by DS Butler
She bundled a load of washing into the machine and sighed. How on earth was she going to get through all this and work at the same time? There just weren’t enough hours in the day.
She had just switched the machine on and straightened up when there was a knock at the door.
“Who could that be?” Lauren said to Mia. “We’re not expecting anyone, are we?”
Mia kicked her legs and bounced happily in the chair.
Lauren could see a dark shape in front of the misted glass panel in the front door. She shivered and had a strange feeling that she should ignore whoever it was and pretend she wasn’t in.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and gave herself a little mental shake. She was being quite ridiculous.
When she opened the door, her first reaction was panic.
She put her hand to her chest. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
On the doorstep, stood two uniformed police officers.
“Nothing to worry about,” the female officer said. “My name is Jane, PC Jane Worthington and this is my colleague PC Brian Bright. We’re just here to check on you. Is everything okay?”
Lauren nodded, and her panic started to recede as the officers showed their ID. There had obviously been some kind of mix-up. The officers had come to the wrong house.
“Everything is fine here,” she said. “I think you might have the wrong address.”
“Are you Lauren Hicks?”
Lauren swallowed nervously and nodded.
“Is it okay if we come in and have a chat inside?”
Lauren stood back and let the officers enter. She collected Mia from the kitchen, scooping her from the bouncy chair and carried her into the front room. The officers sat down on the sofa, and Lauren sat on an armchair, balancing Mia on her knee.
“What’s going on?” Lauren asked.
“Your name has come up as part of an ongoing investigation.”
“I can assure you I’ve never done anything illegal. I think there must have been some kind of mix-up.”
“We are here purely as a precaution. I don’t want you to worry. You could be a target of someone we have been investigating.”
“What? Who?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have all the details, madam, but a detective will be here shortly to explain the situation. Just to be on the safe side, we’re going to stay here with you. PC Bright will be stationed outside in the police car, and I’ll stay with you in the house.”
Lauren nodded numbly. She had absolutely no idea what this could be about. Despite working as administration support for a legal team, when it came down to it she was just as scared as anyone else would be.
PC Bright stood up. “I’ll be outside in the car.”
PC Jane Worthington nodded, and when he had left the room, she said, “Have you received any unusual notes recently?”
Lauren shook her head. Who would want to target her? This didn't make any sense. “What is the investigation about?”
“Have you been following the news?”
“Not really.” Lauren hadn’t had a chance to watch the news in ages. She hadn’t even had five minutes to spare to put up the Christmas decorations. It would be Mia’s first Christmas, and she’d wanted to make it special, to prove that despite the fact she was a single mum, she could make Christmas perfect for the two of them.
She didn’t want Mia to watch TV all day like some kids, so Lauren never put it on during the day.
Although, she looked forward to her time in front of the TV once she had put Mia to bed, she could never stay awake long enough to watch anything. Five minutes after switching it on she was dozing on the sofa.
As PC Worthington cooed over Mia, Lauren wondered if she would ever stop feeling tired. Perhaps when Mia turned eighteen?
They were disturbed by a crackle on the radio. Lauren could have sworn she heard a voice say, “Up the garden path,” and she wondered if that was some kind of police code.
“That was PC Bright,” the female police officer said. She looked over her shoulder towards the window. “There’s nothing to worry about—”
A knock at the front door made Lauren jump.
Before Lauren could stand up, PC Worthington put her hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “I’ll get it,” she said and walked out of the sitting room into the hallway.
Lauren followed the police officer, carrying Mia on her hip, but remained a safe distance from the front door.
PC Worthington opened the front door and said, “Can I help you?”
Lauren inched forward so she could see the visitor.
When she got a glimpse, Lauren smiled. “Oh, it’s okay, officer. It’s perfectly safe. “
PC Worthington took a step back and looked at Lauren. “You know each other?”
Lauren nodded. “Old friends.”
PC Worthington moved to the side so that she was no longer blocking the doorway. “Fine. It will be nice for you to have a familiar face around.” She closed the door behind the visitor.
Lauren headed into the living room. “Come in. I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been?”
“I’ll make some tea and let you two catch up,” PC Worthington said. “That’s if you don’t mind me using your kitchen.”
Lauren shrugged. To be honest, she wasn’t interested in tea. She just wanted some answers, but it didn’t seem like she was going to get any until the detective arrived.
After PC Worthington left them alone in the living room, Lauren turned to her visitor. “Nicky, this was certainly a surprise. You won’t believe the day I have had.”
42
LAUREN HICKS ACTUALLY LOOKED like she was happy to see me.
That wouldn’t last long.
I walked across to her, put down my bag and held my arms out for the baby. “What a cutie.”
Lauren handed the baby to me with a smile.
I sat down in an armchair and looked down into the baby’s pink face. “What’s her name?”
Lauren stood over me, looking every inch the proud mother. “Mia.”
The black holdall I had put on the floor moved.
Lauren gasped. Her eyes widened and she shot me a worried glance, opening her mouth. I’m sure she was just about to ask me what was in the bag, but what she saw next froze the question on her lips.
I had pulled out the syringe from my pocket, and I held it menacingly close to the baby’s chubby thigh.
“What…? What are you doing?” Her voice cracked as she took a step towards me, fear burning in her eyes.
My voice was emotionless. “Don’t come any closer unless you want me to hurt the baby.”
Confusion and hurt mixed on her face as her eyes desperately searched mine for some kind of clue, an explanation.
This really had been a surprise. She hadn’t been expecting me. Had she not heard about the other victims?
“Have you been following the news?” I said casually, keeping the syringe close to the baby as she gurgled in my arms.
Lauren didn’t answer, she seemed almost frozen with fear. Eventually, she stuttered, “Please… Please don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything.”
“Keep your voice down,” I said.
My own voice was barely above a whisper. I didn’t know how long the police officer would leave us alone. Not that it really mattered. I didn’t care if I was caught now. Lauren was the last one.
I didn’t want to hurt the police officer, and I would never have harmed the baby. But I was open to using all the tools at my disposal, and baby Mia made an excellent bargaining chip.
“Have you heard about the Charmer?”
“The Charmer?” Lauren repeated blankly, and then something in her expression changed and her eyes widened. “It was you… The murder?”
“There was more than one murder.” Lauren was irritating me now. The whole country was following the case, reading about it over their cornflakes every morning. The news story had been on every news channel. How could she have missed it?
“I like the snake part, don’t you? Particularly apt, don’t you think?”
Lauren’s hand flew to her mouth, and she looked at the black holdall I had brought with me, which was now still.
“But why me, Nicky? Why would you target me? I don’t understand.”
I gritted my teeth. How could she think I wouldn’t target her? Hers had been the greatest betrayal of them all. Now she needed to pay.
I looked down at the baby who was kicking her chubby legs. I felt a twinge of panic and moved the syringe out of reach.
I shook my head. “She trusted you. She thought you were her friend.”
“I was!” Lauren said desperately, wringing her hands. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I—”
I cut her off. “You were there.” I stared at her with hatred.
I’d admired her once. I thought she was amazing, everything I wanted to be. I’d loved the clothes she’d worn, the music she’d listened to. I’d looked up to her.
“Nicky, you’ve got it wrong. I tried to help her. I would never have hurt Alex.”
This was hard. In comparison, Beverley Madison, Joe Griffin and Troy Scott’s murders had been easy. I’d never known them, unlike Lauren. But I couldn’t trust her. She would say anything she could to protect her baby.
I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Lauren nodded frantically, completely oblivious to the sarcasm in my voice. “If you can just give me a chance to explain. I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you exactly what happened that day.”
I relaxed my grip on the syringe slightly, moving it away from the baby’s leg. “Go on then,” I said. “Explain.”
We didn’t have much time. The policewoman would soon be back with the tea, but I needed to hear this.
Lauren looked up at the ceiling. Her chest was rising and falling fast. “It was horrible,” she said. “But I really believe no one meant for her to die.”
“But she did, didn’t she?” I spat out, before taking a breath and trying to calm down. I needed to stay in control.
Lauren looked down at baby Mia in my lap and her lip wobbled. “It started in our science class. We were giving a presentation and we had to work in pairs. As usual, I was working with Alex. For some reason, Mrs. Diamond, the science teacher, insisted Alex would have to do her share of the talking. She knew about Alex’s lisp, but she didn’t care. She had given us the topic of snakes as well, which made it even harder for Alex.”
“Get to the point.” I had a feeling Lauren was stalling. Perhaps she thought that the policewoman would save her.
“You know her lisp got worse when she was stressed, but Mrs. Diamond said Alex had to face up to her problems otherwise she’d never get past them.”
Lauren’s gaze flickered back to the baby. “Please, let me take Mia. I’ll still tell you the rest. I’ll tell you everything. You don’t have to hurt her.”
She thought I was an idiot. As soon as I handed her the baby, Lauren would run out to the kitchen screaming for help.
I glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. They had said the detective was on his way over, but I had no idea what time he would arrive.
“Just get on with it, Lauren,” I said. “And I will decide if anyone gets hurt.”
Lauren shivered. “Alex tried to give the talk, but of course she lisped and everyone in the class laughed. It was horrible. She ran out crying. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go after her, but Mrs. Diamond forbade it.”
Lauren drew a shaky breath and I leaned forward.
“After the lesson was over, I saw Alex in the corridor. She had left her bag in the classroom and needed to get it before the next lesson.” Lauren’s voice wobbled slightly, and I held my breath.
“Alex was packing away her things when a group of kids decided they hadn’t teased her enough. It was Beverley, Troy and Joe. You must remember what they were like, they walked round the school as if they owned the place. They crowded around Alex and pushed her into the supply cupboard at the back of the classroom. I should have helped her, but I was scared. I didn’t want to get locked in there too.”
I forced myself to take a breath. I knew what was coming next.
“Then Troy thought it would be a good idea to torment her further. He threw something in the cupboard and then shut the door again. It was dark in there, and Alex wouldn’t have been able to see, but he told her he’d put his snake in there with her. We all knew that Troy kept snakes. Alex started to scream. They locked the door and ran off with the key, laughing.”
Lauren rubbed her hands over her pale face. “I tried to shout and tell Alex that it was okay. I told Alex it wasn’t really a snake. I think Troy had thrown in a bit of old skipping rope. But she was screaming so much, she didn't hear me. I went to try and get help, and I ran straight into Mrs. Diamond. It was lunchtime, and she’d just made herself a coffee. I told her everything, that Alex was locked in the cupboard and that the other kids had taken the key. I begged her to come with me, but she said she needed to finish her coffee first…”
Lauren shook her head. “I didn’t know what to do. I should have made more of a fuss, or gone to another teacher, but I didn’t.” Lauren stared at me, her eyes wide and pleading. “I couldn’t make her come. I was just a kid, and she was a teacher.”
“Here we go. Two cups of tea.” The cheerful voice of the policewoman made me jump. I shifted my position so that she couldn’t see the syringe and shot Lauren a warning glance.
“Thank you,” I said as the policewoman set the mug of tea on the coffee table in front of me.
“Ah, look at that. She’s fallen asleep.”
I looked down at baby Mia and saw that the policewoman was right, she had fallen asleep. I hadn’t noticed. I had been so intent on hearing the rest of Lauren’s story.
“If you two are okay, I’ll take a cup of tea down to PC Bright. He’ll sulk if he doesn’t get a cup.”
“We’re fine, aren’t we, Lauren?”
Lauren nodded and plastered a fake smile on her face.
I waited until after I’d heard the policewoman shut the door and then turned back to Lauren. “Carry on.”
“I went back to the classroom, but it was quiet. Alex wasn’t screaming anymore. I sat down beside the cupboard and waited. Eventually Mrs. Diamond arrived and she unlocked the door. That was when we saw her… Alex was lying on the floor. She’d had an asthma attack.”
I looked away so that Lauren couldn’t see my reaction. I knew the part about the asthma attack, but at the inquest they’d ruled it was an accident. I knew it wasn’t. It was brought on by what they did. How could that be classified as an accident?
When I turned back, I saw that Lauren had moved closer. She reached out a shaking hand to touch the baby’s cheek.
Her eyes locked with mine. “I tried my best. I know I let her down. I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t reply, but I stood up and shoved the baby into her arms. I grabbed the large black holdall and its squirming contents and headed towards the front door.
There had been a change of plan.
43
MACKINNON SPOTTED THE MARKED car parked outside Lauren Hicks’ residence as he turned into St Andrews Close. He parked behind them and watched as a female police officer passed a steaming mug to the male officer sitting behind the wheel.
Hearing Mackinnon slam the car door, the female officer straightened up and turned around to face him.
“DS Mackinnon,” he said, flashing his ID. “Everything okay in there?” He glanced towards the house.
“PC Jane Worthington,” she said holding out her hand. “PC Bright is in the car. Everything is fine. Lauren Hicks has a friend with her.”
Mackinnon headed towards the house and rang the front doorbell.
PC Worthington scrambled to catch up. “She’s fine. I only left her for a minute to take PC Bright his tea.” She glanced back at the marked car.
Mackinnon didn’t answer. He knocked again, feeling uneasy.
PC Worthington chewed on her fingernails. “Maybe I should have left the door on the latch, but it’s so cold today, and she has a little baby…”
He took a step back and tried to peer through the lace curtains surrounding the bay window. He could just make out a figure sitting on the sofa.
He rapped on the window, and slowly the figure turned and then stood up.
When Lauren Hicks opened the door, Mackinnon immediately knew something had happened. Her face was pinched and drawn, and she was clutching the baby as if she was afraid someone might take it from her.
She shrank back from the door as Mackinnon entered.
“It’s all right, Lauren, this is the detective I told you about,” PC Worthington said, craning her neck to try and look inside the sitting room. “Where is your friend?”
Lauren didn’t respond.
“Lauren, I’m Detective Sergeant Jack Mackinnon. I’m here to try and explain the situation to you. Is it all right if we go into the sitting room and have a chat?”
“You’re too late,” she said, her voice monotone.
“What do you mean?” Mackinnon asked.
“She has already been,” Lauren said. “You’re looking for the Charmer, aren’t you?”
Mackinnon tried to stay calm. “Shall we go inside?”
The front door was still open and the cold air was seeping inside the house. Lauren Hicks was only wearing a thin blouse.
Lauren nodded and turned around, walking back into the living room in a daze.
“Are you telling me that the lady that came to see you was the Charmer?” PC Worthington’s face turned pale.
“I think we could do with another cup of tea,” Mackinnon said, looking at the female officer meaningfully.
“We haven’t finished the last one yet.”
Mackinnon glared at her.
“Oh, right. I see. Cup of tea coming up,” she said, finally getting the message.
Mackinnon sat on the edge of the sofa, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and studying Lauren.
She was staring down at the baby and a big fat teardrop ran down her cheek.