by Diane Ezzard
Chapter Twenty Eight
NOW
The following week, I was true to my word and went over to Burnley to see Cassie. The hostel was a nice bright airy place. The building was modern with two units and there were lots of kids playing when I arrived. I waited in reception for Cassie who came bounding down the hall when she saw me.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you, Sophie.” She gave me a big hug.
“And you too, Cassie.” I held her away from my body and looked her up and down.
“My, you’re looking good girl. I can’t tell you how much better you seem.”
Cassie grinned, “I feel it, Sophie, I really do. Come on I’ll take you to my room.” She almost skipped down the corridor as she led the way and I thought to myself how good it was to see her happy. We spent two hours together, with Cassie telling me the entire goings on at the centre. We discussed anything she might need for her impending move out of the hostel. She told me they got a lot of donations. We also had many items at the women’s centre so I promised to find out if there was anything that may be suitable for her. We said our goodbyes, and I promised to be in touch soon.
I got home that evening and the first thing I noticed was that Max hadn’t eaten his food. That was unusual for him because he was a greedy cat. I hope he’s not ill, I thought to myself. I looked around the house but he was nowhere in sight. I decided he must have gone out and didn’t give it any more thought.
The next day at work I was over at the filing cabinet. All the counsellors had a separate cupboard to keep their own clients’ papers in and these were kept from each other to protect confidentiality. The only person who saw our own particular files other than us was our supervisor. I had a new client and the initial assessment documents were filed in the same drawer so we did get to view those. This was the only time I got to see anything about any of the other clients.
Our boss was strict about adhering to confidentiality but as I filed my new client’s papers away alphabetically, I spotted a name I recognised, Linda Kanchelskis. That was the name of Simon’s wife. Is she coming here for counselling I wondered?
I didn’t really think Simon could be behind all that had been happening to me but if Colin Scanlon had been arrested, could he have thought I was involved with informing the authorities? I hoped not. I glanced at who Linda’s counsellor was. It was Susan. I stopped myself from reading any further as I didn’t want to raise any suspicions. If I was to look at her papers, I had to find a way to get into Susan’s cupboard. I would have to have a think about it.
I got home from work that night, intrigued. What was Linda coming to counselling for? Did she know anything about me? I needed to know more. I ambled into the kitchen and saw Max’s food from both yesterday and today hadn’t been touched. It wasn’t like him to stay out so long but I knew cats could be like that. I was concerned. He had only recently started going out. I hoped he knew his way home. I decided to wait another day before I started investigating.
The next evening when I got in, there was still no sign of Max so I went out looking for him. I couldn’t understand why no one brought him home as he wore a collar with a cat version of a locket which contained my address and phone number. I was worried something bad had happened to him. Cats could be disloyal if someone else started feeding them but I looked after Max well, fed him his favourite meals and now I missed him. I called on a couple of neighbours to check if anyone had seen him. I checked out Mrs Bennett, the old lady who lived on the corner because she was fond of cats. She fed any strays. However, Max hadn’t taken a liking to her hospitality. No one had seen Max. I printed a picture of him, downloaded from my phone to display on the local lampposts with my number on. I was busily putting up one of these posters when a passerby stopped.
“Can I make a suggestion, love?” she smiled at me.
“Yes, course you can,” I said.
“If I were you, I’d get in touch with the local Cat’s Protection branch. If your cat’s been found they’d be the likely ones looking after her.”
“Oh, thanks for that, I’ll give them a ring.” That got my hopes up. I prayed he hadn’t been injured. I phoned them but the call went straight to answerphone so I left a message. Someone called me back a couple of days later and the news was both good and bad. They had a cat that sounded like Max’s description but there were no contact details on him. If it was Max, he had been found with a broken leg. I asked if they knew what had happened to him, thinking he must have been run over by a car. They told me they didn’t think so. Sadly, it looked as though he had been kicked severely by someone.
I went to check if it was Max and it was. I was relieved he was still alive but then the tears came. How could anyone do such a thing to him? It felt so good though taking him home. I wondered why no one opened the ID tag he wore. He still had it on. I gathered him up to sit on my knee. I could tell he was in pain but I would do whatever it took to ensure he made a full recovery. I opened up the tag and took out the paper which gave his home details. My heart missed a beat when I looked what was written on the paper. There was no address or phone number. Someone had scrawled the word BITCH. I shook as I held the tiny piece of paper in my hand. Who was doing this? What was going on? I’d have murdered a drink at that moment but knew I could not and alcohol would not make this situation any better. I resigned myself to making a cup of tea and I settled down with a book but I couldn’t concentrate. My mind was all over. I couldn’t take it all in. It was a complete mystery. I churned the possibilities over and over in my head.
I decided to focus on work and try to figure out a way I could get into Susan’s cabinet to read Linda’s file. A few days later an opportunity arose. There was a course taking place on the Saturday morning. Normally, the manager came in to open up and oversee things. She was away, so I offered to do the locking up which meant me needing her set of keys to close the offices. On the manager’s set of keys were keys to the cupboards so it was agreed I’d come in and take responsibility for opening and locking up. On the day I came into work an hour earlier to do some snooping.
It was a horrible feeling doing something I knew I shouldn’t be. The room was so quiet when I walked in. I planned what I’d do if I was caught. I’d play the innocent and say the files got mixed up. My hands shook as my fingers flicked through the papers until I got to Linda’s. I checked, watching if anyone came in. I took the file out still keeping my eyes looking around me. I swiftly scanned through to see if I could find any mention of Simon but on first glance saw nothing.
I thought I heard a noise, and I missed a breath. I checked over to the door but no one appeared. I decided I’d photocopy the file then I could read the details later on at my leisure. I switched the machine on. It took ages to warm up. All the time, I was worried that Janet, the trainer might come in. My heart pumped fast as I fed the sheets into the photocopier. I kept looking up at the clock. Janet was already late, so I tried to egg the machine on to hurry it up. Then just as I finished the last page and placed the file back in the cupboard, the door opened and Janet walked in.
“Hi Janet,” I said, “Fancy a brew?” I quickly locked the cupboard as she hung her coat up. I hoped I wasn’t giving away any of the anxiety I was feeling inside.
“Yes, ta,” she said. I’d managed to get my copies of the file safely tucked into my handbag before walking into the kitchen.
Later, while Janet was busy with her course, I’d gone onto my work computer and was going through my emails. An email came through to me and all it said was YOU’RE NEXT BITCH. I didn’t understand what it meant at first. It seemed a strange thing to say. I couldn’t tell who the email was from and I couldn’t figure out how it hadn’t been screened and gone into my spam folder. I was worried and when Janet’s training session ended, I showed it to her.
“Blimey, Sophie. You need to tell someone about that.”
“I’ll leave it until after the weekend when Pauline’s back in.”
“Yeah, she’s the manag
er so she’ll know what to do.”
By now, I had a permanent knot in my stomach that wouldn’t go away. On Monday when everyone else was back in work, I was about to speak to Pauline, my manager when I went in again to my emails. There were two further abusive messages there. They both said YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. I showed them to Pauline, and she said we needed to contact the police.
A constable came to talk to us about the emails. He looked young. He took the details and said he would forward the information to the cyber crime guys to look into. Unfortunately, my email address was easy for a lot of people to get hold of.
The policeman told us in view of the threats, the perpetrator probably would have covered their tracks making it difficult to follow up and they were right. They were later able to tell us the emails were sent from an internet cafe in Bolton but the account had been closed. The police said they would investigate further to find out who set the account up.
I began to think about how much information this stalker had on me. I was scared. They knew my address, where I worked, my hobbies, in fact, they pretty much knew my every move and I found that creepy and worrying.
It was hard to behave normally and keep trying to put this behind me. My boss was great though. She offered to let me have time off, but I didn’t want to. I wouldn’t let this sick person beat me but not knowing who it was made it all the more frightening.
I decided to give Cassie a ring and find out if she had sorted anything out about moving yet so phoned through to the women’s hostel. I wished I wasn’t so worried about her welfare as well as my own. Even though she was doing well, I could still see she was vulnerable. Being a regular caller to the refuge, the receptionist usually recognised my voice straightaway which helped cut through the long winded security process that was necessary.
“I thought she would have told you, Sophie, being a friend of hers. She moved out last week. Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to pass on to you her forwarding address and she didn’t leave any messages. I’m sure you understand.”
“Yes, yes, of course. Thanks for letting me know.” I pressed my thumb on my phone to end the call.
So that was that. Puzzled, angry and upset, I was baffled as to why Cassie would move out without telling me or asking for my help. The more I thought about it, the more the only conclusion I could come to was Cassie had got back with Charlie and she didn’t want me to know. With that thought running through my head, I sulked for the rest of the day. I felt despondent that I wasn’t there for Cassie.
I left work that night without acknowledging or saying goodnight to my colleagues. My mind was elsewhere. I still wondered where Cassie may have gone and if there was any way I could find her. It was a cold evening and as I stood at the exit to the office block, I buttoned up my warm woollen coat to the neck to keep out the biting wind. Darkness was already descending, and I braced the chilly weather and set off to walk to the car park.
As I walked through the centre of Bury, I became engulfed in a sense of foreboding I could not explain. Were those footsteps I could hear? Taking my mobile out of my pocket, I turned to look. No movement. I wasn’t convinced though. Putting the phone to my ear and talking quietly to an imaginary friend, I scanned the shop doorways. Who knew what could be hiding in the darkness.
I quickened my pace, feeling sure now someone was behind me. I put my phone away and started to run. I looked back again but saw nothing. More concerned with protecting myself, I hadn’t noticed the billboards where Greg, the news guy stood at the corner of the road. I stumbled into him, almost crashing into his stand.
“Whoa, watch where you’re going, love. Someone’s in a hurry,” he said.
I took out my purse to purchase my regular copy of the Manchester Evening News and spotted the headlines: WOMAN FOUND STRANGLED IN BURNLEY. Handing over the money I felt repulsed but curious. I glanced at the paper to scan the main story. My eyes stared in horror as I looked on in disbelief. What was a photo of Cassie doing connected to this article? I stood still and read the passage at speed. I didn’t believe what I read. Cassie had been murdered.
“No! No! No! It can’t be!” I screamed, putting my hand over my mouth.
Greg looked at me concerned, “Are you okay, love?” I couldn’t speak. I nodded. I couldn’t comprehend it. I had to find out if it was true. I nervously took out my phone and scrolled down to find the number for the hostel. My fingers shook. My whole body felt numb. Tapping my feet, I waited on the line for someone to answer. I knew as soon as the receptionist picked up the phone that it was true.
She struggled to speak as she said. “We are all in shock and yes, sadly it was Cassie.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
NOW
I went to see Cassie’s family. Their home was decked out in floral tributes. There wasn’t an inch of space that didn’t hold a vase containing flowers. I thought if only Cassie had known how much people cared about her. I met her sister, Mum and Dad. I had previously introduced myself over the phone and they were happy for me to go round. I had a sympathy card to give them. It felt so inadequate. I was too upset to talk for long.
Cassie’s dad directed me into their lounge. Bowing my head, I said, “I am so sorry for your loss. Cassie was such a wonderful girl.” Cassie’s mum dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
“Thank you, Sophie. Cassie talked a lot about you. I know she got a great deal of strength from you.” I looked away before I burst out crying. They were genuinely surprised at the extent to which the community had rallied round for them. They were overwhelmed by the display of support they received. Her family seemed such nice people, and I felt so sorry for them. I shook the hands of Cassie’s aunt and uncle, who turned up and I offered all of them my condolences. I took out a hanky and wiped my face.
“She was just turning her life around, starting out on a whole new chapter and it had been cruelly taken away from her. I’m so very sorry.” Cassie’s dad said it would be some time before the body would be released for the funeral. It was hard to know what to say. Emotions were still too raw. I left feeling worse than when I had arrived but glad I had been.
Part of me was blaming myself for what happened. If only I could have got to see her before she left the hostel. I kept playing that thought over and over in my mind, searching my soul, torturing myself I should have done more for her. No one had spoken about Charlie. Since Cassie’s body had been found by a dog walker in Townley Park, Charlie had been on the run from the police. It was obvious he was behind it. There was a warrant out for his arrest and his picture was plastered everywhere, on TV and in the papers. I dearly hoped they caught him soon to help give Cassie’s family some solace.
A thought suddenly struck me. I initially ruled out Charlie as my stalker because the first menacing phone calls I received were before I started seeing Cassie. Was it possible they were someone else or just a prankster and the rest of the incidents were Charlie’s handiwork? If it was Charlie, he obviously meant business. This wasn’t just someone sending me a warning, and he was now a desperate murderer on the loose.
I vowed to get to the bottom of who my harasser was. Surely, this couldn’t go on much longer without a breakthrough. With all the police resources, they must be able to find something. I also put in my best efforts. As well as having Kyle and Simon on my list of suspects, I needed to add Charlie now. I decided my next step was to give Simon a ring.
I met up with him two days later. I made my mind up to be upfront with him and tell him everything that had been going on to test his reaction. I was convinced I knew him well enough to know if he was hiding anything. Deep down, I didn’t think Simon could be involved, and I genuinely didn’t want it to be him. Whoever was doing these deeds clearly didn’t like me. I wasn’t a psychological profiler, but I was sure Simon’s personality didn’t fit the bill.
“Let me get the drinks,” said Simon when we met up at Costa in Bury.
“Are you having your usual?” he asked. My heart sank as I thought he still remem
bers what I like.
“Yes, a skinny latte will be great. I’ll go and find us a seat,” and I scanned the room for a nice quiet corner where we could speak undisturbed and more importantly, not be overheard. I wore a new tailored black suit with a white silk blouse I’d bought for Cassie’s funeral. I felt overdressed for my job but I wanted to impress Simon. Clothes were important to him and he always used to comment when people had something on that was designerwear. I’d purchased my outfit from Episode and when making the purchase, I’d thought it would meet with Simon’s approval. I wore new black patent shoes and new lingerie. Anyone would think it was a special occasion I was attending rather than meeting up with an ex. I looked over at him standing at the counter. He wore a brown cashmere overcoat, tailored trousers, and polished tan coloured shoes. With his crisp white shirt and red tie, his smart appearance could still turn the heads of the female customers dotted around the coffee shop. I watched him as he walked towards me carrying the tray. Physically, he was still able to stir up a yearning inside me.
“So how are you, Sophie?” he enquired as he took a sip of his coffee. He reached into his pocket for a laundered white handkerchief and proceeded to wipe the frothy residue from his lips. I soon got into full flow, telling him everything that had been happening, opening up to him more than I should have. When I finished, he gazed back at me looking upset. Tactically, I should have held back so I could have observed him more but for some reason, I trusted him.
“Is there anything I can do to help, Sophie?”
“You can tell me whether or not it’s you behind everything that’s been happening to me?” I looked at him tentatively.
“Sophie, how could you. I can’t believe you think I would do such a thing!” His voice was raised and heads turned to see what was going on. He shook his head.
“Please forgive me, Simon. I just wanted to rule you out. I’m not in a good place with Cassie’s murder and I just feel at breaking point with all of this.” Simon looked so upset, his bottom lip started to quiver. I looked at his sad face. I wasn’t sure I could turn this round. I continued, “I knew it couldn’t be you Simon, but you’ve got to put yourself in my shoes. I’ve been going through hell and you never got in touch with me.”