said. ‘If you don’t mind?’

  ‘That’s fine,’ Dani said, getting to her feet.

  ‘Let me show you out.’ Victor got up too.

  ‘Of course,’ Dani said. ‘You wouldn’t want me roaming around, would you?’

  Victor said nothing.

  As Dani walked back out into the main room, she glanced up the staircase but could make out little of what was up there. All was quiet on the warehouse floor. No sign of Victor’s colleague now.

  ‘Where’s Ana today?’ Dani asked as they headed for the exit.

  ‘At home, I think.’

  ‘She’s not here?’ Dani asked.

  ‘Why would she be here?’

  ‘So who was the third meal for?’ Dani said, glancing behind her and up to the blacked-out windows of the mezzanine level.

  Victor looked put out by that question. ‘Another colleague.’

  ‘Can I speak to him?’

  ‘I don’t even know if he’s in now.’ Victor looked at his watch again. ‘It’s Saturday afternoon, you know?’

  Dani wasn’t sure she did, but she decided not to push the point.

  Victor stopped a few steps from the door.

  ‘It was nice to meet you,’ he said, as Dani reached for the handle. ‘Though hopefully it won’t be necessary again.’

  ‘I guess we’ll have to wait and see about that.’

  Chapter 19

  ‘Who’s down there?’ Ana asked as she stared across to Alex on the opposite sofa.

  He didn’t even attempt to reply as he dove into his meal. She even hated the way he ate a damn fast food meal. Was there anything redeeming about this worm of a man?

  Ana’s food remained untouched on the coffee table.

  ‘I heard talking down there,’ Ana said. ‘It sounded like a woman.’

  A sly smile from Alex. ‘Maybe it is. You know Victor.’

  Ana clenched her teeth. Alex was trying to rile her, like always. But, actually, would she really be that bothered if Victor was fucking some slut down there? It certainly wouldn’t be surprising given past form, and she was long past caring about being the one and only object of his affections.

  Wasn’t she?

  ‘So?’ Ana said. ‘Who is it?’

  Alex said nothing this time, just continued to bite and chew and slurp.

  Earlier, when Ana had heard the buzzer downstairs, she’d almost immediately crept out into the hallway, and was halfway to the broom cupboard to begin spying when she’d realised Alex wasn’t staying around to entertain whoever it was, and was coming up the stairs. She’d had to quickly dart back into the upstairs office and pretend she was napping.

  Alex, the dumb idiot, had no clue.

  But Ana was intrigued. If it was someone important down there, business-wise, then why wasn’t Alex there too? And if it was someone important, or even some woman Victor was ‘entertaining’, then why had he only showed them into the shitty admin office downstairs, rather than to party central or whatever this shit space was?

  ‘You’re not eating your food,’ Alex said.

  ‘Wow, you’re so smart.’

  ‘You don’t want it? I’ll have it.’ He grabbed the paper bag from the table and made a big deal of taking a handful of her fries and stuffing them into his mouth. Ana was hungry, but she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of showing him she cared.

  ‘You really need to get laid,’ she said.

  ‘Is that an offer?’

  ‘Alex, the only way you could ever get someone like me is—’

  ‘If you weren’t Victor’s I’d fuck you anytime I wanted. And there’s nothing you could do about it.’

  Her insides curdled at the thought, though the natural venom with which he spoke only made Ana all the more angry.

  ‘Spoken like an expert, Alex,’ she said. ‘The only way you get a woman is through raping her.’

  Alex slammed his food down onto the table and was on his feet in a flash. He took an angry step towards Ana. She was smiling, egging him on, even if she did cower back on the sofa as he towered over her.

  ‘Well, go on then,’ Ana said, purring. ‘You know you want to.’

  ‘One day. You just wait.’

  ‘One day what?’

  Ana and Alex both whipped their heads to the door. To Victor. He looked pissed off. How much had he heard?

  Would he even care much if he’d heard everything? Ana genuinely had no clue whose side Victor would take.

  ‘Alex was just telling me how he’d like to—’

  ‘Teach that bitch detective a lesson.’

  Ana glared at Alex, but he wasn’t looking in her direction at all, his eyes fixed on his master like the good little dog he was.

  Victor sniffed. ‘Is that right?’ he said to Alex. ‘You think that would get the police off my back?’

  ‘No. But it’s still something I’d like to do.’

  ‘Yeah, well, it’s good that I’m in charge then. Because that’s about the dumbest possible thing we could do now.’

  Alex deflated. Ana wanted to beam a smile but she held it in. No point in drawing Victor’s attention to her glee.

  So the visitor had been a policewoman? Ana pictured Detective Stephens, who’d interviewed her all of twenty-four hours ago. Why was she hanging around again?

  ‘Anyway, we need to go,’ Victor said to Alex.

  ‘I was just eating my—’

  ‘No time. Come on.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Ana said. ‘I might save you some.’

  OK. So she couldn’t help herself. Alex glared at her but said nothing. Moments later he followed Victor out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Ana heard the lock clicking into place.

  ‘Bastards,’ she muttered under her breath.

  She grabbed the now cold chicken burger from the bag, unwrapped it and took a bite, her belly grumbling in anticipation. She’d not eaten since breakfast. As she was chewing she moved across the room to her coat, which she’d folded away and placed neatly under the desk, out of sight. She waited a few seconds until she heard the bang downstairs as Victor and Alex left, on their unexplained quest.

  When she was sure they were gone, she unfolded her coat and felt around the inside seam. She found the small fold with the three-inch tear and dug two fingers in to remove the phone. She held it in her hands for several seconds, just staring at the black screen.

  It was only yesterday that she’d stolen the phone, though its presence seemed to have been a burden for an age. A burden? It was, but the shiny plastic device in her hand also offered some sort of solace.

  The first chance
she’d had yesterday, she’d turned the phone off, to save its battery. It had only had forty-four per cent then, and Ana had no charger for it, and no way to get one. When she and Victor had been stopped by the police yesterday she’d had the forethought to hide the phone under her car seat, and luckily the police hadn’t found it. She was sure Victor still had no clue she had it.

  So here she was again. Alone. Staring at this thing, wondering what the hell she was doing.

  The phone had a little over ten pounds worth of credit, although it was in Romanian leu. But who would Ana even call? Her family back home?

  Detective Stephens?

  She’d said she’d help Ana.

  Ana switched the phone on. It took several seconds for the low-res screen to flicker to life.

  Thirty-nine percent. Shit. No. She had to save this. She had to be sure of her plan before she used it even once.

  A bang downstairs.

  That was enough to make her mind up. Ana quickly turned the phone off and stuffed it away again.

  Then, misery and helplessness taking hold, she shuffled back over to finish the soggy, cold food.

  Chapter 20

  Dani was feeling increasingly frustrated as she headed the short distance across Tipton to the cul-de-sac where Brigitta Popescu lived. Had she learned anything at all from the day’s events? Not really. Other than that Victor Nistor was up to something. But was it something related to Clara Dunne’s murder? Liam Dunne’s disappearance? Dani really had no clue, and certainly no direct evidence to back up that theory.

  But she wasn’t giving up on Victor, nor was she giving up on today yet. She was in the area, so she may as well cover every base she could.

  Just over a week before the winter solstice, night-time was coming earlier and earlier each day, and with four p.m. still several minutes away, it was already dusk when Dani parked up outside Brigitta’s house. Streetlights were flickering to life as Dani stepped onto the pavement. The street here, outside of school times, was deathly quiet. No pedestrians, no cars – other than those parked up and steadily frosting over – and barely any sounds coming from the homes that were largely cloaked in darkness.

  Already feeling just a little uneasy, particularly being here alone, Dani sent a brief text to Easton updating him on her fruitless meeting with Victor, and telling him where she now was. She moved up the driveway to the front door and knocked, then rang the bell.

  She waited for several seconds. Then several seconds more to give Brigitta the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t as though she was nimble. Obviously no Stef helping out right now, though?

  That reminded Dani. She did want to speak to Stef more formally at some point.

  Dani knocked again. Waited even longer this time, but there was still no answer.

  Had someone taken Brigitta out? Dani could hardly imagine someone as frail as she was heading out by herself. Particularly in this cold. And when it was dark.

  Dani crouched down, pushed open the letterbox and peered inside. The space beyond was dark, just as it had been the last time Dani and Easton had been here in the daytime, though Dani could definitely see a glow of orange coming from the lounge doorway. She held her breath to listen for sounds, and she was sure she could hear faint mumbling from somewhere within.

  Eyes still peering in, Dani reached up and pressed the bell again.

  The mumbling stopped. Dani waited. And waited. No sign of Brigitta coming to the door. Then came that same sound again.

  Was it mumbling or something else entirely?

  Thoughts flashed through Dani’s mind. What if Brigitta was hurt? Had fallen and couldn’t get up?

  Dani tried the door.

  It opened.

  Dani sucked in cold air until her lungs were full, then nervously stepped inside. She closed the door softly behind her.

  ‘Mrs Popescu?’ she shouted out.

  The house was warm inside. Almost too warm. Particularly with the thick coat and scarf that Dani was wearing. Not just warm, but stuffy and uncomfortably humid too.

  ‘Mrs Popescu?’ Dani shouted again.

  No response. Though Dani could hear that mumbling again – chanting?

  Dani stepped slowly along the dark and eerily quiet hallway.

  ‘Mrs Popescu, it’s Detective Stephens. Your door was unlocked.’

  The chanting stopped. Dani froze on the spot. Waited in the silence for a few seconds. Then the jumbled words started up once more.

  What the hell?

  Dani moved forward, reached the doorway to the lounge. Orange light crept out from the room, though as before large swathes remained in darkness. The inadequate lighting created long, sinister shadows that snaked and weaved across the furniture and the walls. The more Dani stared, the more the shadows twisted and flowed.

  ‘Mrs Popescu?’

  Dani stepped into the room, her eyes still not yet fully adjusted to the dark. She didn’t know whether to gasp or heave a sigh of relief when she spotted Brigitta, now silent, sunken into the armchair in the far corner.

  Light flickered all around her from the shrine-like display by her side, though the outline of her body could barely be made out in the dark, her features almost imperceptible except for her wide open and glassy eyes.

  She was staring over at Dani.

  ‘I thought you would be back,’ she said, her words slow yet strangely assured.

  ‘Mrs Popescu, are you OK?’

  Then she began to chant again. Slow, rhythmic words that meant nothing to Dani. Eyes now almost accustomed to the darkness, Dani stepped further forward, her gaze fixed on Brigitta’s chest where her hands were clasped around a six-inch cross.

  Dani had no clue what to say or do. Brigitta was trance-like, her body unmoving as she chattered away, her stare as intense as her words were indecipherable.

  Then Brigitta stopped talking and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Dani just stood there like an idiot.

  ‘Brigitta?’

  ‘Bones,’ Brigitta said, the word coming out as a solemn moan. Her eyes remained closed.

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Bones… So many bones.’

  Dani was sure a tear rolled down Brigitta’s cheek, though in the dark she couldn’t be sure of anything she was seeing.

  ‘Bones?’

  ‘So many. Have you seen them yet?’

  Her eyes sprang open, gaze fixed on Dani, whose heart thudded against her ribs. She stumbled back a step, such was the force of Brigitta’s look.

  ‘They’re coming for you,’ Brigitta said, voice loud and clear. Instructive, decisive. Almost as though the words had been spoken by a different person than the frail woman Dani had met before. ‘They know everything. And they’re coming for you.’

  ‘Who?’ Dani said, trying her best to keep her cool. ‘The Stirgoi? Is that what you mean?’

  Why was Dani even doing this? Evil spirits? Vampires? It was ridiculous.

  Yet standing in this room, in front of Brigitta in this trance, or whatever it was… Dani had never been so petrified or so freaked out in her life.

  Brigitta said nothing now. The long, spindly shadows swirled around and reached out towards Dani. She took another nervous half step back – glanced over her shoulder to the dark empty space beyond. But was it empty? How could she even tell?

  ‘Have you seen yet?’ Brigitta asked, the words shaky, almost a sorrowful sob. ‘Have you seen the bones?’

  ‘Brigitta, what are you saying? Where?’ Dani said, not realizing until she’d spoken how rattled she was. ‘Whose bones?’

  Brigitta leaned forwards in her chair. As she did so her face caught in a swathe of light, the deep ridges and lines of her aged features accentuated, and made all the more menacing.

  Her cracked and withered lips moved into a sort of pout. She reached out a finger.

  ‘Yours.’

  There was a clank, and the room was plunged into blackness.

  Chapter 21

  Dani’s heart exploded in her chest.
At least that’s what the moment of panic felt like as she stepped back in terror. She crashed into the sofa arm, then the coffee table, until finally her back thumped against the wall. She pushed both her hands onto the cold surface, as though checking it was really a wall and nothing more. Some sort of comfort at least to know there was only bricks and plaster behind her now.

  But she could see nothing in front of her at all.

  ‘Brigitta?’ Dani shouted, terror in her voice. ‘Brigitta!’

  Nothing. No chanting, not even any sounds of the old woman breathing. All Dani could hear was her own uneven breaths and the whistle of wind as it forced its way into house. From where, Dani had no clue, though she was sure she could feel its chill.

  She fumbled in her purse for her phone. Took it out with shaky fingers.

  ‘Brigitta, can you hear me?’ Then muttered under her breath, ‘It’s just a power cut. That’s all.’

  Dani held her breath as she clumsily tried to find the torch on her phone. Brigitta still hadn’t made a sound. Was she even there any more?

  The torch light finally flicked on, though its white arc of light was pathetic and barely touched the edges of black.

  Dani twisted the phone around and shone the meagre light into the corner.

  Brigitta’s chair was empty.

  ‘Mrs Popescu?’ Dani croaked, her voice almost giving in she was so scared.

  There was a rush of air right next to her. Dani screamed in horror and bolted to the side. She whipped the phone in that direction.

  The light reflected off two bloodshot eyes. Two bloodshot eyes that were all of a yard away from Dani.

  Angry eyes.

  ‘Who are you?’

  Brigitta. Standing right in front of Dani. She wanted to feel relief, but she wouldn’t just yet.

  ‘Mrs Popescu, it’s me, Detective Stephens.’

  ‘Why are you in my house?’

  She sounded confused, and more than a little scared now. Completely different to moments earlier. What was this woman on?

  ‘I think there was a power cut,’ Dani said, briefly glancing over her shoulder to the hallway which remained pitch black. ‘Do you know where your fusebox is?’

  Brigitta said nothing as she stared coldly at Dani.